Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Putin the ‘Only Defender of Christianity’


Syrian President Bashar Assad considers Russia’s Vladimir Putin as the “only defender of Christian civilization one can trust.”


“When I look at the present state of things in the world I realize that Vladimir Putin is the sole defender of Christian civilization one can rely on,” Assad said in an interview with French magazine Valeurs Actuelles.
The Syrian leader also said that he would step down only if asked to by the Syrian people and the Syrian parliament, adding that the issue of his possible resignation had not yet been raised on an international level.

President Muhammadu Buhari reacts to Kano, Yola bomb attacks


President Muhammadu Buhari, has sympathized with the families of the victims of the bomb assault in Kano, on Wednesday night and Yola, on Tuesday. Buhari censured the culprits of the blast at Kano GSM business sector and Yola car park, while calling for expanded vigilance among Nigerians. Speaking on behalf  of the Presidency, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, issued a couple numbered tweets.
President Muhammadu Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari



#PresidentMuhammaduBuhari

ISIS picked the wrong fight as Russia hits 206 ISIS targets in Syria after confirming bomb downed passenger plane over Sinai

On the day Moscow officially confirmed a terrorist attack as the cause of last month’s downing of a passenger plane in Egypt, the Russian military hit over 200 terrorist targets in Syria in 127 sorties.
The escalated Russian operation involved not only warplanes flying from an airfield near Latakia, but also strategic bombers operating from Russian territory.
On Tuesday, Russian warplanes conducted 127 sorties and hit 206 targets, a source in the Russian defense ministry told RT.
Russian strategic bombers such as Tu-22M3s, Tu-95MCs and Tu-160s were previously used for patrol missions as part of Russia’s nuclear deterrence. Their deployment in a conventional armed conflict marks an evolution in Russian military tactics.

Ngozi Okonjo Iweala mourns victims of Yola bomb blast



The former Finance minister took to her Facebook wall to express her sadness over the bomb incident at Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa state which killed 32 people and left over 80 injured yesterday Nov. 17th.

Check out Top 10 Theories About How Biology Creates A Criminal


Some scientists theorize that criminal science or biology  is distinctive, with the inclination to violate the law encoded in the guilty party’s DNA. To say that somebody is “born bad” is a gross exaggeration, yet researchers have proposed that a few individuals are hereditarily at danger of getting to be wrongdoers. See the list bellow.

10 Some People May Be Unable To Reform


Researchers have been studying the anterior cingulate cortex in the brains of prisoners to predict if and how long it will be until they commit another crime. Before being released on parole or probation, 96 male prisoners were given MRI scans in which their impulsive behavior was tested. They watched a screen and were given less than one second to press a button when an “X” appeared but not when a “K” appeared. “X” appeared the majority of the time, so they had to exhibit self-control to stop themselves from pressing the button when “K” appeared.The result was that criminals often pressed the button when “K” appeared, implying that they were more impulsive than the average person. The part of their brain responsible for controlling impulsive behavior may have been deficient. After three years, the study found that criminals with the least amount of activity in their anterior cingulate cortex were more likely to commit a crime during that time. The level of brain activity also correlated to the amount of time before the criminal became a reoffender. Although the researchers found that the activity in this area of the brain correlated with recidivism, they could not determine why this happened. Impulsiveness could be the reason, but the anterior cingulate cortex could also be calculating how likely the prisoners were to make an error when pressing the button. Scientists cautioned against drawing any conclusions from this type of statistical analysis.

9 Some People Could Be Born Criminals


In the late 1960s, the WHO started a project to closely follow about 1,800 children on Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean. Researchers have been using that data to predict whether a child will grow up to be a criminal.Their research showed that children from Mauritius with slower heart rates and reduced skin responses when annoyed by loud tones or challenging questions tended to have criminal records when they got older. Fifteen-year-olds with this pattern tended to have criminal records by age 29. Three-year-olds who displayed the pattern were usually more aggressive than other children five years later. When sets of twins were tested, identical twins showed more similar traits than nonidentical ones. This suggests that genetics played a stronger role than environmental factors because each set of twins was raised in the same household.According to the theory, criminals are insensitive to fear. A loud noise raises the heart rate and puts the body in a state of alert, which is what the skin sensors pick up. But children who were not alarmed also didn’t react to punishment when they misbehaved. In the same way, they didn’t react to distress in other people. The theory is that the pattern builds as they age, resulting in criminal behavior. However, the researchers caution that environment is a significant factor in whether a child becomes a criminal.

8 A Lot Of Crime Was Caused By Lead


Exposure to lead during pregnancy may cause infants to have reduced head sizes, headaches, lower IQs, and aggressive or dysfunctional behavior. It also reduces the gray matter in the brain responsible for activities like impulse control and thinking. Scientists calculated the amounts of lead in the environment for different years and compared that to the rates of violent crime during those years. They concluded that a higher amount of lead corresponded to a rise in violent crime two decades later. Still, correlation does not imply causation, so more research was needed.Researchers tried to determine if the removal of lead from US gasoline in the 1970s could be linked to crime in the 1990s. Gathering lead data from each state, they plotted crime rates in each area. In those states with early or sharp declines in lead, there was a corresponding drop in violent crime 20 years later and vice versa. The lead causation theory has its supporters, with some claiming that 90 percent of the crime rate in the 20th century can be traced to lead. However, others are skeptical, citing a lack of evidence. Supporters argue that there can never be direct evidence because no one is going to purposely poison children with lead.

7 The Warrior Gene


Researchers suggest that some people are hardwired to commit violent crime. After taking blood samples from violent prisoners in Finland, the researchers found that repeat offenders had the genetic variants CDH13 and MAOA. They nicknamed it the “warrior gene.”MAOA metabolizes dopamine. If MAOA activity is decreased, the use of alcohol or drugs might induce a larger dopamine burst and spark aggressive behavior. CDH13 helps the development of neuronal connections in the brain and is an important factor in ADHD. Having both variations supposedly makes someone 13 times more likely to commit a violent crime. MAOA is located on the X chromosome, which could explain why most mass murderers are men. Women have two copies of the gene, so if one carries the variant, another normal gene could offset the effect. However, men have only one copy of the X chromosome, so they suffer the full effects of the variant if they have it.That is not to say that having either variant definitely makes someone a violent criminal. Researcher Jim Fallon found that he had the gene but did not have a history of violence. Environmental factors are also important, and MAOA is associated with higher rates of crime when the individual experienced childhood adversity.

6 Psychopathy May Be Evolutionary


Photo credit: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/ABr

Psychopaths have different biology than normal humans, with some researchers arguing that psychopathy is evolutionary rather than a mental disorder. In tests, people with more psychopathic tendencies were less likely to harm their families. In an evolutionary sense, this meant that psychopaths acted to protect their own gene pool at the expense of others.The theory has many critics, but there are other factors suggesting that psychopathy is evolutionary. One anthropological hypothesis looked at the Kung Bushmen and the Mundurucu villagers. The Kung live in the harsh desert environment of South Africa where working together is essential for the tribe’s collective survival. There, reproductive success is dependent on how well one works with the tribe. Any psychopathic traits would be a hindrance to the survival of one’s genes.The Mundurucu live in the Amazon basin, where women do most of the farming while men compete for social status. It’s a culture where meat can be traded for sex, and reproductive success depends on where a man sits in the social hierarchy. This requires fearlessness, good verbal skills, and a lack of empathy—all traits of a psychopath. In that environment, psychopathy would be an advantage by evolutionary standards. Still, ideas like these do not completely discount the emergence of psychopathy as a mental disorder or a deliberate, behavioral choice. The prevailing theory is still that it is not an adaptive trait.

5 The Criminal Brain As A Legal Defense


The number of criminals using their brain scans to lighten their sentences has skyrocketed in recent years. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of cases in which judges mentioned neuroscientific evidence increased from 112 to 1,500. Researchers derived these numbers from court records. However, many cases were settled out of court and the database was incomplete, so the total number was likely to be even higher. Of course, this may not mean that neuroscience is affecting the outcome of more court cases, just that judges are discussing it more. In one case, a Virginia teacher was caught viewing child pornography and then convicted of child molestation. But the night before he went to jail, a brain tumor was discovered to have been causing his pedophiliac tendencies. Even without tumors, brains scans show that criminals’ brains sometimes do function differently. In one case, a woman murdered her sister, set fire to the corpse, and then attempted to murder her parents. She had her sentence reduced from life to 20 years because there was an abnormality in the region of her brain that regulates impulsivity and aggression. Neuroscience is often used in the courtroom to lighten sentences. But whether blaming criminal behavior on a person’s brain should affect legal outcomes is a matter of fierce debate.

4 Using Brain Implants To Prevent Crime


As in A Clockwork Orange, the idea of creating brain implants to make criminals upstanding members of society has been suggested. After all, we already use implants in our body to modify a number of other things. Some devices can even change our moods. The White House has already funded a $3 billion BRAIN Initiative, $70 million of which went to cranial implant research. Having a cranial implant that prevents crime is moving out of science fiction toward reality.A criminal could opt out of a death sentence by volunteering to have an implant that would control his temper or violent actions. Potentially, even a person’s negative thoughts could be suppressed, although that’s obviously a frightening concept. But if the alternative is death row, some people might be willing to take that step to preserve their lives and the lives of any potential victims.It’s been argued that some criminals are already having their identities altered with drugs that treat their criminal impulses like a mental disease. If medicine is already using brain implants to treat conditions like deafness and Alzheimer’s, why not also treat crime as a disease that can be cured?

3 Fighting Crime With Health And Fitness


A mother drinking or smoking while pregnant can double or triple the odds of her baby becoming a violent offender later in life. Lead exposure may also influence adult behavior. Poor nutrition at age three has been shown to cause more aggressive and antisocial behavior in the teenage years. With so many studies linking a child’s environment to violent crime later in life, some are questioning if we can manipulate biology to prevent it.Scientists are studying the effects of “biological intervention” to combat crime later in life. It doesn’t have to involve medication. Studies have shown that better nutrition, more exercise, and cognitive stimulation from ages three to five reduces crime at age 23 by 35 percent. When nurses visit poor mothers and provide advice to reduce smoking and alcohol consumption, juvenile delinquency is cut in half 15 years later.Adults can be affected by nutrition, too. Studies in England and the Netherlands showed that supplementing the diets of young prisoners with omega-3, which is critical for proper brain structure and function, has reduced the incidence of serious crimes by 35 percent. Studies like these suggest that reducing the likelihood of a child developing into an adult criminal may be as easy as providing good nutrition and avoiding toxins.

2 A Matter Of The Heart


Studies have shown that teens with a low resting heart rate may be at risk of becoming violent offenders when they become adults. In Sweden, military service was mandatory until 2009. Among other tests, every young man had his heart rate measured when he was about 18. Researchers analyzed this data and divided the men into five groups based on their heart rate.Surprisingly, those men with resting heart rates of no more than 60 beats per minute were 39 percent more likely to be convicted of a violent crime over the next few decades than the men with the highest heart rates of 83 or more beats per minute. Those violent crimes included murder, assault, and arson. The group with the lowest resting heart rates was also 25 percent more likely to commit nonviolent crimes like drug use and 39 percent more likely to be injured by an assault or in an accident.To explain this, researchers have suggested that a person with a low resting heart rate may have unusually low levels of psychological arousal, meaning that they feel less awake and alert. This may lead them to seek stimulating experiences like risky behaviors and crime. It may also mean that they have less of a reaction to mildly stressful experiences like getting your heart rate checked, which would mean that they are more fearless and prone to taking risks.



1 It’s Not All Genetic1-ted-bundy


Photo credit: State Archives of Florida

While a person’s biology may influence whether he becomes a criminal, it’s not all about a person’s genes. As we mentioned earlier, scientist Jim Fallon was researching the minds of serial killers and psychopaths when he discovered that his brain scan was like that of a psychopathic serial killer. Assuming Fallon wasn’t secretly murdering dozens of people, this type of finding suggests that genetic factors may only predispose a person to violence and psychopathic tendencies. When he realized that he had the mind of a killer, Fallon continued the experiment to check for other factors that are consistent with criminal behavior. His hypothesis was that killers often experience abuse or violence in their childhoods. For example, Ted Bundy was raised by his grandparents and originally thought that his mother was his sister. Once the truth was revealed, his cousin tormented him with that fact. His grandfather was also prone to violence.However, Fallon had grown up in a loving, caring household, which he thinks made all the difference. He’s a prime example of how neither biology nor environmental factors can solely determine a person’s fate.


Nathan keeps a Japan blog where he writes about the sights, expat life, and finds Japanese culture in everyday items. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.



#Science

Samson Siasia on his kneels, Begs Kidnappers To Free His Mother

Under-23 football team coach on Tuesday appealed to kidnappers who seized his mother to release her, as he tries to secure the side’s qualification for next year’s Olympics. Samson Siasia said his 72-year-old mother Ogere was abducted on Monday in the village of Odoni, in southern Bayelsa state, by three men on a motorbike.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Buhari Has Shown Nigeria Can Join ‘Big League’ — Minister


The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said on Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari has shown that Nigeria had the capacity to join the “big league” of nations.
Mr. Mohammed said this in Abuja in the course of his interaction with the directors and heads of units in the ministry.
He said the president had leveraged his legendary personality, discipline, transparency, integrity, belief in the rule of law, and patriotism to put the country on the global map.
“Since assuming office, President Buhari, the driver of change, has shown and demonstrated that Nigeria can join the big league.

Hate Messages: Lagos To Place Mosques, Churches Under Watch


The Lagos State Government says it will start to place mosques and churches in the state under watch as from 2016 to combat series of hate preaching that have been going on in the religious houses.
The government decried rising waves of hate preaching among religious leaders in the state, an act, it said if not curbed on time could degenerate into crisis, which government wanted to prevent at all cost.
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef at a meeting with members of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Tuesday said government is being forced to place these religious houses under watch because of the devastating effect of hate preaching.

PDP: APC Flooding Kogi With ‘Corrupt Money’


The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government is flooding Kogi state, where a governorship election is scheduled to take place on Saturday, with corrupt money to buy the people’s mandate.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Olisa Metuh, spokesman of the PDP, who had earlier alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the election in favour of the APC candidate, said the attempt by the ruling party to buy votes in the Kogi election would set the country backwards.

Jonathan Tried In Agriculture But People Still Supplied Sands As Fertilizers, Says Ogbeh.


Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, has commended the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for its achievements in agriculture but said corruption was still rampant.
He was speaking on Tuesday in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state, where President Muhammadu Buhari officially launched the N40 billion Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and the commencement of the dry season farming organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for rice farmers across the country.
Ogbeh commended his predecessor, Akinwunmi Adesina, for the innovations he introduced into the nation’s agricultural system.

NNPC: Marketers Responsible For Fuel Scarcity


The Minister of State for Petroleum and the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu Tuesday said that the Major Oil Marketers were responsible for the fuel scarcity all over the country.
Kachikwu stated this in Abuja when he took an impromptu tour round the federal capital city to access the fuel situation.

Photos: Buhari launches dry season rice and wheat farming in Kebbi


President Buhari launched the Dry Season Rice and Wheat Farming in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State today November 17th. Speaking at the launch, Buhari said "We missed the way when we threw away farming implements because of oil. Now is time to return to the farms, and it is priority for u". Buhari visited the Emir of Gwandu Alhaji Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar at his palace. More pics after the jump.

ISIL Financed by 40 Countries, Including G20 Member States - Putin

Putin said at the G20 summit that Russia has presented examples of terrorism financing by individual businessmen from 40 countries, including from member states of the G20.

"I provided examples related to our data on the financing of Islamic State units by natural persons in various countries. The financing comes from 40 countries, as we established, including some G20 members," Putin told reporters following the summit.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Why France ?

First I wish to express my condolences to the families of all the victims of the terror attacks last week. No matter the reason for the attacks, there will always be innocent victims; those should be remembered.
What I write below are some stray thoughts on a question that has been bugging me since I heard the news regarding the attacks in Paris. Maybe I am completely off the mark here yet I keep wondering: Why all these attacks took place in France?

PHOTO: Woman Beats 3 Year Old Niece To Coma For Defecating In Lagos


The police in Lagos have arrested a housewife, Grace Monday, for allegedly torturing her three-year-old niece, Miracle Peter, to a coma. PUNCH Metro learnt that Monday allegedly flogged the victim for several hours at their home in the Ireodun, Agege area of Lagos State and subsequently slammed her head against a wall causing the toddler to faint.

"We Will Set Nigeria Embassy In Uk Ablaze If Buhari Did Not Shut It Down In 72hrs" - Group

A political party registered in the UK, The Commonwealth Liberation Party. which is currently spearheading an anti-deportation movement in the UK, has threatened to set ablaze the Nigerian Embassy in London, should President Muhammadu Buhari not order it shut within 72 hours.
The head of the Party, Prof. Alexia Thomas described the crisis rocking the embassy.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

I'd Have Hit Buhari If No Minister Emerged From South East – Father Mbaka


Outspoken Enugu-based pastor and organizer of Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has prompted Nigerians against heaping pointless fault on President Muhammadu Buhari.


Buhari, as per the Catholic priest, is not the reason for the grieved condition of the country. Father Mbaka gave this charge in Enugu on Saturday in a sermon at his week after week Adoration Ministry, NAN reports.


He similarly commended President Muhammadu Buhari for selecting ministers from the southeast zone and allotting them with great portfolios. The cleric likewise cautioned those unsettling for the Republic of Biafra to retreat to their business as the dissent could prompt their passing.




He assailed those leaders that were behind the fomentation and protests, saying they should use their kids for the struggle. He said that the five states in the zone had a minister each as endorsed by the Nigerian constitution.



He censured Igbo leaders for not living up to the desire of the general population in the zone, including that past governors, National Assembly individuals fizzled woefully in releasing their mandates.


Mbaka approached the new Minister of Labor and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, to utilize his office to employ youths in the zone, including that it would stop what he called another Boko Haram in the South East if not curtailed.


He applauded Buhari’s war against corruption, saying it had enthroned due process and rational sanity in governance.




#FatherMbaka

REMITA: System Specs Writes Buhari, Says Contract Was Approved Under Jonathan .


System Specs, the company that owns Remita, the e- payment and e-collection software used by the federal government to implement payments into the Treasury Single Account (TSA), has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the controversy surrounding the 1% processing fee charged on inflow into the TSA.


Now we know what those evil Russkies are plotting!

U.S. Carrier Strike Groups Locations Map – Nov. 13, 2015


Latin America SITREP November 14th, 2015 by Jack

Increasingly, left-wing commentators are writing pieces that are not only critical of the ‘Pink Tide’, but that point to its reversal. Personally, I think we should remember that the Right has not won an election against a Left incumbent this century. Elections in Argentina (later this month) and Venezuela (early next month) may change that.
Contents:
Upcoming Elections: Venezuela Mid-term, Second Round Argentina
Election Results: Belize
News: El Salvador: FMLN National Congress and Ecuador: Correa v Opposition
Analysis: The defeat of the (US’s) FTAA and the emergence of the (Cuba-Venezuela) ALBA-TCP
Elections/News:

Looking at the fever chart

by Dagmar Henn

What is the state of this republic? In former times, the German left observed every development critically; listening to them you could feel the country’s pulse and had a distinct view on bourgeois democracy. Meanwhile they seem to have lost that ability and are satisfied, as long as their headlined sound nice.

Sometimes you need to abstract from the mere content and scrutinize the form of an event to understand the objectives behind it or to conclude what it stands for. Something that seems to be reasonable at first view can in fact mean something completely different.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Baltimore City School teacher charged with rape of teen


A Baltimore City School teacher has been charged with second-degree rape, after investigators say he had sex with a 15-year-old girl in his Parkville home.
Police responded to an area hospital for a sex offense report on the afternoon of November 10. The victim was examined at the hospital and interviewed by detectives.

Child trafficking syndicate arrested in Delta by SARS

Suspected child traffickers recently arrested by the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) at the Delta State police command said they engage in the business to assist pregnant girls including married couples who don’t have children.

SARS rescued five children suspected to have been sold by members of the group who operate within Delta, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa-Ibom and Rivers state.
The suspects said:

NDLEA Uncovers Drug Cartel In Enugu Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday said it has uncovered a suspected drug trafficking cartel at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu.

This is contained in a statement issued by the agency’s spokesperson in Lagos, Mr Mitchel Ofoyeju, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to the statement, two officers of the agency, Daniel Goska and Ndubuisi Ughor, who are indicted and currently at large, have been summarily dismissed and declared wanted.