Grace to grass Gbagbo at the Hague to face ICC

Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested and flown to The Hague overnight to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, the first former head of state to be tried by the ICC since its inception in 2002.

The world's top war crimes court opened an investigation last month into killings, rapes and other abuses committed during a four-month conflict in Ivory Coast triggered by Gbagbo's refusal to cede power to Alassane Ouattara in an election last year.

Fadi El Abdallah, an ICC spokesman, said Gbagbo would make an initial appearance in court within a few days, where he would be informed of his rights and the charges brought against him.

"Mr Gbagbo allegedly bears individual criminal responsibility, as indirect co-perpetrator, for four counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts," the ICC said in a statement on Wednesday.

Gbagbo's arrest and detention in The Hague was welcomed by human rights groups, but could prove divisive in Ivory Coast and trigger unrest among his supporters.

The timing of the transfer is particularly sensitive, coming just days before a December 11 parliamentary election which Gbagbo's FPI party is already boycotting in protest at the treatment of its top officials arrested in connection with the conflict.

Gbagbo's aides have already branded the ICC "victor's justice," saying it demonstrates the bias of international players towards former top IMF executive Ouattara, who came to power only after French soldiers helped him oust Gbagbo.

Gbagbo's arrest marks a big breakthrough for the ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who has up to now struggled to get hold of some of his biggest targets.

"It is exactly a year since the presidential election that led to one of the worst episodes of violence Cote d'Ivoire has ever known, with ordinary Ivorians suffering immensely, and crimes allegedly committed by both parties," Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement.

"We have evidence that the violence did not happen by chance: widespread and systematic attacks against civilians perceived as supporting the other candidate were the result of a deliberate policy."

The prosecutor said crimes were committed by both parties in the election, and that he expected to bring more cases before the court irrespective of political affiliations.

"Leaders must understand that violence is no longer an option to retain or gain power. The time of impunity for these crimes is over," he said.

Gbagbo, 66, is one of between two and six people the ICC prosecutor has said he wants to focus on in a civil war that killed 3,000 people and uprooted more than a million.

The conflict ended only when French-backed pro-Ouattara forces captured Gbagbo on April 11.

WHISKED TO THE HAGUE

Both the ICC and the Ivory Coast authorities tried to keep Gbagbo's arrest and transfer to The Hague secret to avoid any risk that it could be derailed or provoke unrest.

The arrest warrant was issued under seal, a process that ensures it is kept secret until the last minute.

Gbagbo was whisked by helicopter on Tuesday from remote Korhogo in northern Ivory Coast, where he had been under house arrest since his capture, and put on a plane to Rotterdam where he arrived on Wednesday morning. A convoy of police vans drove him to the detention centre in The Hague.

His trial by the ICC is likely to prove as divisive as his election loss -- almost half of Ivorians voted for him.

Seeing Gbagbo on trial at the ICC could anger many Ivorians after Moreno-Ocampo said Libya could try Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam at home, despite an ICC warrant for him.

The militiamen who backed Gbagbo during the dispute have largely fled, been disarmed or are in hiding, but popular anger, especially in Gbagbo's homeland in the west, could easily flare.

"This victors' justice is in reality nothing but a political maneuver designed to liquidate President Gbagbo," his aide Toussaint Alain said in a statement.

The charge of victors' justice would be easier for Ouattara to refute if any of his men had been arrested for alleged crimes during the conflict, but none have.

"Gbagbo's transfer to the ICC is a welcome step to bring justice to victims of grave crimes in our country. But it is critical that the court investigate all serious crimes committed by all parties since the outbreak of armed conflict in 2002," said Ali Ouattara of human rights group Côte d'Ivoire Coalition for the ICC (CI-CPI) in a statement.

"Only through fair and impartial justice addressing all sides of the conflict can the ICC avoid criticisms of bias and thus truly help bring justice and reconciliation to Ivorians," he added.

NDC member apprehended in Kumasi for posing as a journalist

Drama unfolded at the Ashanti Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) in Kumasi on Saturday November 26, 2011 when a young man was arrested after posing as a journalist to deceive the organisers of a press soiree held for selected media personnel in the metropolis.

The true identity of Justice Frimpong, who is said to be working at the RCC on the premise of the ruling party, was exposed after he masqueraded as a reporter for a certain "Monday" newspaper, a paper yet to be traced on the market.

The whole drama began when the organisers of the programme, Ghana AIDS Commission, asked media personnel to sign their names and receive kits of documents containing information on HIV/AIDS, put together by the Commission.

As the media personnel took their turn to register their names, Justice Frimpong, who appeared a little bit confused, grabbed a pen, wrote his name, and assigned the Monday newspaper against it.

Not convinced about the identity of the culprit and the said newspaper, which he claimed he was working for, the Ashanti Regional Editor of the Ghanaian Times newspaper, Kingsley Hope, subjected him to thorough questioning, ostensibly to uncover his true identity and that of the newspaper he represented.

After several bouts of questioning, Justice appeared inconsistent in his answers, giving conflicting responses to questions that were being asked by "colleague" media personnel.

First, the culprit told journalists present at the occasion that the Monday newspaper was based in Accra, and mentioned one Inusah as his news editor, who assigned him for the programme, which had been exclusively organised for media personnel in the Ashanti Region.

Still not convinced, Hope asked him to give him the number of the said editor so that he could cross-check from him if, indeed, there was a newspaper like Monday, of which he (Inusah) was the editor.

The conversation that took place between Hope and the supposed news editor, which was put on loud speaker went as follows:

Hope: Good evening, sir, is that Mr.Inusah?

Inusah: Yeah, this is Inusah who am I speaking with?

Hope: Please my name is Kingsley Hope of the Ghanaian Times in Kumasi; please we would like to know if you happen to be the news editor of a newspaper called "Monday".

Inusah: No, I don't know anything about what you are talking about.

Hope: There is a guy here at the Regional Coordinating Council, who goes by the name Justice Frimpong, and he says you sent him from Accra to cover a programme here in Kumasi.

Inusah: Yeah, I know Justice, but I didn't send him anywhere, and I am not a news editor.

At this juncture, the culprit, who realised that his antics had failed, started shivering and panting for breath, but kept holding onto his identity, insisting he was a journalist.

But, after reeling under several interrogations, Justice finally confessed that he was not a journalist, and begged that he be forgiven, but the media personnel insisted he be handed over to the police to serve as a deterrent to others who parade the corridors of event organisers posing as journalists and extorting monies from them.

It, however, took the intervention of some National Democratic Congress sympathizers and one staff at the RCC, who later identified him as a casual worker and a member of the ruling party.

Credit: The Ghanaian Chronicle

Sex drive crash Frenchwoman to get €100,000 compensation for "absence of sexual relations"

Absence of sexual relations

A court in France has ordered a man to pay €10,000 ($13,300) in damages to his long-frustrated ex-wife after he failed in his marriage "duties" by withholding sex from her for years.
In the May ruling, published on November 29, 2011 in the Gazette du Palais judicial review, an appeals court in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence upheld an earlier decision to award the damages for "absence of sexual relations".
The couple, who are both 51, married in 1986 and have two children. They divorced in January 2009 in the city of Nice.

Sex drive crash reward €100,000

In its ruling, the court said the man's wife deserved the damages due to the suffering she endured because of her sexless marriage.
"The wife's expectations were legitimate in the sense that sexual relations between married people are an expression of their mutual affection and part of the duties that proceed from marriage," the court said.
It dismissed the husband's argument that health problems and long working hours had simply reduced the opportunities for the couple to have sex.
The court ruled that he had not proved "any health problems that would make him completely incapable of having intimate relations with his wife."

War looms over crude oil fields claims betweern Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire

.....unveils ‘controversial’ maritime border with Ghana covering prolific Jubilee oil fields despite ongoing talks

The government of Ivory Coast led by President Allasane Ouattara has mapped out a new maritime border it is sharing with Ghana covering some of Ghana’s jubilee oilfields.

The country has therefore publicly challenged Ghana over title to the offshore acreage hosting some of the region’s most prolific oil and gas fields. It is believed that the disputed border hold about a billion-barrel discoveries. Upstream news publication reports that officials at state oil company, Petroci, early November 2011 unveiled a controversial map redrawing the maritime border between the two nations, which has been in long-running talks over the disputed area.

“This scenario effectively sees the Ivory Coast as laying claim to much of Tullow Oil’s Jubilee, Tweneboa, Enyenra and Owo discoveries, among others, plus the West Tano-1X find and several prospects,” the publication cited an unamed source as saying.

According to Upstream, a source at Ghana’s energy sector said he “deplored the escalation” of the dispute adding “Ghana understood that the joint boundary commission is in place and should continue meeting to reach agreement on the bilateral dispute.”
Even though talks between Ghana and Ivory Coast has not been concluded, the publication says Ivory Coast now plans to develop its own gas processing infrastructure, ostensibly duplicating proposals advanced by Ghana, although most believe this move is simply political posturing ahead of a diplomatic solution to the maritime border impasse.
Head of the technical committee of the Presidential Commission, Mr. Lawrence Apaalse told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone Sunday June 26, 2010 that the Ivorians made some proposals to the Ghanaian Commission, but the proposals were not acceptable and they were asked to go back and review it.
“We were waiting to hear from them, and then they had the political situation in that country. We have not heard from them since that time,” he said.
Although there seems to be a looming diplomatic uproar, Ghanaian officials have painted a picture that the situation is under control and there is no cause for alarm.
Ghana’s Energy Minister Dr Joe Oteng Adjei at a press conference in Accra early October 2011 indicated that Ghanaians should not be worried about the border dispute. He made the comment the day President Ouattara paid a day visit to Ghana after assuming power.
It was believed that Outtara’s visit to Ghana was on two main issues – first was to get ex-President Laurent Gbagbo’s men hiding in Ghana to be arrested and second was how to solve the border dispute.
Meanwhile, the Jubilee Partners have already raised concerns about the boundary problem.
Texas-based oil explorer, Kosmos Energy has expressed fears about the development. The oil producer says the future of a portion of its license in the Deepwater Tano Block is uncertain as the issue remains unresolved. Kosmos fears that if changes are made to the maritime boundary demarcation between Ghana and Ivory Coast, it may lose some of its license. It has 18% stake in the Deepwater Tano block in the Gulf of Guinea.
The Dzata-1 well and the Deepwater Tano fall within the same boundary. Currently Ghana is the rightful owner of the area, but Ivory Coast has petitioned the United Nations to demarcate the Ivorian territorial maritime boundary with Ghana. Even though the two countries met in April 2010 for negotiations on the matter, Kosmos says the results of the meeting were not announced and the issue remains unresolved at present.
“Uncertainty remains with regard to the outcome of the boundary demarcation between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and we do not know if the maritime boundary will change, therefore affecting our rights to explore and develop our discoveries or prospects within such areas”, the Warburg Pincus and Blackstone Group (BX) backed company said in a filing form to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on April 25, 2011.

Conflict oil fields

Mills administration concedes duping Ghanaian fuel users from imposition of illegal taxes

It appears that the Mills administration has its back tightly pushed to the wall without any options but to admit its thievery. According to Citi FM News monitored, his deputy minister for Energy Inusah Fuseini has conceded that they will comply with the high court order forcing them to reduce fuel products prices by at least GHC1.00 each per one gallon. The energy Ministry has been at the centre of several acts of corruption since the Mills-led government took office. You would recall that recently the sector minister, Oteng-Gyasi dodged parliamentarians seeking to verify if he had signed and paid US$5 million to Tsatsu Tsikata in a very dubious circumstances. Prior to that, the ministry failed to replace the instrument for measuring how much crude oil is loaded onto the floating vessel. As a result, the government has been massaging the quantum of crude oil lifted in 2011 as there appears to be conflicting figures churn out by Mills-led government in the 2012 budget statement.

According to the Citi News item, though the minister is pledging to comply with the court's decision, he gave no indication as to when they intend to announce the adjustment. The Deputy Energy Minister according to Citi News only disclosed that fuel prices will be adjusted downwards at the pumps after the ex-differential tax imposed on Ghanaians was scrapped. As you and I know, the word 'will' is nothing but a vague promise and empty noise until it is translated into action at the pumps.
His announcement follows an Accra High Court ruling on November 28, 2011 that the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) should expunge the ex-refinery differential tax which was imposed on Ghanaians without parliamentary approval.
The court also directed that the accrued surplus since June 2009, which the plaintiffs estimated to be in the region of GHc 661 million, should be deposited into the Consolidated Fund on behalf of Ghanaians.
 Fuseini emphasized that the fuel prices will be adjusted downwards, but the NPA will take the necessary steps to appeal against the ruling.  

The NPP’s parliamentary candidate for Obuasi, Kweku Kwarteng, took the matter to court two years ago challenging the propriety of the tax. He claimed that the ex-refinery differential component of the ex-refinery price imposed by NPA and TOR on June 5, 2009 was illegal and that the ex-pump prices announced by the first defendant on June 5, 2009, on the basis of the ex-refinery prices referred to, were not in accordance with the prescribed petroleum pricing formula and therefore unlawful.

Mills short-chaining Ghanaian consumers through fuel overpricing

There are many people who have argued that the underdevelopment of Ghana since independence is not due to lack of human resources but lack of honest men. Those who hold this view often emphasis the point that people after the nation had used its tax money to hone the skills of its men, they end up applying the very knowledge so acquired dishonestly to the detriment of the ordinary people. Many of such characters often take advantage of the ignorance of the masses in duping them of public resources for their personal or group gain. One platform on which they ride to fame is politics and belonging to a political party in Ghana today is the easiest way to be become popular. You need to pronounce popular in a sarcastic manner. The popularity is often gained from lies and deceits. The more one is able to lie vociferously, so it seems, the more popular one's public rating goes up.

One case to illustrate this bizarre but true existence in our dear nation is the practice of the president of the Republic of Ghana. This is a man Ghanaians are told studied tax laws for his doctorate dissertation. He is also said to have  taught courses related to tax laws and revenue for a quarter of a century. To cap it all, he once served as the head of the Internal Revenue Service in the country. In fact he accused his predecessors of overburdening the people of Ghana with so many taxes for which he promised in his 2008 electioneering manifesto never to introduce any new taxes or increase any existing taxes. He even went further to pledge to sell a 7.5 litres for super petrol at GHC2. irrespective of how much crude oil is sold on the world market. The tax expert made Ghanaian voters to believe that they were paying more than their fair share of the burden because of many tax components embedded in the price build up. He promised to remove them and thereby bring down fuel price DRASTICALLY.

Then came his time in 2009, and what did he do? He did not just made fools of Ghanaian voters by doubling the price of fuel, it was also alleged that he was stealing from Ghanaian consumer by extra GHC1.00 per 7.5 litres (Gallon) of fuel. When people questioned the calculation, they dismissed such questions as foolish and ignorant. What is amazing about this extra GHC1.00 charged is that the President decided to put it into a private account that does not belong to the state. He opened a private account with Ecobank and since June 9, 20009 has never accounted for this day light robbery. It was no surprise therefore that his founder said he made amassed over US$90 million for his party primaries re-nomination bid early 2011. He laughed of the issue when questioned without answering but witnesses and observers of his campaign attested to the profligate spending.

Due to his intransigence to admit his thievery and account for his booty, a Ghanaian who believed in social justice, integrity, accountability and rule of law, Kwaku Kwarteng took the matter to court. Even at this stage, thief did not find it right to backtrack and retrace its steps and do what is needful and morally defensible. Finally, after two years, Justice Patrick Bayerh has legally ruled that President Mills has stolen GHC661 million from Ghanaians. The court has asked him to refund the stolen monies and return it into the consolidated fund. Ghanaians are wondering why the court did not call for further investigation into the matter and punish these common criminals. Others even doubt if these thieves will obey the court. The Supreme court ruled that people in this party should not use state resources to celebrate their coup commemoration but we all know that they never respect that ruling just as they refused to return either Dr. Wereko-Brobbery's Radio Eye gadgets or reinstate the policemen they illegally dismissed.

Below is the ruling accompanied by the reliefs Mr. Kwarteng sought.

Kwaku Kwarteng

  

RULING: 

An Accra High Court has ruled that the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) should scrap the ex-refinery differential tax which was imposed on Ghanaians without parliamentary approval.

The court also directed that the accrued surplus since June 2009, which the plaintiffs estimated to be in the region of GHc 661 million, should be deposited into the Consolidated Fund on behalf of Ghanaians.
The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Obuasi, Kweku Kwarteng, took the matter to court two years ago challenging the propriety of the tax. An application by the former NPP Communications Director, Kwaku Kwarteng and his Development Data (DD) policy research and advocacy organization, sought to outlaw the tax component imposed on June 5, 2009 by the an Atta Mills appointed NPA led Betty Mould Iddrissu's brother, Mr. Alex Mould.

Alex Mould and Kwabena Duffour who schemed to milk poor Ghanaians dry

He claimed that the ex-refinery differential component of the ex-refinery price imposed by NPA and TOR on June 5, 2009 was illegal and that the ex-pump prices announced by the first defendant on June 5, 2009, on the basis of the ex-refinery prices referred to, were not in accordance with the prescribed petroleum pricing formula and therefore unlawful.

On November 28, 2011, Justice Patrick Bayerh presiding over an Accra High Court ruled in favour of Mr Kwarteng. After the ruling, Kwtengar told the media that he expects fuel prices to be reduced and that the court’s order was for “an immediate abolition of the illegal imposition.” “The court granted all the reliefs we sought and that includes the fact that immediately that imposition is abolished. If it is abolished it means that from tomorrow it cannot be part of the fuel prices.”

Furthermore, Atta Mills' appointment officials at the NPA and TOR were also ordered to publicly declare the amount of money accrued from the imposition of the illegal “ex-refinery differential” and to pay same into the Consolidated Fund within four months. 

So even with all the shortages, Ghanaian consumers were being short-chained?

 

RELIEFS:

 
a) A Declaration that the “ex-refinery differential” component of the “exrefinery price” imposed by the 1st Defendant on 5th June 2009 was illegal.

b) A Declaration that the ex-pump prices announced by the 1st Defendant on 5th June 2009 on the basis of the “ex-refinery prices” referred to in (a) above, were not in accordance with the prescribed petroleum pricing formula and therefore unlawful.

c) An Order for the 2nd Defendant to cease the collection of the illegal “exrefinery differential” for 1st Defendant.

d) An Order directed at the 1st and 2nd Defendants to publicly declare the amount of money accrued from the imposition of the illegal “ex-refinery differential” and to pay same into the Consolidated Fund.

e) An Order for the 1st Defendant to publish periodically in the Gazette import parity prices of refined petroleum products.

Please I have lost count of how many cases the law professor's team has miserably lost so far. Can somebody help me? Will someone kindly whisper into Agya Atta's ears: Sɛ ɛyɛ di asɛmpa kakra, Yohane!!!

Fado inscribed intangible cultural heritage in times of longing for good old days

On November 27, 2011, Fado was inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. This piece of news sent cheers around Portugal and couldn't have come at any better time. Portugal is experiencing melancholy at present. Last month my electricity bill increased by a third. VAT alone jumped from 6% to 23% amounting in real terms to over 14 Euros on electricity consumption. Cost of living is becoming more expensive even as unemployment rate stands at 12%. Last Thursday 24th November 2011, Portugal was hit by general strike against austerity cuts. Hundreds of thousands of workers took part in a 24-hour strike against proposed austerity measures leading to grounding of flights and halting of public transport. Portugal was the third EU country after Greece and the Irish Republic to receive a 78bn euros bailout. Then nation is in deep recession. It is currently implementing a series of austerity measures as well as planning a series of privatisations to fix its shaky finances and reduce its debt burden. The country is highly indebted to Spain, and its banks are owed 7.5bn euros by Greece.Intangible culture is the counterpart of culture which is tangible or touchable, whereas intangible culture includes song, music, drama, skills, crafts, and the other parts of culture that can be recorded but cannot be touched and interacted with, without a vehicle for the culture. These cultural vehicles are called "Human Treasures" by the UN.Intangible Cultural Heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.

My first experience of Fado occurred in December 2010 at the invitation of the Erasmus coordinator for UMinho, Carlos Santos to a Fado Concerto Show at the rectory in Braga. I had no idea what it was. I enjoyed it very well. After the programme, my Portuguese friend Monica Santos explained to me that Fado is a collection or tradition of longing songs usually sang during the days of exploration by lonely wives left behind at the seashore. The colour of the dressing (predominantly black) reflects the mood of the singer. This summer I heard several versions of traditional Portuguese songs and one friend Silvia remarked that they are not singing but mere shouting and noise-making. They have high pitches. Portugal is currently facing its biggest economic challenges in many years.

Fado is probably the oldest urban folk music in the world and represents the heart of the Portuguese soul, and for that matter fado performance is not successful if an audience is not moved to tears. History of Fado Listening to Fado is like visiting Lisbon, meeting the Portuguese people, those that once upon a time faced the unknown sea. This type of music that connected nobles, vagabonds and seafarers, is still nowadays a shared passion by all Portuguese. Fado A shawl, a guitar, a voice and heartfelt emotion. These are the ingredients of Fado, the celebrated form of world music that captures what it is to be Portuguese.
Inspiration for Fado can come from almost any source. Although there are predominance of themes like: destiny, deep-seated feelings, disappointments in love, the sense of sadness and longing for someone who has gone away, misfortune, the ups and downs of life, the sea, the life of sailors and fishermen, and last but not least “Saudade” (one of the main themes used in fado, that means a kind of longing). Amália Rodrigues, Carlos do Carmo, Mariza, Mafalda Arnauth, and Cristina Branco are amongst the most famous individuals associated with the genre.

List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity recognizes the value of intangibles such as tradition, custom and cultural spaces and the local actors who sustain these forms of cultural expressions through a Proclamation.It entails the commitment of states to promote and safeguard these treasures, while UNESCO finances plans for their conservation.

Parabens Portugal for getting Fado inscribed. I hope the joy and cheer that greeted the announcement will lift the gloom and bring hope that is deep-seated within the nation like no other as Fado music. Ghanaians, this is a lesson to start getting hilife to be among the list of intangible cultural heritage. Indeed Portugal could not long for anything more than the fast disappearing good olds and fado provides that reminder even with its recognition by UNEsCO. For more information, login to WWW.FADO.COM 

How to be....

Here I teach you several ways to adequately adapt to challenging but needful situations in life.

Here I teach you several ways to adequately adapt to challenging but needful situations in life. For example as in physically ill.

Dwarf City with houses like big mushrooms and big shoes

People of small stature in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, have ambitions to build a new community - of small houses - on a greenfield site. It's an unusual idea, but they are completely serious and determined to succeed.

Inspired by the books of JRR Tolkien, the Hobbit House is one of Manila's best-known bars. There are illustrations from the Lord of the Rings on the wall, and you enter through a round wooden door, just as if you were arriving at Bilbo Baggins' house.

But the illusion doesn't stop there - the waiters are all under 4ft (1.2m) tall.

"Hobbit House is very unique - we only recruit little people," says the proud manager, Pidoy Fetalino, 3ft 6in tall, who has been working at the bar for more than 30 years.

While some might question how politically correct it is, the reality is that a job at the Hobbit House is undoubtedly one of the best the staff can get.

The Philippines doesn't provide much, if any, state support, and many jobs have height restrictions, making a market which is already competitive due to high unemployment even tougher.

The waiters say that most of their friends, if they have jobs at all, work in the entertainment industry - as boxers, bit-part actors or even as human cannonballs.

One said his friend was paid half what other employees were paid just because he was short.

Family

Unsurprisingly, the little people of Manila want more than this - and they are busy making plans. 

They have formed a group called the Little People's Association of the Philippines, which meets most Saturday mornings in a ramshackle workshop at the back of a flat owned by the president, Perry Berry.

The most important item on their agenda is a radical proposal - for the entire group to move out of Manila and set up their own community.

A wealthy benefactor has donated a 6,000-square-metre (1.5-acre) piece of uncultivated land near the town of Montalban, and there they want to create a place called "Dwarf City".

Mr Berry has a clear vision of what he wants this community to look like.

"Wow, if you can imagine it," he says. "We're creating a housing project designed for small people and we have to create something unique. We're going to build houses like big mushrooms and big shoes."

Their idea is to construct buildings tailored to their size, to represent certain themes, and they hope they will be able to earn at least part of their income through tourism.

The day after the association meeting, armed with a rudimentary drawing of what this new community might look like, Mr Berry and other association members take me to visit the site.

They try to go at least twice a month - piling into a hired van and taking a picnic along too.

At the moment, their potential new home is just grass and trees but Mr Berry says it is important for them to get used to the idea of living there, and get to know the locals.

As we climb up to the site, Mr Berry becomes increasingly animated about the future.

"We want a flea market here, and a big chapel over there," he says, pointing his hand into the distance. "We will each design our own home… it's a very fantastic and wonderful place."

His friends are equally enthusiastic. Dheng Bermudez, who is proudly wearing her Small is Beautiful T-shirt, says she wants the community to show that "we're more than people to make fun of".

They talk of living without discrimination, and being able to let their children run around in the fresh air.

"As small people, sometimes other people tease us or make fun of us. Sometimes it hurts, you know," Mr Berry adds.

"It's much better if we're together, because it's just like a family."

Dreams

The little people of Manila don't want to confine this new "Dwarf City" just to the 47 families who are current members of the association - they envisage a much bigger settlement.

"I believe that a lot of small people in other provinces have an inferiority complex, and don't want to come out," says Mr Berry.

"But if the existence of this community is well-known, I'm pretty sure they will come and join us. So this community will become bigger and bigger."

Mr Berry is looking for outside funding for some of the construction work, and the government says it will consider helping out.

"It's a novel idea - it's really worth looking into," says Wendel Avisado, from the Housing and Urban Development Council.

"This is the first time ever there is a group of Filipinos who are in these circumstances, who would like this kind of assistance from the government. We will definitely subject this proposal to study and evaluation."

One way or another, Mr Berry is determined to make sure his dreams come to fruition.

"One day people will realise that even though we are small, we're thinking big," he says.

meet some of the people proposing to set up "Dwarf City"

Ghana's "democracy is very fragile and can't be taken for granted"

The man who played the role of Simon of Cyrene in "The Passion of the Christ" movie, Swiss-born and Ghanaian raised Jarreth Merz has warned that Ghana's embryonic experiment with 'democracy is very fragile and can't be taken for granted'. Merz was explaining his reasons for putting together a documentary on Ghana's 2008 general elections aptly titled "an African Election" at one of its premiering nights in London. The movie documents events leading up to the 2008 general elections and reveals that the presently ruling party, then the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) was preparing to plunge Ghana into chaos if they had not won power. Listening to a clip played on BBC's Art and Entertainment programme Sunday 27 November 2011 (09:52), you could clearly hear the sound of the voice of Rojo Mettle-Nunoo (now Deputy Minister of Health, then a representative of the NDC at the EC) churning out blatant lies from the Electoral Commission's (EC) so-called 'Strong Room' live on to Radio Gold. Rojo was shouting at the top of his voice lying about Kwabena Agyapong (former Press Secretary at the Castle and NPP representative at the EC Strong Room) having fictitiously brought in new election result figures from a different fax machine. This was the very act which incensed NDC youth led by the NDC CEO, Johnson Asiedua Nketia wedging all forms of implements to invade the EC head office. They threatened to destroy the commission's office and create upheavals and anarchy in Ghana if then presidential candidate, JEA Mills was not declared the winner. This makes interesting reading especially coming in the wake of recent revelations that president Mills directed his Director of Communication, Koku Anyidohu to threaten the NPP presidential candidate to show him “where power lies”. “I am saying it today that Akufo-Addo should dare,” Anyidoho charged. “I know Gabby [Otchere-Darko] is in London and listening. Gabby you are my friend and I’m telling you that you and that your Akufo-Addo, if you claim to be men, make a wrong move in this country and you will see where power lies. We are waiting for them since they say ‘all die be die’.” JEA Mills has portrayed himself as a christian and at all times has admonished that insults and violence ought to stop in Ghanaian politics. Indeed, Mills is a president who sees no evil, hears no evil and does no evil. His opponents say this shows his double standard and hypocrisy.
Jarreth was inspired by the need to caution Ghana and other African states not to be in a self-denial as the country might not be a second-time lucky as she did in 2008 considering upheavals in neighbouring states including the most recent in Ivory Coast. Merz says "an African Election challenges the preconceived notion we have about politics in Ghana or Africa without hiding the brutal realities." In his view, the problem with Ghana's elections is not about ethnicity or other things which readily come to mind whenever the subject of disputed elections come up. The main problem in Ghana, he revealed in an interview on the aforementioned BBC programme, is the ability of institutions (EC) to stand firm and demonstrate that it is capable of conducting and delivering neutral general elections. This is something that many Ghanaians today would prefer not to talk about but are silently worried about the inconsistent posturing of the EC on putting in place a biometric voting system in time for 2012 elections. Many have found the EC fumbling on the question of verification aimed at preventing multiple voting. Recent remarks by the EC boss, Dr. Afari-Gyan if it did anything actually added to the confusion. He rumbled on verification with electronic voting. Is somebody watching an African Election unfolding towards 2012? I fear for the worse!!!
"An African Election" features Nana Akufo-Addo, John Atta Mills, Jerry Rawlings, John Kufuor, Afari-Gyan, Kwesi Pratt, Hannah Tetteh, Rojo Mettle-Nunoo and Kwabena Agyepong, among others, and it has received great reviews across the globe, with the Los Angeles Times describing the documentary feature film as “the gripping examination of Ghana's 2008 presidential contest on display.”
The movie portrays how perilously close Ghana got to unleashing electoral violence as it shows footage of young teenagers being trained as militias with wooden guns wearing NDC T-Shirts. 

It is a movie, which is likely to reignite the kind of sensation that gripped the nation after the cable releases from Wikileaks.

The 2008 presidential elections in Ghana serve as a backdrop for this feature documentary that looks behind the scenes at the complex political machinery of a third-world democracy struggling to legitimise itself.
Some Ghanaians who had the privilege to preview the documentary have been giving their views on it.
One of them said "I watched the premier of the movie in Amsterdam early this year and felt it was a good one but for the fact that it is not very well balanced. Nonetheless there are interesting lessons for us all to learn. It portrays how we can easily turn the country into flames with the kind of passion we attach to elections and how we conduct ourselves as politicians, a people etc etc. We need to learn lessons from it."

Another also thought "this film is a nice attempt to say something negative about the 2008 elections.
We in Ghana know what is good for us and we have always been fighting for it.
We fight for survival
We fight for daily bread
We fight to get education (any education)
We fight to get medical care(if any at all)
We fight to get shelter over our heads
the list continues.
Countrymen and women, let us take what is good about this film and throw into dustbin what is bad about it. Lets not attempt to throw the producer with the film......" And yet others felt that "Merz has been most unfair.
You do not present such a one-sided movie, show some youth being prepared for war and say it is a success story.
These are the kind of people who just hate to see Africa progress. Ghana will continue to hold peaceful elections and people like Merz can continue to view violence and describe us as a "democracy struggling to legitimise itself".
Truly, he is still trying to run away from his roots as he himself admits."

Filmmaker, actor & director Jarreth Merz (1 May 1970, Zurich)

The movie director is Swiss-born Jarreth Merz who was raised in Ghana, Switzerland and Germany. He is also a filmmaker and an actor (you may remember him  in the role of Simon of Cyrene in The Passion of the Christ). As a director, his work is rooted in observing life as it presents itself in all its complexities -- as shown in this latest documentary.
Meanwhile reactions among the major political actors back home in Ghana since excerpts were shown on a local television network on December 20, 2011 have been mixed. The Electoral Commission of Ghana has expressed surprise at what has been described as a secret video recording which captured events in its strong room during compilation of results of the 2008 general elections.

The recording forms part of a movie titled “An African Election”, a production by a Swiss-Ghanaian documentary film maker Jarreth Merz.

Excerpts of the video which was shown on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana on Tuesday night featured Nana Akufo-Addo, President John Evans Atta Mills, J. J Rawlings, deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle-Nunoo and Kwabena Agyepong, among others.

Officials of the EC say though they have not seen the footage, it is not a regular practice to allow private cameras into the strong room without authorisation.

Speaking to Citi News, the General Secretary of the ruling NDC, Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, said though he is not sure what the laws say about cameras in the election strong room, he believes it can promote electoral transparency.

Mettle-Nunoo, who is captured in the footage in an argument with the NPP’s Kwabena Agyepong over an alleged change of results, said documenting events in the strong room could be a useful exercise for electoral transparency.

Meanwhile, the NPP General Secretary, Sir John, who also described the video as revealing in an interview with Citi News said good lessons could be drawn from the video.

“It is a lesson for us to know what we should do next time when people are sent to the strong room of the EC,” he said.

The movie director followed the key players in Ghana politics for almost three months to provide an unprecedented insider’s view of the political, economic and social forces at work in Ghana. He built suspense by taking the viewer down the back roads of the nation to capture each unexpected twist and turn in a contest that is always exciting and never predictable. Throughout the film, Merz depicted the pride and humanity of the larger-than-life politicians, party operatives and citizens who battle for the soul of their country.
Merz's stepfather, a political player on Ghana, helped him get access behind the scenes; then Jarretth and his cameraman brother Kevin followed the presidential candidates in the unpredictable months leading up to the final night. In chronicling the rough-and-tumble process of a democratic election, the documentary becomes a meditation on the dream of democracy itself. Merz is now working on a “political safari” in Africa.

Occupy protests posturing in the context of Black Friday attitudes

As I look at the world on the Saturday after Black Friday 2011, I say never again should we tolerate man's inhumanity towards man. We all at one time ask the question: is there any fairness in this greed-filled human race? There has not been any unanimity in our responses. What makes it harder for us to answer the question of fairness is how fairness has affected people in different ways. It always depended on the feeling of the fairness. Inevitably,  our response depends on which side of the divide we found ourselves at any particular point in time. The very idea that humans are peaceable by nature and corrupted by modern institutions pops up frequently.

We would have hoped that humankind would have learned so much lessons from history of recent days that humankind would abhor any act that in the least signals greed. I am ashamed to think of it. The survival instinct that pops up us all in the face of extreme poverty to stress all of us to act in a cannibalistic manner. I admit humankind is not an evil or destructive element by nature. At the same time, I make no excuse for vitriolic actions of humankind indulging in hatred or greed acts. I am in fact in a dilemma. Humankind was the source of notions like abstract thinking, progress, civilization, and all the great scientific inventions which at the same time has been paralleled by a decline in attitudes that tolerate or glorify violence, and often elevate great greed.

Far from causing us to become more violent, something in modernity and its cultural institutions has made us nobler. Occupy Wall Street protests. It is a movement for a world revolution, a revolution that we have so much desired to see. But don't be fooled. We have had so many of them in the past. They all died off prematurely not because they did not have good motives but because they were simply unsustainable. They lack one basic natural rule; responsibility, the common human element which checks greed. 

Won't you welcome Black Friday? Is Black Friday idea not in line with the anti-greed struggle? Wait a minute. Answer this question first. Why was it that several retailers (including Target, Kohls, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for Black Friday for the first time in 2011? Black Friday indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black". Whose interest? Perpetuation of the greed instinct in a fooling manner you have to be extremely clever to discern. If you like, Black Friday is another form of discount and discount is a hidden cost to the buyer. And how about the report that "violence mars US retail bonanza". It has been reported that the 2011 US holiday shopping season of Black Friday got off to an ugly start with several shootings and two pepper-sprayings as bargain-hunters stampeded stores. Do you smell greed on the part of the poor too? Me, me and me matter most to all.

Is there a way out of the greed quagmire? I have none but I know each humankind for self and God for us all. If you disagree, please go and set ablaze the great oceans for all I care but nothing will change. You are in a self-denial. Travel and you will understand that you are just a single individual on the surface of the whole earth. Nothing will change it; not religion, not morality, not politics, and not academics propositions. Fight your own fight and take responsibility for shaping your own destiny. Your are the driver of your life and master of your destiny. And yet bear in mind that hard work and honesty alone will not put food on the table which is at the bottom of the greed attitude. Imagination to be unique and different will. Don't get deceived, be real, life is what you make it!!!

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World's worst soccer team claims historic first win

The least FIFA ranked national soccer team in the world recorded a historic first ever victory in its 17 years of existence. American Samoa's players raised their arms and fell to the ground, as if they had won a major championship.

It was only a 2-1 victory over Tonga in the start of Oceania World Cup qualifying, but for one of soccer's worst national teams it was a triumph like no other.

Led by former U.S. Under-20 coach Thomas Rongen, American Samoa won its first international match after 30 consecutive defeats over 17 years. American Samoa is a U.S. protectorate in the South Pacific with a population of about 55,000.

American Samoa

American Samoa, tied for 204th and last in the FIFA world rankings, had been outscored 229-12 since starting international play in 1994, including a world record 31-0 loss to Australia in a World Cup qualifier in 2001. Coach Thomas Rongen said the victory would now be "part of soccer history".

"Maybe we have a chance to do something special here beyond this one game, but let's enjoy this one right now," he said.

"Abdelsalam" Gaddafi becomes the camel herder while $80,000 mensal Yahoo billboard stirs controversy

Saif al-Islam the camel herder 

Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, was captured this week trying to flee to Niger. Asked for his name, he replied: "Abdelsalam", meaning "servant of peace". What was his disguise?

It's camel herder. He was wearing traditional desert clothing and sporting a beard. His fingers were in bandages, from injuries he said were sustained in a Nato air strike last month. He is currently being held in the town of Zintan. The International Criminal Court in the Netherlands has indicted him on crimes against humanity; but it is likely he will stand trial in Libya, where he could face the death penalty

Swiss allowed to ban naked hiking

It's naked. Switzerland's highest court has ruled that local authorities can impose fines on people hiking nude in the Alps. The pastime is said to be increasing in popularity in Switzerland, much to the distress of more conservative locals.

Harry

The legendary Harry's New York Bar in Paris turns 100. It spawned a number of the same name around the world, including in Venice. Who was Harry?

 It's the Scottish barman. Based on the bar's address at 5 Rue Daunou, Harry's trademark advertising slogan was "Just tell the taxi driver: Sank Roo Doe Noo".

Obama gets apology for burnt effigy

St Andrews University's Conservative student association is to write a letter of apology to an international figure for burning an effigy of him on a local beach last weekend. Who is it? It's Barack Obama. The effigy burning is reportedly held only occasionally, often targeting those perceived to be socialists. An effigy of Mandela was believed to have been burnt a few years ago. Barack Obama's personal aide, Reggie Love, is leaving his job.

 $80,000 in the news

Why was the figure of $80,000 in the news? 

Yahoo Billboard

It's the billboard cost. A much-loved Yahoo neon sign in San Francisco is to be hauled down, and the space will be available at $80,000 a month. For 12 years, the neon Yahoo billboard has greeted drivers eastbound on the I-80 freeway. Some locals expressed dismay at the news and a Facebook group was set up to campaign for its retention.

No prosecution for mum of girl rescued from forced marriage

The mother of a 15-year-old girl almost forced into marriage will not be facing prosecution as earlier thought.
The mother(name withheld for legal reasons) was expected to go to court today after officials of DOVVSU arrested her for being an accomplice to the offence of forced marriage.
The girl who was to be married off to a man in his late forties is now in a shelter under supervision.
But DOVVSU officials have decided against prosecuting her mother and have granted her bail.
But Public Relations Officer of DOVVSU, DSP Robert Freeman Tettey, said: “We are not saying they are no longer going to court…We are also mindful of constitutional provision of 48 hours. And this particular issue is a misdemeanor and is also a bailable offence. We also have the option of granting her bail.”
“Because you take her to court. What about others? What offence? So we are looking at this. And also on the back of this the marriage has not taken place.”
DSP Freeman Tettey indicated that the victim is still “in the custody of the Social Welfare.”
He said the department is meeting relatives of the child “including the mother to see how best [to] safeguard the interest of the child.”
The police also denied reports that the family of the girl intend to relocate to Niger.
The 15-year-old would have been married to a man said to be thrice her age. The Takoradi-based man known is said to have offered a cow to seek the hand of the girl in marriage. The marriage was due for Saturday 26th November 2011.
But following a Joy FM report the Department of Social Welfare and the DOVVSU moved in to arrest mother. The father of the girl is still at large.

From Hulkmania to Delilahmania

Just as wrestling facilitated the rise of Terrance Gene 'Terry Bollea' from an absolute obscurity to an ubiquitous meteoric stardom of Hulk Hogan, so has a woman literally obliterated all his earning with the speed of light. He is awesome and his record is amazing. Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He is a 12-time world heavyweight champion.  He won the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991, and was the first to win two Royal Rumbles in a row. In his first reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan held the title for 469 days from July 17, 1994 to October 29, 1995—the longest reign of all time for this championship.

Until 1976 when Jack and Gerald Brisco, the wrestling brothers offered him the opportunity to train and fight as a professional wrestler,  Terry was a bass guitarist with his band Ruckus performing around bars in Tampa, Florida having earlier decided to drop out of the University of South Florida before receiving any degree. The rest about his life as a wrestler is a matter of public knowledge and record.The Birth of Hulkamania!

Linda and Hulk Hogan in February 2006 (Chris Carlson/AP)

Like it is said behind a every successful man is a woman. So also is true of the reverse side. The down fall of many superstars in history and the entertainment industry has been largely caused by a woman. So it is that with pain and anguish as Biblical figure Sampson felt that details of his 2009 divorce settlement are coming into the public domain. His ex-wife, Linda has become a kind of delilah in his life. Delilah means "[one who] weakened or uprooted or impoverished".

The specifics of their financial settlement were unknown until now. Linda Bollea received more than 70% of the couple's liquid assets. But the pain doesn't stop there for the Hulkster. His ex also received a 40% ownership stake in Hulk's companies. Plus, she received a $3 million property settlement.

The St. Petersberg Times writes that "the confidential financial settlement came to light this week after it was attached to a new motion filed by Terry Bollea's attorneys."

So, what are the gritty details? According to the documents, Linda Bollea got a lump sum of $7.44 million from the couple's investment accounts. The remaining $2.97 million went to the Hulk.

The properties were either sold or are still on the market. The couple's home used in "Hogan Knows Best" was originally listed for nearly $14 million. It is now available for around $8.87 million. Once that sells, Hogan will owe his ex-wife $1.45 million. The two will split the remaining proceeds.

Additionally, Linda Bollea received several cars in the split, including a Mercedes-Benz, a Corvette, a Cadillac Escalade, and a Rolls-Royce. Hulk received many of the remaining automobiles.

It may sound like Hulk got body slammed, but it's not all bad news for the iconic wrestler. The Hulkster will get to keep any money he earns from personal appearances and will not have to pay alimony.

By celebrity standards, Hulk and Linda had what could be considered a pretty successful marriage. They were together for roughly 26 years and had two children, Nick and Brooke. Their reality program, "Hogan Knows Best," ran for four seasons.

History is supposed to teach the strongmen lesson by way of guidance but as it were and has always been the case, it has been had I known...and it is always at last and too late to stop Hulkmania from becoming another Delilahmania!