ANI AHABA AMAKA: How Deltans Honoured Their Speaker & L.G.A Chairman

 A Cross Section of Traditional Royal Fathers invited by De Saints International Club to the Civic Reception organized in Honor of Rt. Hon. Victor Onyekachi Ochei, Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly and Hon. Christopher Onyeayana Okafor, Executive Chairman, Oshimili North LGA

 Hon. Onyeayana stood up as a saint read out his citation ahead of the award presentation for his leadership roles at the council.

 The world come join me celebrate, this is the award, thank you DSIC

 Hon. Ochei stood up too for the presentation of his resume.

 A saint presenting the award to Hon. Ochei

 Deltans come follow me celebrate oh

 An Asaba-based ace comedian, Frank the Don entertaining the guest with many of his rib cracking jokes

 Hon Ochei performing the unveiling of the speakers cup for Delta State secondary schools competition on legislative advocacy debate.

 Now the cup is completely unveiled and am going to endow the cup so that winners will go home with cash prizes and that he did handsomely.

 Hon Ochei invited some of his political friends and associates to join him support the endowment of the speaker's cup.

 Hon. Peter Onwusanya handsomely supported the cup.

Hon. Ngozi Okolie wonderfully did his differently as he supported the speaker's cup in Dollars, what a gentleman.

ANI AHABA AMAKA:News In Photos

 Ani Ahaba children celebrating with Umu-Okwubata at the Instalation of Ada-Isi Umu Okwubata on Chief Mrs. C.N. Ogbolumani, my bossom friend and brother, Mr. Kenneth Osadebey was there too.

 Some Delegates from Okpanam, who came to felicitate with Umu-Okwubata on the Ada-Isi coronation

 One of Chief Mrs. Ogbolumani's daughters (in white wrapper) dancing with friends and well wishers, the joy is real.

 Well wishers at the occasion

 Chief Mrs. Ogbolumani greeting Ogbueshi title holders

 Youth Activists take peace education to town on a peace walk.

 Group photograph after the seminar with Peace youth activists and facilitators.

 Mrs. Ogbolumani took her seat formally as the Ada-Isi, while umuada performs the veneration rites.

 Umu-ada performing the village cleansing ritual and good will prayer for the Ada-Isi, her family and the community at large.

 The youths were not left out, they brought the music, youthful fun and there was no dull moment.

 Ogbueshi title holders lead the way as mama performed her first Ada-Isi installation dance.

Mama's grand children, children, well wishers, relatives and some Umuada Umu-Okwubata dancing out their joy.

With peace we will all march into 2015.....Dr. Uduaghan assures Anioma Leaders of thought

The political class and ethnic nationalities in Delta State have been enjoined not to allow their ambition towards, 2015 over heat the polity.

Delta state governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who gave the advise when the people of Anioma nation paid him a courtesy call in Asaba appealed to politicians to tread carefully because 2015 was still far.

Dr. uduaghan charged them not to unnecessaringly promote aggressive competition animosity and rivalry even as he explained that if they over stress themselves they could loose their lives in the process.

He also said that over heating the polity could distract government attention and instead of using scarce resources to provide dividends of democracy for the people it would wastefully use such funds in maintaining peace and beefing up security.

His words “It is just 2011 and we have a long way to go. If you over stress the system you will distract government attention and stall development”.

The governor also explained that power belongs to God and it was whoever God ordained that would have it.

Dr. Uduaghan therefore enjoined the people of Anioma to have consensus and speak with one voice just as he explained that having consensus and a common goal was not easy.

He told them to promote group interest rather than individual interest stressing that group interest should subsume personal goals.

Emphasizing further he said “ you should promote group interest so that if the person ordained succeeds others will tap from the success. If it is not for you, it will definitely not be for you”.

The governor promised to embark on massive road rehabilitation in the state once the rains were over and gave assurance that the state capital Asaba would enjoy face lift in infrastructural growth.

Dr. Uduaghan urged contractors to move on the same fast lane with the state government on road rehabilitation as those who fail would not be patronized.

Speaking during the courtesy call the Asagba of Asaba Obi Prof. Chike Edozien expressed the support and solidarity of Anioma people to the Uduaghan administration.

Obi Edozien said the Anioma people were more than ever before focused and united to achieve their aspirations.

Presenting an address on behalf of Anioma people the immediate past Deputy Governor of the State Chief Benjamin Elue appealed to the governor to support them in their desire to have Anioma State created.

Chief Elue said Anioma people were pursuing the creation of Anioma state vigorously and emphasized the importance of the governor’s support as it would enable them succeed.

He also appealed to the governor to support the zone in the mathematical calculation of 2015.

Demarcate boundary properly......Naval Chief told Delta state government

The Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olushola Obadan has called on Delta State government to properly demarcate the boundary between the naval headquarter and its host community to avoid encrohment and any form of clash

The Minister who made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan in Asaba said up till this moment, the land accommodating the naval Headquarters have not been demarcated and stressed the need for the exercise to be carried out to avoid unpleasant consequences.

  She requested the assistance of the state government in tarring the road leading to the Naval Barrack in Sapele and promised that the Navy would continue to promote peace and security in the state.

Speaking further, she said the Navy in the state was socially responsible to its host community and  has built a primary school in Oghara and a hospital still under construction saying “ We have built a primary school which is open to all in the community¸ we are also building a hospital for the people.

“I thank Delta State Government for the assistance given to the Navy so far in the state. With this I am sured that the Navy is in good hands”.

Responding, Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan stated that the Navy has helped in maintaining peace and security in the state adding that his administration would continue to co-operate with them in sustaining peace.

“I want to thank the Navy for all they have done in ensuring a peaceful water ways. My administration will continue to work with them in sustaining peace in the state.

The Governor commended the Navy for the primary school build in Oghara and the hospital still under construction saying “It will bring about healthy competition in the community as there are also government hospitals in the area”.

He assured the Navy that the challenge of the Naval Headquarters’ land demarcation would be handled by the Ministry of Lands and a certificate of occupancy issued quickly.

The Hon. Minister was on facility tour to the Western Naval Command comprising Delta State.

New UN report says criminals may have laundered $1.6 trillion in 2009

Criminals may have laundered around $1.6 trillion in 2009, one fifth of that coming from the illicit drug trade, according to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The $1.6 trillion represents 2.7 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009, says the agency. This figure is in line with the range of two to five per cent of global GDP previously established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to estimate the scale of money-laundering.

The report, entitled Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking and other transnational organized crime, also says that the “interception rate” for anti-money-laundering efforts at the global level remains low.

Globally, it appears that much less than one per cent of illicit financial flows are currently being seized and frozen.

“Tracking the flows of illicit funds generated by drug trafficking and organized crime and analysing how they are laundered through the world’s financial systems remain daunting tasks,” stated UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov, who launched the report today in Marrakech, Morocco, during the week-long meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Corruption.

The report points out that “dirty money” promotes bribery and corruption, finances insurgency and, in some cases, terrorist activities. It also destabilizes and deters legitimate enterprise, foreign investment and development.

All criminal proceeds, excluding tax evasion, would amount to some $2.1 trillion or 3.6 per cent of GDP in 2009, according to the report. Of this total, the proceeds of transnational organized crime, such as drug trafficking, counterfeiting, human trafficking and small arms smuggling, would amount to 1.5 per cent of global GDP, 70 per cent of which would likely have been laundered through the financial system.

The illicit drugs trade, which accounts for half of all transnational organized crime proceeds and one fifth of all crime proceeds, is the most profitable sector, UNODC notes.

The report focused on the market for cocaine, probably the most lucrative illicit drug for transnational criminal groups. Traffickers’ gross profits from the cocaine trade stood at around $84 billion in 2009.

While Andean coca farmers earned about $1 billion, the bulk of the income generated was in North America ($35 billion) and in West and Central Europe ($26 billion). Close to two thirds of that total may have been laundered in 2009.

The findings suggest that most cocaine-related profits are laundered in North America and in Europe. The main destination to process cocaine money from other subregions is probably the Caribbean.

The report says that for drug-related crime, there tends to be a significant “re-investment” of illicit funds into drug trafficking operations which have major negative implications for society at large.

Once illegal money has entered the global and financial markets, notes UNODC, it becomes much harder to trace its origins, and the laundering of ill-gotten gains may perpetuate a cycle of crime and drug trafficking.

“UNODC’s challenge is to work within the UN system and with Member States to help build the capacity to track and prevent money-laundering, strengthen the rule of law and prevent these funds from creating further suffering,” said Mr. Fedotov.

Delta State government returns mission schools to former owners

In its determination to improve the moral and intellectual standard of education in the state Delta State government has officially handed 40 schools to the mission and former owners

The state governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who formally presented the handing-over letters to the missionaries assured teachers and non-teaching staff of the affected schools that their monthly salaries and pensions was guaranteed by the state government.

He said that his administration was determined to ensure that schools were returned to their original owners as it would help improve on the standard of education saying “This exercise is intended to improve on the standard of education. The mission has done this before and can still do it.

The governor noted that government schools would compete with mission schools in providing quality and standard education in the state. “I believe the mission will provide a standard for government schools. We shall strive to match this standard.

Governor Unduaghan lamented the moral decadence in the society stressing that education was gradually declining because teachers and students were no longer dedicated to their responsibilities.

Speaking further, he said the situation was different in mission schools “Society is gradually declining morally. Schools have lived up to expectation in this aspect because the students and teachers are dedicated”.

He commended the mission for their patience with government over the handing-over process adding that the process took over 10 years and promised that all issues arising from the handing over would be amicably resolved.

In a brief response, the Bishop of  Anglican Dioceses of Oleh who spoke on behalf of the mission expressed appreciation to the state government for formally handing over schools to the mission.

He promised that the mission would do its best to build a high educational standard in the state and called on the co-operation of all Deltans in achieving this goal.

“We will not disappoint you as long as you co-operate with the mission. The mission will co-operate with the government in achieving this goal”.

Bishop Edewor commended the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare for accelerating the handing over process and appealed to government to give the mission the free hand to run the schools.

Highpoint of the ceremony was the presentation of handing-over letters to representatives of the mission which comprised of the Anglican, Catholic, Africa and Baptist Churches.

Top U.S. Treasury Official In Europe For Talks On Sanctioning Iranian Central Bank

Golnaz Esfandiari

"Iran needs to be held accountable for this plot."

That is the message being delivered this week in Europe by David Cohen -- the U.S. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and the man responsible for overseeing sanctions against Iran -- in the wake of an alleged plot by the Persian Gulf country to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador on U.S. soil.

The official's first stop was London, where Cohen met with British officials on October 24 to discuss potential new sanctions against Iran in response to the plot.

From there, Cohen is taking his message to Berlin, Paris, and Rome.

The potential sanctions would target the heart of Iran's financial dealings, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), in a move that analysts suggest could have a crippling effect on the country's economy by cutting off nearly all international financial transactions.

Cohen said in London on October 24 that the sanctions would be part of the broader effort to deter Iran from pursuing nuclear capabilities.

​​"We are going to continue to look at those financial institutions that are involved with proliferation activity for Iran and continue to try to isolate them from the international financial sector," Cohen said.

Iran has denied any involvement in the alleged bomb-attack plot, announced by the United States on October 11, and dismissed the allegations as "meaningless."

Iran Resigned To A Strong Response

But Tehran also appeared resigned that a strong response was coming, with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi saying on October 18 that "Iran is facing the toughest political and economic sanctions in the past 32 years."

Cohen's European tour could determine whether Washington's push to blacklist the Central Bank has the necessary international support.

The European Union last week imposed sanctions against five individuals believed to be connected to the plot, and has warned of further steps against Iran if it fails to address concerns about its nuclear program.

During an October 13 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Cohen stressed the importance of expanding U.S. sanctions already in place. "Although U.S. financial institutions are already generally prohibited from doing business with any bank in Iran, including the CBI, further U.S. action against the CBI, if it attained multilateral support, could further isolate the CBI, with a potentially powerful impact on Iran," he said.

Paris-based professor of international economic relations and Iranian economic expert Fereidoun Khavand believes targeting Iran's Central Bank, which he described as the country's "main artery" to the outside world, would be a milestone in U.S. actions against Iran.

Curtailing Iran's Financial Dealings

"It would be the last step before sanctioning Iran's oil exports," he said. "Therefore, a U.S. move against the Central Bank would be a serious jump in the long process of tensions between Tehran and Washington."

Such a step, if implemented, would have a crippling effect on Iran's economy, which relies on oil profits for as much as 80 percent of its foreign exchange revenues.

According to Khavand, if Iran's Central Bank is sanctioned, the country's financial dealings with the rest of the world will become very expensive, because Iran would have to resort to irregular transactions for oil deals.

"It doesn't mean that Iran's connections to the world would be fully cut off," he said.

"But the cost for Iran's financial dealings with the world would increase significantly."

Western sanctions against Iran's Central Bank could lead to a dramatic increase in oil prices, which could have a potentially damaging effect on global markets.

This, in turn, could hurt the United States and its allies, who are struggling to bring the global recession under control.

Political Bluff Or A Serious Threat?

That seems to be one of the reasons some Iranian officials have dismissed the U.S. threat as a "political bluff" and an attempt to divert U.S. public opinion from the financial crisis.

Iranian officials have publicly downplayed the threat of sanctions against the Central Bank, claiming that Iran has programs to counter the measure.

Last month, Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani said any government that tried to sanction the Central Bank would be "the laughing stock of the world."

Outside the official view, some in Iran are expressing concern about the prospect of new sanctions.

Jamshid Pajouyan, an Iranian economist known as the theoretician of subsidy cuts and the head of the Competition Council, said last week that Iran should take the threat of sanctions against the Central Bank "seriously."

The difficult part for the United States if it decides to move ahead and sanction the Central Bank would be to get others on board, particularly countries like China, which buys oil from Iran.

Former State Department Middle East intelligence official Wayne White told RFE/RL that the United States would have to convince countries that the alleged plot was very serious and that Washington is in possession of very indisputable facts surrounding the case.

"The group that would most likely participate [in the sanctions] are the closest allies of the United States -- obviously the U.K.; Japan also very likely; and some of the continental powers such as France,"

"But as far as the Chinese and the Russians are concerned, rule them out. Doing this is contrary to their considerable interests in Iran, and the U.S. has never been able to share with them the extent of the intelligence it shares with its very, very closely guarded ally group."

Washington announced last week that it has dispatched interagency teams to a number of countries, including Russia, China, and Turkey, to provide more details about the plot.

Combined Force Captures Insurgent Facilitator

 A combined Afghan and coalition security force captured a facilitator for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist organization, along with two other suspected insurgents, in the Bangi district of Afghanistan’s Takhar province yesterday, military officials reported.

The facilitator had coordinated attacks against Afghan government officials in northern Afghanistan, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A combined force detained two suspects during a search for a Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and Taliban leader in the Alingar district of Laghman province. The insurgent leader plans attacks against Afghan forces. Six rocket-propelled grenade boosters were confiscated.

-- In the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province, a combined force detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban facilitator who conducts abductions and attacks throughout the region.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani network facilitator and several suspects in the Pul-e Alam district of Logar province. The facilitator coordinated insurgent activity in the province.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani network facilitator and another suspect in the Terayzai district of Khost province. The facilitator distributed rockets and roadside bombs, and he conducted attacks against Afghan forces.

-- A combined force confiscated bomb-making materials during a search for a Taliban leader in the Zurmat district of Paktia province. The leader constructs and stores roadside bombs and other weapons and leads insurgents in attacks against Afghan forces in the Zurmat and Gardez districts.

-- In the Ziruk district of Paktika province, a combined force detained a suspect during a search for a Haqqani network facilitator. The facilitator constructs roadside bombs and provides explosives training to other insurgent leaders.

-- Afghan and coalition forces detained 21 suspects and seized two weapons caches in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan forces detained 15 people in Khost province’s Sabari district, and Afghan forces detained a suspect in the Dehyak district of Ghazni province. Coalition forces in the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province detained a man for having a hidden rifle, and an Afghan security force detained four suspects in the Mehtar Lam district of Laghman province. The Afghan force also seized eight mortar rounds and seven fuses. Another cache containing bomb-making materials, 100 pounds of explosives, five rocket-propelled grenade boosters and fuses, a pressure plate and wiring and casing materials was seized in the Gurbuz district of Khost province.

In Oct. 23 operations:

-- In Kandahar province’s Registan district, a combined patrol detained numerous suspects and seized 1,477 pounds of wet opium and 198 pounds of dry opium.

-- In the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province, a combined patrol detained several insurgents during an operation to disrupt an insurgent lethal-aid and narcotics network.

-- A combined patrol killed two insurgents and detained a suspect in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. One of the deceased insurgents had directed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The patrol seized a grenade and some small arms.

-- A combined force detained two insurgents, including a suspected insurgent leader, in the Kabul district of Kabul province. The leader is responsible for supplying lethal aid used in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined patrol seized a 107 mm rocket, 37 75 mm rounds and a homemade grenade in the Ab Band district of Ghazni province.

DELTA CJ RELEASES 38 INMATES FROM AGBOR PRISONS

The Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Abiodun Smith has released 38 persons from prison.

He made the release at the Nigerian Prison, Agbor, Headquarters of Ika South Local Government Area, during his official tour of prisons across the state.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hon. Smith said that the aim of the programme was to ensure that no one was held perpetually without trail in a competent court of jurisdiction. He described Agbor priosn as organised, peaceful and clean.

While commending the Deputy controller in charge of Agbor Prisons, Ven. Moruwa, he promised to take their request for an ambulance to the Headquarters for necessary actions.

He noted that procedures had been fine tuned to ensure success of proceedings, adding that he had come with an open mind and called on councils to cooperate with the prisons.

Earlier in a speech, Deputy Controller in Charge of Agbor Prisons, Ven. Moruwa congratulated the Chief Judge of the state on his appointment.

While noting that it was the first time the CJ was visiting Agbor Prisons, he said that it would be a sigh of relief for families and friends of inmates released during the visit.

Barack Obama.Why can't Wall Street stand Obama?

Saul Loeb

Wall Street hates Barack Obama.

That much, we know. But why? Just three years ago, he was Wall Street’s favored candidate. After being elected, he helped bail them out. He stopped Congress from going after their pay. He rejected proposals for radical reforms like breaking up the biggest banks. You would think Wall Street would give Obama a big Christmas bonus this year. Instead, they’re mobilizing against him.

There have been several competing theories for why the finance industry has turned on the White House. One is policy: The administration pushed through the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill, which tamps down on proprietary trading, leverage, and other tools banks use to increase profits. Another is ideology: Wall Street fingered Obama as a socialist, seeking to redistribute its hard-earned capital gains to the lazy and poor. A third explanation is psychology: Obama clearly doesn’t respect Wall Street.

Therefore, Wall Street hates him.

All of those may be—and probably are—part of the story. But now there is a new and far more concrete contributor to the antipathy. Perhaps Wall Street hates Obama because Wall Street is doing terribly—and everybody blames the incumbent when the economy turns sour. The big investment banks are hardly broke—they remain, for the most part, profitable enterprises. But they are not thriving in the way they were a year or even six months ago, and they are dropping employees and slashing bonuses as profits tumble.

Consider the data provided in an analysis of New York’s financial industry by Thomas DiNapoli, the state comptroller. This week, he wrote that profits “declined 10.8 percent in the first half of 2011 to $12.6 billion. [This office] forecasts that profits are unlikely to reach $18 billion for the entire year.” Eighteen billion sounds like a lot! But, he notes, it is just one third of the profits the banks were making back in 2010.

Financial firms are, not surprisingly, throwing employees overboard, DiNapoli reports. “The securities industry could lose an additional 10,000 jobs” in the next year, he writes. Add that to job losses in the banking sector, and the overall industry will have eliminated one in five of its New York-based jobs since 2008.

 Looking beyond New York, the numbers get even worse. Bank of America is shedding a whopping 30,000 positions. Even Goldman Sachs—the same Goldman Sachs boasting about its all-time record profits 18 months ago—is shedding 1,000 workers. The investment banks are also cutting compensation for the workers who remain. The Wall Street Journal reports that consultants expect bonus checks to drop 30 to 40 percent, depending on the bank.

Just six months ago, profits were sky-high in the financial sector. Banks like Goldman Sachs no longer had Lehman Bros. or Bear Stearns to compete with. Fewer competitors and ample help from Uncle Sam pushed profits higher. Indeed, last year, real corporate profits neared an all-time peak, with businesses pulling $1.68 trillion, pre-tax, and sitting on nearly $2 trillion in cash.

No more. Take J.P. Morgan, widely considered the healthiest of the big investment houses. This week, it reported that its third-quarter profits dropped about 25 percent, even after getting a boost from a one-off accounting change. In a note to investors, Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chief executive officer, offered this tepid conclusion: “All things considered, we believe the Firm’s returns were reasonable given the current environment.” Next week, a number of the other big banks report their third-quarter earnings.

The balance sheets are not likely to be pretty, either. Analysts are lowering their estimates for banks like Goldman Sachs, whose quarterly revenue they expect to fall from $10.71 billion to $4.93 billion year over year.
What gives? First and foremost, the economy just caught up with the banks. America’s consumers are not consuming much, which means that American businesses are not thriving. Mergers and acquisitions have slowed as companies prefer to hang onto their cash, or spend it to survive. The flurry of tech-sector-fueled initial public offerings we saw at the beginning of the year is now over.

 The European debt crisis and the months-long political impasse around it are weighing on the financial world. That means trouble for the investment banks’ bottom lines. J.P. Morgan, for instance, reported this week that its fees from investment-banking fell nearlyhalf in the third quarter. And investors have noticed. The KBW Bank Index, a composite of banking stocks, has fallen about 30 percent this year.

This month, Citi performed a survey of a large number of investors, asking them about where they see the markets going and current sentiment. The proportion who foresee a recession has tripled to 30 percent since July, Business Insider reports. A majority now believe that Obama will lose the next election. And the thing that has investors most worried, more so than debt and housing and declining profits? “Government policy missteps.”

The antipathy towards Obama, of course, is not new, and is certainly multidimensional. Plenty of financiers loathed the president before their profits turned south, back when their only complaint was that he kept calling them fat cats and wanted to regulate them. But Wall Street has gone from seeming cautiously ungrateful to angrily opposed. Some of that may actually be their renewed strength and the president’s increasing weakness. But some of it is doubtlessly that Wall Street is, all of a sudden, suffering a bit, and like so many Americans, they blame the president.

OBIARUKU COMMUNITY COMMENDED FOR MONITORING GOVERNMENT PROJECTS

The State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Professor Patrick Muoboghare has commended the Obiaruku Community for their support for government activities in the area.

Professor Muobaghare gave this commendation in Obiaruku when he paid an unscheduled visit to Akashiede Girls Secondary School to see whether his directive on the construction of a block of six classrooms was carried out accordingly.

He said that but for the alarm raised by some concerned people in the town, the contractor would have constructed the block of classrooms that would have collapsed in no distant time.

The Commissioner stated that he had never seen where concrete beams rested on hollow blocks as was the case in the said building, stressing that the ministry would henceforth ensure that proper supervisions were carried out from the foundation level to the completion of such projects.

Professor Muoboghare reiterated his earlier instruction to the Chief Inspectors of Education and Principals of Schools where projects were being executed to submit their report on completed jobs to his office before payments could be effected, warning that they would be held liable for shoddy jobs done.

While calling on other communities to emulate the worthy example of Obiaruku Community, the commissioner appealed to traditional rulers, community and youth leaders to always visit government project sites to ensure that contractors carried out their jobs according to specifications.

Professor Muoboghare, after inspecting the building, advised the contractor who was not on site, but through the workers, to ensure that all the defects noticed were corrected, adding that the ministry would not pay for badly executed jobs.

DTSG RE-ECHOES COMMITMENT TO SUPPLY OF WATER

Delta State Government has re-echoed its irrevocable commitment to supply of potable water to the citizenry through functional regional water schemes across the state.

The Commissioner for Water Resources Development, Dr Chris Oghenechovwen gave this indication while fielding questions from pressmen in his office in Asaba.

He said that a deliberate attempt would be made to drill deep water wells, devoid of lead contamination, to boost the capacity of the various central water tanks with proper piping to supply water to the end users, adding that the plan would reduce cost and improve the revenue drive of the state government.

Dr. Oghenechovwen said that meters would be installed to charge minimal, affordable water rates, while the use of electricity generators to power many smaller water plants would be reduced since the water would flow from the high concrete tanks through the force of gravity to the users.

Citing the case of the Enugu water project where water is supplied to the coal city from a distance of over 100km through strong pipes, he said that most of the pipes in the old water projects in the state were expired, even as he said that some of them were made of asbestos. He said that the pipes would be replaced with High Density Polythene (HDP) products to ensure safety and continuity of flow of water in the state.

Commissioner Oghenechovwen said that the Warri-Effurun Water Project would soon be completed; adding that apart from replacing the pipes damaged during the construction of some major roads in Warri, the extended part of the project would be laid with strong (HDP) pipes to ensure that Warri and its environs get connected to the water scheme.

He said that the ministry and the agencies under its administrative preview would work together to ensure that water is supplied to the people at an affordable rate, saying that the ministry would be restructured while the Rural and Urban Water Boards would be strengthened to enhance their efficiency, just as he stressed the need for prompt funding to keep the envisaged regional water scheme afloat at all times.

THREE STRIKES OF INTERNET, FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST!

   
France now emulates October-18 Mafia, the most disgusting predator of internet
on Earth! Civil society was shocked by the brutality and stupidity of the
October-18 2010 terror, initiated by the government of Greece. That's why
October-18 Mafia is the new name of the government of Greece!
http://venitism.blogspot.com

Reporters Without Borders (RWB) points out that with the implementation in
France of the three-strikes legislation and of a law providing for the
administrative filtering of the web and the defense of a civilized internet, the
impact of recent French legislation and government-issued statements about the
free flow of online information are raising serious concerns. Reporting is
difficult for several blogs and dissident bloggers are targeted for office
break-ins and court summons and pressured to identify their sources. For the
first time, France has been added to the Countries Under Surveillance RWB list.

France has adopted marilizardism. Governments of many repressed countries, such
as Greece, use marilizardist tools to manipulate netizens. Marilizard Libel is
accusing dissident bloggers of treason. Marilizard Spaghetti is hurling
charges against innocent people. Marilizard Tower is a stack of imaginary
charges to scare a blogger. Marilizardism is terrorizing dissident bloggers.
October 18 is the international day against marilizardism, and October-18 Mafia
is the marilizardist government of Greece. http://venitism.blogspot.com

Marilizardists use charge stacking, which is the ability to charge a large
number of overlapping crimes for a single course of conduct, building a
Marilizard Tower of charges. This is the most disgusting tool used by the
freakish October-18 mafia to jail innocent dissident bloggers. Combining crimes
enables prosecutors to get convictions in cases where there may be no misconduct
at all. By stacking enough charges, freakish marilizardists try to jack up the
threat value of a trial and thereby induce a guilty plea, even if the
government's case is weak.

Napoleon Sarko has lost the heart of France. Sarko can continue laboring on the
international stage, stirring up Middle Eastern policy and together with Angela
Merkel, trying to save the euro, but none of that will do any good. The man in
Elysee Palace must ask himself what happened to all the political capital he
possessed in 2007. Back then Sarko won not only the presidential election, but
he also had a clear majority in both houses of parliament. He dominated the
Gaullists and inspired great hope with his promise to modernize France.

RWB notes break-ins occur in the offices of several journalists investigating
the Woerth-Bettancourt case. The Mediapart blog reported the disappearance of
computers and hard disks containing information about the heiress to the L'Oreal
empire. These thefts, as well as the phone-tapping and undercover methods used
by French intelligence agents to track the site's journalists inquiring into the
Karachi and Bettancourt cases, are placing the protection of sources principle
in serious jeopardy.

Global Tax Revolt points out the marilizardist persecution of dissident bloggers
is unquestionably a serious attack on freedom of speech, and contrary to Article
2 of Lisbon Treaty, Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and
Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The
disgusting October-18 Mafia cannot bully the blogosphere without repercussions
and blowbacks. The international civil society got a shock and awe from the
brutality of the freakish October-18 Mafia on October 18, 2010.

France-Fourth Reich relations have become increasingly similar to the Ballet de
la Merlaison, created by Louis XIII of France in the 17th century. In this
unique ballet, the king authored the work and played the leading role. All the
other roles in the ballet were considered extras, who eagerly danced to the tune
of the king. As long as the king was still alive, this ballet was considered to
be the work of a genius. Sarko, who loves the Ballet de la Merlaison, asserts
France should play the leading role in Fourth Reich. But we all know that
France and all countries of Fourth Reich have become economic provinces of
Germany! Well, France is now the leading colony of Germany!

Kleptocracy, Kangaroo Justice, and marilizardism are anathema to civil society.
It is impossible to control the flow of information in the digital age without
harming public freedoms and damaging economic and social development.
Controlling the net is similar to the squaring of the circle, a problem that
could take ages for people to realize is impossible to solve.

Claude Gueant lodged a defamation suit against Mediapart, which had accused him
of being responsible for the undercover surveillance of its bloggers. Several
Francokleptocrats harshly criticise Edwy Plenel's blog. Xavier Bertrand labels
the blogs' methods as fascist. Nadine Morano accuses Mediapart of being a gossip
blog.

Netizens abhor kleptocracy, Kangaroo Justice, and marilizardism. Net neutrality
means the internet has no gatekeeper. It encompasses all the issues related to
the circulation of information on the internet, such as free speech, access to
knowledge, copyright, or innovation. Everyone retains the freedom to access and
produce the information he wants. Nevertheless, kleptocrats threaten net
neutrality by seeking to implement filtering techniques in order to re-establish
the kind of control they used to have on traditional and unidirectional media.

Sarko and Merkel are engaged in a dance that some close to the Elysee Palace
have described as a waltz-hesitation. It's an endless back and forth that must
often seem, to its anxious audience, deliberately designed to confuse. That
audience consists of the 15 other members of the monetary union and, worse
still, the teetering financial markets.

Emulating the disgusting marilizardist paradigm of infamous Graecokleptocrats,
who persecute and jail dissident bloggers, Sarko terrorizes dissident bloggers.
Blogging in Greece, the most corrupt country of Fourth Reich(EU), is considered
an extreme-risk avocation. Freakish marilizardist kleptocrats accuse dissident
bloggers of treason, confiscate their computers at gunpoint, and lock them is
jail! Freak galore! These prisoners of conscience follow the long tradition of
Socrates, who was killed by the Athenian democracy.

Infamous October-18 mafia, government of Greece, uses the cybercops as a
political tool. Cyber Crime Unit (CCU), Dioxi Ilektronikou Egklimatos, is just
a paramilitary gang of October-18 Mafia which terrorizes the Greek blogosphere.
Putting the CCU wolf to guard the sheep gives the government a comparative
advantage over the opposition. This is another form of a Trojan Horse.

Any cell of Greek CCU jail has neither pillows nor toilet! You have to urinate
in a bottle! The whole CCU jail has neither soap nor toilet paper! During the
whole night, scared jailed girls scream for help, but the guards, far away in
their office, pretend they are not listening! If it's not barbarity, what is
it? There is a long way from the civilization of Ancient Greece to the
barbarity of Modern Greece.

Blog Rue89's offices were burgled and more than 20 computers stolen. The offices
of blog MyEurop, located in the same building, were also broken. Augustin
Scalbert, a Rue89 blogger, was indicted for receiving stolen goods for having
published an article accompanying an off-air video clip of Napoleon Sarko on the
France 3 TV network. The video showed Sarko reprimanding a studio technician for
not responding to his greeting prior to an interview!

Sarko senses it will hardly be possible to maintain the appearance that all is
well through to the end of this presidential election campaign. More and more
people are sounding the alarm, everyone from financial experts to politicians.
France is in critical condition and has been in a continuous economic decline
for the last 10 years. With recklessness and arrogance, France continues to live
in its economic bubble, convinced it will never burst. The hard truth of
statistics is unrelenting in its proof that the opposite is true.

Blog Bakchich has obtained a copy of a message from a private detective agency
addressed to the Elysee about the latter's own spy services. According to
Nicolas Beau, the blog's director, it contains tips on how to most effectively
promote the site, for making it more middle-class and institutionalised, and for
turning it into a source with a pro-government viewpoint!

France's seemingly selfless declarations that European solidarity is the highest
duty start to appear somewhat hypocritical, since France itself is in urgent
need of that same solidarity. Sarkozy's weakness as an EU politician, or perhaps
even as one of the saviors of the monetary union, is the unfortunate and
unaccustomed situation he finds himself in: All of his suggestions are dependent
on Germany's approval -- but he has to conceal this fact back home at all costs.

Sarko and Merkel need to have the courage to measure themselves against the
great figures of European politics, such as Charles de Gaulle and Konrad
Adenauer, legendary founding fathers with a vision of European unity.
http://venitism.blogspot.com

Bettencourt accountant Claire Thibout revealed that Liliane Bettencourt provided
Sarko with manila envelopes stuffed with cash following dinner parties at her
mansion house in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Everyone in the household knew that Sarko
saw the Bettencourts just for kickbacks. He was a regular visitor. Sarko's
bribing took place in one of the small ground-floor salons close to the dining
room.

Official: Troops in Central Africa for Months, Not Years

Lisa Daniel

About a hundred U.S. troops being deployed to Central Africa will be there for months -- not years -- and only until the national armies of the region are capable of dismantling the terrorist group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army, a senior Pentagon official told Congress members today.

“We’ve made very clear that this is not an open-ended commitment,” Alexander Vershbow, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “We agreed there would be review after several months to know whether our advisors are making significant progress.”

The U.S. military and the State Department are working together on a four-point plan to help rid Central Africa of the LRA, headed by Joseph Kony, who has been indicted for international war crimes, Vershbow said. He appeared before the committee alongside Donald Yamamoto, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, to explain the operation President Barack Obama announced Oct. 14.

The U.S. troops -- mostly Army Special Forces -- will work with the militaries of Uganda, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan to capture or kill Kony and other LRA commanders, Vershbow said.

The State Department will oversee the other three parts of the plan: to protect civilians, disarm and dismantle the LRA, and provide humanitarian relief to areas affected by the guerrilla militia, Vershbow and Yamamoto said. The LRA, they said, is composed mostly of kidnapped children forced to execute Kony’s terrorist tactics over the past 20 years. Tens of thousands of people have been murdered and as many as 1.8 million have been displaced by the LRA, which has attacked at least 240 times this year, Yamamoto added.

Kony was placed on a specially designated international terrorist list in 2008, but has no known ties to other groups such as al-Qaida or al Shabab, Yamamoto said. Kony began the LRA -- a terrorist group with no religious ties -- in Uganda, but moved out of the country in 2006 to work in small groups in surrounding areas, he said.

U.S. Africa Command has provided training and equipment to central African militaries, and those militaries have been successful against the LRA, which is down to about 200 core fighters and about 600 supporters, Yamamoto said. About 12,000 LRA fighters, he said, have left the group and been reintegrated into their home environments.

African militaries have developed capacities and work together in difficult jungle terrain, but need military assistance in merging intelligence with operations planning, Vershbow said.

With the consent of all the central African governments, some U.S. troops already have moved into the affected area, Vershbow said. Most will stay in Uganda, but some will forward deploy with African troops, he added.

Under Obama’s order, U.S. troops are limited to an advisory and assistance role, but will be armed and equipped for their own defense, Vershbow said.

“We’ve already seen a lot of progress by the Ugandans and other militaries in reducing the LRA’s numbers,” he said. “We think we’re building on a fairly strong foundation here. But those regional forces have been hindered by their inability to gather intelligence and turn into operational action.”

The cost and duration of the deployment is unclear, Vershbow said, but it likely will cost tens of millions of dollars and last several months.

“We will review it in a few months to ensure it is having success on the ground,” he said. “We define success, first and foremost, as to whether Kony and the other commanders are captured, the number of defections, and the ability of the African armies to succeed.”

The action is similar to those the U.S. military undertook in training and equipping Georgian and Bosnian militaries in recent years, Vershbow said.

“What we’re doing in this specific case is a subset of broader efforts we’re making throughout Africa to promote the professionalization of those militaries and to solve their own problems,” Vershbow said.

“This will give greater military cooperation among the four key states involved … so we don’t have to intervene in the future,” he added.

OTUMARA ORDERS REDEPLOYMENT OF PHARMACISTS FROM EKPAN GENERAL HOSPITAL

All Pharmaceutical Staff in the General Hospital, Ekpan, are to be redeployed over repeated cases of irregularities.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Otumara, handed down the instruction to the management of the State Hospitals Management Board (HBM), when he paid an unscheduled visit to the hospital.

Dr. Otumara, during inspection of activities at both the children’s and maternity wards of the hospital saw patients with different prescription notes to buy drugs outside and wondered why after several warnings on out-of-stock pretext, the pharmacists still refused to heed his instruction to avoid allowing their drugs to get exhausted before making requisitions.

The commissioner also directed the Medical Director in charge of the hospital to do proper supervision of activities of media and health staff or be shown the way out, saying that he should endeavour to report all alleged cases of threats on him by staff to the appropriate quarters for investigations and possible sanctions.

He equally advised doctors against indiscriminate disregard for the prescription guidelines for the free maternal and under-five programmes of the State Government, saying that it would give the misimpression that the programmes are not free, vowing that his Office would not relent in fighting those who are bent on sabotaging the programmes.

The situation was not different at the Central Hospital in Ughelli where the commissioner, accompanied by the Special Adviser on Health Monitoring, Dr Rukevwe Ugwumba, Permanent Secretaries in both the Ministry of Health and Hospital Management Boards Doctors Daniel Omodon and Caroline Ajuya respectively, defied the heavy downpour to inspect the various wards and units in the hospital.

In response to questions from journalist, Dr Otumara said good discretion was put in practice when the patients at the maternity ward in the Central Hospital Ughelli were relocated to a new place after cracks were noticed in the old ward which was built about 60 years ago.

In the Central Hospital, Warri where the commissioner earlier paid an unscheduled visit also, he said the nearness of the hospital to the river and the nature of the soil accounted for the flooding the complex is facing, assuring that arrangements were on to engage foreign experts to give a lasting solution to the problem.

He said that the electricity problem in the hospital is a nationwide issue, even as he said that the three major plants and several generating sets had helped to check incessant power outages from the public power supply, saying that the State government spends an average of one million naira monthly to provide diesel for the plants.

The Commissioner said that as part of measure to cut off delays in restoring power at the Intensive Care Unit of the Children’s ward in the Central Hospital, Warri, an inverter would be procured and installed in due course.