authors
list | date_download
timestamp[s] | date_modify
null | date_publish
timestamp[s] | description
stringlengths 1
5.93k
⌀ | filename
stringlengths 33
1.45k
| image_url
stringlengths 23
353
| language
stringclasses 21
values | localpath
null | title
stringlengths 2
200
⌀ | title_page
null | title_rss
null | source_domain
stringlengths 6
40
| maintext
stringlengths 68
80.7k
⌀ | url
stringlengths 20
1.44k
| fasttext_language
stringclasses 1
value | date_publish_final
timestamp[s] | path
stringlengths 76
110
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[
"Online Editor",
"Remm Ieet",
"John Oputa",
"Ann Akinwande",
"The Masked One"
] | 2016-08-28T08:50:31 | null | 2016-02-24T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2Frestructuring-the-debate-on-nigeria%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/24130344/0101-SK-backpagex-New.jpg?fit=150%2C87
|
en
| null |
Restructuring the Debate on Nigeria
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
SIMON KOLAWOLE LIVE! By SIMON KOLAWOLE, Email: [email protected]
Why is Nigeria like this — I mean grossly underdeveloped? I’ve been asking this question all my life. And until Nigeria exits the underdevelopment club, it is one question that will remain relevant. I believe that it is in asking this central question, and in attempting to provide well-reasoned answers, that we can begin to focus the development debate more productively. Unfortunately, the way we are in Nigeria, issues are always jumbled up and insults are traded with such ease that it is practically impossible to have a decent conversation on national development. Sure, we do not need to reason alike, but at least we should be able to reason together. This I believe.
Commentators and analysts have attributed our backwardness to many factors: the 1914 amalgamation by Lord Lugard, the political structure, the revenue formula, corruption, poor leadership and such like. The proffered solutions include restructuring, Balkanisation, diversification of the economy, aggressive anti-graft war, good governance and such like. I do not intend to analyse these positions today. My intention, rather, is to highlight some of the issues that shape my own perspective in the hope that they can become useful in this unending debate. I do not suppose to have answers to the questions, but I am going to question the answers.
A common argument is that without “resource control” and “fiscal federalism”, we are grounded. While resource control can address the issue of equity and fairness, does it resolve the issue of poor leadership? Does more allocation mean more development? The Niger Delta states, for instance, have been getting 13% extra since 1999, in addition to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger Delta and Amnesty Programme. Can we say the vast majority of the Niger Delta people are better off today? Maybe bigger allocation, as good as it is, does not automatically mean bigger development. Maybe there is a bigger problem somewhere.
I have heard many northern governors boast about “our agriculture” in response to demands for resource control by the oil-producing areas. I’m forced to wonder: what is stopping them from unlocking the billions of dollars in agriculture? Wait. I know the response. Let Nigeria break up first and then we will start to develop our agriculture. Really? Is there any law that says you cannot start earning the billions right away? Why must Nigeria break up before all the agro-allied potential is tapped? Can somebody explain the logic to me? Many governors still can’t figure out how industrialised agriculture can generate more billions than oil. Pity.
Talks on restructuring in the north focus mainly on adopting the Sharia code. Many northerners will tell you they want to be ruled by Islamic laws. Which is very fine by me. But is that why the governors are always in Mecca and Medina for lesser hajj? Every month, they go for Umrah with loads of government officials — all at public expense. It wouldn’t be a problem for me if they finance this “religious” lifestyle with personal resources. Or if they continue with the lifestyle long after leaving office. But with no access to free money, the story changes. That tells me something about the misuse of state resources in the midst of poverty.
And why are these governors always going for Umrah? Let me guess their prayers. O Most Merciful and Beneficent God! Come and provide water for my people so that they will stop dying of cholera! Come, O Merciful God, and provide healthcare for my people! They are dying of curable diseases, but our hospitals lack basic equipment and personnel! Really? But why don’t they start by diverting the Umrah budget to at least one hospital in their states? Let them buy equipment and drugs, and let’s see if God will not save the lives of many of these helpless poor patients. Let them use the Umrah budget to sink a few boreholes and see if God will not save more people from cholera deaths.
The south-west is the geo-political zone reputed for its “fiscal federalism” and “true federalism” activism. Which I support, by the way. But without any amendment to the constitution, Lagos has moved its monthly internal revenue from N600 million in 1999 to N25 billion in 2016. I’m not lying. When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu became governor in 1999, over 90% of Lagos revenue was from federal allocation. By 2007 when he was leaving office, federal allocation had reduced to less than 50%. IGR had jumped to N6 billion under him. Today, federal allocation contributes only 30% to Lagos. Believe me, we are yet to hold the sovereign national conference.
As I write this, Lagos Governor Akin Ambode is targeting monthly IGR of N30 billion from 2017. And I am wondering why other south-west states have to wait for a sovereign national conference before making good use of what they have to get what they need. I recently travelled through Ekiti state — one of the states with the least allocations — and I shook my head throughout the journey. Ekiti has one of the most wonderful landscapes in the world. While awaiting the restructuring of Nigeria, the state can generate billions of naira from tourism alone — by taking advantage of the landscape to create sights and sites. And this is without spending state money!
Kogi state must rank as one of the most pathetic. Lokoja, the state capital, is gateway to 22 states of the federation. There is a huge economy that can be built around this alone. But when I visited the city two years ago, they did not have simple motor parks, so how can they even do the more complicated things? Meanwhile, Lokoja is host to the confluence of River Niger and River Benue, with the huge tourism potential that comes with this. But there is not one decent hotel in Lokoja! This is a historical city that can brand itself “Nigerian Marrakech” if there is anybody thinking in the state house. I can say this of many other states in Nigeria.
Igbo kwenu! Kwezuenu o! You see, until we have Biafra and leave the Nigerian zoo, we can never develop. Nigeria is holding us back. This Lord Lugard contraption must be dismantled. I hear you very well, loud and clear, my brothers and sisters across the Niger. But can something be done while we wait for Biafra? We don’t know when the dream sovereign state will become reality. It could be 2016 or 2056 or never. The wise thing, then, is to look within and see how Igboland can be far better than it currently is — even in all this “97% vs 5%” brouhaha. The governors are in a good position to call on the best brains for the development of the south-east, with or without Abuja.
To start with, the Igbo have distinguished themselves all over the world in virtually every field of human endeavour: science, technology, creative industries, law, sports, commerce, education, journalism, medicine, etc. Therefore, I don’t believe anybody is doing the Igbo any favour by giving them appointments. But that is not the point. Who says Aba cannot become Taiwan without leaving the Nigerian zoo? Who says Nnewi cannot assemble 10 million mobile phones per year — without confederalism? No electricity? True. But many parts of Lagos are powered by IPPs, not PHCN.
It can be done! Billions of dollars are crying to be tapped in Igboland!
Nigeria is like this, I dare to suggest, partly because we have been bewitched into blaming our problems on circumstances beyond our control. I would accept these excuses if we have put in our best and still cannot get results. I would accept these excuses if the bulk of the allocations had been spent on improving the quality of life of the masses rather than on chartered flights, 4WDs, state-of-the-art governor’s residences, weekly Umrah, hyper-inflated contracts and hopeless trips to China and Turkey in search of the legendary “foreign investors”. I would accept these excuses if we had used our brains appropriately the way the Arabs and the Chinese are using theirs.
I conclude. Somebody is reading me and yelling: “Shoot the bastard!” Before you load the bullet, listen carefully: I have not said you should not hold your sovereign national conference, or have your Sharia, or get your resource control. I, too, believe Nigeria needs to be reformed economically and politically. But listen to me: in spite of all the excuses we give for “why Nigeria is like this”, in spite of the spite for Lord Lugard, in spite of the “bad” constitution, there is still a lot of lemonade we can make from these lemons. However, we are too lazy, too conceited, too deluded, too bitter, too parochial, too blinded to see the opportunities. All we can see are the problems. Shame.
“The way we are in Nigeria, issues are always jumbled up and insults are traded with such ease that it is practically impossible to have a decent conversation on national development. Sure, we do not need to reason alike, but at least we can reason together”
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS
BLASPHEMY BANDITS
The ease with which people are accused of blasphemy and murdered in cold blood in northern Nigeria must now become a matter of urgent national importance. On Monday, eight persons (reportedly all Muslims) were burnt to death by a mob at Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara, Zamfara state, following an allegation of blasphemy. I preach respect for beliefs and cultures all the time, but more important is respect for the sanctity of human life. I plead once again that the religious leaders and the government must establish a system for people to channel and manage their grievances properly to avoid such stone-age mob action. Anarchy.
THE EMERGENCY
President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic emergency bill to tackle the crippling crisis is still being fine-tuned, I suppose. The media leak, however, has raised a few questions that need to be given a second look. Many of the powers being sought can be exercised through a simple administrative process, like granting visas on arrival and improving procurement speed. Some indeed require fiat, especially because of legislative and bureaucratic bottlenecks. By the way, though, nearly 15 months after coming to office, Buhari is yet to constitute the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), meaning the privatisation process is effectively on hold. Emergency.
FACTIONS AND FICTIONS
First, a “breakaway” group of Niger Delta Avengers declaring ceasefire in the attacks on oil installations. Now, a “breakaway” faction of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) denouncing the agitation for Biafra. Some years ago, we had a “breakaway” faction of Boko Haram declaring ceasefire. We all remember the outcome. I advise all the forces behind these “breakaway” factions to get real. This drama has never worked and will never work. Government must work sincerely and seriously towards addressing these agitations so that we can make meaningful progress. More so, the peace of the graveyard serves no purpose. Duplicity.
AGRIC LOGIC
In my article on agriculture last week, I sought to do two things: one, challenge the conventional wisdom that farming is the magic cure for our petrocentric economy; two, draw attention to the need to optimise value derived from both farming and agro-allied industry. It is clear, from the reactions I got, that many Nigerians want the sector to be naturally attractive — beyond the seasonal rhetoric anytime oil prices crash. We must concentrate resources, energies and policies on how to get much more value and become world beaters in both agriculture and agro-industry. Better techniques, better infrastructure, better finance, better incentives. Explosion.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/28/restructuring-the-debate-on-nigeria/
|
en
| 2016-02-24T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/3e4bee31e8479cb42bfeed7cacb372c903e37c82f7b0d1233308328f314faf89.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Sunday Government",
"Baba Jada"
] | 2016-08-28T06:50:31 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fladol-intels-feud-divides-presidency%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/27002427/Oladipo-Jadesimi.jpg?fit=800%2C621
|
en
| null |
LADOL, INTELS Feud Divides Presidency
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Fresh facts have emerged that the feud between Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base Limited (LADOL) and Integrated Services Nigeria Limited (INTELS) have divided the Presidency as the promoters of both companies have penetrated the top inner recess of power to solicit for support.
While Chief Oladipo Jadesimi is the founder and Executive Chairman of the multi-million naira facility situated adjacent Africa’s largest container terminal and Nigeria’s premier and busiest port, Apapa Quay, INTELS in which former President Atiku Abubakar has substantial equity shares holds sway in the hub of the oil and gas industry, Onne, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Apart from Onne, INTELS is also the concessionaire of the nation’s seaports situated in the Cross River State capital, Calabar and Warri, Delta State.
It is on record that there is no love lost between both companies as their promoters have continued to flex muscles in a supremacy contest in the maritime industry. While LADOL claimed it has approval of the Federal Government to carry out its business in its present location, a committee set up by the Minister of Transportation, Right Hon. Rotimi Chibike Amaechi has picked holes in the documents presented by the firm.
To ensure that it does not lose out in battle for the soul of the maritime industry, the company has solicited for the support of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo just as INTELS has not relented in its quest to prove a point that LADOL’s operations in Lagos is illegal.
Alleged to be a monopoly by its competitors, the terminal operator is said to be having the listening ears of some close aides of President Mohammadu Buhari.
THISDAY checks revealed that it was the division in the Presidency over LADOL and INTELS feud that was partly responsible for the inability of Amaechi’s committee to make public its findings or take a decision on the matter several months after it completed its assignment. It is not only the Presidency that the lingering rivalry between LADOL and INTELS has succeeded in causing a division as some government agencies are also in support or against either companies.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/ladol-intels-feud-divides-presidency/
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/65f5004bfef048701cce7f28dc12e3a505ed679f371db96a4abb4827930e89e8.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"No Bull .....",
"Emeka Anyanwu",
"William Norris"
] | 2016-08-27T14:50:09 | null | 2016-02-29T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fstakeholders-slam-customs-boss%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/29041541/Hameed-Ibrahim-Ali-.jpg?fit=800%2C624
|
en
| null |
Stakeholders Slam Customs Boss
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Stakeholders in the maritime industry have slammed the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retired) for his poor knowledge of the operations of the organisation he heads which they alleged was basis of the wrong decisions he has taken since he took over the reins of administration from his predecessor, Alhaji Inde Dikko Abdullahi.
They specifically lambasted Ali who was the military administrator of Kaduna State during General Olusegun tenure as Head of State for his recent directive to subject all consignments in the nation’s seaports, airports and land borders to 100 per cent physical examination.
They also criticised him for stopping the fast track process earmarked for certain categories of importers in the country.
Describing NCS Comptroller General as unprofessional and someone who needs to understand what the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) spells out on importation and raising of Debit Note (DN), the stakeholders also condemned Ali recent to Apapa port in Lagos without consulting with the operators on challenges faced in port operators.
The stakeholders who spoke in Lagos including the founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam and a chieftain of the National Council of Managing Directors Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Chief Boniface Okoye, maintained that many port users are not comfortable with Ali’s handling of issues since his appointment. They wondered why Ali will come to Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Lagos on the basis that some containers were intercepted in one of the NCS commands.
According to the NAGAFF founder, Ali is playing to the gallery because it is not new to intercept containers in large volume on account of abuse of fast track. The CGC visit to Lagos without consulting with stakeholders is unfortunate.
Continuing, he said: “I wonder whether it is because of the seizures that made him come to Lagos when we know it is no news. Such happening at the ports is not the first or second time, therefore those things do not make news, but for me I look at him playing to the gallery and to the extent that he even visited Lagos, he never bothered to see anybody; not even the stakeholders because these are people you are going to work with.
“Nobody is interested in what he is saying because these are some of things we are telling him that we need to look at issues on corruption in the ports holistically and things that lead to corruption which most time is systemic”, he stated.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/stakeholders-slam-customs-boss/
|
en
| 2016-02-29T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/9e84d9e2c176c00f667d18ad4acab63f01cfd7ddd9a64c999b3f8f76961e864f.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Akin Malaolu",
"Daniel Obior",
"Marcus Ijele",
"Okwuchukwu David"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:23 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fchibok-families-to-buhari-bring-back-our-girls-or-resign%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/26014643/Chibok-Families-to-Buhari.jpg?fit=800%2C457
|
en
| null |
Chibok Families to Buhari: Bring Back Our Girls or Resign
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Relatives of the abducted Chibok girls have accused the federal government of abandoning their daughters to suffer in captivity, and have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign if he cannot rescue the girls.
The relatives spoke yesterday in Abuja after they were stopped by security operatives from reaching the Aso Rock presidential villa to see the president.
The protest march, the second in a week, was organised by the BringBackOurGirls group.
The relatives of the missing girls said the president neglected them after repeated unfulfilled promises.
The girls were abducted by the extremist sect, Boko Haram, since April 14, 2014.
Enoch Mark, father of two of the girls, said Buhari had failed the Chibok people who voted for him in 2015 with the hope that he would ensure the return of the girls.
“Many Chibok parents voted for you because we believed that you would ensure the return of our daughters. You promised us that you were a military man and that you cannot lie. You said the war will not be over until the girls are back,” Mark said.
“Now we hear shouts of victory. And you turn around and say you do not know how to get our daughters. Former President Sani Abacha told us that no country can fight war for up to 24 hours without its government knowing about it. If the president lacks intelligence to bring back the girls let him resign.
“We have men who can do the job. There is nothing that Nigeria does not have. What is stopping the president from giving the orders?” he queried.
The mother of Dorcas Yakubu, the girl who spoke in the recent Boko Haram video, said the federal government should exchange the detained terrorists for her daughter if the government had no better option.
“Because it is obvious that no serious effort has been made to ensure the rescue of our daughters, otherwise we would have heard some good news,” she said.
Yakubu said the security operatives preventing her and the other members of the #BringBackOurGirls group from reaching the president were stopping her from fulfilling the request of her daughter.
“My daughter pleaded with me to try and see the president personally and talk to him regarding the rescue of the Chibok girls. They named her Maida. I named my daughter Dorcas, but they changed her name,” she said.
Yakubu called on the first lady, Aisha Buhari, to do her best to assist mothers like her.
Hauwa Abama, another mother of one of the abducted children, said the government was responsible for her ordeal.
“Government is the one that has taken my daughter from me,” she said.
Other relatives, Rhoda Ishaku, whose only sister, Zara, has been with her captors for over two years, and Martha Enoch, wife of Enoch Mark, called on the government to put an end to the silence and return their children.
Mrs. Enoch said her husband suffered a heart attack as a result of the trauma they have been through.
The co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls group, Oby Ezekwesili, expressed disappointment over the government’s inability to rescue the girls.
She said she was more disappointed that after seven months of the group’s engagement with the president, he was still saying that there was no credible intelligence to lead the government to the whereabouts of the girls.
She said the group would repeat their march to the Villa every 72 working hours until the president made a decisive decision on the Chibok girls’ rescue.
She said: “Mr President, we are tired of being told that there is no credible intelligence. When Gowon visited, the president said the same thing. Credible intelligence will not fall from the sky. It doesn’t fall from the sky. The president should make decisions. We can’t take it and go home.
Nigerians voted for you to solve this problem. Your excuses will not work. We are so disappointed because there is low energy in the issue of our girls. Close your eyes and imagine that any of them are your granddaughters. They would not still be in captivity.
“When you campaigned you said you will bring them back; you would do everything possible. Have you done everything possible?”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/chibok-families-to-buhari-bring-back-our-girls-or-resign/
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/bad767a0c9174c2250c483889953f5827df2649788d753c5523922dce45eec59.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"William Norris",
"Tope Fasua",
"Emma Akpan",
"The Light",
"Mr. A",
"Speakup Naija"
] | 2016-08-29T12:50:59 | null | 2016-02-24T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F09%2Ftime-to-revisit-redenomination%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/24130141/Ben-Murray-Bruce-new-bkp.jpg?fit=124%2C100
|
en
| null |
Time to Revisit Redenomination
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
MAKING COMMON SENSE
By Ben Murray-Bruce
Nigeria is officially in a recession but that is not even the troubling thing. The more troubling thing is that our naira is very unstable especially after it was allowed to float.
It may take some time for the naira to stabilize or it may never stabilize. But one thing is clear, while the naira is going up and down it will affect businesses.
Businessmen will have difficulty planning because you need stability to plan. Foreign Direct Investors will be wary of Nigeria because they need certainty before they can invest.
Already several international financial institutions including WorldRemit have suspended money transfers to and from Nigeria.
The truth is that if we keep on doing the same thing, we will keep on having the same results. That is just plain commonsense.
We need to do something radical to change our situation for the better.
I recommend going back to the idea of re-denomination of the naira that was floated by the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Professor Charles Soludo about eight years ago.
That idea was a brilliant one which had worked in Ghana and helped stabilise their currency and boost their economy.
Many Nigerians remember the Ghanaian cedi from the eighties as a very weak currency compared to the Naira. Many of us who are old enough used to laugh at that currency.
However, after Ghana re-denominated the cedi in 2007, the currency bounced back and became stronger vis-a-vis other major world currencies.
In the 80s, one Naira could get you over 40 cedis, but as of today, one cedi would get you 80 Naira. The table has been reversed! The cedi is now stronger than the Naira and Ghanaians are having the last laugh.
One dollar would get you 4 cedis today whereas one dollar could get you almost 400 Naira. But the main difference is in the stability. The value of the cedi remains strong and stable while the Naira is weak and unstable.
Ghana was not the first country to re-denominate its currency. Turkey re-denominated its currency in 2005 and it was a success in fighting inflation.
In fact, before their re-denomination exercise, Turkey suffered from hyper-inflation, but after the Turkish Lira was re-denominated and six zeroes were removed from the currency, their inflation reduced to single digit rates.
China has also re-denominated and their currency now competes with the dollar as a world currency.
Professor Soludo planned the same thing for Nigeria. The naira re-denomination he planned for would have taken two zeros from the Naira meaning that N10 would automatically become 10 kobo while N100 would become N1 and N1,000 would become N10.
The expected result of the re-denomination was that it would neutralize inflation because more currency would be in coins and just the psychological effect of that alone would drive down prices.
Also, one of the major reasons why a currency has or does not have value is the cost of printing it. With the re-denomination, the cost of printing the Naira would have gone down as less high quantity of high denominations of the currency would be printed and be in circulation.
Also, re-denominations immediately drives down the costs of handling cash and book keeping as well as other accounting costs.
The international consulting firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers noted that the re-denomination of the Ghanaian cedi reduced the cost of doing business in Ghana by, and I quote, ‘reducing the time taken to input financial data and time spent by management in reviewing the same’.
Nigeria has a great economic challenge today. Inflation is now in double digits whereas it was in single digits last year. The purchasing power of the naira is losing value everyday. The naira is exchanging for the dollar at double the cost it did last year. Banks are firing their staff. Businesses are closing down.
If we continue to do the same thing, we will continue to have the same results. It is time to try new ideas.
Over 50 nations have re-denominated their currency. There is enough evidence of the success of this exercise. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Let us learn from others and save our economy.
Was it not Einstein who said that doing the same things and expecting different results amounts to insanity? We can keep switching from the Dutch Auction System to the Modified Dutch Auction System to stopping the sale of foreign exchange to Bureau de Change and reversing that policy, but where would that leave us? Where has that left us?
And some of the policies we are putting out there just look to me like panic measures which cannot get us the results we are seeking.
Let us do the prudent thing and redenominate and then going forward there should be a convergence of the official interbank rates and the black market rates.
Once we have a redenomination in place, the next thing we will need is for the Central Bank of Nigeria to be truly independent. No more should anybody or institution, no matter how powerful, have a say or any influence on how the CBN directs the monetary policy of the nation.
The CBN governor must be allowed to take decisions without looking over his shoulders. If he is always being second guessed by the executive or by influential captains of industry, he will lose his gumption and his command presence.
This is what happened to Professor Charles Soludo after then President Umaru Yar’Adua intervened to halt his naira redenomination project on the flimsy excuse that Soludo did not consult with him.
Ideally, the CBN governor should consult with the CBN board and the Monetary Policy Committee and once decisions are taken at those meetings, the President should be informed first as a matter of courtesy and not for the purpose of seeking approval from him.
Ideally, it is the Senate that should oversight the CBN and that is why we get regular briefings from both the CBN and the Minister of Finance.
In America, their version of our Central Bank (known as the Federal Reserve), like many other central banks, is an independent government agency that is only accountable to the public through the United States Congress. Neither the US Federal Reserve nor its chairperson are answerable to the American president.
The result of this is that the monetary policy of America is completely divorced from politics. It does not matter whether there is an election or not, if the US Federal Reserve needs to take a decisive action, it takes it.
This same practice is in operation in almost all nations that have a stable economy. The only nations I can think of where the President interferes with the autonomy of the central bank are Venezuela and Zimbabwe, and looking at the state of their currency, I am not sure that is the route Nigeria wants to take.
My name is Ben Murray-Bruce and I just want to make Commonsense!
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/09/time-to-revisit-redenomination/
|
en
| 2016-02-24T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/2b1f6dd9e14699efff0108c06bc2bff12d091b0c806e23fd45b5a908a9e2c606.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"David Soul"
] | 2016-08-28T02:50:31 | null | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2Fabdulmuminii-collected-n650m-in-five-years%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/13034241/Abdulmumin-Jibrin1.jpg?fit=800%2C539
|
en
| null |
Abdulmumini:I Collected N650m in Five Years
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Damilola Oyedele in Abuja
The sacked Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumini has disclosed that he has recieved the sum of N650 million as running costs since he joined the National Assembly in 2011.
In a statement issued yesterday, Abdulmumini however noted that he has kept records of how he spent the money.
The embattled lawmaker had on Friday alleged that Dogara and the nine principal officers of the House have received N10billion as ‘running costs’ since they joined the House in various assemblies.
According to Abdulmumini, the allowances, which he termed running costs, are collected by many members and used as personal funds.
“No more, no less – case closed! Most of these members use it to acquire properties, cars and live a life of luxury they never lived before coming to the House. Though there exist systems for retirement of such money but a simple investigation by a primary school pupil will reveal the massive fraud therein,” he had said in Friday’s statement.
But in yesterday’s statement, the lawmaker said he had not been comfortable with the N650 million he collected. “However, I have never been comfortable with the money! Thank God the wasteful allowances regime has reached its Waterloo! The country and House will be better off,” he said.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/28/abdulmuminii-collected-n650m-in-five-years/
|
en
| 2016-08-13T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/9c8b80f421b9086ce505310346b0355f71cf957261c394bee904bf8fd19bfd31.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Akin Malaolu",
"Jon West",
"Dan Minister",
"Dayo Dipe-Daniel"
] | 2016-08-27T20:50:41 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Foba-frederick-obateru-akinruntan-i-am-the-owner-of-ile-ife-i-can-rule-ife-from-my-palace-if-allowed%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/27035727/Oba-Frederick-Obateru-Akinruntan.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Oba Frederick Obateru Akinruntan: I Am the Owner of Ile Ife; I Can Rule Ife from My Palace if Allowed
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Resplendent in majestic aura, bedecked in dazzling royal regalia, his palatial entourage thins out as he approaches his throne. Effortlessly, he eases into the elevated seat. His hands and face sparkle with luminescent light of diamonds and gold. Blue-blooded, brilliant and benevolent, he exudes bliss and prowess.
From far and wide, prominent and ordinary people prostrate before him, pay homage and seek his wisdom. Grand in posture but not grandiloquent, he is a symbol of the past and the present. His royal dynasty, perhaps, is the earliest and most important in the hierarchy of Yoruba monarchies. Meet the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, Oba Frederick Obateru Akinruntan – the Chairman of the Yoruba Obas Conflict Resolution Committee.
A former oil magnate with tremendous wealth, Oba Akinruntan is considered as the richest African monarch. Forbes Magazine, in 2014, put his net worth at $300 million. Fashionable and well-travelled, the monarch’s taste for luxury is apparent. Fashionable and well-travelled, the monarch’s taste for luxury is apparent and he is not pretentious about that. An avid reader of history books, an author and a custodian of Yoruba folklores, the Ondo State monarch tells Adedayo Adejobi and Funmi Johnson, about the supremacy of his royal dynasty over all other Yoruba royal lineages. In a riveting sense, he talks about his love for fashion, people, traditions and the throne of Ile Ife
In a bid to rule your kingdom, what major challenge did you face?
The major challenge I faced was choosing the right people to rule with. Then I looked inward and saw that I have a lot of knowledgeable people that could work with me to get the job done well. Today, I have commissioners, permanent secretaries, lecturers and all are working with me and helping me to organise the kingdom. I don’t have problem at all. I just delegate and the job is done.
Why informed your saying that you’re the owner of Yoruba nation and that Olugbo is the only recognised Yoruba Oba?
I didn’t challenge anybody; I only said I am the owner of Ile Ife. And if you believe that Yorubas are from Ile Ife then you will understand why I said I am the owner of the Yorubas and not Oduduwa as the history circulated said. There is only distortion of the history by the powers that be. But I don’t mind whatever anybody says. The truth remains unchanged. Oduduwa was not part of the Yoruba. He was not part of us. He migrated to Ile Ife from Mecca. Look at his tribal marks. He had a foreigner’s marks on his cheeks. He had seven children. Out of these seven, one was a female called Owu. Owu is near Ikire.
It is called Orile-Owu. It was a place where slaves were assembled for sale. Some of the Owu people are in Abeokuta and other parts of Yoruba lands. I don’t need to consult any book to narrate this history. I have read about 2,000 authorities on this subject. This history has always been there, but the powers always make efforts to suppress it. I am not ready to hurt or fight anybody over this. But I know the truth is there and nobody can do anything about it. We are the aboriginal inhabitants of Ile-Ife. It was Obamakin Osangangan (my grandfather), son of Oraife, who founded Ile Ife. If you are familiar with Ifa divinity, Ugbo is mentioned in a verse that says, ‘Kutukutu oba Ugbo.’ Osangangan also had many children; I will mention only two.
When Oduduwa arrived, he came to Ile Ero (Palace) at Iremo quarters in Ile Ife and he was accepted because of our hospitality. Being a non-native and coming from a background where might was right, he engaged in struggles. Oduduwa never had a successful reign in Ile Ife. Although he initially defeated Obatala, Obatala later fought back and conquered him. The late Oba of Benin wrote his autobiography which he titled, ‘I Remain, Sir, Your Obedient Servant.’ He revealed everything in the book. Oba of Benin said the Olugbo is the only recognised Yoruba Oba.
I am the owner of Yoruba nation. Oba of Benin said Ugbo, very close to Okitipupa, is the owner of the South-West and that explains why we have some similarities with the Benin. Our ancestors had something in common; quote me as an authority. There is a book written by Jacob Eugharera in which he stated that the Benins captured 201 Yoruba towns and villages. Why they respected Ugbo was that when they were advancing, we had an Oba that was given respect equivalent to that of the Pope. The Benin had a belief that Ugbo was very strong. If you want to read the history of the Yoruba, go to Portugal because they first had contact with the Yoruba ahead of other European countries.
Does Ugbo have a community in Ile Ife?
Yes; we have a community in Ile Ife and it is called Ile Ugbo – that was my father’s palace before I left it. I left about seven people there. The community is called Ile Ero at Okeremo. The palace is Ile Ugbo. They are still there till now.
Then why did you leave Ile Ife?
My progenitors left Ile Ife following Osanyin’s directive. Obamakin retreated and settled at Okemafuragan, near Oke-Igbo. Then, they raised 16 hefty men who regularly raided Ile Ife, capturing women and children. The men covered their faces with masks and were believed to have descended from heaven because Ugbo people are called ‘Ugbo atorunwo’ (people who descended from the heavens). The people, on sighting them, would always run away from being captured. At a point, Moremi, a beautiful slave woman captured from Ile Ife, became the wife of Oromakin at Okemafuragan. Oromakin could not resist her beauty. She stood out among other slaves. She was extremely beautiful.
So, Oromakin separated her from others and eventually took her as a wife, oblivious of her real mission. In the end, Moremi succeeded in playing a fast one on him, which helped to demystify the masked men. To the Ilajes, unlike in Ile Ife where she is still being celebrated, Moremi was a traitor. She betrayed us after she had seen the secret behind the masked men that invaded Ile Ife. She leaked the secret and ended the raid. To date, we see her act as an abomination. Ugbo people are forbidden from taking light complexioned ladies as wives. But the seven captured were given special treatment.
They were not hurt. In fact, they begged them to stay because they knew their father could return to destroy Ile Ife. Obamakin returned to Ile Ife to see what was happening to his people but he discovered they were given a VIP treatment. He was shocked. The Ifa oracle later instructed him not to destroy but to relocate to the shores of the Atlantic where the wealth of the Ugbos and generations to come lies. Is it not a blessing now that we are the only oil-producing town in Yoruba land? Till now, those of us who stayed back in Ile Ife are there; they maintain the link with us here. In fact, they attend our functions.
Do you have any intention to go back and take over the throne in Ile Ife?
Well, I have left there but I won’t say I can’t govern Ife from here if I’m allowed. If they allow me govern Ife from here, they will see a lot of improvement.
What is your relationship with other monarchs within Ondo town, and across Yoruba lands?
We have a very cordial relationship. I have no quarrel with anybody. If I am not cordial with them why will some of them even say it to my face that I am the owner of the Yorubas? I was with Oba Adeyemi some years ago and he said Olugbo, your father is the owner of Ife before the arrival of Oduduwa – a newspaper published it (the statement of Oba Adeyemi). I did not just wake up to say this.
A lot of the Obas know this truth as well. I am just out to correct history. If the story is not real, they would have responded. This book has been out since three years ago. Silence means consent. Ego may not allow them to say, ‘Yes, I agree with you.’ But they know it is true and that is why they are silent. I have a good relationship with all the other monarchs.
What are your duties as a monarch?
My primary function is to settle disputes among the people. It could be marital and it could be personal. It could even be political. Peace is the watchword; even statutory matters. My function is to make peace and settle them amicably.
Why did you leave a booming oil and gas business for the throne?
The main reason is because I have the blue blood in me. The blue blood is the royal blood and that is what is running through me. And that is why even if I am the head of the world, as long as I have that blue blood in me, I will leave the world to be on the throne as soon as I am called. I have no regrets at all. Do you know that it was as if I know something was going to happen, before I ascended the throne? I have well-trained workers whom I have trained locally and internationally. They are now there to take care of my business. I now collect salaries too and I am okay with that. What is important in life is to have a strong succession plan.
I am such an organised person right from when I was hustling. I introduced my children to my business from the beginning. I would take them to my filling stations and get them familiar with how work is done. Today, they are better off. My son is the Managing Director (of my organisation) and he is doing well. He knows the business like the back of his palm. He is in charge; I only call when it is time to draw my salary. I ask him to pay my salary and he does. That should be the joy of a parent who appreciates the fact that the future belongs to his children. As I am here, I have nothing to worry about concerning how my companies are run. Again, I believe so much in human development. I employed and trained competent hands who are all in charge of different departments.
How do you relax?
First and foremost, I enjoy good sleep at my leisure hour. I realise that good sleep, more than anything else, has a way of refreshing the body. Again, I have scheduled my time. I have days I see visitors and days that I rest. I don’t see anybody on Mondays. Tuesday to Friday, I am here to see people. I also have days I do my exercises because I still exercise and neither do I drink nor smoke. Also, I do a lot of reading. I read stories and history too; I love reading. And besides, if I am not well read I couldn’t have been able to discover and gather materials for the book I wrote.
As an ardent reader, what five books have you read that influenced you?
‘Sir I Remain Your Obedient Servant’ by Omon’oba of Benin, 2004; ‘The First History of Yoruba’ 1897, by Samuel Johnson; ‘The Growth And Expansion of Christianity in Ile Ife’ 1899, by Rev. Dr. Moses Adetunbi; and ‘The History And Politics of Nigeria’ 2015, by professor Oge.
Though you occupy a throne found on traditions, you seem to have the Bible among your collection?
I am a Christian and I am the head of the church here. I am a member of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church. Nothing is negatively affecting one or the other. I have my white garment and I enjoy singing praises a lot. I can sing for you if want me to.
You are often seen with beautiful crowns. What informs your sense of fashion?
I am very creative when it comes to fashion. All my jewelleries are made abroad. I love diamonds a lot; my wristwatch, my ring, bracelet and my pendant are all diamonds. I am one who does not compromise my taste. I am exposed in the course of my travelling round the world. So, I should have a good and acceptable taste. If this reflects in my comportment and appearance as an Oba, it is complimentary. Talking of the crown, do you know that we have the first ancestral crown in Ugbo land? The crown is not ordinary. Go and read books and confirm or refute what I am saying. Our crown is the oldest in Yoruba land. We had it before Oduduwa arrived.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/oba-frederick-obateru-akinruntan-i-am-the-owner-of-ile-ife-i-can-rule-ife-from-my-palace-if-allowed/
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/f4438b4e5116c7dc89edec0962163d354cd1dbd83e5a909407e213029d249b30.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"God'S Judgement"
] | 2016-08-27T04:50:02 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fgroup-asks-nba-not-to-allow-lawyers-to-ridicule-judiciary-2%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/27014335/law.jpg?fit=800%2C560
|
en
| null |
Group Asks NBA Not to Allow Lawyers to Ridicule Judiciary
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
Worried by the spate of conflicting orders emanating from various divisions of the Federal High Court as well as the Federal Capital Territory High Court on the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Society for Global Justice and Equity Promotion has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), to caution lawyers against filing multiplicity of suits on same issues.
Addressing judiciary correspondents in Abuja, the group asked the NBA to call to order, lawyers who were making a mockery of the judicial system by filing multiple suits on the same subject matter for the same people at courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
The group’s Deputy National Coordinator, Mr. Jolayemi Adekunle who addressed journalists in Abuja named Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja divisions of the Federal High Court where conflicting judgments and orders had emanated on same issues.
Adekunle said that from their findings, lawyers could not be absolved from the blame on the conflicting judgments because they were the ones who presented different facts to courts on the same issue to confuse Judges.
“We have found that some lawyers engaged in the unwholesome practice of arranging someone loyal to their clients to appear as a representative of the adverse party in order to mislead the courts into thinking that the proper adverse party has been served.
“We are calling on the NBA President Malam Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud SAN to summon a meeting of the General Council of the Bar to address these issues raised by this unwholesome practice.
“In the main, the NBA should encourage lawyers to advise their clients properly and avoid a situation where they would allow politicians to manipulate the courts for their selfish end.
“The politicians don’t have much to lose if the judiciary is destroyed but the lawyers stand to lose everything including their means of livelihood.”
The group expressed concern over the situation where high court judges give multiple and conflicting orders and judgments on the same issues and parties.
The group said that, apart from the fact that the scenario subjected the court to ridicule it was also capable of eroding public confidence in the judiciary.
We recall the statement of the Hon Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN to the Nigerian Bar Association’s National Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The minister said: “Multiplicity of counter judgment and orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction on the same subject matter by the same parties does not encourage the desired confidence building in the judicial process.”
The group therefore urged the new leadership of the NBA to ensure strict compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession.
It drew the attention of the NBA to the following rules:
Rule 1(a) which provides thus: “It is the duty of the lawyer to maintain towards the Court respectful attitude, not for the sake of the temporary incumbent of the judicial office, but for the maintenance of its supreme importance. Judges, not being wholly free to defend themselves, are peculiarly entitled to receive the support of the Bar against unjust criticism and clamour. ”
Rule 4(e) provides: “A member of the Bar must not promote a case which to his knowledge is false, nor should he file a pleading or other document which, he knows to be false in whole or in part, or which is intended to delay the trial.”
The group said: “When lawyers advise their clients properly, the sacred institution of judiciary is protected and the public confidence of the judiciary is strengthened.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/group-asks-nba-not-to-allow-lawyers-to-ridicule-judiciary-2/
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/7af948d948f0b6f7be4545753393efe07d945175e2f71f07b37820e19ce99682.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"William Norris"
] | 2016-08-30T04:51:02 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fhigh-grade-nickel-discovered-in-nigeria%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/30005558/fayemi-kayode.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
High Grade Nickel Discovered in Nigeria
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
FG evaluating new mineral discovery
A private mining syndicate headed by Mr. Hugh Morgan, a mining industry veteran, has made a potentially “high grade” Nickel discovery in Nigeria, The Australian, an Australian national newspaper, has reported.
According to the newspaper, the discovery is unusual because the nickel is found in small balls up to 3mm in diameter of high purity in shallow soils in what could be the surface expression of a much bigger hard-rock nickel field.
Nickel is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. It belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile.
The metal is valuable chiefly as an alloy, as about 60 per cent of world production is used in nickel-steels (particularly stainless steel). Other common alloys and some new superalloys comprise most of the remainder of world nickel use, with chemical uses for nickel compounds consuming less than three per cent of production.
Nickel has been widely used in coins, though its rising price has led to some replacement with cheaper metals in recent years.
Some of world’s largest producers of the metal include Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada and China.
The nickel balls discovered in Nigeria, which are rumoured to grade better than 90 per cent nickel and thought to be a world first given their widespread distribution, offer the potential for early cash flow from a simple and low-cost screening operation to fund a full assessment of the find that has exploration circles buzzing.
Details on the find are sketchy. When asked to comment last week, Mr Morgan only said that it was for the Nigerian government to make an announcement.
Nickel is no stranger to the Liberal Party bulwark and former Reserve Bank board member. Between 1990 and 2003 he was chief executive of Western Mining Corporation (taken over by BHP Billiton in 2005) when it was Australia’s biggest nickel producer.
What is known is that the Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is listed to speak at the three-day Africa Down Under mining conference at Perth’s Pan Pacific Hotel next month, with past conferences drawing bumper crowds.
Fayemi is to speak first on Wednesday, September 7, while Morgan will follow along with consulting geologist Louisa Lawrance. Morgan is listed as speaking as a director of the private company Comet Minerals.
The discovery of Titan is rumoured to be close to Dangoma, a small farming town in the outskirts of Kaduna State.
Fayemi is one of 13 African mines ministers to attend this year’s Africa Down Under, reflecting the importance African nations place on attracting Australian mining expertise and funding for mining.
Nigeria itself has a stated ambition to grow its mining sector as an offset to its dependence on the oil industry, which has been ravaged by the slump in prices.
It has said it wants to attract billions of dollars of new investment in the sector, a push that could benefit from likely international interest in the Titan find by Morgan’s private syndicate.
Earlier this month, Fayemi told Bloomberg that about $US5 billion would “kickstart the mining sector”.
“In two to five years, we would have started production of iron ore, lead, zinc, bitumen, nickel, coal and gold at a serious scale,” he said.
Efforts to get to speak to Fayemi on the discovery of high grade nickel in the country were not successful as phone calls and texts to his mobile phone were unanswered.
However, a statement by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development Mr. Mohammed Abbas said the ministry was aware of the occurrence of the mineral in the area in Kaduna State, and appealed to the public to give the ministry more time to arrive at reports on the new discovery.
He said: “Since the first discovery many months ago, technical experts from the ministry have been following up on this development as provided by law.
“We appeal to the general public to allow the ministry to come up with detailed reports on the new find.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/30/high-grade-nickel-discovered-in-nigeria/
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/1bf694c353449ffbef770d14eb6e5171665c875dba4c45ff7c0575378134f507.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"God'S Judgement"
] | 2016-08-27T04:50:05 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fohanaeze-youths-call-for-self-defence-against-herdsmen%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/27025142/OHANA-EZE-NDIGBO-YOUTHS.jpg?fit=800%2C469
|
en
| null |
Ohanaeze Youths Call for Self Defence against Herdsmen
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Police arrest one suspect, as lawmaker tasks FG on protection of kinsmen
Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia and Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu
The Ohanaeze Youth council (OYC) on Friday called on Nigerians in communities being targeted by the marauding herdsmen to adopt the strategy of self-defence, saying that it has become “clear now that Mr. President has no control of events in the country.”
OYC, which is the youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, made the call following the latest attack in Ndiagu Attakwu-Akagbeugwu community of Enugu State, where a Catholic seminarian, Lazarus Nwafor and injured four others, including a pregnant woman.
In a related development, Enugu State Police Command has arrested one of the suspected herdsmen that attacked and killed the Catholic Seminarian.
In a statement signed by the state chairmen of OYC, Mazi Alex Okemiri, the group said that it could not understand the reason why the herdsmen have been allowed to have a free day, killing people and destroying properties in the Southern and Middle Belt areas of Nigeria.
“We call on Ndigbo, Southerners, Middle Beltans and moderate Arewa people to defend themselves in the face of this continuous killings and inability of the federal government to protect them. Self-protection and preservation is the first law of nature,” the OYC said.
The youths lamented that the “inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to rein in his Fulani kinsmen from killing and maiming innocent Nigerians is now obvious” hence the herdsmen have been emboldened “to rampage all parts of the country despite the assurances by Mr. President that it would stop”.
It stated that since “it’s clear now that Mr. President has no control of events in the country or is in cahoots with the rampaging herdsmen” it would be foolhardy for those at the receiving end of the herdsmen onslaught not to start checkmating the marauders.
The OYC said that the time had come for Enugu State Government to take appropriate measures to protect its citizens, adding that the government should “set up a well-armed Vigilante groups in all autonomous communities in the state “to engage these wicked and bloodthirsty Fulani herdsmen who are beast in human clothe and highly uncivilised.”
On the allegation that the OYC leader, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro was recruiting 2,000 youths for President Buhari on October 1 to rally against Biafra, the OYC said that there was no truth whatsoever in it.
“The pro-Biafran groups should sort themselves out and stop linking Ohanaeze Youth leadership in their crisis.
We believe in a united Nigeria anchored on justice and equity and we have made this clear at all times,” the OYC said. Police arrest one suspect, as lawmaker tasks FG Enugu State Police Command has arrested one of the suspected herdsmen involved in the killing in Ndiagu Attakwu-Akagbeugwu.
The suspect simply identified as 20-year old Umaru Isah from Gusau, Zamfara State according to a release by the Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu was arrested through intelligence information gathered.
This came as the member representing Nkanu West/Nkanu East Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Chukwuemeka Ujam and a native of the community appealed to the federal government and the security agencies to protect members of his constituency from further attacks by Fulani herdsmen.
Ujam who made the appeal when he visited Attakwu community in Akagbeugwu, Nkanu West Local Government Area in company with the member representing Enugu East/Isiuzo Federal Constituency, Kingsley Ebenyi to pay his condolences noted that the killing of Catholic seminarian and wounding of four others was painful and unprovoked.
Meanwhile, some of those who survived the attack are on life support at Mother of Christ Hospital and Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu.
One of the survivors, Ifeanyi Agbo who received machete cuts on his head and other parts of his body lost his sense of hearing in the process, while his younger sister is now battling for her life after a surgical operation was carried on her.
Amaraizu in his statement said the arrested suspect who claimed that he is 20 years old revealed that he came in from Gusau, Zamfara State to Enugu recently for the purposes of rearing cattle but has none to rear till now.
Similarly, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has blamed Igbo leaders for “this unchallenged confrontations, unwarranted and cowardice killings of our people by Fulani herdsmen in our own land.”
In a statement issued by its leader, Uchenna Madu, the movement expressed dismay over the stance of the governors of the zone on the herdsmen attack, insisting that “until Igbo leaders wake up from their slumbers of inferiority complex and understand the efficiency, efficacy and potencies of Igbo-based grassroot organisations including the Biafra agitating groups.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/ohanaeze-youths-call-for-self-defence-against-herdsmen/
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/92911c16237f8ecede517e7df92085571066cd57b2389d050d94c95ce5b678ce.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Smith Omoagbede",
"Jon West",
"Ann Akinwande"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:10 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2Fthe-igbo-as-a-blessing-to-nigeria%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/25001022/Buhari-and-Onu.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
The Igbo as a Blessing to Nigeria
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
One of the reasons Nigeria is failing as a nation is because it fails to identify and explore the potential of its people, writes Reno Omokri
On the 15th of August 1945, the axis nations fighting in the Pacific theater defeated imperial Japan and two weeks later, Japan formally surrendered to allied forces led by the U.S. General, Douglas McArthur, who formally accepted the signed articles of surrender.
Though the U.S. defeated Japan, they never decimated Japan’s great technological and industrial complex. They were visionary enough to distinguish these from Japan’s military industrial complex, which they scrapped.
Realizing that Japan was decades ahead of the West in many technologies, the allied powers, led by the US, allowed those industries to remain as a going concern and took the unique step of enacting legislation and policies to enable them flourish.
What they did in Japan, they also did in Europe. In Europe, the US, acting unilaterally, even went a step further by introducing the Marshall Plan through which America sent financial and other types of aid to help Europe (and especially Germany) recover from the ravages of the Second World War.
The point of the allied and American actions in Japan and Europe is that technological advancement belongs to the human race and should not suffer because of a quarrel or war amongst humans. This lesson was thoroughly established in 642 AD, when the Library of Alexandria was burnt to the ground during the Muslim conquest of Egypt.
It has been argued that that act set the world several centuries back in technological advancement and has become something to watch out for during the prosecution of a war.
A war is a quarrel between or amongst people that is settled by means of violence. It is not a quarrel between or amongst technology, so civilised nations have pursued the policy of fighting wars while preserving technology.
Gone should be the days of the scorched earth policy, which is why despite the bestiality of the apartheid regime, President Nelson Mandela did not do a Mugabe, but rather left intact, White owned farms, industry and universities and only insisted that they be opened to Blacks and other races.
This brings me to Nigeria. I would like to state a fact that will be argued against, but still a fact that even those, who would argue against it know it to be true. The Igbo (or Ibo) ethnic nationality of Nigeria are the most technologically advanced Black race on planet earth, bar none! This is a fact. A fact that was proven to be true for 30 months while they were landlocked in their constantly shrinking enclave known as Biafra.
Cut off from the rest of the world, the ingenuity of the Igbo came to the fore during the civil war as they constructed the Uli airstrip and when that airstrip was bombed, they repaired it in record time and under the most trying circumstances. They would go on to repair Uli not once and not twice.
The Igbos refined petrol from a variety of non-fossil fuels, including from but not limited to palm products (from which they also produced diesel) and manufactured surface to air missiles, which they also adapted to surface to surface missiles (the Ogbunigwe). They converted commercial planes to fighter jets and weaponised them. That was no mean feat in 1967.
In fact, when in 2012, the Nigerian Army rolled out the igirigi and promoted it as the first indigenous armoured personnel carrier, they were wrong. I am not a Biafran. I am proudly Nigerian. And beyond that, I am a proud dark skinned Black African, yet I make bold to say that the igirigi is not the first indigenous APC. In fact, the first indigenous armoured personnel carrier in Black Africa is the Red Devil, built by the Igbos during the Nigerian Civil War.
The Nigerian Civil War ended in January 1970 and the Nigerian Army unveiled the igirigi in July of 2012. If they had converted the Red Devil to their own use, they would probably be talking about a greater feat in the year 2012.
My question is what happened in the intervening 42 years between 1970 and 2012? Why didn’t the Nigerian Army integrate the military industrial complex of Biafra into its Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria, DICON? Why did we have to reinvent the wheel at great cost in terms of time and money?
The Nigerian Civil War ended on a note of ‘no victor, no vanquished’. That was a watershed moment inspired by the Christ-like mind of General Yakubu Gowon. That gesture is to be applauded. But why did we as a nation not go the whole hog and take advantage of Biafra’s technological advances and integrate her scientists into our Research and Development sector much like the US did with German and Japanese scientists? That is where we failed as a nation.
I remember growing up as a child and how other Nigerians scoffed at ‘Igbo made’ electronic products. There was hardly anything including electronics, pharmaceuticals, spirits and wines that the Igbos could not counterfeit. And rather than our leaders seeing the potential in those products, we all scoffed at them. Igbo made products were a pariah.
Did it ever occur to any of our leaders that if government had supported these technological advancement, Nigeria could have become an industrialised nation today and Igbo made products would have been exported abroad as made in Nigeria products?
It would surprise many that a number of the greatest technological advancement and products that came out of America after the Second World War were the work of German or Japanese scientists!
In an operation code-named ‘Operation Paperclip’, 1500 German scientists, engineers and technicians were airlifted to the United States and given US permanent residency and citizenship immediately after the defeat of Germany in 1945. The primary aim of Operation Paperclip was to prevent these skilled men and women from falling into Soviet Russian hands.
Hans Erich (Eric) Hollmann, who was one of the fathers of radar technology, was one of such scientists airlifted to America. Kurt Lehovec, the pioneer of the integrated circuit systems in electrical engineering is another. He was airlifted to America in 1945, where he became a Professor at the University of Southern California and passed on his knowledge to America’s next generation of scientists.
The allies had been having issues with the jet engine and were not able to develop planes like the German Messerschmitt Me 262. But after the defeat of Germany, US forces gave safe passage to Rudi Beichel, who went to the US and became an adviser to the US army on liquid propulsion. Other German scientists such as Magnus “Mac” Freiherr von Braun and his brother, Wernher Von Braun, helped reverse engineer German jets, which led to the development of the US American F-86 Sabres, a plane that helped the US dominate the air during the Korean War.
More importantly, Wernher Von Braun provided much of the know-how that helped America build the Apollo spacecraft, which allowed America to beat Russia as the first nation to get to the moon.
Methamphetamine was invented by a Japanese chemist, Nagai Nagayoshi and the drug was shared with their German allies and helped their soldiers stay awake and focused. After the war, German scientists helped American scientist to synthesise the drug, which revolutionised the US health industry.
Why can’t we do the same in Nigeria? Can you imagine what our technological base would have been if we as a nation had a policy of patronising the so-called Igbo made products right from the end of the war till today? What if we had absorbed the Research and Production Organisation of Biafra (RAP as it was then known) into the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers? By now, we may have been manufacturing jets and we would not be dependent on foreign nations for weapons to fight terrorists.
This is why I was so disgusted with the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu for aspiring, on Nigeria’s behalf, to produce pencils by 2018! I mean, this man is the first civilian governor of the old Abia State, which today encompasses both Abia and Ebonyi states.
Right there, under his nose, Nigerians of Igbo extraction, without ANY governmental support, are manufacturing electronics and heavy machinery components and Onu is caught up on pencils!
Onu should visit Nnewi if he knows where it is. Right there, he would see a city that does not wait for government. Nnewi people are so industrious that after years of waiting endlessly for government to provide basic amenities, they have built their own roads, have their own power stations and their own water works.
Just like Japan, Nnewi has manufacturers of such things like batteries, pistons, automobiles and other products. These Nnewi manufacturers have built schools for the kids of their workers on site, just like in Japan.
You just need to visit Nnewi or Aba to see what is going on in Nigeria. These guys are Nigeria’s most guarded secret because even the federal government is not aware of them. And the reason this is so is because these people are Igbos!
It is time for Nigeria to forgive the Igbos for being Igbo and accept them as full partners and equal partners in the Nigerian project and use the entire strength of the Nigerian federal government to provide them the support to fulfill their destiny as the Black African people that are nucleus of the technological advancement of Africa.
Notice: I say Africa, not just Nigeria. I don’t say this lightly. All over West and Central Africa, Nigerians of Igbo extraction are the backbone of the commercial and technological sectors.
I can say what I have said above without any accusation of self or group interest promotion because I am not Igbo, neither am I married to one. I have said the truth as my conscience sees it because I am committed to advancement of the Black Race because as a proud Black man, I know that no black African tribe is as great as the Black Race, when it is united.
-Omokri is the founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center in California and the host of Transformation with Reno Omokri
Quote
The Nigerian Civil War ended on a note of ‘no victor, no vanquished’. That was a watershed moment inspired by the Christ-like mind of General Yakubu Gowon. That gesture is to be applauded. But why did we as a nation not go the whole hog and take advantage of Biafra’s technological advances and integrate her scientists into our Research and Development sector much like the US did with German and Japanese scientists? That is where we failed as a nation.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/25/the-igbo-as-a-blessing-to-nigeria/
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/e7d6be75b0fa084cb797cc436c46d776f84ab356f3f3bb3b4b49e42d21645e11.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Smith Omoagbede",
"Jon West",
"Ann Akinwande",
"Akin Malaolu"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:00 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fsenate-cttee-threatens-to-probe-dalung-noc-over-failure-in-olympics%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/26070001/Solomon-Dalung2.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Senate C’ttee Threatens to Probe Dalung, NOC over Failure in Olympics
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
AFTERMATH OF RIO 2016
Thumbs down Under-23 team on Japanese largess
Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Obinna Ogba, said the committee might probe the roles of the Minister of Sport, Solomon Dalung and the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC) in the abysmal performance of Nigeria’s team at the just concluded Olympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ogba who made who made this disclosure in Abuja, said a lot of factors ranging from funding to logistics contributed to Nigeria’s woeful failure at the games.
“My committee intends to invite the NOC to come and brief us on the Olympics. Apart from the late arrival of our athletes’ kits, you can see even our national anthem at the opening ceremony was the wrong one. So, all these, we are going to find out what happened when we resume,” Ogba said.
Ogba also criticised the football team for collecting $390,000 donation by a Japanese plastic surgeon, Dr. katsuya Takasu, saying the team did not know the source of the money.
“I don’t think it was nice for our country to accept such money given the happenings around world now. Money is good but it’s not every money that comes your way that you collect. So, I associate myself fully with the President of the Nigeria Football Federation,” he noted.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/senate-cttee-threatens-to-probe-dalung-noc-over-failure-in-olympics/
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/5f66f4b8fdd683573bf43c50694d5d4d0d1c7a0c93f406ad73ba9ec3e19af9b2.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Aloy Kris",
"William Norris"
] | 2016-08-29T02:50:47 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Flagos-govt-to-take-custody-of-abused-toddler%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/28205654/Dolapo-Badmos.jpg?fit=800%2C434
|
en
| null |
Lagos Govt to Take Custody of Abused Toddler
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Chiemelie Ezeobi
Baring any unforeseen circumstances, the Lagos State Government is ready to take custody of a five-year-old girl, who was abused and battered by her father, Sukurat Idowu, at their Ikotun residence.
Confirming this, the state Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, said already the state government had indicated interest to take over the battered child, who is currently receiving treatment at one of the state hospitals.
She said: “The Lagos State government through its domestic and sexual response team through ministry of youth and social development has shown interest in taking over the child.”
The command had arrested the suspect after he brutalised, battered and branded the little girl with hot iron.
Idowu, a 46-years-old and resident of 8, Kayode Toyoso Street, off Liasu Road in Ikotun was nabbed after his neighbour reported a case of battery of the toddler to the police.
The suspect allegedly burnt the child with hot iron on her face and private part because she slipped and fell inside a gutter.
It was gathered that the suspect gave the toddler waste to pour into the latrine but the child slipped on her way and fell in a gutter.
Angered by the development, the man was said to have beaten the girl mercilessly before burning her with hot iron.
It was learnt that the girl’s mother has been separated from her abusive father for over two years and efforts were on to trace the woman.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/lagos-govt-to-take-custody-of-abused-toddler/
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/17c8b3eb114a9d7f6f61e93b98a1f2060c31ed936f05ff9ceb5be54eb8a401b1.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Rick Eson",
"Timothy Aremu",
"Umar Ardo"
] | 2016-08-30T18:51:24 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fumar-cautions-buhari-against-use-of-force-in-niger-delta%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/30184425/Colonel-Abubakar-Dangiwa-Umar.jpg?fit=1280%2C720
|
en
| null |
Umar Cautions Buhari Against Use of Force in Niger Delta
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
By John Shiklam in Kaduna
Former Military Governor of Kaduna State , Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd) has cautioned President Mohammadu Buhari against using military force on the Niger Delta militants.
Umar said in a statement on Tuesday in Kaduna that the military option is likely to inflict collateral damage to the nation’s fragile economy.
He maintained that the Niger Delta issue cannot be equated to Boko Haram insurgents, whose ideology and activities are not the same and called on the President to engage in a meaningful dialogue to end the crisis in Niger Delta region.
In the statement in titled; “War In The Niger Delta: A Most Dangerous Option,” Umar said the sudden escalation of crisis in the region was very disturbing.
“I am really frightened by the sudden escalation in the Niger Delta region from where there are reports of skirmishes between our security forces and the Niger Delta militants.
“This is happening after the President was quoted as vowing to deal with the militants as he did Boko Haram,” Umar said.
While condemning the position of President Buhari on the crisis, he argued that “all factors considered, the use of military force in an attempt to resolve the lingering crisis is not a good option and must therefore be discarded”.
He maintained further that “as a retired General, Mr. President is well aware of the serious and daunting challenges any military will face in its operations in the most difficult and densely populated Niger Delta region.
“The creeks are so heavily polluted with oil, rendering them highly inflammable. It will take the firing of a few high explosive shells to set the whole area on fire, resulting in inestimable collateral damage among innocent civilians.
“It is also difficult to see how an armed conflict can secure our oil and gas assets in the region, instead it will aid the destructive activities of the militants and lead to total shut down of all oil and gas operations in the area”.
According to him, “The Niger Delta militants cannot be said to be terrorists in the real sense of the word and I believe they are amenable to meaningful dialogue.
“I need not remind the President that a war in the Niger Delta will be viewed and opposed by most objective Nigerians and the International community as unjust and merely aimed at control and exploitation of the region’s oil and gas resources”.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/30/umar-cautions-buhari-against-use-of-force-in-niger-delta/
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/fdcfe0f8bae64a016b191f66e85760484aa726400638b98cea354b2ee67e8571.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"David Soul"
] | 2016-08-28T02:50:32 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fsun-trust-is-the-bank-for-small-and-medium-enterprises%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/27101525/Muhammad-Jibril1.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
‘Sun Trust is the Bank for Small and Medium Enterprises’
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Muhammad Jibril, founding CEO of Sun Trust Bank was in New York shortly after he secured the licence for the commercial bank. Nduka Nwosu reports that his emphasis is on financial technology banking, with the small and medium scale enterprises as his main focus
The invisible hand of destiny like in all things that produce good works, led him along the way. The same destiny provided a guardian angel who guided him as he walked down the path of progression. Today Muhammad Jibril’s dream of remaining a key player in the banking sector has become a dream come true. He first hinted this reporter in Abuja that his Sun Trust Savings & Loans Limited later a mortgage bank, was only a step in actualising that dream.
So by September 15 last year when the licence arrived, Jibril 45 knew the die was cast to launch out. However, Jibril’s mother may have to take a large chunk of the credit that has brought her son to the doorstep of his dream. Only recently corporate Nigeria led by one of the world’s richest men Aliyu Dangote applauded him for taking the right step in the right direction, the launching of Sun Trust Bank whose cutting edge is to grow the small and medium scale industry sector.
Back in Gombe as a primary school pupil, Jibril spent his time while on holidays giving a helping hand to his mother in the farmland, doing commodities, buying and selling farm gate products-cotton, groundnuts, et al transported to different parts of the country-Kano, the east and Lagos where they were often shipped for export.
Jibril’s mother who even today transacts business with her phone, had grown to be a prosperous businesswoman, expanding her network by employing the ‘idle’ funds into some investment outlet, a financial intermediation that helped those who needed quick loans to pay for school fees, keep the family going until when the next monthly salary arrived. or for some other reason that called for a sense of urgency. All this became her son’s early learning curve, what Donald Trump would have called the art of the deal.
It was not by accident therefore that Jibril who took a degree in Economics from the University of Abuja found himself in the banking strong room of Union Bank Aba, employed in what he describes as the lowest form of banking, counting money and dealing with the Aba market traders as a youth corper. That was the real initiation that has taken him in a long journey and embrace of different financial institutions round the world. That grooming positioned him for his job at Citibank where he was employed as a cashier
On his unique selling point, Jibril contends for any people to grow or develop, you need to have access to finance and the engine room to the growth of each and every economy is the small and medium enterprises, yet they are without access to finance. “I have seen it, I have lived among them all through my life,” Jibril says with a footnote, “we must find an institution that will clearly provide the funding and support of small and medium enterprises. That has always been my passion and this would propel the economic growth of this country, there is no doubt about it.”
Thus come the next 12 months, Jibril is confident he would have met his target of growing the bank’s revenue by one billion naira and N30 billion in five years. He projects a customer base of 10 million using other banking agents and network providers such as Airtel to get to those areas where Sun Trust may be physically restricted to operate as a regional bank, to expand its customer base. “We hope that in the next five years, we would be able to achieve a target of ten million customers which is one-third of the current banking industry number,” he asserts with confidence
He will still be involved in regular banking business accepting deposits, explaining it would be the bank’s major focus while growing its liability base with the much needed liquidity expected to provide funding for those in need of it.
Indeed Jibril has a pedigree that reinforces his high expectations of success. A beneficiary of one of the federal government’s unity colleges, Jibril was determined to make himself a global citizen through academic exposure and professionalism.
In between his career, he took time off to study. He went to the Imperial College London for his MBA programme and Harvard University for a one year post-graduate management program and subsequently at the New York University where he obtained an M.Sc. in Risk Management.
With Citibank, the sky became the limit growing at various levels, moving to trade finance, foreign exchange, and treasury and as an analyst before rising to a managerial position. Overseas, he worked with Barclays Bank in the UK after his MBA programme, and then moved to Switzerland before returning home.
The 1990s offered a platform for the emergence of new banks one of which was Bond Bank. On his return home, Jibril got a job with the new bank as the regional manager in-charge of Abuja and its northern operations. Bond Bank was eventually merged with some other banks to form Skye Bank under the heat of consolidation. Jibril took time off for one year and later took a job with Abuja based Aso Savings and Loans, a mortgage bank owned by the FCT, where he was executive director after which he left for the Postgraduate Management Program at Harvard. On his return, he founded the SunTrust Savings and Loans Ltd, later known as SunTrust Mortgage Bank and now SunTrust Bank.
The sector Jibril has ventured into has over the years remained a debatable conversation that has defied attainment of the high expectation of becoming the engine room or hub of positive change for the industrial sector. When the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) was initiated under military president Ibrahim Babangida’s government, the mandate was to provide funds for the SMEs as one of the crucial steps at economic diversification, away from the sole dependence on oil.
It received critical acclaim. Over the years however, NERFUND became passive as the alternative driver against a mono-oil economy and not much has been said about its achievements that would have helped to turn around the industrial sector. So the question is why Jibril believes his bank would make a difference given the game plan it has set for itself. What form of audacity is this?
Jibril defines it as the courage to take that bold move and say we would do what nobody has done. “This is what we are doing. Believe me, it is not rhetoric; someone has to start somewhere and this is what we are doing.”
JIbril attributes NERFUND’s failure or lack of proactive sustenance to the absence of the quantum of funding needed to drive the dream. “What NERFUND needs is adequate funding to deliver on its own mandate; that is not there; we need to provide that, we need an institution that would understand that segment of the economy, the retail and the small and medium enterprises and actually provide it with the right financial intermediation; that is what we are doing here.”
Jibril is an advocate of strong and enduring institutions in the polity. That is his direction, to leave his footprints in the sands of time, insisting he is not the type cut for a fading act. The creative spark hit him like a thunderbolt in 2008 following the completion of his programme at Harvard. It happened during a walk down the street at Becker Street in London. According to him, “it just occurred to me to do this thing. I was passing by a printing and publishing company. I went inside and sat down and this was how I started thinking of how to put together a name and that was how the name SunTrust came about.
The name SunTrust, Jibril explains, is appealing because it is a reminder that our daily chores begin with the morning and end at sunset; so as the sun is rising, you can be rest assured that you have an institution that you can go to, that would provide you with the necessary support and as the sun is setting you can trust that your savings are safe in that same institution; you can trust it as a partner.
You wll not find Jibril playing polo or golf to keep fit, but he jogs and plays football with his Sun Trust team. When he is in New York, he shops for books though these days he prefers his electronic purchases. Sitting beside his reading table in the guest room at Ritz Carlton, Jibril points to two books, one by the Australian banker Brett King, his Harvard professor, CEO and co-founder of Moven, a New York based mobile banking start up. King is the author of several books including ‘Bank 2.0’ and ‘Bank 3.0’ as well as ‘How Customers’ Behaviour and Technology Will Change the Future of Financial Services’. Jibril is proud to tell you this is where Sun Trust is coming from.
The second book on the table is a joint publication by John Cutter, who runs a leadership institution in Boston, and Holger Rathgeber with the title ‘That’s Not How We Do It Here, A Story of How Organisations Rise and Fall, and Can Rise Again’. That tells you where the man is coming from and how his mind functions.
Where does Sun Trust fit into the banking sector by category? The CEO explains: “We are part of the tectonic movement in banking, a financial technology based bank with minimum branches. According to Jibril, “Sun Trust is a regional financial technology based bank with a capital requirement of N10 billion, now in excess of one billon, we are operating with minimum staff with branches in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt covering the South south and South west and of course Abuja where by our license, we are limited to operate physically. Our strategy is very clear, we don’t see us increasing our capital, and there is no need for us to have a big capital that cannot give returns. By implication, we will remain a regional bank for now and what that means is that we cannot physically be in the other regions; we will be everywhere because we are not limited by barriers or by physical location; technology is not limited physically and therefore whether you are in the South-East or in the North, we can easily service you.”
How did Jibril come about having this financial product as a cutting edge for Sun Trust? In a universe of 180 million people, he educates you, there are only 30 million of such people with bank accounts leaving behind 150 million. If you decide to play with a third of that number you will have an additional 50 million who can be persuaded to have bank accounts. That is the number, he explains, that Sun Trust is targeting and he is bringing them into its fold through the concept of financial technology or electronic banking.
This, Jibril adds, has become a global phenomenon subscribed to by 90 percent of bank customers leaving just 10 percent dependent on the old tradition of manual banking not only in Nigeria but worldwide. “We were very clear from day one that any institution that thinks the branch banking is at the core of the brand, is not ready for the customer of tomorrow. The customer of today is executing 90 percent of his transactions electronically, talk less of the customer of tomorrow.”
Will physical branches totally disappear? He does not think so, instead he argues, there will be physical presence of banks and scanty behind the counter activities since nobody wants to deal exclusively with robots, but with constant education of the customer on the science and art of electronic banking, banking will become real fun in the future.
Sun Trust is very clear on this matter, the CEO that its business would be driven on technology. According to Jibril, a staggering ninety percent of transactions today are executed electronically. “We do not have counter or teller, cashier cubicles in this bank because there is no need for it. Any institution that believes that physical branches are at the core of its brand is not prepared for the customer of tomorrow who neither wants to go to the physical branch nor wants to go and carry out a transaction over the counter either in cash or cheque, most customers today would rather execute their transactions electronically, at the minimum if they need cash they will go to an ATM.
“At the heart of our strategy therefore, we agreed that this bank would be known as a financial technology bank, we are going to drive and deliver banking services using technology, and this is the future of banking.
“So our target market would continue to be the small and medium enterprises and the retail ones but more importantly we shall focus on them, on those that are in the South and those that are excluded from financial services.
Reason: “If you look at it, after the bidding exercise that was conducted by the CBN in conjunction with the commercial banks, you would agree with me that the total number of bank accounts in the system that we have seen is not more than thirty million; Nigeria’s population is about 180 million, it is growing at an annual growth rate of about three percent, that compounded over the next ten years Nigeria would not be less than 220 to 230 million people.
“Now more than 70 percent of that population largely made up of young people, is excluded from financial services and looking at it today our youth population would be more than double by 2020 and when that is double, that is the population that is technologically savvy and agile.
“However, they are excluded from financial services, what you and I take for granted: carry out a transaction, pay our bills, save money for a rainy day and even borrow on very reasonable terms from banks; the youths don’t have that access and the CBN is trying to ensure that there is financial inclusion, so given all these things together and looking at where the economy is going, where the growth is, we believe that we should target the youths as tomorrow’s beneficiaries of the larger network of electronic banking technology.
With the emphasis on small and medium scale enterprises, Jibril is asked if the emphasis on collaterals would be minimised. He answers in the affirmative. “Our target market is the retail customer, who is a very difficult customer but in these very small and medium enterprises you can clearly see an engine room for growth and development and you can put them in clusters, in cooperatives and in groups and therefore be able to provide them with credit.
Jibril is optimistic the country is moving in the right direction, the recession it is currently experiencing notwithstanding, advising that the way out is for government to invest heavily in capital projects, like it is done elsewhere, to be able to walk out of the recession. Happily the first and second quarter releases to power, housing and works ministries, he says, are moves in getting the economy back on track.
“For the first time thirty percent of our budget is on capital projects expenditure and if you look at allocations on the first and second quarters, a large chunk of the releases is for capital for Works, Housing, Power and Transport. And the most critical thing government must spend on is Power. Once these things are started, then the small and medium enterprises the will now become the engine oil for the growth of the economy, “ he said.
A devout Muslim who subscribes to the tenets of Prophet Muhammed and believes like family, religion should be personal, Jibril says his parents had always been his role models who taught him to be fair and uncompromising in his basic principles. ”I have always admired people who are very hardworking and principled and who have the highest level of integrity.”
So, when the history of banking in the country is written, how would he want to be remembered? “I have led my own path. All I ever wanted to do was to build an institution that would leave its own footprints in the sands of history, that would be able to provide the critical assistance of financing required but more importantly with a tectonic shift in the industry, a completely different way of doing business, that is driving serious banking by the use of technology.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/sun-trust-is-the-bank-for-small-and-medium-enterprises/
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/b2092bfc30d519ecd584f355b655dfe172a1dc1fb8ef4dac76beb3f47d86cbf3.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Intergrated Surveillance Itrac",
"Toughie Man",
"Felix Udoh",
"Rename Group",
"Drake Solo",
"Okwuchukwu David"
] | 2016-08-26T14:49:18 | null | 2016-05-02T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fosinbajo-we-have-saved-n1-4tn-by-not-paying-fuel-subsidy%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/02192427/Yemi-Osinbajo-0105.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Osinbajo: We Have Saved N1.4tn by Not Paying Fuel Subsidy
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has disclosed that the federal government has so far saved the sum of N1.4 trillion for not paying oil subsidy.
He also assured Nigerians that very soon, the foreign exchange market would stabilise going by some radical policies already introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The vice president who spoke in Kano yesterday during the third day of the 15th Joint Planning Board and National Council on Development meeting, urged Nigerians to restore confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, insisting that soonest, the current economic problems would become a thing of the past.
“With the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, there has been a significant increase in the availability of petrol throughout the country for the savings of N1.4 trillion on subsidy payments alone,” he said.
“Also, a more flexible exchange rate regime, we will have to decrease the pressure on the external reserve. In the short run of course, there should be consequences for inflation. We expect that with greater priority we have seen in the implementation of the policy by the CBN, the foreign exchange market will stabilise and confidence will be restored.
“The adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 was intended to place our world on the part of sustainable development by the year 2030. The 17 SDGs, which combined economic, social and environmental objectives, are intended to be universal, unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were made solely for developing countries.”
“The universal application of the SDGs and their 169 targets show that they are a menu of options, this allows the implementation to take count of different national realities, capacities, policies and priorities.
“In the Nigerian context, some of the issues that must engage our minds will lead to economic diversification, sustained economic growth, eradication of extreme poverty, promoting social inclusion, creating jobs, sparring environmental degradation, including climate change.
“The empirical evidence from across the globe has shown that national strategic planning is very critical for attaining structural transformation and sustainable development. The countries of East Asia have proved this convincingly, even though their development was private-sector driven.
“Strategic plans largely provide direction, coherence and coordination and they are a veritable framework for guiding the activities of all stakeholders towards achieving a common goal, planning specifics such as goals, target and indicators which embodies the SDGs, also enables tracking, monitoring and evaluation.
“The successful implementation of strategic plans and attainment of the SDGs entails partnership, as encapsulated in the 17 objectives which is about the need to create labour partnership in order to attain sustainable development.
“Accordingly, just as the federal government seeks international partnership at the global level with regards to rules and resources, we also seek partnership at the national level. Such domestic partnerships entails working closely with the states which is one of the main reasons for the establishment of the NCPP.
“Other essential partnerships are also built with other sectors of society, especially, the private sector, which is the indisputable engine for growth in successful economies.
“Let me speak briefly about some of the things that the Buhari administration is doing with regard to strengthening short and medium term planning. We have strengthened the link between budgeting and strategic planning by merging the National Planning Commission with the Budget office of the federation.
“We have adopted zero base budgeting, which compels the interrogation of public expenditure at micro levels and allows effective deployment of limited financial resources to areas and sectors with the greatest need.
“We have used the short term strategic implementation plan to guide the 2016 budget; and just yesterday (Wednesday), the Federal Executive Council approved the medium plan expenditure framework and the fiscal strategy paper which are fully consistent with the SDGs and the African unions agenda 2063. These are the priorities of the federal government in the areas of tackling insecurity, combating corruption and growing the economy which would undoubtedly find expression in any medium term plan.
“The same is true for the policy interventions in the strategic implementation plan, notably, with regard to the policy, security and governance, diversification of the economy, power, rail and roads, oil and gas performance, ease of doing business, and social investment. The commitment of the Buhari administration to promote broader micro economic and structural reform; and this is made in our push to mitigate supply-side constraint.”
In his remarks, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, urged the states to complement the federal government’s effort in the area of agriculture and solid minerals development.
He said this was necessary in view of the fact that the country is endowed with arable land for massive production of food.
“The states may wish to target some selected crops for massive production of such commodities.
“They can boost production through the formation of farmers cooperatives for easy access to loan facilities,” he said.
He said the state could also undertake infrastructural development such as roads to ease evacuation of farm produce.
“This will promote economic growth through the creation of job opportunities for the teeming number of unemployed youths in the country,” he said.
He added that the federal government is committed to restructuring of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to enable it land a single digit interest rate.
Also speaking, the Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, represented by his Deputy, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, said the state government would collaborate with all the relevant stakeholders for the implementation of the recommendations of the meetings.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/osinbajo-we-have-saved-n1-4tn-by-not-paying-fuel-subsidy/
|
en
| 2016-05-02T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/eb2f2997c0e143c9bf9f3573b6df191d8c1306ebe1e44e8a06960187535d3c9e.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Sir Oscie",
"Akin Malaolu"
] | 2016-08-29T14:50:56 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Ffgmilitants-talks-mend-recants-agrees-to-work-with-clarks-committee%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22130344/220816N.-Chief-Edwin-Clark.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
FG/Militants Talks: MEND Recants, Agrees to Work with Clark’s Committee
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Disbands Ajumogobia’s Aaron team
By Emmanuel Addeh
Citing the need for the Niger Delta to forge a common front in the proposed peace talks between the Federal Government and militants in the region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Monday pledged its allegiance to the Edwin Clark negotiation team and immediately disbanded its Odein Ajumogobia Committee.
But the MEND, which had earlier threatened to pull out of the negotiations aimed at putting an end to the current crisis in the area which has led to a significant loss in the country’s oil revenue vowed to closely monitor the Clark’s group in the next few months.
The group which also nominated Mr Ledum Mitee, an environmental activist, Ibanga Isine, a journalist and Timipa Okponipere, a lawyer, to represent it in the elder statesman’s committee, insisted that the new group must take into cognisance the progress MEND has made in the talks with the government.
Specifically, the movement maintained that the concessions it had succeeded in extracting from the government, including the release of those it described as “political prisoners”
In a statement signed by MEND’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, the group said it reserved the rights to recall the nominees in Clark’s group within six months if it noticed anything untoward during the negotiations.
MEND had earlier rejected the Clark’s group , although the Niger Delta Avengers, the most violent of all the groups in the Niger Delta region, had during its ceasefire, picked the Ijaw leader’s group as its only recognised platform for any peace talks.
The group formerly led by the Okah brothers, Henry and Charles, and later Mr Government Ekpemupolo, popularly called Tompolo, had insisted that the team headed by Ajumogobia, former minister of foreign affairs, should spearhead the proposed dialogue.
“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) hereby announces the immediate disbandment of the AaronTeam 2 dialogue and peace initiative headed by Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, SAN which was inaugurated on June 12, 2016.
“Thereby affecting the take-off of ‘Operation Moses’ which is also hereby suspended. We sincerely thank all the patriots who honoured our invitation to serve and wish them well in their respective endeavours.
“The disbandment became necessary following MEND’s decision to recognise and work with Ijaw national leader Chief (Dr) Edwin Kiagbodo Clark as the leader of a pan-Niger Delta dialogue and peace initiative.
“We have always advocated that the Niger Delta region must speak with a single voice under a single umbrella body; otherwise the much-sought-after peace and development shall elude the region, again.
“Therefore, under the new collaborative arrangement, MEND has nominated Messrs Ledum Mitee, Ibanga Isine and Timipa Jenkins Okponipere, Esq., to work alongside Chief (Dr) Clark and other stakeholders.
“MEND shall continue to monitor the pace of progress of the Chief Edwin Clark-led team and reserves the right to recall its nominees after 6 months.”
“Nevertheless, MEND is compelled to categorically warn that, it is not yet uhuru. The Chief Edwin Clark-led new initiative should realise that MEND was already in preliminary talks with the federal government as confirmed by President Muhammadu Buhari himself,” the group stressed.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/fgmilitants-talks-mend-recants-agrees-to-work-with-clarks-committee/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/32876edca7e7215c97a43132363230a238810af1e4e113c3b37117d96135acf3.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Daniel Obior",
"Drake Solo",
"Michael Kadiri Sociopolitical",
"Muyiwa Adeboye",
"Remm Ieet",
"Pius Pumpum",
"Onyebuchi Ikekamma"
] | 2016-08-28T18:50:49 | null | 2016-02-25T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2Fwhen-judiciary-goes-on-trial%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/25200744/Olusegun-Adeniyi-bkpg-new.jpg?fit=150%2C87
|
en
| null |
When Judiciary Goes on Trial
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
As the story goes, a lavish society wedding had just taken place and after all the legal and social rites, the couple retired to their house. At night time, as the man joined his wife on bed and attempted to consummate the relationship, the wife withdrew from under the pillow, a court paper, an injunction perpetually restraining the husband from claiming “his entitlements”. Well, what actually made the story believable is that the said injunction, according to the man who told me, was obtained at an Abuja Court!
Whether we want to admit it or not, the judiciary is becoming a source of concern especially as we move to the crucial 2003 general elections. The situation is so bad that some politicians now find it far cheaper to use the courts to scuttle events than to procure the services of thugs. Spurious court injunctions now surface at important public functions such that nobody is certain that the naming ceremony of his/her child, the graduation of his/her ward or the holding of their company’s AGM or perhaps even the writing of this column would not be disrupted by a court injunction obtained from dubious sources as our Judges now device “home-grown” solution to the biting economic situation.
However, what is particularly worrisome about what is going on today in Nigeria is that we seem to have regressed back to the era of the famous “Secret of rule” (arcana imperii) of the past. That is why court injunctions that should be openly sought and received have become secret weapons of mischief. The latest of such was the court injunction that necessitated the cancellation of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Convention of 27th July, 2002. The injunction was served on the party by the National Legal Adviser of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which had the responsibility of supervising the convention on the day in question!
The Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mohammed Uwais recently decried this unhealthy development when he cited examples of Judges who grant injunctions to stop the House of Assembly in their states from passing bills as well as those who grant injunctions on matters already settled by the Supreme Court. According to Uwais “…the only inference one can draw from such behaviour is that the judicial officers so involved cannot feign ignorance but are acting deliberately in bad faith for improper motives…I have heard it said that some legal practitioners act as agents for litigants in giving bribe to Judges..”
I don’t think one can add more to what the highly respected Chief Justice has said. But it is sad that injunctions have now become to some High Court Judges what handouts are to some hungry university lecturers…
===================================================================
I wrote the foregoing on this page exactly 14 years ago (August 2002) in a piece titled “Can you get me a court injunction, please?” And I find it very sad that it could have been written yesterday; given what is happening within our judiciary today where conflicting orders are issued on the same subject matter by courts of coordinate jurisdiction. If anything, the internal crisis of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has exposed the underbelly of our judiciary with a particular judge in Abuja acting in the manner of the fictional Chief Nichodemus Ologbenla a.k.a. Eleyinmi, of the “Village Headmaster” fame, dishing out judgements that, according to the appellate court, have “turned the law on its head”.
Curiously, while the disgraceful episode lasted, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (FHC), Justice Ibrahim Auta, never deemed it fit to stop different judges from hearing the same case in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt judicial divisions of the court at the same time. The National Judicial Council (NJC) also failed to protect the image of the judiciary by calling the judges to order. The consequence of the ugly drama is the erosion of confidence in the judiciary as members of the public have been led to believe that in Nigeria, justice is now for sale to the highest bidder.
It is important to state from the outset, as most regular readers of this page would attest, that I ordinarily refrain from being critical of our judiciary. In all the years that I have written this column, I can count the number of articles I have written on men of the bench. It is deliberate. I hold the judiciary in very high esteem and that partly explains why I elected to call my column Verdict. My position is simple: To the extent that the judiciary is central to holding a functioning society together, it is important that we avoid anything that would impugn the credibility of our men and women on the bench. But in the light of what is happening in our country today, I don’t think we should continue to pretend that all is well in the justice sector.
In my 17th March column on this page titled, “Judicial Black Market: Anambra as Case Study”, I recounted the story of my experience in June 1993 when, following the suspension of the presidential election (through a contrived order of an Abuja High Court), three governors (two from the south and one from the north) were giving orders, on phone, to politicians in their states to go and secure court orders compelling a release of the result. “Looking back today, the real issue was not that the governors wanted and got the court orders they requested but rather that each was specific as to which judge whoever they were sending should go to. What that implies is that it is not all judges that are susceptible to such manipulation. However, the danger, as I pointed out in the past, is that in a society where you have a preponderance of judges who can give any court order (and definitely not for free), the system is in jeopardy”, I wrote back then.
Of course one can argue that the incident happened under the “Kabiyesi era” when, as some judges contended back then, the military authorities at the time were so powerful that they had to be placed above the law. Unfortunately, if anything has changed, it is that the list of such people considered above the law in our country has been expanded with the justice administration reserved only for the poor.
Last week, one Muhammad Umar, a resident of Kwamba, in Suleja, Niger State, was sentenced by an Abuja Grade 1 Area Court to one month imprisonment for stealing a mobile phone from a former governor of the state, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, at an Abuja Mosque. But whatever you may say about the Judge, at least he was more reasonable than his counterpart in Osogbo High Court who, in 2013, sentenced a 31-year-old Kelvin Ighodalo to 45-year imprisonment for stealing a mobile phone from the pocket of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
However, the real lesson is that these Judges that are ever quick to sentence some poor fellows who steal what are no more than tokens from our big men would not apply the same principle when these big men stand before them in trial for more serious crimes. That then explains why, at the swearing-in-ceremony of a former CJN (Dahiru Musdapher) on 27th September, 2011, the then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, not only decried the “widespread perception of a growing crisis of integrity in the judiciary”, he also said most memorably: “A partisan judge compromises his or her oath of office and acts unfairly. A corrupt judge disgraces the Bench on which he or she sits and the title that he or she wears.”
The former president was speaking in context. So endemic is the issue of corruption in the bench that a respected former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, once called for the setting up of a judicial commission of inquiry to get to the root of the matter. “Unless and until a commission of inquiry is set up to look into all these corrupt and bribery allegations against judges and lawyers alike, where names will be named and particulars supplied, where reservations will be expressed openly, where instances will be given etc, I doubt if our judiciary will ever be cleansed”, said Olanipekun in his 10th May 2013 Akintola Aguda Memorial Lecture titled “The Law as an Endangered Species”.
Such a proposition may seem drastic but I honestly believe we are almost getting to that point where we may need an open inquisition into the activities of some judges. For instance, in the last one week, since I decided I was going to write on this issue, I have been privileged to see several petitions against some of our judges, many of them very damaging. There is a particular Chief Judge in one of the South-east states who can almost compete with Alhaji Aliko Dangote in the kind of wealth credited to him, raising questions about what exactly he has been selling. I have also read several reports of inquiries into the activities of some other judges by the NJC.
Not only are some of the allegations and findings mind-boggling, what they suggest is that most lawyers actually know these judges by their reputations. They know the ones that would brook no nonsense in their courts and they also know those they can trade with when they want “jankara judgements”. So, even if the idea of an open inquisition may not be plausible, given our kind of environment, it is important that the NJC be strengthened in such a manner that it can easily investigate allegations against judges and act immediately. The danger of lack of such process is to have a situation in which lawyers would be calling out judges as former National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, did five years ago with the current FHC president, Justice Ibrahim Auta, http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/ibrahim-auta-and-a-case-of-judicial-impunity/.
Therefore, I believe this is a time for critical stakeholders to intervene before the people lose faith in the judiciary because if and when such happens, then we will have anarchy on our hands. In his paper titled “The Anti-Corruption War in the Nigerian Judiciary: How Far? How Well?” delivered at the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Kwara State in honour of Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, on 21st May, 2013, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, had borrowed from the wisdom of David Philip Pannick to warn of the consequences of such state of affairs in the Nigerian judiciary.
In his book, “Judges”, published in 1987 by the Oxford University Press, Pannick, a leading Queens Counsel and member of the House of Lords, had written: “Some judges have received more than their just deserts for injudicious behavior. In the 13th century, Andrew Horn alleged that in one year (four centuries earlier) King Alfred caused 44 judges to be hanged as homicides for their false judgments. In 1381, a mob pursued the Lord Chancellor, Simon de Sudbury, and cut off his hand. One year later, Lord Chief Justice Cavendish was killed after being apprehended by a mob and subjected to a mock trial in which he was sentenced to death. In 1688, the infamous judge Jeffreys, by then the Lord Chancellor, went into hiding when James II fled the country. Jeffreys was captured in Wapping when he was recognized in a tavern by a man who had been a dissatisfied litigant in his court. (The man had won his case but Jeffreys had been rude to him and kept him waiting). Jeffreys was put in the Tower of London, where he died in 1689.”
In Nigeria, we have had situations where politicians are openly heckled as thieves and some have had to survive mob attacks by whiskers. We must not allow a situation in which the people would also openly turn against our men and women on the bench. But for that not to happen, the NJC has to find a way to get rid of those whose judgements are traded like commodities on the stock exchange markets!
All said, at the bottom of the crisis of integrity bedeviling the Nigerian judiciary is a flagrant abuse of the concept of rule of law. The rule of law is underwritten by a number of fundamental assumptions. It assumes that the law is fair to all and that all citizens are equal before the law and therefore can approach the court expecting to get justice irrespective of their station in life. It also assumes that those who will interpret the law and dispense justice will be above reproach and remain impartial. It is moreover predicated on orderly conduct to the extent that the judiciary in most dispensations is allowed to be self-regulating, hence its independence.
Unfortunately, recent developments within the Nigerian judiciary, especially the cascade of spurious judgments and the frequent instances of misconduct among judges, only point to a betrayal of nearly all those foregoing assumptions. Yet, when judges are compromised, public confidence in the rule of law as the basis of order in the society also evaporates. But the NJC can save the rest of us from the prospect of disorder. As things stand in Nigeria today, it is also in its enlightened interest to do so. May the day never come when an enraged public would begin to stone or disrobe otherwise eminent judges in the market place in the quest for true justice.
UN House Bombing: Five Years After
Tomorrow marks exactly five years that the United Nations building in Abuja was attacked by Boko Haram suicide bombers, incidentally also on a Friday. On that day, 26th August 2011, no fewer than 19 persons were killed with scores of others seriously injured, one of them Member Feese, a young woman from a very wonderful family. Then a post-graduate student of Poverty and Development at the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Sussex, Member, now 28, was at the UN Office to collect data for her dissertation on social protection in Nigeria when the terrorists struck.
Despite being given a 3 percent chance of survival when she arrived the London hospital where she was treated for life-threatening injuries, Member miraculously survived to tell her stories. She would later go on to complete her Masters’ degree at the University of Sussex after which she turned her adversity into a cause for helping others by converting what started as a support network of friends and family members into an advocacy group that demands improved service delivery and more accountability, especially for the poor and marginalised of society. Through ‘Team Member’ she is working to provide a modern prosthetic center in Nigeria where artificial limbs can be made available for people like her. Despite her physical and emotional scars, Member, who is currently a staff in the department of Development Finance at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has been unrelenting in helping other victims to understand that there is life after such tragedy.
Tomorrow, Member and others in TeamMember will mark the 5th anniversary of the attack with a small event at Lake Chad Hotel, No. 4 Lake Alau Close, off Lake Chad Crescent, off IBB Boulevard, Maitama at 6pm. I invite as many people as can make it to come as the occasion will be used to create further awareness on the need to provide more care and support to people who suffer from trauma in our country.
However, beyond Member, there are many of our citizens who have suffered from Boko Haram attacks in recent years and are suffering in silence because they have no voice; starting from the 1st October 2010 at the Eagle Square in Abuja to the 31st December 2010 attack at the Mogadishu Barracks to the April 2011 Suleja blast at the INEC office to the Madalla Catholic Church Bomb blast of same year to the UN House attack and many others.
At the launch of the Bomb Victims Association of Nigeria (BVAN) where many of these unfortunate victims gathered last year, their chairman, Mr. Kayode Oladele Olatunji and secretary, Mallam Musa Baba Audu, said: “We come from every state and zone of Nigeria. We are united by our scars and by our belief that together we can care for and support one another to get through this trauma, reclaim our dignity and, ultimately, prevail over the perpetrators of the crimes that have scarred our lives forever.
“As a result of prolonged neglect of the victims of this bomb blasts across Northern Nigeria, some of us who initially survived the bombings have died, many due to little or no medical care and others as a result of their inability to continue with their medical bills or further their treatment here in Nigeria or abroad. One example is the story of a victim named Hope Musa, a survivor of 26th June 2014 EMAB plaza bomb blast and a founding member of BVAN who died two weeks ago due to injuries sustained from the blast. Hope is from Taraba State. The blast affected his brain and he was poorly managed which led to several episodes of convulsion until his death; as he could not afford to further his treatment for a neurosurgical operation abroad.
“Victims are dying needlessly, deaths that are avoidable if urgent and continuous medical attentions are provided. We have cases of first-degree burns, cornea opacity, compound fractures and orthopedic cases, limb amputees, tympanic membrane and bone damages on the ear, intensive nerve and tissue injuries and so on, which are in need of urgent medical attentions.
“On July 16th 2014, the Federal Government of Nigeria under the past administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan constituted a Committee on Victims Support Fund to mobilize resources and administer appropriate support to victims of insurgency and Boko haram terror activities all over the country. Lt General T.Y. Danjuma (rtd) chairs this committee.
“In August 2014, a Fund Raising Dinner was held and the committee raised over 80 billion naira. The former president said the fund raising was part of government’s efforts for widows, orphans, and those whose business premises, homes and places of worship had been vandalized would be catered for; as well as victims with medical requirements. This did not happen, at least not to hundreds and thousands of victims among who we are and who are known to us. 80 billion naira and yet victims are languishing in pain and neglect!
“Many of the victims have lost their lives as a result of government negligence and neglect, many which initially survived the bombing, died months later for inability to cope with exorbitant medical bills, which the Federal Government promised to clear at every bomb blast that occurred. The nonchalant attitude of the government towards her citizens, who are suffering and dying for no fault of theirs, caused the surviving victims to form an association known as BVAN.
“This association is set to bring victims of bomb blasts across Northern Nigeria under one umbrella; to speak with one voice and to help show love, care and support towards those affected, and be the voice of the voiceless of her members. This association has been formed with the guidance and help of the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, and together we aim at delivering the rights of the unfortunate and vulnerable victims of bomb blasts to them. We insist on the participation of victims in all programs designed to victims.
“The bomb blasts in Northern Nigeria have not stopped, and so more and more victims who need care, attention and support are birthed with every blast. The Bomb Victims Association of Nigeria as a body duly incorporated under Nigerian law speaking on behalf of the victims of terror attacks and bomb blasts in Nigeria has therefore decided to make the following demands:
“That the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari open up an inquiry into the status of the Victims Support Fund established in July 2014 and ascertain the whereabouts of the over 80 billion naira raised for the support of victims;
“That, in case funds had been disbursed, members of the committee should give account on such disbursements by also furnishing such details as whom the funds were spent on and the criteria with which such were chosen;
“That a framework be set up to make this 80 billion naira available to real victims of bomb blast many of whom are in dire need of medical attention and means of livelihood;
“That the Bomb Victims Association, which has as its members actual victims of bomb blasts, be included in the committee of the Victims Support Fund and
“That President Buhari expedites efforts and strategies towards stopping the insurgents and their terror attacks once and for all so that no more deaths or victims will arise from bomb blasts anywhere in Nigeria…”
I hope the authorities and critical stakeholders will pay attention to these unfortunate victims of terror.
The Sultan @ 60
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, was 60 yesterday, and as to be expected, there were encomiums from all over the country. He deserves all the good words. And more! I join in wishing His Eminence happy birthday.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/25/when-judiciary-goes-on-trial/
|
en
| 2016-02-25T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/6bef47fa99bb8933f457642496635a4008eb8cd76c9b4da514ad8fbb5c5f1d42.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"William Norris",
"Oduche Azih",
"Ik Hammer",
"Pius Pumpum",
"Michael Kadiri Sociopolitical",
"Thompson Iyeye",
"Wale Adediran",
"Egbule Chuks",
"Republican In Vi"
] | 2016-08-30T00:51:01 | null | 2016-02-24T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F21%2Fagriculture-is-not-the-magic-solution%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/24130344/0101-SK-backpagex-New.jpg?fit=150%2C87
|
en
| null |
Agriculture is NOT the Magic Solution
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
SIMON KOLAWOLE LIVE! By SIMON KOLAWOLE, Email: [email protected]
Anytime I hear Nigerian presidents, ministers, governors, economists, analysts and commentators declare that agriculture is the alternative to oil, and that the solution to Nigeria’s economic woes is to return to the farm, I am tempted to jump up and ask at full volume: “Who agriculture alone don epp?” Some states have hilariously declared work-free days for civil servants to go to the farm. It would be nice to see those farms and how well the emergency farmers are doing. We’ve been told again and again that agriculture, as Nigeria’s biggest employer of labour, is the magic solution to unemployment, that we will export agricultural produce and earn plenty forex. Well done.
I’ve been hearing this fairy-tale all my life. When I was a primary school kid, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, then head of state, asked Nigerians to tighten their belts because the oil boom would not last forever. He added drama by tightening his military belt on TV. He launched Operation Feed the Nation. My grandfather responded by setting up a garden in our backyard. President Shehu Shagari did Green Revolution. The structural adjustment programme (SAP) of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida was basically about diversifying into agriculture. In different shapes, forms, sizes and packaging, we have been talking about agriculture, agriculture and agriculture forever.
Since we love glamorising our exploits in the export of cocoa, coffee, palm oil and groundnuts before the oil boom doom, I will pick on just cocoa to dispel this ill-conceived notion and never-ending campaign that agriculture is the magic wand. We used to be the biggest producers of cocoa in the world. Chief Obafemi Awolowo utilised cocoa revenue to develop the south-west when he was premier of the region in the 1950s. But we dropped the ball along the line and Cote d’Ivoire overtook us. And now we are lamenting that we are nowhere to be found. The solution, therefore, is for the south-west to revive the cocoa farms. Oh, the good old days!
Okay, let us talk about Cote d’Ivoire’s fabled cocoa wealth. Cote d’Ivoire produces 33% of world cocoa and exports to manufacturers such as Hershey’s, Mars Inc. (both in the US) and Nestlé (Switzerland). You know what Cote d’Ivoire earns yearly from exporting raw cocoa? A whopping $2.5bn. I repeat: a whopping $2.5bn! So Mars buys Ivorien cocoa and makes several products from it: Bounty, M&M, Mars and Milky Way, to name a few. You know Mars’ net income from chocolate products alone in 2015? According to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), Mars made a pathetic $18bn, compared to Cote d’Ivoire’s whopping $2.5bn. Agriculture, indeed.
If you are wondering how just one company, which manufactures chocolate, can earn seven times more than a whole country, which farms and exports the cocoa input, then you are asking the same question with me: Who agriculture alone don epp? On ICCO’s list of the world’s top 10 companies in net revenue from chocolate, you have three from America, two from Japan, two from Switzerland, and one each from Luxemburg/Italy, Argentina and Turkey. None from Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia — the world’s three biggest producers of raw cocoa. There must be something that Hershey’s, Mars and Nestlé know that we don’t know as we keep planting cocoa.
To be fair, Cote d’Ivoire is waking up. In 2015, French chocolatier Cémoi opened a plant in Abidjan, the economic capital, to produce chocolate. President Alassane Ouattara, on touring the plant, said: “We want to be able to make chocolate for Ivoriens, for Africans and especially West Africans.” Ouattara (pronounced Wa-ta-ra) understands what we still don’t understand here: that agriculture without industry is dead, being alone. How could I buy cocoa worth $1m from you and make chocolate worth $10 million from it — and you think you are smart? If you are smart, you will start making the chocolate yourself and stop romanticising about the “good old days”.
There was a video that went viral sometime ago. CNN’s Richard Quest visited a cocoa farm in Cote d’Ivoire. Come and see poverty written all over the faces of the farmers, who have been told for decades that agriculture is the magic solution to their problems. Quest gave the farmers bars of chocolate. They were eating the sweet stuff for the first time in their lives! Compare their lives to those of the executives of Mars Inc., who buy the cocoa beans from Cote d’Ivoire. They are flying private jets and holidaying in the moon, while the Ivorien farmers are fighting off flies and bees in the bushes of Koffikro. For your information, Mars Inc. has no cocoa farms!
Don’t get me wrong please. If I have created the impression that agriculture is useless, I do apologise. That is not my intention. After all, agriculture is our culture. Millions of Nigerians are farming rice, beans, cassava and corn. That is huge employment. Also, we certainly can produce many food items that we are importing and burning precious forex on. But is that why governors are declaring work-free days for civil servants to go and plant melon and maize to solve Nigeria’s economic problem and stop the dependency on oil? If only these governors knew that Switzerland does not grow one tree of cocoa, yet makes the world’s most elegant chocolates!
Let us break this whole agric logic into pieces. If we really want to diversify from oil and create proper value, agriculture must give birth to industry. If agriculture currently employs, say, 5 million Nigerians, agro-allied industry can employ 15 million in the value chain. So why do we spend so much time discussing farming and not industry? For example, how many graduates can a tomato farm employ compared to a factory making tomato purée? The factory will employ or engage the services of engineers, technicians, chemists, marketers, accountants, communicators, lawyers, administrators, drivers, and so on. It may even have a sick bay and employ doctors and nurses.
I’m not done. A basket of tomatoes sells for N800 in Kaduna. A 400g tin of purée sells for N300. Look at how many bottles of purée you can get from a basket, and how much value you will be getting. Who, then, is making the real money? The factory will pay company tax, its employees will pay PAYE and the consumers will pay VAT. That is how government will boost its revenue. The purée bottle makers offer a different business altogether that employs workers and pays all kinds of taxes too. And if we are good enough, we can begin to export purée to other countries, and earn forex. This is just purée. Think of a thousand agro-allied factories. Think of our huge population.
Sure, agriculture is very important in a primitive economy like ours. But we always miss the bigger picture. One, we need full optimisation of the sector to enhance productivity. A country like the US knows this much better: the percentage of the population engaged in farming is insignificant, but it is so optimised that the output is out of this world. For instance, the US produces enough rice for local consumption, for export, for aid and to dump in the sea to “stabilise” market prices. Two, processing is where you find the massive job opportunities. The agro-industry will yield far more output, more jobs and more economic value than Benue Friday Farming.
These things look so simple and doable, but commonsense is not common. Our agricultural output can be far better in quantity and quality than currently obtains. We can do with better technology, storage, conditioning, packaging and transportation. Most importantly, our brains should focus on how industry can bring out the real value of agriculture and spark off a chain of economic activities that will create millions of good jobs and generate billions of dollars in revenue to investors, employees and government. But we seem excited only about preaching and promoting the export of raw produce, and we feel so smart we think this is the way out of our oil dependency!
But how can we add value when, despite the billions of dollars we have made from oil since 1999, we don’t have the basic infrastructure to inspire an agro-based industrial explosion? Where are the roads? Where are the rails? Where is the electricity? Where is the security? Where is the finance? Yet I can point to uncountable private jets, mansions and customised cars that politicians and their friends have acquired since 1999 with proceeds from the oil boom — while they keep preaching stone-age agriculture to Nigerians. So if your governor joins this craze of declaring work-free days for primitive farming, just ask him politely: Your Excellency, who agriculture alone don epp?
“Let us break this whole agric logic into pieces. If we really want to diversify from oil and create proper value, agriculture must give birth to industry. If agriculture currently employs, say, 5 million Nigerians, agro-allied industry can employ 15 million in the value chain”
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS
BUHARI BREATHER
Two powerful voices have risen in defence of President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance in office. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says Buhari has not disappointed yet and will eventually overcome his challenges. Pastor Tunde Bakare says it is too early in the day to judge Buhari, and that, in any case, pain is part of adjustment. Coming at a time people are queuing up to apologise for campaigning — and voting — for Buhari, these endorsements must mean a lot to the president. Personally, I am of the opinion that even though Buhari acted too late on critical issues for which we are now paying heavily, you cannot conclude he is a failure in just 15 months. Patience.
PDP MELTDOWN
Pardon me as I laugh at the current trouble the PDP is going through. So the courts, DSS and police combined to scuttle the party’s Port Harcourt convention? Haven’t we seen this before? In the days when PDP was in power, even FAAN and NAMA colluded to stop APC governors from flying. I am laughing because all this has confirmed what I have always said: give the Nigerian politician power and he will behave exactly the same way — no matter his party. I can bet that if PDP manages to regain power today, they will do the same thing to APC again. That is why some of us have become so cynical about Nigerian politicians and their principles. Unchangeable.
ARMY HYSTERIA
So the Nigerian army declared Ahmad Salkida, a journalist, wanted for his “access” to Boko Haram commanders? Interesting. TheCable Editor, ‘Fisayo Soyombo, recently spent two months investigating the plight of soldiers injured in the war against terror. He reported that many of them are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, while some are direly in need of artificial limbs. In a sane country, Soyombo would be commended and government would act immediately. But what? The Nigerian army issued a statement accusing TheCable of working for terrorists. Looking back, we must now thank God that they didn’t declare Soyombo wanted. Primitive.
PUNCH DRUNK
Nigeria fielded only one boxer at Rio Olympics, right? Dreams die first. When I watched the exploits of Peter Konyegwachie, Jerry Okorodudu and Christopher Ossai at Los Angeles ’84, I felt if Nigeria was ever going to win an Olympic gold medal, it would be in boxing. Although boxers David Izonritie won silver at Barcelona ’92 and Duncan Dokiwari bronze at Atlanta ’96, the truth is that our boxing has been going down. We have so many raw talents but we don’t understand how to harvest and harness them. Potential world champions are busy serving as touts on the streets. Amateur boxing is dead in Nigeria. What we are witnessing is the funeral. RIP.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/21/agriculture-is-not-the-magic-solution/
|
en
| 2016-02-24T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/36f3b2d957c01764636c3057af5680998664dbccfb110e62985949940292c93e.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Akin Malaolu",
"Ibu Anyi Danda",
"Ade Whenu"
] | 2016-08-26T16:49:20 | null | 2016-03-06T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2Fosinbajo-fg-saves-n1-4trn-from-stopped-oil-subsidy%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/06104038/Breaking-Newsx.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Osinbajo: FG Saves N1.4trn from Stopped Oil Subsidy
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
By Ibrahim Shuaibu
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, has disclosed that the Federal Government has saved N1.4 trillion from the discontinuance of oil subsidy.
He also assured Nigerians that very soon, the foreign exchange market will stabilize going by some radical policies already introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“With the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, there has been a significant increase in the availability of petrol throughout the country plus the savings of N1.4 trillion on subsidy payments alone”.
The Vice President who spoke in Kano on Thursday during the third day of the 15th Joint Planning Board and National Council on development meeting, urged Nigerians to restore confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, insisting that soonest, the current economic problems will become a thing of the past.
“Also, with a more flexible exchange rate regime, we will have to decrease the pressure on the external reserve. In the short run, of course, there should be consequences for inflation. We expect that with greater priority we have seen in the implementation of the policy by the CBN, the foreign exchange market will stabilize and confidence will be restored.
“The adoption of SDGs in September 2015 was intended to place our world on the part of sustainable development by the year 2030. The 17 SDGs, which combined economic, social and environmental objectives, are intended to be universal unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were made solely for developing countries.
“The universal application of the SDGs and their 169 targets show that they are a menu of options. This allows the implementation to take count of different national realities, capacities, policies and priorities.
“In the Nigerian context, some of the issues that must engage our minds will lead to economic diversification, sustain economic growth, eradication of extreme poverty, promoting social inclusion, creating jobs, sparring environmental degradation, including climate change.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/25/osinbajo-fg-saves-n1-4trn-from-stopped-oil-subsidy/
|
en
| 2016-03-06T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/495d789a835e2d0dd91ef5960c9890a690bf96da4789881c084e86292dec0a2a.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Abdulrahman Abdulyekeen",
"Nwakanma Ikenna"
] | 2016-08-31T14:51:33 | null | 2016-06-18T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F31%2Fpension-assets-hit-n5-8tn-as-pencom-seeks-to-invest-40-in-infrastructure%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/18054147/Chinelo-Anohu-Amazu-660x330.jpg?fit=1833%2C917
|
en
| null |
Pension Assets Hit N5.8tn as Pencom Seeks to Invest 40% in Infrastructure
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
James Emejo in Abuja
The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, on Tuesday hinted that the total pension assets had hit N5.8 trillion, adding that the commission was targeting to invest 40 per cent of the funds in infrastructure and housing by 2019.
She was, however, quick to add that the safety of such investments would not be compromised, as they would require guarantees from government and stakeholders.
She said currently, 15 per cent of the assets are invested in infrastructure bonds, five per cent in infrastructure funds, 35 per cent in corporate bonds, and 20 per cent in mutual funds.
Speaking in Abuja on “Using Pension Funds for Infrastructure Development to Enhance Inclusive Growth” at an interactive forum organised by the Financial Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), she also disclosed that a multi-funds investment structure was being put in place to allow people some flexibility in investment choice, taking into consideration age, among others.
However, the PenCom boss further revealed that having recovered about N10 billion from employers who had failed to remit pension deductions, the commission had engaged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute employers who criminally deduct pensions without remitting same to Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs).
Represented at the forum by the Head, Investment and Supervision Unit, PenCom, Mr. Ehimeme Ohioma, the director general said the prosecution of such employers should begin soon with a “name and shame” strategy.
Nevertheless, she said the unavailability of investment projects remained a major challenge to the investment of pension assets in the country.
She identified other constraints to include political risk, policy somersaults, and lack of continuity, adding that less than three per cent of assets are currently invested in infrastructure through state government bonds.
She said government and other stakeholders had not really taken advantage of pension assets to develop infrastructure in the country.
Anohu-Amazu said as part of efforts to deepen pensions, a micro-pension scheme was being finalised to provide opportunities and products targeted at over 50 million people in the informal sector of the economy.
She said the proposed infrastructure projects should, however, be commercially viable and self-financing or able to generate cash flows to repay overtime while bid/concession processes must be open and transparent.
She added that political risks must be guaranteed for projects by the federal government or the IFC/World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) to effectively tap into pension funds for infrastructure development.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/31/pension-assets-hit-n5-8tn-as-pencom-seeks-to-invest-40-in-infrastructure/
|
en
| 2016-06-18T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/c207b1004f122c7e893dcdabae53dad75d0afd8a17e8d1688ab1cfdb9871af0a.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Akin Malaolu",
"Daniel Obior",
"Marcus Ijele",
"Rick Eson",
"Steve Samuel",
"Mystic Mallam"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:47 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fagain-herdsmen-invade-enugu-community-kill-catholic-seminarian-2%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/26015548/Ndiagu-Attakwu-Akegbe-Ugwu-.jpg?fit=800%2C450
|
en
| null |
Again, Herdsmen Invade Enugu Community, Kill Catholic Seminarian
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
We’ll no longer tolerate this heartless killings, says Ugwuanyi
Christopher Isiguzo and Gideon Arinze in Enugu
Suspected Fulani herdsmen in the early hours of on Thursday invaded the sleepy Ndiagu Attakwu Akegbe-Ugwu community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, killing a Catholic seminarian, Lazarus Okafor, and injuring four others, including a pregnant woman.
The suspected herders were said to have invaded the Ogbodo Nwarum family compound in the community at about 2 a.m. and wreaked havoc on the entire household.
While the seminarian had severe machete cuts which led to his death, the four others — the landlord of the house Ogbodo Nwarum, his aged mother, pregnant wife and son — had their bowels ripped open by the herders who left them gasping for life.
The state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, however, warned that the state would no longer tolerate the mindless killings by the suspected herdsmen, directing the security operatives to ensure that those who were involved in the dastardly act were fished out and made to face the full weight of the law.
The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Greg Ugwu, and the council chairman, Afam Okereke, said the attackers gained access into the building through the ceiling from where they jumped into the house and unbolted the panel door.
“We heard that the herdsmen had visited the area on Wednesday with their cows and were destroying the garden within the family compound but the elderly woman had to sound the local gong to alert the neighbourhood which made the herdsmen to flee the area warning however that they would return.
“By 2 a.m, they returned and made sure they attacked everybody in the house. They had initially left deep cuts on the man of the house and ripped the bowels of the women including the pregnant woman to the point that their intestines gushed out. It was at that point that the seminarian who just graduated from the seminary, Spiritan International School of Theology, Atakwu and returned the previous day from school after graduation came out from his room to find out what was happening and unfortunately, they used their matchete on him and he bled to death,” the royal father narrated.
The incident left the entire community in tears as the four injured persons were rushed to the Mother of Christ Hospital and the ESUT Teaching Hospital as at the time of filing this report.
Speaking when he paid a visit to the community yesterday morning to assess the situation and possibly prevail on the people not to engage in any form of reprisal, the governor condemned the act in its entirety, insisting that the wanton destruction of lives would no longer be tolerated.
The governor, who also led a team of security operatives to the Fulani settlement located at the forest near the community but without sighting any of the herders who obviously had fled the area with their families for fear of a reprisal, immediately summoned an emergency meeting of the Fulani community in the state and security operatives.
While lamenting that the latest attack was coming a few days after the Judicial Panel of Inquiry that looked into the immediate and remote causes of the April 25 attack on Ukpabi Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani council where about 48 persons were killed had submitted an interim report, the governor said he would not rest until the perpetrators were caught.
The governor, who was accompanied on the visit by the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Rt. Rev. Calistus Onaga, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), and other top government functionaries, promised to take care of the hospital bills of those receiving treatment at the hospitals.
“I have already summoned security meeting this afternoon of Fulani community and the security agencies in Enugu State to review the situation and determine the appropriate actions to be taken. It is indeed unfortunate that this incident is coming just days after the commission of inquiry into the killings at Nimbo submitted an interim report and is about to complete its assignment,” he said.
While sympathising with the family of the deceased who hails from Imo State but lived in the community before his gruesome murder and the wounded, the governor said his administration would continue to protect lives and property, noting that anybody found to be undermining the security of the state would be made to face the law.
Meanwhile, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has condemned, in strong terms, the dawn attack by suspected herdsmen on Attakwu, Akagbe Ugwu community, Enugu State, which left a Catholic seminarian dead and four others injured.
This was even as he commended the state governor and security agencies for their gallantry in busting the robbery attack on Independence Layout, Enugu on Wednesday.
Ekweremadu said the incessant attacks on parts of the country by suspected herdsmen posed a grave threat to the peace, security, and economy of the country. He called on the federal government to take decisive steps to put a full stop to the ugly incidents.
He said: “This is another heartbreak, not only for Enugu State, but the nation in general; and whatever evil forces are behind these reprehensible acts certainly do not wish the country well. It must not be condoned.
“The primary objective of government is the welfare and security of the citizens. The federal government must take decisive steps to put a full stop to this wanton destruction of lives and property; and the security agencies must do everything humanly possible to ensure that the perpetrators of this act of wickedness in Akagbe-Ugwu do not go unpunished.”
The Deputy President of the Senate condoled with the affected community and prayed for the peaceful repose of the dead.
On the thwarted robbery attack on Enugu, Ekweremadu commended Governor Ugwuanyi for his demonstration of courage and concern as the chief security officer of the state by physically rallying security forces to the robbery scene to ensure that it was foiled and the suspects arrested.
“Enugu is a peaceful place, and I salute the gallantry and efforts of Governor Ugwuanyi and the security agencies to ensure that it remains so,” he stressed.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/again-herdsmen-invade-enugu-community-kill-catholic-seminarian-2/
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/8a6e18413611a25a8857b3cebbbedefa8bd4622f9bc3acf7867dc2f6059df676.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Akin Malaolu",
"Ibu Anyi Danda"
] | 2016-08-26T16:49:38 | null | 2016-06-22T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fno-respite-yet-for-fg-until-nigerians-enjoy-good-roads-says-fashola%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/22183440/Babatunde-Fashola.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
No Respite Yet for FG Until Nigerians Enjoy Good Roads, Says Fashola
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
.Asks Truck owners to evacuate them or…
By Ademola Babalola in Ibadan
The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said that there is no respite yet for the Federal Government until Nigerians are happy with the state of our roads comparable to the best infrastructural facilities available anywhere in the world.
To this end, he expressed President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to ease people’s
sufferings through the government’s unwavering commitment to the construction of quality roads that can stand the test of time.
Fashola stated this during an unscheduled inspection of the ongoing construction of section two of Oyo-Ogbomoso road in Oyo state. He was accompanied on the tour by the state Federal Works Controller, Mr. Anya Omorekpe, and other top government officials.
He expressed happiness that work has commenced on the road after three years of abandonment due to lack of funding to the contractor; Reynolds Construction Company.
Fashola appealed to the contractor handling the project to employ artisans in order to plough back to the economy.
He equally urged truck drivers and others who park indiscriminately on highways to desist to enhance free flow of traffic on the nation’s roads or risk forceful ejection and appropriate sanctions.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/no-respite-yet-for-fg-until-nigerians-enjoy-good-roads-says-fashola/
|
en
| 2016-06-22T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/dbde21e7ab627f82eaabdd47a66db1acda77f162b6ed641961198b14a42b5939.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Buhari Aka Silly Old Bag.",
"Nígeriá Cústom"
] | 2016-08-27T08:50:04 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fkale-no-presidential-underhand-in-delayed-release-of-july-inflation-figures%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/27023222/Yemi-Kale.jpg?fit=800%2C495
|
en
| null |
Kale: No Presidential Underhand in Delayed Release of July Inflation Figures
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Insists on August 31 release timetable
James Emejo in Abuja
The Statistician General/Chief Executive, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Mr. Yemi Kale has refuted speculations that the release of the July inflation figures had been deliberately delayed by the presidency because it was unfavourable and reflect badly on its handling of the economy.
Rather, he said the “delay was due to some challenges we faced at NBS which delayed progress.”
He added that the data would now be published on August 31 in line with its revised data calendar.
Previously, monthly inflation estimates had always been released by the middle of the subsequent month and the readings for July ought to have been released by mid-August but is still being delayed, raising concerns by the investing public.
Inflation figures are seen as critical for investment decisions especially in the financial stability efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which monitors inflation trends in order to take decisions on whether to raise or decrease the interest rate.
The seeming inability of the bureau to issue a timely statement on the delay had given room for various speculations from the public, largely because some analysts had projected that inflation would rise further in July.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation had risen to 16.6 per cent in June from 15.6 per cent in May, representing the fifth consecutive month that the headline index would increase relatively strong.
Essentially, given the current fiscal and economic challenges in the country-whereby consumer purchasing power had been greatly reduced-with its attendant economic hardship that has called the present administration to question, a further rise in inflation rate would obviously be unwelcoming for the government, raising rumours from some quarters that the delay in the release had an underhand of the presidency.
However, in a swift response to the rumours, Kale, whose tenure has reportedly been renewed by President Muhammadu Buhari, having completed his first tenure, said there was no substance in the allegations that the presidency was responsible for the delay.
In a statement, he said: “There is no truth whatsoever in the rumour that the presidency has asked NBS not to release inflation reports or any other report for that matter. If anything, the presidency especially my ministers and the economic team headed by the Vice President – has not only encouraged but pushed for the NBS to complete its data assignments on time and accurately as they need it for effective policy decisions.”
“The importance they (government) accord accurate and timely data is why as statistician general, I have repeatedly been asked to be part of the economic team’s deliberations.
“Accordingly, this story is false and should be disregarded. The data will be published on the 31st in line with our revised data calendar on our website. Neither the presidency, my ministers, nor any government official has ever interfered in NBS work.
The delay was due to some challenges we faced at NBS which delayed progress.”
According its revised calendar, also to be released on same date are the foreign trade estimates and labour productivity statistics; Gross Domestic Product estimates; job creation and labour force estimates; capital importation and FDI reports among others.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/kale-no-presidential-underhand-in-delayed-release-of-july-inflation-figures/
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/cc9f506da971d7d50b35f98763cf95e765423ff9d6cf927e58676de150d7e0e9.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Sir Oscie",
"Akin Malaolu"
] | 2016-08-29T14:51:03 | null | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Frohr-deposits-eagles-contract-with-fifa-german-embassy%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/09200327/Gernot-Rohr2.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Rohr Deposits Eagles Contract with FIFA, German Embassy
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Camp opens for Tanzania clash today
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has lodged copies of his contract agreement with the International governing body, FIFA and the German Embassy in Abuja, THISDAY understood last night.
The 63-year-old coach, a former development officer with German Football Association (DFB), was early this month, offered a two-year deal by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to steer the Super Eagles to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The coach is understood to be employed on $48,000 per month salary and will aim to make an immediate impact when Nigeria tackle Tanzania in Uyo on September 3, in an Africa Cup of Nations fixture that amounts to a mere window dressing.
His credentials will, however, be touted when the Eagles visit Zambia in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in Ndola on October 8.
According to sources, Rohr, who has worked at club level in France, Austria, Switzerland and Tunisia before coaching Gabon (2010-2012) and the Niger (2012-2014), complied with advice of his agents by domiciling copies of his contract with the German Embassy in Abuja and the international football governing body headquarters in Zurich.
The move is a safety net that will guarantee his interests by making a third party, notably FIFA to intervene in the future if he is embroiled in unresolved contract disputes with the Nigerian federation.
It is believed that FIFA can mediate between the parties if the disputes are complex given it is already in possession of the contract’s paperwork.
NFF is famed for causing high profile feuds with coaches it engages over matters concerning breaches of agreed contract.
National U-23 coach, Samson Siasia, whose team won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio, only at the weekend, severed ties with NFF, citing failure to pay five months salaries on top of acrimonious relationship he had with authorities during the games.
The NFF and its immediate past national coach, Sunday Oliseh, still occasionally trade tirades about allegations bothering on outstanding salaries to the former international midfielder and his assistants.
Oliseh, who caused a stir by ditching the team few days before crucial Africa Cup qualifying fixtures against Egypt in March, claimed he and his assistants, Tijjani Babangida and Jean Francois Losciuto were owed salaries and medical bills.
He also alleged that he incurred $4,000, his personal money, as feeding expenses on the Home based national team when the team camped in Pretoria, before the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda.
At the time they died in June, both Stephen Keshi and Shaibu Amodu, were still owed by NFF for services rendered as national coach and technical director of the federation respectively.
Meanwhile, Eagles will open camp in Uyo, capital of Akwa Ibom State today for Saturday’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Tanzania.
Home –boys Emmanuel Daniel, Ikechukwu Ezenwa (goalkeepers) and Jamiu Alimi (defender) are expected in Uyo today alongside a number of overseas –based professionals,
including defender William Troost-Ekong and forward Odion Ighalo.
Team captain Mikel John Obi, fresh from leading the Nigeria U23 to Olympic bronze in Brazil, is expected to arrive at the team’s Le Meridien Hotel tomorrow.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/rohr-deposits-eagles-contract-with-fifa-german-embassy/
|
en
| 2016-08-09T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/70708e921ef9f7cccdec02bec04d255851ded201ce9bd1d46b99dd9c5c66abe6.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Aloy Kris",
"William Norris"
] | 2016-08-29T02:50:48 | null | 2016-03-14T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fthe-tsa-and-financial-systems-stability%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/14063811/Alex-Otti-Back-Page.jpg?fit=150%2C87
|
en
| null |
The TSA And Financial Systems Stability
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
OUTSIDE THE BOX By ALEX OTTI [email protected]
Given my background as a former managing director of a major bank, I struggled with the propriety of writing on what I believe is a looming crisis in this sector that I love and to which I owe a lot. I felt that some people may interpret it as loyalty to my constituency, but I am sure that more perceptive people will agree that I had not spared the industry and former colleagues in previous articles when necessary.
After serious reflection, I was convinced that it was my patriotic duty to raise this necessary alarm in this formal and public format. Simply put, the manner in which the TSA is currently being implemented, has the potential to drag the larger economy into further distress. It is imperative that concerned parties take a second look at it with a view to addressing some of the unintended consequences.
The Treasury Single Account (TSA) was introduced in 2012 to “sweep”, on a daily basis, all balances in the accounts of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) into a consolidated government account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It was not until late last year that the Muhammadu Buhari government ordered its immediate implementation. It is estimated that commercial banks in the country lost up to N3.5 trillion of their deposits to full rollout of the TSA scheme. The whole idea of the TSA is to ensure transparency in the management of funds belonging to government and stop government functionaries from running multiple accounts in multiple banks. Relevant government departments would have oversight of all cash flows across the banks.
It is aimed at monitoring receipts and expenditure and blocking leakages as operational accounts would cease to exist. It is expected that the TSA would eliminate inefficiency in the management of government funds. There are instances where one arm of government would wind up with credit balances in one bank while at the same time borrowing in other banks and even in some cases, the same bank. Some government agencies would have credit balances in some of their accounts and debit balances in others in the same bank. They would then end up making huge interest payments on the debit balances while earning little or nothing on their credit balances. The TSA was to take care of all those inefficient account management practices.
Last week, CBN came up with the news that nine banks were suspended from the foreign exchange market for withholding and concealing over $2.2 billion NNPC/NLNG funds which were meant to have been remitted to the TSA last year. A day later, one of the banks was let off the hook, apparently, having remitted its own portion. Shortly after, the NNPC came out with a statement to the effect that it was actually the one that discovered the concealment and reported the matter to the Presidency which in turn called CBN’s attention to it. Meanwhile, the affected banks came out with different statements, explaining their own positions, most of them denying the concealment allegation.
I believe a lot of things went wrong with this whole drama. The most curious is the NNPC statement. Could it be true that NNPC discovered the ‘concealed’ funds after all the funds should have been remitted close to a year ago? If this is true, then something very terrible is wrong with an organisation which would discover that its $2.2 billion was missing, almost one year after. On the issue of concealment, is it possible for the banks to hide the said funds? My take is that it is not. All the banks render returns to the central bank periodically and public sector funds must be reported. Besides, the CBN and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) do very thorough examination of banks periodically and such records cannot be hidden.
While the intentions behind the TSA are quite laudable, I do think that the way it was implemented, rather hurt the economy big time. I also feel it was implemented at a very inappropriate time. First and foremost, we must look at the economy as a system with different component parts. A weakness in one unit easily becomes a weakness in the entire system. It is like a chain that is as strong as the weakest link. You may not like banks (and may be bankers), but they remain the engine of the economy. That is why everywhere in the world, banks are treated with some caution as any negative action naturally would have a spiral effect on the economy. The timing of the withdrawal of public sector funds from banks coincided with when the economy was reeling from drastic fall in oil prices and attendant foreign exchange crisis.
That was a time when all economic hands needed to be on deck to swim out of the mess we found ourselves. That should not have been the time to take such a drastic action that was capable of sinking some banks. If it is true that about N3.5 trillion was lost by the commercial banks to TSA, it therefore follows that the banking industry lost over 50 per cent of total specified liquid assets which had averaged N6.75 trillion in the last two years. Put simply, liquid assets of banks are cash and near cash items which banks can access quickly to meet short term maturing obligations. The most important job of the bank is to be able to pay customers when they want to withdraw their money. Every bank must have enough war chest to respond to emergency withdrawals.
Therefore, the ability of banks to deal with this most important function was reduced by half as a result of the implementation of the TSA. The other point is that the withdrawal represented about 20 per cent of deposits of all the banks in the country estimated at about N17.5 trillion as at the end of the first quarter this year and 13 per cent of the aggregate assets of the industry which stood at N27.4 trillion by the end of April this year. A cursory look at these numbers will show that this economy is not only small, but very fragile even in the best of times. This is more so during a period of severe economic crisis such as now. Understanding these issues should help in determining the kind of shock the economy can
absorb.
Given the scenario painted, one thinks a phased approach would have been a lot better than the ‘one fell swoop’ action. Having done that already, I believe that the events of last week are unhelpful given the recession that has hit us. The implication of banning those banks amongst which are four of the eight systemically important banks includes that their customers would have to go elsewhere for foreign trade transactions including letters of credit and bills payments denominated in foreign currency. The panic created could make customers want to withdraw their deposits for fear of losing them, in case CBN makes good its threat to further penalise those banks.
The banned banks themselves, who I understand were unable to pay the $2.2 billion because of lack of dollar liquidity and the scarcity experienced in the foreign exchange market are further thrown into more crises as they have been shut out of the market from where they could have been able to source the foreign exchange to pay back. The ability of such banks to engage in lending activities would also be impaired by this action. Their margins would be further put under pressure and they would be left with no option than to consider further cost cutting measures including laying off staff like we had seen in the recent past.
The central bank needs not be reminded that one of its most important functions is to maintain financial and economic systems stability. It must weigh its action against this major requirement. I am unable to see how the recent action helps stability. The announcement-effect has great capacity to further damage the brands and precipitate a run on the banks. Foreign exchange rates that had hovered around N395 to the dollar jumped next day to over N400 and closed on Friday at around N410. The stock market also responded sharply as it was reported that banking stocks headed south, resulting in the loss of billions of naira in market capitalisation. My thoughts are that the central bank should look deeply at the circumstances surrounding the inability of those banks to pay back the deposits in the original currency that they were received.
It should, therefore, consider accepting local currency equivalent from the banks. In fact, the CBN should debit the banks’ accounts domiciled with it for the naira equivalent. Some of the banks had extended fairly long term loans to both the power and oil sector which we all know cannot be liquidated immediately. Some have even made provisions for the loans in the light of the current realities of the economy. The alternative is for the CBN to work out structured repayment plan for the banks to enable them pay back the funds to the TSA over an agreed period of time. We should do everything to prevent a crisis in the banking sector. The last exercise which resulted in the creation of AMCON left the economy with very deep scars as the cost of that resolution was above N4 trillion and recovery is proving extremely difficult.
While I agree with the benefits of the TSA as intelligently espoused by its proponents, I do have quite some concerns about it. Besides the timing issue I raised earlier, I do not agree that taking out such large amount of money from the banking system and locking same away in CBN vault is useful to the economy. Economists talk about the multiplier effect of money. This means that money in banks is capable of creating more money as banks continue to lend portions of it to areas of need. Denying the banking industry access to such an amount of money is a great disservice to the economy. It is also a disservice to the government as I am not sure that CBN would pay interest to government at market rate, that is, if pays at all. There is no denying the fact that government remains the largest spender in the economy as shown by the numbers above.
Keeping the largest spender out of the banking system can only hurt the economy as the ability of financial intermediaries to put such funds to use is hampered. CBN is not structured to operate as a commercial bank and that is why the subtle complaints from some parastatals about difficulty in making simple payments and procurements since the implementation of TSA. My submission about the TSA is that it should be reviewed to work in all the banks where the government has accounts. Every bank will be made to have a TSA which is accessible to both the CBN and the government, where all government balances are pooled on a daily basis and the bank is made to pay interest on aggregate credit balances and charge interest on debit balances.
The system could also be designed such that either CBN or Ministry of Finance would fund all debit balances in banks on a daily basis to ensure the issue of paying interest in one bank while the government has net credit balances in others does not arise. All told, I must also remind banks that it is unacceptable in banking to engage in mismatch of any form, be it tenor or currency. Lending short term funds for long term projects is a ‘no no’. So is lending foreign currency for projects that can only generate local currency. Having said that, I strongly believe that it is no use throwing away the baby and the bath water.
FAKE ARTICLE THAT WAS TRENDING IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA
On Wednesday August 24, my attention was drawn to a mischievous article by some spineless folks titled “IN MONTHS TO COME, A TOYOTA CAMRY WOULD BE OFFERED FOR N50,000 JUST TO FEED THE FAMILY”. This poorly written article that trended in the social media had my name as the author. It made an attempt to cast aspersions on the president comparing his first coming to the present. I will like to inform everyone who saw the article that it does not have anything to do with me. I consider it a hatchet man’s job whose purpose I am yet to ascertain. I therefore call on my readers to ignore it and note that the medium for my articles is “Outside The Box” in THISDAY Newspapers and www.thisdaylive.com.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/the-tsa-and-financial-systems-stability/
|
en
| 2016-03-14T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/864b603bbd0cfdfbc85245139b1d36191bd0fcf0c6194c2fdce75f818a37e5e1.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Umar Ardo",
"Tony Oshea"
] | 2016-08-29T06:50:48 | null | 2016-03-04T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fwikes-political-mastery%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/04153909/040316-Nyesom-Wike.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Wike’s Political Mastery
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Dahiru Hassan Kera writes that the current over-bearing security misuse in Rivers State against the state government will have consequences
It’s apparent that the history of Nigerian’s democracy is coterminous with the history of the nation’s development. Democracy in Nigeria has its roots traced back to the post-independence era with military interregnum recorded within the long epochs.
In 1966, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and several key politicians that included the ministers from all the regions were assassinated and Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi became the head of military government, being an Igbo extract, he was overthrown by a countercoup that was instigated and staged largely by northern-backed army officers that named Yakubu Gowon as the head of state.
Equally, the Second Republic elections gave politicians a surviving breath amidst distrust, fear, alleged marginalisation, apprehension, and discriminations. In 1979, there was first political merger between the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and Azikiwe’s Nigerian’s People’s Party (NPP). Though the voting was done along ethnic lines, the Shagari NPN, which had enjoyed supports across the regions, won the presidential election.
Unfortunately, the military in 1983 gave Nigerians a ‘New Year’ gift by cutting short another chance for a sustainable civilian government to thrive by staging a bloodless coup led by Buhari, which overthrew the democratically elected government of Shehu Shagari.
The trend had continued from the Buhari, IBB, Abiola’s annulled June 12, Abacha, Abdulsalami and finally, Obasanjo’s second coming in 1999. The return of a sustainable democratic government in 1999 was a breakthrough in the history of Nigerian politics, where for the first time, the country witnessed an uninterrupted and sustainable democratic regimes spanning for over 16 years to date.
Therefore, the efforts of the famous G9, the heroes of democracy must be acknowledged. Dr Sule Lamido, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, Malam Adamu Chiroma, Prof. Gerry Gana, Dr Alex Ekwueme, the late Senator Francis Ellah, the late Bola Ige, the late Abubakar Rimi, and the late Solomon Lar, had fought their way to actualise the return of democracy. But, the unfortunate part of the journey is the way and manner the Nigerian democracy been regarded as nascent and budding with a serious threat to its sustainability from today’s power players at the villa.
The whole thing is centered on purposeful leadership as it’s ordained by God that leadership coexists both in the animal and human kingdoms. While in the jungle, leadership generally belongs to the strong, valiant and courageous animal and those that possess these attributes have the sole aim of protecting the weak of the clan, to feed and train the young while promoting discipline and well-being among the herds.
In the human and the most complex kingdom biologically known, the burden of leadership naturally falls upon a charismatic, selfless and vision-driven individuals, whose power is rooted in the transparent determination to use wisdom and Gods endowed knowledge to design viable policies and strategies geared towards entrenchment of good governance and socio-economic development for the benefits of human followers.
Therefore, leaders could have negative or positive impacts on their followers depending on the way and manner they applied their innate endowments to the ecology. It’s obvious that wicked and roguish disposition produce despots and tyrants while a sensible, compassionate, transparent and judicious inclination yields a charismatic type of leader and proportionately cultivates loyal and loving followers.
In Rivers State, another political hero has emerged. The citizens have tested and witnessed the two sides of the leadership from Rotimi Amaechi’s government to the present Nyesome Wike’s administration. While the former regime has used the his mandate in a manner that was encapsulated in alleged excesses, the latter has seen a reason to use his mandate to further better the living conditions of the Rivers people.
There have been attempts targeting Governor Wike’s administration and his reputation. The recent invasion of state by an intimidating security operatives to scuttle the scheduled PDP convention, who blocked the entrances of the proposed venue and the Rivers State Government House to an extent of damaging some government vehicles as well as the deployment of heavy and armed soldiers during the rerun elections in Rivers, have left the people in palpable fear, while undermining the relative peace in the state.
While many political pundits have raised eyebrows over the underlying motives and the abuse of power and laws by security operatives, such stunted political reasoning flies in the face of logic and the realities of the moment because Wike as the governor of the state is the chief security officer of the state and undisputedly, the political leader. It’s surprising that the state was under siege by security operatives without any legal and security demand not to talk about collaborating with the governor.
The present administration has within one year in office striven to achieve a balance in the siting of infrastructure across the state not tilted to favor any person, including himself, and is blind to the blandishments of ethnic, linguistic or political inclination as according to Wike, the whole of Rivers State is his constituency.
As far he is concerned, Rivers State is one united and indivisible entity that cannot be dismembered to satisfy the cravings of selfish, self-centered and self-seeking cabals bent on subjugating and enslaving the people for their own self-perpetuating and self-aggrandizing ends. Therefore, those behind the overbearing security interference in Rivers politics should know that their actions are detrimental to democratic sustainability and Wike is equal to the task.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/wikes-political-mastery/
|
en
| 2016-03-04T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/da9536f9c7fa271b39d48380cff7cab5722d29443414d77efae5ddca8d6e5174.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"David Soul",
"Dunu Anselm",
"Edim Asekong",
"Don Franco"
] | 2016-08-31T10:51:31 | null | 2016-02-27T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F31%2Fwike-inaugurates-committee-for-elechi-amadis-burial%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/27234542/Wike-Ezenwo-Nyesom.jpg?fit=800%2C534
|
en
| null |
Wike Inaugurates Committee for Elechi Amadi’s Burial
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has stated that the late literary icon, Captain Elechi Amadi, deserves a befitting burial for his contributions to the development of the state, Nigeria and humanity.
Inaugurating the state burial committee for Amadi yeserday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike urged the family to cooperate with the committee to ensure that the late literary icon gets the deserved befitting burial.
He warned against the politicisation of the burial, pointing out that the state government would not struggle with any group on who should organise the burial.
The governor stated: “If the family does not want Rivers State Government to participate in the burial, it should make its position known.”
He said the committee was set up after wide consultation with different stakeholders in order to carry every group along.
He noted that the committee can co-opt more members as the need arises.
Wike said: “Nobody should localise the burial of the late Captain Elechi Amadi. In all ramifications, Amadi served the nation in extra-ordinary ways.”
He charged the committee to ensure that the burial takes place in the course of 2016. He said that the weather of the state should play a part in the date for the burial.
Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Frank Ohwor, assured the governor that members of the committee will work towards a befitting burial for the literary icon.
Those inaugurated by the governor are: Hon. Frank Owhor (Chairman ), Hon. David Briggs (Secretary), Prince Paul Wonodi (Deputy Chairman), Chief Monday Mgbor , Hon. Hope Ikiriko . Mr. Chris Orji and Chairman, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
Others are: Henry Wordu, Mrs. Preye Elechi Amadi, Mr. Carl Amadi, Mr Azubuike Elechi Amadi, Professor S.C. Achinewhu, Ben Ugo and Chief V. Ama
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/31/wike-inaugurates-committee-for-elechi-amadis-burial/
|
en
| 2016-02-27T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/08e3fada24af368c729c0fca80b91e6e655e835e525f7d728e915d9be2f03390.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"No Bull .....",
"Marcus Ijele"
] | 2016-08-27T10:50:05 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Ffg-launches-school-to-work-scheme%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/26161221/Chris-Ngige.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
FG Launches School-to-Work Scheme
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
By Bassey Inyang in Calabar
The Federal Government has launched the School-to-Work Scheme which it noted, was designed to prepare children for after school employment.
Launching the programme facilitated by the Federal Government under the National Directorate of Employment (NDE),in Calabar on Thursday evening, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, said the scheme would provide the needed skills for young people in school for self-employment after they would have graduated from secondary school.
“It is pertinent to note that the STWS is aimed at introducing the concept of skills acquisition training very early to our youths. Secondary school students from JSS2 to JSS3 have been selected to participate in the pilot phase simultaneously running in the following states: Cross River, Kogi, Anambra, Bauchi, Katsina and Ondo states.
“This will enable them to acquire skills that will change their future in the absence of white collar jobs,” Ngige said.
The minister said the School-to-Work programme curriculum has been designed to deliver vocational, agricultural, entrepreneurial and life skill training to the trainees within two months vacation period.
Ngige said those who need up-skilling would be assisted during the next long vacation of the following year.
“I am convinced that the School-to-Work Scheme when fully implemented would have created a new army of young responsible Nigerians who are equiiped with 21st century skills and are very willing and prepared to take not just their own destinies in their hands, but that of this great country. “Their attitude to work, nation building and wealth creation would have been properly shaped to fully align with the change agenda of the APC-led Government at the centre,”
Ngige said.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/fg-launches-school-to-work-scheme/
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/468724f83f1659c6ac81dea81a6e9535fe4745da8ad1efc209a77776b057e92b.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Abubakar Bello",
"Osit Brown",
"Oladosu Joseph"
] | 2016-08-30T06:51:06 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Finvestors-to-inject-14bn-into-nigerian-economy%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/29233801/Greenstone-Capital-International.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Investors to Inject $14bn into Nigerian Economy
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Crusoe Osagie
International investors, under the aegis of Greenstone Capital International Africa and Tacnero Global, have announced the approval of $14billion for Nigeria out of the $200billion that would be injected into five African countries.
The money is to be warehoused in Standard Chartered and two other Nigerian banks for immediate project execution in Nigeria.
The group’s legal adviser, Greg Anumenechi, who made this known in a statement said the investors were still committed to strategic sectors of the country’s economy including sectors like Agriculture, Aviation, Medicals, Solid Minerals, Marine, Power and Petroleum.
The investment tagged AMPLE, will be extended into real estate, Industries, Information Technology, Parks, Education and the expansion of Nigeria’s version of Silicon Valley. Other African countries to benefit are Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and South Africa.
Anumenechi noted that the investors had already gotten the approval for a Silicon Valley University in Lagos State, adding that they were also investing in the development of clean energy to serve the entire country as well as building an ultra-modern modular refinery for oil and gas development.
He noted in the statement that the Silicon Valley Charis International University has been described by Anthony Owens, a British Chartered Accountant from the UK group as being the first in Africa for ICT Industrial Park.
With the release of part of the funds it is expected that the project will commence immediately. Anumenechi said “It will create jobs as many Nigerians will be engaged in the construction process and upon completion, the project will in turn boost the internally generated revenue for the country.”
It is expected that the injection of such massive funds into Nigeria and the other African countries for business development will generate over two million employment opportunities in Africa, with Nigeria taking the chunk because of its enormous potential.
Anumenechi said: “some of the projects already earmarked and approved for Nigeria include the construction of massive housing schemes in Festac and Ibeju-Lekki areas of Lagos; agriculture development projects in Osun and Ogun states; an international airline and a world-class pharmaceutical industry also in Osun State.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/30/investors-to-inject-14bn-into-nigerian-economy/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/d295ff15da1d7827d8313c1fb15edcb0020e7485f0558b2b2b66c54b2a082b63.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Bassey Ndem",
"Edward Osadebay"
] | 2016-08-29T20:51:00 | null | 2016-06-15T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fpdp-bot-grants-sheriffs-request-to-hold-convention-in-abuja%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/15215606/Ali-Modu-Sheriff1.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
PDP BoT Grants Sheriff’s Request To Hold Convention In Abuja
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Gives Makarfi-led caretaker committee thumbs-up
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has yielded to one of the demands by the former national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, to hold its next national convention in Abuja.
The BoT on Monday directed the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee to consider Abuja as the venue for the next national convention as part of efforts aimed at resolving the lingering leadership crisis in the party.
While passing a vote of confidence on the National Caretaker Committee, the BoT charged the committee to, as soon as possible, convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee to approve proposals for moving the party forward accordingly.
The embattled former National Chairman of the party had given some conditions for resolving the crisis in the party, one of which is the holding of the national convention in Abuja.
Sheriff also demanded the removal of Governor Wike as head of convention planning committee.
In a communique read by its National Chairman, Senator Walid Jubrin, shortly after its meeting that lasted for about four hours, the BoT directed that a new convention planning committee be immediately constituted by the caretaker committee.
However, Senator Jibrin said that the Planning Committee, BoT should be approved by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) this time around.
The BoT communique reads: : “The next convention should be held in Abuja.To ensure a credible, transparent, free and fair convention, a new Convention Planning Committee should be constituted by the National Caretaker Committee and approved by NEC.”
As part of the plans to to seek alternative funding platform for the convention, Walid said that the BoT has accepted to facilitate the raising of adequate funds for the party.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/pdp-bot-grants-sheriffs-request-to-hold-convention-in-abuja/
|
en
| 2016-06-15T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/d57c9981d4f7552f1aabc864caa04b84e1d89ac5cf71f987c03d00bf3647f94d.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"John Paul",
"Bassey Ndem"
] | 2016-08-27T02:49:58 | null | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fdogara-others-collected-n10bn-as-running-costs-alleges-abdulmumini%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/13034241/Abdulmumin-Jibrin1.jpg?fit=800%2C539
|
en
| null |
Dogara, Others Collected N10bn as Running Costs, Alleges Abdulmumini
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Damilola Oyedele in Abuja
The sacked Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumini yesterday continued his campaign against Speaker Yakubu Dogara, and others, by alleging that monies amounting to about N10 billion had been received as running costs by all 10 principal officers, from when they joined the National Assembly.
Abdulmumini, in a statement, claimed Dogara received N1.5 billion in sub-head allowances from when he was elected into the House in 2007, to date, while Deputy Speaker Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun has received N800 million.
Dogara, was Chairman, Committee on House Services in the seventh assembly, while Lasun was Deputy Chairman, Committee on Water Resources.
According to Abdulmumini, the allowances, which he termed running costs, were collected by many members and used as personal funds.
“No more, no less – case closed! Most of these members used it to acquire properties, cars and live a life of luxury they never lived before coming to the House. Though, there exist systems for retirement of such money but a simple investigation by a primary school pupil will reveal the massive fraud therein,” he said.
He alleged that the Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who was minority leader in the sixth and seventh assemblies received N1.2 billion, while Deputy House Leader, Jibril Buba also received N1.2 billion from 2007 to date.
“Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa who has been in the House since 2003 has received N1.2 billion, while Deputy Chief Whip has received N700 million from 2011 to date.
“Minority Leader Leo Ogor has been in the House from 2007 to date. He has received N1.2 billion. Deputy Minority Leader Barde has been in the House from 2011 to date. He has received N700 million. Minority Whip Chuma has been in the House from 2007 to date. He had received N800 million. And finally, Deputy Minority Whip, Binta has been in the House from 2011 to date. She has received N700 million,” he said.
“So, in between these 10 principal officers, the country has pumped about N10 billion – and still counting. As I have mentioned earlier, in most cases, with few exceptions, these funds are diverted for personal use. I will provide further break down of these figures in due course. I will also provide 50 additional names of members with worst cases of diversion of such funds in due course so we can name and shame them,” Abdulmumini added.
The embattled lawmaker added that the ‘running costs’ was outside of salaries of lawmakers.
“The consequential effect of dealing with corruption in the House, especially the allowances issue, will take its toll on even elections. Candidates usually spend so much money hoping that they can recoup from the huge allowances they will receive when elected into House. When you know that there is no such money in the House to be shared, I am sure nobody will want to put in so much money just to win an election to the House. The resultant effect will be that only people who truly want to serve will vie for the office, and voters will be obliged to vote according to the dictate of their conscience. This is just one advantage,” he added in the statement.
Meanwhile the House has said it would no longer join issues with Abdulmumini over his stream of allegations.
Speaking with THISDAY, the Chairman of the Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Namdas Abdulrazak said the party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has directed all parties to stop commenting publicly on the matter.
We abide by the party’s directive, Namdas said.
He however queried why Abdulmumini cannot wait for the anti-graft agencies to whom he has submitted petitions, to do their job.
It should be recalled that last week, all 10 principal officers, in a statement, jointly clarified that the decision to remove Abdulmumini, was a collective decision.
“The decision to relieve the erstwhile Appropriation Chairman of his position was a collective decision of the leadership in response to unrelenting pressures from the overwhelming majority of Honourable Members who were irked by the former Chairman’s gross abuse of the budget process. Both actions were taken in the best interest of the institution and the nation for which we take full responsibility,” the statement read.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/dogara-others-collected-n10bn-as-running-costs-alleges-abdulmumini/
|
en
| 2016-08-13T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/ec2b56c9e2ad7edc5a68a249d829d250710180de3b185468d4fff4516012680f.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Bassey Ndem",
"Edward Osadebay"
] | 2016-08-29T20:50:58 | null | 2016-03-29T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fanssir-appeals-to-fg-to-settle-unpaid-stipends%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/29020405/290316-Adamu-Adamu.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
ANSSIR Appeals to FG to Settle Unpaid Stipends
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Ugo Aliogo and Chidinma Okonkwo
The Association of Scholarship Students in Russia (ANSSIR) has appealed to the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) to pay up the monthly stipends owned Nigeria students studying in Russia, saying that the 10 months allowance has been delayed for long.
The President of the association, Jenny Onyemachi, who made the appeal in a telephone conversation with THISDAY, said since October 2015, the students have been experiencing incessant delays in the payment of their stipends, “they only paid part of last year till October; therefore from November 2015 to August 2016, we have not received any payment.”
Onyemachi stated that when she met with members of the FSB, it was discovered that there was no money available, adding that the condition of the students in Russia is unpleasant, “I wrote a letter to the minister of education and submitted to the personal assistant, but nothing meaningful has been done.”
She regretted that some Nigerian students borrow from students from other countries in order to survive, stressing that some cannot afford to feed three times daily and manage whatever food that is given to them by others.
“This is the toughest time for us. We don’t have direct access to the scholarship board in Russia, besides they don’t fund our stipends. The money comes from the scholarship board in Nigeria; the Russian government pays the tuition fees, while Nigerian government pays for upkeep of the students.
“Students who graduated are yet to get their tickets back home. These students may be deported if nothing is done positively by the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow to address the issue.”
The Vice-President, Faith Tosin Olapade, said the students have sent videos and articles on the issue to the federal government and the Embassy in Moscow, adding that yearly they fight for their stipends. “Normally, we get it when the budget process is almost complete.”
Olapade lamented that there are several challenges with receiving money from Nigerian banks, adding that only few people with access get to receive the money with the normal exchange rates, “most times the embassy officials say to us that they can’t help.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/anssir-appeals-to-fg-to-settle-unpaid-stipends/
|
en
| 2016-03-29T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/70d1741b22da9c4412f8d6942d69dcc09cd53788f36225b3bc741b016e35ae61.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Abubakar Bello",
"Osit Brown",
"Oladosu Joseph"
] | 2016-08-30T06:51:08 | null | 2016-04-25T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fndelta-peace-talks-mend-recants-agrees-to-work-with-clarks-team%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/25121221/MEND-Militants.png?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
N’Delta Peace Talks: MEND Recants, Agrees to Work with Clark’s Team
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Avengers slam Buhari over Boko Haram ‘treatment’ threat
Troops sustain operations in oil region
Senator Iroegbu in Abuja, Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa and Idowu Sylvester in Warri
Citing the need for the Niger Delta to forge a common front in the proposed peace talks between the federal government and militants in the region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) monday pledged its allegiance to the Edwin Clark negotiation team.
But MEND, which had earlier threatened to pull out of the negotiations aimed at ending the spate of vandalism of infrastructure in the oil-rich region, resulting in a significant loss of oil revenue, vowed to closely monitor Clark’s group in the next few months.
The group, which also nominated Mr. Ledum Mitee, an environmental activist; Ibanga Isine, a journalist; and Timipa Okponipere, a lawyer, to represent it in the elder statesman’s committee, insisted that the new group must take into cognisance the progress MEND had made in the talks with the government.
Specifically, the group maintained that the concessions it had succeeded in extracting from the government, including the release of those it described as “political prisoners” such as Henry and Charles Okah, who are in prison for their alleged involvement in the Independence Day bombings in Abuja six years ago, as part of the progress.
A statement signed by MEND’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, said the group reserves the rights to recall its nominees in Clark’s group within six months if it noticed anything untoward during the negotiations.
MEND had earlier rejected the Clark group, unlike the Niger Delta Avengers, the most violent of all the groups in the Niger Delta region, which had during its ceasefire declaration, picked the Ijaw leader’s group as its only recognised platform for any peace talks with the federal government.
“Thereby effecting the take off of ‘Operation Moses’, which is also hereby suspended. We sincerely thank all the patriots who honoured our invitation to serve and wish them well in their respective endeavours.
“The disbandment became necessary following MEND’s decision to recognise and work with Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, as the leader of a pan-Niger Delta dialogue and peace initiative.
“We have always advocated that the Niger Delta region must speak with a single voice under a single umbrella body, otherwise the much-sought-after peace and development shall elude the region, again.
“Therefore, under the new collaborative arrangement, MEND has nominated Messrs Ledum Mitee, Ibanga Isine and Timipa Jenkins Okponipere to work alongside Chief Clark and other stakeholders.
“MEND shall continue to monitor the pace of progress of the Chief Edwin Clark-led team and reserves the right to recall its nominees after six months.
“Nevertheless, MEND is compelled to categorically warn that it is not yet uhuru. The Chief Edwin Clark-led new initiative should realise that MEND was already in preliminary talks with the federal government as confirmed by President Muhammadu Buhari himself,” the group stressed.
It added: “In fact, we have so far been able to secure a number of concessions, some of which include, but are not limited to the release of political prisoners.
“We expect that Chief Clark and his team shall follow through with the rest of the dialogue and peace process.”
MEND had initially slammed Clark for lacking the moral authority to champion the restructuring of the country, noting that he and other leaders of the region kept quiet during the six-year administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The group also asked the federal government to ignore the resolution reached at a Niger Delta stakeholders consultative meeting held at the PTI Conference Centre Effurun, Delta State, where Clark formally took charge of leading the ceasefire talks.
It said, among other things, that the leaders of the region failed to categorically condemn the criminal and treasonable activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which has claimed responsibility for series of attacks on oil facilities in the region.
MEND Slams ‘General’ Africa
In a related development, MEND also accused the Bayelsa State Government of sponsoring killings in the state, alleging that the government had been using one of the group’s former commanders, General Africa, to commit crimes against innocent people.
“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) also condemns in very strong terms, the extra-judicial killings and deception by the Bayelsa State Government-sponsored militia under the leadership of our former commander, Mr. Africanus Ukparasia, aka General Africa, an ex-militant whose legal agreement signed under the presidential amnesty programme clearly forbade him to bear arms under any guise.
“In flagrant violation and disregard of the unilateral ceasefire recently declared by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), and previously declared ceasefire by MEND to give ongoing peace talks a chance, these soldiers of fortune calling themselves Bayelsa State Waterways Security Task Force and their military collaborators have been attacking and killing soft targets such as debtors, personal enemies and perceived informants of NDA and cultists, thereafter displaying their corpses and weapons from the military armoury as if those arms and ammunition were recovered.
“Africanus, his thugs and the military are hereby warned to put a stop to their criminal acts and respect the ongoing ceasefire or else he, Africanus, and all his known fixed assets acquired during the fraudulent amnesty period will become legitimate targets.
“Africanus is also warned not to venture close to any MEND camps as our commanders have been informed to see him as an enemy and defend themselves,” MEND said.
NDA Dares Buhari
But as MEND announced a new team to hold negotiations on its behalf, in collaboration with the team led by Clark, the Avengers monday broke its silence on the military exercise code-named “Operation Crocodile Smile” in the oil region, saying no amount of troops’ surge and simulation would make the federal government win the oil war.
The militant group maintained that it knows the secret of the terrain and survival of amphibious operations in the region.
According to a statement by its spokesperson, Mudoch Agbinibo, the Avengers also lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari over his threat to give its members the “Boko Haram treatment” should they refuse to dialogue.
On the military exercise, it declared: “The people of the Niger Delta have been living here from time immemorial, so we have the secret of the terrain and survival of amphibious operations.
“No amount of troops’ surge and simulation exercises will make you win the oil war, you can only win battles. You cannot apply the might of the state to restore the people’s confidence in your leadership when you cannot differentiate between genuine demands and being mismanaged by disorganised characters and tribal lords around you in your government.”
NDA said the president can deceive the whole world but not the Niger Deltans with the “glamorised ongoing military operations in the creeks of Ijaw communities in the Delta coded ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’.”
“The world should know that with your pronouncement in Kenya and your attitude to the military build up in the Niger Delta, it is crystal clear that the military has nothing less than pre-determined genocide in the Niger Delta and it is burning more already scarce national resources in the pockets of those that have failed to locate the missing Chibok school girls,” it stated.
The group wondered why Buhari is ever so eager to talk to foreign nations, rather than speaking to his fellow Nigerians about his plan of action.
It challenged the president to tell his foreign nation friends that his troops are about to carry out extra-judicial killings in the Niger Delta in violation of Article Four of the Geneva Convention with “Operation Crocodile Smile”.
“All sane minds know the meaning of the words ‘Crocodile Tears’ so by code-naming your military operation ‘Crocodile Smile’ only betrays your motives and attitude to the whole world about the Niger Delta question.
“The whole world will surely applaud you in The Hague when you leave office! This is not the Nigeria and the world of the 1980s and 1990s under General Sani Abacha and your watch,” the militia group stated.
Military Sustains Operations
As it issued its statement, the Joint Task Force (JTF) monday sustained its operations with a show of force around Warri and its environs in Delta State.
Fighter jets were seen hovering around Warri and its environs while military hardware, including new amoured tanks drove round the major roads, while boats mounted with machine guns patrolled the waterways and creeks.
The show of force, which started along the 3rd Battalion barracks at Effurun, took the JTF soldiers across major roads in Warri South and Uvwie Local Government Areas.
Speaking on the exercise, the Commander of the Nigerian Army 4th Brigade, Brigadier General Benbella Raji, said it was in line with Operation Crocodile Smile.
After the road show within Warri and its environs, the operation later shifted to the waterways and the air where armed soldiers took to speed boats, during which the newly acquired guns and speedboats and helicopters were on display.
Also, troops of the 4th Brigade sustained their operations against suspected militants, criminals and other armed groups in the Niger Delta region.
The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, in a statement yesterday, said that troops in gun and speedboats made tremendous progress, having raided suspected criminal hideouts in the creeks around Ajaosolo, Okogho, Opumani and Obodo general area.
Usman said that the troops, while conducting the exercise on Sunday, intercepted a suspected illegal oil bunkerer with a “Cotonou Boat” laden with crude oil, three 40 horsepower Yamaha speedboats and five 200 litres of illegally refined diesel oil.
He said the troops continued conducting the training exercise near Bomadi town, Bomadi Local Government Area and Pendo and Tuomu in Bururtu Local Government Area in Delta State, respectively.
“Two suspects, Mr. Tokolo Sawyer and Miss Showman Ebi-ere, were arrested at ‘Loveth Plaze’, while Mr. Kingsley Ebidimo and seven others with unidentified mission were equally arrested at Pendo, as they were found to be in possession of substance believed to be marijuana, an axe, two cutting saws and a long iron bender in their hideout.
“The suspects and exhibits have been handed over to the Nigeria Police at Bomadi,” he stated.
The army spokesman added that the troops continued with their field training exercise after taking possession of two more supporting weapons – a main battle tank, two Mine-Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and three Scorpion tanks – from the headquarters of the Nigerian Armour Corps.
He said as part of the training exercise, the troops carried out patrols along waterways in the creeks and recovered two “Cotonou Boats” and a 75 horsepower speedboat, 30 of 200 litres plastic drums containing liquid suspected to be illegally refined crude oil in the creeks at Ovwahwa in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State in the afternoon of Sunday August 28, 2016.
Usman said three suspected persons — Messrs College Owahwa, Joseph Katte and Olisa Patrick — found around the vicinity were arrested. They are currently being questioned, he added.
Based on intelligence reports, he also revealed that two illegal crude oil refineries were identified and destroyed by the exercising troops traversing Ayakoromo and Esaba waterways in Burutu Local Government area of Delta State.
“At about 5.00pm same day, two pumping machines and sets of new pipes used for the construction of illegal refineries and siphoning were found in the bush.
“Two suspects were interrogated to ascertain their involvement on the recovered items. The troops have continued their training exercise without hitch,” he added.
In addition to the training exercise, he said the troops equally carried out free medical outreaches in Sapele and near the Olu of Warri’s palace in Warri.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/30/ndelta-peace-talks-mend-recants-agrees-to-work-with-clarks-team/
|
en
| 2016-04-25T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/ce0ce5504021185131f59962a6f61e8ff378177bcc4f7dd5c6f7d49d1d480803.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Thompson Iyeye",
"John Paul"
] | 2016-08-30T02:51:01 | null | 2016-04-01T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Ftinubu-and-his-egungun%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/01012026/OKEY-IKECHUKWU.jpg?fit=150%2C124
|
en
| null |
Tinubu and His Egungun
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Edifying Elucidations By Okey ikechukwu, Email: [email protected]
As I write, there is some talk about procuring emergency powers for Mr. President. Soon Nigeria will be made to build an expressway whenever he wants to take a walk. Meanwhile the existing and inhering powers in that office have not been understood, or been properly and substantially unexercised, by the incumbent. It was not the lack of emergency powers that delayed the nomination and appointment of ministers for four months. Emergency powers are not needed today in order to appoint boards and inaugurate them, months after they were dissolved; among other basic but critical administrative and policy issues. Will the much-vaunted emergency powers remove the fact that the budget the government is trying to implement stands at about 38% of its value at the time it was passed and will not deliver anything? The Presidency`s explanation that Mr. President himself does not know anything about this plan to secure emergency powers for him only worsens matters.
It means that we are back to the practice of defending the initiator and beneficiary of a plan by assuring everyone that he knows nothing about it. Remember Abacha`s failed transmutation? President Obasanjo once received a letter at his Ota Farm, all on national television, “the content of which he did not know”. The PDP Governors and party leaders who allegedly authored the letter had assembled in his farm to deliver it. The rest is history.
Truth is: most of those who birthed the current Presidency, complete with ill-advised intimations of El Dorado, are now confounded. The once most enthusiastic among them are quivering in the limited space allowed him by the very talisman they procured and celebrated. Their circumstance is proof that a politician may get into trouble more because of his own errors of judgment than from the evil machinations of his enemies and competitors. The lessons of the hour for the Lion of Bourdilon, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC`s hastily contrived coalition, are legion. There is “ominous loyalty” from all sides. That loyalty rests on a frivolous thesis: namely, that it is best not to publicly disown a government they have concluded in private is no government al all.
These loyalists are all standing in public with bruises inflicted on them by their own, or their family`s, Egungun or masquerade. The very Opambata, or cane, with which they are being flogged was crafted by them. And this avoidable misfortune is all traceable to their inebriated and hasty grab at power, without close attention to some essential ingredients of political discretion. Look around you and you will see the truth of the saying that politicians can be likened to the spotted hyena, of which it is said: “Of all mammals, they are the most self-centred and most inconsiderate. They are also the most brutal to their kind”.
As explained to me by some Yoruba friends who are versed in some aspects of the Yoruba cultural traditions, an Egun (singular for Egungun) is always someone`s Egun. But `Egungun` in its more specific, common sense, refers to masquerades connected with the ancestors as a collective force for communal unity, moral probity and economic betterment. (This makes the president our National Egungun). But even when the word is used in the broadest sense, wherein “Egungun refers to all types masquerades, or masked and costumed figures, (like Speaker, Chief Whip, Majority Leader, Committee Chair, Senate President, etc.), it is still dressed and `brought out` by its `owners`.
An act of invocation (known as ”Alapi”) must be performed by the Chief priest, ushering the Egungun, before the worshippers dance, drum and are possessed by the ancestral Egungun, or spirit. It was Tinubu who performed this ceremony, as Chief Priest of the APC. But contrary to the norm in the Egungun cult and Festival, wherein the the Chief Priest and family members are not `flogged out of the way` by the Egungun, Chief Bola Tinubu and his co-travellers were soon in the line of fire. The spirit they summoned turned out not to be the one they intended, or expected.
Tinubu, as Chief Priest, had barely finished the “political Alapi rituals” before the Egugun came for his throat, intent on summarily asphyxiating him. He barely extricated himself and is still clearing his throat, after that unfriendly grip. Smaller masquerades, like Saraki, are still scampering for cover. The masqueraders have thus become victims of the distemper of the very masquerade they dressed up and brought to the village square. Their political calculations before the elections, including their fallback positions and their third level machinations, have collapsed. The masquerade has shredded its leash. Disappointments, heartache and an embarrassingly ethnocentric presidency that treats everyone with contempt are the harvests of our masqueraders.
Traditional wisdom dictates that a man who secures himself a talisman should be protected by it, especially from the machinations of his enemies. But no talisman can protect, or prevent, a man from harming himself. No talisman can also prevent a man from carrying out harmful designs that his enemies would have loved, but which he personally inflicts on himself; out of folly, or in a temporary attack of un-wisdom. Read the auguries badly, take an unwise decision, or embark on the wrong course of action in any given situation and you become prime candidate for sundry misfortunes. Your security man cannot prevent you from quietly killing yourself in your bedroom, behind doors you locked with your own hands. Thus the talismanic code of service avoids presumptive interference with the free volition of its owner in matters of self-destruction; lest it be accused of exogamous talismanic insurrection.
An Igbo proverb says that the person who goes to a heap of birds and brings home a vulture will be scandalized by the fact that his greed made him focus on the presumed quantity of meat, instead of the species of bird he was carrying home as booty. That is the issue for many of APC`s erstwhile promoters and supporters today. All the warnings about the wrong political and personality profiling of their man was ignored. All his reflexes, which were clear intimations of what was to come, were ignored. Today the chickens have all come home to roost – along with everything no one bargained for.
The APC talisman has done enough harm already; yet it is still at work! President Buhari, in all his phlegmatic, somnambulistic and incompetent wobble shall be an essential instrument for a national winnowing and cleansing that is long overdue. Not because he designed it, or because it is a planned engagement, but because his bungling will make a conflagration inevitable. There shall be mighty winds and heavy rains, floods, landslides and denudations. Even the rainmakers shall fall victim to the elements; because they did not know the full implications of the incantations they were mumbling. Lo and behold, the entities they unwittingly invoked have emerged. And they cannot even take full flight! They locked the gates before the incantations began. They arranged a funeral, while dressed for a banquette, such that, even if Buhari leaves the stage today, all cannot to be the same in Nigeria ever again.
Do not take solace in the Igbo saying: “When your talisman begins to assume a life of its own and even terrorize you, it is time to show it the tree from which it was carved and remind it of how it was `activated`”. That proverb rests on the belief that the talisman in question actually belongs to the man who is laying claim to it. In the case under reference, the ownership of the APC talisman is open to question. Remember that, shortly after the elections, Buhari thanked Nasarawa State for catalyzing his victory. This gesture left the South West and its politicians speechless with consternation. Thereafter the president assured the nation that patronage and appointments would go to “those who stood by him” through thick and thin. They turned out to be members of his nuclear and extended families!
Thus, the joke is on those who are now discovering that some sneaky third parties had made substantial inputs into the `programming` of what they paraded as their talisman. Welcome to the triumph of unmitigated talismanic insurrection, a la Tinubu, APC their Change Project in Nigeria. They are like a man who, after dressing up a masquerade and bringing it to the village square, faces the indignity of seeing the masquerade dancing to its own music, not responding to his controlling gestures, and also even not refraining from flogging him. Such a man will find no solace in the Igbo saying: “A masquerade that flogs its followers and drummers walks alone and ceases to dance”. Reason: that proverb did not take into account the possibility that a masquerade may smuggle a drum into the village square, or plan in advance to disperse the original drummers for new ones.
Besides, there are solitary, cheerless masquerades; which do not dance, or play with anyone. They are rarely relevant to the joy of the community, except during occasions that call for a certain ceremonial aridity. No one who has his wits about him prances after a masquerade that is known to operate without due regard for teams, drummers and followers. Those who put their wits on hold while preparing for electoral victory are looking for it now!
It was rumoured that Tinubu and many senior politicians initially resolved to wait the man out. “Oh, it`s just a minor blight on our political landscape”, they thought. Not anymore! Fear and perplexity are in the air. Baffled, besmirched, excoriated and roundly diminished by their masquerade`s aberrant and atavistic totality, they crouch; hobbled, as they huddle. Aquiver in little corners, they are now muttering “Olori buruku, ma ba te mi je o! (One with evil fortune, please may your ill luck not contaminate my fortune, or affect me and ruin my good fortune o!) Is that also not too late now?
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/30/tinubu-and-his-egungun/
|
en
| 2016-04-01T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/855bdc53f2e8806570020f4ed25fe49849adf51352b131570f0df0bc8b5543b0.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Pius Pumpum",
"Umar Ardo",
"Ann Akinwande",
"Bello Ibrahim",
"Ekema Eguakun"
] | 2016-08-27T06:50:05 | null | 2016-07-25T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fcbn-moves-against-illegal-international-fund-transfer%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/25051645/Central-Bank-of-Nigeria-CBN.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
CBN Moves Against Illegal International Fund Transfer
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Naira falls to N412/$ on parallel market
Obinna Chima
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday said it observed that some banks are operating accounts either as companies or companies masking themselves as individuals for the purpose of illegally receiving money transfer flows into those accounts for onward disbursements to recipients in Nigeria.
This came on the day the naira sustained its downswing on the parallel market as it fell to a record low of N412 to the dollar, as against the N408 to the dollar it closed the previous day.
To curb this international fund transfer, the CBN in a circular titled: “Illegal International Money Remittances Through the Banking System,” dated August 25, 2016, and signed by its Acting Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Mr. W.D. Gotring, directed banks to identify and freeze such accounts receiving illicit flows with immediate effects.
The banks were also directed to submit the mandate and account details of these accounts held in naira or foreign currency to it for onward reporting to the security agencies.
“The CBN therefore reiterates that deposit money banks have the absolute responsibility to conduct Know Your Customers’ Business (KYCB) checks on all their customers to ensure that they do not transact in illegal/illicit flows,” it added.
Meanwhile, experts have expressed concern that the falling value of the naira coupled with a high inflation rate of 16.5 per cent is making the nation’s currency to lose its function as a store of value.
But on the interbank forex market, the spot rate of the naira rose marginally to N314.95 to the dollar yesterday, higher than the N316.84 to the dollar it closed the previous day.
The strong depreciation of the naira on the parallel forex market was majorly attributed to the strong demand for the greenback by customers of the eight banks that were banned from foreign exchange transactions.
It was gathered that a lot of them now patronise the parallel market for dollar purchases to meet their pressing obligations as they await the resolution of the matter between their financial institutions and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN on Tuesday barred nine banks from participating in the forex market for not remitting a total of $2.334 billion Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company dollar deposits to the federal government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The affected banks were: the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Ltd, Diamond Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Keystone Bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ltd and Heritage Bank Limited.
But UBA was re-admitted into the forex market by the CBN on Thursday having complied with its directive.
Speaking in a telephone interview with THISDAY yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of Graeme Blaque Group, Zeal Akaraiwe faulted the restriction of the banks from participating in the forex market, saying the action by the central bank sent a wrong signal to investors.
“There CBN ought to have imposed other punishment. We are having serious forex problem in this country, clients cannot find forex and you are banning banks from the forex market. What I see is that we are trying to sabotage ourselves.
“This would certainly affect investor confidence, especially the foreign investors which we have been pursuing. The financial market works on a lot of confidence and destroying the confidence does not help anybody.”
Akaraiwe expressed concern that the nation’s currency has lost its quality as a store of value, saying a lot of people may be forced to dump the currency for other stronger currencies.
“Of course, it is going to increase the pressure in the forex market. And we cannot do anything about the dollar because we do not have natural control over dollar cash flow. One of the things we are suffering is cash flow problem. That is, we have dollar assets on the ground as oil, we have dollar assets sitting in oil companies, but we don’t have dollar cash and we are not doing anything to fix the problem.
“I keep emphasising that in the financial market, confidence is very important and you must do all to retain that confidence, but not by banning banks from the forex market,” Akaraiwe added.
Also, the chief executive officer of an investment bank who pleaded to remain anonymous expressed concern over the loss of value of the naira.
He urged both the fiscal and monetary authorities to fake urgent steps to correct the structural imbalances in the economy, saying the country’s economic managers must not fold their arms and watch the country go the way of Zimbabwe whose currency has been battered.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/cbn-moves-against-illegal-international-fund-transfer/
|
en
| 2016-07-25T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/c6d73f6c87b2f2676d493b2ba4305135b78679f9e96e929202c2f095c266d5c9.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"John Paul",
"Bassey Ndem"
] | 2016-08-27T02:49:59 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fniger-delta-crisis-soyinka-tells-buhari-to-engage-militants%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/26015957/Buhari-and-Soyinka.jpg?fit=800%2C534
|
en
| null |
Niger Delta Crisis: Soyinka Tells Buhari to Engage Militants
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Kachikwu, monarchs reiterate commitment to peace
Chineme Okafor in Abuja
Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, on Thursday urged the federal government to engage the Niger Delta militants and respond positively to their demands in order to engender lasting peace in the region.
The Nobel Laureate, who said he had been contacted to intervene in the Niger Delta crisis, spoke as the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, met in Abuja with traditional rulers from the coastal communities of the region and agreed to recommit to a peaceful resolution of all the issues in the oil rich region.
Although Soyinka was not forthcoming with details of the intervention in the crisis that had injured the nation’s economy decisively, he lashed out at the Nigerian media, accusing them of extreme invention and distortion of facts that had escalated the dispute.
He said at a press conference in Lagos that he would no longer be speaking to the local media over issues concerning Nigeria’s efforts to end militancy in the Niger Delta.
News reports had quoted him as saying that the services of international mediators would be sought to mediate between the federal government and militants to resolve the Niger Delta crisis.
Soyinka had met with President Muhammadu Buhari on August 11, and when approached by journalists afterwards, he said they had discussed “national and international matters, general matters, that’s all”.
He, however, promised to schedule a press conference later to give further details about the meeting.
Soyinka said thursday that he would rather discuss a Lebanese-Nigerian partnership involving his Wole Soyinka Foundation.
He said: “I know that when I was – to use the press expression – ambushed at the Villa the other day, I did say that I would answer questions about my visit to the Villa at a press conference that I‘d already planned, which was this one as a matter of fact.
“But I always fulfil my word, and so I’m going to speak very briefly about that visitation. And what I have to say about it is that today is not the day for talking about that visitation.
“And the real reason is this, let me tell you media, the real reason is that I had a meeting in London in the House of Lords. The meeting was not about the main subject that took me to Aso Rock which is the problem with, among other things, the problem we have in the Delta.
“But I used that opportunity to meet a certain number of international figures, parliamentarians, royal heads, etcetera, to pass on a message internationally to prospective interveners to what’s happening in the Delta at the request of some of the militant groups here.”
Soyinka said the meeting in London was reported in the media and was badly distorted.
“Let me make a plea, it is bad enough distorting whatever happens, events, statements on certain subjects, bad enough. But on an issue like the insurgency in Nigeria, the Delta in particular, we are on very, very delicate grounds and the media has a huge role to play in that,” he said.
He added: “And the immediate role people like me must demand of the media is accuracy. There can be no invention in this kind of situation. There can be no adumbration, there can be no extrapolation, not even second guessing. You have got to be accurate. Otherwise, there’s a loss of confidence and therefore a lack of solution. People must be confident that what they say to you is what you translate and transmit to those to whom you are sent.”
It was not the first he would criticise the Nigerian press.
Last May, during events marking Buhari’s one year in office, Soyinka described a media report quoting him as declaring his support for the president as a “disgusting forgery”.
Yesterday, he said media reports that he was part of an international group mediating between the federal government and the Niger Delta militants was an extreme invention.
“You cannot publish a statement to me saying I’m a part of an international group when the international group is not even in existence, there’s no international intervention group which has been formed,” he said.
According to him, “I think to go further and attribute to me a statement that the international group has already contacted Buhari, what kind of extreme invention is that? How can a group which does not exist meet with the Head of State? And how could I, who just happened to be meeting with the Head of State, say that the two entities have met when one of them does not exist?
“So please I implore you, media, in fact, I’ve taken a decision not to speak about the Delta situation publicly; just to carry on any assignment which I feel I can carry out on behalf of a resolution.
“I will not be talking to the press any longer, because I cannot spend my time correcting falsehood. I’m not responsible for the falsehood, and that burden should not be placed on my head.”
Soyinka, however, appealed to the federal government to hold positive negotiations with the Niger Delta militants in order to solve the crisis in the region.
“I wish to make an appeal publicly to the government, and please report me accurately, to respond positively to the outrage from the militant groups,” he said, adding: “That is the request which has been made by some of the groups who got me into this interventionist role in the first place.”
Soyinka said at the moment the militants felt that Buhari was not seriously responding to their own outrage.
“I wish to make a personal appeal to the government to respond positively and let us see where it ends us,” he said, explaining: “But I’m not part of any international group, I was approached personally and I’ve been responding personally to some of these groups just as I did when President Jonathan was in power and MEND was the umbrella group of the insurgents.”
Meanwhile, in an effort to give fillip to the federal government’s quest for peace in the Niger Delta, Kachikwu met with traditional rulers from the region in his office in Abuja yesterday and took the monarchs’ conditions for normalcy to return to the Delta.
In a statement, which was read at the headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja by the Bolowei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Wellington Okirika, the traditional rulers listed six things the federal government should do in order to build confidence and stop the destruction of the country’s oil assets by militants in the region.
They said: “Having acceded to the call for a ceasefire by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, on August 4, 2016, the buck has now been passed to the table of the federal government as driven by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources – a representative of the federal government.
“For the purposes of building confidence in the system, we wish to state here that as a matter of urgency the federal government should appoint/constitute a federal government dialogue team; release the 10 innocent school children arrested by the Nigerian Army on the 28th of May, 2016 in Oporoza and others in detention on trumped up charges.
“Return the Golden Sword, being the symbol of authority in the Gbaramatu traditional institution; return the three traditional council speed boats in custody of the Nigerian Army; cessation of hostilities perpetrated by the military in the Niger Delta region; and equally important, the federal government should make a categorical statement about the opening of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State for academic activities in the 2016/2017 session.”
Speaking, Kachikwu said about $40 billion was spent in ‘papers’ to develop the environment and infrastructure of the oil-rich Niger Delta region in the last 10 years with no tangible results to show as evidence for such huge financial commitment to the region.
He explained that the $40 billion was part of allocations to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), derivations shares of the states, as well as financial commitments on developments by oil companies operating in the region.
He also said the government was committed to taking advantage of the ceasefire to negotiate a lasting solution to the Niger Delta issues, and that Buhari has not authorised any military action in the region.
“If you look at the amount of money that has been put into the Niger Delta over the last 10 years in paper is over $40 billion. These have come from the NDDC, derivation, and oil companies’ investments,” Kachikwu said.
He further explained: “But as I go to the creeks, I see no single infrastructure that you can point to as the result of these investments and what it means is that we must now begin to do a soul-searching within ourselves and ask where did all these monies go to, who took them, what were they applied for, what were the roles of our own people and others not necessarily from the region.
“Unless you solve the governance and transparency issues in terms of spending this money, it doesn’t matter how much money you put into this place, you are going to go back to square one and so we must begin to ask fundamental questions about how these institutions are run and what roles our traditional rulers play in the decision making process on how these projects are run, there is a lot of home truths that must happen.”
Kachikwu noted that there must be accountable developmental projects tied to the Niger Delta and not the old ways of doing things. He added that there are lots of interests in putting money in the region as long as there is peace and good accountability structure.
He stated that while the government begins to set up a dialogue team with formalities, stakeholders in the region must also separate criminality from their genuine agitation for development.
“We must also going forward separate criminality from the genuine demands of Niger Delta because once you throw criminality into it, individuals who are self-serving disrupt the message we are sending and there is a good message you are sending but must be delivered very aggressively on the negotiation tables and not the field of destruction,” he said.
He said Buhari had been patient in following developments in the region, adding that the president has also avoided the call for a military action in the region.
The minister however warned that the government would not resist the temptation of coming against wanton destruction of oil facilities and lives in the region.
According to him, “To the best of my knowledge, President Buhari has shown a lot of patience and calm and has not so far, despite over six months of very intensive militancy activity, asked anybody to go in and engage in a military action. He has always said there is a need to engage the communities and that is his first model and he is consistent with that.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/niger-delta-crisis-soyinka-tells-buhari-to-engage-militants/
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/adb69aefd96ca12859daa66260d3e93c160a73dfdab4f750eb3675b79c06eb95.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Akin Malaolu",
"Daniel Obior",
"Marcus Ijele",
"Anuma Ogbonna",
"T George"
] | 2016-08-26T13:00:13 | null | 2016-05-30T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fcan-accuses-us-of-bias-over-kerrys-meeting-with-sultan-northern-governors%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/30035836/CAN.png?fit=980%2C640
|
en
| null |
CAN Accuses US of Bias over Kerry’s Meeting with Sultan, Northern Governors
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has accused the United States government of stoking ethnic and religious divisions in Nigeria, after the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited the Sultan of Sokoto and northern governors.
The group said Christians were excluded from Kerry’s visit between last Monday and Tuesday.
Kerry travelled to Sokoto where he met the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, who is the head of Nigeria’s Muslim community. He later met President Muhammadu Buhari, before meeting governors of northern states.
In an interview with journalists yesterday, CAN said Kerry’s visit was “discriminatory, personal and divisive”.
The group said Kerry should stop interfering in the internal affairs of the country, alleging that the visit was aimed at furthering the federal government’s plan to continue to persecute the teeming population of Nigerian Christians.
The president of CAN, Rev. Supo Ayokunle, according to Premium Times, said Kerry’s “lack of respect for the heterogeneous nature of Nigeria, amounted to favouring northern Nigeria and Muslims to the detriment of the Christian community.”
He said the disposition of the Secretary of States supported claims that the Barack Obama administration openly supported the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the 2016 general election, which produced the current leadership of the country.
“Why did he meet with 19 states governors, without southern governors, is Nigeria the north alone, why did you go to the North alone?” he asked.
“There’s a siege on Christians. Kerry, his actions speak volume, his actions, body language were very divisive.
“If US Secretary of States is coming for official visit, it’s understandable, but we demand explanation why he was selective. Has the sultan palace become another state house? Was Kerry invited by the Sultan?
“We have 36 States in Nigeria; he only selected northern governors to meet with them. It was a visit to the north, not to Nigeria. It was surely a very divisive visit. With the visit to the north, Kerry’s visit has heightened fear and tension among Christians in Nigeria, if they cannot bring us together, they should not interfere in our affairs.”
Speaking against the killing of Christians in northern Nigeria, the CAN president said based “on the government’s selective persecution of Christians mostly by the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Police, it was obvious the administration was anti-Christians”.
“Have the DSS arrested the Muslim youths who burnt down a Catholic Church in Niger State because they were worshiping on Friday? What happened to the ECWA Pastor who was killed in his farm in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State? What have happened with Redeemed Preacher who was murdered in Kubwa, Abuja?
“Look at the recent case in Zamfara State, Christians where burnt alive. What has happened? They will tell you, they are still investigating. Have they been arrested and charged them to court? If the government cannot sit up and protect Christians, tolerance is going to break down, they should do the right thing, they should not provoke Christians. Have we ever seen this government bring anybody to book?”
The CAN president tasked President Buhari “to come out clean”, adding that, “a government that doesn’t listen is not for the people.”
The CAN leader called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to as a matter of urgency intervene in the case of Joe Chinakwe who was arrested for naming his dog “Buhari.” He argued that, naming an animal with somebody’s name is never a criminal offence.
“The NBA should take up that case and ascertain whether the man has the right to give any name to a dog. They should come and protect the man’s human rights and set the record why the case is not a criminal offence,” Ayokunle said.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/can-accuses-us-of-bias-over-kerrys-meeting-with-sultan-northern-governors/
|
en
| 2016-05-30T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/335da1b65cfb2d4ee11df035ac99ee0f1b47fe8214396775a17f3673054bfa23.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Richard Charles",
"Pius Pumpum",
"Lagos Pimpernel",
"William Norris",
"Artful ºdodger",
"Omo Delta",
"Share Idea",
"Richard O",
"Sustain Transformation"
] | 2016-08-28T12:50:34 | null | 2016-04-13T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F04%2F13%2Fnigeria-offered-6bn-chinese-loan-agrees-currency-swap-to-shore-up-naira%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/13033720/Buhari-to-China.jpg?fit=800%2C531
|
en
| null |
Nigeria Offered $6bn Chinese Loan, Agrees Currency Swap to Shore up Naira
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
•President orders establishment of technical c’ttees on joint projects
•Dangote signs $2bn loan for cement plants, local firm closes granite mining deal
Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Zacheaus Somorin in Lagos with agency reports
China has offered Nigeria a $6 billion loan to fund infrastructure projects, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyema, said yesterday in Beijing the Chinese capital.
“It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects,” he told reporters travelling with President Muhammadu Buhari to China.
“It won’t need an agreement to be signed; it is just to identify the projects and we access it,” he said.
The confirmation by Onyema coincided with an agreement reached between Nigeria and China yesterday on a currency swap deal, as it looks for ways to shore up the naira and fund a record budget deficit, possibly by issuing yuan-denominated bonds in China, reported Reuters.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades as sinking oil prices eat into its foreign reserves and the naira weakens against other currencies.
Nigeria has been for months looking for sources to help plug a projected 2016 deficit of N2.2 trillion ($11.1 billion) as Buhari plans to triple capital spending in the 2016 fiscal year.
According to Reuters, during Buhari’s visit to Beijing, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, and Nigeria’s central bank signed a deal on yuan transactions.
“It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria,” Lin Songtian, Director General of the African Affairs Department of China’s foreign ministry, told reporters.
The agreement was reached following a meeting between Buhari and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The move comes after Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said on Saturday that Nigeria was looking at Chinese panda bonds – yuan-denominated bonds sold by overseas entities on the mainland – adding that they would be cheaper than Eurobonds.
Nigeria’s central bank has said it plans to diversify its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching a stockpile into yuan. It converted up to a tenth of its reserves into yuan five years ago.
Lin said a framework on currency swaps has been agreed with Nigeria, making it easier to settle trade deals in yuan. China has signed currency swap deals with countries ranging from Kazakhstan to Argentina as it promotes wider use of its yuan.
Beijing also signed agreements to develop infrastructure in Nigeria, part of a drive to deepen its ties with Africa. ICBC signed a $2 billion loan deal with Dangote Group, the company owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, to fund two cement plants it plans, he told Reuters.
China’s official Xinhua news agency cited President Xi as telling Buhari that there was huge potential for economic cooperation, naming oil refining and mining.
Aly Khan Satchu, a portfolio manager at Rich Management, said the deal would pave the way for panda bonds but this would not be enough to ease pressure on the naira.
Buhari has rejected calls to devalue the currency.
“Nigerian FX policy remains the elephant in the room and China or a panda bond is not going to be enough to stop what will eventually become a tsunami of a devaluation,” he said.
Towards this end, Buhari has directed that technical committees should be established immediately to finalise discussions on the new joint Nigeria/China rail, power, manufacturing, agriculture and solid mineral projects.
A statement by his spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu said the president gave the directive in Beijing yesterday after talks between his delegation and high-ranking Chinese government officials led by President Jinping.
The technical committees are to conclude their assignments before the end of next month.
Buhari had at the talks welcomed China’s readiness to assist Nigeria in her bid to rapidly industrialise and join the world’s major economies.
The statement said that President Jinping agreed that Nigeria’s chosen path of development through economic diversification was the best way to go.
To help Nigeria to achieve this, China promised to fully support the country through infrastructure development and capacity building.
China also expressed an interest in setting up major projects in Nigeria such as refineries, power plants, mining companies, textile manufacturing and food processing industries as soon as the enabling environment is provided by the federal government.
In response to Buhari’s desire to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production, Jinping offered $15 million agricultural assistance to Nigeria for the establishment of 50 Agricultural Demonstration Farms across the country.
Shehu said China and Nigeria also agreed to strengthen military and civil service exchanges as part of a larger capacity-building engagement.
In line with this, China offered to raise its scholarship awards to Nigerian students from about 100 to 700 annually.
In addition, 1,000 other Nigerians are to be given vocational and technical training by China annually.
The statement said Jinping applauded the war against corruption being waged by Buhari.
The Chinese leader assured Buhari that Nigeria would always have a special place in the affairs of the Peoples Republic of China.
After the talks, Buhari and Jinping witnessed the signing of several agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) by Nigeria and China.
The MoUs included a framework agreement between the Ministry of Trade and Investment and the National Development and Reform Commission of the Peoples Republic of China.
Others were an MoU on aviation cooperation between the Ministry of Transportation (Aviation) and the Ministry of Commerce of the Peoples Republic of China and an MoU between Nigeria and China on scientific and technological cooperation.
Meanwhile, Buhari yesterday in Beijing appealed to Chinese investors to consider citing industries in Nigeria instead of seeing the country as a market for dumping goods.
He called on the Nigerian and Chinese business communities to work harder to reduce the trade imbalance between both countries currently in China’s favour.
A statement issued yesterday from China by the president’s spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari spoke at the opening of a Nigeria-China Business/Investment Forum.
Buhari said that trade and economic relations between both countries must be mutually beneficial and conducted with reciprocated respect and trust.
“Although the Nigerian and Chinese business communities have recorded tremendous successes in bilateral trade, there is a large trade imbalance in favour of China, as Chinese exports represent some 80 per cent of the total bilateral trade volume. This gap needs to be reduced.
“Therefore, I would like to challenge the business communities in both countries to work together to reduce the trade imbalance.
“You must also imbibe the spirit of having a mutually beneficial relationship in your business transactions. You must not see Nigeria as a consumer market alone, but as an investment destination where goods can be manufactured and consumed locally,” Buhari told the gathering.
The president said that his administration was committed to supporting investors that are ready to establish manufacturing and processing facilities in Nigeria.
“Last year during our meeting in New York, President Xi Jinping and I agreed to explore ways of practical cooperation in trade, investment, finance, human resources, agriculture and fishing.
“We also agreed to strengthen industrial capacity cooperation in the manufacture of cars, household appliances, construction materials, textiles, food processing, and others.
“This is in line with our government’s focus on import substitution through the creation of a diversified and inclusive economy that will meet most of our consumption needs.
“Already, our Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is working on projects and programmes that will correct the wrongs of the past and enhance the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
“The ministry’s efforts will be complemented by investment tax incentive programmes, public sector reform initiatives, as well as our zero tolerance stance on corruption.
“We also have an aggressive but realistic infrastructure development programme that forms the backbone of our economic diversification policy. We are embarking on major power, road, rail, seaport and airport development programmes that will enhance the competitiveness of manufacturing businesses in Nigeria.
“The future is bright and I am very confident that our policies will make Nigeria the investment destination of your choice,” Buhari told the Chinese investors.
The president also assured them that his administration was doing everything possible to address concerns about security in Nigeria.
Buhari said that to consolidate on recent successes against Boko Haram, close to 20 per cent of the 2016 budgeted expenditure had been allocated to the Ministries of Defence and Interior as well as other security agencies.
“We are committed to protecting all lives and property within our borders. You can therefore be rest assured that your investments in Nigeria will be safe and secure,” he said.
Business and trade relations between Nigeria and China have grown astronomically in the last decade with bilateral trade volumes rising from $2.8 billion in 2005 to $14.9 billion in 2015.
Nigeria accounted for 8.3 per cent of the total trade volume between China and Africa and 42 per cent of the total trade volume between China and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries in 2015.
The efforts of the Buhari-led administration to diversify the nation’s economy away from oil also got a boost yesterday when an agreement that will herald one of the largest granite mining and processing plants in Africa was signed in Beijing between Shanghai Shibang Machinery Co. Limited (SBM) and a local company, Granite and Marble Limited.
The companies also signed an MoU to establish a plant for the assembly of mining equipment as well as supporting capacity building for the industry.
The signing ceremony was the highlight of the business forum on production capacity and investment cooperation organised as part of Buhari’s state visit to China.
The granite mining and processing plant is being supported with the special intervention fund of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through Zenith Bank Plc.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the board Chairman of SBM, Mr. Songke Yang, expressed optimism that with the commitment exhibited by Buhari during the forum, the plants should come on stream during the course of the year and promises to be a major player in the development of the nation’s solid minerals sector.
On his own part, the Chairman of Granite and Marble, Mr. Chiahemba Ayom, thanked the Ministers of Trade and Investment and Solid Minerals, as well as their agencies and the financial institutions for their immense support and encouragement in seeing the project through.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/04/13/nigeria-offered-6bn-chinese-loan-agrees-currency-swap-to-shore-up-naira/
|
en
| 2016-04-13T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/7e9309fb12f1a5f88795589ef5f0501d523aa2b14981569f98a76cb8594d0d69.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Daniel Obior",
"Remm Ieet"
] | 2016-08-31T08:51:31 | null | 2016-08-31T06:46:36 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F31%2Fintegrate-chinese-language-into-schools-curricular-ngo-tells-fg%2F.json
|
en
| null |
Integrate Chinese Language into Schools’ Curricular, NGO Tells FG
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Uchechukwu Nnaike
A Non-governmental Oganisation (NGO), Initiative of African Friends of China has called on the federal government to introduce the teaching of Chinese Language in secondary schools across the country.
The President of the NGO, Mr. Fred Ogwazu, made the call while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DBS Media Ltd, a Nigerian creative media content agency in Lagos recently.
Ogwazu said the development if considered will tend to explore maximally the socio-economic corporations, educational and cultural exchanges as well as technological and skills acquisition.
He said in the new world order, Africa and China seem to have slots in common, hence the believe that Africa has so much opportunity in China and vice-versa.
“To further boost this advocacy, we have already concluded plans to commence the teaching of Chinese Language in some centres across Africa, starting from Nigeria. The Nigeria centre will be located in Abuja with business men and other interested persons as our target, while others will be cited in African countries such as Ethiopia and South Africa.
“Already, we have written to the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria to provide us with volunteer teachers for the language and we are sure to commence very soon.”
According to him, the development would also promote good ideas for indigenous African companies intending to partner Chinese companies and making recommendations where necessary.
Ogwazu said the relationship between Nigeria and China has been growing by the day, following the commendable activities of institutions like Forum on China-Africa Corporation and the China-Africa Development Fund.
“Initiative of African Friends of China is therefore calling for greater awareness among African governments and private sectors to key into the developmental opportunities provided by the Chinese Government through this platform towards tackling most of Africa’s challenges.”
He said apart from advocating for the teaching of Chinese Language in schools across Nigeria and other African countries as a way of strengthening socio-economic and cultural ties with China, the MoU also seeks to connect opportunities with investors through the provision of timely information.
He said such information is mainly on opportunities available in China and in the continent.
Ogwazu added that the MoU was tailored around changing the perception of products and services exchange between China and other African countries and provide feedback channels where necessary among others.
“To also realise this, we in conjunction with DBS Media Limited would implore the use of documentary videos and movies in creating the much needed awareness on the potential in Nigeria and Africa at large.
“Our partnership with DBS Media is strategic as we intend to do a well-researched documentary and video that will highlight the developmental drives by Chinese Government to African nations.”
In his remarks, the Managing Director, DBS Media, Mr. Cletus Chukwuma, said he is looking forward to a fruitful working relationship with the association, as the agency has all it takes to meet its expectations. “We are not new in packing of quality contents that satisfies the curiosity of the viewing public.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/31/integrate-chinese-language-into-schools-curricular-ngo-tells-fg/
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/3c6579706f1be98aadc04d36527503c38fb3e6a5a28ad90c369dc294acb9234e.json
|
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Buhari Aka Silly Old Bag.",
"Nígeriá Cústom"
] | 2016-08-27T08:50:08 | null | 2016-03-13T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Feducation-is-free-mandatory-for-less-privileged-in-bauchi%2F.json
|
http://i0.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/13160246/130316N.Mohammed-Abdullahi-.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
‘Education is Free, Mandatory for Less Privileged in Bauchi’
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
The Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar has announced that his administration will soon embark on massive construction of schools across the state to make quality education accessible to the less privileged members of the society.
He said the move was informed by the fact that education is key to the development of any nation, adding that his administration is determined to make education free and mandatory for orphans, vulnerable and the internally displaced children resident in the state.
The governor, who said this when the Commissioner-in-charge of Political Affairs at the African Union Commission, Dr. Laraba Abdullahi paid him a courtesy visit, called on the commission to support the state government towards addressing the problems associated with the IDPS.
“Bauchi has been experiencing the influx of internally displaced persons long before the issue of insurgency in the north-eastern region, which necessitated the springing up of many new settlements in some parts of the state.
“In view of that the IDPs have overstretched the existing facilities, especially schools, hospitals and water supply,” he said and stressed the need for non-governmental organisations, donor and other international agencies to assist the state.
“Reconstruction of the infrastructure demolished as a result of the insurgency is paramount, but addressing the root causes of the Boko Haram is equally very important.”
In his remarks, Abdullahi said she visited to introduce herself to the governor and the functions of her office at the AU, which include playing roles in the successful conduct of the 2015 elections in Nigeria.
Abdullahi emphasised that the office is mandated to promote adherence to the rule of law among member nations; respect for human rights and justice, humanitarian affairs including that affecting IDPs, public service, governmental affairs, local government administration; and
strengthening democracy among the 54 member states of the AU.
Before being appointed a commissioner-in-charge of political matters at the African Union, Abdullahi was a lecturer at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), a commissioner in the state executive council and later appointed ambassador. She was accompanied by the vice-chancellor of ATBU and her husband.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/24/education-is-free-mandatory-for-less-privileged-in-bauchi/
|
en
| 2016-03-13T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/0751e4d500a28ffac1a6abfb94a66733d095bf0669c68cc25d95cb97293f18f2.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Buhari D Daft Cow."
] | 2016-08-31T06:51:27 | null | 2016-03-02T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fpdp-crisis-latest-again-sheriff-rejects-bot-peace-deal%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/02180735/020316-PDP-Logo.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
PDP Crisis Latest : Again, Sheriff Rejects BoT Peace Deal
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
* Ask Jibrin Makarfi to resign
By Onyebuchi Ezigbo The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the former national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has rejected the latest peace arrangement put forward by the Board of Trustees of the party.
The embattled former chairman of the PDP had earlier rejected previous peace arrangements aimed at reconciling aggrieved members of the party, but instead relied on court injunctions to stall the national convention of the party on two occasions.
In what appeared to be Sheriff’s response to the proposal by the BoT to move the next national convention to Abuja, and to disband all previous convention planning committees, Sheriff’s next in command and deputy national chairman of his group, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said that the peace proposals fell short of their expectations and as such stand rejected.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Ojougboh, the aggrieved faction stopped short of accusing the Chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, of constituting a clog in the wheel of the party’s reconciliatory efforts.
“We completely reject the vote of confidence past on the illegal caretaker committee because a committee that has failed twice to successfully organize a convention on two occasion is a failure. Consequently, we can now confidently inform the general public that well meaning Nigerians have been urging Senator Makarfi to resign to save democracy,” he said.
Ojougboh said that what has become a source of irritation in the party is the still-born illegal caretaker committee, adding that the BoT should have advised that the illegality be addressed.
His statement reads: “Having deliberated on the reported outcome of the Board of Trustees meeting of 29th August, 2016 we have resolved to state as follows, that the resolutions feel short of the decision reached with the Dickson/Mantu reconciliation committee.
“The agreement we had is that Sheriff should Chair a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where Makarfi will attend as a member of the BOT, at the meeting, a Chairman of Convention Committee will be agreed upon, a new Convention Committee setup, including all other sub-committees: Zoning, Finance, Accreditation etc.
“The venue of the Convention will be in Abuja, where a new leadership of the party will emerged, internal democracy will be respected and confidence will return to the party.
“And we had hoped that opportunity will be given where everybody will meet under one umbrella and shake hands and will see the PDP reemerged for the challenges ahead.
“We therefore state as follow:
” We therefore call on his friends and associates and family to advice him to do the needful and resign now to save multiparty Democracy in Nigeria and stop impunity that has been the bone of Internal Democracy.
“That the BOT Chairman, Senator Walid Jubril chairmanship has brought crisis to the Party. In any case his tenure has expired as he has spent more than 10 years as Secretary and Chairman BOT which runs contrary to the Constitution. A Party where we have imminently qualified persons like Senator David Mark, Babangida Aliyu and others cannot be led by unstable individuals controlled by the love for money.
“That the source of irritation in the Party is the still-born illegal caretaker committee and the Board of Trustee should have advised that the illegality be addressed.
“Whereas the National Working Committee had agreed terms with the Reconciliation Committee on numerous occasions but the BOT will go public and made misguided and provocative statements, the leadership of the BOT must immediately be reconstituted to move the Party forward.
“We thank the numerous PDP faithfuls nationwide and Nigerians for their understanding and patience. We make bold to state that until we get it right and check impunity, the Nigerian opposition party won’t perform as required.
“As we move towards reconciliation, PDP should prevent any person or group from hijacking the party. Be rest assured that the PDP will emerge stronger as we note that impunity marred the party’s success in 2015 general elections”.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/30/pdp-crisis-latest-again-sheriff-rejects-bot-peace-deal/
|
en
| 2016-03-02T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/602903c6c52363433052047d666f0f1fe45150522b28c6324d1722dfacce08f2.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"William Norris",
"Supplyline Enterprises"
] | 2016-08-28T16:50:39 | null | 2016-06-09T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2Fhow-senate-plans-to-stimulate-an-economy-in-recession-2%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/09000159/Bukola-Saraki.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
How Senate Plans to Stimulate an Economy in Recession
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Chuks Okocha
The passage of the Public Procurement Bill by the 8th Senate would not have come at a more auspicious time than now. The bill when concurred to by the House of Representatives and assented into law by President Muhammadu Buhari would turn out to be the tonic needed to grow the Nigerian economy that is said to be currently in recession.
The reasons for this is simple. The bill will help to curb the frequent capital flight and increase the patronage of local content by empowering local companies to produce locally made goods. Also, it will help fight and reduce corruption in this era of crusade against corruption. In other words, the bill when eventually passed into law will enhance transparency and competitiveness, the ingredients needed for national growth.
For instance, in section 34 of the bill titled, ‘Domestic Preference’ it says, “A procuring entity shall grant a margin of preference in the evaluation of tenders, when comparing tenders from domestic bidders with those from foreign bidders or when comparing tenders from domestic suppliers offering goods manufactured locally with those offering goods manufactured abroad.”
This is a welcomed development as preferences would be given to goods made in Nigeria.
This is by no means meant to whittle down standards. No. There are several made in Nigeria goods that can compete favourably with foreign made goods, but due to the craze for foreign goods, such locally manufactured goods suffer neglect, whereas goods that are of sub-standard qualities are given patronage by Nigerians. A very good example is in the textile industry. This law will help in curbing capital flight and improving the value of the local currency, the Naira. By so, doing, that is, by increased preferential patronage of the local industries, the usual practice of transferring profit to the home country of the manufactures would be gradually reduced. The new bill has capacity to also assist and support local business community to become competitive and efficient suppliers to the public sector.
One of the problems of public procurement in Nigeria is delayed payment by government agencies. But this bill has an answer that would cure this. In section 37, it proposed payment of interests for any delayed payment. This would act as a panacea to local competitors that took bank loans to execute government contracts.
There are several Nigerian companies (from all sectors) that are technically competent and with human capacity but lack the requisite capital to compete or bid for contracts to be awarded by government ministries and agencies, However in the proposed amendment that have been passed by the senate, the usual practice of 15 percent mobilisation fee is to be increased. Under the new plan, the mobilisation fee is to be increased to not more than 25 perrcent. This idea is to give financial strength to technically competent Nigerians companies to bid and tender for big government contracts.
Another aspect of this bill, especially in this era of the anti corruption mantra, is the open competitive bidding. According to section 24 of the bill, “ all procurement of goods and works by all procurement entities shall be conducted by open competitive bidding.” This means that every thing that regards government procurement shall be transparently done. Bye bye to ‘long leg and god fatherism’. Every qualified bidder shall be given equal opportunity.
This bill that is currently awaiting concurrence by the House of Representatives will seek to harmonise all government policies as regards procurement in standards and benchmarks. It will also ensure application of fair competition, cost effectiveness and professionalism in the public sector procurement system.
It is in line with this position that the chairman of the Senate Committee on Industry, Senator Sam Egwu, said that he championed a bill that amended the Procurement Act to encourage local manufacturers to invest more in local production. He also said the bill, if passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, would put an end to capital flight.
Sam Egwu, who threw more light on why he proposed an amendment to the existing act, said his decision was predicated on what he termed as “high quantum of capital flight taking place in the country on yearly basis.” He explained that the new legislation made it compulsory for ministries, departments and agencies of government to first seek to procure certain percentage of locally made goods before considering foreign products, where such local products are available.
According to the former governor of Ebonyi State, “I was inspired by the fact that I realised that a lot of money is appropriated for capital projects every year and most of these funds end up in the hands of foreign companies that produce the goods and services that we need.
“This is because once a budget is passed, it simply goes for procurement of goods and services. Then you start asking yourself, what is the fate of this huge amount of money that has been appropriated in a local economy?
“You will find out that more often than not the money so appropriated just ends up in capital flight because the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will end up the procurement with foreign goods and services, leaving our local manufacturers who produce such things without patronage.
“You know that importation is not done with the local currency; importation is done with foreign currency, and this causes a lot of pressure on the foreign reserve, and it keeps depleting everyday. But when we now patronise our made in Nigeria goods, there will be no need for much pressure on our forex”.
Egwu also stated that the Senate, in the new proposal, increased the contract mobilisation fee from the current 15 per cent to 25 per cent, as a means of addressing the issue of rampant cases of abandoned projects across the country. According to him, when contractors are mobilised with reasonable percentage of the contract sum, they will have no reason not to execute the project but when the mobilisation fee is small, they can be tempted to leave the contract undone.
He also stated that the improved mobilisation fee would facilitate timely completion of contract procurement process, which used to drag under the extant procurement Act. He further explained that the Senate decided to remove the power of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to approve contracts and ceded the power to the National Council on Public Procurement, NCPP. The legislator pointed out that the National Council on Public Procurement would be made up of professionals and bureaucrats, who know the right decisions to take in order to make things work.
For instance, Egwu noted that the Senate also approved the inclusion of Nigerian institute of Architects and the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors as members of the Council.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who did not hide his excitement over the passage of the bill by 8th Senate, said that the new amendments to the act would help stimulate the nation’s economy.
According to the Senate President, “We all have a role to play to ensure that the Executive complies, especially in the area of giving first priority to locally produced goods.
“This has helped many countries to develop when they had issues of downturn in their economy.
“I want to commend my colleagues for passing this bill,” he said.
The passage of this all important bill is in line with the agenda of the 8th senate to encourage local manufacturers by championing procurement of made in Nigeria goods and enthrowing transparency into the economy.
–– Chuks Okocha is a Special Assistant to the President of Senate on Print Media.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/28/how-senate-plans-to-stimulate-an-economy-in-recession-2/
|
en
| 2016-06-09T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/66d4a8b7511862bb30dbc004a9aa23685e9f5f3f0af44d5634913073d79009cf.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Buhari D Daft Cow."
] | 2016-08-31T06:51:30 | null | 2016-06-23T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F31%2Fdalung-why-nigeria-performed-woefully-at-rio2016%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/23005734/Solomon-Dalung-2306.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Dalung: Why Nigeria Performed Woefully at Rio2016
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
* Says won’t resign as Sports Minister
Tobi Soniyi in Auja
Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung has admitted that late release of funds to the nation’s Olympic team affected Nigeria’s performance at the just concluded 2016 Olympics Games in Rio, Brazil,
The minister also said that the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) had not informed him that it hired a new foreign coach for the Super Eagles even as he described as unfair the federation’s treatment of Dream Team’s coach, Samson Siasia.
Dalung has never hidden his preference for a local coach, but the NFF had recently announced a German coach, Gernot Rohr, to manage the Super Eagles.
Speaking with State House correspondents shortly after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on Nigeria’s outing at the just concluded Rio2016, Dalung said he wished the new coach the best of luck even though NFF had not informed him of Rohr’s appointment.
He said he begged the president to host the Nigerian contingent to the Olympics Games in Rio, Brazil, despite winning only one bronze medal in football and coming 78th on the medals table.
The minister also rejected the claims that Siasia who handled the football team at the Olympics has resigned, saying the true situation was that his contract with the NFF had lapsed.
Dalung faulted the way the NFF treated Siasia when it withdrew his official car in Abuja while struggling to secure a medal for the country in Rio.
The minister insisted Siasia was still relevant to football development in Nigeria, advising that he (Siasia) could be re-engaged based on his track record and pedigree.
According to the sports minister, it would be sad to have someone like Siasia leave Nigeria to go and represent another country out of frustration, just like many athletes did at the Rio Olympics.
Dalung also exonerated the coach and his team over the $390, 000 donation they got from a Japanese surgeon.
The minister insisted that he was convinced after meeting the Japanese in Brazil that there were no strings like match-fixing attached to the donation,
He however attributed the abysmal outing of the Nigerian Olympic contingent to late release of funds and inability to develop home-grown talents, noting that many athletes in the continent that performed relatively better were home-grown.
Dalung also told reporters that there was need to go back to the drawing board by reviewing the basic architecture of sports in the country.
“We need to go back to grassroots and groom talents for future competitions,” he said.
Dalung also took on his critics, saying they were ignorant of facts.
“I am not the problem of Nigerian sports because abysmal performance predates my appointment, ” he charged.
Asked what he briefed the president concerning the just concluded Rio Olympics, he said: “It is normal if somebody sends you on an errand, when you accomplish that task you first and foremost brief that person before you go public to start talking to outsiders.
“So, all I did was to brief the president on our performance, the challenges we had, the progress we made because in 2016 Nigeria was celebrated.
“These two (Nigerian) athletes (Aruna Quadri and Ukogu) were recognised internationally in Rio; that happening to Nigeria is an achievement.
“And I also requested from him (President) the support for getting a date to organise a reception for our Dream Team VI that won the bronze medal for us.
“He ( Buhari) also appreciated our performance and thanked us for doing the country proud and keeping the flag flying. He challenged us to do more for the country to move forward in sports,” concludes Dalung.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/31/dalung-why-nigeria-performed-woefully-at-rio2016/
|
en
| 2016-06-23T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/d89d019d21a5064da96a588176311e10686662fab72a116edb37f4b920a21cf2.json
|
[
"Online Editor",
"Aloy Kris",
"William Norris",
"Mike O"
] | 2016-08-29T02:50:52 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Ffg-insists-unemployed-nigerians-must-register-to-benefit-from-social-intervention-scheme%2F.json
|
http://i1.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/26161221/Chris-Ngige.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
FG Insists Unemployed Nigerians Must Register to Benefit from Social Intervention Scheme
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
Paul Obi and Marvellous Okeke in Abuja
The federal government on Sunday insisted that all unemployed Nigerians must register online before they can benefit from any its Social Intervention Scheme (SIS), as registration is now mandatory for job seekers and other empowerment programmes.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, stated this at the weekend while flagging off the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) School-to-Work Programme in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
He spoke against the backdrop of different agencies of government laying claim to the ownership of the programmes, a move that might isolate the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The minister urged all unemployed Nigerians to register at the online job portal of the SIS of the federal government in order to benefit from the different categories of the programmes which government is offering.
“Unfortunately as we speak, by last week, the portal has only recorded about 1.2 million persons. We expect more persons to have been registered in the portal before our screening exercise. The portal closes 31st August 2016 which is just few days away,” Ngige said.
“For those who are not computer literate, we advise the state governments to encourage them by using local government chairmen to move into local government areas and register the unemployment persons there so that they can qualify to be considered for the scheme. Each state of the federation is expected to recruit about 1,500 persons.”
Speaking on the team of the School-to-Work programme, which he summarised as an expression of a renewed vigour by the ministry under him to catch them young, Ngige said it was also a bold attempt to build a future Nigeria where white-collar jobs would be unattractive.
“We are building a generation of Nigerians where creative thinking, self-confidence and dignity of labour will challenge the prevailing unemployment scourge. We are building a generation of Nigerians who will not only create wealth with their hands but are proud employers with skills from hands that God has given them.
“This is a two-month vacation creative job learning scheme for students in JSS 1 to SSS 2 classes. It is meant to provide them with skills early in life so that they can graduate and earn a living if they wish not to continue after secondary education or have an income earning skill to fall back on while doing higher education. This set of students will graduate to higher skills training the next vacation while others succeed them. By this, we are re-thinking a university education system where graduates fold hands and wait for food on their table,” Ngige said.
The minister disclosed that a total of 150 persons would be trained yearly from each of the states of the federation under the scheme which has Calabar, Anambra, Bauchi, Katsina, Kogi and Ondo as the headquarters for the six zonal training centres.
Ngige added that the programme was built with enough provision for decent work in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) so as to foreclose the possibility of child labour in the course of training and after.
The registration on the portal, Npower.ng.org) ends this week.
Acting Director General of the NDE, Dr. Kunle Obanya, said the NDE was constantly preoccupied with providing initiatives that would address the ever changing forms and patterns of unemployment.”
He added that the programme was designed to provide diverse vocational, agricultural and entrepreneurial skills training for secondary school students during long vacation, saying that the age grouping was the best peak to tackle youth unemployment with acquisition of skills.
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/29/fg-insists-unemployed-nigerians-must-register-to-benefit-from-social-intervention-scheme/
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/bfe6957a17e6a186f93f327e450879de619727b1ef9f2b1625a02b859afd9eb9.json
|
[
"Online Editor"
] | 2016-08-27T12:50:11 | null | 2016-06-20T00:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisdaylive.com%2Findex.php%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2Fis-ss-trump-bound-on-a-shipwreck%2F.json
|
http://i2.wp.com/leadersandco.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20190544/Donald-Trump.jpg?fit=800%2C600
|
en
| null |
Is SS Trump Bound on a Shipwreck?
| null | null |
www.thisdaylive.com
|
It does seem the Republican Party has gotten itself finally into that contraption Nigerians call a one chance bus. What the GOP feared most, seeing Donald Trump as the enemy within, is no longer news except that the privileged class in Washington has shamefully accepted that the party of Abraham Lincoln, was not only hijacked by an outsider but a modern day Fuhrer in wait6ing, who is about to plunge the party into a deep blue sea. “Republicans waiting for the long-promised presidential pivot seemed like characters in a (Samuel) Beckett play, trapped in Trump’s theater of the absurd”, write Time’s Alex Altman, Philip Elliot and Zeke Miller.82AleAlex Altman @aaltman8
Donald Trump is no doubt a real Republican nightmare.
He is not just the captain of a ship in a turbulent sea, he is daring the sea in a potential wreck, dancing to the bopeep of a drunken captain: ”Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest, yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.” He is more like a suicide bomber who wants to die with his victims. Many a Republican saw this coming and jumped over to the Democratic ship being steered by Hillary Clinton.
Just towards the end of last week, top GOP leaders started wondering if SS Trump was being navigated in the right direction. President Barack Obama had warned the RNC leadership to renounce Trump openly and stop his endorsement but they would not listen, preferring the culture of doublespeak, sparing the rod to spoil the child. Trump does not give a hoot how his conquered territory feels, sometimes asking them to shut up and they had actually shut their mouths up many times, the same people that made America ‘ungovernable’ for Obama.
The list of the nominee’s gaffes on his way to power is better imagined. He says what he wants to say and twists it to suit his purpose or that of his fanatical supremacists. Nigerian politicians seem to be angels when compared with Trump in denying their statements backed with a tape recorder. Paul Ryan was the first to speak out and earned a minus from the boss. RNC chairman Reince Priebus for the second time in a row, spoke out. It turned out he too, like Mr Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, has been cleaning the dirty laundry for this man quietly without complaint until it became public knowledge. Chris Christie whose backyard is on fire plus being disgraced out of context in the choice of a running mate, has taken a back seat in his bad pr job for Trump. After the man messed up himself with the Gold Star family- Khazir Khan and his wife Ghazala following their appearance at the DNC convention, Christie quietly rebuked Trump, following the footsteps of one of his aides Maria Comella, who saw the nominee as an unserious candidate, pledging to vote for Clinton. Now it is Rudolph William Louis “Rudy” Giuliani, former mayor of New York, who engaged CNN’s Chris Cuomo on New Day in a verbal war, angry that the American media was ganging up against his candidate and seeing no evil in Clinton. Giuliani gets support from Newt Gingrich who has advised the candidate, if only he can become a little bit less unacceptable to Clinton in the weeks ahead, he would have won the trophy.
Sadly, it gets worse by the day. Just last week Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, lamented his chances and those of well over 10 GOP candidates were at stake. What the party is likely to do in the remaining days to the election, GOP desperate candidates advised Chairman Priebus and McConnell, is to deploy its resources campaigning down the line for its candidates heading for Congress.
Trump’s delusion of grandeur as a POTUS in waiting was fueled by his successes in the run up to the Republican nomination, defeating 16 others just like Mohammed Ali and Mike Tyson in their great days of knocking out punches, waiting for the opponent to get up and receive the real deadly punch just in case. In Trump’s case his deadly knock-out punch is coming from Clinton whose over 30 years of association with the Democrats have earned her a combination of both the Ali and Tyson punch, with a double digit lead rising by the day.
Trump is swallowing the bitter pill of reality, of an illusive dream to the White House with Ivana as Secretary of Commerce. When asked if Trump was mentally sound, Gingrich replied: “I mean, he is at least as reliable as Andrew Jackson, who was one of the most decisive presidents in American history,” Gingrich should be worried that his contract with America pact which helped the Republicans grab the House from the Democrats after four decades, is about to collapse because of an obsolete post-world war cry of making America great again.
The candidate’s new swan song is that the election would be rigged, what the President described as a very ridiculous proposition. Said Obama: “I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game is over,”
Unfortunately, many Republicans now believe no matter what you have to say of Hillary, there is no basis for comparison between the two candidates. Hillary may be as unpopular as Trump before the electorate regarding her extremely careless handling of State Department email servers, the Benghazi crisis and her inability to create a demarcation between the Clinton Foundation and her office as Secretary of State. Yet she stands shoulder high in matters of statecraft and carriage.
Now Trump is on the retreat since he does not want to be taken as a prisoner of war (POW) like John McCain. He wants to go back to the Trump Tower to expand his empire with his new found greatness. Hear him: “If at the end of 90 days, I’ve fallen short because I’m somewhat politically correct even though I’m supposed to be the smart one and even though I’m supposed to have a lot of good ideas, it’s OK. I go back to a very good way of life.”
Nothing better summarises the dilemma of the Republican Party and its guardian angels as the stand of the students of the Harvard Republican Club (HRC) on the candidacy of Trump: the excerpts: “In every presidential election since 1888, the members and Executive Board of the Harvard Republican Club have gathered to discuss, debate, and eventually endorse the standard-bearer of our party. But for the first time in 128 years, we, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, will not be endorsing the Republican nominee.
Donald Trump holds views that are antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans. The rhetoric he espouses –from racist slander to misogynistic taunts– is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel.
“Trump’s global outlook, steeped in isolationism, is considerably out-of-step with the traditional Republican stance as well.
“Perhaps most importantly, however, Donald Trump simply does not possess the temperament and character necessary to lead the United States through an increasingly perilous world.
“He hopes to divide us by race, by class, and by religion, instilling enough fear and anxiety to propel himself to the White House. He is looking to to pit neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, American against American. We will not stand for this vitriolic rhetoric that is poisoning our country and our children.
“We call on our party’s elected leaders to renounce their support of Donald Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night.”
|
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/27/is-ss-trump-bound-on-a-shipwreck/
|
en
| 2016-06-20T00:00:00 |
www.thisdaylive.com/3092cb193ccd053096c1ab29bdca36373ff44c68d3d9db89b772d7c7fa7ab3fd.json
|
[
"Masculinity",
"Its Discontents",
"Matt Read"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:33 | null | 2007-04-02T15:22:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2007%2F04%2F02%2Fsusan-sontag-r-i-p-on-feminism-and-its-discontents%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyAdvocatelogo.png
|
en
| null |
Susan Sontag (R.I.P.) on Feminism and its Discontents
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
I’m interested in this passage from Susan Sontag’s posthumous collection of essays, because I think it touches on the difficulty — partially but not primarily self-inflicted — that feminists often have winning people over to the cause of feminism.
Sontag is writing about Anna Banti, a mid-century Italian novelist who hated the word “feminism” but who wrote about women in a way that was unmistakably feminist. Sontag writes:
To refuse, vehemently (even scornfully) refuse, a repuation as a feminist was, of course, a common move for the most brilliant and independent women of her generation[Virginia] Woolf being the glorious exception. Think of Hannah Arendt. Or of Colette, who once declared that women who were so stupid as to want the vote deserved “the whip and the harem.” ? Feminism has meant many thing; many unnecessary things. It can be defined as a positionabout justice and dignity and libertyto which almost all independent women would adhere if they did not fear the retaliation that accompanies a word with such a sulfurous reputation. Or it can be defined as a position easier to disavow or quarrel with, as it was by Banti (and Arendt and Colette). That version of feminism suggests that there is a war against men, which was anathema to such women; that feminism suggests an avowal of strengthand a denial of the difficulty and the cost for women in being strong (above all, the cost in masculine support and affection); more, it proclaims pride in being a woman, it even affirms the superiority of womenall attitudes that felt alien to the many independent women who were proud of their accomplishments and who knew the sacrifices and the compromises they entailed.
What I take from this (and I’m not sure that I completely grok what Sontag is saying) is that one of the things that people find alienating about some manifestations of feminism is not so much its perceived negativity — the whole "man-hating" thing — as it is a perceived triumphalism or self-satisfaction. It’s a resentment of being criticized, yes, but it’s also envy — of women who seem not to have to contend with "the difficulty and the cost for women in being strong."
I don’t know. I’m still working this through in my mind, but it seems important. Not because I want to attack feminism but because one of the reasons I started this blog with Jamie was that I thought we could be an alternative, to quote from our original mani-festo, both to "misogynistic backslapping (not to mention butt-patting)" and to "a suffocating, supposedly enlightened perspective inside of which we censor ourselves for fear of being or being seen as sexist, misogynistic or objectifying."
Feminism is a good thing, and I take it as a given that much of the resistance to it is grounded in pretty nasty, indefensible, reactionary, atavistic emotions. But I also think that like all philosophies it can, sometimes, flatten into a kind of ideology that loses sympathy for human limits and frailties. I like the Sontag passage because it seems to point to this out without attacking the feminist project (there’s something gloriously casual about the feminist solidarity expressed in her line about Virginia Woolf "being the glorious exception").
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2007/04/02/susan-sontag-r-i-p-on-feminism-and-its-discontents/
|
en
| 2007-04-02T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/501b23fe472c2aef5e23438b380bbd4893991fa916cfe12a803d6cfd83bea665.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:26 | null | 2016-08-29T19:44:45 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-happsmusic-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyAdvocatelogo.png
|
en
| null |
VA35-happsMUSIC-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Thursday 9/1
Borys Bakum: Acoustic set. 6 p.m. No cover. Patrick’s Chicopee, 154 Main St., Chicopee. (413) 331-2666.
Brewmaster’s Jazz: Thursdays, 6 p.m. Superb jazz played by the area’s hottest musicians with special guests every week. Includes fresh-brewed drinks and offerings from the Mothership Gourmet food truck. New City Brewery, 180 Pleasant St., Easthampton.
Florence Music on the Porch Series: 6:30 p.m. Free. Florence Civic Center, 90 Park St., Florence.
Luke Bailgeron: 6:30 p.m. Free. Delaney House, 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke. (413) 532-1800, logcabin-delaney.com.
Music at the Market: Live every Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. Free. Westfield Farmers’ Market, Episcopal Church of the Atonement, 36 Court St., Westfield. (413) 562-5461, farmfresh.org.
Open Mic: Kevin Parry hosts. Sign-up 7 p.m. Participating musicians receive 50 percent off their meal. The Marina Restaurant, 28 Spring Tree Road, Brattleboro. (802) 257-7563, kevinparrymusic.com.
Rob Zombie: 6:30 p.m. $26. Xfinity Theatre, 61 Savitt Way, Hartford. robzombie.com.
Wayne Roberts Trio: 7 p.m. $5-$10. 121 Club at Eastworks, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton. [email protected].
Friday 9/2
The Boston Pops with the B-52s: 8 p.m. Tanglewood, 297 West St., Lenox. (888) 266-1200, bso.org.
Funky Dawgz Brass Band: 9 p.m. $7-$10. Arch Street Tavern, 85 Arch St., Hartford. (860) 246-7610, archstreettavern.com.
Made Men: 7 p.m. Free. The Mick, 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke. (413) 532-1800, logcabin-delaney.com.
Street Change: Unique and infectious sound drawing upon emotionally driven vocals blended with a ‘60s musical style and arranged with a ‘90s alt-rock influence. 5 p.m. Free. Fort Hill Brewery, 30 Fort Hill Road, Easthampton. forthillbrewery.com.
Strictly Bluegrass Jam: 7 p.m. Luthier’s Co-op, 108 Cottage St., Easthampton. luthiers-coop.com.
Valley Talent Showcase: Monthly live performance designed to show off exciting new talent in the area. On first Fridays, six bands and/or solo or duos drawn from all musical genres grace the stage. Celebrity judges and monthly prizes. 8 p.m. $5-10 suggested donation on entry. Gateway City Arts, 92 Race St., Holyoke.
Vishten: Part of the Troubadour Series. 6 p.m. $20-$25. The Guthrie Center, 2 Van Deusenville Road, Great Barrington. (413) 528-1955, guthriecenter.org.
Wildcat O’Halloran Band: Promoting their 13th album. With special guest Emily Duff. 7:30 p.m. Free. Common House and Pioneer Valley Co-housing, 120 Pulpit Hill Road, North Amherst. wildcatohalloran.com.
Saturday 9/3
The Berkshire Ramblers: Fundraiser show. 6 p.m. $25. The Guthrie Center, 2 Van Deusenville Road, Great Barrington. (413) 528-1955, guthriecenter.org.
The Boxcar Lilies: 6 p.m. Black Birch Vineyards, 155 Glendale Road, Southampton. (413) 527-0164, blackbirchvineyard.com.
Colorway: TRY opens. 8 p.m. No cover. The Basement, 21 Center St., Northampton. (413) 586-8686, iheg.com.
Danny Mayer Trio: With Jen Durkin and the Business. 9 p.m. $7-$10. Arch Street Tavern, 85 Arch St., Hartford. (860) 246-7610, archstreettavern.com.
Danny Pease and The Regulators: Reggae roots and ska band from Western Mass with uplifting, high energy shows. Special guests include The Alchemystics and DJ Vibe Wise. 9 p.m. $10 advance; $13 at door. Gateway City Arts, 92 Race St., Holyoke. (413) 650-2670, gatewaycityarts.com.
Everton Blender: Spend one last summer night at MASS MoCA with the cool, steady, and easy grooves of a reggae whose perfect combination of classic roots and dancehall rhythm make him a powerful presence in the world of Jamaican music. 8 p.m. $5-$16. MASS MoCA, 1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams. (413) 662.2111, massmoca.org.
Flux Capacitor: Pennsylvania-based jamtronica band. plays with a fiery, distinct sound with elements of rock, improvisation, and electronica. Northampton-based guitar rock trio Colorway opens. 9 p.m. $5 advance; $8 at the door. The Root Cellar, 10 Fiske Ave., Greenfield. (413) 320-9679, rootcellarbar.com.
The Healys: 7 p.m. Free. The Mick, 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke. (413) 532-1800, [email protected].
Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Swing Orchestra: “Dancing Under the Stars,” a festive, toe-tapping performance to close out the 2016 season in style. 8 p.m. Tanglewood, 297 West St., Lenox. (888) 266-1200, bso.org.
Lexi Wegee Band: 9:30 p.m. Luthier’s Co-op, 108 Cottage St, Easthampton. (413) 527-6627, luthiers-coop.com.
The One and Only Fall Town String Band: 6 p.m. Free. Cameron’s Winery, 105 Main St., Northfield. (413) 225 3247.
Ray Mason: Original pop rock ‘n’ roll from a man and his Silvertone. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Free. The Old Creamery, 445 Berkshire Trail (Rte. 9), Cummington. (413) 634-5560. oldcreamery.coop.
Tom and Corrie: Formerly known as Kiss Me Florence. 3 p.m. Free. Fort Hill Brewery, 30 Fort Hill Road, Easthampton. forthillbrewery.com.
Sunday 9/4
Banish Misfortune: Traditional Irish hornpipes, reels, jigs, waltzes, polkas, airs, songs and craic. 5 p.m. Free. Northampton Brewery, 11 Brewster Ct., Northampton. (413) 586-4997, northamptonbrewery.com.
Ethel Lee Ensemble: Jazz and blues band play as part of the Uno Chicago Bar and Grill Live Music Summer Courtyard Series. Weather-permitting. 6-10 p.m. Free. Uno Chicago Bar and Grill, 820 West Columbus Ave., Springfield. (413) 733-1300.
Mark Ricker and Jimmy Burgoff Jazz Duo: Part of the Sunday Jazz Brunch series. 11 a.m. Free. Cushman Market, 491 Pine St., Amherst. (413) 549-0100, cushmanmarket.com.
The Mary Jane Jones: Enjoy the jazzier side of this band as they share down-tempo originals and explore the classic American Songbook. 7 p.m. Free. Sam’s Pizzeria and Cafe, 235 Main St., Northampton. (413) 587-2677, [email protected].
Monday 9/5
Hartford Jazz Orchestra: 8 p.m. Free. Arch Street Tavern, 85 Arch St., Hartford. (860) 246-7610, archstreettavern.com.
Tuesday 9/6
Hampshire Young People’s Chorus: 3:30 p.m. South Congregational Church, 1066 South East St., Amherst. (413) 530-9337, [email protected].
Mak’hela: The Jewish Chorus of Massachusetts. If you like to sing, come give it a try — everyone is welcome. 7:30 p.m. Free. Lander-Grinspoon Academy, 257 Prospect St., Northampton. (413) 567-3927, makhela.org.
Wednesday 9/7
All Ages Open Mic: Hosted by F. Alex Johnson. Sign-up by 6:45 p.m. Music from 7-10 p.m. Free. Brew Practitioners Brewery and Taproom, 36 Main St., Florence. (413) 268-7757, colorwaymusic.com, brewpractitioners.com.
Carol Abbe Smith: 6 p.m. Free. The Mick, 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke. (413) 532-1800, [email protected].
Creacion Latin Big Band: 19-piece band, playing son, salsa, cha cha, boogaloo, merengue, cumbia, and bolero styles. Featuring Venezuelan singer Tony Messina. 8 p.m. Free. The Arts Block, 289 Main St, Greenfield. theartsblock.com.
Golden Years: Kate Nicolaou and Zack Danziger play tunes from Bach to Bop to Beatles to Bruno Mars. 5 p.m. Free. Bertucci’s, 51 East Pleasant St., Amherst. (413) 454-2002, zackdanziger.com.
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-happsmusic-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/cee5303e7847adba012f4ca9c7b56e1c0b382f9c765c21b50619aa13c0aabe82.json
|
[
"Maureen Turner",
"Robert Joseph Underwood"
] | 2016-08-26T12:49:59 | null | 2011-02-03T07:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2011%2F02%2F03%2Fwestern-mass-legislators-file-marijuana-reform-bills%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/13095.jpeg
|
en
| null |
Western Mass. Legislators File Marijuana Reform Bills
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
In the November election, voters in a number of Massachusetts districts sent a message that they’re ready to see dramatic changes in the commonwealth’s marijuana laws.
In nine legislative districts around the state (including the 1st Franklin and 3rd Hampshire districts), a majority of voters approved public policy questions calling for marijuana to be taxed and regulated by the government, in the same way alcohol is. In addition, voters in nine districts (including, locally, the 1st Hampden) approved public policy questions calling for medical marijuana to be available to patients on a doctor’s recommendation.
While public policy questions are non-binding, they are an important way for constituents to voice their priorities to their representatives; indeed, the wording of PPQs specifically asks voters, “Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of” whatever policy is being suggested. While legislators don’t have to follow that directive, they certainly can’t deny that voters have made their wishes clear.
And now it appears that legislators may, indeed, have the opportunity to turn into law the very measures voters supported on the November ballot. State Rep. Ellen Story, a Democrat who represents the 3rd Hampshire district, has filed a bill called the “Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act.” The proposed law would legalize possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use by adults, and would create a state Cannabis Control Authority to regulate its legal sale and taxation. The bill has its genesis in earlier efforts by Northampton attorney Dick Evans, a longtime advocate for marijuana policy reform who has previously brought the proposal to the Legislature under a law that allows citizens to file bills without a legislator’s sponsorship. (See “Legalize It?” Oct. 15, 2009)
In addition, state Sen. Stan Rosenberg (a Democrat from the Hampshire-Franklin district) and Rep. Frank Smizik, a Brookline Democrat, have filed in their respective chambers bills to legalize and regulate the medical use of marijuana with the approval of a physician.
It remains to be seen, of course, if either bill ever makes it to the floor for a vote. Evans’ previous legalization bills have died without reaching a vote, as have earlier medical marijuana bills filed by Smizik.
But advocates hope the proposals are ideas whose time has come. “As the Commonwealth faces a two-billion-dollar budget deficit, the legislature cannot afford to continue the unjust, unwise and unreasonable prohibition of cannabis to adults, nor ignore the savings, revenue and jobs that would come from regulating and taxing the commercial cannabis industry, including hemp,” Steven Epstein, a spokesman for marijuana reform group MassCann, said in a statement about Story’s bill. “Massachusetts should lead the nation to finally ending ‘reefer madness.’
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2011/02/03/western-mass-legislators-file-marijuana-reform-bills/
|
en
| 2011-02-03T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/29f371795e003a986b4da8d1b1293fe4a306a075af987452b5bffbecc580e0c3.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T14:48:48 | null | 2016-08-30T14:10:39 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fcafeteria-fusion-cuisine%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyAdvocatelogo.png
|
en
| null |
Cafeteria Fusion Cuisine
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Though most dining commons food comes as pre-made cuisine, already distinctly seasoned, there’s no reason students can’t still mix things up when the norm gets old. I headed into Worcester Dining Commons at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to ask students about their secret dining commons recipes and food mashup tips, and to try out some combos of my own.
It’s worth mentioning that Worcester has a lot of options. But even in cafeterias with a more limited selection, there are still lots of ways to create some excellent cafeteria fusion cuisine.
Nikita Kamaraj, a grad student at UMass who also works at Worcester, said she likes to add spicy masala on top of plain fries from the dining hall, or mix types of cuisine, like Chinese and Indian food.
Abby Nathanson, who was visiting UMass from Millerton, New York, for a youth leadership conference, suggested taking some of the couscous from one food station over to the fried risotto station instead. There, the risotto chef can mix in choice vegetables. This could be a good alternative for those who prefer the lighter dish to a heavier, creamy rice.
Naeemah Davis, a Worcester worker, had some interesting suggestions for how to make desserts, drinks, and dessert drinks tastier at the dining commons. She said if you want a milkshake, it’s simple: just pick your flavor of choice from the ice cream machine, add a little bit of milk and maybe even some Oreo crumbs and M&Ms, and stir it all together. You can even put the concoction in a cup to-go.
Davis, who will be a freshman at UMass this fall, offered another delicious dessert combo: blueberry buckle (a sort of dry cobbler) on top of vanilla ice cream, with some hot fudge drizzled on top.
One last suggestion from her: mix buffalo chicken into some mac and cheese for a zesty twist on the staple college food.
After listening to everyone’s combo suggestions, it was my turn to make something yummy.
I knew I couldn’t pass up the risotto bar, so I asked Chef Stuart Fontain to toss the rice with vegetable stock, red and green peppers, broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms. For my meal’s twist, I asked him to skip the cheese. After everything was sauteed, I took my risotto over to the sauce bar and hit it with Worcester’s delicious tomato and meat sauce. Then I added my cheese and some red pepper flakes for an extra kick.
It was so good. Adding meat sauce, or even cut up chicken breast, to risotto is good for getting in that extra protein, and it tastes pretty great, too.
For my drink, I mixed together lemonade and iced tea to make a classic Arnold Palmer.
To top the meal off: soft serve. I spooned some Oreo crumbs into the bottom of a sugar cone before dispensing the vanilla soft serve. Then I topped the creamy treat off with some M&Ms and sprinkles. The Oreo crumbs were a good call; they were a nice chocolatey surprise at the end and they soaked up the dripping soft serve, making the desert drip-free.
Regardless of whether you like to stick to traditions or you’re always itching to try new flavors, just know that there are plenty of ways to do the latter. Don’t be afraid to let your boredom with the ordinary drive you to get wild and weird with your food.
Alexa Chryssovergis studies journalism at Indiana University; she just wrapped up an internship at the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton. Tweet her at @achryssovergis.
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/30/cafeteria-fusion-cuisine/
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/57bf4c37e35b5239862160e1e8c8de40c0ac053e71ce3f7893a42226845b238f.json
|
[
"Hunter Styles",
"Peter Vancini"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:48 | null | 2016-08-22T20:04:13 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Famourasaurus-ii-line%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Amourasaurus15_OliverScottPhoto_049-1.jpg
|
en
| null |
Amourasaurus II: The Line-Up
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Saturday, 3:00 – 3:40
The Brooklyn-based Courtin may not be the only Juilliard-trained classical violinist and composer on hand this weekend, but she is definitely the most colorful, bending genres as exuberantly as she can switch between voice, violin, viola, and guitar. A session player and solo artist, as well as a member of the neo-classical NYC ensemble The Knights, Courtin gets around, scooping up strange and lovely sounds wherever she goes. Check out “Varsity,” “Lightfighter,” and “Foreign Country.” — HS
LOOK PARK
Saturday, 4:00 – 4:45
Former Fountains of Wayne frontman Chris Collingwood has left Stacy’s Mom miles behind by now, and his restlessly catchy new pop-rock project Look Park — sure to cause a bit of confusion to Valley ticket buyers now and again — finds him experimenting with rock arrangements and sweeping atmospherics while retaining the razor-sharp production and sense of flair that’s gotten him this far. Choice tracks: “Aeroplane,” “Breezy,” and “Stars of New York.”— HS
SON LITTLE
Saturday, 5:05 – 6:05
Born in L.A. to a preacher and a teacher, Aaron Livingston now makes his way in New York and Philly, collaborating with acts like The Roots and RJD2. His studio work, which is soulful and at times heart-burstingly good, wanders insomniac sonic landscapes shimmering with deep beats, banjos, keyboards, and croons. He describes it all as “a pointillist art piece made from junkyards and viewed from space.” Sold. Our fave tracks include “The River,” “Lay Down,” and “Your Love Will Blow Me Away When My Heart Aches.”— HS
MAVIS STAPLES
Saturday, 6:30 – 7:45
Staples is living, breathing history. Period, full stop. For six decades she has grown into, and shaped, the fabric of American music styles from gospel, soul, folk, and pop to R&B, blues, rock, and hip-hop. On her new album, Livin’ on a High Note, she performs songs written by stellar artists like Neko Case, Nick Cave, Ben Harper, Tune-Yards, Aloe Blacc, M. Ward, and Aaron Livingston (a.k.a. Son Little). She is still, as her father used to say in the 1950s, one of “God’s greatest hitmakers.”— HS
LAKE STREET DIVE Saturday, 8:15 – 9:30 // Sunday, 8:00 – 9:30
The host band of Amourasaurus is also the headlining act on both Saturday and Sunday nights. Asked about those two sets, lead singer Rachael Price tells us to expect live takes on songs from the new album Side Pony (we’re especially hoping they play “Call Off Your Dogs,” “I Don’t Care About You,” and “Mistakes”) as well as earlier material. That’s the spirit of this band: stay playful, be yourself, go back to the drawing board, cross-pollinate your tunes, and don’t be afraid to make your own dance party.— HS
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/amourasaurus-ii-line/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/b47f326108434617d54612ada1360bf6ff46b9b69e88d97af71bb654d90b043d.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:40 | null | 2016-08-29T19:44:51 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-picketc-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA35-pickETC-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
VA35-pickETC-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
—
Pork it Over
Don’t sit around and do nothing on Labor Day weekend — give your stomach (and heart, and arteries) some love to labor over. The Student Prince hosts a two-day pig roast and barbecue with pig-inspired food, bacon-infused drinks, games, and live entertainment from The Primate Fiasco, Aquanett, Joon, and Alex and Joe from Feel Good Drift. The roast’s organizers think of it as the first installment in a series of annual food, drink and entertainment events downtown. Springfield’s future may hold more good food, but in the meantime we’re happy to settle in and go whole hog on a porcine plate of paradise, fresh off the grill.
All Things Pig Block Party: Friday 4-10 p.m.; Saturday 1-10 p.m. $15-$20. Family-friendly. The Student Prince, 8 Fort St., Springfield. (413) 734-7475, fortstreetent.com.
— Hunter Styles
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-picketc-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/2e26efdac7e3a851327814d28f1fb4e04820a86791a20e6257bcb57e8d45ae05.json
|
[
"Hunter Styles"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:41 | null | 2016-08-22T16:18:39 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Famourasaurus-roars-again%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Amourasaurus15_OliverScottPhoto_047.jpg
|
en
| null |
Amourasaurus Roars Again!
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Lake Street Dive plays Amourasaurus 2015. Photo by Oliver Scott Snure. Amourasaurus 2015. Photo by Oliver Scott Snure. And The Kids plays Amourasaurus 2015. Photo by Oliver Scott Snure. JD McPherson plays Amourasaurus 2015. Photo by Oliver Scott Snure. Parsonsfield plays Amourasaurus 2015. Photo by Oliver Scott Snure.
The Valley’s cheeriest new festival doubles in size for its second year
The hip cats that comprise Lake Street Dive must be halfway through their nine lives by now. Since the four members met at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music in 2004, their sound has changed a lot, jumping gleefully from pop, folk, and jazz to Motown, rock, and country.
For years, they were passionate part-timers, playing live and recording with scraps of free time. Before they teamed up with Signature Sounds and released their self-titled album in 2011, it wasn’t clear that the group could commit to packing the tour bus for the long haul.
Now, Lake Street Dive plays hundreds of shows each year, and judging by the gigs lined up for the fall, this band — to borrow one of their lyrics — don’t need anybody else to row their boat. In September, they’ll rock the Gorge Amphitheatre for three days with Dave Matthews Band. In October, they play the Wang Center in Boston, then Radio City Music Hall in New York.
But first, they’re with us, here in the Valley. And they’re bringing their friends.
Amourasaurus II is a sequel, in some ways, to last summer’s inaugural festival, curated by Lake Street Dive and produced by Signature Sounds. That day of music at the Pines Theatre in Look Park featured Lake Street Dive plus four acts (Winterpills, And The Kids, Parsonsfield, and JD McPherson). Amourasaurus II is, fittingly, a two-day affair, with an expanded lineup of nine acts from here, nearby, and elsewhere.
“Last year was such a success, we knew we had to expand it,” says Emily Lichter, Lake Street Dive’s manager. “That gave us a wider range of musical acts to pick from.”
“It’s very exciting for us, curating a diverse line-up of bands that we’re super into,” says the band’s lead singer Rachael Price. “We were more hands-on with choosing the bands this year.”
As the festival’s host band, Lake Street Dive assembles a wish list of performers, then works with Signature Sounds to try to make those wishes come true. “The list started with heroes of ours,” she says. “People we were just dreaming of being able to play with.”
Case in point: Mavis Staples, the iconic R&B and gospel singer. Staples, now 77, will perform Saturday night. “She has an inspirational spirit,” Price says of Staples. “Anyone who comes in contact with her is left in awe of the energy she has. And she’s been at it for so long … She’s an example of how to do all of it right.”
In 2014, Lake Street Dive found themselves onstage with Staples at the Newport Folk Festival. In truth, all of the acts playing Amourasaurus this year are connected in some way. Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, an act Lake Street Dive used to open for, is a natural fit for Amourasaurus. Some performers — like Erin McKeown, Look Park, and The Suitcase Junket, have well-established local followings. Others come from further afield: Son Little is from Philadelphia, Christina Courtin makes her music in Brooklyn, and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down hails from San Francisco.
“Concerts can feel like a treadmill sometimes, particularly in these days of LiveNation and House of Blues,” says Jim Olsen, president of Signature Sounds. “We’re more about creating events with a more thoughtful presentation to them.”
Olsen caught Lake Street Dive at the Rendezvous in Turners Falls back in 2009, before they had fully cohered into a professional band, and got them on board the Northampton-based label as soon as he could. “Their talent is just so unbelievable,” he says.
After several years on, the band moved to Warner Brothers and Nonesuch Records, which released its new album, Side Pony. Signature Sounds became the group’s local concert promoter, producing recent shows at the Green River Festival, the Parlor Room, and the Academy of Music. As Lake Street Dive’s popularity grows, so have the venues. “We realized,” Olsen says, “that we could always produce another concert with them, but it would be cool to do something more than that. Something more like a collaboration.”
“I always feel like they’re one radio hit away,” he adds. “If their career trajectory keeps up, they might outgrow this.”
Perhaps, but not yet. The whole idea of Amourasaurus — a made-up word that seems to describe the scale of the band’s love of good vibes — is to stay connected to the Valley. At the beautiful, naturally woodsy Pines amphitheatre in Look Park, that feeling of communion comes easily.
“It’s just a really different energy,” says Price, “when we’re all out under the stars in the summer.”
Contact Hunter Styles at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/amourasaurus-roars-again/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/25dd12ef3a19826901799b5b1672e322043aebe0f3a9c0b41b077a6671b0ade6.json
|
[
"James Heflin"
] | 2016-08-26T12:47:32 | null | 2015-05-27T09:29:21 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2015%2F05%2F27%2Fxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-6%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/VA22uncanny.jpeg
|
en
| null |
Jumpin' Black Flash, A Cape Cod boogeyman
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Spring-Heeled Jack, in addition to being the best-named apparition since the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, was a frequent haunter of Victorian London and, eventually, other parts of Great Britain. He was known and feared for his habits of sudden attack via tearing with metal claws and breathing blue fire, and the black-caped scoundrel often left the scene of a crime via inhuman leaps.
There’s an odd echo of Spring-Heeled Jack in the pantheon of Massachusetts anomalies. The Bay State has hosted a surprising number of monsters, ghosts, and entities. The catalogue starts early in the state’s history — mysterious visitors with unusual, futuristic technology and abilities supposedly visited colonial Gloucester. More recent times have seen such inexplicable occurrences as the so-called “Dover Demon” of Dover, Mass., a diminutive, big-headed creature spotted by more than one observer in 1977, and a miscellany of anomalies (even Bigfoot) around the “Bridgewater Triangle” in southeastern Mass. The list of hauntings here is, of course, substantial. But a particularly villainous Provincetown specter ought to give potential Cape Cod vacationers pause.
Chances are high he’d go unnoticed in contemporary P-town, overshadowed by folks like the omnipresent bicycler of recent years who’s dressed like, well, a pastel chess piece, maybe? But the Black Flash, says many an online source, spent a few years scaring the wits out of P-town folks, from 1938 through the end of World War II. He shared Spring-Heeled Jack’s penchant for a black cape. At least one observer reported the breathing of blue fire, and another claimed that the Black Flash got away courtesy of leaping a 10-foot hedge. It’s hard to avoid the question of whether Spring-Heeled Jack hopped aboard a transatlantic clipper.
Steve Desroches, writing in Provincetown Magazine in 2011, traced the Black Flash story to its origins. Desroches says it all began with kids who came home reporting terrifying encounters with “something big. Something that growled. Something all in black.” But then an adult P-town resident ran into the thing, and from her came reports of glowing blue eyes, incredible jumping ability, and, oddly, silver ears. As happens with many an anomalous encounter, it seems that everyone wanted in on the act, and reported sightings increased.
A great account of the Black Flash can be found in the 1997 Joseph Citro book Passing Strange, an excellent read about New England weirdness past and present. Citro based much of his version on the work of the now-deceased folklorist Robert Ellis Cahill, author of the 1984 volume New England’s Mad and Mysterious Men, who talked to P-town residents about the Black Flash. One of his interviewees reported that he was “black, all black, with eyes like balls of flame, and he was big, real big … maybe eight feet tall. He made a sound, a loud buzzing sound, like a June bug on a hot day, only louder … he disappeared like a flash.”
Troubling indeed. Stories like that led Desroches and others investigators like writers Theo Paijmans to dig deeper into the record. For better or worse, behind all the tales was, alas, a more prosaic truth. They found that the first written record of the Black Flash incidents comes from the Provincetown Advocate of October 26, 1939. There you’ll find a front-page story that acknowledges the ongoing tales, but chalks them up to cabin fever and, with a tone more Onion than New York Times, features a quote from a Capt. Phineus Blackstrap: “We’ve had the ‘Black Flash’ here every fourth year ever since I was a man and boy and he never harmed no one. Some usta say he was looking for his vessel that was lost oc [sic] the Race and others usta to say that he has a date to eat skully-joes with the Devil out at Peaked Hill when the first ones is ripe. I never seen him without he’s gnawing away at a skully-jo.”
Desroches claims to have gotten to the bottom of the business via a later newspaper quote from a former police chief who chalked the business up to four teenagers. One would get on another’s shoulders, he said, don a black cape and use a flour sifter for a mask, hence the account of silver ears.•
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2015/05/27/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-6/
|
en
| 2015-05-27T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/8d2a7e49be0365df1723d29d9033b29e85cdbe2cc31428eee390a45bbc8b4596.json
|
[
"Kristin Palpini"
] | 2016-08-30T14:48:53 | null | 2016-08-30T14:10:53 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fwelcome-to-the-valley-now-what%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyAdvocatelogo.png
|
en
| null |
Welcome to the Valley! Now What?
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
You’ve checked into your dorm and met your roommate, scoped out the campus and located the halls where you’ll have your first classes. It’s time to get off campus and explore this new place called the Pioneer Valley where you’ll likely be spending the next four years or so.
Here in the Valley, aka the Happy Valley, you’ll find excellent food, lots of music, craft beer, inventive art, and some very fun people. The following is a guide to where you can find the best local places for eats, shopping, and day-to-day life stuff. The list is derived, in part, from the Valley Advocate’s 2016 Best Of the Valley Readers Poll, a survey in which readers write-in their favorite businesses in 160-plus categories. The rest of the suggestions come from the funky minds of Advocate staffers.
GO!
Do not miss hiking Mt. Sugarloaf in Deerfield. With a breathtaking view of the Connecticut River Valley, Mt. Sugarloaf with its picnicking areas and hiking trails is an excellent day trip for nature lovers. It’s also a fine example of the Valley’s geological history and the summit is accessible by car. The area also boasts the Yankee Candle Flagship store, also in Deerfield. Just keep driving Interstate 91 until your nostrils get a snoot full of Mango Lavender Chocolatey Afternoon Breeze Sunset and you know you’re there. We kid, though. Despite the huge store containing thousands of scented candles — in addition to a year-round Christmas shop, fudge, and country-style home decor — the company is adept at keeping the delightful aromas inside and pretty mellow. Also, the Summit House at Skinner State Park in Hadley has an amazing view. Stanley Park in Westfield is the perfect place to bring your kid, and Robinson State Park in Agawam is nicefor just disappearing into nature for a bit.
A little further west, you’ve got to hit up Tanglewood in Lenox, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra — which is probably not your go-to band when planning to attend an outside concert, but well worth it. And in the summer, the orchestra performs reworked pop music and movie theme songs. MASS MoCA in North Adams is a must-see. The modern art museum features stunning works guaranteed to inspire and get your mind thinking along new lines. And while you’re in the area, check out the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. The museum features classic artworks from famous artists across the globe.
You’re in Massachusetts now, but the Bay State doesn’t own all the fun things to do in the area. Brattleboro in southern Vermont is a funky paradise. A center for arts and entertainment, Brattleboro’s downtown bustles with life, thanks to growing crowds flocking to some of the town’s amazing venues and festivals, including the 1930s Art Deco Latchis Theatre, the Hooker-Dunham Theater, Brattleboro Music Center, the Vermont Jazz Center, and the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, plus monthly gallery art walks. If you like skiing, Mt. Snow in West Dover isn’t a far drive.
Ready to rock? Great. Go here: Iron Horse Music Hall, an oldie, but a goodie; The Parlor Room at Signature Sounds, a cool new venue on the rise, both of Northampton; or Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton. The Waterfront Tavern in Holyoke and Maximum Capacity in Chicopee are always good to hit up on the weekends for a rock/metal show and sometimes a dance party. The 13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence has a more intimate, underground style. There’s also Mocha Maya’s in Shelburne Falls, The Rendezvous in Turners Falls, Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, The Bing and the MassMutual Center both in Springfield, The Arts Block in Greenfield, Bishop’s and The Pines of Northampton. Where the locals drink: Amy’s Place and The Brass Cat in Easthampton, Packards and Joe’s Pizza in Northampton, The Ale House and Max’s Tavern in Springfield, and The Pizza Shoppe in East Longmeadow. Best bars for tap beer selection include: The Dirty Truth and McLadden’s in Northampton, The Lighthouse in Longmeadow, Kaptain Jimmy’s in Agawam, and The Moan & Dove in Amherst. I hate to say this, but Hooters in West Springfield also has a really good beer selection. It does, however, come with a suffocating slathering of degradation.
THE LOOK
Where are you going to get the sweetest, softest T-shirts around? Not in a mall, not at Walmart, and not at a merch tent: they’re at the thrift store. Used clothing or vintage thread shops are abundant in the Valley, and luckily for people who like to dig deep for hot finds and steep discounts, the folks donating have got style. If you haven’t been to one before, hit up the Salvation Army, with locations in Holyoke, Greenfield, Springfield, Pittsfield, Hadley, and Westfield. Bonus: money spent in the stores also helps fund adult rehabilitation centers for those who have lost the ability to provide for themselves. Other awesome thrift shops include Cancer Connection in Northampton, and Goodwill with locations in Springfield, Westfield, Chicopee, and Holyoke. The Agawam Flea Market on Sundays is also a lot of fun and full of hidden vintage gems.
Have you really had the college experience if you haven’t gotten a tattoo or piercing? Of course, but for many people, decorating themselves with personal art is a much anticipated and considered part of going to college. In the area, we’ve got some excellent parlors with great reputations.
Off The Map Tattoo in Easthampton has its regular artists as well as an ever-changing roster of guest inkers. The shop emphasizes education by producing and presenting classes, conferences, discussion panels, and international events for tattoo artists and enthusiasts, both in-person and online. Lucky’s Tattoo & Piercing on Main Street in Northampton has been a downtown staple since the ’90s. And the artists’ work, like the shop, stand the test of time. Haven Body Arts Piercing & Tattoo, also on Main in Northampton, features an insane collection of body jewelry. Nitemare Tattoo in Westfield boasts a couple of the coolest, most talented tattoo dudes in the area.
Get your hair right. The Lift in Easthampton has a huge following and it has a lot to do with how the stylists keep on top of trends and pamper their clients. Salon 241 on Main Street in Northampton and Salon 180 in Easthampton also have reps for sweet cuts. There’s also Salon 322 in Feeding Hills that people rant and rave over.
For many, perfectly polished nails are a must — anything else just drives us crazy, amiright? Peter’s Nails in Hadley consistently wins best place for nails in the Advocate’s Best Of Readers Poll. Kristy’s Nails on Damon Road in Northampton and Brooks & Butterfield, also in Noho, are often recommended as well. Some things are better the second time around, or at least that’s the philosophy at these wonderfully picky consignment shops. Urban Exchange in Northampton, Cinderelli’s in South Hadley and New 2 You in Sunderland all provide their shoppers with quality products, over quantity, and their wares are on point.
FEELING OKAY?
Uh-oh. If you need to get yourself medical care — quick — here are the top urgent care facilities our readers recommend: AEIOU Urgent Care on University Drive in Amherst, On Call Urgent Care on Hatfield Street and Baystate Urgent Care on King Street, both of Northampton. Doctors Express Urgent Care in West Springfield is a good spot to get fixed up as well.
In the area, our top recommended hospitals are Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.
Sore? Get a rub down with a therapeutic massage specialist at Elements Hot Tub Spa in Amherst or The Healing Zone in Hadley. Pioneer Valley Pain Relief Therapies, also of Hadley, is also well regarded.
If you’re looking for treatment outside the mainstream, many people in the Valley have good things to say about Clinic Alternative Medicine in Northampton, which provides acupuncture, massage, reiki, homeopathy, dream work, shamanism, and herbal medicine. There is also a retail space, with products curated by the practitioners. Northampton Wellness Associates and Greenfield Community Acupuncture are also great places to get your alternative heal on.
You are what you eat; that’s about as literal statement as you can get. The caf is tasty, sure, but for an extra dose of healthy fare, check out River Valley Co-op on North King and Cornucopia on Main streets in Northampton. There’s also the good-food mecca, Whole Foods, in Hadley. Choice Health in the Westfield Shops is a candy store for your alternative medicine needs, as well as Herbarium in the center of Chicopee.
GETTING THERE
Not everyone has a car at college, so if you’re one of the lucky ones with wheels you’ll need to know where to get tuned and/or fixed up — and with any luck, the bill will be less than a semester’s tuition.
Here are some places recommended by area readers that have great reputations for giving it to the customers straight.
For anything from an oil change to an alternator replacement, Full Tilt Auto Body in Easthampton has got it covered. A major service the shop provides is dealing with the insurance companies so that customers don’t have to be bothered with the experience. Also in Easthampton are E.S.P. Auto on Pleasant Street and Ed’s Auto Body and Repair on Mechanic Street offering quality car care. Outside of Easthampton there’s Pelham Auto in Belchertown and ACME Automotive in Northampton. When it’s time for new tires or to get a flat fixed you can head to a Town Fair Tire, but the mostly highly recommended one in the area is on King Street in Northampton, Pete’s Tire Barn, which also has good prices. In Greenfield, Tire Warehouse has got rubbers for your car.
And if you don’t have a car yet, but are in the market to buy one, Valley people recommend the following used car dealers: Nicky D’s in Easthampton, Pleasant Journey in Northampton, and Country Nissan in Hadley.
No car, but bike busted? Head to Valley Ski & Bike Werks in Hadley, Northampton Bicycle or Full Circle Bike Shop in Florence for a fix.
SHOPPING
Sure, you could go to Barnes and Noble or order your books online, but it feels a whole lot better to support local booksellers who are truly doing the Lord’s work by promoting local authors and keeping literature a lively part of the community by hosting poetry slams, workshops, and readings with exciting authors. In the Valley, we have a good selection of indie booksellers including Broadside Bookshop and Raven Used Books, both of Northampton; The Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, a pillar of the local literary community; Grey Matter Books in Amherst, Red Brick Books in Springfield and World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield.
When your laptop breaks or your tablet chokes, who you gonna call? Yes Computers, Green Earth Computers, or LeftClick, all of Northampton.
If ethical shopping is something you pride yourself on, head down to Ten Thousand Villages in Northampton — the place that has been doing fair trade before there was even a name for it back in the ’50s. The longtime Northampton staple sells artisanal crafts from around the globe at fair trade prices that help sustain the artists. The store often has jewelry, scarves, art, ceramics, watches, and glassware you can’t find anywhere else without getting on an airplane.
Did you join a band yet? Want to but you’re missing a guitar string, drum head, or instrument? The Valley’s got your jamming needs covered. Musical instrument shops that have been serving the area’s musicians with stellar service and pitch-perfect pieces include Downtown Sounds in Northampton, Gerry’s Music Shop in South Hadley, Falcetti Music in Springfield, and Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton, which in addition to fixing up and selling classically awesome guitars, at night also hosts the most get-down-iest acoustic sets around.
By the time you’re reading this, five more vape shops have probably opened in Western Mass. Smokeless tobacco has taken off in the Valley. Indie shops mixing their own juices and providing aficionado-level vaping services include The Enthusiast in Greenfield, which also sells marijuana supplies; Jim Buddy’s Vape Shop in Chicopee; Gorilla Vapes in Westfield; and Voltage Vape Shop on State Street in Springfield. Sex is great, especially when it’s extra sexy. Liven up your bedroom — or wherever it is you get down — by checking out some of these shops: Gazebo on Center Street in Northampton is an independent lingerie store that has been giving women undergarments that fit their bodies just right for 38 years. Check out Oh My! Sensuality Shop in Northampton for a porn and sex toy shopping experience geared toward comfort and education. If you want something completely familiar, there’s a Victoria’s Secret in Holyoke. Adam & Eve in Greenfield and Bookends in Enfield are independent lingerie-and-more shops selling dildos, vibrators, butt plugs, porn, lube, silk ropes, latex, and so on. The nice thing about these places: just like with Gazebo, the independent stores have been around for about 40 years or more each — the staff know what’s up.
EAT
You know how it takes forever to figure out where you and your mates want to eat? Yeah, just pick a restaurant off this list. You’re welcome.
For yummy American fare: Paul and Elizabeth’s in Northampton’s been doing farm-to-table since before it was cool. The restaurant, which overlooks downtown, is especially well known for its fish and vegetarian dishes. The family-owned eatery works with BerkShore, a Holyoke-based company that connects restaurants with small-batch fishermen.
Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland is a romantic, upscale restaurant that delivers on the promise of excellent food. The Alvah Stone in Montague is a drive, but the staff’s attention to detail and the restaurant’s incredible dam view sets it apart. Center Square Grill in East Longmeadow has fine dining and deliciously creative cocktails. Coco & The Cellar Barin Easthampton is a chic restaurant that has the best damn fried chicken with mashed potatoes. Seriously, you can’t get that shit without a reservation — even on a Tuesday.
Ginger Garden in Amherst is authentic Chinese cuisine. The spices used at the eatery alone are hard to get — they have to be specially shipped. The establishment boasts a new sushi chef hailing from a Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan. The Great Wall in Florence is beloved by the community and Oriental Flavor in Amherst is a favorite among the late-night crowd.
About 80 percent of the items on the menu of the upscale Hadley eatery Alina’s Ristorante are family recipes, mainly traditional Italian dishes. Mulino’s Italian Restaurant in Northampton produces classic Italian dishes with a modern twist. Don’t know what to get? Order the Pappardelle Bolognese, aka Italy in a pan. It’s prosciutto, beef, pork and garlic sauteed in tomatoes and red wine with bright oregano. Spoleto in Northampton also serves up some great Italian cuisine in a cozy atmosphere. Parthenon in Agawam has yummy American/Italian comfort food and Figaro’s, with locations in Enfield, Connecticut, and Springfield, is legendary.
If you ask anyone who has been in Northampton for a while where to get good Japanese food, they’ll probably mention Osaka Japanese Restaurant on Old South Street in Northampton. The fusion kitchen has been killing it for decades. And if fish sushi isn’t your thing, you’ve got to try their tasty veggie sushi platter. Also they’ve got a small, charming outdoor eating area that’s worth a visit. Moshi Moshi Japanese Restaurant on Main Street in Northampton has a fun and celebratory atmosphere. Sit at the sushi bar and dish with ebullient Chef Sam. If you order the “Sam I Am” roll, the chef will make you something unique and unbelievably wonderful on the spot. K’s in Westfield is also awesome.
Thai Garden in Northampton has a great table at the front window and supremely excellent Thai food. Get the tamarind duck and thank us later. Also wonderful are Thai Blue Ginger in Greenfield and Siam Square, also in Northampton.
Sometimes all you want is some good grub, you know, like Mom used to make. For that, you’ve got to hit up one of the area’s excellent diners. First up, a pillar of local history: Bluebonnet Diner on King Street in Northampton originally opened in 1950 and is open every day, except Sunday, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can’t miss the iconic Miss Florence Diner, the neon sign will see to that. The Main Street (Florence) restaurant has been slinging sandwiches, eggs, and hash for so long, they’ve got it down to a science.
Got a sweet tooth? Sate it at La Fiorentina Pastry Shop in Springfield and Northampton, Cerrato’s Pastry Shop in West Springfield, Glazed in Amherst and Northampton, Tart and Woodstar, both of Northampton, Old San Juan Bakery in Holyoke or Koffee Kup Bakery or Mercolino’s Bakery, both of Springfield.
Breakfast often comes with eggs, cheese, maple syrup, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, fresh bread, muffins, bagels, et. al. so, yeah, it’s the best meal of the day. Get a good base going at Sylvester’s in Northampton. After 33 years of business on Pleasant Street, Sylvester’s and breakfast go together like bacon and eggs — organic eggs, to be precise. Jake’s, also of Northampton, is another great breakfast place. Located next to the Calvin Theater, Jake’s serves up plate-sized pancakes and stone cut oats.
Hipster haven The Green Bean on Main Street in Northampton serves top-of-line food that’s also quite ethical. Esselon Café in Hadley is a near guaranteed good time. I say near, because really nothing is perfect, but Esselon comes so close. The food is great, the atmosphere is chill, the coffee is supreme, and the outdoor eating area makes you feel like you’re munching in the Secret Garden.
If you love burgers you must get yourself to a Local — they’ve got spots in Northampton and Williamsburg. The burgers are made with local, grass-fed, hormone-free beef and hell, yeah, you can taste the juicy difference. Also locally sourced are the restaurants fries and milkshakes. Sam’s Pizzeria and Café in Northampton is known for its delicious and creative pizza — get the Salvadoran with rice and beans and wonderful spices — but the restaurant’s best kept secret is that all of its other foods are equally phenomenal. Of particular delicious interest are their brownies — best in the Valley, according to Advocate staff — and smoothies. And, if you’ve been on a campus in Hampshire County for more than five minutes, you’ve probably heard of Antonio’s, an excellent NY-style pizzeria with funky toppings. They’ve got locations in Easthampton and Amherst. In Springfield Peppa’s, Primo’s, and Red Rose are at the top of the pizza food chain.
No Pioneer Valley guide of any kind would be complete without a section telling you where to get the best BBQ and ribs: Bub’s BBQ in Sunderland, Wildwood Barbeque in Hadley, and Theodores’ Blues, Booze and BBQ. Order the Burnt Ends for an app — they’re the most tender pieces of Theodores’ legendary brisket. Wish I was eating it right now. This place isn’t BBQ, but it’s outstanding and you should go because Chef Wayne isn’t getting any younger and keeps telling us that every time we interview him: Chef Wayne’s Big Mamou in Springfield is a hidden — I’d say gem, but that doesn’t do this place justice — it’s a hidden diamond coated in other more valuable diamonds, then shot into space turned into a meteorite and shot back to Earth even more bedazzled and valuable than before. The food is stick-to-your-ribs good and succulent. You will lick this plate of Creole soul cuisine clean. It’s BYOB and the chef does a killer brunch. Whenever you decide to go, get there early, it’s a small place on Liberty Street and after 6, there’s going to be a line.
We’ve given you the knowledge you need to make the most out of your time in the Valley. Now get out there and live it!
Contact Kristin Palpini at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/30/welcome-to-the-valley-now-what/
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/fd5fe58bde5e039be077c571a3016cc08a470addb7410d06a96bb56945770327.json
|
[
"Peter Vancini"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:35 | null | 2016-08-29T19:45:30 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fslippery-slope%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/va35-scenehere-2016-2697.jpg
|
en
| null |
Scene Here: Slippery Slope
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
It’s human nature to want to see just how far an idea can be pushed. Take Slide the City for instance, the 1,000-foot slip-and-slide that transformed Appleton Street into a lazy river for the Celebrate Holyoke festival this past weekend. It’s easy to imagine the thought process that gave rise to the creation of this monstrous rubber ode to summer childhood fun: Perhaps its creator was enjoying the ride on that iconic piece of American backyard kitsch one hot summer afternoon, just like this one and thought, “If only there was a way to make the fun last a little longer …”
—Peter Vancini, [email protected]
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/slippery-slope/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/b2679ddc62cd846bb7cb90c38fab4e2a5df2b13ff434067eba5062fe8ddbaec5.json
|
[
"Emet Marwell"
] | 2016-08-30T14:48:51 | null | 2016-08-30T14:10:43 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Flip-bomb%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_1091_Original.jpg
|
en
| null |
Lip Bomb
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Editor’s Note: Welcome to Lip Bomb, the new Advocate feature that brings opinion pieces written by area college students that touch on the topics that move them most: higher education, politics, culture, campus life, arts and entertainment. We’re kicking things off with a bit of news you can use provided by Mount Holyoke College junior Emet Marwell. If you’ve got a burning passion for writing persuasively about important issues and want to be featured in Lip Bomb, contact editor Kristin Palpini at [email protected].
Dump the Rhetoric; Get the Facts for November
I remember my mother recounting how, as a child, she would run to the heavy encyclopedia in the sunroom of my grandparents’ house when she had a question. Today, we have the internet, an entire universe of knowledge at our fingertips.
The problem? A lot of the information online is biased — especially regarding politics.
Where are the facts?
At the beginning of the summer, I left my home on the East Coast and flew over 2,000 miles to Philipsburg, Montana, to intern at Vote Smart, a national nonpartisan nonprofit. Since 1988, Vote Smart has provided the public with straight facts on political candidates. All Vote Smart workers take a non-partisan pledge. Our work is increasingly important as it has become the norm for political candidates to dodge questions, thereby obscuring their true positions.
American people deserve better. They deserve the truth, the facts. Every American voter has the right to the knowledge that will allow them to choose those who best represent them.
Vote Smart has an extensive database of political candidates that includes their biographies, voting records, issue positions, speeches, and special interest group ratings. For the voter who isn’t sure which candidate best represents them, there is Vote Easy, a powerful tool that matches voters with candidates based on fifteen key issue positions.
So, take a moment to make use of the information provided by votesmart.org. You must arm yourselves with the power of knowledge. You have the power to create change.
Emet Marwell is a junior studying environmental science at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. You can contact Emet at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/30/lip-bomb/
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/17a44a827b3943520ded010661c84c9a09f2c2440becbb9d13c258eda7a0da93.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:27 | null | 2016-08-29T19:44:56 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-pickstage-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA35-pickSTAGE-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
VA35-pickSTAGE-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
—
Seth in the City
Billy Flynn sings his smarmy way through Chicago with the promise of razzle dazzle. “Give ’em an act with lots of flash in it,” he croons, “and the reaction will be passionate.” The Seth Show, by contrast, pulls no theatrics. Seth Lepore is up there by himself, looking right at you. He doesn’t say everything that pops into his head, but close. It’s inventive, candid, communal, satirical, strange, slightly awkward, and very funny, with a different improvised topic every night. And Lepore — a founder of the Easthampton Co.Lab, and a committed promotor of creative entrepreneurship in the Valley — plays the role of tired, skeptical braniac to a T. Call it the ol’ frazzle dazzle.
The Seth Show: Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. “Pay what you want” after the show; reservations required. Eastworks, suite 160, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton. artful.ly/store/events/9723, sethums.com.
— Hunter Styles
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-pickstage-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/a5addbc5c11865a4fb80d766156331ce6cf348e94d39b501869d0fde977f1956.json
|
[
"Amanda Drane",
"Robert Joseph Underwood"
] | 2016-08-31T06:47:06 | null | 2015-08-12T15:18:16 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2015%2F08%2F12%2Fworking-harder-for-less%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/va33-worker-2015.jpeg
|
en
| null |
Working Harder for Less: Employee sacrifice may be a necessary evil in tight times, but how far will it go?
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Eleanor Cresson, a mental health and substance abuse clinician who recently went on strike from nonprofit Clinical Support Options, has worked in the field of mental health for more than 20 years and has two masters’ degrees. Despite her experience and qualifications, she said her job doesn’t provide benefits like health insurance or paid vacations. Even when she does take an unpaid vacation, Cresson said, she ends up working anyway in order to meet unwavering productivity quotas — spending at least 22 hours a week with clients. Otherwise she has to make up those hours in the weeks before and after her “time off.”
She said her wages barely bring her above $30,000. And she’s not even sure she made that much in 2014, considering the time she took off to recover from a knee injury and the many appointments clients didn’t show up for, a situation for which clinicians do not get paid.
“It sounds good when they tell you we make $36 an hour, but that’s spin and you’re not really hearing what goes into that,” Cresson said, explaining that for every paid hour spent with a client, clinicians put in another unpaid hour of paperwork.
Cresson was one of about 125 people striking outside agency sites in Northampton, Springfield, Greenfield, Athol, and Pittsfield for three days this summer. The strikers’ complaints are hardly unique. Across the U.S., workers are being asked to work harder for less pay and fewer benefits.
Unions often consider big-box corporations to be the biggest offenders of workers’ rights — perhaps simply because they employ so many — and it turns out a local CVS is no exception. Employees in the Valley were asked repeatedly this summer to surrender their meal break rights.
The International Trade Union Confederation released a report in spring 2014 that ranked countries by their handling of workers’ rights. The U.S. earned a four — one being the best — joining the ranks of Thailand, Indonesia, and Kuwait. As the American conversation centers around driving the economy, the average American worker is put under increasing pressure to work harder, but according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, productivity — measured in worker output per labor hour — has risen dramatically in the years since 1992.
“What’s happening in the American workplace is inconceivable for most people who came through work in the 1950s and 1960s,” said UMass Amherst professor of labor studies and sociology Tom Juravich. “Basic rights like lunch — they were ordinary across a wide swath of America. What we’re seeing is the degradation of work and the degradation of workers’ rights.”
Juravich said workers’ rights are undermined in efforts to improve the bottom line, but that such a “low-road approach” will not lead to economic prosperity. Rights missing here in the U.S. are considered birthrights in European countries, he said. For example, most European countries require employers follow due process before firing an employee, whereas in the U.S. most employment is at-will. Paid leave for new parents is also something many Europeans consider a given, and many countries also cap weekly working hours at 35 to 45 hours; U.S. federal law does not mandate paid leave for families, nor does it place any limitations on working hours for employees.
“We’re really the outlier,” he said.
Cresson said she’s worked for the mental health agency since before CSO purchased it five years ago, and conditions have only gotten worse for employees since the takeover.
“If a client doesn’t show we don’t get paid,” said Cresson, adding that the work put in by her and other clinicians is critical to Opioid Task Force efforts. “I’ve been doing this for over 20 years and I keep getting poorer and poorer. Meanwhile, the CEO is making $220,000 a year.” That’s $189,337 in salary and $28,871 in benefits, according to CSO’s tax returns.
While CSO executives say the proposed new contract is the best it can be and is industry-leading, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Union for Human Service Workers — the union representing the group — Jason Stephany said the model is not sustainable, that the high turnover rate reflects how employees are treated. And a high turnover rate is “terrible for the clients,” Cresson said.
“We’re not here to get rich,” said another striker Stephanie Agnew, 36, of Northampton, asserting the strike came down to respect.
Sometimes the affronts to employee dignity can be found in a lunch break — or a lack of one.
At the CVS pharmacy chain, employees are asked if they will voluntarily give up their regular lunch breaks. Signing the waiver means relinquishing rights to a meal break, which state law says must be 30 minutes for employees working more than six consecutive hours and requires employees be “relieved of all duties” and “be free to leave the workplace.”
“[The manager] kept repeating how the form doesn’t mean anything,” said a local CVS employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job. “I was intimidated and felt in danger of being fired if I did not just give in to my nervousness and sign.”
Michael DeAngelis, a spokesperson for CVS, said the form is not isolated to local stores — it is part of the national chain’s Voluntary Meal Break Waiver program.
“Eligible employees who choose to sign this waiver are paid for working through their meal breaks and they are still provided the opportunity to eat while at work,” he said in a statement responding to an Advocate question. “The program was implemented because employees made it known that many of them prefer not to take an unpaid meal break.”
But the employee said he was pressured to sign the voluntary waiver. The employee was repeatedly asked to sign the waiver over a period of weeks, with corporate officials unknown to the employee calling him to convince him to sign. The employee said, “I believe I’m doing the right thing” by not signing the waiver, though he fears corporate retaliation.
I asked CVS Easthampton employees whether they’d been asked to sign the waiver as they headed into work one morning. One employee confirmed that he had, before two other employees came outside and told me no one else would be talking to me that day and that I might as well leave.
Recently retired CVS employee Eddie Morales remembers the pressure to give up breaks. He worked for CVS as a floating pharmacist for about seven years in the area. Though he was based out of Hartford, he served as a traveling pharmacist and worked in about 90 different CVS stores, Morales said. Uniformly, he witnessed how strict productivity quotas — answering calls and counter customers within 15 seconds, requiring pharmacists to move 40 percent of their customers to ReadyFill, CVS’ automatic refill program, for example — were preventing pharmacists from taking meal and bathroom breaks.
“You’re allowed to take a lunch break — that’s what they tell you,” Morales said. “But what they don’t tell you, especially with the key performance metrics involved, you’re still going to get penalized for that. When performance scores go down, you get written up for things falling behind.”
Since his retirement, Morales has been working with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to get CVS pharmacists to unionize.
“This is a story that really, really needs to be told,” he said.
When asked about the waiver, Bill Newman, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s western Massachusetts office and a spokesperson for the commonwealth’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, initially said the waiver appears to be in violation of state laws. But after examining legislation dictating meal break rights, he said, it seems CVS executives operated within the law — as long as they didn’t pressure employees to sign waivers.
“It cannot be coerced from the employer,” Newman said of signing waivers. “It cannot be anything other than genuinely voluntary.”
State law says employees are permitted to “voluntarily give up” the required break “at the request of the employer.” Jillian Fennimore, a spokesperson for the state’s Attorney General’s Office, said coercion to sign voluntary waivers constitutes a violation of state laws and employees can file complaints with the Fair Labor Division.
In the case of the CVS lunch break waiver, how “voluntary” is the response to repeated requests for compliance from an employer? In general, workers do what their bosses ask of them — because most employees want promotions, higher wages, prime hours, and to keep their jobs.
“There has not been a time in this generation that workers’ rights have been so challenged,” Juravich said.•
Amanda Drane can be contacted at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2015/08/12/working-harder-for-less/
|
en
| 2015-08-12T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/04a38c58b9b107176f5c194be38e2861bcfee724eb402f00dd9751a361700d7c.json
|
[
"Kristin Palpini",
"Patrisse Cullors",
"Black Lives Matter Co-Founder",
"We Are In A State Of Emergency",
"New Republic",
"Sandra Bland",
"In A Sandraspeaks Web Video Posted Prior To Her Death While In Police Custody Earlier This Year",
"Charles M. Blow",
"Black Lives Matter",
"The Gop"
] | 2016-08-26T12:47:01 | null | 2015-09-01T11:44:09 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2015%2F09%2F01%2Fblacklivesmatter-alllivesdontmatter%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/va36-btl-2015.jpeg
|
en
| null |
Between the Lines: Why #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLives(Don’t)Matter
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
In a conversation about how more than 140 black people have been killed by police this year, all lives don’t matter.
All lives are as pertinent to this discussion as Vienna sausages, Breaking Bad reruns, and gardening — they have no place at the table. Likewise, how many white people have been killed by police and whether the Easter Bunny likes Peeps are equally unimportant to this national conversation.
#BlackLivesMatter took off in 2014 following the deaths of two unarmed, black men — Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City — at the hands of police. Protesters seeking justice for the men and the many like them organized around the rallying cry: Black Lives Matter. #AllLivesMatter sprang up in response. #AllLivesMatter was ostensibly created to remind everyone of the sanctity of all life, not just black lives; it’s supposedly meant to set the record straight. In fact, #AllLivesMatter is a just another way of telling black people to sit down and shut up about the racially-motivated violence and injustice they face.
#BlackLivesMatter doesn’t pretend there are no other social ills in the world that need to be addressed. Instead the movement calls for people to address one issue: racism. But I’m not the best person to explain #BlackLivesMatter. The following are excerpts from essays by and interviews with black writers and activists about why black lives matter. Because, you know what? They do.•
Any other racial group whose religious symbols are being burned down and homes are being burned down; whose community members are being killed on a daily basis; who are completely dying of starvation, have the high unemployment rates and infant mortality rates—any other community, this would be seen as an opportunity to support and uplift and try to deal with the crisis. That’s actually not what’s happening in the black community, so I think the iteration that we are in a state of emergency, and we want elected officials to treat it as such, is so important.
Being a black person in America is very, very hard. Black people know that all lives matter. We can’t help but get pissed off when we see situations where it’s clear that black life didn’t matter.
Police] are simply the agents of policy instituted by officials at the behest of the body politic. This deficit of examining systems exists all across this debate. It fails to indict society as a whole, as I firmly believe it should. It puts all the focus on the tip of the spear rather than on the spear itself.
Look at it this way: Many local municipalities experience budgetary pressure. Rather than raise taxes or cut services in response, things that are often politically unpalatable, they turn to law enforcement and courts to make up the difference in tickets and fines. Some can also increase the number of finable offenses and stiffen the penalties.
Officers, already disproportionately deployed and arrayed in so-called “high-crime” neighborhoods — invariably poor and minority neighborhoods — are then charged with doing the dirty work. The increase in sheer numbers of interactions creates friction with targeted populations and ups the odds that individual biases will be introduced.
Without fail, something eventually goes horribly wrong.
We look at the end interaction, examining the officers for bias and the suspect for threatening behavior, rather than looking at the systems that necessitated the interactions.
No, #NotAllLivesMatter. It’s just not true … #AllLivesMatter denies the discrepancy between condemning President Obama’s remarks regarding Trayvon Martin as “divisive” and “race-baiting” while also praising presidential candidate Donald Trump’s remarks on Mexicans and Latinos as “refreshing,” “honest” or “telling it like it is.”
Yes, we affirm that “Black Lives Matter!” We have an obligation to generations past and future to demand that federal and state governments take more action to stop the injustices that we face. We all should now be preparing for the massive “Justice Or Else” mobilization in Washington, D.C. on October 10 that will be webcast and video streamed to millions of people throughout the world in different languages. It’s time to stop our human rights from being so carelessly violated.
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2015/09/01/blacklivesmatter-alllivesdontmatter/
|
en
| 2015-09-01T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/cb340303975de80cba9a7d3115ce54dd2bdf895b772731287b31087502542c25.json
|
[
"Maureen Turner",
"F Michael Addams"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:05 | null | 2009-10-15T07:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2009%2F10%2F15%2Flegalize-it%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/10688.jpeg
|
en
| null |
Legalize It?
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
In 1981, Dick Evans, a Northampton attorney and long-time advocate for drug law reform, drafted a marijuana legalization bill "just to see what one would look like," he said.
Evans got the bill before the state Legislature via the right to petition, a law that allows citizens to file bills. And because he found a legislator to file the bill on his behalf—improbably enough, it was Andrew Card, who went on to serve as chief of staff to George W. Bush but at the time was a progressive Republican state rep from eastern Mass.—it was guaranteed a committee hearing.
The day of the hearing, Evans said, "I loaded a few friends in the car and we drove down to Boston." When they arrived, they found the room packed with anti-drug parents' groups and other opponents. Evans offered his testimony in support of the bill, then the opponents offered theirs.
"Then the chairman of the committee looked at his watch and said, 'I think we heard enough. Let's put this to a vote. All in favor say "Aye."'
"My friends and I jumped up and said 'Aye!'" Evans said. Then the committee chair asked for those opposed to say "nay."
"The building shook," Evans recalled with a laugh. "Bang went the gavel, and that was it for 28 years."
This week, Evans once again traveled to Boston to make the case for a marijuana legalization bill he drafted, at an Oct. 14 hearing of the Joint Committee on Revenue. Like the one he filed 28 years ago, this bill calls for the regulation of commercial growing and sale of marijuana, and would impose an excise tax on the product.
While Evans does not expect the bill to fast-track into law, he does hope it will spark a healthy, honest public discussion about marijuana, in a way that was not possible back in 1981. What's changed, he said, is the growing acknowledgement of what he calls an "indisputable fact": "Marijuana in our culture is ubiquitous, and it is ineradicable. That may not have been so clear 28 years ago," Evans said.
Today, he noted, references to casual pot smoking are everywhere in pop culture. Just last month, he noted, the Today show—inspired by an article in Marie Claire magazine with the unfortunate title "Stiletto Stoners"—ran a segment in which successful middle-class women with careers and families talked about their recreational pot use. Matt Lauer may have feigned surprise, Evans said, but the stories rang true for many Americans, including those who flooded the show's website with testimonials of their own pot use.
Marijuana use crosses all kinds of boundaries in the United States, Evans argued: class, race, region, educational background. "It's something that almost everybody has in common—something the NASCAR [fans] and the liberal elites have in common," he said.
"Whether you like it or not, we're beyond the point of whether marijuana is good or bad," Evans said. "The policy makers can't recognize that for some reason." But it's time, he said, to undo the current punitive pot laws and replace them with a more practical approach.
*
Evans' "Act to Regulate and Tax the Cannabis Industry" calls for the legal sale of marijuana by licensed vendors, who, along with growers and distributors, would be overseen by a state Cannabis Control Board. The board would have seven part-time paid members appointed by the governor.
Under the bill, cannabis could be sold in quantities of one ounce, in sealed containers that identify the grower and the grade and include a warning about driving under the influence. (The bill would have no effect on existing laws about driving while impaired.) Buyers would have to be at least 21 years old, and sales via vending machines would be prohibited. The pot could not contain additives, or be part of a beverage or snack food.
Small-scale "backyard" growers would not be taxed or regulated, in the same way home beer brewers are not regulated by state alcohol laws. Indeed, the bill bears a strong resemblance to the laws that regulate alcohol sales in the state.
Evans' bill would also impose a steep excise tax on marijuana sales, ranging from $150 to $250 per ounce, depending on its grade (the amount of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, it contains).
That last provision is especially relevant given the current dismal state of Massachusetts' economy. Regulating and taxing marijuana could have significant fiscal benefits for the commonwealth, supporters contend. A much-cited 2003 study by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron concluded that legalizing pot would save Massachusetts $120.6 million a year, the cost of arresting and prosecuting people on marijuana charges. (That figure was often pointed to by supporters of Question 2, the 2008 ballot question that decriminalized the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.) Miron's report also found that legalization could generate almost $17 million a year in tax revenue for the state.
"Legalization has its economic advantages and attractive prospects, but it's more than that," Evans said. "It's ending the terrible injustice of prohibition, under which people have been so brutalized for turning to cannabis, when the government is urging them to use lethal drugs like alcohol and nicotine."
The bill, he went on, would also force an honest discussion about what constitutes marijuana use, and what constitutes abuse. "Under prohibition, we necessarily conflate use and abuse," he said. But our legal system has found ways to draw the line between use and abuse, and between responsible and irresponsible use, with other legal drugs, including alcohol.
*
Like Evans, Terry Franklin of Amherst is a long-time advocate of marijuana reform, working with the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition and organizing his town's annual Extravaganja festival.
He's also active in libertarian politics—not an unusual position for drug law reformers, many of whom make the case that the government shouldn't stick its nose into what people do in their private lives if those activities don't hurt others. Still, Franklin told the Advocate, "Regulation is the buzzword these days, especially in this state, so I don't see any way around it." And, he added, "Suffering under regulation and taxation is much better than having people taken away in chains and put in cages."
Should a marijuana taxation bill ever pass, Franklin said, "I hope the tax level … isn't so excessive that the criminal justice industry merely turns the War on Drugs into the War on Tax Evasion." A provision allowing the growth of marijuana for personal use (which Evans' bill includes) "would alleviate some of the problems," Franklin noted.
While the Oct. 14 hearing focused on the bill's potential tax implications, there are broader issues to consider, Franklin added. "Marijuana use is a de facto spiritual practice for a great number of its proponents, regardless of whether they think of it in those terms or not," he said. "And while people may view any particular religion (or all religion) as silly and worthy of mockery, many are still accepting of religious freedom as good public policy, if only because of the effort and cost to society of engaging in religious suppression."
The bill could also force politicians into taking public positions on the issue. "That way voters can make an informed choice come election time," Franklin said.
He pointed, for example, to the heated Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Ted Kennedy. "The two top contenders, [Attorney General] Martha Coakley and [U.S. Rep.] Mike Capuano, have radically different positions," Franklin noted. "Ms. Coakley opposed [Question 2], and has worked to undermine it since passage." (Coakley has encouraged municipalities to impose additional fines for public pot smoking, on top of the $100 civil fine for minor possession that was approved by 65 percent of voters on the November ballot question.)
Capuano, in contrast, is a co-sponsor of a national decriminalization bill, filed by Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Barney Frank and Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican. "I hope the voters are paying attention," Franklin said.
*
The Oct. 14 Revenue Committee hearing (which took place after the Advocate went to press) was not the only opportunity for debate about the legalization bill. A Senate version of the bill is due for its own hearing before the Judiciary Committee sometime before March, Evans said.
The current bill was filed for Evans by two Amherst Democratic legislators: Ellen Story in the House and Stan Rosenberg in the Senate. While Evans said he hasn't asked either to endorse the bill, he's grateful to them for taking the steps to ensure that it gets a hearing.
And, by law, that's all the bill is guaranteed: a public hearing. Evans doesn't expect the Legislature to move his proposal any further; after the hearing, he said, "they don't have to do anything. They probably won't."
But he does hope the effort will spark serious, substantive conversation about ending a failed policy of prohibition and replacing it with a thoughtful system of regulation.
"I'm not trying to legalize marijuana so much as legalize discussion about it," Evans said. Right now, he said, many casual pot smokers remain in the closet; supporters of his efforts sometimes tell him they worry that if they publicly admitted to smoking, it might offend their employer, or give their ex-spouse ammunition in a custody hearing. Meanwhile, "For the most part, whenever the press covers this issue, [the coverage is] littered with puns and smirks," he said.
"It's my hope this will spark some discussion," he added. "It's my hope that some legislators will take some leadership on this issue. I want to see the silence broken. I want to see the press pick up on it."
Evans expected a range of supporters at the recent hearing, including activists, medical professionals and law enforcement representatives who advocate for reforming drug laws. While last year's Question 2 was fiercely opposed by the state's district attorneys and a number of police chiefs, Evans said he doesn't know of any organized opposition to his bill. "This isn't on their radar screen," he said.
But to those who do oppose the bill, Evans issues a challenge: to find a better alternative to the existing costly, punitive and ineffective prohibition model.
"How many more people have to be arrested and prosecuted and punished before we can hope to reach some level of success in this struggle against marijuana?" Evans asked. "And once we reach that success, how many people are going to be locked up in jail? And how much is that going to cost taxpayers, and where is that money going to come from?"
Regulation and taxation of marijuana, he said, could achieve the goals that prohibition was supposed to achieve: protecting public health and safety, reducing abuse and the crimes associated with drug trafficking. "What I'm saying—and I'm certainly not alone in this—is there's another way to approach those problems," Evans said. "And oh, by the way, there's some significant economic opportunities that might present….
"What we have to talk about now is the obsolescence of prohibition," he said. "We no longer have the luxury of chasing a failed program. We've failed; let's move on."
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2009/10/15/legalize-it/
|
en
| 2009-10-15T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/ba450255aae084f8d3f2896bc457db4e1758ffe92de616c65b2a587b40770cb6.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:30 | null | 2016-08-29T19:45:01 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-pickart-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA35-pickART-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
VA35-pickART-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
—
Scratching the Surface
Greenfield artist and educator Karen Gaudette was trained as a printmaker, but she has always loved to draw. Scratchboard, it turns out, provides the perfect meeting point. For 20 years now, Gaudette has used the technique to achieve fine-line drawings that have the look and feel of vintage black and white illustration. Her “Wishing for the Moon” series, featuring 14 large works previously on display at Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, now moves to Main Street, where visitors can enjoy her richly detailed human and animal characters. “I grew up in a house where we didn’t have many books,” Gaudette told The Recorder in March. “About the only ones we had were the original Grimm fairy tales. And a sister once sent me a Hans Christian Anderson book, which was a big deal.” Judging by her unusual folkloric images, it shows.
Wishing for the Moon: Gallery in the Woods, 145 Main St., Brattleboro. (802) 257-4777, galleryinthewoods.com.
— Hunter Styles
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-pickart-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/90b391f1ca0108eee5ad7153da08fdad02e251e4b133e1f7d6eca5e670761109.json
|
[
"Hunter Styles"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:39 | null | 2016-08-22T16:18:44 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fva34-pickmusic-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA34-pickMUSIC-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
RPM Fest Invades Greenfield Friday and Saturday
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Shake the Trees
The woods of Western Mass promise to be rather loud this weekend for RPM Fest, which brings three days of rock, punk, and metal to Greenfield. As usual, this will be a totally awesome time: vendors, games, raffles, BYOB camping, and live sets by Lich King, Barishi, OXEN, Problem With Dragons, Godeater, Scissorfight, Black Pyramid, Lord Almighty, Second Grave, The Humanoids, Condition Critical, Conclave, Led to the Grave, Goblet, Cyperna, Thunderforge, The River Neva, Graviton, Cazador, Faces of Bayon, Green Bastard, Black Absence, Lazer/Wulf, Moon Tooth, Pathogenic, Carnivora, Dead Empires, Begat the Nephilim, Chronologist, Los Bungalitos, The Damaged, Stiletto Bomb, Hope and the Husbands, Aversed, Don’t Cross the Streams, Before the Judge, and, of course, Composing the Apocalypse. Play wiffleball and cornhole, eat food provided by Antonio’s, Riff’s Joint, and Cherry Rail Farm, watch the sun set, party in the dark, and enjoy the wild, wild woods — just don’t eat the bats.
RPM Fest: Friday 5-11 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. $10-$30. Raymond Road, Greenfield. rpmfest.org.
— Hunter Styles
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/va34-pickmusic-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/19db877b8950a7989276bddde4b838233d5e2e31979fb9d0e211ab74c361f7f4.json
|
[
"Hunter Styles"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:51 | null | 2016-08-22T16:18:48 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fva34-picketc-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA34-pickETC-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
Play Date! Double Dog Shows in West Springfield This Weekend
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Well-Groomed
Do our canine companions understand what they’re playing for and whom they’re up against at dog shows? Hard to say. But surely they sense that all of the training, baths, treats, and commands imparted by adrenaline-scented humans mark a special occasion. And if Rover dislikes something above all, it’s letting us down. Come check out a full weekend of pups that clean up good, with the Newtown Kennel Club and Elm City Kennel Club dog shows, and be prepared to ooh and aah a bit. Sadly, we have been informed that we are not allowed to pet the contestants.
Newtown Kennel Club Dog Show and Elm City Kennel Club Dog Show: Saturday and Sunday. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Better Living Center, Eastern States Exposition, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. newtownkennelclub.org; elmcitykennelclub.org.
— Hunter Styles
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/va34-picketc-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/993362ba2dcf937481f8cfddb0a0177e20019eb33358238aacc9ae29bfc67668.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T12:57:52 | null | 2016-08-22T21:43:37 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fvalley-advocate-staff-picks-get%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/gggg.jpg
|
en
| null |
Valley Advocate Staff picks - Get out there!
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
CT HorrorFest • Saturday
My favorite time of the year is around the corner, and all these marvelous Halloween events keep popping up. This Saturday, feast your eyes upon some of horror’s finest. Meet and greet with the “Godfather of the Dead” George A. Romero. The ladies of one of my all-time favorite films Evil Dead will be there, too. Go to http://www.cthorror.com for full details and guests. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Matrix Conference Center, 39 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury, CT. — Jennifer Levesque
Westfield Food Fest • Friday — Sunday
The Rotary Club of Westfield is putting on the second annual Westfield Food Fest this weekend, featuring all kinds of fried goodness from close to 20 food vendors. The music lineup this year is extensive, with Esperanto kicking it all off on Friday night. There’s also an acoustic stage Friday and Saturday with The Capps, Creepin’ Cadavers, and Mike Freedman & Tyler Stroetzel. Downtown Westfield, Elm Street. Friday, 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, Noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 6 p.m. — Kristin Palpini
Souleymane Badolo • Thursday — Sunday
The Burkina Faso-born, Brooklyn-raised dancer and choreographer explores the delcaite balance between maintaining roots and beginning again. His show “Yimbegre,” which features dancemate Sylvestre Koffitse Akakpo-Adzaku and master drummer Mamaoudou Konate, is powerful, personal, athletic, and grounded in history. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, 358 George Carter Road, Becket. jacobspillow.org. — Hunter Styles
Celebrate Holyoke • Friday — Sunday
Celebrate Holyoke promises to be one the best food and music festivals of the summer with food from Papa’s Gourmet Hotdogs, Holyoke Hummus, Wheelhouse Farm, Slainte Restaurant, and plenty more; as well as great local musicians like Paper City Exile and Brass Attack. There’s also an arts bazaar. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the 1,000-foot slip and slide. Holyoke Heritage State Park. Friday 5-11 p.m., Saturday 12:30-11:00 p.m., Sunday 12:30-7:30 p.m. Free admission. — Peter Vancini
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/valley-advocate-staff-picks-get/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/8e08c1759016d562b0365d53c67d4325f9f5b15f6a975f18aa1c74670d8e27f7.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:39 | null | 2016-08-29T19:45:13 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-pickmusic-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA35-pickMUSIC-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
VA35-pickMUSIC-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
—
Roots Reggae Returns
Everton Blender was one of the most prominent reggae musicians and producers in Jamaica in the ’90s, and his smooth tenor, up-tempo arrangements, and spiritually uplifting themes still resonate in 2016 at the crossroads of roots reggae and dancehall. Today’s club scenes tend to pull reggae’s pure and simple sounds into the realm of the shallow and hyper-sexualized, but “if the people tell you that them want rubbish,” Blender says, resist and lean back toward tradition. “Always righteousness. That’s what we’re working for.” His show – performed outside, if the weather holds – helps draw MASS MoCA’s summer music series to a close.
Everton Blender: Saturday at 8 p.m. $5-$16. MASS MoCA, 1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams. (413) 662-2111, massmoca.org.
— Hunter Styles
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-pickmusic-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/379eab7139bf3905d5ca7ac35d7f122cc9d6a77e44b5a79b76c62bfd88460d9c.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-30T14:48:49 | null | 2016-08-30T14:10:41 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2Fcan-etiquette%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyAdvocatelogo.png
|
en
| null |
Can Etiquette
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
If you’re getting ready to start at a college this year — especially if it’s a four-year school that requires you to live in a dorm — odds are you’re about to get your first taste of semi-communal living.
Dorm life means sharing a relatively tight space with several dozen people, some of whom you’ll rapidly get to know on a very personal level and some of whom you’ll barely speak to and awkwardly make eye contact with when you pass them on campus months or years later.
It also means learning to share the things in that space. Being respectful of the hallways and common rooms is a no-brainer, as is being courteous to the people in those spaces.
It’s a little harder to get used to 50 people sharing perhaps your most intimate space: the bathroom. Especially if you live in a dorm with a communal bathroom — several toilets, a handful of showers, a mirror the length of the Great Wall — you might feel like your privacy is in jeopardy.
For people who have grown up using locker rooms often, this might be normal. For those who haven’t, it might seem like showering on another planet. Here are some tips for peaceful, clean sharing of the most sacred of spaces: the can.
You already know the basics, because it’s like using a public restroom. Don’t be a creep. Don’t take longer than you need, especially if there’s a line (Tinder or Pokemon Go can wait until you get out of the stall). Do wash your hands.
Seriously: Wash. Your. Hands. Though you’re unlikely to get sick from anything in the bathroom if you have proper etiquette, it’s just like anywhere else in that anything your dirty hands touch is covered in germs. It takes a lot less time to wash up — with soap — than to recover from strep or staph or E. coli or Hep A.
Keep a pair of shoes for the bathroom, as who knows what’s on those floors. Rubbery slip-ons are cheap and work great for showers, as do flip-flops.
Also know that, by the end of the year, you’ll totally stop caring about whether your bare feet touch the floor, and that’s okay.
Clean up after yourself. When you shave, make sure all your hairs get washed away, whether they’re in the sink or shower. Don’t leave crusty toothpaste residue in the sink.
Get a shower caddy so it’s easy to take all your toiletries back to your room with you.
Figure out your schedule. You’ll find that certain times of the day are popular for showers, which means there may be lines, and people clean the restrooms, which means that there are times you might not be able to get in at all. It’ll take a couple of weeks to figure this stuff out, but once you do, you’ll be able to avoid standing outside the door in a bathrobe when you should be walking to your 8 a.m. lecture.
Oh, and those people who clean the restrooms? They’re doing an important, thankless job and they’re probably not making enough money. Be decent to them.
If the restroom runs out of paper towels or toilet paper, or if there’s some sort of unpleasant substance (any bodily fluid, pretty much) out in the open, hit up your RA. They’ll know what to do or who to call.
Small talk is totally okay — really.
Don’t be a jerk. This should go without saying, but don’t talk behind people’s backs — you never know who might be in one of those stalls— don’t chew out someone because they don’t shower fast enough for you and don’t make people feel uncomfortable, especially about their appearance. And if you live in a dorm with gendered restrooms and see someone who you think doesn’t belong in that restroom, keep it to yourself. They know their gender better than you do.
Don’t have sex in there. Any kind of sex, really. No matter what shows and movies tell you, it’s not sexy — especially for the guy on the toilet next to the happy couple.
Jack Evans studies journalism at Miami University.
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/30/can-etiquette/
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/e13aaedbdeee260fd68fb2d1416c509d6b19c93c4fabe978d526e9a5129f7cb1.json
|
[
"Hunter Styles"
] | 2016-08-29T22:48:29 | null | 2016-08-29T19:41:36 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fsave-the-last-dance%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/unnamed-1.jpg
|
en
| null |
Where to Dance? Struggles with Main Street Rent Highlight Northampton's Lack of Space
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
At the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought. Peter Raper Photo. Jen Polins, founding artistic director of The School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, sits with collaborator Jake Meginsky. Hunter Styles Photo. Katie Martin dances at the SChool for Contemporary Thought, on the fourth floor of the Masonic Building in Northampton. Hunter Styles Photo. The Masonic Building on Main Street in Northampton. Hunter Styles Photo. At the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought. Peter Raper Photo.
Save the Last Dance
Downtown Northampton’s biggest — and possibly last — public performing arts space is a real beauty: a 4,000 square foot, high-ceilinged room where local Freemasons used to hold community gatherings over a century ago. Completed in 1898, it takes up much of the fourth floor of the Masonic Block at 25 Main St., the same building that houses Fitzwilly’s restaurant.
Since the mid-’80s, when Anthony De Vecchi and his Northeast American School of Dance moved in, it has served as a well-used rehearsal and performance space for artists based here and around the world, of all ages and skill levels. But recently, its future has proved uncertain.
Last fall, De Vecchi faced a civil suit from his landlords, the Chamisa Corporation, who claimed that his current lease — an agreement drawn up in 1986 with a former landlord that provided, effectively, for rent control — was invalid.
Pressed for the money and time to push back on the possibility of eviction, De Vecchi partnered with local dancer and choreographer Jen Polins, co-founder of the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought (SCDT). Over the past year, Polins has been managing the lease and running her school’s programming in the space. Now, after months of negotiations, Polins says that the new proposed lease agreement — which is still under discussion — appears to be sustainable.
“It will be an adjustment to our community, but still at a price that might work,” she says, adding that her rent would rise by 40 percent over the next two years. “The problem with dance and performance is that it needs large empty space … so rent is still low, but the square footage bumps my rent up.”
Details are still being ironed out, and Chamisa Corp did not respond to request for comment. But SCDT — a school that attracts roughly 400 dancers each week, with plans to expand classes — seems poised to stay for now. It would be a victory for local performing artists of all stripes in need of a place to learn, practice, and collaborate.
But it also serves as a stark reminder that the Northampton of previous decades, which saw an influx of artists drawn to the city for its large spaces with low downtown rents, is gone.
De Vecchi’s lease, Polins admits, was antiquated. On the other hand, she says, “we are another victim of gentrification right now, and that’s what we’re fighting. We’re fighting a utopic battle to keep the arts in downtown Northampton, instead of on the outskirts.”
Public practice and rehearsal space for artists in Northampton has proved difficult to find in recent years. In the summer of 2013, the Northampton Center for the Arts vacated its home at 17 New South St., which for three decades housed a large ballroom and open gallery space. The top floor of Thornes Marketplace, long run as an arts incubator, is now private business. The Thornes basement space formerly occupied by Dynamite Records was available to artists for several years while vacant, but became the ConVino wine bar in 2014. Wild Life Sanctuary Studio, a small but popular arts and education space in Florence, closed last year.
Inevitably, new art spaces will open their doors. The Northampton Arts Trust is moving toward completion of its $5 million rebuilding project at 33 Hawley St. — an arts, culture, and education center which will become the new home of the Center for the Arts. And of course, the city retains high-profile venues like the Academy of Music, which do much to showcase the arts.
But presenting venues, with rare exception, are in the business of selling tickets to performances that are done, polished, and ready for show time. Rehearsal and workshop space — where artists can form new ideas and create new pieces from the ground up — is something entirely different.
“At this point, it’s basically this space and Hawley Street,” Polins says. “That’s it.” Which is why, she explains, this enormous fourth-floor dancehall is nearly always full-up with classes and events run by SCDT or one of its affiliate companies, like the Duffy Academy of Irish Dance or West African Dance and Drum.
Jake Meginsky, a musical accompanist for the five colleges, says that the SCDT space holds a special place in his heart because “it’s artist-run, from the ground up. It’s a space that’s alive within the artistic community, and that distinguishes it from the institutions. I think a space like this was sorely needed.”
Artist Sheila Siragusa, a freelance director and adjunct theater lecturer, describes Northampton’s lack of performing arts space as “really prohibitive.”
“I came here was because there was space here to create new work, and a community that would really support it,” she says. Siragusa moved to the Valley from New York City and co-founded the Ko Festival of Performance in Amherst, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this summer.
She describes her own situation as “very lucky,” since her academic commitments at the Five Colleges have typically afforded her room to rehearse in campus spaces. But finding ways to rehearse downtown, where the process of art-making itself is not hidden away from the public eye, is her ultimate goal.
Siragusa cites an example from 2012, in which her troupe August Company collaborated with Gordon Thorne and Lisa Thompson, the executive and associate directors of the A.P.E. Ltd. Gallery on Main Street, to rehearse and perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. “We had the doors open all week during our final rehearsals,” she says, “and on some days we had full audiences, just made up of people walking in off the street.
“People in Northampton are enthusiastic about seeing performance,” she says. “They loved it. They wanted to talk with us afterward. It was a big deal for us. The community’s arms are open and ready.”
Actor and director Jeannine Haas, who runs the theater company Pauline Productions, agrees that room for the arts is a much-needed commodity. “Not only is there a dearth of affordable rehearsal places,” she says, “there are no performance venues for theater that are not owned by colleges.”
Her company will soon be mounting a show at the Parlor Room on Masonic Street, on the small concert stage run by Signature Sounds. “We are extremely grateful for that,” she says, because “there are no other venues unless you jump us to 826 seats at the Academy of Music, which is beyond the budget and practicality of a small theater company.” Rooms and spaces donated by friends and supporters of the arts, she adds, always go a long way toward enabling new work.
Sometimes, dance and theater groups rehearse and perform in living rooms, in backyards, in the streets, and in abandoned spaces. It’s great for the public to spot those happenings, Polins at SCDT says, but it creates a misconception as well: that artists can simply “make it work” anywhere. “People see us perform in an empty storefront, and they assume that we don’t really need space,” she says. “But they don’t know how much sweeping and dusting the dancers have to do, and which one will go home with glass in their foot.”
All the more reason for SCDT to be doubling down on new programming, in hopes of drawing more students to 25 Main Street. The WIP series, or “works in progress,” presents developing pieces. The Hatchery provides young dancers aged 13 to 19 with pre-professional training. Polins and Meginsky have also co-founded a monthly event called HUT, which highlights regional artists in genres like dance, music, and spoken word.
“There’s really fertile activity here, in a lot of disciplines, that doesn’t make it into local presentations,” Meginsky says. “It’s where the work actually gets done, and it connects different groups who work really hard, but I don’t think most of that work finds its way out so that someone who isn’t ‘in the know’ has access to it.”
“We get people coming in now who feel excited to see something new,” he adds. “They show up to be entertained, but also to change their perception, or have an experience they haven’t had before. That’s our job — to make that space safe but also challenging and exciting. I just want to keep at that work.”
Contact Hunter Styles at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/save-the-last-dance/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/20935105d42e23e4f22b23e23bc56b92ad944a1ca7d8cf6978a2e826ba0063c6.json
|
[
"Hunter Styles"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:16 | null | 2016-08-22T16:18:57 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fva34-artsculture-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/DL082615transperformance13.jpg
|
en
| null |
Rock, With a Twist: 17 Acts Play Transperformance Fest
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Outer Stylie band members Tom Schack, left, and Nate Martel perform music inspired by the movie Easy Rider during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Joshua Braska, left, as Captain Hook, Joan Holliday, as Glinda the Good Witch, and Monte Belmonte as Audrey Hepburn, entertain the crowd in between performances during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music inspired by This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
DAN LITTLE—GAZETTE FILE PHOTOSDAN LITTLE Matthew Pierce from the Unband performs music from This is Spinal Tap during Transperformance 25- Look at the Movies, Wednesday afternoon at Pines Theater in Florence.
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/va34-artsculture-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/16e104adcd88740d5783054417af58e3f505bbd88621f79df49c6e5e68abdd0e.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:34 | null | 2016-08-29T19:44:47 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-happsart-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyAdvocatelogo.png
|
en
| null |
VA35-happsART-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Amherst Chamber of Commerce Art Gallery: Portrait and landscape drawings by Gregory Chilenski. A painter for two decades, Chilenski has also been a therapist for three. Here, he concentrates on portraiture, showing peoples’ inner selves. Free. 28 Amity St., Amherst. (413) 253-0700, [email protected].
Amherst Historical Society, Simeon Strong House: Artifacts Inspire. An exhibit by Fiber Artists of Western Massachusetts. Through Sept. 25. Free. 67 Amity St., Amherst. (413) 256-0678, [email protected], amhersthistory.org.
Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield State University: Hispanic/Latinex Heritage. Mixed media by Carlos Alvarez and Lyle Kleinhans. Free. Ely Campus Center, Westfield State University, 577 Western Ave., Westfield. (413) 572-5300, westfield.ma.edu/galleries.
Art for the Soul Gallery: Tango — Contemporary Art of Argentina. Includes a mixed media exhibition, Tango demonstrations and lessons, lectures, and film. Through Sept. 25. Free. 1500 Main St., 2nd floor, Tower Square, Springfield. (413) 231-4598, art4thesoul.org.
Borgia Gallery, Elms College: Juxtaposition — Abstraction Through the Eyes of Two Artists. Featuring highly abstract works of photography by Debra Gomes and Edward Los. Opening Saturday. Through Oct. 1. Free. 291 Springfield St., Chicopee. (413) 594-2761, elms.edu/calendar.
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center: Chaos and Light. With dense fields of swooping brushstrokes and glancing lines, Jamie Young articulates abundant, tumultuous, encroaching vegetation. Through Oct. 23. Union Station — Gateway to the World. Images and stories of Brattleboro’s Union Station, home of BMAC, on the 100th anniversary of its opening. Through Oct. 23. Up in Arms — Taking Stock of Guns. Delving into our relationship with guns and exploring the influence they have on visual artists. Through Oct. 23. $4-$8. 10 Vernon St., Brattleboro. (802) 257-0124, brattleboromuseum.org.
Cynthia-Reeves: Lionel Smit is one of South Africa’s most noteworthy young artists, whose sculptures and paintings on canvas — done in bronze or in painted resin — manifest his ongoing fascination and respect for the indigenous peoples of his country, notably the Cape Malayan peoples. Through Sept. 25. 1315 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams. (603) 756-4160, cynthia-reeves.com.
The Eric Carle Museum: Brown Bear Everywhere. Special pop-up exhibition for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the book that launched Eric Carle’s career: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Through Oct. 10. Louis Darling — Drawing the Words of Beverly Cleary. Through Nov. 27. 125 W. Bay Road, Amherst. (413) 559-6300, carlemuseum.org.
Ferrin Contemporary: Know Justice. Justin and Brook Rothshank. Two-person show focusing on American politics, the Supreme Court, and presidential history. Brook’s miniature watercolor portraits are complemented by Justin’s decal-printed tableware. Through Nov. 13. Free. 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams. (413) 446-0614, ferrincontemporary.com.
Gallery A3: The Weight of Things. Mixed media exhibit by Rebecca Muller that employs materials such as eroded metal, rod, wood, mesh, and thread to explore the impact of force upon matter. Through Oct. 1. Free. 28 Amity St., Amherst. (413) 256-4250, gallerya3.com.
Gallery in the Woods: Wishing for the Moon. Greenfield artist Karen Gaudette explores archetypal and mystical imagery with a scratchboard technique, which invites fine-line drawing with the feel of vintage black and white illustration. Free. 145 Main St., Brattleboro. (802) 257-4777, galleryinthewoods.com.
Good Purpose Gallery: Infused with Passion. Canvas and furniture paintings by Andrew Novis. Through Sept. 21. Free. 40 Main St., Lee. (413) 394-5045, goodpurpose.org.
Great Falls Discovery Center: Impressions of Turners Falls. Paintings by Karen Evans. People who live in the Turners Falls area will likely recognize the sites on which her paintings are based. Local color. Jenny Tibbets presents paintings of local area rural and urban landscapes. Free. 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls. (413) 863-3221, greatfallsdiscoverycenter.org.
The Greenfield Gallery: Deerfield February, 1704 — New Works by Jim Murphy. A fresh look at historic events. Through Sept. 30. Free. 231 Main St., Greenfield. (413) 772-9334, [email protected].
Historic Deerfield: Natural Selections — Flora and the Arts. Explores, through more than 20 objects, how nature has inspired, impressed, and enlightened society long before the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1859. Through Feb. 12, 2017. $7. 84 Old Main St., Deerfield. (413) 774-5581, historic-deerfield.org.
Historic Northampton: Photographs by Paul Griffin and Peter Norman documenting the current community of artists, artisans, teachers, craftspeople, and business people in the Norwood Building in Florence. Reprints of historic images and documents also on display. Through Sep. 4. Free. 46 Bridge St., Northampton. (413) 584-6011, historicnorthampton.org.
Hope and Feathers Framing and Printing: Return — Illustrations by Aaron Becker. Featuring original artwork, sketches, and giclée prints from his celebrated “Journey” picture book trilogy. Through Oct. 1. 319 Main St., Amherst. (413) 835-0197, hopeandfeathersframing.com.
Hosmer Gallery, Forbes Library: Camera obscura photos of Rome by Amaru Pereja; color photos of nature and objects by Paul Yandoli; chalk pastels of Martha’s Vineyard by Elizabeth Slade. Through Sep. 30. 20 West St., Northampton. (413) 587-1013, forbeslibrary.org/gallery.
Jewish Community of Amherst: Neil Brigham Block Prints. Illustrator and printmaker presents a selection of his linocut block prints. Through Oct. 27. Free. 742 Main St., Amherst. j-c-a.org.
Little Big House Gallery: The Ken, Glenn, and Morgan Show. Ken Ridler was a primitive painter who inspired his son Glenn to paint. Glenn put a pencil in his daughter Morgan’s hand when she was two years old. This show is a collection of realistic paintings by all three. Open by appointment through October. Free. 323 Patten Road, Shelburne. (413) 625-6697, littlebighousegallery.com.
Lyman Conservatory: Plant Adaptation Up Close — A Biological and Artistic Interpretation. The Earth’s diverse environments create many challenges for plant survival, and plants have evolved adaptations that allow them to thrive under hostile conditions. Through March 2017. Free. 16 College Lane, Northampton. (413) 585-2190, smith.edu/garden.
Molly Cantor Pottery: From the River. Prints by Northampton artist Grant Figura using materials from the Deerfield River. Free. 20 Bridge St., Shelburne Falls. (413) 625-2870, mollycantor.com.
Nash Gallery: Wanderings. Paintings by AD Tinkham and Jesse Connor about weather, atmosphere, water and geology. Through Sep. 8. Free. 40 Cottage St., Easthampton. (413) 529-9393, nashgalleryart.com.
Norman Rockwell Museum: Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World. Exploring the contrast between the abstract and realist movements, placing works by Rockwell, Wyeth, and Warhol side by side with Pollock, Calder, Johns, and over 40 other preeminent artists. Through Oct. 30. $6-$18; free for military veterans and children 5 and under. 9 Route 183 (Glendale Ave.), Stockbridge. (413) 298-4100, nrm.org.
Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum: A Life in Letters — Elizabeth Porter Huntington Fisher. Mixed media installation featuring transcribed sections of letters from Fisher to her mother onto long paper scrolls. Also featuring portraits of Elizabeth Porter Huntington Fisher’s descendants. Free. Guided tours Saturday to Wednesday, 1-4:30 p.m. $1-$5. Corn Barn, 130 River Dr., Hadley. (413) 586-4699, pphmuseum.org.
Salmon Falls Gallery: Flower Power. Kerry Stone’s exuberant colors and brush strokes bring the garden onto the walls in paintings of all sizes, including large, immersive pieces. Birds and Circles. Paintings by Ashfield artist Q Li Holmes. Both exhibits through Oct. 30. Free. 1 Ashfield Street, Shelburne Falls. (413) 625-9833, salmonfallsgallery.com.
Smith College Museum of Art: The Lay of the Land. Contemporary landscapes from the collection. Contemporary perspectives by American artists, from cultivated lands to forest and desert. Through Sept. 11. AIDS Work. More than 30 prints and books by Dr. Eric Avery, representing a cohesive and important body of work that documents three decades in the life of the major public health crisis of AIDS. Through Dec. 11. 20 Elm St., Northampton. (413) 585-2760, smith.edu/artmuseum.
Springfield Museums: The Scoop on Poop. A tactful blend of fascinating science and good clean fun, where visitors can find out how animals use poop to build homes, hide from enemies, attract mates, cool off, and even send messages. Through Sept. 4. Better Angels — The Firefighters of 9/11. Portraits in oil by Dawn Howkinson Siebel of each FDNY firefighter lost at the World Trade Center. Extended through Nov. 6. $9.50-$18. 21 Edwards St., Springfield. (413) 263-6800, springfieldmuseums.org.
Tilton Library: Photographs of the Connecticut River by Carl Nardiello. Free. 75 North Main St., South Deerfield. (413) 665-4683, tiltonlibrary.org.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Wildlife photography by local photographer Ed Thurston. Free. 300 Westgate Center Dr., Hadley. (413) 253-8303, [email protected].
Valley Photo Center: All Roads Lead from Springfield. Presented by members of the Springfield Photographic Society. Through Sep. 30. Tower Square 2nd Floor, 1500 Main St., Springfield. (413) 781-1553, thevalleyphotocenter.yolasite.com.
SUBMISSIONS
Burnett Gallery, Jones Library: Seeking applicants for monthly public exhibition during the upcoming season. The gallery offers about 70 linear feet of wall space and 600 square feet of floor space. 43 Amity St., Amherst. (413) 835-0004, joneslibrary.org/burnett.
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-happsart-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/de6386ea6d01e5abf1d434ad978ec8ded478bc18cf956d80d95d1f5ab611225f.json
|
[
"Maureen Turner",
"Sneha Tapadar"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:37 | null | 2010-11-04T07:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2010%2F11%2F04%2Fthe-things-we-have-in-common%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/12661.jpeg
|
en
| null |
The Things We Have in Common
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
In the early 20th century, the American public was seized by fear of the seemingly unstoppable polio epidemic. At its peak, in 1916, more than 27,000 cases, and 3,000 deaths, were reported in the U.S., the majority of victims children. By the early 1950s, the disease was on the rise again, killing thousands a year and leaving many more paralyzed.
So it’s no surprise that when, in 1955, a successful polio vaccine was introduced, its developer, Jonas Salk, was embraced as a hero. Salk, it turned out, was a modest hero, with little interest in celebrity or personal gain. In an old news clip from the time, journalist Edward R. Murrow asks Salk who should own the patent on the polio vaccine.
“The people, I would say. There is no patent,” Salk responds. “Could you patent the sun?”
Fast-forward 40 years to another devastating epidemic with far less heartening results: South Africa’s AIDS crisis, which by the 1990s was taking 20,000 lives a month. Unlike with polio, in this case, promising new drugs like AZT that could greatly extend the length and quality of life for people with the disease had already been developed. The problem was, those pricey drugs were not accessible to the poor residents of South Africa. And when that country’s government tried to make them accessible by allowing the local creation or importation of cheaper generic alternatives, the major drugmakers successfully fought that effort, complaining that it would do too much damage to their profits.
Those two cases are featured at the beginning of This Land is Our Land: The Fight to Reclaim the Commons, a powerful and persuasive new film from Northampton’s Media Education Foundation. (The film will premiere at an Amherst screening on Nov. 14; see sidebar.) In the film, narrator David Bollier (an author and activist who wrote the script with MEF’s Jeremy Earp) points out that both the polio vaccine and the AIDS drugs were developed with significant public support: in the former case, through contributions made to the non-profit National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now better known as the March of Dimes); in the latter case, through taxpayer money that funds the research of large pharmaceutical companies.
Salk, for one, recognized and respected the crucial role that collective effort played in his work. But, as the South African AIDS story shows, “this ethic has become a distant memory,” Bollier notes in the film.
This Land Is Our Land is about what Bollier describes as “one of the great explored dramas of our time: the epic struggle between the marketplace and the commons.” And as the footage in the film—of paralyzed children, of AIDS sufferers literally wasting away—makes forcefully clear, that struggle is not just the material for theoretical debate, but has very practical, even life-or-death, consequences.
*
What are, exactly, “the commons”?
“There’s no master list of the commons,” Bollier explained in a recent interview at a coffee shop in Amherst, where he lives. In its broadest sense, he said, the commons are “the things we share and manage together”: our air and water; public parks and mountains and forests; our shared culture, and the ways we share that culture, from concrete institutions like public libraries to incorporeal but still vital means like the public airways and the Internet.
Key to the notion is the role of collective stewardship. Those resources that make up the commons cannot be separated from the community that manages them, and all the cultural norms and expectations that community brings.
“It’s relational, not just transactional,” Bollier explained. “The market is just about the deal, where the commons is about the relationships.”
Consider, for instance, the online, user-driven encyclopedia Wikipedia. While Wikipedia starts with a particular technology that allows users to submit new entries and edit existing ones, that technology alone does not make Wikipedia; rather, it’s the people who use the technology to create and debate its content that make Wikipedia, Bollier noted.
Such newfangled examples aside, the commons are a notion as old as human culture, based in an inherent understanding that we share, and are responsible for, a common wealth necessary for our survival. That notion has been codified repeatedly throughout history, This Land Is Our Land notes, from ancient Roman laws to the Magna Carta to the U.S. Constitution, with its ringing insistence on “We the People.”
“The commons is a way of asserting a moral connection to a resource,” Bollier said. But along the way, that belief in the collective good, and collective responsibility, has been drowned out by what Bollier, in the film, calls the “mythical fantasy world” of the marketplace, where nothing has value that can’t be monetized, and what were once viewed as resources to be shared are now treated as commodities to be exploited by whatever private interest gets there first.
Bollier has spent his career tracking the rise of the marketplace-driven culture. He’s worked with the consumer activist Ralph Nader and written several books on the commercialization of the commons, including 2002’s Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth and 2005’s Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture. In This Land Is Our Land, he tracks the political changes that moved us, in just a few decades, from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s commitment to a governmental role in creating a social safety net to the Reagan/Thatcher era, when government was demonized and privatization and deregulation ruled the day (a philosophy that is hardly partisan, given its embracing during the Clinton era, as the film points out).
As a culture, we’ve so internalized the idea that the marketplace is the best—indeed, the only—model that suggestions of another approach are viewed with deep suspicion, even alarm. Bollier’s film includes clips of Glenn Beck and his Fox News-y ilk warning viewers of the impending threat of socialism, in the guise of public healthcare, housing assistance or—as Beck warns in one clip in This Land Is Our Land—”social justice.” Not coincidentally, this “ginned-up fear of government power,” as Bollier puts it, has created a climate in which big corporations buy up the commons and then sell it back to the public: the oil they extract from public land, the forests they cut down, the water they bottle in plastic and sell under the mantra of “health” while developing nations struggle with devastating water shortages.
More than one-quarter of the world’s natural resources have been commodified, according to This Land Is Your Land. And while the natural world might be the first place we see this creeping corporatism, it’s happening throughout our society, from industries (perhaps most notoriously the tobacco companies) funding university research to broadcasters filling the publicly owned airways with endless commercial pitches to direct marketing to kids in public schools, where textbooks contain product placements and stadium naming rights are up for sale to the highest bidder.
*
A few days after his interview with the Advocate, Bollier was heading off to Europe to speak about the commons movement in several countries, and to attend the International Commons Conference in Berlin, which he helped organize.
Efforts to reclaim the commons have, so far, gotten better traction abroad than in the U.S., “where everything has to be so Tea-Party individualist,” Bollier said. But, in the same way our collective love affair with the marketplace crosses party lines, a campaign in defense of the commons doesn’t have to be yet another partisan struggle.
Indeed, Bollier said, to work, a commons campaign needs to be “ecumenical,” driven by practical concerns, not political abstractions—”pragmatism versus political correctness.” While the political left, he noted, tends to be more skeptical of the excesses of the capitalist system and the right more likely to defend it, notions that sit at the heart of a commons movement, like local control, have an appeal that spans the political spectrum.
And, the dire warnings of Beck et al. aside, a reassertion of the commons is not a call for communism. “This is not about anarchy,” Bollier said. “This is not ‘smash the market.’ The market performs a lot of useful functions. The market can be embedded in a lot of socially useful ways.”
So, too, can government play a useful role in the protection and management of the commons—though a limited role. While liberal activists, in particular, are often committed to the idea of government policy as the best way to effect change, our corrupt political system, Bollier argues, has “lost its moral legitimacy.”
And, he adds, large, centralized government bureaucracies simply can’t operate as efficiently or respond as quickly as smaller, locally controlled institutions—a reality that’s paralleled in the business world. “It’s why Wikipedia can outperform Encyclopedia Britannica, and Linux outperforms Microsoft,” Bollier said.
Under a commons model, neither the marketplace nor a distant, centralized government is the primary organizing principle—the community is. And political fear-mongering aside, communities can do the job, and do it well, as shown in the work of American political scientist Elinor Ostrum.
Ostrum won the 2009 Nobel prize in economics for her work on how local communities can manage natural resources sustainably and without the abuses critics have warned such an approach would bring. Ostrum studied local management of communal pasture land in Africa and of water systems in Nepal, and found that the communities pooled and managed these resources well by developing a set of guiding principles that included rules about usage, sanctions for abuse, and systems for decision making and conflict resolution. While Ostrum’s work focuses specifically on management of natural resources, Bollier said, that template can be adapted to other shared resources, from the environment to culture.
*
It sounds like a pretty daunting task: getting a society to rethink principles it has so deeply internalized—about individualism, the free market, the compulsion toward never-ending growth and expansion at any cost—and move toward a very different way of thinking.
The good news, Bollier says, is that it’s already happening.
Look, for instance, to the tech world, with its new models, like wikis and open-source software, for sharing information and enabling user-generated content and collaboration. On the cultural front, the non-profit Creative Commons provides free licenses and other legal means for artists, writers, musicians and other creators who want to allow others to share and build on their work without fear of copyright infringement.
“Relocalization” efforts work to build strong, sustainable local communities that aren’t dependent on global markets; among the most visible are “locavore” efforts that encourage supporting local food producers. So many of these efforts, Bollier noted, transcend political ideologies and identities.
But despite their shared interests, these disparate groups don’t always recognize one another as kindred spirits. So the next step, Bollier said, “is to connect the dots”—something the Berlin conference, for instance, hopes to do by bringing people together to develop a common language and common goals.
And that can’t happen soon enough, given the worldwide economic, social and environmental crises that have made it abundantly clear that the way we’ve been doing things just isn’t working, Bollier argues. As he notes at the end of his film, “[W]e desperately need a new vision for the future. We need a holistic paradigm in order to protect and preserve our common wealth. We need to imagine a different future for ourselves.”
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2010/11/04/the-things-we-have-in-common/
|
en
| 2010-11-04T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/b819042b7f29da48ffe75ca7348c5de1b1bb97b134a64e7e7becb0c82835df6f.json
|
[
"Will Meyer"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:16 | null | 2016-08-22T16:18:24 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fwe-buffer-we-suffer%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA34-Basemental-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
Basemental: Talking Rock and Net Neutrality with Candace Clement
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Photo of Bunny's A Swine courtesy of Candace Clement
We Buffer, We Suffer
Candace Clement has been a been a member of the Northampton band Bunny’s A Swine for eight years. On songs like “Greetings from the Bottom,” her Strat intertwines with Emerson Stevens’ 3-string guitar contraption like a ball of twine, which gets tangled and balled up against a backbeat by drummer Dustin Ashley Cote. When she isn’t singing, she does advocacy work on media equity, most recently championing “net neutrality,” the principle that everyone should be allowed even and equal access to the internet. In a recent interview, we covered ground from DIY music and independent media to parenting and Black Lives Matter.
You play in a band that “values and loves” independent media. Can you elaborate on that?
The DIY ethos runs pretty strong in the band, and all three of us have a general anti-corporate, pro-local attitude. We’ve been a band for eight years … and it’s amazing how accelerated the changes in media and technology have been throughout that time period … Our love of independent media hasn’t always just been about “press” itself, but also how we promote the band, how we make our albums, etc.
There will always be publications that serve as a sort of gold standard for “making it,” but everyone sets their own metrics for success. Some bands want to tour and play music full time or play festivals with Kanye. Others want to break even and make noise with their friends. Some are making a political statement. We always assumed we were making music for ourselves and our friends. It was always nice if we could expand that circle, but we never really stressed it.
You’ve spent a lot time advocating for net neutrality. How does it affect musicians?
The internet and technology have been incredible for musicians. At this point it seems impossible to think about doing what we do without it. What I love about net neutrality is how basic and fundamental it is. It’s a fight about making sure that the infrastructure serves everyone … we need to keep the internet an open platform. Most musicians are doing everything online now. If a company like Comcast could just decide to start charging different fees to access different websites, or could slow down access to one site while speeding up access to another unless you paid up, it would completely disrupt musicians’ ability to get their music and art into the world.
If I recall correctly your band takes a pretty hard line against corporate sponsorship. Why is that?
I’m sort of hard-wired to be suspicious of free money. Because there really is no such thing. And given the many awful things that many corporations do, I am personally disinterested in being associated with most of them. I don’t blame bands who take the corporate sponsorship route, especially if they’re trying to make a living out of it. That’s a choice to make.
I have anecdotally observed some kind of generational difference around attitudes towards corporate funding. When I was growing up and getting into music, anti-corporate was almost like the baseline attitude. But in the last five or six years I’ve noticed a disinterest in being so strict about it. Lots of people take the money they can get to put it back into their art. We’ve debated offers like that in the past as well.
What’s up with Bunny’s A Swine now?
We haven’t been playing as much since I got pregnant, but now that my daughter is approaching toddlerhood I hope we can finish up the album we’ve been working on for the last couple years … we’ve mostly been playing house shows, DIY venues and non-traditional spaces.
How else do political ideals influence your art?
Nothing has made me more politically fired up than being a parent … There are so many spaces online where parents talk to each other, but in most of them there’s this phobia of politics. It’s like you can only talk about babies hitting developmental milestones and the best brands of car seats, or something. But I want to talk about the importance of the election. I want to talk about how to end police brutality and how to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
That tension definitely translates over to playing music for me … We may make political decisions about what shows we play, how we distribute our music, where we spend our money, but our music is not political. I’m wrestling with that as being both really valuable, as a space to escape, while also recognizing that my ability to escape in the first place is entirely based on my privilege in the world … I never feel like I am doing enough.
Look out for Bunny’s A Swine and for Clement’s writing about net neutrality in outlets like The Huffington Post and In These Times.
Basemental appears twice monthly. Contact Will Meyer at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/we-buffer-we-suffer/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/bc27ae099c35e2c435ad97b1c7a4086d7464b04246ef884b6174b96f69c5ea2f.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:24 | null | 2016-08-29T19:43:59 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fthe-lush-garden%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_3390.jpg
|
en
| null |
The Lush Garden
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
A guide to summer cocktails from the garden
It’s hard to imagine a better way to top off an afternoon in the garden than by settling into a lawn chair with a refreshing summer cocktail and admiring your work. Even better if you can actually harvest a few ingredients from that garden to add a satisfying twist to that beverage of choice. With that in mind, we asked a few area cocktail aficionados to suggest their favorite recipes. What follows is what they came up with. Cheers!
—Peter Vancini, [email protected]
The Dillinger
Courtesy of The Quarters, Hadley
2 ounces dill vodka
½ ounce simple sugar syrup
½ ounce lime juice
Make the dill vodka: For a 1 liter bottle of vodka, and I recommend a dry vodka, you will need 5-6 sprigs of fresh dill — you can even include the flowers. Rinse them well and add to your bottle of vodka. Let it sit for 3-5 days, feel free to check in with it and taste it, but the longer you let it sit the more strength your dill vodka will have.
To make the drink: Pour the vodka, sugar and lime juice into a shaker over ice, shake it good, strain it into a rocks glass over fresh ice, garnish with a slice of garden cucumber, a dash of salt, and a dill flower (optional) and enjoy some pickle goodness.
Strawberry Fields
Courtesy Center Square Grill, East Longmeadow
2 ounces watermelon-infused vodka
½ ounce Cointreau
¾ ounce strawberry-basil simple syrup
½ ounce fresh lime juice
¼ ounce watermelon puree
1 basil leaf
To make the infused vodka: Add about a sixth of a melon per liter of vodka in a container and let sit for a week, then strain out the watermelon.
To make the cocktail: Pour the vodka, Cointreau, syrup, lime juice, and watermelon in a shaker, shake and serve in a martini glass or whatever you’ve got laying around.
Pro tip: Slap the basil leaf between your hands before adding it to the drink. This is supposed to bruise the leaf and facilitate the release of flavor into the cocktail.
The Lemon-Basil Gimlet
Courtesy of Magpie Wood-Fired Pizzeria, Greenfield
1 stem of basil (two leaves and a top for garnish)
2 ounces of Vodka
1 ounce fresh Lemon
½ ounce simple syrup
1 lemon wedge
Muddle the lemon and two basil leaves gently in a rocks glass. Add the vodka, lime juice, and sugar; stir. Garnish with fresh basil on top.
Pro tip: Make Basil Simple Syrup. Blanch a bunch of basil — submerge the leaves in boiling water for 15 seconds, remove it and plunge it into a prepared bowl of ice water for one minute. Remove the stems then put the leaves in a blender with simple syrup and turn it on high. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, and bottle.
Honorary Gardener
Courtesy of The Green Room, Northampton
1½ ounces botanical gin (we suggest The Botanist)
¾ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce Saint Germain
¼ ounce simple syrup
5 slices cucumber, quartered
Add the cucumber and simple syrup to a shaker tin and muddle. Add the remaining ingredients. Add ice and shake for 10 seconds. Double strain the cocktail into a tall glass with fresh ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a cucumber ribbon and voila!
Thyme for a Cocktail
Courtesy of Duo Restaurant, Brattleboro
1 ounce Smugglers Notch Bourbon
½ ounce Amaretto Disaronno
½ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1½ ounces blueberry/thyme syrup
2 ounces prosecco or Champagne
Blueberry Thyme Syrup (makes 1 quart batch): 1 cup fresh thyme, 2 cups blueberries, ½ quart sugar. Boil the thyme, water, and sugar. Strain it. Add blueberries to the syrup. Purée. Strain.
To make the drink: Pour bourbon, Amaretto, lemon, and thyme syrup into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain it into a couple of glasses. Top with prosecco.
Contact Peter Vancini at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/the-lush-garden/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/5f895ceef9160309457e913c2fc650c3f543c8e4618234b7154de37c9e411f96.json
|
[
"Amanda Drane"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:28 | null | 2016-08-22T16:18:37 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fpearl-street%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/pstreet.jpg
|
en
| null |
Nightmare on Pearl Street: 100-plus Temperatures and Lack of Water at Northampton Club Draw Hundreds of Complaints
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
The Pearl Street Nightclub, 10 Pearl Street in Northampton, is owned by Eric Suher. It was hot back then, too: To give folks a look inside the club, we've got this photo from Beach House playing Pearl Street in August of 2015.
It was so hot and humid inside Pearl Street Nightclub during a metal show earlier this month that the ceiling was beading up with condensation and raining sweat onto the crowd.
The sweltering experience spurred nearly 200 people to voice outrage on social media, and many turned to state and local officials to complain about Iron Horse Entertainment Group.
NORTHAMPTON, MA. Thank@uou guys for sticking it out through one of the most intensely hot and demanding Baroness sets ever. You're hard as nails for doing so. We hope to see you soon, somewhere colder, and with more available oxygen. A photo posted by Baroness (@yourbaroness) on Aug 14, 2016 at 1:33pm PDT
Several showgoers there on Aug. 13 said that between the large crowd, poor ventilation and non-functioning air conditioning, temperatures reached about 110 degrees.
“It was so brutally hot, a lot of people — myself included, I’m not proud to admit — ended up drinking out of the bathroom sink,” said Tom Peake, 27, of Easthampton, who was one of three showgoers to lodge a formal complaint with the city’s Health Department. “It was a sort of heat that I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced outside of a boiler room.”
People in the crowd described the body-odor-rich air as “thick” and so sauna-like that many stripped down to withstand it.
Some already-frustrated people in the local music scene, which has lost two venues in recent months — Hinge and One Bar and Grill — are calling for a boycott of IHEG-owned establishments in the wake of the steamy concert.
“My jeans were saturated with sweat,” said Peake, who sings in the local band Godeater. “And I don’t sweat a lot, either — I’m Scandinavian, and we don’t really sweat.”
Even Georgia’s metal-indie headliners Baroness were discontented with the intense environment, as evidenced in a post on Instagram.
“Thank you guys for sticking it through one of the most intensely hot and demanding Baroness sets ever,” the band wrote on Instagram beneath a photo of a sweaty, shirtless band member that garnered more than 670 likes. “You’re hard as nails for doings so. We hope to see you soon, somewhere colder, and with more available oxygen.”
Peake said the band took an unplanned break and wrapped up sooner than they would have expected because of how hot it was.
“I’ll be right back, I’ve gotta go shit a brick,” Peake recalled Baroness vocalist-guitarist John Baizley saying before cutting a set short.
Temperatures during the day had reached 93 degrees, and because of high humidity remained in the 80s or high 70s well into the evening hours.
According to Mayor David Narkewicz, who received three emailed complaints about the conditions, there are no known regulations dictating maximum allowable temperatures, nor is there anything in the city’s building code about ventilation.
“We’re trying to be responsive to the complaints we’ve received from the public,” Narkewicz said, adding that there were no medical calls to Pearl Street that night. “It sounds like it was not a great environment to watch a band.”
Narkewicz said the city will investigate further, saying that the Health Department is concerned that people at the show were drinking out of bathroom sinks.
“Director [Merridith] O’Leary will also be addressing patron health concerns about excessive heat and dehydration,” Narkewicz told the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Reached by email, IHEG owner Eric Suher said the lack of air conditioning was an isolated incident.
“We had two of our A/C unit compressors completely freeze, as the outside temperature was 97 degrees with very high humidity,” he wrote. “All of our units are being fully replaced, which will hopefully solve this issue from happening again.”
Local musicians in the audience, however, called the incident a “last straw.”
“So many people have had enough — we’re just done,” local musician Jenn Ramsay, 32, of Easthampton told the Gazette. “I understand, things break and whatnot, but this has been happening for years.”
Ramsay said that between the “pay to play” policies at IHEG venues, the refusal to give free water to performing musicians, and lack of investment in equipment, Saturday’s incident is one in a string of happenings that have made for a tense relationship between Suher and the community.
“He’s put Northampton on the map — he’s the reason why people around the country know Northampton, and that’s great,” said Ramsay. “But it’s also unfortunate that they don’t know the other side.”
Local performers often have to pay IHEG a flat fee to play at one of its venues, which sometimes means they lose money on the engagement.
“It’s affecting our reputation and the quality of the entertainment we get here and how much we can really enjoy it,” said another musician, Corey Plucker, 31, of Easthampton.
By calling attention to the conditions, Plucker, who also sent letters to state senators and representatives, said he hopes to hold Suher publicly accountable.
“When 200 to 300 people in one room experience the same thing, you can all kind of rally around it,” he said.
“There’s no care for the community, the musicians or the arts,” said another local musician, Ben Reigle, 39, of Holyoke, vowing never to attend another show at Pearl Street. “And it trickles down, I imagine, from the owner.”
Plucker said he feels stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to patronizing IHEG establishments.
“[We] go out to support these artists more than the venues, knowing they’re the only thing attracting these acts to Western Mass,” he said, adding that he’d be surprised if Baroness ever came back to town. “What do I do here as a resident of Western Mass who wants a vibrant music scene? That’s what I want to know.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/pearl-street/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/b17e475cc5871259adf5a45c571b76d52053aa23fdf68c5fdc876b0e8de45f8e.json
|
[
"Yana Tallon-Hicks"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:46 | null | 2016-08-22T16:17:29 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fa-is-not-sexualitys-scarlet-letter%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/VSpot-YanaHicks.jpg
|
en
| null |
The V-Spot: My Sexual ‘A’ is Not a Scarlet Letter
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Dear Yana,
I was recently discussing your column with some new friends I met through Pioneer Valley Aces, a local group of individuals who identify as aromantic and/or asexual. I wasn’t the only one of us who appreciated your witty way of reassuring those who write in that their sexuality is OK.
However, as a 39-year-old woman who has never had all that much interest in having romantic relationships or being sexually active, I don’t generally find affirmation of my identity in The V-Spot. To be honest, it can often reinforce my self-consciousness about my asexuality. Could you please offer some advice on how to feel OK about being aromantic/asexual in a highly sexualized society?
You’re so good at advising people on how to communicate about sex – could you offer some advice on how to communicate about one’s asexuality, especially with people whose worldview does not include an awareness of the wide range of “normal” when it comes to sexual desire (or lack of sexual desire)?
— A Pioneer Valley Ace
Hi PVA!
Thanks for writing in and giving me this opportunity to write about asexuality. You’re right— not many people write into a sex column asking me questions that are not sexual in nature!
Asexuality (a sexual orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction) isn’t new. Sexual practices and identities rarely are — rather, we find the words to describe them. David Jay launched the Asexuality and Visibility Education Network (AVEN) in 2001, which today boasts more than 82,000 members. There are far more than 50 shades of sexuality, and sexual orientation doesn’t dictate one set of feelings and actions. An asexual person may experience zero sexual attraction, or maybe every now and then they do (known sometimes as graysexual). The asexual (and sexual) possibilities are endless.
So how do you exist in a world that is so terrified of difference that it simply cannot resist a good categorizing? Find and create community. You can do this internationally with online resources like AVEN or locally via Pioneer Valley Aces (on Facebook at facebook.com/pvaces).
Find cracks in the norm and widen them. I think about this as a non-monogamous queer person in a heterosexist world who has spent time editing doctor’s forms to change my “husband’s” name to my “spouse’s” name or asking for a “couple’s” massage for more than two people. If the world isn’t designed to handle you in all your authenticity, then tailor it to fit. Make the system uncomfortable with its own assumptions. There’s no need to keep a foundation stable if it doesn’t hold you up.
In my utopian world, there are no assumptions made about sex. The new normal is to co-create your interactions with people from scratch. There are no baseball metaphors, no bases to run, and no relationship escalator to stand on.
Until then, you’ve got some educating to do. When talking to a partner about your asexual self, personalize their understanding by relating it to their identities. Highlight your differences as a gift that allows you to customize your relationship to each of your unique needs, freed from stale sexual traditions. Remind your partner that everyone’s sexuality and gender exists on a spectrum — even theirs!
You’re describing your asexuality, so ask your partner to describe their sexuality — how often do they have sex? What are they attracted to? How do their feelings and attractions translate into physical intimacy? Discuss how your partner’s sexuality might factor into a relationship with you — especially if you have designs to be monogamous.
Remember that your partner doesn’t need to completely understand asexuality, or even what it means specifically for you, in order to respect your boundaries. Being unfamiliar with asexuality doesn’t negate the need for consent and respect for your boundaries. Finally, refer them to resources you trust. Asexuality.org has a plethora targeted to sexual partners, friends and allies of asexual folks.
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/a-is-not-sexualitys-scarlet-letter/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/31709f0aae0daa28d0535835075991154e6aff35d9217b362a2686a9b14c5c07.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:33 | null | 2016-08-29T19:43:56 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-happsstage-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyAdvocatelogo.png
|
en
| null |
VA35-happsSTAGE-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Thursday 9/1
Decline of Western Civilization: Classic chronicle of L.A.’s infamous punk bands screens with an introduction by Smith College professor Steve Waksman and an after-party at the High Horse with DJs spinning punk records. Part of the Sound and Vision summer music series. 7 p.m. Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity St, Amherst. (413) 253-2547, amherstcinema.org.
Sotto Voce: Haunting work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Anna in the Tropics follows a passionate Jewish-Cuban young man as he seeks out a famous reclusive novelist who was separated from her lover during World War II. Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m.; Saturday at 8:30 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m. Through Sep. 11. $24.50-$64.50. Shakespeare and Company, 70 Kemble St., Lenox. (413) 637-3353, shakespeare.org.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Boy’s best friend meets girl and also loves girl. Hilarity ensues. Thursday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. Shakespeare and Company, 70 Kemble St., Lenox. (413) 637-3353, shakespeare.org.
Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!: NPR’s oddly informative weekly hour-long news quiz live. 8 p.m. Tanglewood, 297 West St., Lenox. (888) 266-1200, bso.org.
Friday 9/2
The Consul, the Tramp and America’s Sweetheart: World-premiere by John Morogiello, inspired by Charles Chaplin’s film masterpiece The Great Dictator and Germany’s attempts to prevent the movie from being made, pitted against silent screen star Mary Pickford, who became head of the studio she formed with Chaplin. A funny, clever historical take on women fighting to receive equal status, and commercial needs versus artistic freedom. Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.; Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. $12-$37. Through Sep. 18. Oldcastle Theatre Company, , 331 Main St., Bennington. (802) 447-0564, oldcastletheatre.org.
Norman Rockwell Museum — Friday Night at the Movies: Museum curator Jesse Kowalski will introduce the films, providing context, followed by an audience Q & A with refreshments. This month: American Graffiti (1973). 5:30 p.m. $10 per film; $5 for members; free with museum admission. Norman Rockwell Museum, 9 Rte. 183, Stockbridge. (413) 298-4100, nrm.org.
Princess Mononoke: While defending his village from a demonic boar-god, the young warrior Ashitaka becomes afflicted with a curse that grants him super-human power in battle but will eventually take his life. An epic story of conflict between humans, gods, and nature, the animated film has been universally acclaimed by critics and broke the box office record on its original release in Japan in 1997. 9:30 p.m. $5.50-$9.75. Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity St., Amherst. (413) amherstcinema.org.
Sotto Voce: See Thursday’s listing.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: See Thursday’s listing.
Saturday 9/3
The Consul, the Tramp and America’s Sweetheart: See Friday’s listing.
Gran-Val Scoop Family Movie Night: Ice Age. Enjoy a movie under the stars. Popcorn and ice cream for sale. Bring blankets, chairs, and bug spray. 8 p.m. Gran-Val Scoop, 233 Granby Road, Granville. (413) 357-0164, granvalscoop.com.
Or, by Liz Duffy Adams: The bawdy 1660s look a lot like the modern day in this playful comedy about one chaotic night in the life of the poet, spy, and first female playwright Aphra Behn. Determined to leave the spy trade behind and launch her new career, Ms. Behn must deliver a play by morning, a task complicated by an array of amorous distractions and scandalous revelations. Contains adult language. Saturday at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Shakespeare and Company, 70 Kemble St., Lenox. (413) 637-3353, shakespeare.org.
Rocky Horror Picture Show: Presented with original pre-shows and live performance by the Come Again Players, a premier New England shadow cast. Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes. 11:30 p.m. $8.25; half-off admission if in costume. Tower Theaters, 19 College St., South Hadley. (413) 533-3456, towertheaters.com.
Sotto Voce: See Thursday’s listing.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: See Thursday’s listing.
Sunday 9/4
The Consul, the Tramp and America’s Sweetheart: See Friday’s listing.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: See Thursday’s listing.
Or, by Liz Duffy Adams: See Saturday’s listing.
Sholem Aleichem — A Conversation with Ruth Wisse and David Roskies: Screening of a film recorded live last fall at the Yiddish Book Center on the hundredth anniversary of the death of Aleichem. Wisse and Roskies, two of the world’s most engaging Yiddish scholars retell, discuss, and debate their favorite Aleichem stories in a lively, freewheeling conversation. 80 minutes. 2 p.m. $4-$8. Yiddish Book Center, 1021 West St., Amherst. (413) 256-4900, yiddishbookcenter.org.
Sotto Voce: See Thursday’s listing.
Tuesday 9/6
The Seth Show: The satirical smartypants is back with season three. This time around, all shows are completely theme-less. Each one will be different. Implementing the pay-what-you-decide model, audience members will pay for the show after the performance, based on what they feel the show was worth. Due to this new model, reservations are required. 7 p.m. Eastworks Suite 160, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton. artful.ly/store/events/9723, sethums.com.
Wednesday 9/7
The Consul, the Tramp and America’s Sweetheart: See Friday’s listing.
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-happsstage-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/425107f8304387366f0be3a23367a9dec1a95efcc3c366b3df0ff7eb7cc19304.json
|
[
"Maureen Turner",
"Baalgebra Toys"
] | 2016-08-26T12:52:40 | null | 2009-10-08T07:00:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2009%2F10%2F08%2Fthe-prison-town-advantage%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/10645.jpeg
|
en
| null |
The Prison Town Advantage
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
To say that Danny Young did not win his seat on the Anamosa, Iowa, City Council by a landslide is an understatement of extreme proportions. Young won that seat in 2006 with just two write-in votes, one of them cast by his wife. The definition of the reluctant politician, Young didn’t even vote for himself. There were no other candidates for the seat.
Admittedly, no candidate in Anamosa is going to draw big numbers at the polls, given the city’s tiny size. The community covers 2.2 square miles, and has about 5,700 residents. At the time of Young’s election, voters elected representatives from four wards, each of which included approximately 1,400 residents, as well as two at-large councilors.
But in Young’s Ward 2, fewer than 100 of those residents were eligible to run for the Council seat, or even to vote. That’s because the ward is dominated by Anamosa State Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison where about 1,300 men are incarcerated. And in Iowa, as in 47 other U.S. states (Maine and Vermont are the exceptions), incarcerated felons are not allowed to vote.
They are, however, counted by the U.S. Census Bureau for data used to draw congressional, state and municipal legislative districts. That practice can lead to dramatic power imbalances between communities that have prisons and those that do not—as seen in Anamosa, where the fewer than 100 non-prisoners in Young’s ward have as much representational clout in city affairs as the 1,400 residents in each of the city’s other wards.
While Anamosa presents a particularly dramatic example of the problem, this imbalance exists in communities around the country. The Prison Policy Initiative, an Easthampton-based nonprofit, has released numerous reports in recent years examining the problem in states around the country; this month, PPI is releasing a report, “Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in Massachusetts,” that looks at the effects here. The report, co-authored by PPI Executive Director Peter Wagner and colleagues Elena Lavarreda and Rose Heyer, finds that five of the state’s legislative districts would not even exist in their current configurations if their population counts did not include prison inmates.
This apparently unintended data-gathering quirk, Wagner said, has profoundly detrimental consequences for the distribution of political power—consequences that extend further than one might expect.
Counting disenfranchised prisoners to draw up legislative districts “makes no sense,” Wagner said, “and is actually offensive to our notion of democracy.”
It also bears, in the words of Boston-based voting rights attorney Brenda Wright, an “uncomfortable resemblance” to the “three-fifths” compromise between Southern and Northern states written into the U.S. Constitution in 1787. That provision declared that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of apportioning congressional districts.
“The slave states benefited in terms of political power, based on a population that couldn’t vote,” said Wright, who directs the Democracy Program for Demos, a public policy and advocacy organization. More than 220 years later, legislators with prisons in their districts are likewise benefiting from a population that’s also denied the vote—while other districts lose.
*
Peter Wagner began studying prison-based gerrymandering while a law student at Western New England College. His first project looked at neighboring New York State, where the effects are especially dramatic. There, Wagner noted in a 2002 report, 91 percent of prison cells are located in the upstate region, whose economy depends heavily on the prison industry. But only 24 percent of prisoners actually come from upstate New York; the majority—66 percent—comes from New York City.
As a result, Wagner said in a recent interview, “the whole center of gravity shifts.” For state legislators who have prisons in their districts, the facilities are a boon: the prison population swells local numbers enough to justify the creation of a legislative seat, while the prison creates jobs and spurs related economic activity in a part of the state that sorely needs both. According to PPI, seven legislative districts in upstate New York would not have the minimum population required for a district were it not for their prisoners.
But not everyone wins under this scenario. While upstate legislators may have prisoners in their districts, because those prisoners cannot vote, there’s no incentive for the legislators to support policies that could positively affect the urban districts where the majority of prisoners come from. Meanwhile, because the prisoners are not counted in their hometowns, those communities’ populations, for the purposes of creating legislative districts, drop.
“Prisoners and their families have negative political clout,” Wagner said.
And it’s not just prisoners (and the family and neighbors that remain in their hometowns) who feel the effects of this imbalance, Wagner noted. Residents who live in districts without prisons have, in essence, less political influence than those in districts that do have prisons.
“These … districts get an enhanced say, which hurts every other district in general, and hurts the district where prisoners come from even more,” Wagner said.
Meanwhile, prisoners—despite the fact that they contribute to a prison-district legislator’s political power—have no political influence over “their” representative. “The way things should work is, if a legislator doesn’t represent some of his or her constituents, there’s a check in place—the overlooked residents can vote that person out,” Wagner said. “But when some of those constituents can’t vote, that natural check and balance doesn’t work.”
As Danny Young, the Anamosa councilman, put it in a 2008 New York Times article: “Do I consider [the prisoners within my ward] my constituents? They don’t vote, so, I guess, not really.”
*
The Census Bureau’s policy of counting prisoners where they’re incarcerated is not new, PPI notes.
But the effects of that policy have become more significant in recent years, as the U.S. prison population has swelled, thanks, in large part, to the trend toward mandatory-minimum sentencing and other “tough on crime” legal reforms. According to the federal Department of Justice, in 1998, there were slightly fewer than 1.3 million people in state and federal prisons in the U.S. A decade later, that number had risen to 1.5 million. (During the same time period, the number of people, nationally, in local jails rose from about 500,000 to 800,000. In Massachusetts and other states, people who are behind bars on misdemeanor convictions or while awaiting trial are eligible to vote.)
There are about 11,000 people in Massachusetts state prisons, according to a 2007 report by the Mass. Department of Corrections. The state’s one federal prison, Fort Devens, has about 1,300 prisoners, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Until 2000, prisoners in Massachusetts had the right to vote (those who chose to did so by absentee ballot). That year, 60 percent of voters—following the lead of then-Acting Gov. Paul Cellucci—approved a ballot question to amend the state constitution to deny voting rights to prisoners locked up on felony convictions. (The Cellucci administration had previously shut down a political action committee formed by a group of state prisoners, successfully arguing in Superior Court that allowing political activity in prisons presented a security threat.)
The result—in Massachusetts and in the 47 other states where incarcerated felons can’t vote—is that lawmakers derive political power from “constituents” who are legally denied a voice in the political process. By law, each legislative district in Massachusetts should include 39,682 people, “Importing Constituents” notes. The law does allow some deviation from that figure, to ensure that other goals can be met, such as keeping communities with shared interests together in one district. (For instance, the lines might be drawn to keep members of a racial minority in the same district.)
In Massachusetts, that built-in wiggle room allows a district to deviate from the 39,683, in either direction, by 1,984 people—meaning a district may actually have a maximum of 41,667 residents or a minimum of 37,699.
But five state legislative districts in Massachusetts meet that minimum number only because they contain prisons, the PPI report points out. They include the 37th Middlesex district of Democratic Rep. Jennifer Benson, which would not meet the minimum had the 2000 Census not counted the 3,013 prisoners at Fort Devens and three state prisons (one of which, MCI Lancaster, was closed after the district was drawn). Similarly, the 9th Norfolk district of Republican Rep. Richard Ross only meets that threshold because of the 2,596 people who were in its four state prisons at the time it was drawn.
In addition, the 3rd Suffolk district of Democrat Aaron Michlewitz (previously represented by former House Speaker Sal DiMasi, indicted earlier this year on federal corruption charges) counts more than 1,500 Suffolk County House of Corrections inmates in its population total. Without those inmates, the PPI report found, the district would in fact be more than 8 percent smaller than the state’s average district. And the 14th Worcester district, represented by Democrat James O’Day, only meets the minimum because of prisoners at the Worcester County House of Correction.
Locally, the 7th Hampden district of Rep. Tom Petrolati, a Democrat and speaker pro tempore of the House, contains 38,144 people. But 1,660 of those people were counted at the Hampden County House of Corrections in Ludlow; without them, the population would fall to 36,484—again, below the legally required minimum. “The actual population of this district is more than 8 percent smaller than the average district in the state, giving every group of 92 residents in Ludlow and some of the surrounding areas as much political power as 100 residents elsewhere in the state,” the PPI researchers wrote.
A number of inmates at the Ludlow jail—those awaiting trial, and those there for misdemeanors—do, in fact, have the right to vote. But for the most part, “they are credited to the wrong district,” Wagner said, with the exception of those who also happen to be residents of the 7th Hampden district. The rest must vote by absentee ballot in the district where they previously lived.
“The folks in the Hampden County House of Correction [who have the right to vote] are being represented and are voting in other districts, but their presence in the data used to draw the districts enhances the weight of a vote cast by the actual residents of Rep. Petrolati’s district,” Wagner went on. “That ends up turning the concepts of ‘One Person, One Vote,’ and of basing districts on common communities of interest, on their heads.”
Four of the five legislators whose districts benefit from the Census practice—Benson, Ross, Michlewitz and O’Day—were not in the Legislature when the districts were last redrawn, in 2001. (Petrolati was, and, in fact, served as chairman of the House’s redistricting committee, under then-Speaker Tom Finneran. In 2005, Finneran was indicted on federal charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, for allegedly lying about intervening in the redistricting plan to protect certain incumbents. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice, and received 18 months probation and a $25,000 fine. Petrolati, a Finneran lieutenant, was questioned by investigators but not charged. He did not respond to an interview request from the Advocate.)
Benson, the Middlesex legislator, told the Advocate she didn’t know about the Census’ policy for counting prisoners when she ran for the office, “and was surprised to discover it. …
“I agree that counting prisoners as residents of the towns in which they are incarcerated is counterproductive and that our democracy is based on one man, one vote. [T]herefore equal representation is essential to upholding this belief,” Benson said.
While Massachusetts does not present the extreme cases seen next door in New York, “this small and seemingly benign thing actually affects how our democracy runs,” said report co-author Elena Lavarreda. The imbalance of power created by the census policy hurts all Massachusetts districts without prisons, but it especially hurts the urban areas where prisoners disproportionately come from, Lavarreda added.
For instance, while Boston accounts for 9.1 percent of Massachusetts’ total population, according to 2008 figures from the Mass. Department of Corrections, 15 percent of new court commitments to state prisons reported home addresses in that city. Springfield, meanwhile, accounts for 2.3 percent of the state’s total population, but 9 percent of its state prison population. Holyoke accounts for just 0.6 percent of the state population, but 2 percent of its state prisoners.
“[H]eavily minority urban districts would be entitled to additional representation if prisoners were counted as residents of their home communities for purposes of redistricting,” the PPI researchers wrote.
The U.S. Census Bureau will conduct its next decennial population count in 2010. And it will continue its practice of counting prisoners in their prisons, not their hometowns—this despite the advocacy work of PPI, as well as a 2006 report commissioned by the Census Bureau from the National Academies’ National Research Council. That report—titled “Once, Only Once, and in the Right Place: Residence Rules in the Decennial Census”— described the bureau’s guidelines for determining residency for prisoners and certain other populations as too complicated, and urged the agency to improve that methodology in advance of next year’s count.
Those changes, however, have not happened. Rather, the Census Bureau has been entangled in other matters, including a stand-off with Congressional Republicans who stalled the confirmation of President Obama’s pick to lead the agency, Robert Groves; problems with the effectiveness of new hand-held computers used by canvassers; and the public relations nightmare caused by the agency’s (now-severed) relationship with the controversial community organizing group ACORN.
“The Census is a big bureaucracy, and big bureaucracies are hard to change,” said Lavarreda, adding that she believes many individuals within the Bureau do see the problem created by the current policy. With the next census just around the corner, political leaders are increasingly talking about the importance of getting an accurate population count (including in western Mass., where, it’s feared, population shifts could result in the loss of a Congressional seat). The Census Bureau’s “miscount” of prisoners only adds to those concerns about the count’s accuracy, Lavarreda said.
“The Census Bureau is averse to change,” added Wright, the Demos attorney. “It’s an institution that does very long-term planning for the work it does”; to make any changes to that system “takes a lot of momentum, a lot of impetus.”
Last week, the Advocate contacted the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office seeking a response to the PPI report. At deadline, the office had yet to respond to that interview request.”
By failing to address the prison issue in time for the 2010 count, the Census squandered an important opportunity, PPI contends. But in the absence of reform on the federal level, state and local governments can still address the problem, the organization points out.
While the U.S. Constitution mandates the decennial census, that document only requires that the numbers be used to draw Congressional districts. Over time, states, for the sake of convenience, have come to use the federal census numbers for drawing their own legislative districts, but they are not required to; Massachusetts, for instance, conducted its own census every 10 years from 1855 to 1975. If states conducted their own censuses, PPI suggests, they could ensure that prisoners are counted at their pre-incarceration addresses, and then use those results to draw legislative districts.
“The irony is the legislators who benefit from this [existing policy] is a very small list,” Wagner noted. “Everyone else loses in some way—some more than others.” Still, he said, there appears to be little momentum in the Legislature for addressing the issue, perhaps because some legislators aren’t even aware of its implications.
Fixes can also take place at the local level. In Anamosa, Iowa, citizens addressed the imbalance of power caused by the local state prison through a referendum that changed how city councilors are elected. Starting with next month’s election, instead of electing councilors from each of four wards—including Danny Young’s, where more than 90 percent of his “constituents” are disenfranchised prisoners—all members will be elected at-large.
Closer to home, the Worcester County city of Gardner opted not to count inmates at North Central Correctional Institution at Gardner when redrawing its City Council districts in 2001 to avoid granting too much political influence to the part of the city where the facility is located.
While PPI applauds efforts like those in Anamosa and Gardner, ultimately, Wagner said, “The ideal place to change this is at the Census Bureau.”
The Bureau, he went on, applies a “usual residence rule” to determine where to count a particular individual. In the words of the Census Bureau: “Usual residence has been defined as the place where the person lives and sleeps most of the time”—meaning, for instance, that a person who is on vacation the day of the census would nonetheless be counted at his or her home.
A person’s “usual residence,” according to the Census Bureau, “is not necessarily the same as the person’s voting residence or legal residence.” College students who do not live at home, for instance, are counted at their college housing, even if their parents’ home is their legal residence.
Like college students counted at their dorms, not their parents’ houses, prisoners also “live and sleep most of the time” at their prison, not their previous home. But, PPI points out, there’s a key difference. Unlike college students, people in prison are not there voluntarily. “Students are welcome and encouraged to purchase local goods and services and to rent apartments in town,” the group noted in a related report. “They can register to vote in the community and may decide to stay after graduation. … For the duration of their time at the college, the college is the place they willingly live: that’s the very definition of residence.”
The Census’ decision to count prisoners within prison districts, Wright said, is “based on a fiction that prisoners who can’t vote and are not a permanent part of the community should be treated as though they are”—at least for the purposes of drawing legislative districts. Interestingly, she noted, in other legal matters, such as marriage and divorce laws, prisoners are considered residents of the communities where they lived before they were locked up. Indeed, before incarcerated felons were denied the vote in 2000, courts had ruled against prisoners who wanted to vote in the towns where their prisons were located, saying instead that they must vote in their home communities, by absentee ballot.
The Prison Policy Initiative suggests some ways the Census Bureau could change how it counts prisoners: it could allow prisoners to respond with their pre-incarceration addresses, or use prison records to determine those addresses. The Bureau has made similar adaptations for other populations in the past, PPI notes.
The U.S. Census Bureau, Wagner noted, needs individual states to rely on its figures for their redistricting efforts; if states started conducting their own counts, it would, no doubt, hurt the federal bureau’s funding. Like any business, the Census should view the states as clients, and the states should exercise the client’s right to demand a good product—in this case, fair and accurate population figures. “Part of the incentive to fix this,” Wagner said, “is the aggrieved party is every single person who does not live immediately adjacent to a prison.”
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2009/10/08/the-prison-town-advantage/
|
en
| 2009-10-08T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/26d8f21475677446cd55fd3e0bce9be4482a5f8ee813ab82a7e9bbf3ca3ae5ca.json
|
[
"Jack Brown"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:13 | null | 2016-08-22T16:17:31 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F22%2Fno-kidding%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/32000250stilllaika00021467830564.jpg
|
en
| null |
These New Kid Flicks Aren't Just For Kids
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
LAIKA / Focus Features—2016 LAIKA, Inc / Focus Features3200.0250.still.laika.0002 Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) faces off against the vengeful Moon King in animation studio LAIKA’s epic action-adventure KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Laika Studios/Focus Features
No Kidding
One of the great myths of cinema is that kids movies are for kids. Sure, they might be a bit more brightly colored than most, or hit most of their punch lines a little more on the nose, but never forget that these films are made by grown-ups. Peel back that sweet outer layer, and very often you’ll find a richer, more complex flavor just beneath the surface.
This week, a small army of “kid’s movies” land on area screens, bringing with them not just an opportunity to escape the August heat for an hour or two, but also the chance to head out with a young companion and marvel at the magic that lets two people sit side by side in the dark, watching the same screen but seeing different movies. That is the real magic of cinema – the air conditioning is just a delicious bonus.
To kick off the weekend, Cinemark theaters play Kubo and the Two Strings, an animated tale set in an ancient imagined Japan. In it, the young boy Kubo — street performer by day and caretaker for his tired mother at night — accidentally calls up a vengeful spirit from the past. Forced to flee, he finds companionship with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) as he embarks on a journey to uncover the truth of his heritage.
Director Travis Knight spent some time in Japan as a boy himself — his father Phil Knight co-founded the shoe company Nike and traveled a fair bit on business — and fell in love early on with the artistic aesthetic of the land. With Kubo, he brings Japanese traditions, in particular woodblock printing, to the screen, borrowing the limited but bold color palettes and rough textures of the traditional form and translating them to a stop-motion world. The result is a stylistic achievement that can only come from a deep love of a culture. How else do you explain the fact that Knight took 19 months, and a quarter of a million laser-cut paper leaves, to shoot a long sequence on Kubo’s boat?
Also at Cinemark, in a 10 a.m. Saturday show, is Welcome to Monster High, a one-day only event that brings a popular toy line to the big screen. Garrett Sander’s line of fashion dolls, created in 2010, came with a twist: all the dolls were imagined versions of the children of popular monsters, giving us “Draculaura” and “Frankie Stein,” among others. In a post-Twilight, post-Walking Dead world, Sander has proved to have a hit on his hands. And while you can say what you will about the staying power of the stories — time will tell — they have found a home with a large swath of tweens who feel like they don’t fit in to the “normal” world around them.
And that’s not all. At Amherst Cinema, Landfill Harmonic (get it?) screens Thursday at 7 p.m., telling the tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan musical group made up of young people that live next to one of South America’s largest landfills. Their instruments are made entirely from scavenged garbage. But when their story hits the internet, the group suddenly finds itself booked into sold out concert halls.
Amherst Cinema also screens Hayao Miyazaki’s classic Princess Mononoke, which spins a story of encroaching change brought to the edge of the forest by the human-led Iron Town. And finally, the wonderful Cinema Northampton group continues its free film series with an August 31 showing of The Muppet Movie at 8 p.m. on the Forbes Library Lawn in Northampton. A muppet movie needs no synopsis — just get out into the late summer night, spread out a blanket, and enjoy it.
Also this week: The Brattleboro Film Festival teams with Northern Routes Film Collaborative to bring the Summer Cinema Slam back to the area, offering an intoxicating mix of locally-made films, music, and beverages along the Vermont/Massachusetts border. Spanning both indoor and outdoor offerings, the Slam will bring filmmakers in for Q&A sessions following the films before sending guests out to grab a beer and a free ice cream courtesy of the organizers. A reminder: the 2015 event was a sell-out show, so if you’re on the fence, it might pay to act fast. For more info and a full schedule of the films to be shown, go to brattleborofilmfestival.org and click on Special Events. The mini-fest will run on Saturday August 27 from 5:30 to 11 p.m.
Jack Brown can be reached at [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/22/no-kidding/
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/d18ee8468b13058db26d936b8636706734689a6cc7c070ee3de75347e17bd395.json
|
[
"Gary Carra"
] | 2016-08-26T22:47:11 | null | 2016-08-26T21:00:14 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2Fnightcrawler-eric-gaffney-plays-free-sunday-show-florence%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/eric-gaffney-live-march-31-2007-at-webster-hall-in-nyc-photo-by-jeremy-arambulo.jpg
|
en
| null |
Nightcrawler: Eric Gaffney Plays Free Saturday Show in Florence
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
Seba-(no)-dough Show
Eric Gaffney says sayonara to summer with free Florence show
Sebadoh co-founder Eric Gaffney rounds out the Acoustic Saturday Summer Series at JJ’s Tavern in Florence this Saturday, Aug. 27. “I recorded two full-length records in a six month period this same time last year,” Gaffney told the Crawler. “They gathered some favorable reviews, but lately I’ve been playing more solo gigs like this JJ’s one. In fact, I also played Cultural Chaos this summer, literally playing and singing through a cube in the middle of Cottage Street after a thunderstorm left.”
Gaffney can assure a more eco-friendly experience this Saturday, as his indoor event at JJ’s is, of course, climate controlled. It also couldn’t be more eco-nomical, too, as all Acoustic Saturdays shows are sans cover charge.
The performance is slated to run from 6-9 p.m.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 06071, or email [email protected].
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/26/nightcrawler-eric-gaffney-plays-free-sunday-show-florence/
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/dd2ea0628a6fa323139c259ef205ca53d99c387b28cee18c3ffdccf8dcd49e29.json
|
[
"Advocate Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T20:48:36 | null | 2016-08-29T19:45:21 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fvalleyadvocate.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Fva35-artsculture-2016%2F.json
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VA35-ArtsCulture-2016.jpg
|
en
| null |
VA35-ArtsCulture-2016
| null | null |
valleyadvocate.com
|
—
Food and Family, A Stone’s Throw Away
Community is everything at the Stone Soul Festival in Springfield, a celebration that began in 1989 as a Mason Square neighborhood picnic. Since then, it’s evolved into a three-day event that its organizers claim is New England’s largest African-American festival. Family activities and entertainment abound – including live gospel, jazz, R&B, and dance – but the fest also provides an opportunity for minority businesses to display their wares and crafts. The fun culminates on Sunday with “Praise In The Park” beginning at 10 a.m. followed by the Stone Soul Picnic 1 p.m. (seniors and children eat free). Hard to think of better fare for sun-lit outdoor afternoons than plates of chicken, barbecue beans, cole slaw, and fall-off-the-bone ribs.
Stone Soul runs thoughout the year as a nonprofit, hosting job fairs and various community services, but this is the annual event that makes it all worth it, with thousands attending each year. It’s a regional tradition for all ethnicities and faiths, and in a 123-acre park full of picnic tables, tennis courts, and open space, everyone is welcome to come catch up, meet each other, spread out, relax, and give thanks. Chairs and blankets encouraged.
Stone Soul Festival: Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 9 a.m., and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Free. Blunt Park, Roosevelt Avenue, Springfield. (413) 636-3881, stonesoulfestival.com.
— Hunter Styles, [email protected]
Related Posts
|
http://valleyadvocate.com/2016/08/29/va35-artsculture-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
valleyadvocate.com/e5aee038925e642d56d91937509972c3c3fb984546e311aa06ea84525056532b.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:57:40 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:53 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fsecretary-state-mobile%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/favicon.ico
|
en
| null |
Secretary of State Mobile
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
•August 24, 2016•
Secretary of State Jesse White, in cooperation with Sullivan Library, is offering drivers a chance to renew their driver’s license or vehicle registration renewal sticker, obtain a duplicate or corrected license, or obtain an Illinois identification card. White’s mobile unit will be available at the Sullivan Library, located at 2 West Water in Sullivan, on 10 a.m.-2 p.m. September 22.
An applicant renewing a current Illinois driver’s license or identification card need only present a current valid driver’s license or identification card. If the applicant is applying for either a duplicate or corrected driver’s license or identification card, the applicant must present two forms of identification. To find out what documents are considered acceptable identification, call 217-782-7044 or visit the Illinois Secretary of States website at:
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_x173.pdf.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/secretary-state-mobile/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/410d490597122a387883ca5eb095d7dd940ec01d817061a5a8ef1b89c657c42e.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:21 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:39 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fannual-singin-tabernacle-sept-17%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/favicon.ico
|
en
| null |
Annual “Singin in the Tabernacle Sept. 17
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
•August 24, 2016•
The second annual “Singin in the Tabernacle” is September 17 at the Cowden Free Methodist Church Camp.
The concert begins at 10 a.m. with a break for a catered lunch and then resume until concluding at 3:30 p.m.
The Chosen Ones from Manchester Ill., the Lesters of St. Louis, Mo. and Final Authority from Missouri are performing.
Advanced tickets are necessary because of the catered lunch. For ticket information call 217-433-1014. Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/annual-singin-tabernacle-sept-17/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/872f54d5446a449e30dc8b935f915b258bb9788286b7c533ae18cad62c9029fb.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:55:48 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:53 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fsullivan-golf-scores-win%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/favicon.ico
|
en
| null |
Sullivan Golf Scores Win
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
Send to Email Address
Your Name
Your Email Address
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
|
http://newsprogress.com/sullivan-golf-scores-win/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/eea64c5fd177eee24bfddb00508cef698a0138a6d6f68163d4426289c9eb44bb.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:56:16 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:59 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fthinking-health-drug-prices-keep-rising-no-end-sight%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/TrudyLieberman-Photo-150x150.jpg
|
en
| null |
Thinking About Health: Drug Prices Keep Rising With No End in Sight
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
•August 24, 2016•
By Trudy Lieberman
Rural Health News Service
Recently a tweet from Lauren Sausser, a fine health reporter I know in South Carolina, caught my eye. “Crazy drug prices became personal. My dad will start Keytruda regimen on Friday, $15,000 per infusion, once every three weeks indefinitely.” The high cost of pharmaceuticals had hit home!
Her 61-year-old father, Jim McCallister, who lives in Spartanburg, S.C., had been diagnosed with a melanoma discovered during a routine skin exam a few weeks earlier. It had spread to his lungs. Doctors recommended the drug which uses the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells and has showed promise in treating aggressive melanomas.
McCallister’s employer-provided insurance is paying for most of his treatment, and the family is looking into Merck’s co-pay program. In the meantime, McCallister faces several thousand dollars of out-of-pocket costs.
McCallister may be lucky cost-wise. But the fact remains: Somebody is paying for the high cost of Keytruda and other new drugs coming on the market. Sausser said her dad asked if insurance would cover the drug. “The doctor told him they would find some way.”
That’s the nub of the dilemma. For many such as McCallister, there may be help, often from the drug companies themselves in the form of patient assistance plans. Remember drug company AstraZeneca’s ads for some of its costly drugs: “AstraZeneca may be able to help”? Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/thinking-health-drug-prices-keep-rising-no-end-sight/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/b9dd62b972ac9f564d8a051818671f3c957e102f4f19db6f3061818da11b438f.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:48 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:43 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fblend-old-young-st-isidore%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Father-Steve_0503.jpg
|
en
| null |
Blend of Old and Young for St. Isidore
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
•August 24, 2016•
by Mike Brothers
St. Isidore Catholic Church, one of the oldest parishes in the area, has one of the youngest priests in the Springfield diocese.
The rural Bethany parish established in 1864 welcomed Father Steve Arisman to his first assignment as a priest from the bishop of the Springfield diocese recently.
Father Arisman at 35, serves St. Isidore, Holy Family in Mt. Zion, is chaplain at St. Teresa High School and for all scouting programs within the 28 counties of the Springfield diocese. Arisman is also one of four assistants assigned to travel with the bishop while visiting parishes within the diocese.
“I had only been here for two weeks when the McCabe family invited me to their family reunion,” Father Steve said, noting that early acceptance into the church family was a gift.
“When I had spoken with other visiting priests who have served St. Isidore, they said everyone sings there,” he recalled, noting each would have been honored to receive his assignment. Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/blend-old-young-st-isidore/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/3b719560fd2f9e2975e8d61182e608c3b207f4bf0ac3e395c07bd87b49ee8fc6.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:38 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:39 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fobituaries-8-24-2016-madonna-phillips%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/favicon.ico
|
en
| null |
Obituaries 8-24-2016: MaDonna Phillips
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
MaDonna Phillips
MaDonna Dean Phillips, 66, of Effingham died at 9 a.m. Wednesday, August 17, 2016 in her home.
Funeral services for the former Arthur resident were held at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19 in McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Burial was in Penn Township Cemetery in Moweaqua. Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/obituaries-8-24-2016-madonna-phillips/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/179b023afcfd644d2c113cb23fc6e3d8f017131136410305ce203c750f91b6e1.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:53 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:59 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fobituaries-8-24-2016-ruby-elzy%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Elzy-Ruby-150x150.jpg
|
en
| null |
Obituaries 8-24-2016: Ruby Elzy
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
Ruby Elzy
Ruby Irene West Elzy, 90, formerly of Bruce and Sullivan died August 19, 2016, in Austin, Texas.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, August 27 in McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Visitation will be held 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Friday, August 26 in the funeral home in Sullivan. Burial will be in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/obituaries-8-24-2016-ruby-elzy/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/d76f7d490e5338a1fd3829dc1c4c949bf10f68cf4bfaba2d4e723a5a85019dac.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T13:00:21 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:51 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fobituaries-8-24-2016-randy-newberry%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/favicon.ico
|
en
| null |
Obituaries 8-24-2016: Randy Newberry
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
Randy Newberry
Randy Dale Newberry, 55, of Lovington died at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, August 17, 2016 in St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur.
Per Randy’s wishes no services will be held. Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/obituaries-8-24-2016-randy-newberry/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/0820cf41ad59aa42576c6848a116dc62513acb519c30fde7a8ed1f9a90bbad61.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T12:57:16 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:48 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fov-golf-team-tops-villa-grove%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/favicon.ico
|
en
| null |
OV Golf Team Tops Villa Grove
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
•August 24, 2016•
Okaw Valley High School golf team’s 181 was enough to best Villa Grove’s 187 at Eagle Creek August 18.
Medalists were Okaw Valley’s Austin Harshman with a 43 and Jackson Vandeventer’s 43 for Villa Grove. Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/ov-golf-team-tops-villa-grove/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/c2a189b0f099ab54681b878af47852778281125e7ee61b7e6994d08ef91575c1.json
|
[] | 2016-08-26T16:58:22 | null | 2016-08-24T12:00:53 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnewsprogress.com%2Fremember-8-24-2016%2F.json
|
http://newsprogress.com/favicon.ico
|
en
| null |
Remember When? 8-24-2016
| null | null |
newsprogress.com
|
Compiled by Bekki Ferguson-Stevens
25 Years Ago This Week
Just flipping through I found this little bit. Workers from Union Pacific Railroad are repairing switches and ties and doing general maintenance work this week at the Jackson Street crossing in Sullivan. During the project traffic has been detoured to the south. Anyone around Sullivan last week will enjoy this little bit as I’m sure we all did the detour at least once.
Donald Ferguson, central office switching technician for GTE (General Telephone Electronics) in Sullivan, will retire Sept. 30 after 30 years of service.
John Woerner has joined Dave Vance at Ag Answers in Sullivan as a new agronomist.
Deneen Frye of Sullivan recently passed her state certification exam to be licensed as a veterinary technician. She graduated in May from Parkland College in Champaign with an associate degree in veterinary technology. Frye is employed by the Kaskaskia Valley Animal Hospital in Sullivan.
Jesse Carlock, 15, of rural Sullivan accomplished his first solo flight in a glider Aug. 11 at Moweaqua. The son of Kenneth and Deanna Carlock, he is a member of the Decatur Civil Air Patrol Unit and returned home Aug. 3 after spending two weeks with the unit the Experimental Airplane Assn. Fly-In and Air Show in Oshkosh, Wis. Warlock is a sophomore at Sullivan High School. Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.
Share this: Email
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Tumblr
Reddit
|
http://newsprogress.com/remember-8-24-2016/
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
newsprogress.com/3eb72efc7d20edc063ebd3fd176935ad8de16c4302b39061f47d51dae3225d87.json
|
[
"Blaze Fugina",
"Blaze Fugina Is The Sports Editor At The Pierce County Herald. Before Working At The Herald",
"Blaze Was A Sports Reporter At The Alexandria Echo Press For One Year",
"Months. He Graduated The University Of Wisconsin-River Falls In May Of You Can Follow Blaze On Twitter At",
"On Aug",
"At P.M."
] | 2016-08-26T12:57:30 | null | 2016-08-25T14:43:17 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school%2F4101664-volleyball-prescott-continues-high-expectations.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/default/files/styles/square_300/public/field/image/082416.SP_.PCH_.PrescottPractice1.jpg?itok=8AcaluxF
|
en
| null |
Volleyball: Prescott continues high expectations
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
Katie Miller (left) and Maddie Groskopf both jump to block a ball during a practice last week at Prescott Middle School. (Herald photo by Blaze Fugina)
A large class of departing seniors from last year’s Prescott volleyball team has not discouraged the Cardinals from setting big goals once again for the Middle Border Conference season.
The Cardinals won a conference title in 2015, finishing 7-0 in MBC play. They made a postseason run to the regional finals last October where they lost in five sets to Altoona. Head coach Patti Tulip said the 2015 class of seniors is the largest in her time with the program.
The class of seniors included three All-Conference award winners: MBC Player of the Year Lily Weiser, Second Team All-Conference Gabby Janovec and All-Conference Honorable Mention Alexis Maxwell.
But the Cardinals are confident in the depth they have returning this year, including First Team All-Conference player Bekah Miller.
“We played together basically our whole lives, so it was a very familiar feeling when we were all on the court together,” said Miller about the seniors who graduated last year. “But I think we have a lot of great depth this year, and I think we are going to be very competitive in our conference.”
Tulip said the Cardinals will have new starters at almost every position this year, with perhaps the hitters having the most returning experience. The Cardinals graduated their starting setter and libero from last season. Haley Miner and Allie Murphy are expected to play setter this season while Cassie Janovec will become the new libero.
The Cardinals are not backing down from their roster turnover, instead saying it is motivation for the upcoming season.
“We’re still setting our expectations high,” Tulip said. “A lot of people think that this is a rebuilding year, so these guys deep down really want the conference (title). They are going to have to work for it.”
The Cardinals had plenty of opportunities to work together over the summer in preparation for the start of the season. The team went camping, played in a summer league at River Falls and scheduled some open gym time. They also played in two offseason tournaments, including one in Altoona earlier this month where both the varsity and junior varsity teams finished in first place.
“I think that really helped bring us together,” said Janovec about the offseason work. “We know each other’s personalities better now, so then we can work better on a court together. And we got more playing time on the court, which is good.”
Tulip estimated the Cardinals and Baldwin-Woodville are the two teams in the MBC who lost the most starters from last season. She expects Osceola and New Richmond to be among the strongest teams in the conference, with Ellsworth and Somerset also returning a lot of varsity experience.
Plus, the Cardinals are still confident they have the talent required to compete for a third straight MBC title.
“Our bench was really deep (last season),” Katie Miller said. “So I think we’re going to adjust easily. We’re looking pretty good right now.”
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sports/high-school/4101664-volleyball-prescott-continues-high-expectations
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/7a4a2aab5300ef868f51616310d1454549a71f9b9f2431a9fdeaad2aa5f31f5f.json
|
[
"Lorna Ross",
"Today",
"At A.M."
] | 2016-08-27T14:50:08 | null | 2016-08-27T09:01:01 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fnews%2Fgovernment%2F4102354-rabbits-need-rules-too.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/all/themes/piercecountyherald_theme/images/touch-icon.png
|
en
| null |
Rabbits need rules too
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
A public hearing was held before the regular Elmwood village board meeting Aug. 15 to discuss an ordinance change concerning the number of rabbits that can be kept for educational purposes or 4-H projects.
Village board trustee Dolores Radtke detailed a resident’s request for an increase in the number of rabbits allowed.
“Currently the ordinance allows a maximum of four rabbits per household,” Radtke said. “The case that was brought to the board’s attention is for a 4-H project and is in need for that number to be increased.”
Village clerk Amy Wayne said the project has to do with breeding.
“This change would increase the number of rabbits for a temporary time frame,” Wayne said.
After comments, questions and concerns were considered, the board unanimously voted to change the ordinance to allow for a “reasonable and temporary” increase in the number of rabbits allowed per household for educational and/or 4-H projects.
Applicants will pay a $5 fee and fill out a form detailing the County Fair’s involvement, dates of events and other necessary information.
Susan Pelzel and jamie Reitz were appointed to the Nursing Home Board.
A picnic license for the Elmwood Fire Department was approved.
Eight temporary operator’s licenses for an Elmwood Fire Department fundraising event Sept. 10 were approved: Travis Hartung, Mike Baker, Rob Bowen, Tom Joyce, Dave Sundquist, Adrienne Sundquist, Tony Kannel and Corey Bowen.
The board voted to deny an operator’s license for Andrea K. Prinsen (Sandbar) because the form was not filled out completely. Prinsen will be given another opportunity to resubmit the request.
Police Chief Mike Schaffer reported a total of 30 calls for service/complaints in July: 10 were traffic violations, seven were ordinance violations and five were open-line 911 calls.
Trustee Neil Boltik provided a solid report for the nursing home.
“Inside remodeling is being done; a marketing team is doing a great job with the project,” Boltik said. “Oak Street is being resurfaced and private rooms are being renovated because that’s the draw right now.”
The nursing home budget is based on 30 occupants; as of July 31 there were 28.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/news/government/4102354-rabbits-need-rules-too
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/8564f8091a861b89700dc571429917bac8a40aa12e8adf103ec076f36e11eb23.json
|
[
"On Aug",
"At A.M."
] | 2016-08-26T12:57:55 | null | 2016-08-25T09:56:30 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fnews%2Fregion%2F4101404-wisconsin-roundup-meth-related-inmates-outpace-owi-eau-claire-man-court-dog.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/all/themes/piercecountyherald_theme/images/touch-icon.png
|
en
| null |
Wisconsin roundup: Meth-related inmates outpace OWI in Eau Claire; man in court on dog-dragging charges; seven more state news stories
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
EAU CLAIRE -- For the first time, there are more people in the Eau Claire County jail because of methamphetamine than drunk driving.
WQOW- TV says the percentage of the Eau Claire jail's bed days for OWI dropped from 29-percent to 14-percent during the past five years -- while methamphetamine arrests and convictions grew from 2 percent of the jail population to 21-percent.
Eau Claire Police arrested only 10 people for meth possession in 2010, but they expect to arrest 300 this year. Police say they've become more effective in identifying methamphetamine suspects -- and how the drug has become an underlying factor in crime in general.
--
Not guilty pleas in dog-dragging case
CRANDNO -- A judge has entered not guilty pleas for a 75-year-old northeast Wisconsin man accused of dragging his dog with his car.
James Merschdorf of Wabeno stood mute during his first court appearance Wednesday on Forest County misdemeanor charges of animal mistreatment, and leading an animal with a car. He's due back in court Sept. 28 for pretrial matters.
According to prosecutors, Merschdorf claimed he didn't know he was dragging his 6-year-old beagle Josephine until he stopped at a gas station on June 29. Officials say the dog was tied to a mirror on the car's passenger side, and a veterinarian said the pet had "major road rash" on the right half of its body.
--
Key defense court filing in Avery appeal due Monday
Steven Avery's new lawyer has until Monday to file her first legal request in an appeal of Avery's conviction for the 2005 rape, burning, and shooting death of Teresa Halbach.
Kathleen Zellner has told the New York Times she would ask the Wisconsin Appeals Court for DNA evidence gathered at the crime scene, so she can do tests that were not possible during Avery's original trial. Zellner signed on to the appeal in the wake of last year's Netflix series "Making a Murderer," which raised questions about Avery's guilt.
The 54-year-old Avery is serving a life prison sentence for the crime, and Zellner has tweeted for months that she'll produce strong evidence that will free Avery -- who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he never committed before being released more than two years before the Halbach murder. On Aug. 12, a federal court in Milwaukee overturned the conviction of Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey for the same crime.
--
Driver killed in Manitowoc Speedway crash
MANITOWOC -- A 27-year-old man has died in a crash during a heat race at the Manitowoc Speedway.
It happened Wednesday night during the Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Racing event at the county fair. Police say the driver from Manitowoc County slammed into an infield guardrail. EMTs immediately tended to him and the car's roof was removed to extricate him. He died later at a hospital.
No one else was hurt, although there were track staffers close by in the infield area -- and the race was stopped for about 45 minutes so repairs could be made on the track. An autopsy is scheduled Thursday for the driver, whose name was not immediately released.
--
Prior complaint filed against officer in Milwaukee shooting
MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee police officer who shot and killed an armed suspect this month is also accused of unreasonable force against another man in mid April.
Thirty-year-old Ronnie Martin filed a damage claim for more than $1 million against the city, just two days before Officer Dominique Heaggan shot and killed Sylville Smith on Aug. 13, which spurred two days of violence.
Media reports say Martin was a passenger in a car that pulled up to a gas station April 15 -- and while the driver was using a restroom, Martin says Heaggan and officer Peter Hauser accused him of having drugs. He denied it and said he ran off before the officers caught him, threw him to the ground, and used a Taser stun gun on him. Martin also filed a complaint with the city's Fire and Police Commission, and the city attorney's office says it's reviewing the damage claim.
--
Wisconsin astronaut breaks record for most time in space
An astronaut from northwest Wisconsin set a new U.S. record for the most time spent in space.
Jeffrey Williams of Winter logged his 520th career day in orbit Wednesday, breaking the old mark set by Scott Kelly. Williams and two Russian cosmonauts have been orbiting the earth since mid March in the International Space Station, conducting numerous experiments in a weightless environment.
They're due to return Sept. 5, when the 58-year-old Williams will have logged 534 total days -- mostly in four long journeys on the International Space Station. NASA celebrated Williams' accomplishment by posting photo highlights of his missions on the agency's Tumblr social media page -- but Williams may not hold the record for long, as Peggy Whitson has logged 377 days in orbit, and she plans to begin a six month mission in November.
--
VA secretary, Johnson see tighter security at Milwaukee VA hospital
MILWAUKEE – U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald was among those touring the Zablocki VA Hospital in Milwaukee, where concerns were raised about a patient's death and security lapses.
Hospital officials cited improvements during Wednesday's visit by McDonald, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, and Milwaukee House Democrat Gwen Moore. Johnson, a Wisconsin Repubican, says he agrees that the issues are being "addressed and taken seriously."
Last fall, VA Administrative Board members responded to whistleblower complaints when they managed to enter a treatment unit without being stopped -- and one month later, 26-year-old Cole Schuler died from excessive drugs in a treatment wing for substance abuse patients. New hospital director Daniel Zomchek says 30 new surveillance cameras have since been added, window handles were removed from some of the patients' rooms, and random security sweeps are now being performed.
--
Time expiring for SBA loans for late 2015 frost
ATLANTA -- Time is running out for agricultural businesses in north central Wisconsin to apply for low interest loans to help recover from a late spring bout with frost and freeze conditions last year.
The Small Business Administration says the deadline is Sept. 6 to seek Economic Injury Disaster loans resulting from sudden cold conditions last May 17 through June 6. The SBA says the loans will help those suffering financial losses to get back on their feet.
Interest rates are 2.6 percent for nonprofit groups and 4 percent for eligible small businesses with payment terms of up to 30 years. The disaster declaration was for Clark, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Portage, Price, Shawano, Taylor, Waupaca, and Wood counties.
--
Unemployment down in all but 1 state metro
MADISON -- Unemployment is down in all but one of Wisconsin's 12 metro areas.
State workforce development officials report Wednesday that nine of the 12 metros have seen their actual unadjusted jobless rates fall below 4 percent in July. They're below the statewide unadjusted rate of 4.1 percent.
Racine is the only metro that did not have a decline, and that place held steady at 5.5 percent from June to July. Madison, the home of state government, had the lowest rate at 3 percent. All but one of the state's 72 counties also had declines in their jobless rates. Racine County held steady at 5.5 percent, with other rates ranging from 3 percent in Dane County to 8.9 in Menominee County.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/news/region/4101404-wisconsin-roundup-meth-related-inmates-outpace-owi-eau-claire-man-court-dog
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/59f321656adda05ac7f125a6d6610594739105269550b465a4b109aa2d8fe8e5.json
|
[
"Naomi N. Lugo",
"Today",
"At A.M."
] | 2016-08-29T14:51:10 | null | 2016-08-29T09:09:24 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Flife%2Fevents%2F4103707-strength-community-be-documented-film.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/default/files/styles/square_300/public/field/image/082516.N.RFJ_.Triangels8.JPG?itok=GRsZhaha
|
en
| null |
The strength of a community to be documented in film
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
According to Director of Tri-Angels Fund Michelle Rinehart, 250 runners attended the event this year on Saturday, Aug. 20. (Herald photo by Naomi N. Lugo)
Young runners hold their hands over their hearts for the singing of the national anthem at the annual Tri-Angels Fun Run Saturday, Aug. 20. (Herald photo by Naomi N. Lugo)
(From left): Ally Pizzi, Ashley Nelson and Autumn Gray were all teammates on Amara Schaffhausen's soccer team and were "running for Amara" during the 5K. (Herald photo by Naomi N. Lugo)
The Tri-Angels playground opened in 2015 and was designed to be accessible by all. Elements of the park were designed to honor the three Schaffhausen girls: Amara, Sophie and Cecilia. (Herald photo by Naomi N. Lugo)
RIVER FALLS -- This year marked the fourth for the annual 5k fun run race benefitting the Tri-Angels Fund.
Participants gathered at Hoffman Park to run and show support, something that the River Falls community has greatly exemplified since the 2012 tragedy that took the lives of Schaffhausen sisters Amara, Sophie and Cecilia. According to Director of Tri-Angels Fund Michelle Rinehart, 250 runners attended the event this year.
On site with runners, volunteers and onlookers this year was a film crew.
Alms Creative, a video production company based in the St. Croix River Valley, was present at the opening of the playground last year to create a short film about the event. This year filmmaker William Alms returned to continue the work.
“My overall hope is to reveal this community's path from the darkness to the light,” said Alms, who was inspired by the community’s response to the tragic deaths of Amara, Sophie and Cecilia Schaffhausen, who were killed by their father Aaron.
The mission for the film, according to Alms, is to show River Falls as an example for other communities who have been dealt tragedy.
“When a person asks themselves the question, "What can I do?" in the wake of tragedy, my hope is that this film gives that person the courage and empowerment he or she needs to take action,” said Alms.
A portion of the funds raised at the 5k this year went to the production of the documentary aptly named “Tri-Angels.” The film is expected to be finished in summer 2017 for the viewing of the community and film festival crowds.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/life/events/4103707-strength-community-be-documented-film
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/3eabbe573d3df19ebaf01526dc96497ef271caab209b8cbd19519ed0b27d6a67.json
|
[
"Sarah Young",
"Today",
"At A.M."
] | 2016-08-30T18:52:23 | null | 2016-08-30T11:58:51 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fopinion%2Feditorials%2F4104728-editorial-aug-17-2016-small-gestures-add-big-things.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/all/themes/piercecountyherald_theme/images/touch-icon.png
|
en
| null |
EDITORIAL (Aug. 17, 2016): Small gestures add up to big things
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
The saying goes that you never know what someone’s going through and that one smile may make their whole day, lift them up. Maybe it’s a smile, a kind word, a hug or a high five.
Kim and Dave French, owners of River City Stitch in Prescott, and employee Amanda Hines didn’t think their gesture was a big deal. They had been seeing posts all over social media of children and individuals expressing their thanks to law enforcement officers by bringing cards of appreciation, cookies, muffins, etc. They wanted to join in and do something for Prescott police officers. So they did what they do best: They designed and made t-shirts for the officers, sporting a badge and a Blue Lives Matter flag/Wisconsin logo.
Then they decided to take it one step further. They contacted the Pierce County Peace Officers Benevolent Association to offer the shirts to every law enforcement officer in the county, totalling 111. PCPOBA president and Pierce County deputy Robby Jaeger said the officers and their families are grateful.
“As little as you think it is, it means a lot to us,” Jaeger told Kim French and Hines. “You have no idea what gestures like this do, not only for us, but for all our families.”
A post on the PCPOBA Facebook page July 8 in the wake of the shootings in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights and Dallas said: “Apply yourself to better the relationship in your own community! Stop and talk with people out and about that are on walks, or join a group of kids playing ball on the yard! Stop at a lemonade stand. We, the patrol men and women are responsible for how we are judged by our community. You will not be able to please every citizen but we should not let that stop us from building community trust/ respect.”
And we as citizens must recognize that these men and women put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe. As tame as Pierce County can seem compared to big cities, there is still the possibility of danger, not to mention time spent away from their families.
Pierce County officers do a great job at interacting with the community. They are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters and friends. They are not the enemy. They care about the communities they serve. While you might not feel particularly warm and fuzzy if you get pulled over for speeding, remember they’re doing their jobs, just like you have a job to do.
Thank you to all Pierce County officers for all you do. From the D.A.R.E. program to the Shop With a Cop event to your everyday patrols, thank you. And thank you to your families who send you out the door each day not knowing what could happen.
One officer said kids have been coming up to him to give him high fives and take selfies. If selfies aren’t your thing, at least tell an officer thank you today.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/opinion/editorials/4104728-editorial-aug-17-2016-small-gestures-add-big-things
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/65462eb6dcca87c403ae3627c7fd5e2ad3791db888b0b810ee9f79cbddb60ca0.json
|
[
"Sarah Young",
"Today",
"At A.M."
] | 2016-08-30T16:53:02 | null | 2016-08-30T11:09:58 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-courts%2F4104666-wisconsin-roundup-lawsuit-filed-death-sparked-tomah-va-controversy.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/all/themes/piercecountyherald_theme/images/touch-icon.png
|
en
| null |
Wisconsin roundup: Lawsuit filed in death that sparked Tomah VA controversy; alleged Dells freeway murderer pleads insanity to reduced charges; and 10 more state news stories
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
MADISON -- A wrongful death suit has been filed by the family of Jason Simcakoski, the Marine whose death sparked the controversy about the presrcibing of pain medications at the Tomah VA Medical Center.
The lawsuit says the Veterans Administration accepted responsibility for "action or inaction" that led to the death of the 35-year-old Stevens Point Marine -- but the family says the VA has "failed to follow its words with deeds," and it seeks unspecified damages. The suit was filed in federal court in Madison.
An autopsy showed that Simcakoski died from "mixed drug toxicity." The VA facility later responded by reassigning its medical director, firing its chief of staff for prescribing excessive pain medications, and creating a multi-step improvement plan at Tomah.
----
Feingold, Johnson get big help in their U.S. Senate race
Wisconsin's two major U.S. Senate candidates are getting some big time support.
Actor Robert Redford, who played a Democratic Senate hopeful in the 1972 movie "The Candidate," sent a fundraising email to Feingold supporters on Monday. And the national Super PAC "Let America Work" says it will start airing about $500,000 worth of ads for Republican incumbent Ron Johnson that focus on fighting terrorism.
A new Marquette Law School poll is due out Wednesday, and it could tell us whether more voters are tuning into the race -- something that normally happens around Labor Day. In the last Marquette poll Aug. 10, one of every five registered voters did not have an opinion of Feingold -- and one of every three voters still had no opinion of Johnson.
----
Actor Gene Wilder, Milwaukee native, dies at 83
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Wisconsin native Gene Wilder, who starred in an eclectic range of movie roles, has died.
His nephew says the 83-year-old Wilder died late Sunday at his home in Stamford, Conn. from the Alzheimer's disease he first suffered three years ago -- which he kept secret until now.
He was born in Milwaukee as Jerome Silberman in 1933 and graduated from the city's Washington High School -- and he later went to the University of Iowa, served in the Army, and performed on Broadway before his first movie role as a hostage in "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967. Wilder also starred as a nervous accountant in "The Producers," the candy man in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," and an obsessed scientist in "Young Frankenstein."
The Journal Sentinel says Wilder did want to return to Milwaukee after his father died there in 1973 -- but he came back in 1991 to be inducted into the Wisconsin Performing Arts Hall of Fame.
----
Alleged Dells freeway murderer pleads insanity to reduced charges
BARABOO -- A 21-year-old man has pleaded insanity to reduced charges in the killing of a motorist on the Interstate near Wisconsin Dells.
Sauk County prosecutors have agreed to reduce an intentional homicide charge to reckless homicide against Zachary Hays -- and he entered pleas Monday to that, plus three counts of reckless endangerment. He'll undergo a mental exam, and he still faces charges in Milwaukee and Columbia counties as part of a day-long crime spree on May 1.
Investigators say Hays shot and killed 42-year-old Gabriel Sanchez in their West Allis apartment building -- and he later drove to Wisconsin Dells where he reportedly shot at vehicles and killed passenger Tracy Czackowski while her family was heading home from the Dells to suburban Chicago. His lawyer first mentioned Hays' mental health issues several weeks after the incidents.
----
More criticism for former Wisconsinite Kaepernick
SAN FRANCISCO -- Former Wisconsinite Colin Kaepernick is getting a ton of heat for sitting during the national anthem before three exhibition football games with his San Francisco 49ers.
State Assembly Republican Jeremy Thiesfeldt went to the same church as Kaepernick's parents during the quarterback's early years in Fond du Lac -- and Thiesfeldt tells KFIZ Radio he's especially upset that Kaepernick claims to be standing up for the oppressed, when he appeared to be hardly oppressed himself.
The San Francisco police union has complained to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and 49ers CEO Jed York about what the union calls Kaepernick's "incredible lack of knowledge" about the officer involved shootings he's protesting against. Even Donald Trump has chimed in, saying Kaepernick should "find a country that works better for him" -- and the GOP White House candidate added, "Let him try, it won't happen."
----
Feingold: Clinton is "trustworthy"
MADISON -- Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Russ Feingold says his party's nominee for president is "reliable and trustworthy."
But after a campaign appearance in Madison, Feingold reaffirmed that Hillary Clinton should think about shutting down the controversial Clinton Foundation if she wins.
It's an issue in her campaign, amid reports that numerous people who met with Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state gave money to the foundation. The Clintons have challenged those reports, but Feingold says "the highest level of security" should be applied to things like that for those who serve as president.
Feingold is in his own campaign against Senate Republican Ron Johnson -- and the Democrat leads Johnson by 11 points among likely voters in the latest Marquette poll with a new one coming out Wednesday.
----
Woman pleads insanity to killing her young son
SHEBOYGAN -- A trial date of Nov. 9 is set for a Sheboygan Falls mother who reportedly claimed that "voices" caused her to kill her 2-year-old son.
Twenty-seven-year-old Katlyn Kinateder pleaded insanity Monday to first degree intentional homicide, and hiding a child's corpse. Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe DeCecco says Kinateder will have one or more psychiatric exams.
The defense wants to either move the trial, or bring in an outside jury due to heavy media coverage of the case -- and the court scheduled a hearing for Oct. 24 to give Kinateder a chance to change her plea.
Police say they had to subdue her before they found her toddler in a cardboard box wrapped in a blanket at her home earlier this month -- and reports say she might have been off her mental health medication at the time.
(Raymond Neupert, WHBL, Sheboygan)
----
Wisconsin high schools make Newsweek's top 500
Most Wisconsin public schools start fall classes Thursday, and 22 high schools have a lot to be proud of.
Whitefish Bay is the state's top selection on Newsweek's annual list of the nation's 500 best public high schools. Whitefish Bay is 61st nationally, with 95 percent of its students college bound, 99 percent graduating, and 85 percent ready for college.
The Kettle Moraine global charter school at Wales has the state's second highest listing at 130th naturally, followed by Cedarburg High at 145th. Kohler tops the list of Wisconsin schools ranked 200th through 400th followed by New Berlin Eisenhower, Greendale, Glendale Nicolet, Sussex Hamilton, Wales School for Arts, Appleton's Renaissance School for the Arts, Grafton, Williams Bay and Bay Port.
Eight state high schools are ranked 401st through 500th -- the Appleton Career Academy, De Pere, Muskego, Franklin, Marshfield, Waukesha West, Oshkosh West and Appleton North.
-----
Suspects sought in Green Bay area murder
BELLEVUE -- Sheriff's deputies in the Green Bay area have been looking for suspects in the shooting death of a 52-year-old woman.
Officers found the body of Suzette Langois outside her home in Bellevue early Monday morning. The State Crime Lab is helping deputies sort out the evidence, and rescue divers checked out a nearby stormwater holding pond to see if anything was hidden there.
Sheriff's officials say Langois was targeted by her killer -- and therefore, the neighborhood is not in danger.
At a news conference, Brown County Chief Deputy Todd Delain said his investigators wanted to talk with anyone who knows about the incident, or spoke with the victim within 24 hours of her death.
----
Beloit's ABC Supply agrees to large acquisition
BELOIT -- A large Wisconsin building supply distributor could get a lot bigger in a few months. ABC Supply of Beloit announced an agreement Monday to acquire "L" and "W" Supply, a Chicago-based supplier of steel framing, drywall, ceiling tiles and other building items.
ABC says it will be one of its largest acquisitions, but the terms were not disclosed. The company says the deal is subject to a federal antitrust review, and it's expected to be finalized by the end of ABC's fiscal year.
"L" and "W" would keep running as a separate division. It brought in $1.4 billion last year, giving ABC Supply total annual revenues of $8 billion if the deal goes through.
----
Abortions in Wisconsin drop for sixth straight year
MADISON -- The number of abortions performed in Wisconsin has dropped for the sixth straight year. That's according to the latest annual report on induced abortions released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Monday.
The report shows that there were just under 5,700 abortions in the state last year compared with 5,800 abortions in 2014. That's a drop of 140 abortions, a 2.4 percent decline. Of the 5,660 abortions last year, 214 were performed on minors. Seventy-nine percent were surgical, while 21 percent were chemically induced.
----
Libertarian White House hopeful to make first state visit
MILWAUKEE -- The Libertarian candidate for president will make his first Wisconsin visit on Thursday night.
Gary Johnson will hold a rally at Serb Hall in Milwaukee. The former two-term governor of New Mexico had 10 percent support among Wisconsin's registered voters in the last Marquette Law School poll on Aug. 10.
----
UW officials not happy with ‘Number 1 party school’ ranking
MADISON -- University of Wisconsin officials aren't happy that the flagship Madison campus is ranked first on a list of the nation's top party schools.
The ranking released Monday comes from the Princeton Review, a New York-based tutoring and test prep company that surveys thousands of students and rates colleges in a number of categories each year.
A statement from the school made no mention of the ranking, instead calling alcohol use on campus a "pressing public health concern" that hurts academic achievement and makes schools less safe. They noted that incoming students go through mandatory programs educating them about the dangers of alcohol.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/news/crime-and-courts/4104666-wisconsin-roundup-lawsuit-filed-death-sparked-tomah-va-controversy
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/b7456eaaac68b472eb2f7b8d4ac0aae7da2fc607bfcd93cabc155588e58ab640.json
|
[
"Blaze Fugina",
"Blaze Fugina Is The Sports Editor At The Pierce County Herald. Before Working At The Herald",
"Blaze Was A Sports Reporter At The Alexandria Echo Press For One Year",
"Months. He Graduated The University Of Wisconsin-River Falls In May Of You Can Follow Blaze On Twitter At",
"On Aug",
"At P.M."
] | 2016-08-26T13:00:03 | null | 2016-08-25T14:52:58 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school%2F4101688-volleyball-panthers-return-large-group-starters.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/default/files/styles/square_300/public/field/image/093015.SP_.PCH_.MacKummerFILE.JPG?itok=MVVYZbSd
|
en
| null |
Volleyball: Panthers return large group of starters
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
The Ellsworth volleyball team will have the benefit of playing with one of the most experienced rosters of returning players in the Middle Border Conference this season.
The Panthers have returned just about every starter from last year’s team that finished 3-4 in the Middle Border Conference. With a roster of more experienced players, Ellsworth likes its chances to win a few more matches.
“I think I am a lot more confident in this year,” Morgan Kummer said. “Not that I wasn’t last year, but this year I have a really good feeling about it. The energy on the team is really good, and we all click with one another. It just flows really well.”
Only three seniors graduated from last year’s team. Head coach Nicole Vande Berg mentioned two other key absences for potential returners, including Olivia Matzek who is out with an ACL injury for the second straight year and Isabel Sweere — last year’s starting setter who is not playing this year.
“We have a bunch of returners with experience, and they are used to playing together,” Vande Berg said. “And that helps. But we have a few freshmen and sophomores who have moved up, and they will make a significant impact.”
The Panthers had two players named to all-conference awards last year. Kummer was named Second Team All-Conference and Gillian Welsch was selected all-conference honorable mention.
The Panthers are trying to play more consistent volleyball after having a roller coaster season in conference play last year. They started 2-0 in the MBC last year before losing four of the final five to finish the conference season at 3-4.
A challenging end of the schedule did not help last year, but the Panthers also are working to focus on one point at a time.
“I think for us it’s just not getting in a rut,” Kummer said. “We’re fine starting off, and then once they get a couple points on us we kind of go into this hole.”
“Knowing your teammates will back you up,” added Welsch.
The Panthers are hoping the extra experience will help them grab a few more conference wins this year. With other teams graduating some key starters, the Panthers might be in good shape.
“The conference teams I know lost some key players,” Vande Berg said. “I don’t know what they have coming up, but we are one of the few that didn’t lose anything. So that should help us out.”
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sports/high-school/4101688-volleyball-panthers-return-large-group-starters
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/3fb5e8740f7eda0ff6b37cd728773c440c7894b9eeed14383cd6a3355692b93c.json
|
[
"Youssef Rddad",
"Today",
"At P.M."
] | 2016-08-29T22:50:59 | null | 2016-08-29T17:42:23 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-courts%2F4103910-new-richmond-wis-man-charged-kidnapping-two-women-afton.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/default/files/styles/square_300/public/field/image/JamesLauck.jpg?itok=49VmAiFV
|
en
| null |
New Richmond, Wis., man charged with kidnapping two women in Afton
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
A Wisconsin man is facing five felony charges for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting two women at gunpoint.
Washington County Sheriff’s deputies arrested James Lauck, 36, of New Richmond, Wis. Friday morning after responding to the 3100 block of St. Croix Trail South in downtown area of Afton. He faces five felony charges including second degree assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
Law enforcement responded to a possible hostage situation shortly after 6:45 a.m. When they arrived, two women frantically waved the deputies down and told them Lauck had been holding them at gunpoint, according to the criminal complaint filed Monday in Washington County District Court.
Lauck allegedly hit and shoved both women and cut one woman’s hair with a scissors during the incident, the complaint read.
More RiverTown Multimedia news
One of the women told law enforcement that Lauck was her ex-boyfriend and she had recently broke up with him. He had been living with her for the past month, the complaint read.
Lauck allegedly told the women that he had six bullets, which he said he’d use on them, one of the woman’s stepfather and himself. Lauck had put a gun to her head and forced the women to lay on the floor facing away from him, according to the report.
The women broke through a basement window and escaped the home after Lauck went upstairs, according to the complaint.
The incident prompted a large police response because of initial dispatch information that Lauck had a firearm.
Lauck returned to the home on his motorcycle where deputies confronted him. He reportedly ignored directives to show law enforcement his hands and told deputies to kill him, according to the complaint.
Police said they found a loaded .45 caliber handgun in Lauck’s jacket pocket, as well as duct tape and a utility knife.
According to the complaint, Lauck is also a member of a motorcycle gang.
Commander Cheri Dexter, an investigator for the department, said law enforcement are still investigating the incident.
Lauck previously served in the United States Army and the National Guard for a number of years. According to Lauck’s Facebook page, he was a squadron leader in the Army.
"We'll take everything into account, but the charges are incredibly serious," said Washington County prosecutor Kevin Mueller. "There's allegations of gang membership here, which is also significant."
A Washington County judge set Lauck's bail at $200,000 with an option for a $125,000 bail with conditions.
Court records show he has no prior felony convictions in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Lauck could face a maximum of 64 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
His next court appearance is Sept. 7.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/news/crime-and-courts/4103910-new-richmond-wis-man-charged-kidnapping-two-women-afton
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/1c2479d9c25fcb150e49edf9d9b8602811e01f148f7cdcf4313eba74d34bf904.json
|
[
"Blaze Fugina",
"Blaze Fugina Is The Sports Editor At The Pierce County Herald. Before Working At The Herald",
"Blaze Was A Sports Reporter At The Alexandria Echo Press For One Year",
"Months. He Graduated The University Of Wisconsin-River Falls In May Of You Can Follow Blaze On Twitter At",
"Today",
"At P.M."
] | 2016-08-26T20:49:37 | null | 2016-08-26T15:26:39 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school%2F4102545-sports-scoreboard-thursday-aug-25.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/all/themes/piercecountyherald_theme/images/touch-icon.png
|
en
| null |
Sports scoreboard from Thursday, Aug. 25
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
The Elmwood volleyball team won three matches at its home quadrangular on Thursday at EHS.
Elmwood started out with a 26-24, 25-21 win versus Pepin-Alma. In match two, the Raiders defeated Gilmanton 26-24, 25-20.
The longest match of the night came when Clear Lake and Elmwood played in the evening’s final round. Elmwood fell behind early in the first set, which was won by Clear Lake 25-17. But they rebounded to take a back-and-forth set two 32-30 before closing out the match 15-11.
Find out more about the quad and Elmwood’s upcoming season here.
Prescott 2-1 at SCC quad
The Prescott volleyball team won two matches at a quadrangular meet at St. Croix Central on Thursday.
Prescott defeated Greenwood and Hudson in three sets. Prescott lost set one to Greenwood 25-19 but came back to win the next to 25-14, 15-5. The Cardinals won the Hudson match 25-13, 19-25, 15-11.
St. Croix Central handed Prescott a loss at the quad. St. Croix Central won the first set 25-15 and the third set 15-12, with Prescott winning the second set 25-22.
GIRLS GOLF
Ellsworth finished third, and Prescott placed sixth at a Middle Border Conference meet at Krooked Kreek Golf Course in Osceola on Thursday.
Erica Feuerhelm led the Panthers with a fourth place overall finish and a nine-hole score of 48. Kacie Lansing finished one stroke behind her in a fifth-place tie and a score of 49. Taylor Feuerhelm and Holly Carlson tied with scores of 54 in the meet. Stella Anderson rounded out the varsity with a score of 59.
Gigi Gangi led the Prescott varsity with a score of 53. Following her as varsity scorers were Ashley Bowes with a 54, Jillian Boles with a 57 and Alexis Fredericks with a 60. Kaitlyn Buss rounded out the team with a 65.
Ellsworth finished third with a team score of 205. New Richmond was first with an 189, and Baldwin-Woodville was second at 199. Prescott placed sixth at 224.
CROSS COUNTRY
Ellsworth led Pierce County schools by placing fourth in both the boys and girls cross country races at an invitational in Boyceville on Thursday.
The Spring Valley boys team finished seventh while the Cardinals’ girls team also placed ninth. The Elmwood-Plum City girls team finished in seventh place.
Elmwood-Plum City junior Kassye Todd returned to her competitive form, winning the girls varsity race with a time of 21:33. Emily Pickerign finished 12th overall for E-PC in 23:24, and Josie Tiffany was 19th in 24:01.
Ellsworth had two girls run to top-10 finishes on Thursday. Junior Rachel Mancuso placed sixth with a time of 22:43, and sophomore Claire Straub was ninth in 22:54.6. Brianna O’Brien was the top Spring Valley runner after finishing the 5K with a time of 25:25.6.
Mylon Anderson, running in his first ever varsity race, led the Panthers with a sixth place overall finish and a time of 18:42. Calvin Kotval led Spring Valley with a 14th place finish in 19:26. Chad Osteen was the top E-PC boy with a time of 21:23.4.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sports/high-school/4102545-sports-scoreboard-thursday-aug-25
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/e0cff20ac98ff64bf49e57ee931deab61fec40c4813ff360a13fa49964001b67.json
|
[
"Today",
"At A.M."
] | 2016-08-26T14:49:10 | null | 2016-08-26T08:38:30 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.piercecountyherald.com%2Fnews%2Fregion%2F4102183-wisconsin-roundup-no-post-recession-relief-many-small-towns-report-says-ballots.json
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/sites/all/themes/piercecountyherald_theme/images/touch-icon.png
|
en
| null |
Wisconsin roundup: No post-recession relief in many small towns, report says; ballots could see 7 White House candidates; eight more state news stories
| null | null |
www.piercecountyherald.com
|
MADISON – A new report says many of Wisconsin's small towns still feel the effects of the Great Recession.
With an older population and more people moving to bigger cities, the state Taxpayers Alliance says half the places with fewer than 1,000 residents have yet to see any major job growth or new construction since the recession. The report says local governments have had a nearly 13 percent cut in state funds in the four years ending in 2014, while total revenues grew by just two-percent not accounting for inflation.
The tax alliance says cities have maintained their police and fire response times despite the funding cuts -- and while local debt has grown and things like snow plowing are slower, residents are still generally satisfied with their local services. The report was prepared for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, whose director Jerry Deschane also sounded an alarm for civic engagement as fewer people run for local offices.
--
Seven presidential candidates could appear on Wisconsin ballot
MADISON -- It appears that seven candidates will be on the Wisconsin ballot for president in November.
The state Elections Commission says the seven have met the qualifications necessary to make the ballot -- and the panel will take a vote on including them next Tuesday. Besides Democrat Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the ballot is expected to include Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, Green Party hopeful Jill Stein, Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party, Rocky Roque De La Fuente of the American Delta Party, and Monica Moorehead of the Workers World Party.
--
Wisconsin native 1 of 2 nuns killed in Mississippi
DURANT, Miss. -- One of two nuns found stabbed to death in Mississippi was a native of southeast Wisconsin.
The bodies of Sister Margaret Held, who grew up in Slinger, and Sister Paula Merrill were found Thursday at their home in Durant, Mississippi. Both were nurse practitioners at the Lexington Medical Clinic -- and police say they were the apparent targets of a robbery that escalated to murder. No arrests have been reported.
The 68-year-old Held represented the School Sisters of Saint Francis in Milwaukee -- and she taught at Kenosha Saint Joseph High School in the 1970s before earning her nursing degree at Creighton University in Omaha, where she served as a community health nurse before moving to Mississippi as a social worker.
--
State could tell unregistered residents how to sign up to vote
MADISON -- The state Elections Commission is scheduled to act Tuesday on a plan to tell up to 1.5 million unregistered voters how to sign up in time for the November presidential contest.
Commission staffers plan to send postcards by late September to Wisconsin adults who are not registered to vote -- and give them information on how to do it. It's part of a state law passed earlier this year in which Wisconsin joined a multi state effort to identify people who are eligible to vote but have not registered. The Electronic Registration Information Center requires states to conduct the outreach every two years before the start of October.
--
Milwaukee to get more state funds in response to violence
MILWAUKEE – Gov. Scott Walker will give Milwaukee at least $4.5 million in state funds to focus on urban problems after the Sherman Park violence almost two weeks ago.
The Republican Walker, his cabinet, and Milwaukee's mayor and county executive will announce the funding Friday at an inner city job center. The Journal Sentinel says the money will provide more job training, hiring efforts, and renovations and removals of foreclosed houses -- and state agencies will send mobile job centers to the Sherman Park area and will try to help businesses damaged by the burning and looting.
The violence was spurred by the police shooting of armed suspect Sylville Smith, and the state's help is being announced just hours before Smith's church service and burial. The aid did not have to be approved by the state Legislature, and Senate Democrat Lena Taylor of Milwaukee says minority communities badly need the help -- but she says there's still a need to improve police relations with African Americans.
--
Man dies driving in to water
STURGEON BAY -- A 65-year-old man has died after his car plunged into a shipping channel in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
A female friend and a dog escaped unharmed before the vehicle submerged into a waterway that links Lake Michigan and the Bay of Green Bay. According to police, the 55-year-old woman saw that the man was slumped at the wheel early Thursday afternoon -- and his foot was not on the gas pedal as the car went off a dock, close to where one of them had a yacht.
Rescuers searched for the man, and he was pulled out about one hour after the incident and died later at a hospital. The fatal victim was from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and his name was not immediately released.
--
Former Packers player Sharper gets 20 year sentence
NEW ORLEANS -- Darren Sharper, who helped the Green Bay Packers make it to their second straight Super Bowl in 1997, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging women and having sex with them while they were unconscious.
The 41-year-old Sharper was sentenced Thursday in Louisiana state court in cases involving three of his 16 total victims in four states. His prison term will be served at the same time as an 18 year federal sentence handed down last week, and it's also simultaneous to a nine-year term levied in Arizona while similar sentencings are still pending in Nevada and California.
Two of his victims gave statements to the judge in New Orleans Thursday, and one called Sharper a "sick individual" whom she must forgive so she can move on. Sharper was a six time NFL All Pro safety and played eight years with Green Bay, four with Minnesota, and two in New Orleans where he led the Saints to a Super Bowl title in the 2009 season.
--
Convict in fire deaths can't withdraw guilty pleas
MADISON -- A state appeals court will not give a southwest Wisconsin man a chance to withdraw his guilty pleas for helping set a fire that killed four youngsters.
Twenty-two-year-old Jeremy Wand was sentenced to life in prison with a chance for a supervised release after 35 years, for helping his older brother Armin Wand burn down a house in Argyle in 2012 where Armin's three boys and an unborn daughter died. But Jeremy Wand later said his lawyers coerced him into admitting all but one of his seven Lafayette County criminal charges.
He wanted a hearing to see if he could reverse his pleas, but Judge Thomas Vale would not call that hearing. Wand appealed the decision, and the Fourth District Appellate Court in Madison ruled Thursday that the defendant did provide enough evidence to warrant a new plea hearing.
--
Expansion could net Direct Supply $22.5M in state tax breaks
MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee company that provides equipment and services to senior living facilities will get up to $22.5 million in state tax breaks for a large expansion project.
Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday that Direct Supply would get income tax credits based on the numbers of jobs they create and preserve. The company plans to add 800 employees at its corporate headquarters during the next seven years, adding to a total workforce of more than 1,200.
The firm initially announced in March it would build a five story office structure with 280,000 square feet -- but it has not decided when construction would begin. It will replace an older, one story building that will be torn down.
--
Penalties levied against ITT Technical Institute
A national profit making college cannot enroll new students at its two Wisconsin campuses until it can prove it's financially stable.
The state Educational Approval Board took the action Thursday against ITT Technical Institute, on the same day the U.S. Education Department said it would keep a closer eye on the school's accounting and recruiting. T
he state's order also affects online enrollment at ITT, which has about 550 Wisconsin students online and at campuses in Greenfield and Madison. The federal government told ITT not to enroll students who need financial aid, and it has to pay $152 million within 30 days to cover its obligations if the school shuts down. State board director David Dies says it was already considering a enrollment cutoff, but the school appealed -- and a September hearing was called off once the federal action took place.
|
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/news/region/4102183-wisconsin-roundup-no-post-recession-relief-many-small-towns-report-says-ballots
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.piercecountyherald.com/00c143a4f44b3d96a234ae7f3c5f1647b05bc1b74966852a7b4773c1f3ce1b4a.json
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.