tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53257651375741010372024-03-13T13:15:24.102-07:00Discuss World PoliticsWelcome to discuss and read about the politics of today.great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-46364352836421817572020-07-28T16:16:00.001-07:002020-07-28T16:16:39.692-07:00Spaghetti and Spicy meat Sauce<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oG2FvCXvnGg" width="480"></iframe>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-29446108795170289462016-12-25T01:47:00.000-08:002016-12-25T05:59:24.131-08:00MTN Fires Amina Oyagbola Over Bribery To Buhari’s Chief Of Staff Abba KyariSouth African telecom giant, MTN, has fired one of its top and most valuable staffers in order to avoid scrutiny by the United States government over bribes offered to Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.<br />
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Shortly after helping to resolve a hefty fine imposed by the Nigerian government, Amina Oyagbola was so important to MTN that the company gave her two strategic positions. Her corporate elevation saw her combining leadership of the Human Resources department with the post of "Director of Strategic Communications" at MTN.<br />
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Ms. Oyagbola and her husband were instrumental in resolving MTN's serious problem with the Nigerian Presidency culminating in a massive $5.2 billion fine imposed on the company for ignoring the Nigerian government’s directive to ensure that all SIM cards were registered as a strategy to curb Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's northeast.<br />
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An insider within the company and other sources in Abuja told our correspondent that, once the fine was imposed, Ms. Oyagbola recruited a close friend, Femi Lijadu, to act as a consultant for “strategic advisory services.” In that capacity, Mr. Lijadu was a member of the team that negotiated with the Federal Government to reduce the fine to $1.7 billion. One of our sources said Ms. Oyagbola and Mr. Lijadu once worked with presidential Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari at the United Bank for Africa.<br />
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Once the fine was reduced to about a third of the original sum, Ms. Oyagbola’s corporate star seemed to soar. However, MTN last week told her to step down from one of her two corporate positions. A source at MTN claimed that Mrs. Oyagbola decided to resign.<br />
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However, another source within the company said that the once powerful corporate player was fired after MTN’s bribe scandal with Mr. Kyari came to the notice of the MTN's parent company in South Africa. The source added that the decision to relieve Ms. Oyagbola was taken in order to avoid the consequences of a global disgrace should US authorities ask questions related to the company’s reported offer of an undisclosed sum as bribe to Mr. Kyari before the senior presidential aide helped broker a deal that lowered the fine earlier imposed by the government.<br />
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<br />great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-79634959756964343092016-11-19T04:36:00.000-08:002016-11-19T04:36:39.657-08:00DANGER!! Plastic Rice Has Hit The Country -See 6 Tests To Help You Know Fake RiceReports indicate that China produces fake rice which is mixed with plastic for exportation to African countries including Nigeria.<br />
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China has a history of making fake food items and the fake rice phenomenon has been there for a while.<br />
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The ‘plastic rice’ is reportedly made by forming potatoes and sweet potatoes into regular rice grains shape, then adding industrial synthetic resins. It remains hard after cooking and can cause serious health issues.<br />
Experts have raised the alarm of possible flooding of the Nigerian market with the ‘plastic rice’.As Christmas draws close, a lot of people will be getting bags of rice from their employers, friends and well-wishers.<br />
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You can determine if your rice is fake by carrying out any of the simple tests below.<br />
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1. The mortar and pestle test; When molding a few grains of rice with a mortar and pestle, if the powder gives a quite white colour, you are good to go but it has a yellow discoloration, your rice must be fake.<br />
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2. The fire test; You know what plastic smells like right. So, get a lighter and burn a handful of rice. If it catches fire and smells like burnt plastic, you have fake rice.<br />
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3. The water test;Get a glass of cold water. Pour a tablespoon of raw rice in the glass and stir. If the rice goes to the bottom, it is all good. If it floats at the top, be careful because it means it contains ‘plastic rice’. Do not eat.<br />
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4. The mold test Boil the rice. Leave it in a warm place for like 2-3 days. If mold does not appear in a few days, your rice is fake and should not be consumed. It will not get mold because plastic is not affected by the weather or temperature.<br />
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5. The boiling test Observe the rice while boiling. If it starts forming a thick layer at the top of the pot, it is ‘plastic rice’.<br />
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6. The hot oil test Just take some of the rice drop into some real hot oil. If it is plastic, it will melt or stick together or stick at the bottom of the pan.<br />
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Share these tips with your friends and family so they do not end up eating ‘plastic rice’. These tests are very simple. Do not eat plastic rice, be careful.watch video below;great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-91057723038051066892014-11-05T04:40:00.000-08:002014-11-05T04:40:04.053-08:00US mid-terms: Republicans win control of the Senate<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the US mid-term elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The party won in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it is expected to post more gains as votes are counted in other states.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, poised to lead the chamber, said the result was a vote against "a government that people can no longer trust".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the mid-terms, so-called because they fell half way into Mr Obama's second four-year term in office, about one-third of the Senate, the entire House of Representatives, 36 of 50 state governors, and countless state and local offices were up for election.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout the campaign, Republicans focused on voter dissatisfaction with Mr Obama, a Democrat, describing the vote as a referendum on his presidency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the first results came in late on Tuesday, it became clear they had made convincing gains in the chamber.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Continue reading the main story</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29910542">BBC NEWS</a></span></div>
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great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-69905398118588915042014-11-04T14:28:00.000-08:002014-11-05T04:43:49.049-08:00Spain seeks to block Catalan independence vote<h1 class="title" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0799999982118607px; line-height: 25px;">Spain will seek to block in the courts a watered-down version of a Catalan vote on independence planned for Nov. 9 in the same way it stopped a non-binding referendum, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said on Friday.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0799999982118607px; line-height: 25px;">Tensions have risen between Spain’s central government and Catalonia as Madrid blocks all attempts by the northeastern region to vote on its future. Madrid argues such a ballot would violate the constitution because it would allow a percentage of Spaniards to vote on a matter affecting the whole country.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0799999982118607px; line-height: 25px;">Saenz de Santamaria said at a weekly press conference the central government would seek to block the watered-down vote, couched as a ‘consultation of citizens’, to protect the rights of Catalan civil servants so they wouldn’t be forced to break the law.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0799999982118607px; line-height: 25px;">Catalan head Artur Mas plans to hold the Nov. 9 ballot, marshalled by volunteers, in place of a non-binding referendum on independence suspended by the Constitutional Court while it deliberates on whether it is legal.</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0799999982118607px; line-height: 25px;">On Thursday, the highest-ranking state adviser backed a veto of the new ‘consultation’ saying it was just as illegal as the original plan.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0799999982118607px; line-height: 25px;">The government will now ask the Constitutional Court on Friday to rule on the legality of the vote, Saenz de Santamaria said. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy referred this week to the ‘consultation’ as a ‘pseudo vote’.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0799999982118607px; line-height: 25px;">It is unclear how the central government would enforce a block on the vote if Catalan leaders decide to press ahead.</span></span></h1>
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<a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20141104-spain-catalonia-catalan-independence-vote-referendum/" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">FRANCE24</span></a></h1>
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great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-24915729707827166482011-07-27T13:17:00.000-07:002011-07-27T13:59:14.899-07:00UK recognizes Libya rebels as legitimate government<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The United Kingdom recognizes Libya's rebel umbrella group, not Moammar Gadhafi's regime, as the legitimate government, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">"We are dealing with them as if they are the state of Libya and that is how we are treating them," Hague said of the Transitional National Council.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">He said London was working on ways to unfreeze Libyan government assets and get funds to the rebels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">His announcement came shortly after the Foreign Office said it had expelled all Libyan Embassy staff from the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The United States has already recognized the TNC as the "legitimate governing authority" in Libya. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement two weeks ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hague also blasted the appearance of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on Libyan television overnight, saying that his appearance proved his release from prison was a mistake and that the medical advice he did not have long to live was "worthless."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Al Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people, appeared at a pro-Gadhafi forum in Tripoli on Tuesday afternoon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He was released from a Scottish prison in 2009 on the grounds that he had cancer and was not likely to live more than three more months.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Appearing frail, in a wheelchair and with a face mask under his chin, he was introduced to the rally as a victim of a conspiracy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hague on Wednesday reiterated his stance that Gadhafi could remain in Libya if he leaves power, but added that the best thing would be for him to face justice at the International Criminal Court, which is seeking his arrest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi said Gadhafi's future would be decided only by Libyans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"With all due respect to the foreign minister of Great Britain, he cannot decide on behalf of the Libyan people," al-Mahmoudi said. "What is important to us is what Libyans decide, not what William Hague decides."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prime minister also said Tuesday that NATO airstrikes must stop before any negotiations to resolve the five-month-old conflict can begin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">His statement came as the United Nations reported that a visit to the country by the secretary-general's special envoy to Libya found the government and the rebels "far apart on reaching agreement on a political solution."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Al-Mahmoudi, speaking to reporters in Tripoli, said that "this aggression must stop immediately."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"A cease-fire is a must before we can be able to have any sort of dialogue or solution to the Libyan problem," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prime minister spoke after meeting with the U.N. special envoy, Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, who had met the day before with members of the Transitional National Council in the rebel stronghold, Benghazi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Al-Khatib warned that a diplomatic breakthrough did not seem to be imminent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It is clear from the discussions in Tripoli today and in Benghazi yesterday, with representatives of the Libyan Transitional National Council, that both sides remain far apart on reaching agreement on a political solution," the U.N. said in a statement late Tuesday.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffbf; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; height: auto; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: auto; z-index: 99995;"></div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-35220802617073719472011-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:002011-07-27T14:06:09.576-07:00Impasse on debt ceiling deal drags into critical week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">One week before the United States government could default and enter uncharted economic territory, Democrats and Republicans remain at a stalemate on how to reach a debt ceiling deal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vote on a Republican plan originally expected for Wednesday was postponed Tuesday after the Congressional Budget Office said it failed to reduce spending and deficits as much as advertised. The proposal was unveiled Monday by House Speaker John Boehner.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A spokesman for the Ohio Republican said aides are looking at rewriting the plan. A congressional source told CNN on condition of not being identified that the vote was being postponed until Thursday at the earliest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While political leaders continued sniping at each other's latest proposals, conservative Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called for renewed negotiations with President Barack Obama and indicated his party must be willing to move away from some of its </div><div style="text-align: justify;">demands.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We are going to have to get back together and get a solution here," McConnell said of formal talks with the White House and congressional Democrats. "We cannot get a perfect solution, from my point of view, controlling only the House of Representatives. So I am prepared to accept something less than perfect because perfect is not achievable."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition, Boehner's plan appeared in danger of failing to get passed by the GOP-controlled House, which would weaken the party's negotiating leverage on a final deal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Conservatives -- including some House and Senate Republicans and the Club for Growth, an anti-tax group -- have criticized the Boehner plan for not doing enough to tackle the nation's mounting deficits and debt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I'm not voting against the speaker, but I'm voting against this plan," Rep. Jim Jordan, a fellow Ohioan who heads the conservative Republican Study Committee, told CNN. Asked if Boehner had the votes to pass the measure in the chamber he leads, Jordan said: "I don't think so now."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a letter to their House colleagues, a group of conservative senators harshly criticized the Boehner plan as insufficient and called on Republicans to reject it in favor of the "cut, cap and balance" plan previously passed by the House and dismissed by the Senate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"For many reasons, we cannot support this bill and urge you to protect the American taxpayers by strongly opposing this bill," said the letter from Republican Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah and David Vitter of Louisiana.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates and a declining dollar, among other problems. As the cost of borrowing rises, individual mortgages, car loans and student loans could become significantly more expensive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some financial analysts have warned of a potential stock market crash and a downgrade of America's triple-A credit rating.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffbf; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; height: auto; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: auto; z-index: 99995;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffbf; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; height: auto; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: auto; z-index: 99995;"></div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-10387180844863120142011-07-26T13:48:00.001-07:002011-07-26T14:31:23.598-07:00Phone hacking: Murdoch's agree to appear before MP's<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">News Corporation's Rupert and James Murdoch have agreed to appear before MP's to answer questions on the phone-hacking scandal on Tuesday.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The Commons media committee had issued summonses after the men initially declined to appear next week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks had agreed to attend.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Neil Wallis, ex-News of the World executive editor, was arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Wallis, also a former member of the Editors' Code of Practice Committee, is the ninth person to have been arrested since the Metropolitan Police launched a fresh phone-hacking investigation in January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Murdoch-owned News of the World (NoW) was shut down last week amid the mounting scandal over the alleged hacking of phones belonging to crime victims, politicians and celebrities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the US, it is being reported that the FBI is investigating alleged hacking of the phones of 9/11 victims by the News of the World.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A growing group of senators and a senior Republican congressman have been calling for the authorities to investigate the allegations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who wrote to the attorney general to urge an investigation, said the claims newspapers sought to "exploit information about... personal tragedies for profit" needed to be probed.</div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-50974911713694533972011-07-26T13:47:00.001-07:002011-07-26T13:47:39.202-07:00US recognizes Libyan rebel TNC as legitimate authority.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">That means billions of dollars of Libyan assets frozen in US banks could be released to the rebels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a diplomatic meeting in Istanbul.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Western and Arab members of the Libya Contact Group are drawing up a plan to end hostilities, which will be presented to Col Muammar Gaddafi</div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">"The United States views the Gaddafi regime as no longer having any legitimate authority in Libya," Mrs Clinton said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"And so I am announcing today that, until an interim authority is in place, the United States will recognise the TNC Transitional National Council] as the legitimate governing authority for Libya, and we will deal with it on that basis."</div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-26525996929912529592011-07-26T13:46:00.000-07:002011-07-26T13:46:17.293-07:00Mau Mau Kenyans allowed to sue UK government.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">The High Court said the group could seek damages over their treatment during the 1950s and 60s. Mr Justice McCombe said the claimants had an "arguable case" and it would be "dishonourable" to block the claims.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ministers say the UK government is not responsible for the actions of the colonial administration. The decision means that the government will have to defend accusations of torture, murder, sexual assault and other alleged abuses at a full damages trial in 2012.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">In a crucial twist earlier this year, academics discovered some 17,000 previously unseen documents in the foreign office’s archives. The papers include details of atrocities in reports to Whitehall which were seen by ministers in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of the documents implicate British colonial officials in atrocities and acts of abuse in detention camps set up to smash the pre-independence uprising.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">“The four Kenyans, Ndiku Mutwiwa Mutua, Paulo Muoka Nzili, Wambugu Wa Nyingi and Jane Muthoni Mara, all in their 70s and 80s, say the documents form a paper trail proving that ministers in London approved of systematic abuse in the special camps. A fifth claimant has died since the action began. Earlier this year, the High Court heard that Mr Mutua and Mr Nzili had been castrated, Mr Nyingi was beaten unconscious in an incident in which 11 men were clubbed to death, and Mrs. Mara had been subjected to appalling sexual abuse.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Mr. Justice McCombe said: "I have decided that the claimants have arguable cases, fit for trial. "I emphasise that I have not found that there was systematic torture in the Kenyan camps nor that, if there was, the UK government is liable to detainees, such as the claimants, for what happened. "I have simply decided that these five claimants have arguable cases in law and on the facts as presently known. "He said there was "ample evidence" to show there may have been "systematic torture of detainees during the Emergency".</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Martyn Day, solicitor for the Kenyans, said the ruling was a historic judgment - and his clients were a step closer. "Over 50 years ago our clients suffered the most terrible torture at the hands of the British Colonial regime," he said. "Our clients have been battling for years to obtain justice for what they endured. Our government has seemed hell-bent on preventing that happening. "They want some sort of justice, an apology, some sort of money that would give them peace in their final years."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">"They tortured our people, raped our people, castrated our people," he said. "There is no evil they did not do. These atrocities are the cause of the case. We want them to pay for that," Mr. Wa Kahengeri said.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Mr. Justice McCombe has given the government until the autumn to prepare a defence - but has also given permission for it to argue that the cases should be ruled as out-of-time.</div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-15328917370589387242011-07-26T13:44:00.001-07:002011-07-26T13:44:50.799-07:00Democrazy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Nigerian politics will be in this section...</div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-90329843418738816412011-07-26T13:43:00.001-07:002011-07-26T13:43:47.612-07:00Ongoing Elections<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ongoing elections....</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ballot Box</div></td></tr>
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</div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-5850106528467838522011-07-26T13:42:00.000-07:002011-07-26T13:42:14.314-07:00Sudan's South Kordofan fighting: 'Mass graves found'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Satellite images show mass graves following recent fighting in Sudan, a campaign group set up by Hollywood star George Clooney says.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Eyewitnesses who spoke to the group said soldiers had systematically massacred civilians in South Kordofan.</div><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Fighting began in the state last month, between rebels from the Nuba mountains and the Sudanese armed forces.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A Sudanese military spokesman denied allegations that civilians had been killed.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">South Kordofan borders South Sudan, which last week became an independent state.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Some 70,000 people have fled the recent fighting there.</div></div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-86270721895361395422011-07-26T13:39:00.000-07:002011-07-26T13:39:59.435-07:00The UN General Assembly has admitted South Sudan as its 193rd member.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">South Sudan is the first country to join the UN body since Montenegro in 2006, and the day was described by assembly president Joseph Deiss as a "historic and joyous moment".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Welcome, welcome South Sudan to the community of nations," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vote was unanimous and was immediately followed by applause in the General Assembly.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a meeting on Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to recommend South Sudan's membership of the world body.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Sudan became independent on Saturday, after its people voted to secede from the north in January's referendum.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Sudan says it is launching its own currency and the South Sudan pound note will be in circulation by next Monday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Mr Ban warned the world's newest country that the hard work begins now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although it is oil-rich, it is one of the least developed areas of the world - only 16% of its women can read and write and there are very few paved roads in a country larger than Spain and Portugal combined.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Its independence follows decades of conflict with the north in which some 1.5 million people died.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two countries have still to decide on issues such as drawing up the new border and how to divide Sudan's debts and oil wealth.</div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-84867653606545581902011-07-26T13:37:00.000-07:002011-07-27T14:05:02.682-07:00Rebekah Brooks has resigned.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, has resigned, the company has confirmed. Her departure follows days of increasing pressure to step down as the phone hacking crisis grew. In a statement, she said she felt a "deep responsibility for the people we have hurt".<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rupert Murdoch will apologise for "serious wrongdoing" by the News of the World, in adverts in national newspapers on Saturday. Prime Minister David Cameron thinks that Rebekah Brooks's resignation was "the right decision", his official spokesman said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rebekah Brooks was the paper's editor between 2000 and 2003, during which time murder victim Milly Dowler's phone was hacked. She said she wanted to "reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Her statement went on: "I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. "This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms Brooks, 43, who had been with News International for 22 years, bowed to the international pressure piling up on the company. She has been replaced by Tom Mockridge, who was in charge of News Corporation's Italian broadcasting arm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dose her resignation means that the alleged phone hacking was done with her knowledge?</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffbf; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; height: auto; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: auto; z-index: 99995;"></div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-34383406604881825162011-07-26T13:34:00.000-07:002011-07-27T14:01:03.887-07:00Ecuador president 'to donate $40m libel damages'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, has said he won't keep "one cent" of the $40m (£24m) he received after a libel suit against El Universo, the main opposition newspaper.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Correa has vowed to donate all the money to a government environmental project.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A journalist, Emilio Palacio, and the three newspaper owners were sentenced to three years in jail each over an article published last year.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The four men said they would appeal. The judge in the coastal city of Guayaquil fined Mr. Palacio and the three owners - Carlos, Cesar and Nicolas Perez - a total of $30m, as well as an additional $10m fine against the newspaper.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr. Palacio, who was formerly the editorial page editor at El Universo, called the sentence "a barbarity".</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr. Correa says the money will be used in the Yasuni-ITT project, a government scheme to raise billions of dollars from international donors in exchange for renouncing oil exploration in the rainforest.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">"I'm not interested in one cent, even worst from Emilio Palacio or the Perezes," he said.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr. Correa's lawyer, Alembert Vera, said the president would also appeal in an effort to obtain the $80m he originally sought in damages.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The libel action was brought by Mr. Correa after El Universo published an article questioning an army raid to rescue him from a violent protest by striking policemen last October.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">He was tear-gassed by his own police force in the capital Quito and then trapped inside a police hospital surrounded by protesting officers for more than 12 hours.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Several people were killed or injured in the unrest, which Mr. Correa insisted was a coup attempt.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In an article published in El Universo in February, Mr. Palacio referred to Mr. Correa as "the dictator" and said the president had ordered soldiers to fire on the hospital.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The paper later tried to reach an out-of-court settlement and offered to print a correction, but Mr. Correa turned both down.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The libel case has been criticised by press freedom groups as part of an effort to muzzle the media in Ecuador.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The president of the US-based Inter American Press Association, Gonzalo Marroquin, said he hoped that higher courts would "know how to uphold the right to freedom of the press and of expression of all citizens."</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr. Correa has accused much of the independent press in his country of being corrupt and of manipulating the truth.</div></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffbf; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; height: auto; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: auto; z-index: 99995;"></div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-5417058606389906412011-07-26T13:30:00.000-07:002011-07-26T13:30:39.173-07:00Venezuela’s Chavez home after chemotherapy in Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">"I return in better condition than I was in when I left," President Chavez said as he left the plane in Caracas. He said he had a week of chemotherapy and doctors found no malignant cells. President Chavez had surgery twice last month - once to remove an abscess and once to remove a cancerous tumour.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">He has been in power since 1999 and is running for a third term in 2012.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Before going to Cuba President Chavez delegated some of his powers to ministers but resisted calls to hand over all powers during his absence.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">He has not given precise details of where the tumour was found, only that he was operated on in the pelvic region. The president is preparing for more chemotherapy, with some reports saying he might undergo treatment in Brazil.</div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325765137574101037.post-73927202057808022352011-07-26T08:48:00.000-07:002011-07-26T13:24:57.031-07:00Obama calls for compromise amid stalemate in debt talks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">President Barack Obama called on the American public to pressure elected officials to work out a compromise to raise the federal debt ceiling and avoid a potentially devastating default.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A deal would allow the government to continue borrowing money to pay its debts after August 2. The challenge came during the president's seventh prime-time televised address Monday night. The president singled out House Republicans for intransigence and said the political showdown is "no way to run the greatest country on Earth."<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">"The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government," Obama said. "So I'm asking you all to make your voice heard. If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of Congress know. If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message."</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Shortly after the president's address, problems were reported on the web pages of at least two high-profile Republicans -- House Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Michele Bachmann. An error message on Boehner's site said "The web page cannot be found," and Bachmann's website said the "Server is too busy." "There were temporary issues with sites hosted by outside vendors -- many have been resolved," a spokeswoman for House Administration Committee said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both websites were operating normally by early Tuesday.</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The president's political speech was intended to convince an increasingly frustrated and concerned public that Obama's approach to dealing with mounting deficits is better for working class Americans and the nation as a whole.</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In a televised response, Boehner argued the opposite, saying in televised remarks that excessive government spending caused the problems the nation faces and cutting that spending is the only way to solve the problem. "The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today," Boehner said. "That is just not going to happen."</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">If Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates and a declining dollar, among other problems. As the cost of borrowing rises, individual mortgages, car loans and student loans could become significantly more expensive. Officials also warn that, without an increase in the debt limit, the federal government will not be able to pay all its bills next month. Obama recently indicated he could not guarantee Social Security checks would be mailed out on time.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Months of increasingly tense negotiations have failed to bring a deal that can win approve from all of the necessary players -- the Republican-led House, Democratic-led Senate and the White House. Obama has pushed for a comprehensive plan that included spending cuts, increased tax revenue and entitlement reforms, while Republicans sought to shrink government by proposing spending cuts and reforms without increased revenue.</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Obama said "it's not fair" to make massive cuts to programs affecting the poor and middle class without asking for sacrifices from wealthy Americans and large corporations as well. As he has in recent weeks, the president called for "a balanced approach" that includes large spending cuts along with revenue hikes -- including a halt to Bush-era tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000 a year -- to address the nation's deficit. "The only reason this balanced approach isn't on its way to becoming law right now is because a significant number of Republicans in Congress are insisting on a cuts-only approach -- an approach that doesn't ask the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to contribute anything at all," Obama said. "And because nothing is asked of those at the top of the income scales, such an approach would close the deficit only with more severe cuts to programs we all care about -- cuts that place a greater burden on working families."</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">To Boehner, the overall long-term health of the U.S. economy is the issue, and he showed no sign of moving off his party's opposition to any kind of increase in taxes. "The president has often said we need a 'balanced' approach -- which in Washington means: we spend more . . . you pay more," Boehner said in his response. "Having run a small business, I know those tax increases will destroy jobs."</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier Monday, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders unveiled separate new proposals that the other side quickly rejected, demonstrating the cavernous partisan divide that exists. Both plans -- one by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and the other by Boehner, R-Ohio -- provide a path to raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2012, but they differ in scope and over key components involving requirements for future congressional action.</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Obama endorsed Reid's plan, but acknowledged it has little chance of getting passed in the House, just as the competing Republican plan unveiled by Boehner is unlikely to get passed by the Senate.</div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The president pushed for the two parties to work out an acceptable deal, and called for Americans to demand that their congressional representatives put aside short-term politics to reach a compromise.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div></div>great woman with lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00052431814128099934noreply@blogger.com0