Mobile phones 'unlikely' to cause cancer

Mounting evidence suggests there is no link between mobile phones and brain cancer, according to a review by the Institute of Cancer Research.

It stated that despite near universal mobile phone use, there had been no jump in the number of tumours.

Its report, in Environmental Health Perspectives, also identified flaws in many studies investigating a link.

A few weeks ago the World Health Organization said mobiles were "possibly carcinogenic".

Are mobile phones safe?

The decision by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) put mobile phones in the same category as coffee, in which a link could not be ruled out, but it could not be proved either. Other possible causes of cancer are Petrol car exhausts, lead, and dry cleaning.

Heavy users

One of the biggest studies into a link was Interphone, a comparison of 2,708 patients with a brain tumour (glioma) with a similar number of people without.

The study concluded that mobile phone users were less likely to get brain tumours, but heavy users had an increased risk.

Professor Anthony Swerdlow, from the Institute of Cancer Research, said there was a risk of bias when patients with brain tumours answered questionnaires about their phone use.

Ten patients in the study said they were on the phone for more than 12 hours per day.

He added that in the space of 20 years, mobile phone use had gone from being rare to 4.6 billion users worldwide.

Yet evidence from many Western countries showed "no indication of increases in brain tumour incidence".

Professor Swerdlow said: "The trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumours in adults."

Childhood exposure

The report admits that there is still some uncertainty.

Studies have looked at a link associated with 10 to 15 years of mobile phone use and it remains a possibility that longer exposure could cause cancer.

However, Professor Swerdlow argues that if studies looking at longer exposure produce similar results, then a link will become "increasingly implausible".

He adds that "there is far less evidence of the effect of childhood exposure, but there is no reason to believe it causes tumours".

Cancer Research UK's Dr Joanna Owens said: "Although these researchers admit that we can't entirely rule out the idea of a link between mobile phones and brain cancer, they remind us that in most of the research, including their large international study, mobile phone users don't seem to be at increased risk.

"We don't yet have data on very long-term use of mobile phones, or for the effects on cancer risk in children, so it is probably wise to encourage children to limit their mobile phone call time."

Professor David Coggon, University of Southampton, said: "This is a carefully considered review, and the conclusions are justified.

"Mobile phones appear not to cause brain cancer in the first 10-15 years after people start using them.

"Continued research is needed in case there are harmful effects in the longer term, but the news so far is good."

Eight out of ten people in Ghana now use a Mobile Phone

Ghana’s mobile phone penetration has reached the 805 per cent mark as of the end of August, 2011. This implies that every 8 out of 10 people in the country has access to cell phone. This means that out of a population of 24,722,485, there are 19,893,191 subscribers on at least one of the five active mobile networks in the country. The number of subscribers for January stood at 17.43 million.

From the latest industry statistics released on the National Communications Authority (NCA) official website, MTN is maintaining its lead as the country's biggest mobile phone company with 9.8 million subscribers, representing 48.49 per cent of the market. The company started the year with 8.9 million as of the end of January and has, in spite of stiff competition, managed to maintain its lead. With this trend, MTN, which recorded its nine millionth subscribers before the end of the first quarter of this year, seems to be on track to register its 10 millionth customer by the end of the year. However, the 48.9 per cent represents a drop in the company's hold on the Ghanaian customer base from some 63 per cent at the end of 2010.

tiGO, operated by Millicom Ghana, also maintained its number two position having moved its subscriber base from 3.92 million in January to 4.2 million subscribers as of the end of August, to control 20.59 per cent of the market. Vodafone, which is in the third slot, control US$18.48 per cent of the market with 3.73 million subscribers. Its subscriber base for January was 2.81 million. The Indian-owned Airtel trails in the fourth position with approximately 10 per cent of the market with a total customer base of 2.0 million as of the end of the month under review, having held 1.6 million customers at the end of January. The case of Expresso, which until recently, was known as Kasapa continues to worsen as its subscriber base dipped from 244,674 in January to 206,606 in August.

Responding to the latest NCA statistics release, the Corporate Services Executive of MTN, Mrs Cynthia Lumor said “We will continue to find innovative ways of enriching the lives of our customers”. According to her, one of the key objectives of the company is to increase data usage to field drive economic development in the country.

It is still not immediately clear whether the implementation of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) a couple of months ago, which affords subscribers the choice to move from one network to another without losing one’s numbers, has any impact on the new figures released. But each of the operators has stepped up its game with numerous offers and promotions to either maintain or induce more subscribers. These include mainly, reduction in the call tariffs and that of data services from the various networks. Meanwhile, attempts to reach the networks trailing MTN for their comments on the new industry statistics and how they intend to catch up with the leader proved futile at the time of going to press.

Moummar Khadhafi

He lived for 69 years spanning between 7th June 1942 to 20th October 2011. Muammar Gaddafi is dead and his end came as suddenly as his reign had been long; killed at the end of the two-month-long battle for Sirte, his final Libyan stronghold, when few expected he was still there.

“We confirm that all the evils, plus Gaddafi, have vanished from this beloved country,” Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said in Tripoli as the body was delivered, a prize of war, to Misrata.



Gaddafi's Golden gun being displayed by NTC soldiers who captured him



There is confusion over his last hours. One possible description, pieced together from various sources, suggests that Gaddafi may have tried to break out of Sirte at dawn in a convoy of vehicles after weeks of dogged resistance. However, he was stopped by a NATO air strike and captured, possibly three or four hours later, after gun battles with NTC fighters who found him hiding in a drainage culvert.



Gaddafi corpse



"Gaddafi passed away on the front line - I am responsible for that” said Omran al-Oweib, the NTC commander whose platoon captured Qadhafi

TV stations broadcast footage of Gaddafi’s body surrounded by rebel fighters and also in an ambulance. There was blood on his face and a bullet hole in the side of his head.

An NTC official said his body had been taken to the city of Misrata by the fighters who had cornered him.

The Gaddafi Family Tree

One of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, Mo’tassim, was killed by fighters from Libya’s NTC while another, Saif al-Islam, is trying to flee the fallen city of Sirte in a convoy of vehicles but is being surrounded, a senior NTC military official said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the people of Libya have a greater chance of building a strong and democratic future after Gaddafi’s death.

Beyond his brutality, Gaddafi will be remembered for something else entirely… being a first-class weirdo.In no particular order, below are the seven weirdest things about Muammar Gaddafi.

1. The "Bulletproof" Tent: When Gaddafi was at home in Tripoli, he lived in a well fortified compound with a complex system of escape tunnels. But when he travelled abroad, this "Bedouin" brought a bit of the desert with him, camping out in the world's capitals. The tent was so heavy it needed to be flown on a separate plane, wherever the dictator travelled. To complete the Arabian Nights theme, Gaddafi often would tether a camel or two outside.

2. All-Female Virgin Bodyguard Retinue: They apparently weren't around when Gaddafi needed them most on Thursday, but the eccentric dictator was historically protected by 40 well trained bodyguards – all of them women. The bodyguards, called "Amazons," were all reportedly virgins who took a vow of chastity upon joining the dictator's retinue. The women, trained at an all-female military academy, were handpicked by Gaddafi. They wore elaborate uniforms, as well as makeup and high-heeled combat boots.

3. His "Voluptuous" Ukrainian Nurse: For a decade, Galyna Kolotnytska, a Ukrainian nurse often described in the press as "voluptuous," was regularly seen at the dictator's side. Kolotnytska was described in a leaked diplomatic cable as one of Gaddafi's closest aides and was rumored to have a romantic relationship with him. Several other Ukrainian women served as nurses and they all referred to him as "Papa" or "Daddy."

4. Crush on Condoleezza Rice: In 2007, Gaddafi called former Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice his "darling black African woman" and on a 2008 visit she made to Tripoli, the dictator gave her $200,000 worth of gifts, including a ring and a lute. But it wasn't until rebels stormed his Tripoli compound that the depths of the dictator's infatuation were exposed. There among Gaddafi's belongings was a carefully composed photo album made up of dozens of images of no one but Rice.

5. Fear of Flying and Elevators: Part of the reason Gaddafi loved travelling with that tent of his was because he was worried about lodging in a hotel where he'd have to ride an elevator. According to leaked diplomatic cables, the Libyan didn't like heights much either, and would only climb to a height of 35 steps. He therefore wasn't much of a fan of flying, refusing to travel by air for more than eight hours at a time. When he would travel to New York of the U.N.'s annual general assembly, he would spend a night in Portugal on the way to the U.S.

6. Bunga Bunga: In 2010, one of Gaddafi's most eccentric pastimes was exposed by Italian prosecutors investigating Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. A 17-year-old prostitute named Karima el-Mahroug, better known as Ruby Heartstealer, revealed that she had been invited to an orgy, called a "bunga bunga." "Silvio told me that he'd copied that formula from Muammar Gaddafi," she told prosecutors according to La Repubblica. "It's a ritual of [Gaddafi's] African harem."

7. An Eclectic Wardrobe: In those photos of world leaders standing shoulder to shoulder on the sidelines of this or that international forum, Gaddafi was always the easiest to pick out. His wardrobe was an eclectic mix of ornate military uniforms, Miami Vice style leisure suits, and Bedouin robes. Gaddafi, who pushed for a pan-African federation of nations, often decorated his outfits with images of the African continent. He'd sport safari shirts printed with an Africa pattern, or wear garish pins or necklaces of the continent.
Muammar Qadhafi, RIP

Booty Store

Booty
Booty
This store sells booty
Make that ass clap!
Girl you got class, and you're lookin' so fine

but you need a better ass as I follow behind.
You gotta to go to Wal-Mart and get a new get-up or you can pay us.

The reason behind a thousand for one prisoners swap deal

After a storm comes a calm. Things are often calm after an upheaval. I can't believe how peaceful the Middle East is today, when five years ago everyone was either being apprehensive or feared a third Arab-Israeli war. How the unknown factor about what the future holds in store can cause undue fear and uncertainty. There had been awful destruction of life and property on both sides over the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on their common unrecognised makeshift border. Two of his colleagues were killed in that operation by HAMAS militants. At the time, Israel felt its ego was at stake and had to flex her muscles apparently with clandestine approval by her western backers. 

Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit released in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners

HAMAS which is first and foremost a Palestinian liberation group has controversially been tagged as a terrorist entity. Not everyone can condone some of the methods they used in their struggle but it should be remembered that these desperate human beings are symptoms of the oppression and brutality the Palestinian people have endured for so long with no end in sight. Indeed, those critics who say it’s wrong to use bombs that indiscriminately kill and maim civilians are absolutely right. But those same critics usually ignore the fact that Israel’s state terror machine does exactly the same thing in a more sophisticated way as we witnessed during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza — a 22-day-long killing spree leaving a death toll of 1,400, including women and children. 

Palestinian prisoners released at the Rafah border with Egypt

So the prisoners swap deal where 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged for one Israeli yesterday October 17, 2011 came as no surprise to many an observer of the Middle East crisis. So many interpretations have been given to this deal. Some say one Israeli life is worth one thousand Palestinian lives. This has its own twists and turns depending on which side of the divide one stands. For some Israelis and their sympathizers,the deal is unacceptable for the simple fact that Israel with all her sophisticated military arsenals including the much feared secret service, the Mossad, she could not rescue just one of her own. Besides, some of the prisoners released had been sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly committing murder against Jews. The fear is that they may in fact continue to pose threat to Jews.

On the Palestinian side, the talk is about the fact that this deal humiliates HAMAS' avowed opponents, FATAH and its leader, the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas. Top Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar is patting Hamas negotiators on the back for concluding a deal Fatah was unable to seal. President Mahmoud Abbas has “negotiated with Israel for a million years and hasn’t achieved a deal like this one. Is this really the case? Are people not ignoring the real facts on the ground? Is this whole deal not a camouflage to dwarf recent developments in the region that caught Israel and her backers running for cover? 
For me the most important lesson at the centre of the ongoing drama is how much love both peoples have shown towards their citizens. The great length they can go and sacrifices they are willing to make to secure their freedom. It gives reason for them to die a little for their country. I hope other countries will learn something out of this deal and accord their citizens all the care and attention if even one were to be in a similar situation.

On Friday September 23, 2011, the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas delivered an important and historic piece of address to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. In that speech, Mr. Abbas articulated the Palestinian aspiration to seek a greater and more effective role for the United Nations in working to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region that ensures the inalienable, legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people as defined by the resolutions of international legitimacy of the United Nations.He confirmed five main objectives of the Palestinian people:

1. The realization of their inalienable national rights in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, 

2. To adhere to the renouncement of violence and rejection and condemning of terrorism in all its forms, 

3. Adherence to the option of negotiating a lasting solution to the conflict in accordance with resolutions of international legitimacy,

4. The continuation of the popular peaceful resistance to the Israeli occupation and its settlement and apartheid policies, and 

5. Reliance on the political and diplomatic option and avoidance of unilateralism. 

The greatest element in that September speech is none of those goals enumerated above. It has to do with the submission of an application for the admission of Palestine on the basis of the 4 June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, as a full member of the United Nations. There is no shred of doubt that it is this single act that has forced the hands of the Israeli leaders especially ultra conservative like Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

I dare say the coup de grâce was dealt by Mahmoud Abbas and all this is an attempt to undermine that effort to secure Palestine a UN membership.HAMAS and all the Palestinian liberation groups as well as the genuine international community members seeking genuine resolution to this conflict while welcoming this one thousand for one prisoners swap deal, must not lose sight of that important application. This deal is a sign that UN membership for Palestine can bring positive end to the decades long protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. May peace reign on earth for ever and ever.

The World awaits the birth of the seven billionth baby on Hallowe'en Day

The world's population keeps growing by the second. By the end of October 2011, the world will witness the arrival of the seven billionth baby. The projected date incidentally falls on a mysterious day. The mystery surrounding the celebration of the weird annual festival called Halloween (Hallowe'en)is bound to have another addition. The name of the festival which means roughly "summer's end" this year will end in a special style when it ends in the birth of the seven billion human being. My expectation is simple, who will this special child be and what special attraction will such a child offer the world? Will the child be actually and accurately identified at all? If so, where and who will receive this person? Some projection has predicted India as the most likely place for the arrival of the 7 billionth baby. My prayer is this person ain't gonna be weird in every aspect of life like the day on which the birth will take place. Halloween is an annual holiday observed on October 31, in the western world, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Jack-o'-lanterns Hallowen festival

In spite of all attempts by policy makers and demographic experts to keep the world population in manageable control which can be sustained by resources, on October 31, 2011, the world’s population is projected to hit 7 billion. This milestone highlights both achievements and setbacks for the global community.  

Over 80 million people are added to world population each year.

The human population growth curve is currently following an exponential curve or a "J-shape. Common sense tells us that such growth cannot continue - otherwise within a few hundred years every square foot of the Earth's surface would be taken up by a human. Furthermore, experience with other species tells us that, ultimately, resource limitations and/or habitat degradation will force the human population curves to approach an upper limit or asymptote - the carrying capacity, often symbolized as " K" by ecologists. It is very natural to ask the linked questions - does humanity have a carrying capacity and, if so, what is it - and when will we reach or overshoot this limit?

For the achievements, the world celebrates improvements in health care that are leading to increased life expectancy and lowered risk of maternal and child death, while at the same time calling for increased attention and funding for reproductive health and family planning.

Progress has been made in areas of the world where women have access to contraception. In these regions, women are, on average, having fewer children than they were in the 1960s. However, an estimated 215 million still women want, but lack access to, the family planning resources they need. Worldwide, 40 percent of pregnancies are unintended. 

When women are able to plan when and if they get married, as well as when and if they have children, they are better able to stay in school. Studies show that education and family planning reduce child and maternal death as well as boost women’s participation in their communities and increase economic advancement.

Global population growth projection

With almost all population growth in the future expected to occur in developing countries, the time is now to invest in programs that will provide access to reproductive health and family planning. It is not only a universal human right for all people to make choices about their bodies and futures, it will also help lift communities out of poverty and decrease the burden on increasingly scarce resources.

There are no easy answers to the questions:  “How many people can the earth support?”, and “At what level of well-being?

1. Make a bigger pie: Increase human productive capacities through technology and innovation
2. Put fewer forks on the table: Reduce numbers and expectations of people through such means as family planning and vegetarian diets
3. Teach better manners: Change the terms of people’s interactions through improved planning and government to enhance social justice. 

What do you think of each of these approaches, and what is your reasoning?

We have a great opportunity right now to change the course of our future. The time to act by investing is now! According to demographers, 78 million babies are born each year. Two billion people were added to the population of the world in just the past 12 years. The investment the demographers proffer is in poverty reduction and education. If more girls have equal access to education as boys, demography will take care of itself. Another important point that needs to be addressed is unequal access to and distribution of world's resources. It is estimated that 77% of all resources in the world are consumed by the top 20% richest people. Thus the implication is that it is not so much about the quantity but about the quality. Resources are not as much scarce as unequal access.Come to think of this issue: if all the 7 billion people in the world were to take a group picture, we will all just occupy space on earth equivalent to the size of the city of Los Angeles in California in the United States of America. This implies that the population question confronting us is not that of too many people but the issue of equity.

Is there any meaning for Life

An unexamined life is not worth living. We all know that there is always a time when you reflect on your life, and you have a cause to feel lonely and sad if things are not going according to plan.We try to find answers to basic questions like 'why am I here on earth, what is my purpose, where am I going, how am I suppose to know my purpose and fulfill it, is there any life hereafter? Fortunately, we see  that we have every cause to pull ourselves together. When you feel or get in that mood, you need to put on the right thinking cap. What is the right thinking? It is positive thoughts ignoring all negative sides or events in your life. Where there is life, they say there is hope. Without hope for a brighter tomorrow, we have no reason to continue this miserable life.

Without transformation in your walk, it is meaningless! meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. The Psalmist had every reason like you and I to feel dejected but did not. He rather chose to praise his maker in whose his power and direction he entrusted his life and future into. In the song of ascents, the Psalmist also asked the same; from where does my help come from?And he provides the answer subsequently. I lift up my eyes to the mountains. My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. The usage of the mountains is mere symbolism reflecting the omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence of the Almighty God. The so-called 'Songs of Degrees are usually attributed to the times of the Exile. we get an appropriate background and setting for the expressions and emotions of this psalm. We see the exile, wearied with the monotony of the long-stretching, flat plains of Babylonia, summoning up before his mind the distant hills where his home was. We see him wondering how he will be able ever to reach that place where his desires are set; and we see him settling down, in hopeful assurance that his effort is not in vain, since his help comes from the Lord. 'I will lift up my eyes unto the hills'; away out yonder westwards, across the sands, lie the lofty summits of my fatherland that draws me to itself. Then comes a turn of thought, most natural to a mind passionately yearning after a great hope, the very greatness of which makes it hard to keep constant. 

It is in such situation that the wise teacher pours out his frustrations in life. What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.  The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

According to some experts, the book evokes a time when the traditional answers to the great questions about the meaning of life have lost their relevance. It introduces a methodology and inductive reasoning.Although the writer never disputes the existence of a God who grants significance to his creation, the writer is determined to discover it through his own experience and observation, in a way that he himself can verify it and pass it on to his disciples. While this approach seems more fulfilling to man as we take the praise for the outcome of our efforts, it is better to lean on the creator who has programmed your satisfaction just like your DNA code but allows the exercise of your free will. God knows all your needs and wants but He expects you to ask Him as a sign of your faith, trust and reliance in his ability to provide for all your needs. 
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Stand in His strength alone; 
The arm of flesh will fail you, Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armour, Each piece put on with prayer; 
Where duty calls or danger, Be never wanting there.

 

Politicians and the application of the law on intentionally causing financial loss to the state

When doctors make mistakes, lives may potentially be at risk, when accountants commit fraud, auditors drag them to account, when students cheat, they face the possibility of expulsion and a ruined future if caught. When judges err in their verdicts, we have the right of appeal. But when the politicians wilfully cause losses, what happens is hue and cry, depending on which part of the divide one stands. The merit of the case itself and its implications are thrown to the dogs. Is it fair or not? Every society abhors willful negligence, ignorance, indifference and acts of corruption. It however seems to me that the scope of accountability is determined by the boundaries of the calling or profession we find ourselves in. 

In an allegorical novella - Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell rightly pointed out that; all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others". When it comes to the society dealing with corrupt acts, the whip is cracked often at the level of one's standing in society.Just like Orwell's seven Commandments, corruption legislation worldwide are laws that are supposed to keep order and ensure elementary fairness in our dealings, application and allocation of public resources within the society. Several organisations have been founded aiming to champion this clarion ideal, one is even called Transparency. These regulations were and are designed to unite and protect all citizens together and prevent people in privileged positions from abusing their office to the disadvantage of the totality of humanity as it is common evil habit.  

We must appreciate and understand that not only do leaders or people in privileged office commit or are prone to conduct themselves in a corruptible manner but also how wickedness, indifference, ignorance, greed and myopia on the part of the citizenry can destroy any possibility of a utopia. There is no gainsaying the truism that corrupt leadership is a flaw in in our basic political organisation as a society, it is also a fact that  our ignorance and indifference to problems of corruption within our environment could allow horrors to happen. 

Ghana has a law that is called 'willfully causing financial loss to the state'. This law was promulgated with the aim to curb the excesses of those entrusted with the responsibility of making decisions on behalf of the people. A few culprits who made reckless decisions that cost the Ghanaian tax payer millions of dollars have been caught in its web. The hue and cry that fellow politicians made, has virtually rendered that significant piece of law mere paper-tiger. I thought all along that this trend is only akin to Ghanaian politicians but wait a minute. I was provoked into writing this piece when I listened to a news item on BBC a couple of minutes ago. It was about the trial and sentencing of a former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, over a gas deal with Russia in 2009. 

A Ukrainian judge sentenced the former Prime Minister to seven years in jail for abusing her powers in a 2009 gas deal with Russia and ordered her to personally cover losses of $190 million. The court ruled that Tymoshenko intentionally used her powers to criminal ends and that the 10-year contract had created heavy losses for Ukraine. the judge said Tymoshenko had brought about a loss to state gas firm Naftogaz of 1.5 billion hryvnia ($190.74m) by approving the 10-year contract. "Y.V. Tymoshenko . . . used her official powers to criminal ends and, acting consciously, committed actions which clearly exceeded her rights and powers which had heavy consequences". The verdict was in line with the demand of prosecutors, who wanted a sentence of seven years. Prosecutors said Tymoshenko had not been authorised to order the signing of the contract and that the price for natural gas she agreed to was too high, causing losses to the state budget. 

Tymoshenko said that as a Prime Minister, she did not need any special permission to sign the deal. She said her actions helped end a bitter pricing dispute between Moscow and Kiev, which had led to energy supply shortages across Europe.

The thrust of this piece is not about the merit of the judgement, I am interested in the reaction of politicians within and without Ukraine to the verdict and subsequent sentencing. 

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko speaks during her trial at the Pecherskiy District Court in Kyiv on October 11. Tymoshenko was found guilty of abuse of office and sentenced to seven years in jail, in a trial widely condemned in the West as politically motivated(Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press)

The former Orange Revolution leader, Tymoshenko immediately denounced the verdict that she said was ordered by President Viktor Yanukovych (her opponent, the devil's advocate). "We will fight and defend my good name in the European court,we have to be strong and defend Ukraine from authoritarianism," Tymoshenko is reported to have said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton warned that the conviction would severely jeopardise Ukraine's hopes of signing an association agreement with the European Union this year that would be a first step towards its goal of joining the 27-member bloc.The way Ukraine handled these cases "risks having profound implications for the EU-Ukraine bilateral relationship, including for the conclusion of the Association Agreement, our political dialogue and our co-operation more broadly". Ukraine had hoped the accord - including a free trade deal - would be signed off in December.

Can you now see how the attitude of the politicians changes when it comes to the application of the laws on wilfully causing financial loss to the state against themselves? Who do they conceive to be their victims when they enact laws? Who are the criminals? Criminals are born so, it is the unfair environment that cause them to be what we call criminals. From the former Prime Minister's own point of view, the verdict 'was ordered by President Viktor Yanukovych'. In other words, politically motivated. Talk is cheap. She is not examining the merits or otherwise of the judge's reasons (this brings to memory the bastardization of Judge Kwame Afreh)adduced for the verdict and conviction. The EU official points out the concern over implications for bilateral relationships' not the cause of the ordinary tax payer. 

All the animals work, but the workhorse, Boxer, does more than others and adopts the maxim — "I will work harder." Remember people are responsible for their own actions. Politics should not be used as a cover up for our mistakes or inadvertent actions. The masses who are the ultimate victims of these acts should not allowed themselves to be used for populist purposes. The emphasis should be on the word wilful and the law should be allowed to take its nature course. No one must be considered as above the law. Irrespective of one's status and background, we must apply the law according to its letter and spirit. The truth stands but it is time that is the best judge. Time will tell. 

       

Are Mormons (LDS) true Christians?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has struggled for acceptance ever since its founder, Joseph Smith, said in the 19th century that God told him to restore the true Christian church by revising parts of the Bible and adding the Book of Mormon as a sacred text. Who is Jesus Christ (not of Nazareth but of 'Latter Day Saints')? If you like, you can rename or replace the name as Jesus Christ of Ghana or Jesus Christ of Dzorwolu. This is my own interpretation and understanding which might be subject to debate. I believe it is important to break the issue down for my readers to appreciate the way the sect works and conceals its real motives from ordinary members in Ghana. The crux of the matter we need to digest is why this complexity? To understand the reasons, calls for better insight into the doctrines of this rich and powerful American sect that has so much control over resources in many parts of some States in the USA.

Many conservative Christians, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, feel they have a religious obligation to point out any teaching they believe would lead others astray and risk their salvation. While this theological debate has often been far from polite, the attacks have sharpened as the LDS church has gained in size and prominence. The church now says it has grown by about 1 million people every three years since the 1970s and now has than 14 million members. 

From the beginning, Mormons have seen themselves as Christians — but Christians who are different.

Smith became Mormonism's founding prophet during the religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening. Smith said he had experienced visions during the late 1820s in which he was told not to join any church because they all held wrong beliefs. An angel then directed him to gold plates that had been buried in the ground in upstate New York, which Smith then translated as the Book of Mormon.

Like traditional Christians, Mormons consider the Bible sacred and view Jesus as savior. However, Mormons do not share the concept of a unified Trinity that is part of historical Christianity. They believe that God has called new apostles and prophets and that revelation continues as it did in ancient times, which does not conform to mainstream Christianity. The LDS church also teaches that God has a physical body and that human beings can eventually become like God.

But for conservative Protestants, the Bible alone is the authoritative word of God and the innovations of Mormon teaching are heresy. They do not recognize baptisms by the Mormon church and decry the secrecy surrounding some of its sacraments. Only church members in good standing can enter Mormon temples, where families are sealed, or united, so their relationships can continue in the afterlife. Evangelicals engaged in dialogue do not expect to reconcile these different views, but hope to find beliefs that they all accept. 

Mormon leaders have complained that critics take obscure or outdated teachings and describe them as core doctrine. The church cast aside the teaching of polygamy in 1890, and in 1978, abolished the barrier that kept those of African descent from full participation in the church. In Ghana, this sect alongside the Jehovah's Witnesses were banned in the late 1980s for some of these doctrines and beliefs. The main reasons regarding the LDS were the doctrines of salvation of people of African descent and polygamy. They claimed that Jesus Christ actually married more than one wife.

Early Mormonism had a range of policies and doctrines relating to race in regard to African-descended people. References to black people, their social condition during the 19th century, and their spiritual place in Western Christianity as well as Mormon scriptures were complicated, with varying degrees and forms of discrimination against black people.

When the Mormons migrated to Missouri they encountered the pro-slavery sentiments of their neighbors. Initially, Joseph Smith, Jr. supported the laws regarding slaves and slaveholders, but eventually rejected the institution and supported its abolition.

Following the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., Mormon leaders instituted a policy of excluding most people of black African descent (regardless of actual skin colour) from Priesthood ordination and from participation in temple ceremonies. It was also believed that a black person could only obtain salvation by procuring such from a white person. These practices continued in LDS Church until September 30, 1978, when the highest bodies of church leadership lifted the ban after stating they had received a revelation. Some people in Ghana say many members in the country are lured with other motivations to join beside pure and inherent desire for eternal salvation. So is the LDS a true Christian sect?

AFCON 2012: A contest of minnows with tricky group draws?

2012 Africa Cup of Nations draw is as follows:
Group A (Bata)
Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, Senegal, Libya 
Group B (Malabo)
Ivory Coast, Angola, Burkina Faso, Sudan 
Group C (Libreville)
Gabon, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger 
Group D (Franceville)
Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Botswana.
After a weekend of drama and confusion between October 7 and 9, 2011, all but just one spot still technically remains undecided for African Cup of Nations slated for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in January 2012. Burkina Faso though qualified they needed to wait their fate pending the outcome of legal challenge to the eligibility of one of their players, Herve Zengue. The last of Africa's even year biennial showpiece will be held from 21 January to 12 February, 2012. From 2013, all editions of the competition will come off in odd years to prevent it from clashing with major FIFA competitions. 

Of the nations that have made it to finals, only four-time champions Ghana that earned a 2-0 victory in near 40 degrees celsius temperatures in Sudan and top place in their group with 16 points from six matches has the strongest pedigree in the competition. Ghana was the losing finalist to Egypt in Angola. Two First-half goals from Asamoah Gyan and John Mensah gave the Black Stars control. However, Isaac Vorsah's second-half dismissal for kicking out at an opponent led to a nervy finish for the Black Stars. Coach Goran Stevanovic was delighted that Black Stars secured their passage and ended Group I with an unbeaten record of five wins and a draw.

AFCON 2012 mascot is christened “GAGUIE”, meaning Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The mascot is symbolised by a gorilla with grey fur sporting a jersey in the colours - green, white and blue - representing the national colours of the co-hosts, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Other qualifiers are co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Senegal. The rest of the qualifiers are Angola, Guinea, Libya, Mali, Niger, Tunisia, Zambia, Morocco and Sudan. 
The surprise pack of the tournament is unknown entities of Botswana and Niger. Botswana wrapped up the first qualification for AFCON 2012 from Group K as early as March and tallied 17 points. Niger qualified for the first time despite losing 3-0 in Egypt on the last day, as South Africa were held by Sierra Leone. What one may call a face saving appeal has been lodged by SAFA over CAF rule 14 which made it possible for Niger to qualify ahead of South Africa. The outcome of the appeal is too obvious to any neutral observer as SAFA officials had tactically psyched the team up to accept their fate as they have already qualified for AFCON 2013 as swapped host. 
Mali qualified for the third straight finals after drawing 2-2 with Group A rivals Liberia in Monrovia pipping Cape Verde on technical rules. Angola shattered the dreams of Uganda at the top of Group J with 2-0 win in Guinea-Bissau after arch rivals Uganda and Kenya failed to score in Nairobi. A heroic defensive display helped Libya force a 0-0 draw with Zambia in Chingola that saw both teams qualified. The war-torn North African nation goalkeeper, Samir Aboud summed up their second placed qualification in ex-Gaddafi era feeling as "this is for all Libyans, for our revolution". Tunisia beat Togo 2-0 in Tunis to qualify but only after Malawi were denied by a last-minute equaliser from Chad in N'Djamena.

Former champions, Morocco and Sudan took the last two remaining qualifying spots from the playing field. Morocco beat Tanzania 3-1 to finish top of Group D ahead of Central African Republic (CAR), who were beaten 2-0 in Algeria. Those results mean that Sudan take the remaining best-placed runners-up spot, for their performance finishing behind Ghana in Group I on 13 points with four wins, a draw and loss.
Burkina Faso technically was the last team to qualify to play in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations after a protest over the eligibility of Cameroon-born Herve Zengue was dismissed. Zengue's nationality was key in deciding whether Burkina Faso or Namibia would qualify for the tournament. Namibia stood to qualify for January's finals if their protest was upheld. But CAF ruled against Namibia because they used the wrong procedure in their protest. Citing article 37.1 of the CAF statutes, Africa's ruling body dismissed the protest saying it was filed long after the stipulated period for such appeals.

For the notable absenteeism at AFCON 2012, you can speak of Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon.  

 The scene was set for surprises right from the beginning of the qualifying rounds when the record-breaking and awesome treble triumphant Pharaohs of Egypt crashed out with losses to teams like the Mena of Niger. The Pharaohs together with their legendary award winning coach Hassan Shehata saw their reigning empire dismantled both as a team and defending champions. Shehata left the Pharaohs as the most successful coach in their history, having won the last three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in a row. South African footballers, coaches, supporters and media celebrated after a 0-0 home draw with Sierra Leone believing Bafana Bafana (The Boys) had made it only to discover later that little Niger had topped the table on the head-to-head rule despite a 3-0 drubbing in Egypt.

And as the seconds ticked away and they led 2-1 it looked as if the Eagles would be strong candidates to be among the best two runners-up before Germany-based Traore struck and Guinea finished first with four victories and two draws. Ibrahima Traore levelled in the final minute as Guinea salvaged a 2-2 draw against Nigeria. A dramatic second half in Abuja saw Ismael Bangura put the visitors ahead before goals from Obinna Nsofor and Ikechukwu Uche swung the game in favour of the home team. Nigeria had to win 1-0 or by a two-goal margin if Guinea scored to maintain a sequence of Cup of Nations appearances stretching back to 2000 after boycotting the 1996 finals in South Africa and being barred two years later. Here too, the team and the coach Samson Siasia are under intense pressure at home to go.

Four times champions, Cameroon's 0-0 draw with Senegal on June 4, 2011 saw the Indomitable Lions' chances of qualifying for the 2012 finals dimmed. Although the Lions were graceful in the last qualifying match against DR Congo with a win, that draw last June cost the former champions a place in the 2012 tournament after eight successive appearances in the finals. Samuel Eto'o's days and reigns are apparently over unless the country is to produce another Roger Milla.

With many of the well known giants of African soccer absent at AFCON 2012, two teams stand out as clear favourites; West African giants and neighbours Ivory Coast and Ghana. However, due to their pedigree as perennial under achievers or the Iberian of African soccer, the chances of the Elephants are not as strong as the runners up in Angola 2010, Ghana. Albeit, in the game of football, you are told never to say never, all things are possible for the Elephants who won their only title in 1992 in a marathon penalty shoot out with the Black Stars of Ghana.

Costumed character mascot of the 2012 AFCON

If all things are possible in soccer, then why do we have the term minnow in soccer? Well, it takes just a dramatic turn in fortunes to change such tagging as Denmark, Bulgaria, and Spain had demonstrated in the past. The mere fact of their courageous and achievement of qualifying is attestation to their witty and talent to conquer. In the meanwhile, congratulations to the new kings of African soccer. Well wishes to all the teams that have made it to the finals especially the Black Stars of Ghana. May the ugly and detestable shadow of Cabinda that befell the Hawks of Togo never show up again ever in the records of the beautiful and passionate game. Well, as twenty-two plus three well built and strong men go chasing global leather for millions of dollars and honours, let the passion that brings all Africans together be ignited once again. For the so-called minnows on board, the message is simple, welcome to the battle not meant for the faint-hearted. If you are here to seek glory and not just to make up the numbers, then seek to do the inevitable by achieving giant killing feats and bear in mind the old adage, hard training, easy battle.

'The Action year' that never was!

Na Sika no wo hene anaa na ndwuma no wo hene?

Profiles of Nobel Peace Prize Winners 2011

I am highly elated that three women human rights activists who have selflessly struggled to fight for women’s rights and to promote peace have been recognized by the Nobel Prize Committee with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011. As the award committee chairman, Thorbjoern Jagland said, “we cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.” In other words, recognition of the role of women and education of women is very key to realizing the achievement of this expectation. If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation). Congratulations and more encouragement to women activists.

The 20011 joint Nobel Peace Prize winners from left to right: Leymah Gbowee (Liberian civil society activist), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberian President) and Tawakul Karman (Civil society activist of Yemen)

They were jointly awarded on Friday 8 October 2011. The three women were acknowledged as campaigning women from Africa and the Arab world for their nonviolent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. The winners were Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — Liberia's and Africa’s first elected female president — her compatriot, peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen, a civil society campaigner.

They were the first women to win the prize since Kenya’s Wangari Maathai, who died last month, was named as the laureate in 2004. The award seemed designed to give impetus to the cause for women’s rights around the world. 

Herein is brief profile of the three remarkable women activists: 

PRRESIDENT ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF

Seventy-two year old Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was born on 29 October 1938. Her ethnic background is 1/2 Gola from her father's side, and ¼ German (grandfather) and 1/4 Kru (grandmother) from her mother's side. Sirleaf was born in Monrovia and studied economics and accounts from 1948 to 1955 at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. She married James Sirleaf when she was 17 years old, and then traveled with him to the United States in 1961 to continue her studies and earned an accounting degree at Madison Business College, in Madison, Wisconsin, and a degree in economics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Sirleaf later studied economics and public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1969 to 1971, gaining a Master of Public Administration. She then returned to her native Liberia to work under the government of William Tolbert.

Johnson Sirleaf and her Unity Party won the presidential run-off in 2005 to become the 24th President of the oldest independent African nation, Liberia.In the 1997 Liberian elections she ran second to warlord-turned-president and war crimes suspect,Charles Taylor, who many claimed was voted into power by a fearful electorate.Although she lost by a landslide, she rose to national prominence and earned the nickname “Iron Lady.” She was named President in the 2005 presidential election and took office on 16 January 2006.It was a time Liberia had come through 14 years of war and her rule has brought sustained peace. She says does not “want Africa to return to the men’s club” and forecast that women would take over in more African countries. Sirleaf is the first and currently only elected female head of state in Africa.She hopes “it will definitely happen in other countries because many women are now vying for the presidency, which didn’t happen much in the past”. 

 Ms. TAWAKUL KARMAN

Ms. Tawakul Karman is a 32-year-old mother of three. Tawakul Karman is from Taiz, a city in southern Yemen that is a hotbed of resistance against President Saleh’s regime, and now lives in the capital, Sanaa. She is a journalist and member of Islah, an Islamic party. Her father is a former legal affairs minister under Saleh. She has long been an advocate for human rights and freedom of expression in Yemen. Her arrest in January 2011 incensed many people and is credited by some analysts in Yemen with starting the widespread protests that have convulsed the impoverished land since then. Some of her supporters have labelled her “The Mother of Revolution.”. She heads a human rights advocacy group called Women Journalists Without Chains. Karman has been campaigning to remove Saleh from power since 2006 and mounted an initiative to organize Yemeni youth groups and opposition into a national council. Head of the human rights group Women Journalists without Chains, Karmen said “I give the prize to the youth of revolution in Yemen and the Yemeni people.”

Ms. LEYMAH GBOWEE

Leymah Gbowee was born in central Liberia in 1972. At the age of 

17, she relocated to Monrovia, when the First Liberian Civil War 

erupted. She trained as a trauma counsellor during the civil war 

in Liberia and worked with the ex-child soldiers of Charles 

Taylor’s army. Surrounded by the images of war, she realized that 

"if any changes were to be made in society it had to be by the 

mothers". She is a mother of six. 

Leymah Gbowee organised a group of Christian and Muslim women to
challenge Liberia’s warlords. She was honoured for mobilizing 

women “across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end 

to the 14-year long war in Liberia, and to ensure women’s 

participation in elections.” She trained as a trauma counsellor 

during the civil war in Liberia and worked with the ex-child 

soldiers of Charles Taylor’s army. Surrounded by the images of 

war, she realized that “if any changes were to be made in society 

it had to be by the mothers.”

Gbowee then led a delegation of Liberian women to Ghana to 

continue to apply pressure on the warring factions during the 

peace process. They staged a silent protest outside the President-

ial Palace in Accra, bringing about an agreement during the stalled 

peace talks.

Leymah Gbowee and Comfort Freeman, presidents of two different Lutheran churches, organized the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), and issued a statement of intent to the President: "In the past we were silent, but after being killed, raped, dehumanized, and infected with diseases, and watching our children and families destroyed, war has taught us that the future lies in saying NO to violence and YES to peace! We will not relent until peace prevails."

” If you can survive, you must remember that I love you”: Mother’s Ultimate Sacrifice during quake

After the Earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011 had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees like a person was worshiping; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting by an object. The collapsed house had crashed her back and her head.

With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He was hoping that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure.

He and the rest of the team left this house and were going to search the next collapsed building. For some reasons, the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruin house of the dead woman. Again, he knelt down and used his had through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement,” A child! There is a child! “

The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a 3 months old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body. Obviously, the woman had made an ultimate sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up.

The medical doctor came quickly to exam the little boy. After he opened the blanket, he saw a cell phone inside the blanket. There was a text message on the screen. It said,” If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” This cell phone was passing around from one hand to another. Every body that read the message wept. ” If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” Such is the mother’s love for her child!!