Why Nigeria Cannot Achieve Zero HIV/AIDS

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> Nigeria’s target of zero #HIV/AIDS, Zero discrimination by 2015 is still way off the mark considering the <img src="https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/s180x540/10659175_653045224809368_2152898767690292886_n.jpg?oh=6f0742c7c8db21a6a3597a4481961771&oe=54B0438B" />hitches in its national response, which is mainly fund.</div> <br /> <br /> Less than two months to the  celebration of World AIDS Day, marked globally every December 1st, Nigeria may not have a positive score card to show.<br /> The reason being the miserable  conditions of people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as the high number of people dying daily from AIDS-related complications due to lack of access to anti-retroviral drugs.<br /> <br /> It is no longer news that Nigeria  has the second highest HIV burden in the world with 3.4 million Nigerians living with HIV.<br /> The Director General, National  Agency for the Control of AIDS(NACA), Prof John Idoko, said that only 642,000 HIV positive persons out of the 1.6 million people requiring treatment, are currently accessing anti retroviral drugs, which represents only 30 per cent of the national need.<br /> The Network of People Living with  HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWAN) has raised the alarm over their plight.<br /> <br /> The national coordinator of the  association, Mr Edward Ogenyi, said the death rate of people living with HIV/AIDS is on the increase because government has not owned the process.<br /> <br /> The assistant national secretary,  Kano State chapter of the association, Hadiza Jibrin added that some of the members are complaining that they are asked to pay N1500 to get tested for HIV at private clinics.<br /> She said, “The reason is because  those test kits are been supplied through donors. Now that the donors are withdrawing and pulling their funds out of the country, it means that private hospitals will have to source for funds and buy these test kits by themselves. Because they are profit making organisations, they are charging people to pay for HIV tests.”<br /> <br /> According to her, “ If test for HIV  continues at N1000 and N1500, then we are far from ending the HIV epidemic in this country. It is major barrier that will not allow people to have access to treatment.”<br /> She added that that no state is  exempted from this problem as all the 36 states, including the FCT, are having one problem or the other.<br /> <br /> “Remember we are talking about  sustainability; the international partners have come with their open mind to help us. From the point of enrolment, they will tell you that the treatment is for life. We are taking it on a daily basis. So it would be out of place to wake up one day and see that these donors are nowhere to be found again. From the various states we all represent here, the donors are telling us that they are leaving; and by the time they leave us, what will our government do?”<br /> danglingReport, however, noted that they  shouldn’t be blamed for having the HIV virus.<br /> President Goodluck Jonathan had  launched with fanfare last year, July 2013, the President’s Comprehensive Response Plan(PCRP) for HIV/AIDS,   which was to be implemented with N140 billion.<br /> <br /> The PCRP aims to avail 80 million  Nigerians the knowledge of their HIV status; enrol an additional 600,000 eligible adults and children on ART; provide ART for 244,000 HIV pregnant for prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), provide access to combination prevention services for 500,000 most at risk populations (MARPs).<br /> <br /> Speaking to journalists recently in  Abuja, the national coordinator of the association, Mr Edward Ogenyi, wondered how many people will die of HIV/AIDS before the Finance ministry released fund for the implementation of the PCRP for HIV/AIDS which was designed to urgently bridge the existing service access gaps for HIV/AIDS.<br /> “Madam Minister, this is an SOS.  Save our women, our new born babies and our generation from HIV/AIDS. We are tired of mourning and burying our members. Development starts with human beings,” he said<br /> <br /> .<br /> Also, the national public relations  officer of the association, Samaila Garba, urged the federal government to stand up to its responsibility.<br /> He said from 2004 up till date, HIV  programme in the country has been donor driven which had contributed to a lot of success, but now that the finances have dwindled, they can no longer access HIV services”<br /> <br /> “The question is, who are the  people that will do these services? Are they saying people living with HIV/AIDS should come and pay when 80 per cent of our members cannot afford these investigations because of the cost?. Mind you, the drugs we are given are very toxic.”</div>

Why Nigeria Cannot Achieve Zero HIV/AIDS

Nigeria’s target of zero #HIV/AIDS, Zero discrimination by 2015 is still way off the mark considering the hitches in its national response, which is mainly fund. Less than two months to the  celebrat…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

A cell transplant has enabled a paralysed man to walk again.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> <img src="https://scontent-a-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10702220_653486178098606_1046053110481781360_n.jpg?oh=a0e131134f24fc324c3a8fe9c4409550&oe=54B406C0" /></div> <br /> A man who was told he would never walk again has recovered sensation and movement in his legs after receiving a revolutionary #cell transplant.<br /> Darek Fidyka had been paralysed for almost two years following a knife attack, and despite intensive physiotherapy, he showed no sign of recovery. Following the transplant, he began to regain feeling in his legs. He steadily continued on the road to recovery, and two years after the operation, he can now walk again with the aid of a frame.<br /> <br /> The transplant was a world-first collaboration effort by surgeons at the Wroclaw University Hospital in Poland and scientists at University College London’s Institute of Neurology in the UK, and the findings are published in the journal Cell  Transplantation .<br /> The cells that were used to achieve this miracle were taken from Fidyka's olfactory bulb, the structure that gives us our sense of smell. These nerve cells are continually damaged due to the different odours we smell and must be replaced regularly, which means the olfactory bulb is a very rich source of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) - specialist cells that form part of the sense of smell.<br /> <br /> OECs provide the pathway for the damaged fibres in our nose to grow back, enabling nerve cells to regenerate themselves throughout our lifetime. The team used this unique regeneration quality to repair Fidyka's damaged spinal column cells.<br /> Using these cells for the transplant meant there was no danger of rejection, and eliminated the need for immunosuppressive drugs that are typically used in transplants.<br /> Professor Geoffrey Raisman, a spinal cord injury specialist at University College London’s Institute of Neurology, who led the research, told Cahal Milmo from  The  Independent,"I believe this is the first time that a patient has been able to regenerate severed long spinal nerve fibres across an injury and resume movement and feeling".<br /> <br /> The technique involved first removing one of Fidyka's olfactory bulbs, and culturing it in the laboratory to generate about 500,000 OECs. The OECs were then transplanted into the damaged area in his spinal cord. His incredible recovery suggests that the OECs provided a pathway for the fibres around the injury to rejoin, by creating a “nerve bridge” between the damaged ends of the spinal cord.<br /> <br /> This regeneration reopened communication pathways between his brain controlling muscles and his lower body.<br /> "What the procedure does is provide a bridge that enables cut nerve fibres to grow across a gap. The cells open up a door on either side of the broken tissue and create a pathway for the nerves to follow,” Raisman told Richard Hartley- Parkinson from Metro.<br /> The team plans to assess the technique in more patients over the next few years, and hopes that it could be a future treatment for patients with spinal cord injuries.<br /> <br /> Raisman told Milmo from  The  Independent, “We believe that this procedure is the breakthrough which, as it is further developed, will result in a historic change in the currently hopeless outlook for people disabled by spinal cord injury."<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> </div>

A cell transplant has enabled a paralysed man to walk again.

A man who was told he would never walk again has recovered sensation and movement in his legs after receiving a revolutionary #cell transplant. Darek Fidyka had been paralysed for almost two years fo…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Scientists have built the world’s thinnest electric generator - and it’s only one atom wide

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZXbGDBGsnqJfoGD8znCW61-ruCcCHzGv1V66HAJYUsbTKiYpI5TesAGyIqBKb4nXUR25-F6MAQt0zOQHXBR0tMBniOd-xOOnpSWWYjELTkb-2b2KxceUrsFvf6SRjukBOYhPGKNu4jvT/s1600/dm+scroll.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZXbGDBGsnqJfoGD8znCW61-ruCcCHzGv1V66HAJYUsbTKiYpI5TesAGyIqBKb4nXUR25-F6MAQt0zOQHXBR0tMBniOd-xOOnpSWWYjELTkb-2b2KxceUrsFvf6SRjukBOYhPGKNu4jvT/s1600/dm+scroll.png" width="200" /></a></div> #Researchers have created a graphene-like material that generates electricity every time its stretched, and could power the wearable technology of the future.<br /> <br /> Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Columbia Engineering in the US have shown they can generate  electricityfrom a layer of material that’s just one atom thick. The generator is made from molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), which is a clear, flexible and extremely light material that opens up huge possibilities for the future of electricity generation.<br /> <br /> The new electrical generator is an example of piezoelectricity, or electricity that’s generated from pressure. Piezoelectric materials have huge potential to be used to create materials that can charge devices, such as footwear that powers an iPod. But until now, scientists have struggled to make these materials thin and flexible enough to be practical.<br /> <br /> However, it’s been predicted that a substance capable of forming single-atom-thick molecules, or two-dimensional layers, would be highly piezoelectric.<br /> Now the scientists have proved that this is the case for the first time ever. Their results have been published in Nature.<br /> <br /> To test whether MoS2 would be piezoelectric on the atomic scale, the team flaked off extremely thin layers of MoS2 onto a flexible substrate with electrical contact.<br /> Because of the way these flakes were created, each had a slightly different number of layers - for example, while some were just one-atom-thick, others were eight-atoms-thick.<br /> <br /> The scientists tested the piezoelectric response of these flakes by stretching the material, and measuring the flow of electrons into an external circuit.<br /> Interestingly, they discovered that when the material had an odd number of layers, it generated electricity when stretched. But when it had an even number of layers, there was no current generated.<br /> <br /> A single one-atom-thick layer of the material was able to generate 15 millivolts of electricity when stretched.<br /> They also found that as the number of layers increased, the amount of current generated decreased, until eventually the material got too thick and stopped producing any electricity at all.<br /> <br /> Computational studies suggest that this is because the atomic layers all have random orientations, and they eventually cancel each other out.<br /> The research team also arranged these one-atom-thick layers of MoS2 into arrays, and found that together they were capable of generating a large amount of electricity.<br /> <br /> <br /> This suggests that they’re a promising candidate for powering nano electronics, and could be used to create wearable technologies.<br /> “This material – just a single layer of atoms – could be made as a wearable device, perhaps integrated into clothing, to convert energy from your body movement to electricity and power wearable sensors or medical devices, or perhaps supply enough energy to charge your cell phone in your pocket,” said James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia engineering and co-leader of the research, in a press release.<img src="https://scontent-a-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/14987_653501971430360_6880627214293626599_n.jpg?oh=fdcbec19a54af028cc6d24195ad49dd2&oe=54E4B7B5" /></div>

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Scientists have built the world’s thinnest electric generator - and it’s only one atom wide

#Researchers have created a graphene-like material that generates electricity every time its stretched, and could power the wearable technology of the future. Scientists from the Georgia Institute of…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Recent study shows that there's no evidence heavy Marijuana use may causes a drop in IQ

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p64x64/10675651_656336531146904_3385530594869784682_n.jpg?oh=d2c8a6ffea663d70767685f7aca3b2d0&oe=54EAEB47&__gda__=1425077890_1a81d9c058648bdfea567c4c79e20d02" /><br /> <br /> A 2012 study linking persistent cannabis use to neuropsychological decline has been discredited.<br /> <br /> In a study published in the #journal PNAS in 2012, scientists from Duke University in the US reported that cannabis had a neurotoxic effect on the adolescent brain, causing a loss of up to 8 IQ pointsin the heaviest users.<br /> <br /> They found that IQ, learning, memory, and executive functions all declined in heavy users who started smoking before the age of 18.<br /> <br /> The research was part of a longitudinal study of 1,037 New Zealand children born between 1972 and 1973. Health, intelligence and behaviour measures were taken periodically on all participants, most recently at the age of 38.<br /> The scientists warned that there may be other explanations for their findings and that they could not "definitively attest to whether this association [between persistent cannabis use and IQ decline] was causal". The study did rule out factors such as years of education, schizophrenia, hard-drug and alcohol dependence, but did not account for other relevant factors such as childhood trauma.<br /> <br /> A study published in PNASsix months after the original research questioned the methodology, saying: "Although it would be too strong to say that the results have been discredited, the methodology is flawed and the causal inference drawn from the results premature."<br /> The researchers argued that if you take into account the effects of socioeconomic status on IQ, the decline in IQ due to cannabis use is overestimated by the previous study - and could in fact be zero.<br /> A new study by the University College  London has now shed further light on the Duke University findings. This study drew on a larger sample of adolescents; 2,612 UK children born between 1991 and 1992. They found that heavy cannabis use was in no way linked to IQ decline, although alcohol use was strongly correlated with IQ loss in eight to 15 year olds.<br /> There was some evidence that cannabis use impacted school test scores: the heaviest users scored 3 per cent lower on exams at age 16.<br /> <br /> This mirrors other research, which has linked heavy marijuana use to poor academic performance and low  school completion  ratesin teenagers.<br /> However, a new study in California where cannabis was recently legalised show that legalising the drug leads to  no increase in problematic adolescent behavioursuch as crime, drug overdose, driving under the influence, or school dropout rates. This indicates that even if negative health effects are a consequence of smoking cannabis, prohibition might not be the best option.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDwshlTAiM8KVceoQDSsl-YZdWqP6Q7mXEEhYJFO99K5dF_TO5BaWSnmnPyJ92Dr32P2yX_D5tNrJ_Y95BgwyR-zoc4DTtW5_B3q8B7aMb9cGPhb5dIGqiE2VF_3UkROlAy-fMRxKZPEi/s1600/danglingthings+mix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDwshlTAiM8KVceoQDSsl-YZdWqP6Q7mXEEhYJFO99K5dF_TO5BaWSnmnPyJ92Dr32P2yX_D5tNrJ_Y95BgwyR-zoc4DTtW5_B3q8B7aMb9cGPhb5dIGqiE2VF_3UkROlAy-fMRxKZPEi/s1600/danglingthings+mix.jpg" /></a></div> </div>

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Recent study shows that there's no evidence heavy Marijuana use may causes a drop in IQ

A 2012 study linking persistent cannabis use to neuropsychological decline has been discredited. In a study published in the #journal PNAS in 2012, scientists from Duke University in the US reported …

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Minimum Wage: Labour Begins Strike November 1. (Is it a good idea?)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> The Trade #Union Congress of Nigeria(TUC) has planned to commence indefinite strike on November 1, 2014 if the leadership of the National Assembly refuses to clarify its position on the deregulation of the national minimum wage in the country.<br /> <br /> This was revealed at its emergency meeting in Lagos over the weekend.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaJ6RxMSs8a43ydqlGYf8mmPcHEI9TIIntT1NRejO3k5MU5v84unEJ_Th2arVgaUHQmbxXkSkMPEoMhtk91Y7jWwrLjsit8vuN6NbwxFEexduxx5czMvsn2gkwigdyacARQSSunu7cy-S/s1600/dm+of+danglingmedia.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaJ6RxMSs8a43ydqlGYf8mmPcHEI9TIIntT1NRejO3k5MU5v84unEJ_Th2arVgaUHQmbxXkSkMPEoMhtk91Y7jWwrLjsit8vuN6NbwxFEexduxx5czMvsn2gkwigdyacARQSSunu7cy-S/s1600/dm+of+danglingmedia.png" width="180" /></a></div> The Central Working Committee (CWC) of the union regretted that there were conflicting reports on the removal of minimum wages from the exclusive list.<br /> A communiqué signed by the TUC president, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, and its secretary-general, Musa Lawal,at the end of the meeting,rejected the minimum wage deregulation and vowed to resist attempt to lord it over the workers in the country.<br /> <br /> The CWC -in-session mandated the leadership of the Congress to relate with the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and allies in civil society organisations to mobilise without further delay for a follow-up action.<br /> <br /> It added that a national minimum wage in favour of multiple minimum wages in the country means there was no more minimum wage therein as well as exclusion of the private sector from the rationale and logic of a national minimum wage.<br /> It also said politics would be introduced into wage determination should the proposed amendments sail through, which on the long run is capable of destabilising industrial relations environment in Nigeria.<br /> <br /> “Minimum wage which is a product of collective bargaining should not be made a state law because both the private and public sectors are involved.<br /> The amendments pass by the Senate will effectively negate the spirit and practice of International Labour Organisation Convention 131,which our nation first domesticated in the 1979 constitution.<br /> <br /> “A preponderant majority of nation states in the world,including federal states,operate national minimum wage and Nigeria needs to remain among such nations,’’ the communiqué stated.</div>

Minimum Wage: Labour Begins Strike November 1. (Is it a good idea?)

The Trade #Union Congress of Nigeria(TUC) has planned to commence indefinite strike on November 1, 2014 if the leadership of the National Assembly refuses to clarify its position on the deregulation …

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Whisky waste could be the fuel of the future.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> An innovative start-up company is exploring the possibility of using the by-products of whisky as a next <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcpxIRsK-pHeOGq1ETa3kriaJoAufeoxmn6fKHj_m1lpA6OuiRw8eyYmXIsH72X2D3oAHZVxPq-729rNPuqo-12UnBurTxlpkSaQSD812altfEPrJtvDKPrvs7-NtoD-roD8tuOquYShc/s1600/welcome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcpxIRsK-pHeOGq1ETa3kriaJoAufeoxmn6fKHj_m1lpA6OuiRw8eyYmXIsH72X2D3oAHZVxPq-729rNPuqo-12UnBurTxlpkSaQSD812altfEPrJtvDKPrvs7-NtoD-roD8tuOquYShc/s1600/welcome.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> generation biofuel.<br /> <br /> #Whisky making requires three ingredients: water, yeast, and a grain. However, only 10 percent of those products end up as whisky, the remaining 90 percent is wasted during distilling. These waste products are either released into the sea or turned into animal feed.<br /> <br /> <br /> Celtic Renewables Ltdis a start-up company in Scotland that is working to reuse the waste products from the Scottish Malt Whisky industry to develop biobutanol - an advanced biofuel that can be used instead of fossil-derived fuel. This will in turn reduce oil consumption and CO2 emissions, and provide an energy guarantee for rural areas that have a booming whisky industry.<br /> The team have refined an old industrial fermentation technique, and managed to change draff (husk residue left by fermented grains) and pot ale (liquid produced during the mashing process), into 1-butanol and ethanol - which can both be used as fuel.<br /> <br /> Biobutanol has many benefits over bioethanol, which is commonly used as a biofuel. It has 25 percent more energy per unit volume and a lower vapour pressure, making it safer to store and handle. Another bonus is that it can be easily blended with petrol or diesel in storage tanks or retail station pumps, eliminating the need for modification in blending facilities.<br /> The whisky industry annually produces 1,600 million litres of pot ale and 500,000 tonnes of draff from the distilling process, but Celtic Renewables' current biobutanol facilities are small-scale and unable to process this much waste.<br /> <br /> The team hopes to get sufficient funding to allow them to establish a commercial plant, where they can revive this age-old fermentation technique to develop the fuel for our future.<img src="https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10346598_656344147812809_103854656657707947_n.jpg?oh=b2a2b17aaafaa2ba6db65b87ca9cf126&oe=54F26BB1" /></div>

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Whisky waste could be the fuel of the future.

An innovative start-up company is exploring the possibility of using the by-products of whisky as a next generation biofuel. #Whisky making requires three ingredients: water, yeast, and a grain. How…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

A teacher decides to become student again and was shocked at what learnt in just two(2) days.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Do teachers really know what students go through?<br />  To find out, one teacher followed two #students for two days  and was amazed at what she found. Her report is in  following post, which appeared on the blog of Grant Wiggins, the co-author of “Understanding by Design” and the author of “#Educative Assessment” and numerous articles on education. A high school teacher for 14 years, he is now the president of Authentic Education,  in Hopewell, New Jersey, which provides professional development and other services to schools aimed at improving student learning.  You can read more about him and his work atthe AE site.<br /> <br /> Wiggins initially posted the piece without revealing the author. But the post became popular on his blog and he decided to write afollowup piecerevealing that the author was his daughter, Alexis Wiggins, a 15-year teaching veteran now working in  a private American International School overseas. Wiggins noted in his follow-up that his daughter’s experiences mirrored his own and aligned well with the the responses on surveys that his  organization gives to students.<br /> <br />                                    By Alexis Wiggins<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZXbGDBGsnqJfoGD8znCW61-ruCcCHzGv1V66HAJYUsbTKiYpI5TesAGyIqBKb4nXUR25-F6MAQt0zOQHXBR0tMBniOd-xOOnpSWWYjELTkb-2b2KxceUrsFvf6SRjukBOYhPGKNu4jvT/s1600/dm+scroll.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZXbGDBGsnqJfoGD8znCW61-ruCcCHzGv1V66HAJYUsbTKiYpI5TesAGyIqBKb4nXUR25-F6MAQt0zOQHXBR0tMBniOd-xOOnpSWWYjELTkb-2b2KxceUrsFvf6SRjukBOYhPGKNu4jvT/s1600/dm+scroll.png" width="200" /></a></div> I have made a terrible mistake.<br /> I waited 14 years to do something that I should have done my first year of teaching: shadow a student for a day. It was so eye-opening that I wish I could go back to every class of students I ever had right now and change a minimum of ten things – the layout, the lesson plan, the checks for understanding. Most of it!<br /> This is the first year I am working in a school but not teaching my own classes; I am the High School Learning Coach, a new position for the school this year. My job is to work with teachers and administrators to improve student learning outcomes.<br /> As part of getting my feet wet, my principal suggested I “be” a student for two days: I was to shadow and complete all the work of a 10thgrade student on one day and to do the same for a 12thgrade student on another day. My task was to do everything the student was supposed to do: if there was lecture or notes on the board, I copied them as fast I could into my notebook. If there was a Chemistry lab, I did it with my host student. If there was a test, I took it (I passed the Spanish one, but I am certain I failed the business one).<br /> My class schedules for the day<br /> (Note: we have a block schedule; not all classes meet each day):<br /> The schedule that day for the 10thgrade student:<img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10176270_656806027766621_8142244468379049399_n.jpg?oh=67bdcdc3b83bcddcf1c5c27bad66337f&oe=54AFD1B4&__gda__=1420979816_fc3644bae74ffd2c0de904449ffec480" /><br /> 7:45 – 9:15: Geometry<br /> 9:30 – 10:55: Spanish II<br /> 10:55 – 11:40: Lunch<br /> 11:45 – 1:10: World History<br /> 1:25 – 2:45: Integrated Science<br /> The schedule that day for the 12thgrade student:<br /> 7:45 – 9:15: Math<br /> 9:30 – 10:55: Chemistry<br /> 10:55 – 11:40: Lunch<br /> 11:45 – 1:10: English<br /> 1:25 – 2:45: Business".<br /> <br /> Key Takeaway #1<br /> Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting.<br /> I could not believe how tired I was after the first day. I literally sat down the entire day, except for walking to and from classes. We forget as teachers, because we are on our feet a lot – in front of the board, pacing as we speak, circling around the room to check on student work, sitting, standing, kneeling down to chat with a student as she works through a difficult problem…we move a lot.<br /> But students move almost never. And never is exhausting. In every class for four long blocks, the expectation was for us to come in, take our seats, and sit down for the duration of the time. By the end of the day, I could not stop yawning and I was desperate to move or stretch. I couldn’t believe how alert my host student was, because it took a lot of conscious effort for me not to get up and start doing jumping jacks in the middle of Science just to keep my mind and body from slipping into oblivion after so many hours of sitting passively.<br /> <br /> I was drained, and not in a good, long, productive-day kind of way. No, it was that icky, lethargic tired feeling. I had planned to go back to my office and jot down some initial notes on the day, but I was so drained I couldn’t do anything that involved mental effort (so instead I watched TV) and I was in bed by 8:30.<br /> If I could go back and change my classes now, I would immediately change the following three things:<br /> mandatory stretch halfway through the class<br /> but a Nerf basketball hoop on the back of my door and encourage kids to play in the first and final minutes of class<br /> build in a hands-on, move-around activity into every single class day. Yes, we would sacrifice some content to do this – that’s fine.<br /> <br />  I was so tired by the end of the day, I wasn’t absorbing most of the content, so I am not sure my previous method of making kids sit through hour-long, sit-down discussions of the texts was all that effective.<br /> <br /> Key Takeaway #2<br /> High school students are sitting passively and listening during approximately 90 percent of their classes.<br /> <br /> Obviously I was only shadowing for two days, but in follow-up interviews with both of my host students, they assured me that the classes I experienced were fairly typical.<br /> <br /> In eight periods of high school classes, my host students rarely spoke. Sometimes it was because the teacher was lecturing; sometimes it was because another student was presenting; sometimes it was because another student was called to the board to solve a difficult equation; and sometimes it was because the period was spent taking a test. So, I don’t mean to imply critically that only the teachers droned on while students just sat and took notes. But still, hand in hand with takeaway #1 is this idea that most of the students’ day was spent passively absorbing information.<br /> <br /> It was not just the sitting that was draining but that so much of the day was spent absorbing information but not often grappling with it.<br /> I asked my tenth-grade host, Cindy, if she felt like she made important contributions to class or if, when she was absent, the class missed out on the benefit of her knowledge or contributions, and she laughed and said no.<br /> I was struck by this takeaway in particular because it made me realize how little autonomy students have, how little of their learning they are directing or choosing. I felt especially bad about opportunities I had missed in the past in this regard.<br /> <br /> If I could go back and change my classes now, I would immediately:<br /> Offer brief, blitzkrieg-like mini-lessons with engaging, assessment-for-learning-type activities following directly on their heels (e.g. a ten-minute lecture on Whitman’s life and poetry, followed by small-group work in which teams scour new poems of his for the very themes and notions expressed in the lecture, and then share out or perform some of them to the whole group while everyone takes notes on the findings.)<br /> set an egg timer every time I get up to talk and all eyes are on me. When the timer goes off, I am done. End of story. I can go on and on. I love to hear myself talk. I often cannot shut up. This is not really conducive to my students’ learning, however much I might enjoy it.<br /> <br /> Ask every class to start with students’ Essential Questions or just general questions born of confusion from the previous night’s reading or the previous class’s discussion. I would ask them to come in to class and write them all on the board, and then, as a group, ask them to choose which one we start with and which ones need to be addressed. This is my biggest regret right now – not starting every class this way. I am imagining all the misunderstandings, the engagement, the enthusiasm, the collaborative skills, and the autonomy we missed out on because I didn’t begin every class with fifteen or twenty minutes of this.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDe_3L6aLXXwFnu8EAiJii0D_YCTRfORzRT5Ca3fTAOWjwF7sRA3ETr7z5STdYEc89XISTu6x_vOrygi993CTEmmoTXIWxn9OWcp7AaRueNWJirhXwtxNPibu6ftCrAhr5TtnFgaoMNGf/s1600/dm+of+rainbow.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDe_3L6aLXXwFnu8EAiJii0D_YCTRfORzRT5Ca3fTAOWjwF7sRA3ETr7z5STdYEc89XISTu6x_vOrygi993CTEmmoTXIWxn9OWcp7AaRueNWJirhXwtxNPibu6ftCrAhr5TtnFgaoMNGf/s1600/dm+of+rainbow.png" width="171" /></a></div> Key takeaway #3<br /> You feel a little bit like a nuisance all day long.<br /> I lost count of how many times we were told be quiet and pay attention. It’s normal to do so – teachers have a set amount of time and we need to use it wisely. But in shadowing, throughout the day, you start to feel sorry for the students who are told over and over again to pay attention because you understand part of what they are reacting to is sitting and listening all day. It’s really hard to do, and not something we ask adults to do day in and out.<br /> <br /> Think back to a multi-day conference or long PD day you had and remember that feeling by the end of the day – that need to just disconnect, break free, go for a run, chat with a friend, or surf the web and catch up on emails. That is how students often feel in our classes, not because we are boringper sebut because they have been sitting and listening most of the day already. They have had enough.<br /> In addition, there was a good deal of sarcasm and snark directed at students and I recognized, uncomfortably, how much I myself have engaged in this kind of communication. I would become near apoplectic last year whenever a very challenging class of mine would take a test, and without fail, several students in a row would ask the same question about the test. Each time I would stop the class and address it so everyone could hear it. Nevertheless, a few minutes later a student who had clearly been working his way through the test and not attentive to my announcement would ask the same question again. A few students would laugh along as I made a big show of rolling my eyes and drily stating, “OK,once again, let me explain…”<br /> <br /> Of course it feels ridiculous to have to explain the same thing five times, but suddenly, when I was the one taking the tests, I was stressed. I was anxious. I had questions. And if the person teaching answered those questions by rolling their eyes at me, I would never want to ask another question again. I feel a great deal more empathy for students after shadowing, and I realize that sarcasm, impatience, and annoyance are a way of creating a barrier between me and them. They do not help learning.<br /> <br /> If I could go back and change my classes now, I would immediately:<br /> Dig deep into my personal experience as a parent where I found wells of patience and love I never knew I have, and call upon them more often when dealing with students who have questions. Questions are an invitation to know a student better and create a bond with that student. We can open the door wider or shut if forever, and we may not even realize we have shut it.<br /> <br /> I would make my personal goal of “no sarcasm” public and ask the students to hold me accountable for it. I could drop money into a jar for each slip and use it to treat the kids to pizza at the end of the year. In this way, I have both helped create a closer bond with them and shared a very real and personal example of goal-setting for them to use a model in their own thinking about goals.<br /> I would structure every test or formal activity like the IB exams do – a five-minute reading period in which students can ask all their questions but no one can write until the reading period is finished. This is a simple solution I probably should have tried years ago that would head off a lot (thought, admittedly, not all) of the frustration I felt with constant, repetitive questions.<br /> <br /> <br /> I have a lot more respect and empathy for students after just one day of being one again. Teachers work hard, but I now think that conscientious students work harder. I worry about the messages we send them as they go to our classes and home to do our assigned work, and my hope is that more teachers who are able will try this shadowing and share their findings with each other and their administrations. This could lead to better “#backwards design” from the student experience so that we have more engaged, alert, and balanced students sitting (or standing) in our classes.</div>

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A teacher decides to become student again and was shocked at what learnt in just two(2) days.

Do teachers really know what students go through?  To find out, one teacher followed two #students for two days  and was amazed at what she found. Her report is in  following post, which appeared on …

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Read why Nigeria is at risk over falling oil price—FG

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> The Federal #Government, yesterday, raised an alarm over the decline in the global crude oil prices, saying<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcpxIRsK-pHeOGq1ETa3kriaJoAufeoxmn6fKHj_m1lpA6OuiRw8eyYmXIsH72X2D3oAHZVxPq-729rNPuqo-12UnBurTxlpkSaQSD812altfEPrJtvDKPrvs7-NtoD-roD8tuOquYShc/s1600/welcome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcpxIRsK-pHeOGq1ETa3kriaJoAufeoxmn6fKHj_m1lpA6OuiRw8eyYmXIsH72X2D3oAHZVxPq-729rNPuqo-12UnBurTxlpkSaQSD812altfEPrJtvDKPrvs7-NtoD-roD8tuOquYShc/s1600/welcome.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> that it is already putting in place stricter measures to cushion the effect of the drop on the Nigerian economy.<br /> <br /> “Nigeria has two to three months of rainy day savings to cushion it while contingencies are put in place should world oil prices continue to fall,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Co-ordinating Minister for Economy told the Financial Times.<br /> Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that should oil price dip below $78, the country would have to draw down on the Excess Crude Account (ECA).<br /> She said, “Our intention is not to run in there and raid it, but even if prices continue to go down we can survive sufficiently for two to three months.<br /> <br /> That is the time needed to get other measures in place. What you don’t want is a hard landing.”<br /> “Our buffers are slimmer this time,” Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged, adding that there is about $4bn in the ECA at present, $2bn short of what the International Monetary Fund had recommended.<br /> <br /> She further stated that the country needs to ramp up our non oil revenues on the fiscal side, adding that global consulting firm, McKinsey, has been engaged to carry out an extensive review of revenue services in order to identify potential gains.<br /> Okonjo-Iweala added that she was encouraged by an exhaustive data review, which saw Nigeria’s economy overtake South Africa’s as the continent’s largest, showing that the economy had diversified to a much greater extent than previously thought.<br /> She said, “In an oil country you can never feel at ease exactly. But I feel we can master this situation because we have a diverse base.<br /> <br /> “We will have to look very hard at recurrent expenditure, and identify overlapping agencies. When the price is heading down everyone sees the necessity but that doesn’t stop them hating you.<br /> Okonjo-Iweala agreed, however, that lower oil prices would provide a stronger incentive to government to rein in oil theft, which has cost billions of dollars a year, and help to drive through stalled oil sector legislation to stimulate production.</div>

Read why Nigeria is at risk over falling oil price—FG

The Federal #Government, yesterday, raised an alarm over the decline in the global crude oil prices, saying that it is already putting in place stricter measures to cushion the effect of the drop on …

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

COOLEST TEMPERATURE IN THE WORLD DISCOVERED IN ITALY

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> A rubber ball, frozen to near absolute zero by liquid helium, shatters and vaporizes as it strikes the floor.<img height="194" src="https://scontent-b-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p228x119/1622813_653867021393855_8117349395484300034_n.jpg?oh=62181d4a91adb53d9d75d35a15e0e583&oe=54B5E520" width="200" /><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> #Scientists at an Italian institute have set a world record of the lowest temperature ever achieved in the universe. They cooled a copper vessel with a volume of one cubic meter to -273.144 degrees celsius. This is stunningly close to 'absolute zero', which is equal to -273.15 degrees celsius. Theoretical physics says that temperature can never go below this limit.<br /> <br /> No experiment on Earth has ever cooled a similar mass or volume to temperatures such a low; similar conditions are also not expected to arise in nature. This gives CUORE the distinction of being the coldest cubic meter in the known universe.<br /> The cooled copper mass, weighing approximately 400 kg, was the coldest cubic meter in the universe for over 15 days.<br /> The experiment was carried out under the CUORE collaboration, located at the National Nuclear Physics Institute's Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Gran Sasso is the highest peak in the Apennines some 120 kilometres distant from Rome.<br /> <br /> CUORE (which stands for Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events, but is also Italian for Heart) is an international collaboration involving some 130 scientists mainly from Italy, USA, China, Spain, and France. Its objective is to study the properties of neutrinos and search for rare processes.<br /> The CUORE cryostat is the only one of its kind in the world, not only in terms of its dimensions, extreme temperatures, and cooling power, but also for the selected materials and for the building techniques that both guarantee very low levels of radioactivity.<br /> <br /> Absolute zero — considered the lowest possible temperature — is -273.15 degrees celsius or zero on the Kelvin scale, named after 19th-century Irish engineer and physicist William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, credited with establishing the correct value of the temperature.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmG2luLrknh6N2CRB00sXhq0OjNKLXlxqNIFqqUdH5XxEp-MzmH_KyOCIhjnAFsncEhy67DvGSn4Bm2xa076TYzOfnoYYCR0_v16aq22CJjdtu1R-5gZMcmqO4pZnhk6CRFuHnedHnTjp/s1600/dm+of+danglingmedia.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmG2luLrknh6N2CRB00sXhq0OjNKLXlxqNIFqqUdH5XxEp-MzmH_KyOCIhjnAFsncEhy67DvGSn4Bm2xa076TYzOfnoYYCR0_v16aq22CJjdtu1R-5gZMcmqO4pZnhk6CRFuHnedHnTjp/s1600/dm+of+danglingmedia.png" width="200" /></a></div> </div>

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COOLEST TEMPERATURE IN THE WORLD DISCOVERED IN ITALY

A rubber ball, frozen to near absolute zero by liquid helium, shatters and vaporizes as it strikes the floor. #Scientists at an Italian institute have set a world record of the lowest temperature eve…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

LETTER TO CHRISTIANS FROM PROPHET MOHAMMED(S)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> In 628 C.E. Prophet #Muhammad(s) is narrated to have granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war.<br /> An English translation of that document is presented below.<br /> This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.<br /> No compulsion is to be on them.<br /> Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.<br /> No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.<br /> No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.<br /> The Muslims are to fight for them.<br /> If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.<br /> No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVKtWcIxD-msTZSIKi7StPQXYCyQ9Me57KMk3VuYpy5lq32qAvj9szv3dbrpOn9YpCUJpyCqv0h7NL544YeZMSI6kXpn08s0ASOk3AQcocFJgP0e0rnUcgsDblnZq8jldaOKY2XhxoJaN/s1600/famous-quotes-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVKtWcIxD-msTZSIKi7StPQXYCyQ9Me57KMk3VuYpy5lq32qAvj9szv3dbrpOn9YpCUJpyCqv0h7NL544YeZMSI6kXpn08s0ASOk3AQcocFJgP0e0rnUcgsDblnZq8jldaOKY2XhxoJaN/s1600/famous-quotes-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> </div>

LETTER TO CHRISTIANS FROM PROPHET MOHAMMED(S)

In 628 C.E. Prophet #Muhammad(s) is narrated to have granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of huma…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

South Africa must apologise to Nigeria —Obanikoro

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> AS the #controversy surrounding the $15million arms deal in two separate transactions in South #Africa by the Federal Government continues to generate reactions, former minister for state for defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has berated the South African Government, demanding apology over seizure of the funds and making mockering of Nigerian government.<br /> <br /> Obanikoro who spoke in Abuja on Tuesday maintained that the two transactions were legitimate and wondered why a country that had been faced with similar challenges of liberating its citizens and engaged in similar cash transactions in the past would subject another country that played a key role in its favour would intentionally embarrass that same country facing a similar challenge.<br /> <br /> “I want to believe that there must be a change. What South Africa did to us is unacceptable, its not fair, its not just and it was unnecessary. Here is a nation that stood by them during their time of need. If there’s any country that should understand the need to use cash to procure weapons, it is South Africa."<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgR6NQLhsOZh5aDF3jvu1Pdklv-fsYlp532rrNY7BsYlCZrZEBRVxG1-IKLd5dlwVe_16H01ZYJo1F8MCdlLYzm0UUtqYQor5OPTNdGQVhrIUDZCWAZICYouHLpae208SqROKArOwxded/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgR6NQLhsOZh5aDF3jvu1Pdklv-fsYlp532rrNY7BsYlCZrZEBRVxG1-IKLd5dlwVe_16H01ZYJo1F8MCdlLYzm0UUtqYQor5OPTNdGQVhrIUDZCWAZICYouHLpae208SqROKArOwxded/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" width="176" /></a></div> </div>

South Africa must apologise to Nigeria —Obanikoro

AS the #controversy surrounding the $15million arms deal in two separate transactions in South #Africa by the Federal Government continues to generate reactions, former minister for state for defence…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Here is the message released by the president over Ebola victory.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bz95zIq0BmEObXiAF231b_rRhth0SphXre0Y8L3tNSpql1Md58dJ9zsksKYNGYR1L5CEugnKEpoGH6aNWDKeV7mDgo9i529vboK8lRtmBZWxh8oqinSHJQ58f4PGuLxuI0Tbn31nZhO_/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bz95zIq0BmEObXiAF231b_rRhth0SphXre0Y8L3tNSpql1Md58dJ9zsksKYNGYR1L5CEugnKEpoGH6aNWDKeV7mDgo9i529vboK8lRtmBZWxh8oqinSHJQ58f4PGuLxuI0Tbn31nZhO_/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" width="200" /></a></div> <br /> #Goodluck Jonathan<br /> <br /> On Tuesday the 20th of October, Nigeria was declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization, (WHO). The declaration is an attestation to the Nigerian Can Do Spirit. It is also a clear demonstration of the many possibilities of our Nation. With us as a people, united under God, there is nothing we cannot achieve when we stand together behind an objective. Unity is the secret weapon Nigeria used against the Ebola Virus Disease and nothing shall be impossible for a united Nigeria. I congratulate and thank all Nigerians on this great feat. I want to also specially thank the governments and peoples of Lagos, Rivers and Enugu states, the first responders who treated the index cases. To all the thirty six state governors who united with the Federal Government to rid Nigeria of this scourge I also say a big thank you. Although we have been declared free of Ebola we must however, remain vigilant as the Ebola virus is still on rampage in neighboring Sister Countries. We cannot afford to let down our guard when there is still Ebola pain in our subregion. In this regard we will spare no resource in supporting our neighbors in the battle to contain this deadly scourge. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. GEJ.</div>

Here is the message released by the president over Ebola victory.

#Goodluck Jonathan On Tuesday the 20th of October, Nigeria was declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization, (WHO). The declaration is an attestation to the Nigerian Can Do Spirit. It is also…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

This is what killed over 4,000 Soldiers in the Civil War...

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Because, as Nelson Mandela once said,  “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.”<br /> <img height="112" src="https://scontent-a-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10533453_651069468340277_4640243104908742958_n.jpg?oh=a942c6476bd1db53b840306762607fa1&oe=54E9EB47" width="200" /><br /> By the late summer of 1864, a century and a half ago, more than  100,000 African  American soldiers were serving in the U.S. Civil War, providing a much-needed boost to Abraham #Lincoln’s struggling Union forces.<br /> <br /> These proud soldiers, many of whom were former slaves, “had been to the armory of God,” said one black sergeant, “and had received weapons of the heart, that made them daring and dangerous foes.”<br /> <br /> The Union’s newest enlistees fought courageously, but neither God nor their new employer had equipped them with the armor to fight an even more daunting enemy than the Confederacy: Disease.<br /> <br /> According to The  Library of Congress, an astonishing 29,000 of those 100,000 black soldiers died from disease during the Civil War. Or, nine  times the number that would perish fighting. Preventable diseases like:<br /> Pneumonia, malaria, dysentery, small pox and typhoid fever were the primary culprits, and devastated many black units: One black infantry regiment lost 524 soldiers to disease in a single year, half of its overall numbers. As one lieutenant stationed in Louisiana wrote: “The mortality in our Regt. beats anything that I ever saw. They frequently drop dead in the streets.”<br /> <br /> The Civil War was the greatest biological crisis of the 19thcentury. Unsanitary camps, unburied bodies and inadequate medical care contributed to the deaths of over  400,000 soldiersfrom disease. According to historian Glenn W.  LaFantasie, author ofGettysburg Requiem(2006), “[d]isease and primitive medical knowledge were the Civil War soldier’s worst enemies. For every soldier killed in battle, two died of disease.”<br /> A white doctor observed, ‘[V]ery few surgeons will do precisely for blacks as they would for whites.’<br /> The camp conditions confronting the average soldier were appalling.<br />  For black soldiers, it was even worse. Those who became ill “died at a rate two and a half times higher than their white counterparts,” according to The  Library of Congress.<br /> Discrimination led not only to unequal pay and poorly-provisioned regiments, but grossly deficient medical care. Many white medical officers were unwilling to treat black units, one white doctor observingthat “[v]ery few surgeons will do precisely for blacks as they would for whites.” And there were only three black physiciansserving the Union Army’s 166 black  regiments.<br /> Emancipation and the long war caused severe dislocation in black communities, disrupting kin networks, and leaving millions without adequate shelter, food or access to medical care. And things would only get worse: Sickness and disease threatened the lives of 3.5  million freed slavesafter the war ended.<br /> <br /> Prior to the Civil War, the great orator, journalist and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, had argued, “let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S.; let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder, and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”<br /> By the time the 14th Amendment finally granted citizenship to freed slaves in 1868, the combination of disease, war, discrimination and unthinkable hardship had taken a massive toll on black soldiers and communities, but there was, as Douglass had predicted, no question that they had not just earned citizenship but also deserved the eternal respect and admiration of a nation.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgR6NQLhsOZh5aDF3jvu1Pdklv-fsYlp532rrNY7BsYlCZrZEBRVxG1-IKLd5dlwVe_16H01ZYJo1F8MCdlLYzm0UUtqYQor5OPTNdGQVhrIUDZCWAZICYouHLpae208SqROKArOwxded/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgR6NQLhsOZh5aDF3jvu1Pdklv-fsYlp532rrNY7BsYlCZrZEBRVxG1-IKLd5dlwVe_16H01ZYJo1F8MCdlLYzm0UUtqYQor5OPTNdGQVhrIUDZCWAZICYouHLpae208SqROKArOwxded/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" width="176" /></a></div> </div>

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This is what killed over 4,000 Soldiers in the Civil War...

Because, as Nelson Mandela once said,  “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.” By the late summer of 1864, a century and a half ago, more than  100,000 African  American soldiers were serving in…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Here is what the CEO of Facebook has to say about Samsung.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10389704_652058408241383_5174533118054071934_n.jpg?oh=ccfe2ce0f4660032d15d8816f906bb77&oe=54B4CA28&__gda__=1424774388_ef57229b8a08db9efdb87708629da715" /></div> <br /> Mark Zuckerberg<br /> "I had the opportunity to bring #Facebook's management team to visit Samsung in Korea to learn about their culture and how they build the devices that hundreds of millions of people use to connect.<br /> A highlight was seeing the Hwaseong campus where Samsung produces 40% of the world's memory chips. The precision of their process is inspiring. We had to wear clean suits so small dust particles didn't interfere with their machines.<br /> Thank you to the Samsung team for hosting us. We look forward to working together to connect the world."<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_-iXABXOhjsM_XmncGii-PRATlu88KH4bxP8R0Kb8rX3lq_5c_T2ZwfU_3GEGN8xiJs1Nqp_hAn9Fm8V7842ZBSIvS6dKTSkG4X94MOTUFPMDpEojDBsqjCKvHDm5_C2cPtFfopBaoAR/s1600/danglingmediaempire.blogspot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_-iXABXOhjsM_XmncGii-PRATlu88KH4bxP8R0Kb8rX3lq_5c_T2ZwfU_3GEGN8xiJs1Nqp_hAn9Fm8V7842ZBSIvS6dKTSkG4X94MOTUFPMDpEojDBsqjCKvHDm5_C2cPtFfopBaoAR/s1600/danglingmediaempire.blogspot.png" width="147" /></a></div> </div>

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Here is what the CEO of Facebook has to say about Samsung.

Mark Zuckerberg "I had the opportunity to bring #Facebook's management team to visit Samsung in Korea to learn about their culture and how they build the devices that hundreds of millions of people u…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Seems surprising, secret space plane lands at US air force base after unknown two-year Mission

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Resembling a small space shuttle, the X-37B landed in southern #California after a 674 days in orbit on a secret mission.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bz95zIq0BmEObXiAF231b_rRhth0SphXre0Y8L3tNSpql1Md58dJ9zsksKYNGYR1L5CEugnKEpoGH6aNWDKeV7mDgo9i529vboK8lRtmBZWxh8oqinSHJQ58f4PGuLxuI0Tbn31nZhO_/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bz95zIq0BmEObXiAF231b_rRhth0SphXre0Y8L3tNSpql1Md58dJ9zsksKYNGYR1L5CEugnKEpoGH6aNWDKeV7mDgo9i529vboK8lRtmBZWxh8oqinSHJQ58f4PGuLxuI0Tbn31nZhO_/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" width="200" /></a></div> <img height="119" src="https://scontent-a-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10698452_652068338240390_256876798414667301_n.jpg?oh=d79653664c429c8ff5286fcb175fd1eb&oe=54AC87FF" width="200" /><br /> A top-secret space plane landed Friday at an air force base on the southern California Coast.<br /> The plane spent nearly two years circling Earth on a classified mission. Known as the X-37B, it resembles a mini space shuttle.<br /> It safely touched down at 9.24am Friday, officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base said.<br /> Just what the plane was doing during its 674 days in orbit has been the subject of sometimes spectacular speculation.<br /> Several experts have theorized it carried a payload of spy gear in its cargo bay. Other theories sound straight out of a James Bond film, including that the spacecraft would be able to capture the satellites of other nations or shadow China’s space lab.<br /> In a written release announcing the return of the craft, the air force only said it had been conducting “on-orbit experiments”.<br /> <br /> (The US air force’s first unmanned re-entry spacecraft landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.Photograph: US AIR FORCE/Reuters)<br /> <br /> The X-37B program has been an orphan of sorts, bouncing since its inception in 1999 between several federal agencies, Nasa among them. It now resides under the air force’s rapid capabilities office.<br /> The plane that landed Friday is one of two built by Boeing. This is the program’s third mission, and began in December 2012.<br /> The plane stands 9.5ft tall and is just over 29ft long, with a wingspan under 15ft. It weighs 11,000lbs and has solar panels that unfurl to charge its batteries once in orbit.<br /> The air force said it plans to launch the fourth X-37B mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next year.</div>

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Seems surprising, secret space plane lands at US air force base after unknown two-year Mission

Resembling a small space shuttle, the X-37B landed in southern #California after a 674 days in orbit on a secret mission. A top-secret space plane landed Friday at an air force base on the southern C…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Learning English with ettefreeguy. COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> INCORRECT: No sooner had I arrived home when it began to rain.<br /> CORRECT : No sooner had I arrived home than it began to rain.<br /> (No sooner ... than ...)<br /> INCORRECT: We both know that Charles loves Angel more than Vincent.<br /> CORRECT : We both know that  Charles loves Angel more than Vincent does.<br /> To avoid confusion, put an auxiliary verb as an ellipsis: Charles loves Angel more than Vincent loves Angel.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpU622_Pjod97sf4WtXfaIU4O5WGAYXlgkNM8pCu-M6W2d_ayLy7jLZL4OY_p8Bx7wmQMM55u0mAOitZ1K6ggVE25zVv7HwKcbOtc4yST7fRLuAZeP6-lOIBipSs8puLsra-PqmXdrpYE/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpU622_Pjod97sf4WtXfaIU4O5WGAYXlgkNM8pCu-M6W2d_ayLy7jLZL4OY_p8Bx7wmQMM55u0mAOitZ1K6ggVE25zVv7HwKcbOtc4yST7fRLuAZeP6-lOIBipSs8puLsra-PqmXdrpYE/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> INCORRECT: I saw where my mistakes lay and how to make up for them.<br /> CORRECT : I saw where my mistakes lay and how I could make up for them.<br /> <br /> INCORRECT: My archrival, Frankie, he scored very high marks in the last test..<br /> CORRECT : Frankie, my archrival, scored very high marks in the last test.<br /> (Put the additional description between the subject and the verb. Surround it with commas.)<br /> <br /> INCORRECT: I felt very difficult to deal with this physics problem.<br /> CORRECT : I found it very difficult to deal with this physics problem.<br /> <br /> INCORRECT: The general meeting is scheduled to be held this afternoon at three.<br /> CORRECT : The general meeting is scheduled to be held at three this afternoon.<br /> (In a series of adverbs of time, put the specific time expression before the general one.)<br /> <br /> INCORRECT: She ran into her boyfriend yesterday morning in Fair Avenue.<br /> CORRECT : She ran into her boyfriend in Fair Avenue yesterday morning.<br /> (Adverbs in order: manner - place - time.)<br /> <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/1238988_641753505938540_3994345378285233186_n.jpg?oh=3dbfea07c70275114a86f4ae0522f737&oe=54EF7126&__gda__=1421528943_74f3c85bc151555f008d32da13c8bb40" /></div>

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Learning English with ettefreeguy. COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH

INCORRECT: No sooner had I arrived home when it began to rain. CORRECT : No sooner had I arrived home than it began to rain. (No sooner ... than ...) INCORRECT: We both know that Charles loves Angel …

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Bali nightmare: Tropical spider 'burrows' into stomach of Western Australian man

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Western #Australian man Dylan Thomas reckons he won’t be living down the nickname "Spiderman" anytime soon after a tropical spider burrowed its way into his stomach.<br /> <br /> The 21-year-old Bunbury man's first trip to Bali will be one he remembers for all of the wrong reasons after the bizarre medical mystery.<br /> "I woke up on the Saturday morning in my hotel room in Bali and I noticed a small red mark coming through my navel, as in my belly button," #danglingReporter today.<br /> "As the day went through it progressed.<br /> <br /> Dylan Thomas said his holiday was "very interesting" to say the least. (Picture: Facebook)<br /> <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10247270_650905548356669_5602168316646234676_n.jpg?oh=64a7188736c3bea5092e3ab1e8626ceb&oe=54EE0949&__gda__=1421276401_26f434f3df43ee77aa4d62f5d71b9956" /><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> "I knew for a fact I hadn't done anything or come into contact with anything to make it worse."<br /> It started as a little red mark and grew up to 30cm across his stomach.<br /> Initially he was told anti-histamines would clear it up and that it was probably just a bug bite.<br /> <br /> The scar was up to 30cm long after the small tropical spider burrowed into his stomach. (Picture: Facebook)<br /> <img height="200" src="https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10712903_650905845023306_3625871421121595500_n.jpg?oh=876ed10fa21cc9fd4c5dd6ed4da98aa7&oe=54C0C48A" width="150" /><br /> <br /> <br /> "I woke up on the Sunday morning from bottom to top with big blisters," he said.<br /> "I thought I was in a little bit of trouble.<br /> "I sought advice from other doctors who told me they had never seen anything like it."<br /> The horror story continues when he was told a spider had burrowed its way into his naval cavity through his belly button causing the long red mark and blisters.<br /> "It was there in my body for about three days before they managed to pull it out,"<br /> <br /> The spider was living inside him for three days before it was removed. (Picture: Facebook)<img height="200" src="https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10710854_650905225023368_1608074299287300268_n.jpg?oh=0877b5cf67993522e10f5ad76a621ed1&oe=54F87196" width="156" /><br /> <br /> <br /> Doctors believe the tropical spider was able to make its way inside him through scar tissue after he had surgery to remove his appendix a year or so ago.<br /> "The venom from the spider itself is what's caused the blisters," he said.<br /> "It was probably not much bigger than a match head."<br /> Mr Thomas posted on Facebook that he was glad it was all over and had his fingers crossed he would develop superpowers soon.<br /> "Haven't felt so violated in my life before," he said.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg083TzQ4pRIc5fwPNFgues913mJd312O-io-KpHZJVLZPOOVbRqx9rJ246RQwmqweFFrg0_mm601t5OO89zKDrjOnNfZ6mD1ObiirW4sn83SPK2JQ36fBLIa3AZEH-4EasyxS21_rgJMhR/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg083TzQ4pRIc5fwPNFgues913mJd312O-io-KpHZJVLZPOOVbRqx9rJ246RQwmqweFFrg0_mm601t5OO89zKDrjOnNfZ6mD1ObiirW4sn83SPK2JQ36fBLIa3AZEH-4EasyxS21_rgJMhR/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" width="283" /></a></div> </div>

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Bali nightmare: Tropical spider 'burrows' into stomach of Western Australian man

Western #Australian man Dylan Thomas reckons he won’t be living down the nickname "Spiderman" anytime soon after a tropical spider burrowed its way into his stomach. The 21-year-old Bunbury man's fir…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Killer McDonald's coffee

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </div> <br /> <br />                                  .read here!.<br />  When a #McDonald's customer in #Canada removed the lid from his cup of coffee to savour the last gulp he was disgusted to find a dead mouse at the bottom of it.<br /> <br /> "I always take the lid off to get my last sip of coffee," Ron Morais of Fredericton, New Brunswick told CBC  News.<br /> <br /> "When I took the lid off, there was a little bit of a surprise in my coffee cup. It was a dead mouse."<br /> <br /> But that wasn't all Mr Morais found at the bottom of his cup: "there were a few little, shall we say, presents" also left by the mouse.<br /> <br /> Mr Morais said he showed his co-workers what he found and at first they didn't believe him.<br /> "I had been there and seen Ron drink all that coffee down to the last drop, (if I wasn't there) I would have been, like, 'You're lying,'" Mr Morais' colleague Brad Patterson said.<br /> <br /> Mr Morais said the idea of drinking an entire cup of coffee with a mouse in it made him feel a little ill.<br /> "I kind of had a little queasiness in my stomach," he said.<br /> The McDonalds outlet responsible for the incident has released a statement saying that are taking the allegation "very seriously".<br /> <br /> "Upon learning of this situation, the local franchisee immediately began an investigation, including working closely with the local public health authority who conducted an inspection following receiving a complaint,"<img src="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1962676_650916778355546_3715872811630508642_n.jpg?oh=19ae718f84a86977d3348fc57be50801&oe=54EE53B3" /></div>

Killer McDonald's coffee

                                 .read here!.  When a #McDonald's customer in #Canada removed the lid from his cup of coffee to savour the last gulp he was disgusted to find a dead mouse at the botto…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Life 'exploded' when ancient continents collided

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> The primeval continent of Gondwanaland. (Interactive Science Notebook)<img src="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10659395_650912015022689_5629324564677634294_n.jpg?oh=7b128186e50677ba3d9fe0072527dd8c&oe=54F62601" /><br /> <br /> Two continents colliding formed a Himalayan-scale mountain range that fed early life on ancient Earth before eroding away, researchers have found.<br /> #Scientists had speculated about its existence because of the way life thrived and ocean chemistry changed at this time.<br /> Now evidence has been found that shows a massive range spanned at least 2500 kilometres of modern west Africa and northeast Brazil and nurtured an explosion of life 600 million years ago.<br /> <br /> Daniela Rubatto of the Australian National University says just like the Himalayas, this range was eroded intensely because it was so huge.<br /> "As the sediments washed into the oceans they provided the perfect nutrients for life to flourish," Professor Rubatto said in a statement.<br /> During the collision that formed the range on the ancient super-continent of Gondwana, rocks from the crust were pushed 100 kilometres deep into the mantle, the research published in Nature Communications says.<br /> <br /> There high temperatures and pressures formed new minerals.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg083TzQ4pRIc5fwPNFgues913mJd312O-io-KpHZJVLZPOOVbRqx9rJ246RQwmqweFFrg0_mm601t5OO89zKDrjOnNfZ6mD1ObiirW4sn83SPK2JQ36fBLIa3AZEH-4EasyxS21_rgJMhR/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg083TzQ4pRIc5fwPNFgues913mJd312O-io-KpHZJVLZPOOVbRqx9rJ246RQwmqweFFrg0_mm601t5OO89zKDrjOnNfZ6mD1ObiirW4sn83SPK2JQ36fBLIa3AZEH-4EasyxS21_rgJMhR/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+changed.png" width="283" /></a></div> As the ranges eroded, the roots came back up to the surface, where they were collected in Togo, Mali and northeast Brazil, by Brazilian co-researcher Carlos Ganade de Araujo, from the University of Sao Paolo.<br /> Dr Ganade de Araujo brought the rocks to ANU where a research team studied tiny crystals to identify that the rocks were of similar age, and had been formed at similar, great depths.</div>

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Life 'exploded' when ancient continents collided

The primeval continent of Gondwanaland. (Interactive Science Notebook) Two continents colliding formed a Himalayan-scale mountain range that fed early life on ancient Earth before eroding away, resea…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

American Marine soldier survived gunshot.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Marine's ears left ringing after Afghan sniper shoots his helmet<br /> Martin Zavan<br /> An #American soldier in Afghanistan has been shot in the head by a Taliban sniper and lived to tell the tale.<img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10641109_651150508332173_692763205780517152_n.jpg?oh=ae306e425ef7cb04756d759fdd45dab9&oe=54B89C1C&__gda__=1421253153_10adfafbfa60d1d5561bc7ca6d1b365b" /><br /> <br /> The #Marine was taking part in a raid in the Now Zad district of Helmand Province last year when a sniper hit his Kevlar helmet, DanglingReport.<br /> Video of the incident shows the moment the soldier was picked off as he stood in the doorway of a mud hut and was about to step out into the open.<br /> The bullet makes a dull thudding sound as it impacts the helmet and send the Americans running in the opposite direction.<br /> "I saw it hit your Kevlar," one of the soldier's comrades says after they make a quick retreat.<br /> "Lucky son of a bitch.".<br /> It is unclear if the man suffered any side effects other than ringing ears.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr4jzto31r7Cjhsf0MwEbrRRiNTK9XBMtXIujg_6JSFh-BdGGXhsmczgejBeura37ySKmv4OgHeyooCu2cpwz7sbvftZVilRHKHx2-e8rMWWxqzNlWBFkJE9HSv0GHjcVg_vpO_U7oVeU/s1600/danglingmediaempire.blogspot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr4jzto31r7Cjhsf0MwEbrRRiNTK9XBMtXIujg_6JSFh-BdGGXhsmczgejBeura37ySKmv4OgHeyooCu2cpwz7sbvftZVilRHKHx2-e8rMWWxqzNlWBFkJE9HSv0GHjcVg_vpO_U7oVeU/s1600/danglingmediaempire.blogspot.png" width="236" /></a></div> </div>

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American Marine soldier survived gunshot.

Marine's ears left ringing after Afghan sniper shoots his helmet Martin Zavan An #American soldier in Afghanistan has been shot in the head by a Taliban sniper and lived to tell the tale. The #Marine…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

'this is what dying must feel like' dying Student tweeted before death.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> <img height="111" src="https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10703608_651158148331409_424503074546843084_n.jpg?oh=2e504234831ac685cc0be899f7575d6a&oe=54ADCD56" width="200" /></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> A US nursing student suffering from meningitis knew she was near death when she wrote on social media "this is what dying must feel like" days before the disease killed her.<br /> <br /> Andrea Jaime, a student at #Washington DC's Georgetown University, died on Tuesday of what hospital staff described as "apparent meningitis", the WJLA reports.<br /> <br /> While it is unclear how Ms Jaime contracted the disease on Friday she posted on Twitter "This is what dying must feel like" and then responded to a comment on her post saying "105 fever I think I'm dying".<br /> Doctors are also uncertain which of the five types of the disease the student had.<br /> #Meningitis inflames the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord but vaccination protects against most forms of the disease, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).<br /> <br /> The group said students living in dorms have a higher risk of contracting the disease because "infectious diseases tend to spread more quickly where larger groups of people gather together", the CDCP said.</div>

'this is what dying must feel like' dying Student tweeted before death.

A US nursing student suffering from meningitis knew she was near death when she wrote on social media "this is what dying must feel like" days before the disease killed her. Andrea Jaime, a student a…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

House removes immunity for President, governors in Nigeria.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> The final process in the amendment of the constitution started in the House of #Representatives yesterday.<br /> The House approved 71 amendments to the Constitution after an executive session.<br /> The mandatory two-thirds required (240 of the 360-member House) for the amendment to pass was met as 252 of the 261 members that voted were in favour of the #amendments. Eight voted against and one abstained.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCWxswlWN5GJ6a5D77pDdK_Xn2bvDbCLgJe5VYTCqROZud7N11T43tQ4V0qP6zZaFZsclhMKKZ-GHPToflb31KXD0Pa1-RllyGWH2jIQhZARMiJHR8CKxXeaO0PSxjcFTlt2XbDkQBLz2/s1600/House-of-Representatives-600x330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCWxswlWN5GJ6a5D77pDdK_Xn2bvDbCLgJe5VYTCqROZud7N11T43tQ4V0qP6zZaFZsclhMKKZ-GHPToflb31KXD0Pa1-RllyGWH2jIQhZARMiJHR8CKxXeaO0PSxjcFTlt2XbDkQBLz2/s1600/House-of-Representatives-600x330.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> <br /> The lawmakers have placed the National Security Agencies, the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Police, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, on a first-line charge from Nigeria’s Consolidated Revenue Account.<br /> The President or Deputy President of Senate and Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives are to receive pension for life as approved by the lawmakers.<br /> <br /> The President will mandatorily address a joint meeting of the National Assembly once a year, if the amendments get the Senate’s concurrence and are approved by two thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly.<br /> But the review suffered a setback in the Senate.<br /> Though the consideration of the report of the conference committee on the review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (further amendment) Bill 2014 was listed in the Order Paper, the consideration could not hold due to lack of quorum.<br /> The Senate Committee on Rules  and Business listed in the Order Paper: “That the Senate do consider and approve the report of the Conference Committee on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Further Amendment) Bill, 2014.”<br /> <br /> It was listed against the name of the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who is also chairman, Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution.<br /> It was gathered that the Senate leadership decided that because the required quorum for the consideration of the report of the conference committee was not formed, the consideration of the report would be taken on another legislative day.<br /> Our correspondents also gathered that the Senate leadership did not want to play into the hands of those who might accuse it of sidelining some senators in the consideration of the report.<br /> It was not clear if the report would be considered today.<br /> While considering the 108-page report, the House approved “independent candidacy” to participate in general elections as well “life pension for President, Vice President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, as well as Speaker and deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives”.<br /> <br /> This is contingent on if the occupant was not impeached from office.<br /> Members also approved Section 7(1a) which prohibits appointment of caretaker committee by governors while 7(1b) provides for four-year term to democratically elected council. Subsection 7(1c) grant financial autonomy to local governments.<br /> They approved the #immunity clause, Section 4(7a), which states that “in the course of exercising the foregoing legislative powers, no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted against a member of a legislative House in respect of words spoken or written before the House or a committee thereof.”<br /> These were part of the recommendations of the harmonised report of the Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution review adopted by the lawmakers at the Committee of the Whole.<br /> <br /> Other amendments approved include state creation, indigeneship and citizenship, budgetary process and role for traditional Rulers, among others.<br /> An alteration of Section 241, which inserts a new subsection (2A), bars Nigerian courts or tribunals from  staying any proceeding on account of an interlocutory appeal.<br /> They also voted to include in the  concurrent legislative list seven items which include railways, agriculture and pensions.<br /> Federal lawmakers also backed adoption of referendum for state creation.<br /> They, however, rejected the amendment of Section 9 to allow for a referendum in determining the fate of the National Conference recommendations.<br /> An alteration of Section 7, among others, stops revenue allocation from the federation account to local governments that are not democratically elected. Local government administrations also stand dissolved at the expiration of four years, commencing from the date the members of Council were sworn in.<br /> <br /> An alteration of Section 59 allows the National Assembly to bypass the president should he fail to sign a Bill presented to him within 30 days.<br /> It states: “Within seven days, the President of the Senate shall convene a joint sitting of the National Assembly to reconsider the Bill and if passed by two-thirds majority of members of both houses at such joint sitting, the Bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required,” the alteration reads.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpU622_Pjod97sf4WtXfaIU4O5WGAYXlgkNM8pCu-M6W2d_ayLy7jLZL4OY_p8Bx7wmQMM55u0mAOitZ1K6ggVE25zVv7HwKcbOtc4yST7fRLuAZeP6-lOIBipSs8puLsra-PqmXdrpYE/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpU622_Pjod97sf4WtXfaIU4O5WGAYXlgkNM8pCu-M6W2d_ayLy7jLZL4OY_p8Bx7wmQMM55u0mAOitZ1K6ggVE25zVv7HwKcbOtc4yST7fRLuAZeP6-lOIBipSs8puLsra-PqmXdrpYE/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The action is the most far-reaching amendment made to the constitution.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> It was learnt that the closed- door session was to allow members agree on the modalities for the voting on the amendments.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The leadership was said to have impressed it on members that there was need to pass the amendments without bickering due to its importance to democracy and the need to conclude it expeditiously.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The report will be transmitted to the 36 Houses of Assembly for concurrence, after the Senate’s concurrence.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Chairman, Ad-Committee on Constitution Review, Emeka Ihedioha, said exhaustive deliberations with the Senate on the areas of differences was done with due regard to the wishes of the people,</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> “At this stage, we also urge you to reach out to your respective House of Assembly members whom Section 9 of the Constitution have made critical and distinctive partners, to support the realisation of the recommendations of the Committee here attached, which we believe is another milestone towards repositioning our fundamental legal framework for public good,” he said.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr4jzto31r7Cjhsf0MwEbrRRiNTK9XBMtXIujg_6JSFh-BdGGXhsmczgejBeura37ySKmv4OgHeyooCu2cpwz7sbvftZVilRHKHx2-e8rMWWxqzNlWBFkJE9HSv0GHjcVg_vpO_U7oVeU/s1600/danglingmediaempire.blogspot.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr4jzto31r7Cjhsf0MwEbrRRiNTK9XBMtXIujg_6JSFh-BdGGXhsmczgejBeura37ySKmv4OgHeyooCu2cpwz7sbvftZVilRHKHx2-e8rMWWxqzNlWBFkJE9HSv0GHjcVg_vpO_U7oVeU/s1600/danglingmediaempire.blogspot.png" width="147" /></a></div> </div>

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House removes immunity for President, governors in Nigeria.

The final process in the amendment of the constitution started in the House of #Representatives yesterday. The House approved 71 amendments to the Constitution after an executive session. The mandato…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Texas Ebola nurse speaks from hospital bed: "I love you guys

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">  Ebola-#infected Texas nurse Nina Pham has been filmed smiling and talking lucidly in her hospital bed.<br /> <br /> The 57-second video recorded at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and released on YouTube today shows Ms Pham having a brief conversation with her treating physician.<br /> Ms Pham has been transferred from Texas to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, just outside Washington.<br /> "Come to Maryland, everybody," she jokes.<img src="https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s180x540/10620802_651154541665103_2114386127365915308_n.jpg?oh=d157a711083f8dbda305c1a2c3b7a50e&oe=54F25D81" /><br /> <br /> The video, which was shot by the doctor, also shows another health care worker in attendance, wearing a full mask and other protective gear.<br /> "I love you guys," an #emotional Ms Pham says, as she wipes away tears.<br /> According to the hospital, Ms Pham asked for the video to be posted.<br /> Ms Pham wore a white protective suit as she stepped off the plane in Maryland. She was later sped by ambulance to the NIH several miles away.<br /> Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a congressional hearing earlier Thursday that Ms Pham would receive superlative care at NIH, one of just a few facilities equipped to provide comprehensive medical care for patients suffering from Ebola and other infectious agents.<br /> <br /> "We will be supplying her with state-of-the-art care in our high-level containment facilities," Mr Fauci told lawmakers.<br /> In a statement, the NIH said that the facility where Ms Pham will be treated is "staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists... trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola."<br /> Ms Pham was closely involved in the care of a Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan, who was the first Ebola case diagnosed in the US.<br /> He died of Ebola on October 8 at the Texas hospital.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpU622_Pjod97sf4WtXfaIU4O5WGAYXlgkNM8pCu-M6W2d_ayLy7jLZL4OY_p8Bx7wmQMM55u0mAOitZ1K6ggVE25zVv7HwKcbOtc4yST7fRLuAZeP6-lOIBipSs8puLsra-PqmXdrpYE/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpU622_Pjod97sf4WtXfaIU4O5WGAYXlgkNM8pCu-M6W2d_ayLy7jLZL4OY_p8Bx7wmQMM55u0mAOitZ1K6ggVE25zVv7HwKcbOtc4yST7fRLuAZeP6-lOIBipSs8puLsra-PqmXdrpYE/s1600/danglingmedia.blogspot+designstar.png" width="320" /></a></div> </div>

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Texas Ebola nurse speaks from hospital bed: "I love you guys

 Ebola-#infected Texas nurse Nina Pham has been filmed smiling and talking lucidly in her hospital bed. The 57-second video recorded at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and released on Y…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

50 Cent talks taugh on his carrier and Eminem

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh90H-Xp00FB_B4Nrqa-ItGqRNRDPOplCJOb8WueSAjxkkswinvY0xTfCuHr-86Lm127DQRCEUwn_MaGMDnBVW7RQFo4UFhkeFOwTb-iUyOizm5M3uffqe-u9QH0EHUipOQp1dYgNsLe7G/s1600/Shaddy+n+Fiddy+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh90H-Xp00FB_B4Nrqa-ItGqRNRDPOplCJOb8WueSAjxkkswinvY0xTfCuHr-86Lm127DQRCEUwn_MaGMDnBVW7RQFo4UFhkeFOwTb-iUyOizm5M3uffqe-u9QH0EHUipOQp1dYgNsLe7G/s1600/Shaddy+n+Fiddy+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> 50 #Cent, whose debut album Get Rich Or #Die  Tryin'was co-executive produced by #Eminem, recently spoke about his Shady Records boss and his ability to step away from music.<br /> "By not having interest in a lot of other areas, [Eminem] was able to take a step back from these records," 50 Cent said in an interview with Complex. "He just goes away and then he’d just watch [other artists] and then figures out what to do next. But [he's] just not as active as all these other folks. Everything else that [he's asked to] be involved in, he says no. He says, 'No,' more than he says, 'Hi.' The circle’s so tight...It speaks to the culture when people see themselves in [your] light, [your] greatness."<br /> <br /> <br /> During the interview, 50 also praised @Eminem for his influence on Hip Hop.<br /> "When they look at Em and they see themselves, it’s because they feel him," 50 said. "You see these other guys come out of nowhere almost, have huge hits. I like Eminem. I think Hip Hop grew faster in different areas because of the success of his projects and there’s no other rappers doing other than whatever’s comfortable to them [despite Em's influence]. They’ll name Top 5 MCs and not have his name on it when none of them have music that #performed that well."<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> Eminem and Dr. Dre executive produced 50 Cent's debut album, 2003's Get Rich Or Die Tryin'. Em, Dre and 50 Cent co-executive produced Fif's 2005 album, The #Massacre.<br /> In November, 50 Cent compared Eminem to  his grandparents.<br /> "My career wouldn't even exist, I wouldn't even be talking to you if it wasn't for Em," 50 Cent said. "It's amazing that later in your life you could find someone that means so much to the comfort in your actual life. My grandparents were that for me before Em."<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlNeiEQ1B-WqddVQ_TNNFak81VA9GCUn7wam4fJ2FI-SnKUOh5oQfGp3mhljNP5lIsKdMTgFdDrCyReFURQenA6dVmbmTxX-OpX3bZjYlMyAqlQtyeFG5Zer69K-NnZ9JDO6p01bBzDeW/s1600/More.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlNeiEQ1B-WqddVQ_TNNFak81VA9GCUn7wam4fJ2FI-SnKUOh5oQfGp3mhljNP5lIsKdMTgFdDrCyReFURQenA6dVmbmTxX-OpX3bZjYlMyAqlQtyeFG5Zer69K-NnZ9JDO6p01bBzDeW/s1600/More.jpg" /></a></div> </div>

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50 Cent talks taugh on his carrier and Eminem

50 #Cent, whose debut album Get Rich Or #Die  Tryin'was co-executive produced by #Eminem, recently spoke about his Shady Records boss and his ability to step away from music. "By not having interest …

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

News from Zambia against Online Media

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiGmQn2rGNWij-VSbunlkciAkVQQSJDJ4SjcWONF1RJCHV2Py3ZR6Uuf2T-VFJIjq6hVk51GL9wv34RXEs3BVR4LwVRFZr7WY5SnGvfJO505YA4X6JurnE3fJyCRWC1I5eslk5kaGB-xn/s1600/leave+the+dog+alone.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiGmQn2rGNWij-VSbunlkciAkVQQSJDJ4SjcWONF1RJCHV2Py3ZR6Uuf2T-VFJIjq6hVk51GL9wv34RXEs3BVR4LwVRFZr7WY5SnGvfJO505YA4X6JurnE3fJyCRWC1I5eslk5kaGB-xn/s1600/leave+the+dog+alone.png" width="200" /></a></div> Katema Revives Fight against Online Media<br /> The phobia for online media has continued to surface with Information Minister Joseph Katema calling for ways to stifle the influence of the new media.<br /> Katema said that it was important to find ways of limiting the influence of the online media as they allegedly attacked defenceless citizens.<br /> He said that online media was being used for the purpose of bringing down defenceless citizens.<br /> <br /> The #Patriotic Front has waged a vicious war against the only media that they don’t control by employing all imaginable tactics including blocking websites and arresting journalists they suspect to be contributors to the online media.<br /> With all access granted to them in the two government dailies and the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation the PF has also been angling to grab the online space that is one of the few outlets for independent views.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> “However concern about the rampant abuse of the social @networks by this I am referring to online publications whereby some people who have turned this important #communication tool into a platform of insults and all sorts of malicious statements against defenceless citizens,” said Katema.<br /> “This is unfortunate and unproductive and it is my hope that a forum like this one provides a fertile platform for finding a solution to this challenge.”<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLngSJ4eem1BmIZCEsvHQFjl3FI50GzjHBPqfHLfpXw9Tz-D2EyJADN0Djb50NhACjZs3EIKiXW6mNYiAVBQk-NQAN6IQz1Coo_wmuxeJEt8-j6jLlK0XxwJtcx6k_wllZxkY81cmLFFI/s1600/dont+fool+pipul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLngSJ4eem1BmIZCEsvHQFjl3FI50GzjHBPqfHLfpXw9Tz-D2EyJADN0Djb50NhACjZs3EIKiXW6mNYiAVBQk-NQAN6IQz1Coo_wmuxeJEt8-j6jLlK0XxwJtcx6k_wllZxkY81cmLFFI/s1600/dont+fool+pipul.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> </div>

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News from Zambia against Online Media

Katema Revives Fight against Online Media The phobia for online media has continued to surface with Information Minister Joseph Katema calling for ways to stifle the influence of the new media. Katem…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Sudan bans building of Churches

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> @Sudan, a country of 38 million citizens (as at 2013), has only known peace for 11years (1972 – 1983) in her 58 years of gaining independence from the United Kingdom and Egypt. Of the 47 years of conflict, two civil wars have taken place and they are responsible for the loss of two and half million lives in a total of 40 years. The cause: religion.<br /> Despite seceding from the #Christian South in 2011, the North has continued in its persecution of Christians and President Omar al-Bashir has not hidden his intention to make Sudan an Islamic state, even if it means ‘atrocious’ persecutions of Christians. Though a strict version of sharia law is in effect, the constitution still recognizes #religious freedom; provided you don’t convert from Islam, meaning there’s a systemic violation of the freedom of religion.<br /> A prominent case in May, 2014, caused international outrage as a Sudanese court sentenced to death Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag death for apostasy (simply put – converting from Islam to Christianity). Meriam, 27, was raised a Christian despite her father being Muslim; and was detained in prison where she was delivered of her second child, a daughter. Her plight shed light on some of the practices of the Sudanese #government; and she was finally able to leave the country, following her release from prison, after negotiations made by the Italian government.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbsioXdLdn75I3hoMv9cASCHPApU0Qmsdtlim4OMSvNH70a9w66MACY4omKYGoQNcoWj2FBKXmjHTBojiyQQdIwtdonhwSK9K4oZJilUsfDuw5APHQSDISStE4e4VLGgGKL5aC8i3WTWi/s1600/empiredatamedia+info.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbsioXdLdn75I3hoMv9cASCHPApU0Qmsdtlim4OMSvNH70a9w66MACY4omKYGoQNcoWj2FBKXmjHTBojiyQQdIwtdonhwSK9K4oZJilUsfDuw5APHQSDISStE4e4VLGgGKL5aC8i3WTWi/s1600/empiredatamedia+info.png" width="200" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /></div>

Sudan bans building of Churches

@Sudan, a country of 38 million citizens (as at 2013), has only known peace for 11years (1972 – 1983) in her 58 years of gaining independence from the United Kingdom and Egypt. Of the 47 years of con…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com

Police in Uganda say they have seized large amounts of explosives during raids on suspected al-Shabab Militants.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> Authorities said the terrorist cell was planning to carry out imminent attacks in the capital Kampala.<br /> Nineteen people have been arrested and are being interrogated about their intentions, a police spokesman said.<br /> <br /> @Uganda has been on high alert since al-Shabab's leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed in a US air strike in Somalia earlier this month.<br /> Last week, the US embassy in Kampala warned of possible revenge attacks against US targets in response to the air strike on 2 September.<br /> On Thuraday, the US lifted its warnings after saying it believed the "immediate threat of an al-Shabab attack has been effectively countered".<br /> More terrorist cells?<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65ksHv0rS9A0feRQr6dGYBhN_9nDD-KCgPNT4RzOVUIX9QbzZDdkCeASbkyLPrSHi9OsmuknSz4HlqTXDZ7om6XRal3u6UQJUa_dUWXHOTaKHeZqKOQ956ACWUEAZKoSJZZaGxpsXL-l9/s1600/empiredatamedia+info.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65ksHv0rS9A0feRQr6dGYBhN_9nDD-KCgPNT4RzOVUIX9QbzZDdkCeASbkyLPrSHi9OsmuknSz4HlqTXDZ7om6XRal3u6UQJUa_dUWXHOTaKHeZqKOQ956ACWUEAZKoSJZZaGxpsXL-l9/s1600/empiredatamedia+info.png" width="200" /></a></div> <br /> But Ugandan Information #Minister Rose Namayanja urged the public to "remain vigilant" as authorities continue investigating the planned attack.<br /> "The operation is still going on," Ms Namayanja said. "We just want to ensure that we exhaust all the leads so that there are no more terrorist cells."<br /> Police said the suspected al-Shabab cell had been planning to carry out attacks in Kampala and other towns over the weekend.<br /> Uganda has been targeted by al-Shabab militants because its troops are part of the AU force in Somalia<br /> "We are interrogating 19 to see what leads we get to help expand the investigation," police spokesman Fred Enanga told reporters.<br /> He said the suspects had been found with "explosive materials related to acts of terror" and their intentions "were very, very clear."<br /> <br /> <br /> The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga says the suspects are believed to be foreigners.<br /> Ugandan troops are part of the African Union force in Somalia, known as Amisom, that is fighting al-Shabab militants.<br /> The government in Kampala said it had provided the US with key intelligence regarding Godane's movements ahead of the US strike.<br /> Al-Shabab has vowed to retaliate for the death of its leader.<br /> The Islamist group, which wants to overthrow the UN-backed government in Somalia, has since named Ahmad Umar as its new leader.<br /> Its fighters were behind twin blasts that killed 76 football fans who were watching the World Cup final in Kampala in July 2010.<br /> At the time, Godane said the attack was retribution for Uganda's deployment of troops as part of the AU force in Somalia.<br /> <br /> Posted by #ettefreeguy<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzv4l6yaEUzUB-sfZA2o7CjI9Bp8kxZCrMjv1gqV6B9MlV_v-KD-NvWho5JYseWJQKp6DpjKhKb1wXfcQn9OdRjVHpKIt3bkz22GiuVc9aAIjh3XuFXWEY9yv0WEpeiOZ1_187avpJ1cAo/s1600/More.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzv4l6yaEUzUB-sfZA2o7CjI9Bp8kxZCrMjv1gqV6B9MlV_v-KD-NvWho5JYseWJQKp6DpjKhKb1wXfcQn9OdRjVHpKIt3bkz22GiuVc9aAIjh3XuFXWEY9yv0WEpeiOZ1_187avpJ1cAo/s1600/More.jpg" /></a></div> </div>

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Police in Uganda say they have seized large amounts of explosives during raids on suspected al-Shabab Militants.

Authorities said the terrorist cell was planning to carry out imminent attacks in the capital Kampala. Nineteen people have been arrested and are being interrogated about their intentions, a police s…

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Learning English with ettefreeguy

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> A #NUMBER OF vs AN #AMOUNT OF                                        </div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFp6Dabp3wSCXDssTPDJZ0SjgWtD-gHxHtCRzwoqU6SMvhlZwFfFRjC2-K_uhllpOsiPSnL4Sgt1KejzbXSLQfa9B3rtFKYHMu3tjgDXDLN3KUy5S2263SZrm4piN0fkv0kaKPpvqIS77/s1600/Best+teacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFp6Dabp3wSCXDssTPDJZ0SjgWtD-gHxHtCRzwoqU6SMvhlZwFfFRjC2-K_uhllpOsiPSnL4Sgt1KejzbXSLQfa9B3rtFKYHMu3tjgDXDLN3KUy5S2263SZrm4piN0fkv0kaKPpvqIS77/s1600/Best+teacher.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">empirepixx<br /> <br /></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> Use A NUMBER OF<br /> with countable nouns.<br /> <br /> Examples:<br /> • I have a number of things to do this morning.<br /> • He has a number of chores to finish.<br /> Use AN AMOUNT OF with uncountable nouns.<br /> Examples:<br /> • She received a large amount of money.<br /> • Fatima measured the amount of sugar she needed for the recipe.<br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHykPsVzq15uEbfzY9sfs7Qxw9u2nYNOQOAl86XdEruH1agJ_wstTX8lIKxFtFBtzKLP-yoUuL0sH4Tq7ajmMfwE3QdEr7Rc3fTutybc_rs2SmCGD3W0y0XT3AYTOk5cXnQMh1vZySDB66/s1600/delete+key.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHykPsVzq15uEbfzY9sfs7Qxw9u2nYNOQOAl86XdEruH1agJ_wstTX8lIKxFtFBtzKLP-yoUuL0sH4Tq7ajmMfwE3QdEr7Rc3fTutybc_rs2SmCGD3W0y0XT3AYTOk5cXnQMh1vZySDB66/s1600/delete+key.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#kissmyjoy</td></tr> </tbody></table> </div>

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Learning English with ettefreeguy

A #NUMBER OF vs AN #AMOUNT OF                                         empirepixx Use A NUMBER OF with countable nouns. Examples: • I have a number of things to do this morning. • He has a number of c…

francisjohnsonofficial@Gmail.com