tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274473962024-03-07T07:54:53.332-06:00Teaching ComparativeTeaching (and learning) comparative government and politics is a complex and demanding task. We can all use all the help we can get. This cyber place is somewhere to facilitate helpful interactions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4535125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-90934456170164339022019-05-28T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-28T05:30:09.656-05:00The triumph of fictionLogical thought as a handicap
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<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/opinion/why-fiction-trumps-truth.html"><b>Why Fiction Trumps Truth</b></a><br />
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Many people believe that truth conveys power. If some leaders, religions or ideologies misrepresent reality, they will eventually lose to more clearsighted rivals. Hence sticking with the truth is the best strategy for gaining power. Unfortunately, this is just a comforting myth. In fact, truth and power have a far more complicated relationship, because in human society, power means two very different things…
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The dual nature of power and truth results in the curious fact that we humans know many more truths than any other animal, but we also believe in much more nonsense…
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When it comes to uniting people around a common story, fiction actually enjoys three inherent advantages over the truth. First, whereas the truth is universal, fictions tend to be local…
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The second huge advantage of fiction over truth has to do with the handicap principle, which says that reliable signals must be costly to the signaler. Otherwise, they can easily be faked by cheaters…
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Third, and most important, the truth is often painful and disturbing. Hence if you stick to unalloyed reality, few people will follow you…
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Some might argue that the long-term costs of believing fictional stories outweigh any short-term advantages in social cohesion. Once people get in the habit of believing absurd fictions and convenient falsehoods, this habit would spill into more and more areas, and they would consequently make bad economic decisions, adopt counterproductive military strategies and fail to develop effective technologies. While this occasionally happens, it is far from being a universal rule…
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If you had traveled to Cairo or Istanbul around 400 years ago, you would have found a multicultural and tolerant metropolis where Sunnis, Shiites, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Armenians, Copts, Jews and even the occasional Hindu lived side by side in relative harmony. Though they had their share of disagreements and riots — and though the Ottoman Empire routinely discriminated against people on religious grounds — it was a liberal paradise compared with Western Europe… And yet the Scientific Revolution began in London and Paris rather than in Cairo or Istanbul…
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Even if we need to pay some price for deactivating our rational faculties, the advantages of increased social cohesion are often so big that fictional stories routinely triumph over the truth in human history. Scholars have known this for thousands of years, which is why scholars often had to decide whether they served the truth or social harmony. Should they aim to unite people by making sure everyone believes in the same fiction, or should they let people know the truth even at the price of disunity? Socrates chose the truth and was executed. The most powerful scholarly establishments in history — whether of Christian priests, Confucian mandarins or Communist ideologues — placed unity above truth. That’s why they were so powerful.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5NFUxBWsosbO9bTpeKv5God0nIzqci9ikWrwul5GamvbjbjfjRy_mmTj_puJBwFHJcZBtYNA7vKtrWgW46vUDuCjV1b55ozDxF0TTij_R695IEymxeqMl4z5TwSY839VZTVNrQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-05-26+at+10.43.10+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5NFUxBWsosbO9bTpeKv5God0nIzqci9ikWrwul5GamvbjbjfjRy_mmTj_puJBwFHJcZBtYNA7vKtrWgW46vUDuCjV1b55ozDxF0TTij_R695IEymxeqMl4z5TwSY839VZTVNrQ/s200/Screen+shot+2019-05-26+at+10.43.10+AM.png" width="140" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Harari</i></td></tr>
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<i>Yuval Noah Harari (@harari_yuval) is an Israeli historian and the author of “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.”</i></blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-12092384056295981902019-05-27T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-27T05:30:10.567-05:00Iran: No YogaThe morality police are again active. This one sounds like an act of private revenge.
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<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-48395711"><b>Iran police arrest 30 at private yoga class</b></a><br />
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Thirty people taking part in a yoga session have been arrested during a private class in Iran, reports suggest, causing a buzz across the country's social media.
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They were detained at a private residence in the northern city of Gorgan, where they were apparently taking part in a mixed class.
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Local justice department official Massoud Soleimani said the instructor, who was also arrested, had no licence to run the class and had advertised the event on Instagram.
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He also said that those taking part were wearing "inappropriate outfits" and had "behaved inappropriately", the Tasnim news agency reports.
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The Islamic establishment in Iran does not allow any mixed-gender sports activities.
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Professional-level yoga teaching is also banned in the country.
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Mr Soleimani, the deputy chief of the Islamic Revolution Court in Gorgan which is the capital of Golestan Province, did not give any more details about the attire or behaviour of the detained group.
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He did say that security forces had been monitoring the residence for some time before making the arrests…
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In 2017, Iranian sports authorities issued a ban on Colombian dance aerobics exercise zumba and "any harmonious movement or body-shaking instruction".
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Back then Iran's Sport for All Federation penned a letter to Iran's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to ban activities, including zumba, for contravening "Islamic ideology".
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While there have have been public gatherings of yoga fans in the country over the past few years, "underground" and "unIslamic" classes, which are promoted across social media, are frowned upon… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-37744453283547568662019-05-23T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-23T05:30:11.458-05:00More confusion in CommonsThis makes Brexit seem even more insolvable.
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<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48374098"><b>Commons leader Andrea Leadsom quits government over Brexit</b></a><br />
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Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has quit the cabinet, saying she no longer believes the government's approach will deliver Brexit.
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Her resignation comes amid a backlash against Theresa May's Brexit plan from Conservative MPs…
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[As Commons leader, she was in charge of organising government business and had been due to announce when the prime minister's Withdrawal Agreement Bill would be introduced to Parliament.]
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Her resignation is the 36th by a minister under Theresa May - 21 of them over Brexit… </blockquote>
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The move came after a day of drama at Westminster in which anger grew at the prime minister's attempt to win backing for the bill - the legislation needed to implement the agreement between the UK and EU on the terms of Brexit.
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As part of it, Mrs May has offered a number of changes, including a chance for MPs to hold a vote on another referendum if they back the bill…
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BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake said… "It is an extraordinary sequence of events for a key member of the Cabinet to resign on the eve of elections.
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"It is unlikely that we will see others follow her immediately, but getting into Friday and the weekend, things could move swiftly."… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-39796766921725787112019-05-14T12:00:00.000-05:002019-05-14T12:00:08.993-05:00RetirementI've started teaching AP Comparative Government and Politics in 1986.<br />
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I'm retiring.<br />
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The books are out of print.<br />
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I'll do very few blog entries (although over 4500 entries online will still be around and indexed) (some are out of date).<br />
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I'm on to new adventures.<br />
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Hope things went well for you too.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-6227616139293024242019-05-14T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-14T05:30:13.946-05:00Faith in the futureIs this optimism a good sign for China's future?
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<a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/12/c_138052947.htm"><b>Young Chinese confident in national development goal: survey </b></a><br />
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A recent survey conducted by the <i>China Youth Daily</i> found that young Chinese have high confidence in building China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful by the middle of the century.
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The survey had 10,393 participants from 31 provincial regions in China, among whom 67.4 percent were born in or after 1990…
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The survey showed that those interviewed gave a ranking of 8.92 out of 10 on how confident they are in this national development goal, 50.8 percent even gave full marks of 10.
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Respondents born in or after 2000 rated their confidence at 9.16 on average, the highest among all age groups. The young people living in rural areas rated their confidence at 9.04, higher than those in urban areas.
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"Chinese people's confidence in the national development goal comes from their faith in the governing party, the development path we have taken, the guidance of Marxism and the fact that the Chinese people are always the masters of the nation and society," said Gong Yun, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.</blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-22922918970757440322019-05-14T04:30:00.000-05:002019-05-14T04:30:01.693-05:00AP Exam advice IIVoted the second best piece of advice I gave my students<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Don't Panic!</h2>
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(Thanks to Douglas Adams.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-464937428112739412019-05-13T04:30:00.000-05:002019-05-13T04:30:03.098-05:00AP Exam adviceVoted the best advice I gave my students:<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Read the Verbs </h2>
(and then do what you're asked to do)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-39963163931877190342019-05-12T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-12T13:44:59.316-05:00Would it work?Would proportional voting in Scotland work to promote more efficient legislation as this former SMP suggests? Has it worked in Mexico?
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<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48238595"><b>Henry McLeish wants Holyrood's current voting system scrapped</b></a><br />
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A former first minister is calling for first past the post voting system used to elect most MSPs to be replaced with proportional representation (PR).
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Henry McLeish, who was first minister between 2000 and 2001, told Good Morning Scotland he believes PR would force parties to work together…
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He said said the first past the post element of the election should be scrapped and replaced, adding: "You could have a PR system that could retain the constituencies, but possibly have two members but elected on a different basis what that would do in my view is give you a parliament that would never have an overall majority…
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Mr McLeish, who led a Labour-Lib Dem executive in the parliament's first session, said that Holyrood has barely come of age.
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He added: "It's in its infancy... In the stock of things, Westminster has been on that site in some form for nearly 1,000 years - we're just on the foothills of building a new Scotland, a new parliament, so in that sense I think there is a great opportunity to reflect seriously and then look forward." </blockquote>
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<hr />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-61156493238164884442019-05-10T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-10T05:30:02.802-05:00Renovations for the HouseThe House of Commons is due for a major renovation. I'll bet that a new sprinkler system will be on the list of changes. But what to do with Parliament while the old place is updated?
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<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48199355"><b>Parliament refit: First images released of temporary Commons chamber</b></a><br />
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The first images have been released of the proposed temporary home for MPs during restoration work in Parliament.
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Architects plan to recreate the current chamber of the House of Commons, including the green benches on which MPs sit, at a new venue in Westminster. </blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Proposed Commons recreation</i></td></tr>
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The move to Richmond House, the former home of the Department of Health, will not happen until 2025 at the earliest.
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The refurbishment of the current Palace of Westminster, due to cost £4bn, will not now be completed until the 2030s.
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The repair work is likely to take between five and eight years longer than previously anticipated…
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The proposed temporary chamber will be similar to the current one, complete with leather benches and an adversarial layout, but will be more accessible…
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The work is expected to include replacing old cabling, installing a new sewage system and improving disabled access to the estate.
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Both the Commons and Lords agreed in early 2018 that the most cost-effective way to carry out the upgrades would be for them to move out whilst the works are being done…
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A committee of MPs and peers will also be set up to scrutinise the spending plans alongside the Treasury.
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Former Clerk of the Commons Lord Lisvane said work was needed urgently as it was "a matter of time" before something happened to the parliamentary estate.
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"I'm afraid there has been a certain amount of foot-dragging and my message now would be emphatically, crack on with it," he told the BBC… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-31201827551741587062019-05-09T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-09T05:30:05.522-05:00How's he doing?News about the Mexican presidency gets pushed off front pages by other news. Here's an evaluation by a BBC reporter.
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<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47946959"><b>Mexico's Amlo riding high 10 months after election</b></a><br />
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When Mexico's populist presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected by a landslide in July, some analysts warned that he could quickly lose support once in office, especially if he failed to deliver on his ambitious promise of delivering a "radical transformation" of his country. </blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>President López Obrado</i></td></tr>
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Four months after his swearing-in, his approval ratings range between 60% and 86% and are the envy of many other leaders in the hemisphere.
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But how has the 65 year old commonly referred to as Amlo fared so far and what problems has he been able to tackle?
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Just weeks into the top job, Amlo announced that he had launched an operation to fight widespread theft from oil pipelines, a nationwide problem costing the Mexican state about $3bn (£2.3bn) each year.
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Besides deploying thousands of troops in the operation, his government also shut down major oil pipelines that criss-cross the country. Almost immediately, shortages of fuel in major cities were reported, causing massive queues at petrol stations.
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Nevertheless, polls showed Mexicans supported the crackdown, and normal fuel supply has since been restored.
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Official figures suggest the move has significantly reduced the amount of oil being illegally siphoned off daily, from 81,000 barrels in November of 2018 to 4,000 in the first months of 2019…
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Amlo has sought an attitude of "peace and love" towards his northern neighbour despite recent public threats by Mr Trump that he would "close the border" with Mexico if the Mexican government failed to stop Central American migrants reaching the United States…
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One area where President López Obrador has yet to make an impact is on Mexico's soaring murder rate. This reached a new annual record in 2018 with 28,839 violent homicides across the country, a 15% increase over 2017.
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The murder rate has continued to climb since Amlo came to power. In the first quarter of 2019, 8,493 murders were reported, an increase of almost 10% compared with the same months in 2018, according to Mexican government data.
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In a speech he gave on 11 March, Amlo acknowledged that "the population is currently in a defenceless state".
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"Violence, as we have said many times, cannot be fought with violence (…), the construction of a better, more just and more humane society is the starting point of our public safety policy," he said.
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In a move approved by Mexico's Congress, the president has created a new security agency, the National Guard, to enforce his strategy to reduce crime and violence related to Mexico's powerful drug cartels…
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He travels around the country on commercial flights after putting Mexico's Dreamliner presidential plane up for sale arguing that it was too lavish for the leader of a country where millions live in extreme poverty.
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On his first day in office he also ordered the presidential residence, Los Pinos, to be opened to the public and turned into a cultural centre.
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Mr López Obrador and his family will continue to live at their middle-class home in Mexico City's Tlalpan neighbourhood until his youngest son finishes elementary school in mid-2019.
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After that, they plan to move to a midsize apartment near his office at Mexico's National Palace, from where he says he will continue to work towards a "fourth transformation" in Mexico's history, following its 1810 independence, the 1854-1857 liberalising reforms led by then-President Benito Juárez, and the wars of the 1910-1920 Revolution.</blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-47082250561829192482019-05-08T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-08T05:30:06.271-05:00He's back… It might not be a big deal in other places, but after Nigerian President Buhari's long absence for hospitalization, his recent return from London made headlines.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201905060009.html"><b>Buhari Returns to Abuja After 'Private Visit' to UK</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
President Muhammadu Buhari… returned to Abuja, after a 10-day 'private visit' to the United Kingdom… </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88SbkEt4eAqnO3PRGq_wYw6_ob-pPfAIcEIDjzRQ0YIFaYWcgfPuV2fJR3U2l2-Czu0suhT6zcT0rUU-_C2OND4MMn5hl37EVvM3jYA7sPQhjKrDl2Fy4YxW_3Vcp8dtzk0cweQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-05-06+at+10.44.44+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="260" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88SbkEt4eAqnO3PRGq_wYw6_ob-pPfAIcEIDjzRQ0YIFaYWcgfPuV2fJR3U2l2-Czu0suhT6zcT0rUU-_C2OND4MMn5hl37EVvM3jYA7sPQhjKrDl2Fy4YxW_3Vcp8dtzk0cweQ/s200/Screen+shot+2019-05-06+at+10.44.44+AM.png" width="172" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Buhari</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A statement by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said some "reckless online media, irresponsible political opposition, and other bilious groups and individuals, had gone on overdrive since the President left the country on April 25, insinuating that he was going for hospitalization, and would not return after 10 days as stated."…
<br />
<br />
The presidency did not provide details of Mr Buhari's 'private visit,' leading to speculations he travelled to see his doctors as he has done in the past… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-77298273563277485922019-05-07T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-07T05:30:00.890-05:00Youth culture in NigeriaRich urban "kids" in Nigeria
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Lagos_style"><b>Lagos Style</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
On any night of the week in Lagos, you can find somewhere to party into the early hours.
<br />
<br />
Forget for a moment that Nigeria is a conservative country, where Christian evangelism is popular in the south, Islamic law in the north and homosexuality is illegal everywhere.
<br />
<br />
Lagos is Africa’s economic capital and home to 21 million people. It's also a creative hub for the country's liberal youth.
<br />
<br />
On a Friday, you may find the beach by the Hard Rock Cafe pulsating with electronic Afrobeats. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoV1GDZshgrkvtqyiayyyNCRybH4eYWpV8wkFoyrSn5n8hPb-sMr9joeA7NYeRjBEStXK0kMoR1Ca1Lfvtu8gFzfUURb80ABYlb-P8FVAL7ee_Hmmj_VpZBPcwXrWwXGVlAVsQDA/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-05-05+at+3.35.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="1051" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoV1GDZshgrkvtqyiayyyNCRybH4eYWpV8wkFoyrSn5n8hPb-sMr9joeA7NYeRjBEStXK0kMoR1Ca1Lfvtu8gFzfUURb80ABYlb-P8FVAL7ee_Hmmj_VpZBPcwXrWwXGVlAVsQDA/s320/Screen+shot+2019-05-05+at+3.35.10+PM.png" width="320" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lagos club night</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These types of club nights - where it's all about being yourself - are common across Lagos.
<br />
<br />
In Lagos, the wealthy flock to the glitzy clubs in the expensive district of Ikoyi.
<br />
<br />
"You need 200,000 naira ($550) for one night or you don't party," says Noble Igwe, a well-known party organiser.
<br />
<br />
“A Lagos club kid is just someone who can afford to buy a bottle [of champagne]. Anyone who can buy a bottle will be the king in that club for the night.”
<br />
<br />
Others create their own party scene, which is affordable, creative, and a way to meet like-minded people.
<br />
<br />
The parties are held across the divides of the city, from mainland neighbourhoods to the sprawling homes on the island. Details are passed from person to person on Instagram and WhatsApp, creating a grassroots buzz.
<br />
<br />
Music plays an important role. Clubs and parties hire DJs and "hype men" whose mixes set the mood… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-36131960560730199132019-05-06T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-06T05:30:07.065-05:00Local elections in the UKThe elections for local councils in England and Northern Ireland seem to have sent messages to the major parties. What messages did the Tories and Labour receive?
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48142181"><b>Local elections: Tories and Labour hit by Brexit backlash in polls</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
The Conservatives and Labour have faced a backlash at the ballot box over the Brexit deadlock, with smaller parties and independents winning seats.
<br />
<br />
In England so far, the Tories have lost more than 700 seats and 25 councils overall, while the Liberal Democrats have gained nearly 450 seats.
<br />
<br />
National politics seems to have been a deciding factor for voters, with Labour also losing almost more than 70 so far…
<br />
<br />
The Green Party has done well, adding more than 100 seats so far, but UKIP has lost ground, with 80 fewer councillors at this stage than in 2015. Meanwhile, the number of independent councillors is up by more than 300…
<br />
<br />
While local elections give voters the chance to choose the decision-makers who affect their communities, the national issue loomed large on the doorstep…
<br />
<br />
Theresa May, appearing at the Welsh Conservative conference, said voters had sent the "simple message" that her party and Labour had to "get on" with delivering Brexit.
<br />
<br />
Speaking in Greater Manchester, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he "wanted to do better" and conceded voters who disagreed with its backing for Brexit had deserted the party.
<br />
<br />
But Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, in Chelmsford Essex, where his party took control of the council, said it had been a "brilliant" result and that "every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for stopping Brexit".
<br />
<br />
Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said the days of the Conservatives and Labour dominating the electoral landscape, as happened in the 2017 election, when they won 80% of the vote between them, "may be over"…
<br />
<br />
Prof Curtice said there was a North/South divide emerging in the losses too, with the Conservatives shedding more seats in the South - especially in areas that voted Remain - and Labour losing more in the North.
<br />
<br />
Green Party co-leader Sian Berry said she was confident her party would end the day with a "record number of councillors on a record number of councils".
<br />
<br />
She told BBC Breakfast the Greens were not simply benefiting from a protest vote over Brexit and their gains reflected "huge new concerns" about climate change as well as the strength of their local campaigning on a range of issues.
<br />
<br />
UKIP is down by more than 60 seats on its 2015 performance…
<br />
<br />
Of the 248 elections in England, 168 have been district councils which are in charge of setting and collecting council tax, bin collections, local planning and council housing.
<br />
<br />
There were also elections taking place for 47 unitary authorities and 33 metropolitan boroughs which look after education, public transport, policing and fire services, as well as all the services of district councils.
<br />
<br />
In Northern Ireland, councils are responsible for services including local planning and licensing, waste collection and enforcing safety regulations to do with food, workplaces and the environment.</blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-11253824781276109032019-05-03T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-03T05:30:00.699-05:00Terrorists in northern Nigeria strike againTerrorists hit another area of northern Nigeria.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-48085575"><b>Gunmen kill 14 villagers in northern Nigeria</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
Dozens of gunmen attacked two villages in Katsina state, north-western Nigeria and killed 14 villagers, a politician and local police say. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lexLvNuzpc_oGYxVdY0NC4rdyt0_baCOfo9BuqQjCU6tVO6Pd1BvU1jQOCyoWMGQkz2tPmM_5hIiofrmZEaETuezgue-725U-CkY1ohgWCm7X9hOwdCZOqTAdbnGlYqBdtNlDg/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-05-01+at+5.08.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="571" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lexLvNuzpc_oGYxVdY0NC4rdyt0_baCOfo9BuqQjCU6tVO6Pd1BvU1jQOCyoWMGQkz2tPmM_5hIiofrmZEaETuezgue-725U-CkY1ohgWCm7X9hOwdCZOqTAdbnGlYqBdtNlDg/s320/Screen+shot+2019-05-01+at+5.08.09+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The politician, who represents the area in the state's parliament, Abdul Jalal Haruna Runka, told the BBC the attackers on motorbikes went on the rampage in the villages on Tuesday evening shooting people and burning houses.
<br />
<br />
Many people were also injured in Gobirawa and Sabawa villages.
<br />
<br />
This is the second time in a week that gunmen attacked the area killing several people and injuring others.
<br />
<br />
There's growing concern in northern Nigeria over the level of banditry and kidnapping in the states of Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna.
<br />
<br />
The states have long faced problems with armed groups stealing cattle, kidnapping for ransom and attacking communities, which has in turn prompted some local people to form vigilante gangs.
<br />
<br />
The Nigerian government has deployed troops to the region but that has yet to bring the violence to an end.</blockquote>
<hr />
<h3 class="lx-stream-post__header-title gel-great-primer-bold qa-post-title gs-u-mt0 gs-u-mb-" data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.1.1.0">
<span class="lx-stream-post__header-text gs-u-align-middle" data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.1.1.0.1" id="title_5ccac84fd30740067392bc94">Buhari's relative kidnapped in Nigeria</span></h3>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_0">
Police say gunmen have kidnapped a traditional ruler in Daura who is distantly related to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_0">
<br /></div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_1">
Musa
Umar was seized on
Wednesday evening from in front of his house by abductors who fired
shots into the air, Katsina state Police Spokesman Gambo Isa told the
BBC's Nasidi Adamu Yahya.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_1">
<br /></div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_2">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAqaarN-oO0FtpifTBb19cgTGWDYl8xmnFo2B91PpXH7XEQ8UizakuksCLDmfjTCidzwJFDBJMyGTuAMED_RVZf3bvZN_Lau3K6lCtM_80U8kbe8SMuHJweXbSlU9ywyxU7iiDw/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-05-02+at+10.31.28+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="426" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAqaarN-oO0FtpifTBb19cgTGWDYl8xmnFo2B91PpXH7XEQ8UizakuksCLDmfjTCidzwJFDBJMyGTuAMED_RVZf3bvZN_Lau3K6lCtM_80U8kbe8SMuHJweXbSlU9ywyxU7iiDw/s200/Screen+shot+2019-05-02+at+10.31.28+AM.png" width="200" /></a>Local police say one officer who was injured in a confrontation with the kidnappers is receiving treatment at a local hospital.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_2">
<br /></div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_3">
Mr
Umar is a distant relative by marriage of President Buhari, as well as
being the father-in-law of one of his senior aides. Daura is the
president's home town.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_3">
<br /></div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_5">
The
BBC's Joshua Ajayi in Lagos says the kidnapping is an embarrassment to
the president, as it shows that just about anyone can be abducted.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_5">
<br /></div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_6">
The president's office has not yet commented on the incident.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_7">
Kidnappings, often for ransom, are on the rise in north-western Nigeria.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_8">
On Tuesday, dozens of gunmen attacked two villages in the same state and killed 14 people.</div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_8">
<br /></div>
<div data-reactid=".1t0k7fw27m.3.0.0.1.0.$lx-commentary.$lx-commentary.2.0.1.1:$post-5ccac84fd30740067392bc94.0.3.0.0:$post_9">
The
Nigerian government has repeatedly claimed it is tackling the problem
by deploying troops to the region but that has yet to bring the violence
to an end.</div>
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-73784692301976898472019-05-02T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-02T05:30:10.708-05:00What is not allowed in IranClerical influence in Iran spreads more widely.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-47041611"><b>Tehran bans dog walking in public spaces</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
Iran's capital city has banned the public from walking pet dogs, as part of a long-standing official campaign to discourage dog-ownership…
<br />
<br />
As if this were not draconian enough, Brigadier-General Rahimi added that driving with a dog in your car was also banned…
<br />
<br />
Owning dogs as pets, and walking them in public, has been contentious ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, and owners have sometimes had their dogs confiscated.
<br />
<br />
Dogs are viewed as "unclean" by Iran's Islamic authorities, who also regard dog-ownership as a symbol of the pro-Western policy of the ousted monarchy… </blockquote>
<hr />
<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48064650"><b>Iran TV pulls game shows amid religious gambling row</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
Iranian state TV has temporarily banned the country's equivalent of "Who Wants to a Millionaire" after complaints by senior clerics and conservatives.
<br />
<br />
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that game-shows endanger the "culture of hard work and productivity" that the country seeks to encourage.
<br />
<br />
Now a senior Shia cleric has issued a fatwa (an Islamic religious ruling) against shows like "Be a Winner" that offer cash prizes.
<br />
<br />
Gambling is banned under Islamic law…
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<br />
The show, hosted by actor and model Mohammad Reza Golzar, gives contestants the chance to win up to 1bn Iranian rials (about $25,000) and allows audiences to win money by participating at home via an app… <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW8xz4nDd58bXg9wnuLvlc7Nsf7_8p-JWmattkfb5Lt30E9kGp58y05NOtRO4i9L_UmwNRJVH_PvCmjXjMDcgdmPlsH51n2miuByC4mIkrc5pH_t5Cr_wR7ll2euafGHDiXcDeg/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-29+at+10.45.14+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="424" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW8xz4nDd58bXg9wnuLvlc7Nsf7_8p-JWmattkfb5Lt30E9kGp58y05NOtRO4i9L_UmwNRJVH_PvCmjXjMDcgdmPlsH51n2miuByC4mIkrc5pH_t5Cr_wR7ll2euafGHDiXcDeg/s320/Screen+shot+2019-04-29+at+10.45.14+AM.png" width="320" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mohammad Reza Golzar</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-45421865"><b>Buffalo bottoms prove too much for Iranian TV censors</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
You might expect Iran's state broadcaster to remove images of women eating cucumbers on television - but the backsides of buffaloes and the outlines of ears under headscarves?
<br />
<br />
Censors in the conservative Islamic republic have banned these from screens over the years and exasperated TV production staff are now taking to social media to laugh about them.
<br />
<br />
TV writer Amir Mehdi Jule kicked off a campaign on Instagram with the hashtag #Censorship_and_I, talking about the challenges of depicting women's bodies.
<br />
<br />
"One of the problems of displaying women on television, in addition to the [need for them to wear a] headscarf… is the perception or illusion of the size of their body parts underneath their clothes," he said.
<br />
<br />
But he never expected feedback asking him to pay attention to the size and shape of women's ears. "We never realised that an ear covered by a headscarf could be provocative," he said… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-47222917362202544062019-05-01T05:30:00.000-05:002019-05-01T05:30:13.048-05:00Complicated politics in the UKWill Brexit lead to UKBreakup?
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-scotland-poll-idUKKCN1S30CE"><b>Brexit drives support for Scottish independence to 49 percent</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
Support for Scottish independence has risen to its highest point in the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to remain in the European Union…
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvd69uKe9DvcXO1Rh_PzwQu8yBlpuD7b1gLQh_FfkBuyoJh1_dDTrTgbN_Gb_ZfNNE9ZRGPCN2DYKkqgBcQJraX_KH96QXPEQgptvtS-fDX2k6FuzsVGCrpg5K-GrchXQ0169k3Q/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-27+at+12.01.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="538" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvd69uKe9DvcXO1Rh_PzwQu8yBlpuD7b1gLQh_FfkBuyoJh1_dDTrTgbN_Gb_ZfNNE9ZRGPCN2DYKkqgBcQJraX_KH96QXPEQgptvtS-fDX2k6FuzsVGCrpg5K-GrchXQ0169k3Q/s200/Screen+shot+2019-04-27+at+12.01.27+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
As the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) meets for its spring conference, the YouGov poll showed support for secession from the United Kingdom had risen to 49 percent from 45 percent at the last YouGov poll carried out for <i>The Times </i>in June 2018.
<br />
<br />
Scots rejected independence by 45-55 percent in a 2014 referendum. Then the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum, but among its four nations Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay, feeding political tension.
<br />
<br />
Britain is mired in political chaos and it is still unclear when or even if it will leave the EU.
<br />
<br />
YouGov also found that 53 percent of Scots thought there should not be another referendum on independence within the next five years…
<br />
<br />
The poll also showed voters moving away from both the Conservatives and the Labour Party north of the English border… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-58169336181114451392019-04-30T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-30T05:30:04.370-05:00Chinese "king" in NIgeriaI wonder if the immigrant to Nigeria ever studied comparative politics.
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<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-48019260"><b>Chinese businessman becomes a chief in Nigeria</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
A leader of the Chinese community in northern Nigeria has been crowned, or "turbaned", as a chief by the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
<br />
<br />
The emir holds a lot of influence and is a religious and cultural leader in the region.
<br />
<br />
At a traditional ceremony in Kano Mike Zhang took the title of Wakilin Yan China, meaning the leader of the Chinese residents, as his head was wrapped in a turban. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHwNJg-XbQEoRKri4ATDz0n2eSETM8qlQ_F7NV_wXMsLF-LeJWAqAfJrp1Pr5CNAJ8ikMDUe9K1Z6JIrtftpcORZm2KVJNMcZkStxQknndgU5WQiRbGhKlOWMpjHw7MZzSpXT-w/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-25+at+8.34.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHwNJg-XbQEoRKri4ATDz0n2eSETM8qlQ_F7NV_wXMsLF-LeJWAqAfJrp1Pr5CNAJ8ikMDUe9K1Z6JIrtftpcORZm2KVJNMcZkStxQknndgU5WQiRbGhKlOWMpjHw7MZzSpXT-w/s320/Screen+shot+2019-04-25+at+8.34.51+AM.png" width="266" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mike Zhang</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This ceremony is a recognition of the growing importance of the Chinese community in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, BBC Hausa editor Jimeh Saleh says.
<br />
<br />
There are a lot of Chinese businesses and traders in the city who are sometimes accused of taking other people's jobs and engaging in unfair competition.
<br />
<br />
Mr Zhang will be a vital link between the Chinese community and the locals.</blockquote>
<br />
SEE ALSO: <a href="https://howafrica.com/chinese-man-to-be-made-chief-in-northern-nigeria/"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Chinese Man to be Made Chief in Northern Nigeria</span></a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1iorqcMh1j1yf2L4fu6K6Otz6MY-TL1v4-lCuW5odwX5eaY-wo_UMisZmae2_8Fbhuc-6rr7UEPxoCJS-__8nGbmi5Z95TpGjnEB25b8_E3isu77R4uUGRfgDVwZHZMT5DuN3Q/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-25+at+8.43.00+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="539" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1iorqcMh1j1yf2L4fu6K6Otz6MY-TL1v4-lCuW5odwX5eaY-wo_UMisZmae2_8Fbhuc-6rr7UEPxoCJS-__8nGbmi5Z95TpGjnEB25b8_E3isu77R4uUGRfgDVwZHZMT5DuN3Q/s200/Screen+shot+2019-04-25+at+8.43.00+AM.png" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mike Zhang</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-43411479125035378552019-04-29T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-29T05:30:03.936-05:00Mobile campaign signs or political spiff?Did the governor hand out gifts or just mobile campaign signs?
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<br />
<a href="http://saharareporters.com/2019/04/22/exclusive-ondo-apc-members-kick-akeredolu-orders-them-return-buhari-osinbajo-campaign"><b>Ondo APC Members Kick As Akeredolu [the governor] Orders Them To Return Buhari-Osinbajo Campaign Vehicles </b></a><br />
<blockquote>
Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor of Ondo State, has ordered the withdrawal of all the branded vehicles he donated for the re-election bid and campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 general election, <i>SaharaReporters</i> can exclusively report.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkJKgVw18nDeYXtMY11Zv_6QAY2eCdpXvC6XksXckVQsitDEgfwt-lYZB9BhuZyDU_QN5N276C1mhMTdwCim-9reCgZ8bHe3YlT8KJhYpc5OGV8vllI9cUqxWzFllqLPNpVl4Kg/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-22+at+9.47.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="465" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkJKgVw18nDeYXtMY11Zv_6QAY2eCdpXvC6XksXckVQsitDEgfwt-lYZB9BhuZyDU_QN5N276C1mhMTdwCim-9reCgZ8bHe3YlT8KJhYpc5OGV8vllI9cUqxWzFllqLPNpVl4Kg/s320/Screen+shot+2019-04-22+at+9.47.52+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The vehicles donated by Akeredolu before the election were presented to some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state…
<br />
<br />
As of press time, the motives behind the withdrawal of the branded campaign vehicles were not known to the party leaders/members, who have been grumbling underground since the decision was effected.
<br />
<br />
To further confirm withdrawal of the branded vehicles, <i>SaharaReporters</i> exclusively obtained a terse memo calling on leaders and members of the party in possession of the branded vehicles to return them…
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<br />
Multiple sources in the ruling party in the state, who spoke with <i>SaharaReporters</i>, expressed great dissatisfaction with the order for return of the vehicles.
<br />
<br />
These sources wondered why Akeredolu would abruptly call for the return of vehicles that were given to them as gifts…
<br />
<br />
When <i>SaharaReporters</i> contacted Alhaji Yusuf Sanya Isiaka, the Senior Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Governor, he said the vehicles were not really "gifts" but were only given out to aid campaigns.
<br />
<br />
"What the Governor did was to give those buses for campaign purposes; it was not a gift," he said.
<br />
<br />
"It was just to aid their campaign programme during the electioneering period, and the arrangment was that after the election, it should be return. So, that was the arrangment between them and the MHAs (members of the House of Assembly).
<br />
<br />
"So, they were aware... before these buses were handed over to them, they were all told that they would return them after campaign. And they have actually complied. If it was a gift, nobody would comply. it was not a gift." </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-30822887533646857222019-04-26T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-26T05:30:05.271-05:00Red tape in China. Patriotic? Necessary?Red Tape is the symbol of government restrictions on independent action by people, groups, and companies. China may be the champion of red tape and democratic centralism may be the primary cause.
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<br />
<a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3007020/chinas-endless-war-red-tape-leads-more-red-tape"><b>China’s endless war on red tape leads to … more red tape</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
China’s war on bureaucratic window dressing has been stepped up, with 2019 declared the year of reducing the burden on grass-roots officials. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlIacx0qIwTWF90LKMbQTx9Pmag0vi76Tr1L6pnuPJY6GYCHLfpNmc4qhrpp8DFrRV6VkL8LB0G0l4oond3PiZHm6F3KaHehaD5QwtF-GC9XvMAw0kO3AhD7NdEVgC5P-fP-ctw/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-22+at+9.16.30+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="758" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlIacx0qIwTWF90LKMbQTx9Pmag0vi76Tr1L6pnuPJY6GYCHLfpNmc4qhrpp8DFrRV6VkL8LB0G0l4oond3PiZHm6F3KaHehaD5QwtF-GC9XvMAw0kO3AhD7NdEVgC5P-fP-ctw/s320/Screen+shot+2019-04-22+at+9.16.30+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Chinese President Xi Jinping is counting on the millions of junior party cadres across the country to implement his ambitious campaigns to end corruption, alleviate poverty and rejuvenate the nation. Instead, they often find themselves entangled in endless meetings and exhausted by the mountains of reports they are required to prepare…
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<br />
Li, a staffer at a county-level legislature in the southern province of Guangdong… said his fellow cadres also lamented that their appraisals were based on “ridiculous” check-the-box indicators instead of meaningful measures of their performance…
<br />
<br />
In a March directive announcing the latest crackdown on “formalism” – as the flurry of meaningless bureaucratic activity is known in China – the party’s Central Committee warned against evaluating cadres’ performance solely on the basis of photos or videos taken of their work.
<br />
<br />
The directive, which declared 2019 the year for reducing the grass roots burden, also called for governments to cut down on meetings and guidelines by 30 to 50 per cent.
<br />
<br />
The number of meetings being held is staggering. Last week local state media reported that the public Security Bureau in Tianjin City, northeast China, had convened more than 160,000 meetings in recent years for its officers to learn from past corruption cases involving the city’s former mayor and police chief…
<br />
<br />
The March directive to chip away at redundant files and meetings showed the central government realised that bureaucrats could hardly focus on their real tasks with all that red tape, Zhuang said…
<br />
<br />
Since coming to power, Xi has made repeated efforts to chip away at the stubborn sloth of China’s bureaucracy. He declared war against “formalism” almost immediately after becoming the party’s general secretary in 2012…
<br />
<br />
Nor is Xi the first Chinese leader to tackle the issue. Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao all tried to fix the problem, with varying degrees of success, only to see the problem emerge once again, seemingly stronger than ever…
<br />
<br />
To many civil servants, the campaigns – many aimed at curbing formalism themselves – have only meant more meetings, more documents, more peculiar evaluations, in which they are required to repeatedly reflect on their mistakes, and endlessly rewrite most of their reports…
<br />
<br />
And, just days after Beijing’s directive, Li received a new guideline from the municipal party cell, handed down at 10am.
<br />
<br />
“May all counties submit documents on discussions about ‘curbing the burden of grass roots governance’. The voice of the front line needs to be heard,” it read.
<br />
<br />
“All materials shall be sent to the municipal party cell’s mailbox by three this afternoon,” the guideline continued.</blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-54741271452087145022019-04-25T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-25T05:30:06.595-05:00The biggest part of the regime?The Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran may be the biggest military, economic, and political force in the country. It probably rivals China's PLA in importance to the regime.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/21/world/middleeast/iran-revolutionary-guards-leader.html"><b>Iran’s Supreme Leader Replaces Head of Revolutionary Guards</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
Iran’s supreme leader has replaced the top commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps… two weeks after the Trump administration designated the elite force of the Iranian military as a foreign terrorist organization…
<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Bd7PmzuTLbLyzEHRdesh6b8AEQ3zuxwNaDai5kM9eE8xcVKPTpZk3Cx7lgCwD8GxEhrMoES_oYjkcvpXy-IIATCqN1U4gd-zKKQWj3KEI3RoVlkHt9_bVMhgjAa8MApjAU6zgg/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-22+at+8.48.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="369" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Bd7PmzuTLbLyzEHRdesh6b8AEQ3zuxwNaDai5kM9eE8xcVKPTpZk3Cx7lgCwD8GxEhrMoES_oYjkcvpXy-IIATCqN1U4gd-zKKQWj3KEI3RoVlkHt9_bVMhgjAa8MApjAU6zgg/s200/Screen+shot+2019-04-22+at+8.48.04+AM.png" width="200" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gen. Salami</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mr. Khamenei replaced General Jafari with a deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Brig. Gen Hossein Salami, and elevated his rank to major general.
<br />
<br />
General Salami takes over a 125,000-member branch of the Iranian military that has grown into a vast military-industrial complex since it was created by founders of the Islamic revolution that overthrew the shah 40 years ago.
<br />
<br />
The Revolutionary Guards Corps reports directly to Ayatollah Khamenei, exerts deep influence in politics and the economy, and has its own air force, navy and intelligence service.
<br />
<br />
It also is in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile development and operates a subsidiary known as the Al Quds force, which carries out clandestine operations and other activities in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq…
<br />
<br />
General Salami has been outspoken recently in expressing Iran’s antipathy toward Israel, which regards Iran as its most dangerous foe in the Middle East… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-89150972689276136872019-04-24T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-24T05:30:05.216-05:00Chinese rock and roll Musicians must be careful about what they say, but some of them are very loud.
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<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47980486"><b>The special flavour of rock’n’roll Beijing</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
<i>The indie bands of the Chinese capital, Beijing, have their own raw, distinctive sound, says the BBC's Stephen McDonell - partly because they are so isolated from the rest of the rock'n'roll world… </i>
<br />
<br />
Of course you can hear outstanding symphonies or jazz here. There are plays, there's dance, and there's still traditional Chinese music like Peking opera on offer. But the country's indie bands are dealing with the China of today - meaning, they know they have to be careful what they say and how they say it…
<br />
<br />
But Beijing's music-bar owners seem pretty blase about the prospect of being closed down or arrested because of subversive lyrics. Most musicians seem to know, somehow, the limits of what can be said. They push up against the edge - and when they cross the line, they usually do so in a clever, cryptic fashion…
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<br />
And let's not forget, most artists here sing mostly about young love, heartbreak, hangovers, the streets where they live, the people they miss.
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<br />
Some will wonder what's so special about Beijing and bands. It's not as if the city invented rock'n'roll. What created what we might describe as a "Beijing sound" has been isolation. It's not that the young rockers of China have never heard of David Bowie or the Foo Fighters, it's that few international bands play here. So, if you want to go and see some live music, it's odds-on to be a Chinese band.
<br />
<br />
The sound itself is raw, less polished, with mountains of enthusiasm and commitment to nothing more than the love of music for its own sake. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR7CWFrFKM9P27qpwJBNAGtoTnYTZiqS329gBDTpAxR0pl2K00v5UMVaKpvtVv4VQXdNMnWw04d1h7PpiJSp9y3HJiFp1ZZOKOF3MFUG3ddXa-hUWlvQN4a7yJ0lYUKZQgnuZRw/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-21+at+1.41.02+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR7CWFrFKM9P27qpwJBNAGtoTnYTZiqS329gBDTpAxR0pl2K00v5UMVaKpvtVv4VQXdNMnWw04d1h7PpiJSp9y3HJiFp1ZZOKOF3MFUG3ddXa-hUWlvQN4a7yJ0lYUKZQgnuZRw/s320/Screen+shot+2019-04-21+at+1.41.02+PM.png" width="170" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ricky Sixx (Prince wannabe)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Players know they're never going to be on television in China, never going to be played on the radio here. Their fans hear their music by coming to the gigs. Popularity spreads by word of mouth.
<br />
<br />
There's a sense that everyone is equal. The most famous band will not necessarily be the headline act. The line-up is often drawn out of a hat and the set lists can be completely random…
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<br />
I remember the first time I saw PK 14 play. They'd turn heads at any international music festival. Who did they remind me of? Was it early Talking Heads or Joy Division?
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</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
Not really. This nerdy, cool, shaking, high-energy, poetic explosion of music was all their own, with Chinese lyrics pelting out over syncopated drum rhythms and thrashing guitars.
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<br />
You can't get this anywhere else: you have to come to Beijing… </blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-28085091173137906442019-04-23T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-23T05:30:08.869-05:00Is this political culture?Can you find anything political about this festival? (research time)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47964186"><b>In pictures: Wearing fancy dress for big yams in Nigeria</b></a><br />
<blockquote>
It has been one big party this week in the town of Arondizuogu in southern Nigeria, with feasting and parades to give thanks for the last harvest and to usher in the new planting season.
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<br />
The Ikeji Festival, which last for seven days, brings together many thousands of ethnic Igbo people, from far and wide, to the town in Imo state.
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<br />
During the festivities, some men are authorised by secret cultural Igbo societies to dress up as ancestral spirits in what is called a masquerade. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaR_VCdpbW34rAI6VQjs2J-F4j94g2SlQMtehQHq5hq6G2IbGpjY_RtUJBuIPKNQd5NhMxFLkpbuLdW_xrUv8u7gNrqg0NVnjTq0sgRNO2X5m1QYQbKhNDGX3PFK4S5dE1aTfVg/s1600/Screen+shot+2019-04-20+at+8.08.59+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="581" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaR_VCdpbW34rAI6VQjs2J-F4j94g2SlQMtehQHq5hq6G2IbGpjY_RtUJBuIPKNQd5NhMxFLkpbuLdW_xrUv8u7gNrqg0NVnjTq0sgRNO2X5m1QYQbKhNDGX3PFK4S5dE1aTfVg/s320/Screen+shot+2019-04-20+at+8.08.59+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
They are accompanied by a bell bearer, who explains to the crowds the messages the spirit world wishes to pass on - usually blessings for a bountiful harvest to come.
<br />
<br />
The masked figures perform for the crowds as they go down the streets - and as part of the rituals, chickens and goats are sacrificed to the ancestors to encourage them to grant their blessings.
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<br />
<br />
<br />
[<i>A dozen photos by BBC Igbo's Chiemela Mgbeahuru</i>]</blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-87930934221197580242019-04-22T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-22T05:30:06.048-05:00Nigeria's Chief Justice Onnoghen Gets the Boot
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Chief Justice
Walter Onnoghen who was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to declare
all his assets, has been found guilty by the Code of Conduct Tribunal in a
two-hour judgement, declaring that Onnoghen violated the Code of Conduct Bureau
rules for public officers of his status and has among others, barred him from
public office for ten years.</span>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;">From</span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"> The Guardian, Abuja</span></i></div>
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<h3 style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201904190049.html">Nigeria: CCT Convicts, Sacks Onnoghen As Chief Justice, NJC Chairman</a></h3>
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<div class="story-body-text" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The allegation of
false and non-assets declaration against Justice Walter Onnoghen, which began
like a bad dream in January, came to a dramatic end yesterday at the Code of
Conduct Tribunal (CCT).Onnoghen watched helplessly as the tribunal headed by
Mr. Danladi Umar, a non-judicial officer, found him guilty of the six-count
charge brought against him by the Federal Government through the Code of
Conduct Bureau (CCB).</span></div>
<div class="story-body-text" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="story-body-text" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The tribunal in a unanimous
judgment also ordered the removal of Onnoghen as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)
and chairman, National Judicial Council (NJC). He was also barred from holding
public office for 10 years for contravening the CCB laws in his Assets
Declaration Form. Onnoghen will, in addition, forfeit to the Federal
Government, various sums of money found in his five bank accounts with Standard
Chartered Bank, having failed to declare them… </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="story-body-text" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Reactions have been
trailing the ruling. Ibadan-based lawyer, Fatai Akinsanmi, said: "I was
not shocked because I had been following the matter. When the news broke, many
thought it was witch-hunting but the unfolding scenarios show it was not a witch-hunt.
It is a good development if the number one judicial officer can be prosecuted
and judgment is served. The CCT ought to investigate individual claims in their
Code of Conduct form."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Lagos-based rights
group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), welcomed the
verdict… </span></div>
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</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-39624199735586720372019-04-18T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-18T05:30:01.285-05:00Old news revisitedAn analysis from <i>The South China Morning Post</i> columnist reviews the release of one of President Xi's first speeches as leader of the PRC.
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<a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3004897/xi-jinpings-speech-shows-chinas-communist-party-still-haunted"><b>Xi Jinping’s speech shows China’s Communist Party is still haunted by the fall of the Soviet Union</b></a><br />
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Monday [marked] the publication of lengthy excerpts – 6,000 words in total – from a speech Xi gave in January 2013, less than two months after he became party chief and two months before he was confirmed as the state president…
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Though innocuously titled “A few issues on upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics” and made public six years later, those excerpts… are still significant and relevant today, because of their timing and content.
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On January 5 six years ago, Xi gave that speech to about 300 newly appointed members of the party’s Central Committee with the rest of the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee – the country’s highest governing council – present at the auditorium of the Central Party School.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of the Chinese leadership</i></td></tr>
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That was probably the first time Xi had revealed his intentions in detail to China’s political elites…
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According to the excerpts, Xi struck a forceful but frank tone in laying out his vision for the party and the country and warning of the dangers ahead.
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Citing Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Xi said socialism would triumph over capitalism but cited Deng Xiaoping as saying that it would be a long historical process, which would probably take several dozens of generations.
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He warned that the collapse of the Soviet Union served as a painful lesson for the party. The underlying reason for the collapse was that the Soviet Communist Party had lost its ideological controls, he said.
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[H]e said the party’s decision to pursue reform and opening up in 1978 had ensured the country would achieve stability and prosperity without copying the Western system…
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Even more interestingly, he recognised that Western developed countries would maintain long-term economic, technological, and military advantages and China must be fully prepared for the two systems – socialism in its primary stage and a more advanced capitalism – to cooperate and struggle for a long time to come.
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As China must learn and borrow from capitalism, it must face the reality that people would compare the strong points of Western developed countries with the shortcomings of China’s socialist development and be critical, Xi said…
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The timing of the release [of the speech] is also significant as several politically sensitive anniversaries are coming up.
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June marks the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests and the subsequent bloody government crackdown. Efforts to mark the occasion will again focus the international spotlight on China’s political system and spur calls for political reform.
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In October, China will hold elaborate ceremonies to mark the 70 anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic. While China has lots to celebrate – its economic strength and its lifting of hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, for example – Chinese leaders will be reminded of the enormous domestic challenges ahead…
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China’s economy may be the world’s second largest already and Xi has undertaken comprehensive and forceful steps to strengthen the party’s control at all levels of society, but its leaders are still smarting from the collapse of the then 69-year-old Soviet Union in 1991.
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The release of Xi’s six-year-old speech is aimed at sending a clear message on where he stands on these thorny political issues.
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<i>The analyst who wrote this essay is Wang Xiangwei the former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post. He is now based in Beijing as editorial adviser to the paper. The South China Morning Post is an independent newspaper that almost always follows the Communist Party line.</i></blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27447396.post-30919342584969449192019-04-17T05:30:00.000-05:002019-04-17T05:30:05.184-05:00Sliding on Chinese iceHow does curling reinforce Chinese political ideas?
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<a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2019/04/13/need-a-metaphor-for-a-rising-china-try-its-national-curling-squad"><b>Need a metaphor for a rising China? Try its national curling squad</b></a><br />
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IN THE PAST athletes in China had a particular image problem, reports Lei Yi, a sports official. Almost universally, she regrets to say, people thought that sports were for strong, fit people who “don’t have a brain”. Happily, views have changed. Specifically, says Ms Lei, sports are seen as a way to teach young Chinese useful lessons about working hard, believing in themselves and in their team, and not giving up easily.
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If Ms Lei’s case for sports sounds a little light on fun and heavy on improving virtues, she has an excuse. She is a team leader from China’s General Administration of Sport, and has less than four years to prepare a dozen perfectly trained athletes for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. Her domain is curling, a team game played on ice that was almost unknown in China 20 years ago. Almost five centuries after matches were first recorded on the frozen ponds of Scotland and the Low Countries, curling has been declared a sport that plays to China’s strengths.
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Curling is a bit like lawn bowls, except played on ice with a lump of polished granite that can, as it glides, have its trajectory altered by team-mates madly scrubbing the ice in its path. The stone’s squat shape gives the sport its Chinese name of <i>binghu</i>, or “ice kettle”. The central authorities… hope to build [rinks] in every province, says Ms Lei. During the Winter Olympics in 2022 a swimming arena from the Beijing games of 2008, the Water Cube, will host curling matches as the Ice Cube.
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Kate Caithness, president of the World Curling Federation, the governing body based in Scotland, has become a frequent visitor to China. She found officials drawn to curling’s reputation as “chess on ice”—a brainy sport best mastered by years of dogged practice…
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The aim is to meet two distinct goals set by Xi Jinping, the country’s leader. At the elite level, China has a reasonable chance of winning Olympic medals in curling, says Ms Caithness. That would fulfil Mr Xi’s quest for grand sporting achievements, of a sort that would bring closer his “Chinese dream” of prosperity and national pride. At the amateur level, the game is accessible enough to help meet another of Mr Xi’s stated targets, namely to turn at least 300m Chinese into winter-sports enthusiasts.
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Just in case the squad that Ms Lei oversees was not feeling enough pressure, in February Mr Xi dropped in on their camp at the National Winter Sports Training Centre. “Strong sports make the country strong and a strong country makes sports strong,” he declared. The squad could be a metaphor for a rising China. It is part of a national programme for high performance in sports…
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Asked about curling’s appeal in China, Ms Lei notes that it is one of very few team sports in the Winter Olympics. That matters, because in Chinese culture “we always advocate that you need to put your country’s interest over your personal interest, and your team’s interest over your personal interest,” she says. She describes how, in curling, a skilful player may have to bow to the team’s interest and take a boringly safe shot, rather than “have a showtime” and try for personal glory. She describes an almost military chain of command, with the “skip” or captain at the top.
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If some sports reward individual creativity, even a touch of wildness, others favour discipline. Ms Lei says there is creativity in curling, but concedes that “discipline is more important”. Patience, too, is needed to endure three-hour games, and tournaments that could involve 33 hours on the ice, or “torture”, as Ms Lei cheerfully calls it.
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The junior game is a bit more joyful, as a visit to the Xuhui District Youth Sports School in Shanghai shows. In China winter sports are associated with the country’s bluff, hard-living north-east. But affluent Shanghai, as if eager to shed its business-obsessed, slightly effete image, has invested in three curling rinks since 2012. In all 1,500 students have signed up. It helps that curling is less dangerous than ice hockey and speed skating, says Zhou Wenjia, general secretary of the Shanghai Curling Association. “Shanghai parents are quite protective of their kids,” she explains. Her association assures anxious parents that sports will develop their children’s willpower, as well as their physical fitness. “I don’t know if it’s authoritative, but I have heard that Chinese and Jewish people have the highest IQs,” adds Ms Zhou, venturing that this gives Chinese players “quite the advantage”…
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To date Canada is the world’s curling superpower, with over a million regular players. China has a long way to go but—as in other areas—its ambitions already reveal a lot.</blockquote>
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