Donald Ardale is a bit of a bargain shopper.
But when the Richmond Heights man went to get a haircut this November, his quest for a discount landed him behind bars.
“This…it has made my life hell,” he said.
According to Lyndhurst police, Ardale, 65, went to Best Cuts in Lyndhurst with a $7.99 coupon for a haircut. The police report states that store employees claimed the coupon was expired.
“I’ve been using coupons all my life,” Ardale said of the incident on Nov. 5. “I always look for the expiration date. There is no expiration date on the coupon that they would not take.”
When Ardale asked if the store would honor a competitor’s coupon, that`s when things got out of hand.
“I had been there a half hour trying to pay, trying to pay what I owe,” he said.
The police report states that Ardale offered a coupon from Sport Clips. The paper had four coupons on it. Employees were willing to give Ardale $3 off his $14.50 haircut. They stipulated, however, that they would only give him the discount if they received the whole coupon, which included about $20 in discounts. The store needed the coupon for its records.
A retired real estate agent, Ardale refused to give up the whole coupon. He said even before living on Social Security, he’s always tried to pinch pennies. He was willing to pay the $11.50 due after using the coupon’s $3 discount.
Lyndhurst police were eventually called, and they arrested Ardale for theft.
The police report states that officers gave Ardale three choices: pay full price, get $3 off while giving up the coupon or go to jail. Mr. Ardale picked jail.
Now, Ardale faces first-degree misdemeanor charges for a fight over the haircut. He`s pleading not-guilty and hopes to make his case to a judge. He is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on Feb. 25.
Fox 8 has reached out to Best Cuts and is waiting for their response.
“I did nothing wrong. Didn’t steal anything,” Ardale said. “The worst thing…one thing under a felony, for a $6 coupon that they charged me with. That is to me and everyone I’ve spoken to, totally insane.”
Source FOXNEWS
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Deaf Twins Going Blind Euthanized
Two deaf twin brothers in Belgium were euthanized by their doctor after realizing they were going blind and would be unable to see each other ever again, their physician says.
The 45-year-old men, whose names have not been made public, were legally put to death by lethal injection at the Brussels University Hospital in Jette, on Dec. 14.
The men, who were born deaf, had a cup of coffee and said goodbye to other family members before walking into hospital room together to die, their doctor told Belgian television station RTL.
"They were very happy. It was a relief to see the end of their suffering," said Dr. David Dufour.
"They had a cup of coffee in the hall. It went well and a rich conversation. Then the separation from their parents and brother was very serene and beautiful," he said. "At the last there was a little wave of their hands and then they were gone,"
More than 1,000 people legally availed themselves of doctor-assisted deaths in Belgium in 2011, most of them were terminally ill cancer patients.
The brothers are unique in that their illness was not terminal. Belgian law, however, allows doctors to euthanize "suffering" patients who are both mentally sound, over 18 and want to die.
Belgian lawmakers are considering a law that would extend euthanasia to dementia patients and children, whose families and doctors consented.
18 frozen human heads found in Chicago Airport
Turns out the heads were used for medical research in Italy and were being returned for cremation in Illinois. The holdup was due to a paperwork problem.
It just so happens such shipments are commonplace, and heads — quite a few of them — crisscross the globe via airplane and delivery truck.
"Just last week, we transported eight heads, unembalmed, to Rush University Medical Center for an ophthalmology program," said Paul Dudek, vice president of the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois, which supplies cadavers and body parts to medical schools in the state for training students.
His association sends about 450 whole cadavers to medical schools each year and also ships individual body parts, including about a dozen shipments of heads annually.
The heads are used for training in fields such as dentistry, ophthalmology and neurology, where they are used for Alzheimer's research. They are also used to train plastic surgeons and by students learning to perform facial reconstructions on accident and trauma victims, Dudek said.
Most cadavers are obtained through voluntary donation by people who designate a willingness to have their bodies benefit science upon their death, Dudek said. A much smaller proportion are the bodies of people whose families could not afford their burial and so agree to allow the state to release them for research.
The shipment to O'Hare was properly preserved, wrapped and labeled "human specimens," said Mary Paleologos, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which took hold of the shipment on Monday for storage in its morgue cooler while authorities continued to investigate the paperwork.
With little information initially, news of the shipment's discovery fueled headlines and raised questions about where the shipment came from, where it was headed and why.
In the end, it turned out the shipment of three containers, which arrived in mid-December, was held up because of a mix-up with the paperwork and there was nothing suspicious about it or its destination.
The heads were originally sent from Illinois to a medical research facility in Rome and were returned to the Chicago area for disposal as part of the agreement for the order, Paleologos said.
On Tuesday, a cremation service arrived at the Medical Examiner's Office with paperwork for the specimens. Once federal authorities confirm the paperwork, the specimens will be turned over to the cremation service, she said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection could not discuss the specific case because of privacy laws, but it said shipments of human remains into the U.S. "are not without precedent," are lawful with the right documentation and fall within the agency's "low-risk" category.
Dudek said such shipments require thorough documentation, in part because the scarcity of bodies donated to science means there is a black market for them.
"It does go on," he said of the illegal trade.
Besides medical schools, many corporations making medical instruments and appliances use cadavers for their training and research programs.
"We receive about 600 whole-body donations a year. I could easily place 750, 800," he said, explaining the short supply.
Some shipments go by air, but others end up in delivery trucks just like any other package.
"In fact, we sent out a shipment of brains to the University of Texas at Austin last week via UPS," Dudek said.
Monday 14 January 2013
BOKO HARAM LEADER CAUGHT IN FORMER HONOURABLE REP. HOUSE
Another breakthrough came the way of security agents in their confrontation with members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect. Hassan Pagi Bukar, one of the sect’s suspected leaders, was arrested in the residence of a 2003-2007 member of the House of Representatives [name withheld].
According to sources, the alleged Boko Haram leader was arrested along with the security guard of the lawmaker.
Although the one-time member of the House of Reps was said to have been briefly arrested and interrogated, he has since been a daily guest of the security agency that effected the arrest.
The arrest was reportedly made in the Gwarimpa area of the Federal Capital territory (FCT), Abuja.
It was learnt that the arrest and interrogation of Bukar started yielding results.
For instance, the suspect reportedly disclosed, upon interrogation, that his brief as a sect member was to "carry out robbery activities by dispossessing members of the public of their cars".
The security guard in the former House of the Reps member’s residence (who was described as a mere gateman) was said to have been "employed from Sokoto".
During further interrogation of Bukar, the suspect allegedly disclosed that the cars used for suicide bombings by the sect were stolen vehicles.
One of the very indicting statements of Bukar, the source said, was that he implicated the former Rep by saying that he also buys some of the cars from him [Bukar] when they are stolen.
According to sources, the alleged Boko Haram leader was arrested along with the security guard of the lawmaker.
Although the one-time member of the House of Reps was said to have been briefly arrested and interrogated, he has since been a daily guest of the security agency that effected the arrest.
The arrest was reportedly made in the Gwarimpa area of the Federal Capital territory (FCT), Abuja.
It was learnt that the arrest and interrogation of Bukar started yielding results.
For instance, the suspect reportedly disclosed, upon interrogation, that his brief as a sect member was to "carry out robbery activities by dispossessing members of the public of their cars".
The security guard in the former House of the Reps member’s residence (who was described as a mere gateman) was said to have been "employed from Sokoto".
During further interrogation of Bukar, the suspect allegedly disclosed that the cars used for suicide bombings by the sect were stolen vehicles.
One of the very indicting statements of Bukar, the source said, was that he implicated the former Rep by saying that he also buys some of the cars from him [Bukar] when they are stolen.
ARSENAL 0--MANCHESTER CITY 2. READ MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
THOUGH AM A MAN UNITED FAN, BUT BEEN A BLOGGER I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE BUT TO REPORT THIS. The failure of man city to win should be my joy, but would just succumb to pride as i give you the full analysis of the match between the two cup rivalry
Manchester City moved back to within seven points of the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory against Arsenal as both sides finished with 10 men on a hostile afternoon in north London.
The Gunners were forced to play with a man disadvantage for most of the game after Laurent Koscielny was sent off for hauling down Edin Dzeko in the penalty area - although the Bosnian striker missed the resulting penalty.
City made the man advantage count with two first-half goals as James Milner fired an excellent opener from a tight angle before Dzeko did manage to get his name on the scoresheet with close-range tap in.
Both teams were then forced to play the final 15 minutes with 10 men after City captain Vincent Kompany was also sent off for a two-footed challenge on Jack Wilshere.
Under pressure following Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool earlier in the day had temporarily extended the gap at the top of the table to 10 points, second-placed City responded to its bitter rival in impressive style while Arsenal remains sixth in the Premier League, six points adrift of the top four.
Arsenal made four changes to the side that drew its FA Cup clash with Swansea as Thomas Vermaelen, Lukas Podolski, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby - after three months out with a thigh injury - returned to the starting lineup. For City, Joe Hart and Matija Nastasic returned while Carlos Tevez was again paired up front with Dzeko with Sergio Aguero still sidelined through injury.
City started brightly and zipped the ball around with confidence in the early stages before the match-defining moment of the game in the ninth minute as referee Mike Dean awarded City a penalty and showed a red card to Koscielny.
While the decision infuriated Arsene Wenger and the home crowd - who hurled abuse at Dean throughout the game - the official had no choice after Koscielny elected to tackle Dzeko in the penalty area as the City striker attempted to turn and shoot.
Yet Arsenal was not punished immediately amid bizarre scenes. Dzeko stepped up himself to take the spot kick, which was saved by Wojciech Szczesny with his legs before the ball rebounded off the post and across the goal line into the goalkeeper’s arms.
City, however, dominated possession and made the man advantage count in the 21st minute with a beautifully worked opener. David Silva was alert enough to take a quick free kick before Tevez slipped a delightful pass to Milner, who smashed his finish into the far corner from a tight angle via the post.
In the 32nd minute, the game was effectively over as a contest as Dzeko did find the net. Milner whipped in an excellent low cross from the right and the forward was on hand to tap home his 10th league goal of the season after Szczesny saved Tevez’s initial effort.
The Premier League champion nearly went three ahead before the break but Wilshere was alert to clear Javi Garcia’s header off the line from a corner.
After the break, City went into cruise control as it looked to save energy and coast to victory. Dzeko headed just off target shortly after the re-start while Tevez was thwarted by Szczesny as he ran through on goal.
Arsenal showed fighting spirit in the second half and was given hope in the 75th minute when Kompany was dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Wilshere. The Belgian clearly won the ball but Dean took action after ruling that the tackle was dangerous.
It made little difference as City saw out the result to repay the traveling fans and keep the pressure on United.
Manchester City moved back to within seven points of the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory against Arsenal as both sides finished with 10 men on a hostile afternoon in north London.
The Gunners were forced to play with a man disadvantage for most of the game after Laurent Koscielny was sent off for hauling down Edin Dzeko in the penalty area - although the Bosnian striker missed the resulting penalty.
City made the man advantage count with two first-half goals as James Milner fired an excellent opener from a tight angle before Dzeko did manage to get his name on the scoresheet with close-range tap in.
Both teams were then forced to play the final 15 minutes with 10 men after City captain Vincent Kompany was also sent off for a two-footed challenge on Jack Wilshere.
Under pressure following Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool earlier in the day had temporarily extended the gap at the top of the table to 10 points, second-placed City responded to its bitter rival in impressive style while Arsenal remains sixth in the Premier League, six points adrift of the top four.
Arsenal made four changes to the side that drew its FA Cup clash with Swansea as Thomas Vermaelen, Lukas Podolski, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby - after three months out with a thigh injury - returned to the starting lineup. For City, Joe Hart and Matija Nastasic returned while Carlos Tevez was again paired up front with Dzeko with Sergio Aguero still sidelined through injury.
City started brightly and zipped the ball around with confidence in the early stages before the match-defining moment of the game in the ninth minute as referee Mike Dean awarded City a penalty and showed a red card to Koscielny.
While the decision infuriated Arsene Wenger and the home crowd - who hurled abuse at Dean throughout the game - the official had no choice after Koscielny elected to tackle Dzeko in the penalty area as the City striker attempted to turn and shoot.
Yet Arsenal was not punished immediately amid bizarre scenes. Dzeko stepped up himself to take the spot kick, which was saved by Wojciech Szczesny with his legs before the ball rebounded off the post and across the goal line into the goalkeeper’s arms.
City, however, dominated possession and made the man advantage count in the 21st minute with a beautifully worked opener. David Silva was alert enough to take a quick free kick before Tevez slipped a delightful pass to Milner, who smashed his finish into the far corner from a tight angle via the post.
In the 32nd minute, the game was effectively over as a contest as Dzeko did find the net. Milner whipped in an excellent low cross from the right and the forward was on hand to tap home his 10th league goal of the season after Szczesny saved Tevez’s initial effort.
The Premier League champion nearly went three ahead before the break but Wilshere was alert to clear Javi Garcia’s header off the line from a corner.
After the break, City went into cruise control as it looked to save energy and coast to victory. Dzeko headed just off target shortly after the re-start while Tevez was thwarted by Szczesny as he ran through on goal.
Arsenal showed fighting spirit in the second half and was given hope in the 75th minute when Kompany was dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Wilshere. The Belgian clearly won the ball but Dean took action after ruling that the tackle was dangerous.
It made little difference as City saw out the result to repay the traveling fans and keep the pressure on United.
MIRACLE!!! PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE DRIVE CAR FROM ORE TO LAGOS WITHOUT FUEL
This type of disruption of traffic is reminiscent of the period when Lagos was still the federal capital and residence of Presidents and Head of states, before the movement to Abuja, during civilian regimes.
Notorious traffic at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, when the Redeemed Christian Church of God is holding their camp meeting is well known and deserves no comments.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God is one of the biggest Pentecostal Churches in the country with membership running into thousands, if not millions. It is therefore expedient for the president to fall into the temptation of choosing the venue both to worship and doing political business, by killing two birds with one stone. After all, this is not new. Pastor Adeboye welcomed President Obasanjo with the same fun-fare and prayer sessions.
Both Pastor Adeboye and President Jonathan have a lot to gain. While Pastor Adeboye may be guaranteed adequate funds through offerings for the church, the president on the other hand will have political membership support especially as it is rumored that the president is in the running come 2015. This political manoeuvering does not deserve a comment.
People witnessed on television the president kneeling and Pastor Adeboye praying for his success in the business of governances after which the President delivered his prepared political speech, promising to solve the nation’s problems.
Pastor Adeboye in his usual style gave a motivational sermon bordering on a miraculous story about a journey he was involved in. The story I am told had been narrated a number of times previously.
Pastor Adeboye was coming from Onitsha during the petrol crises when he realized he needed to buy petrol, but there was no petrol in Onitsha. He decided he would try Asaba, but found out also, there was no petrol in Asaba. Continuing his journey, he hoped to buy petrol on reaching Benin, but to his amazement also found out there was no petrol station open for business in Benin, Pastor Adeboye undaunted finally thought he would find petrol to buy at Ore.
By the time he reached Ore, the next stop, his petrol warning light came on, indicating that he was then on reserve supply. At this point Pastor Adeboye said God told him not to look at the petrol gauge, but to continue his journey. Following God’s instruction, Pastor Adeboye continued his journey from Ore, without looking at the fuel gauge, until he got to his residence in Surulere in Lagos.
This is a very moving account of the supernatural, and the very intervention of God himself in making what seems impossible, possible.
In other words, this is a miracle, a wonderful and an amazing thing, an event in the natural world but out of its established order, possible only by the intervention of divine power.
Pastor Adeboye’s narrative of his ability to drive a car with only reserve petrol left from Ore to his residence in Surulere – falls very neatly under this miraculous experience. In other words, God supplied him miraculous quantity of petrol to achieve this.
However let us subject this claim to analysis and scrutiny.
God created a horse or camel for motion and God can make a horse or camel run independently for 1,000 miles without stopping, or tiring just by His word, as all things are possible with God. One could say same for a car as well. But there is a difference.
A car is designed by man and designed for propulsion to run on an energy source such as petrol or gas by a system of carburetors or fuel injection. It is designed by man, after taking into consideration all external God or Natural Laws governing the earth gravity, velocity or motion, etc.
Pastor Adeboye said God told him not to look at the petrol gauge when the gauge warning light came on, before leaving Ore, driving to Surulere in Lagos. He decided not to tell us the full story: he should disclose the following facts that will convince everyone there was a miracle.
·What was the make and model of the car he was driving?
·What distance did he cover between Ore and his residence in Surulere, Lagos?
·What is the capacity of his car’s reserve tank by the time the warning light comes on – how many liters are in the tank?
·How many kilometers per liter does Pastor Adeboye car do?
Apart from the distance covered, all these questions or information could be supplied by the car manufacturers if the type of car is known.
It is well known also that there are cars that have two reserve tanks and these tanks have varying capacities. There are other factors that occur in the running of a car that could alter its function. The fuel gauge warning indicator may be faulty or can come on prematurely giving the impression that a driver is on reserve petrol.
Pastor Adeboye is alleged to own a private jet designed by man as described previously to operate a system of propulsion and flight by the use of aviation fuel. It could be assumed or inferred that while flying the private jet, there was insufficient aviation fuel, and the guage ignored, because with God all things are possible; Pastor Adeboye could not avoid a crash.
Unlike a car, the measuring instruments of an aircraft are better calibrated and more precise. From the above information to determine whether a miracle occurred between Ore and Pastor Adeboye’s house in Surulere, a decerning mind will conclude. There was no miracle, as the car in question must, have just conformed with the specification, it was designed to do.
I understand Pastor Adeboye was a mathematics professor before he was called to do God’s work. He must have had some knowledge in scientific data, and this could have influenced his narrative of miraculous petrol, a story he had repeated a few times. But our society is backward and most Pentecostal Church preachers take advantage of this ignorance.
It was amazing to me that a few people I would consider knowledgeable and enlightened could not see the flaws in the miraculous content of Pastor Adeboye’s story. This exposes our knowledge of what a miracle really is. This writer is a very strong believer in miracles, and miracles happen all the time but Pastor Adeboye’s claim could not stand the scrutiny of believers in the Western World. It would be classified as a spurious claim.
Arepo: Bodies Of Vandals Float On Creeks
Are nigerians stubborn or what? This is the title of one of my post that tricked into my mind as i read
through another ugly incident that occured at arepo pipeline station. Guess what caused the incident,
your guess is as good as mine PIPELINE EXPLOSION. read details below
The bodies of four suspected vandals were found at the scene of Saturday’s pipeline explosion at Arepo, Ogun State on Sunday.
The bodies, which were found in the swamp around the explosion site, had little sign of burns.
Even though the fire had reduced when our correspondents got to the scene on Sunday, emergency workers said the situation was still precarious as there was need to completely put out the fire.
Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, said evacuation of the bodies would begin later on Sunday.
He said, “Our assessment show that more bodies will still be inside the swamp. This is why we cannot give a specific number of casualties at the moment.
“Two of the bodies found seemed to have floated up from the water. It is likely that more bodies may float later. But we will start the recovery of the bodies found as soon as Red Cross officials and medical team of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation arrive.”
Farinloye said there was a technique that could be applied to make the bodies of other casualties that had sunk in the water to float.
He, however, explained that it was necessary for the state in which the pipelines were domiciled to contribute to tackling the menace of vandalism “instead of shifting blames.”
“The state is expected to mobilise traditional institutions and residents, who know the terrain to assist in intelligence gathering,” he said.
Deputy Manager, NNPC, in charge of Pipeline Rights of Way, Mr. Obinna Otuu, explained at the scene that the repair of the damage on the pipeline would take less than a day.
“Fuel supply through the damaged point has been shut off since Saturday, but the repairs will be concluded before tomorrow (Monday). So, there won’t be any fuel scarcity,” he said.
Otuu, who is in charge of all pipelines in the South-West, said fuel marketers might start hoarding fuel to create scarcity if the pipeline was not repaired on time.
through another ugly incident that occured at arepo pipeline station. Guess what caused the incident,
your guess is as good as mine PIPELINE EXPLOSION. read details below
The bodies of four suspected vandals were found at the scene of Saturday’s pipeline explosion at Arepo, Ogun State on Sunday.
The bodies, which were found in the swamp around the explosion site, had little sign of burns.
Even though the fire had reduced when our correspondents got to the scene on Sunday, emergency workers said the situation was still precarious as there was need to completely put out the fire.
Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, said evacuation of the bodies would begin later on Sunday.
He said, “Our assessment show that more bodies will still be inside the swamp. This is why we cannot give a specific number of casualties at the moment.
“Two of the bodies found seemed to have floated up from the water. It is likely that more bodies may float later. But we will start the recovery of the bodies found as soon as Red Cross officials and medical team of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation arrive.”
Farinloye said there was a technique that could be applied to make the bodies of other casualties that had sunk in the water to float.
He, however, explained that it was necessary for the state in which the pipelines were domiciled to contribute to tackling the menace of vandalism “instead of shifting blames.”
“The state is expected to mobilise traditional institutions and residents, who know the terrain to assist in intelligence gathering,” he said.
Deputy Manager, NNPC, in charge of Pipeline Rights of Way, Mr. Obinna Otuu, explained at the scene that the repair of the damage on the pipeline would take less than a day.
“Fuel supply through the damaged point has been shut off since Saturday, but the repairs will be concluded before tomorrow (Monday). So, there won’t be any fuel scarcity,” he said.
Otuu, who is in charge of all pipelines in the South-West, said fuel marketers might start hoarding fuel to create scarcity if the pipeline was not repaired on time.
MUST READ- THE INDIAN GANG RAPE(2)
MOST rape research and reporting to date have been limited to male-female forms of rape. In Nigeria, cases of rape have gone up from 12.5 to 84 per cent, as incidents of female-male rape are beginning to unfold.
Recently, three women were arraigned before a Higher Shari’a Court in Gusau for allegedly raping a 20-year-old man, Abdulrahman Sulaiman and in Ogbadibo Local Government area of Benue State, and a man; Uroko Onoja was allegedly raped to death by his six jealous wives.
However, almost no research has been done on female – female, though women can be charged with rape.
But why do women often get raped? Various reasons have been given, which ranged from the behaviour of women in terms of the indecent ways they dress, low self-esteem in men, drugs and alcohol, hatred of women, and the imagination of men’s hearts.
Another reason could be because most Nigerian states have no specific laws addressing rape, even though the nation has ratified the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEDAW), meant to put an end to all types of violence against women.
The Nigerian Constitution, however, does not specifically prohibit rape. In addition, the laws that exist, such as the ones mentioned above, are oftentimes outdated, and not enforced.
However, the definition of rape does not follow the principles underlined by the country’s criminal laws, and does not provide sufficient protection or redress for women and girls who have been raped.
The issue of having to prove that the intercourse was not consensual further contributes to the culture of silence surrounding rape.
A woman who has been raped is also compelled to deal with humiliation by the police, as well as the “embarrassment” resulting from public acknowledgement because when a woman is raped, she and her family are automatically ostracised.
For instance in 2001, Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, a Nigerian teenage single mother was given 100 lashes for adultery. Bariya claimed she had been raped by three men but, in accordance with Sharia law, she was required to show proof that the men who raped her had indeed forced into sex.
Under Sharia law, Bariya’s rape was interpreted as fornication because she was unable to present witnesses who would confirm the veracity of her rape accusations, as fornication, a Hudud offence under Sharia law, can result into punishments as severe as death by stoning.
Sharia law, which applies mainly in the Nigerian northern states, is one example of such customary laws. Under Sharia penal laws, rape is criminalised.
In some instances, a woman’s failure to consent is not considered in criminal proceedings under the Sharia law. Victims are still burdened with proving the issue of consent. Moreover, a woman’s rape accusation can only be backed by eyewitnesses and no circumstantial evidence is accepted.
In fact, the way Sharia law works makes it very challenging to prosecute rape, once again, leaving the perpetrator unpunished and exposing the victim to yet another traumatic experience.
In some cases, Sharia law only levies a monetary punishment against a convicted rapist. For example, a rapist might be obliged to pay the victim the amount she would normally received as marriage payment, or if the rapist cannot be punished, he must pay the victim the amount equal to bride-money.
Under both legal systems, prosecuting rapists represents an extremely challenging task, spurring the suggestion that rapists should be incarcerated for extended periods of time while some people have even advocated for castration of perpetrators.
However, despite the demand for punishment, laws continue to turn a blind eye to rape but the reality is that rape terribly hurts women.
In order to eliminate rape, we must first understand it better. We must realize that it is not only caused by women’s behaviour.
In reality, rape is a weapon used to oppress women, especially in societies where they are less valued – when women’s value is framed in terms of their sexual purity – their status easily becomes more vulnerable.
In many African cultures, where virginity is what makes women honorable, rape is an easy tool to permanently demean them. Therefore, societies and cultures that view women and men as equally valuable are less likely to have rampant incidences of rape.The bitter truth is that rape is used to oppress and dehumanise women. Regardless of the governing laws, women in Nigeria—and around the world—need to be protected from such a terrible crime. Sadly, the laws in Nigeria appear to further victimise and humiliate women as they fail to bring any justice to them.
In the Indian case, the Congress has already put forward plans for chemical castration and 30-year jail terms for all rapists, as a draft Bill has been put together and will soon be handed to India’s chief justice.
All legitimate efforts should be deployed that the five men apprehended and charged for murder were given the deserved punishment, to serve as deterrents to others.
On a final note, girls and women should be wary of the cars and buses they board – to ensure that they did not enter into the trap of miscreants just like the Indian example – who could rape, harm and molest them.
Law enforcement agents should be above board and be up and doing to apprehend criminals whenever they infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens by embarking on regular patrols and intelligent gathering – to fish-out perpetrators of rape. The Indian police were blamed for not doing enough to apprehend the culprits.
Unholy practices such as honor-killing and domestic crime against women such as battering and widowhood practices, among others should be put to an end.
The assault has already forced the country’s higher education regulatory body, the Indian University Grants Commission, to review the safety of women in higher education institutions.
In a letter to 568 university vice-chancellors and directors of higher learning institutions, the UGC said institutions should ensure women’s security on campus and recommended that all universities and institutions set up a task force to ensure women’s security and keep it informed of actions taken.
This is a welcome development. Our girls and women must always be cherished and protected!
Recently, three women were arraigned before a Higher Shari’a Court in Gusau for allegedly raping a 20-year-old man, Abdulrahman Sulaiman and in Ogbadibo Local Government area of Benue State, and a man; Uroko Onoja was allegedly raped to death by his six jealous wives.
However, almost no research has been done on female – female, though women can be charged with rape.
But why do women often get raped? Various reasons have been given, which ranged from the behaviour of women in terms of the indecent ways they dress, low self-esteem in men, drugs and alcohol, hatred of women, and the imagination of men’s hearts.
Another reason could be because most Nigerian states have no specific laws addressing rape, even though the nation has ratified the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEDAW), meant to put an end to all types of violence against women.
The Nigerian Constitution, however, does not specifically prohibit rape. In addition, the laws that exist, such as the ones mentioned above, are oftentimes outdated, and not enforced.
However, the definition of rape does not follow the principles underlined by the country’s criminal laws, and does not provide sufficient protection or redress for women and girls who have been raped.
The issue of having to prove that the intercourse was not consensual further contributes to the culture of silence surrounding rape.
A woman who has been raped is also compelled to deal with humiliation by the police, as well as the “embarrassment” resulting from public acknowledgement because when a woman is raped, she and her family are automatically ostracised.
For instance in 2001, Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, a Nigerian teenage single mother was given 100 lashes for adultery. Bariya claimed she had been raped by three men but, in accordance with Sharia law, she was required to show proof that the men who raped her had indeed forced into sex.
Under Sharia law, Bariya’s rape was interpreted as fornication because she was unable to present witnesses who would confirm the veracity of her rape accusations, as fornication, a Hudud offence under Sharia law, can result into punishments as severe as death by stoning.
Sharia law, which applies mainly in the Nigerian northern states, is one example of such customary laws. Under Sharia penal laws, rape is criminalised.
In some instances, a woman’s failure to consent is not considered in criminal proceedings under the Sharia law. Victims are still burdened with proving the issue of consent. Moreover, a woman’s rape accusation can only be backed by eyewitnesses and no circumstantial evidence is accepted.
In fact, the way Sharia law works makes it very challenging to prosecute rape, once again, leaving the perpetrator unpunished and exposing the victim to yet another traumatic experience.
In some cases, Sharia law only levies a monetary punishment against a convicted rapist. For example, a rapist might be obliged to pay the victim the amount she would normally received as marriage payment, or if the rapist cannot be punished, he must pay the victim the amount equal to bride-money.
Under both legal systems, prosecuting rapists represents an extremely challenging task, spurring the suggestion that rapists should be incarcerated for extended periods of time while some people have even advocated for castration of perpetrators.
However, despite the demand for punishment, laws continue to turn a blind eye to rape but the reality is that rape terribly hurts women.
In order to eliminate rape, we must first understand it better. We must realize that it is not only caused by women’s behaviour.
In reality, rape is a weapon used to oppress women, especially in societies where they are less valued – when women’s value is framed in terms of their sexual purity – their status easily becomes more vulnerable.
In many African cultures, where virginity is what makes women honorable, rape is an easy tool to permanently demean them. Therefore, societies and cultures that view women and men as equally valuable are less likely to have rampant incidences of rape.The bitter truth is that rape is used to oppress and dehumanise women. Regardless of the governing laws, women in Nigeria—and around the world—need to be protected from such a terrible crime. Sadly, the laws in Nigeria appear to further victimise and humiliate women as they fail to bring any justice to them.
In the Indian case, the Congress has already put forward plans for chemical castration and 30-year jail terms for all rapists, as a draft Bill has been put together and will soon be handed to India’s chief justice.
All legitimate efforts should be deployed that the five men apprehended and charged for murder were given the deserved punishment, to serve as deterrents to others.
On a final note, girls and women should be wary of the cars and buses they board – to ensure that they did not enter into the trap of miscreants just like the Indian example – who could rape, harm and molest them.
Law enforcement agents should be above board and be up and doing to apprehend criminals whenever they infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens by embarking on regular patrols and intelligent gathering – to fish-out perpetrators of rape. The Indian police were blamed for not doing enough to apprehend the culprits.
Unholy practices such as honor-killing and domestic crime against women such as battering and widowhood practices, among others should be put to an end.
The assault has already forced the country’s higher education regulatory body, the Indian University Grants Commission, to review the safety of women in higher education institutions.
In a letter to 568 university vice-chancellors and directors of higher learning institutions, the UGC said institutions should ensure women’s security on campus and recommended that all universities and institutions set up a task force to ensure women’s security and keep it informed of actions taken.
This is a welcome development. Our girls and women must always be cherished and protected!
NO CURE TO HIV/AIDS FOR NOW-HEALTH MINISTER
The incident is the latest in a long line of unverified claims of discoveries of HIV and AIDS cures in Nigeria and beyond.
There is currently no proven cure for AIDS or HIV infection. And this is the whole truth. Anti-retroviral drug treatment suppresses HIV infection and delays illness for many years.
They do not clear the virus completely, they only lower the viral load and help boost the immune system. But this has not stopped wild claims of “HIV cures” or “AIDS cures” from making the rounds.
And there have been quite a few claims since the Dr Jeremiah Abalaka AIDS cure saga of March-April 2000.
Danger of false claims
Unproven cures for HIV and AIDS have been making the rounds since the early 1980s. In most cases, they have only served to worsen suffering. Fake cures are often preceded by bogus and unverified claims. Peddlers of bogus cures insist their clients avoid all other treatments, including antiretroviral medicines.
By the time a patient realises the “cure” hasn’t worked, their prospects for successful antiretroviral treatment may well have diminished.
False cure claims may cause harm to health. Their inventors often refuse to reveal their recipes. So-called cures have been found to contain poisons and other lethal ingredients.
Promotion of false HIV cures undermines HIV prevention. People who believe in a cure are less likely to fear becoming infected and hence less likely to take precautions.
What constitutes a “cure”?
Many researchers believe the best hope for eradicating HIV infection lies in combining antiretroviral treatment with drugs that flush HIV from its hiding places.
But much as most scientific and medical researchers would love to find a cure, the word “cure” itself usually leads to false hopes.
There are concerns that persistent talk of a cure for HIV infection or AIDS could lead to false hopes. hence arguments for development of a vaccine appear stronger.
Researchers are divided on the ultimate attainment of a unversal HIV and AIDS cure. One school of thought does not believe there will ultimately be a cure because the amount of virus can only be kept down.
Another school of thought forsees the ultimate development of a vaccine that would enable people to be protected from being infected in the first place but say it might take another two-and-a-half decades to get an effective cure in the long term.
A cure for HIV must either remove every single one of the infected cells (known as a sterilising cure or eradication) or control HIV effectively by keeping the virus dormant, after the discontinuation of treatment (known as a functional cure). Therefore, a cure for AIDS is generally taken to mean clearing the body of HIV, which replicates by inserting its genetic code into the CD4 cells. Antiretroviral drugs interfere with this replication process, which is why the drugs are so effective at reducing the amount of HIV in a person’s body to extremely low levels.
During treatment, the concentration of HIV in the blood often falls so low that it cannot be detected by the standard test, known as a viral load test. Unfortunately, not all infected cells behave the same way. Probably the most important problem is posed by “resting” CD4 cells. Once infected with HIV, CD4 cells, instead of producing new copies of the virus, lie dormant for many years or even decades. Current therapies cannot remove HIV’s genetic material from these cells. Even if someone takes antiretroviral drugs for many years they will still have some HIV hiding in various parts of their body. Studies have found that if treatment is removed then HIV can re-establish itself by leaking out of these “viral reservoirs”.
Development process
Calling for caution about unsubstantiated claims of HIV cure, Director General of the National AIDS Control Agency, NACA, Professor John Idoko, explained that development of cures have a defined process. “There is a process for developing drugs. Each of the antiretroviral drugs that you know which are not a cure for HIV takes an average of 10-15 years to develop.
The pipe line starts with identification of the active substance in the laboratory to animal studies to human clinical trials which again go through phases 1, 2 and 3.
“During the clinical trial phases, the drug is tested for safety, efficacy and tolerability and hundreds and thousands of people are involved. Did this happen with this drug?” He queried.
Said Idoko: “The definition of cure as I read is questionable. Who and where else has this research been replicated?
Giving herbs to a few people in the name of clinical trials is not proper procedure. What about the ethics of the research? “Herbs may be able to reduce some symptoms of Opportunistic Infections in patients e.g .cough, diarrhoea. This does not translate to cure.”
How to spot fake AIDS cure claims
Who makes the claims?
Try to find some information about the claimants. What are their credentials? Where did they get their qualifications?
What are the claims?
Look at how the product is presented. Is it verified? By who, when and where? Use of sensational terms such as “miracle breakthrough” are suspect. A real scientist would be extremely wary of making wild claims. Watch for evidence of poor scientific understanding; for example, no expert would refer to HIV as “the HIV virus”.
What’s in the cure?
Many inventors won’t reveal what goes into their “cures”. Ask why. Keep in mind that words like “natural” and “herbal” are no guarantee of safety or efficacy.
What evidence do they offer?
To gain the approval of medical authorities, any new treatment must undergo very extensive testing. A proper trial involves a large group of volunteers divided randomly into two sets. Virtually all promoters of “AIDS cures” do not provide data from large-scale, randomized human trials. Instead they rely on anecdotes, personal testimonies, laboratory experiments or small-scale trials with no placebo comparison. This type of evidence is always unreliable. Personal testimonies are notoriously untrustworthy. There is no way of knowing whether the people in question ever existed, let alone whether they were helped by the therapy.
Proving that HIV has been eradicated isn’t easy. Changes in symptoms or weight gain are not sufficient, and neither is a viral load test.
Even if the test can’t detect HIV in the bloodstream (perhaps due to antiretroviral therapy), this doesn’t mean the virus has been cleared from all parts of the body.
Beware of conspiracy theorists
Many sellers of fake medicines fall back on conspiracy theories to explain why their products haven’t undergone proper testing. They say that government agencies and the medical profession seek to suppress alternative treatments to safeguard the profits of the pharmaceutical industry. This kind of allegation is a sure sign of a charlatan. In reality, leading scientists investigate all kinds of therapies that can’t be patented.
Do some research
Any important medical breakthrough will be reported in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature, Science or The Lancet. The mainstream media will pick up the story and leading experts will express their opinions.
CONVENANT UNIVERSITY AUTHORITIES MIGHT RECONSIDER 200 EXPELLED STUDENTS
The university authorities were last week asked by the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria to come forward with all records of the processes that led to the expulsion.
But Vanguard learnt yesterday from a reliable source in National Human Rights Commission that the university authorities, which will be meeting with the Commission on Friday in Abuja, has denied expelling the students, but said they were suspended.
covenant-varsity
The lawyer to the University, Dele Adesina (SAN) when contacted by Vanguard last night on phone denied any knowledge of the commuttal of expulsion to suspension.
It will be recalled that Vanguard had earlier reported the expulsion of 126 students of the university for not attending the ‘departure service’, meant to sign off from the school at the end or the semester on November 30.
OWNERS OF ARRESTED GOAT IN OSUN STATE FINED 1O,OOO NAIRA
Concerning the news we reported to last week about goats arrested in osun state for violating traffic
and environmental laws, the task force agency decided to fine each goat owners 10,000 naira each to
serve as a means to welcome back their arrested goat. read details below
OSOGBO — Osun State Waste Management Agency, OWMA, has ordered the owners of the five goats arrested by the agency in Dele-Yesa area of Osogbo, last Tuesday, to pay a sum of N10,000 each for fine to the coffers of the state government.
Director of Environ- mental Management and Sanitation in the agency, Mr. Henry Ogunbanwo, said any of the owners of the goats, who failed to pay the fine within seven days would lose their animals.
Ogunbanwo noted that the agency was acting in accordance with the provisions of
the article 101 of the 2002 laws of Osun State which prohibits rearing of animals in residential areas, stressing that the agency had the backing of the court.
The director explained that a court of competent jurisdiction had empow- ered the agency to arrest any animal roaming around residential areas within the state.
and environmental laws, the task force agency decided to fine each goat owners 10,000 naira each to
serve as a means to welcome back their arrested goat. read details below
OSOGBO — Osun State Waste Management Agency, OWMA, has ordered the owners of the five goats arrested by the agency in Dele-Yesa area of Osogbo, last Tuesday, to pay a sum of N10,000 each for fine to the coffers of the state government.
Director of Environ- mental Management and Sanitation in the agency, Mr. Henry Ogunbanwo, said any of the owners of the goats, who failed to pay the fine within seven days would lose their animals.
Ogunbanwo noted that the agency was acting in accordance with the provisions of
the article 101 of the 2002 laws of Osun State which prohibits rearing of animals in residential areas, stressing that the agency had the backing of the court.
The director explained that a court of competent jurisdiction had empow- ered the agency to arrest any animal roaming around residential areas within the state.
IT NOW OR NEVER FOR ISLAMIST REBEL IN MALI-FRENCH GOVT.
BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north.
The attacks on Islamist positions near the ancient desert trading town of Timbuktu and Gao, the largest city in the north, marked a decisive intensification on the third day of the French mission, striking at the heart of the vast area seized by rebels in April.
France is determined to end Islamist domination of northern Mali, which many fear could act as a base for attacks on the West and for links with al Qaeda in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.
Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France's sudden intervention on Friday had prevented the advancing rebels from seizing Bamako. He vowed that air strikes would continue.
"The president is totally determined that we must eradicate these terrorists who threaten the security of Mali, our own country and Europe," he told French television.
Residents and rebel leaders had reported air raids early on Sunday in the towns of Lere and Douentza in central Mali, forcing Islamists to withdraw. As the day progressed, French jets struck targets further to the north, including near the town of Kidal, the epicentre of the rebellion.
In Gao, a dusty town on the banks of the Niger river where Islamists have imposed an extreme form of sharia law, residents said French jets pounded the airport and rebel positions. A huge cloud of black smoke rose from the militants' camp in the city's north, and trucks ferried dead and wounded to hospital.
"The planes are so fast you can only hear their sound in the sky," resident Soumaila Maiga said by telephone. "We are happy, even though it is frightening. Soon we will be delivered."
Paris said four Rafale jets flew from France to strike rebel training camps, logistics depots and infrastructure around Gao with the aim of weakening the rebels and preventing them from returning southward.
"We blocked the terrorists' advance and from today what we've started to do is to destroy the terrorists' bases behind the front line," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told LCI television.
France has deployed about 550 soldiers to Mali under "Operation Serval" -- named after an African wildcat -- split between Bamako and the town of Mopti, 500 km (300 miles) north.
In Bamako, a Reuters cameraman saw more than 100 French troops disembark on Sunday from a military cargo plane at the international airport, on the outskirts of the capital.
The city's streets were calm, with the sun streaking through the dusty air as the seasonal Harmattan wind blew from the Sahara. Many cars had French flags draped from the windows to celebrate Paris's intervention.
"We thank France for coming to our aid," said resident Mariam Sidibe. "We hope it continues til the north is free."
AFRICAN TROOPS EXPECTED
More than two decades of peaceful elections had earned Mali a reputation as a bulwark of democracy, but that image unravelled in a matter of weeks after a military coup in March which left a power vacuum for the Islamist rebellion.
France convened a U.N. Security Council meeting for Monday to discuss Mali. French President Francois Hollande's intervention has won plaudits from leaders in Europe, Africa and the United States but it is not without risks.
It raised the threat level for eight French hostages held by al Qaeda allies in the Sahara and for the 30,000 French expatriates living in neighbouring, mostly Muslim states.
Concerned about reprisals, France has tightened security at public buildings and on public transport. It advised its 6,000 citizens to leave Mali as spokesmen for Ansar Dine and al Qaeda's north Africa wing AQIM promised to exact revenge.
In its first casualty of the campaign, Paris said a French pilot was killed on Friday when rebels shot down his helicopter.
Hours earlier, a French intelligence officer held hostage in Somalia by al Shabaab extremists linked to al Qaeda was killed in a failed commando raid to free him.
Hollande says France's aim is simply to support a mission by West African bloc ECOWAS to retake the north, as mandated by a U.N. Security Council resolution in December.
With Paris pressing West African nations to send their troops quickly, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, who holds the rotating ECOWAS chairmanship, kick-started the operation to deploy 3,300 African soldiers.
Ouattara, installed in power with French military backing in 2011, convened a summit of the 15-nation bloc for Saturday in Ivory Coast to discuss the mission.
"The troops will start arriving in Bamako today and tomorrow," said Ali Coulibaly, Ivory Coast's African Integration Minister. "They will be convoyed to the front."
The United States is providing transportation and communications support for the push against the Islamist rebels, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. support also includes intelligence sharing, the official said, without elaborating. Earlier on Sunday, another U.S. official said Washington was considering sending a small number of unarmed surveillance drones.
Britain and Canada have also promised logistical support.
Former French colonies Senegal, Niger and Burkina Faso have all pledged to deploy 500 troops within days. In contrast, regional powerhouse Nigeria, due to lead the ECOWAS force, has suggested it would take time to train and equip the troops.
HOUSE-TO-HOUSE SEARCHES
France, however, appeared to have assumed control of the operation on the ground. Its air strikes allowed Malian troops to drive the Islamists out of the strategic town of Konna, which they had briefly seized this week in their southward advance.
Calm returned to Konna after three nights of combat as the Malian army crushed any remaining rebel fighters. A senior army official said more than 100 rebels had been killed.
"Soldiers are patrolling the streets and have encircled the town," one resident, Madame Coulibaly, told Reuters by phone. "They are searching houses for arms or hidden Islamists."
Analysts expressed doubt, however, that African nations would be able to mount a swift operation to retake north Mali -- a harsh, sparsely populated terrain the size of France -- as neither the equipment nor ground troops were prepared.
"My first impression is that this is an emergency patch in a very dangerous situation," said Gregory Mann, associate professor of history at Columbia University, who specialises in francophone Africa and Mali in particular.
While France and its allies may be able to drive rebel fighters from large towns, they could struggle to prise them from mountain redoubts in the region of Kidal, 300 km (200 miles) northeast of Gao.
Human Rights Watch said at least 11 civilians, including three children, had been killed in the fighting. A spokesman for Doctors Without Borders in neighbouring Mauritania said about 200 Malian refugees had fled across the border to a camp at Fassala and more were on their way.
In Bamako, civilians tried to contribute to the war effort.
"We are very proud and relieved that the army was able to drive the jihadists out of Konna. We hope it will not end there, that is why I'm helping in my own way," said civil servant Ibrahima Kalossi, 32, one of over 40 people who queued to donate blood for wounded soldiers.
Sunday 13 January 2013
CHEVROLET RELEASES CHEVROLET 2014 CORVETTE VEHICLE(PHOTO INSIDE)
General Motors Corp. President of North America Mark Reuss (L), Vice President of Global Design Ed Welburn (C) and Executive Engineer Chevrolet Corvette Tadge Juechter talk about the Chevrolet 2014 Corvette vehicle during its unveiling in an old industrial center in advance of press preview days of the North American International Auto show in Detroit, Michigan January 13, 2013. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook.
Cant wait to have a ride in this, what about you pals?
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