Barack Obama's gay agenda and why African countries must resist his 'Judas gift'.....

Sunday Opinion

By Elias Sowemimo, MD, PhD

Recently, Nigeria's leader, Goodluck Jonathan signed into law a bill that criminalizes homosexual relationships, arguing that the law is in line with the country's religious and cultural beliefs.

Currently, majority of African countries have laws that ban homosexual practices outright and contrary to Western propaganda, those laws actual predate adjacent colonial-era laws.

There was a strong reaction, as expected from the West, with the Obama administration condemning the law and stating that it further "erodes the fundamental human rights" of homosexuals in Africa's most populous nation.

The Nigerian government however could not be bothered, more-so since a good 98% of Nigerians, regardless of ethnic or religious differences, are fully in support of the law as they see a continuing assault on the nation's traditional and cultural values from the West.

It is baffling, according to most Nigerians and indeed Africans across the socio-economic spectrum, that a U.S. administration led by a supposed "son of the continent" would actually be the architect of this unfortunate assault on the continent's traditional, cultural and religious institutions and even worse still, its over-loaded healthcare system.

Without even delving into the moral aspect of homosexuality, the lifestyle in itself is a rather destructive one. 

Historical data speaks to this fact and even today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC (in Barack Obama's own backyard), released a 2010 analysis of heavily affected populations showing "men who have sex with men," or MSM, account for a large majority of new HIV infections, much more so than even infection drug users, or IDUs. 

"The CDC estimates of new HIV infections in 2010 show homosexual men have a much higher incidence of HIV infection than other groups, including injection drug users, or IDUs In fact, “CDC estimates that MSM represent approximated 4 percent of the male population in the United States, but male-to-male sex accounted for more than three-fourths (78 percent) of new HIV infections among men and nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of all new infections in 2010.” An estimated 1.1 million Americans are currently infected with HIV, and at least one quarter of those are said to be unaware of their infection. While some people experience symptoms early, others go years without experiencing any signs."

 Furthermore, according to the same CDC in the United States, 95% of HIV cases among boys and young men has been linked to homosexual sex. With data like this, one can't but wonder what exactly the agenda of the West is in spreading this destructive lifestyle to a continent (Africa) already decimated with high rates of HIV infection (through questionable sources).

While no one is at all advocating violence against homosexuals in any way, the lifestyle is one that is not compatible with the values, customs and traditions of Africans and our leaders MUST NEVER cave in to clandestine pressure from the United States or its Western allies, on this matter. It is in fact a matter of life and death for Africa and its people.

If Barack Obama was truly concerned about human rights, he would be equally concerned about the persecution of Mormons in the United States who choose to have more than one wife as part of their religion. Even more hypocritical is the fact that the same Western nations that speak so much about fundamental human rights and religious freedoms would never accede to the rights of a Muslim to have more than one wife on their soil, even though Islam allows a Muslim man the freedom to have up to four wives.

The truth is that this is not and has never been about human rights. Homosexuality is a life style choice and in most cultures, it is viewed as a form of deviant sexual behaviour and not seen as a lifestyle with any enduring value in the long run to society, more-so regarding the sustainability of the latter from a procreative stand-point.

Just recently as well, the Church of England (the Anglican Communion) perhaps as a result of the uncompromising pressure from its powerful Nigerian affiliate, has advised against the blessing of homosexual marriages. Perhaps, Barack Obama and Susan Rice (who should be arrested if and when she ever makes the mistake of stepping on Nigerian soil) might want to register their complaint to the Church of England.

The reality is that a reverberating backlash has ensued in the wake of the aggressive nature of the homosexual agenda and we are only just seeing a tip of the ice-berg. Nigeria has led the way on the African continent and other African countries must follow as the continent will crumble under the weight of a virulent assault on its medical and socio-cultural "infrastructure".

For one thing, in addition to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni acceding to the constitutional wishes of the Ugandan people, Africa must adopt a "stay away" period and shun the current U.S. administration until it respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its member states.

It has become quite clear that this son (Barack Obama) of a Kenyan intellectual is no friend of Africa.

Friday "Love Jones"

Anita Baker - Same Ole Love




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Anita Baker Rapture (1986)

Forest Whitaker and Lee Daniels

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An illogical paradox: "Conservative" Jenna Jameson says "it takes brains" to be a successful adult star.....

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As Jonathan's witch-hunt continues, outspoken critic Femi Fani-Kayode ordered to be re-arraigned for money laundering

Femi Fani-Kayode

CC Global News

LAGOS, NIGERIA - A Federal High Court on Monday, ordered the re-arraignment of former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, facing charges of money laundering.

Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, who was recently mired in controversy surrounding her physical assault on a clerical officer attached to her office, gave the order while ruling on an application of objection filed by defense counsel for the accused, Femi Fani-Kayode. 

The prosecutor, Mr Festus Keyamo, on Jan. 27, filed an amended 40-count charge bothering on money laundering against Fani-Kayode and urged the court to order him take his plea. 

Fani-Kayode was first arraigned December 2008, on a 47-count charge of money laundering and he had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

He was then granted bail, at the time.

The prosecutor told the court that the offence contravened the provisions of sections 15(1) (a) (b) (c) (d) and 15 (2) (a) (b) of the Money Laundering (prohibition) Act, 2004.

But Adedipe objected to the amended charge preferred against his client.

He argued that the amended charge was invalid as it did not disclose the identity of the source from whom the accused allegedly obtained the money.

He further submitted that his client was therefore not in a position to take his plea in the matter and described the charge as “ incompetent”.

Ruling on the application on Monday, Ofili-Ajumogobia ordered the accused to take his plea.

She held that it was an abject misconception on the part of the defense counsel to have raised the objection in the first place.

"The charge against the accused is valid and hereby sustained. The objection raised by the defense counsel lacks merit and should not have been raised in the first place. The accused is hereby directed to plead to the charge.”

The judge also agreed with the Prosecution’s submission that the non disclosure of the identity of the giver or receiver of the money was immaterial and could not affect the validity of the charge.

She, therefore, adjourned the case to March 5 to enable the prosecutor re-arraign the accused on the charge of money laundering. 

Thus, as it has now become common place with the Jonathan administration, the current Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, continues in that same role despite allegations and evidence of high level corruption (including egregious Code of Conduct violations) while the president continues his ill-advised witch-hunt of political opponents.  

Holder’s same-sex marriage move stirs up separation of powers debate

Attorney General Eric Holder

By Scott Bomboy

Attorney General Eric Holder is making sweeping changes about how the federal government extends rights to legally married same-sex couples, in areas where the Justice Department has jurisdiction. The move should add more fuel to the debate over the roles of the executive, Congress and the states in deciding social issues.

The official policy statement will come from Holder on Monday, but news of it leaked out on Saturday before Holder made a public speech in Manhattan on Saturday night.

Holder, in the latest series of steps promised by the Obama administration, will issue a Justice Department policy memo. The directive will say that same-sex couples, who are legally married under the laws of a state that recognizes such unions, should receive equal benefits and treatment in areas like federal lawsuits and the U.S. court system, as well as in federal prisons.

“This means that, in every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States — they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law,” Holder said at the Human Rights Campaign’s Greater New York Gala at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

The move comes almost three years after the Justice Department said it wouldn’t defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court and about seven months after the Supreme Court said a key part of DOMAwas unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment, in the United States v. Windsor case.

Two groups opposed the move, issuing statements questioning the Justice Department’s policy directive as infringing on states’ rights or overstepping the Executive’s constitutional authority.

“This is just the latest in a series of moves by the Obama administration, and in particular the Department of Justice, to undermine the authority and sovereignty of the states to make their own determinations regulating the institution of marriage,” said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said in the statement.  “The American public needs to realize how egregious and how dangerous these usurpations are and how far-reaching the implications can be. The changes being proposed here . . . serve as a potent reminder of why it is simply a lie to say that redefining marriage doesn’t affect everyone in society.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the Justice Department’s move was a stretch into territory not yet settled by the Supreme Court.

“While the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Windsor case last summer required the federal government to recognize such unions in states which also recognize them, the Court was conspicuously silent on the status of such couples when they reside in a state which considers them unmarried,” Perkins said. He wants the issue settled in Congress and pointed to proposed legislation that would force the federal government to defer to the states when it comes to treating same-sex couples married in another state.

Holder cast the decision as the latest step in the nation’s evolving struggle with Civil Rights.

“The Justice Department’s role in confronting discrimination must be as aggressive today as it was in Robert Kennedy’s time,” Holder said on Saturday. “As Attorney General, I will not let this department be simply a bystander during this important moment in history.”

Currently, same-sex marriages are legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia, while 33 states don’t recognize same-sex marriages through various legal or statutory means.

Holder’s move has already agitated opponents who believe President Obama is legislating from the White House by using executive orders and Justice Department memos to make policy decisions that should fall to Congress, or the courts.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also is supporting a possible Obama executive order that would ban workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender federal contractors. The Senate has passed a bill on the matter that has been stalled in the House.

Every president since George Washington has issued executive orders, with the assumed authority under Article II of the Constitution, based on the president’s role as the chief executive and commander in chief, and his powers to make sure laws are “faithfully executed.” (Holder’s directive, while not an executive order, will have a similar policy effect.)

This power is limited, however. In 1952, the Supreme Court overturned an order to nationalize steel mills during the Korean War. “The President’s power to see that laws are faithfully executed refutes the idea that he is to be a lawmaker,” said Justice Hugo Black.

In the Windsor decision about DOMA, Justice Anthony Kennedy did confirm in the Court’s majority opinion that “by history and tradition the definition and regulation of marriage has been treated as being within the authority and realm of the separate States.”

But Kennedy said since DOMA affected more than 1,000 federal statutes by limiting federal benefits eligibility to opposite-sex couples, it violated the rights same-sex couples already had in states where they were legally married, by forcing them to live as “unmarried” for federal purposes.

Since the June 2013 DOMA decision, the Obama administration moved to extend equal work benefits and tax considerations to same-sex couples who are federal employees.

Holder is also involved in a controversy in Utah over a U.S. district judge’s ruling in December that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court later stayed that decision pending appeal, and Holder said he would ensure that about 1,300 same-sex Utah couples married in a 17-day period between judicial rulings would receive federal benefits.

Scott Bomboy is the editor-in-chief of the National Constitution Center.

John Thompson is Microsoft's new Chairman

CC Insight

Former CEO of data security company Symantec Inc. and current CEO of Virtual Instruments John Thompson, is to replace Bill Gates as the new Chairman of the Redmond, Washington based software giant.

Here (below) is an insight into the search process he (Thompson) oversaw that ultimately led to the selection of the new CEO, Satya Nadella.

Niger Republic calls on U.S. and the West to "deal with what they created....."

CC Global News

Niger Republic on Wednesday called for Western intervention to eradicate a growing threat from Islamist fighters who have established bases in southern Libya since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi.

"The powers who intervened to overthrow Colonel Gaddaffi -- after which Libya became the main sanctuary for terrorists -- need to provide an after-sales service," Niger's Interior Minister Massoudou Hassoumi stressed to reporters.

"It would be totally legitimate for France and the United States to intervene to eradicate the terrorist threat in the south of Libya," Hassoumi added during a visit to Paris.

Niger, an impoverished but mineral-rich former French colony which adjoins southern Libya, has had to contend with numerous Islamist attacks and kidnappings on its own soil, some of which have threatened the security of its uranium production.

Hassoumi said US intelligence chief James Clapper had been right to highlight, in an annual report published in December, the extent to which sub-Saharan Africa had become a "hothouse" for extremists, thanks to the Western-led overthrow of Gaddaffi. 

"More precisely, he should have said that the south of Libya is now an incubator for terrorist groups," Hassoumi added.

"I think awareness of the threat posed by southern Libya is quite strong and an intervention is within the bounds of the possible."

The US intelligence assessment presented by Clapper warned that a power vacuum in Libya, where the government is struggling to counter well-armed militias, was fuelling extremist groups across the region, posing an "acute" terror threat that neighbouring countries lack the capacity, and sometimes the will, to counter.

Gaddaffi, who had ruled Libya as a dictatorship from 1969, was toppled by a popular uprising that was backed up by Western military action.

Protect R&D tax breaks to help stimulate the economy

Credits: RandDTax

By The Editor-in-Chief

There is one thing that has always set the American economy apart; it is the spirit of innovation that drives the American entrepreneur across all verticals to dream big, think hard and take calculated risks, with one singular purpose in mind - change the way things have always been done!

It is however important to understand that the main reason why the innovative spirit has always been alive and well in the United States, is due to the environment that has fostered, encouraged and engendered that spirit.

Over the years, perhaps due to the culture of greed and unbecoming avarice that permeated Corporate America, governmental regulations have become necessary, with the objective of not only protecting the American consumer, but also potentially preserving the integrity of the capitalist system.

My motive for writing this piece is centered in the belief that the bad behavior of corporate executives over the years has projected the wrong image (of Corporate America) with most Americans blaming the recent culture of careless risk-taking and greed, for the economic collapse of 2008.

While there is the push by most state governments and perhaps the federal government to find a way to tax corporations more, as they (the former) seek to balance their budget(s), they are however losing sight of one thing - the path towards real economic recovery and increase in jobs (particularly in the private sector) is through formulation and passing of initiatives, that promote growth, through innovation.

One of the surest ways to promote growth through innovation is in the area of Research & Development (R&D) tax credits.

Created by the U.S. Congress in 1981, the R&D credit has always been supported by the largest group for businesses in the United States - the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well as business and industry watchers.

Recently though, critics of the R&D credit have been campaigning against it (and losing, thankfully), calling the tax credit a costly corporate hand-out that has done little to encourage more hiring and investment.

What opponents of the R&D credit however fail to mention is that it remains one of the surest ways to not only help manufacturers achieve cost and efficiency savings, but also help stimulate the economy, through more hiring and increased investment.

At a time when unemployment in the technology sector remains rather low (at less than 3% compared to the general unemployment rate of 8%), removing an avenue for increased investment and improved efficiency would indeed be fool-hardy.

One can only hope that the pervading anti-corporate sentiment does not becloud sound judgment on the part of our elected officials.

Prophet predicts World Cup semi-final berth for Nigeria's Super Eagles.... among other prophecies for 2014

Super Eagles for semi-finals of World Cup?

By Farai Sevenzo

A new year is upon us and I for one wonder what the fuss is all about - why the fireworks, the endless parties, the resolutions, the yearning to know the future - when in reality the new year for each and everyone should be the day our mothers gave birth to us. 

But let us run with the herd and pretend there is a new year to celebrate and that making it into 2014 is worthy of raising a glass and that being alive at the beginning of January is somehow worthier of notice than being dead in December. 

And it is a time to look ahead and speculate about the immediate future of this, our continent.

Increasingly, this has become an impossible task - for who could have known that before December was over South Sudan and her precarious peace would have unravelled and the prospect of another war loom large over the long-suffering South Sudanese?

Or that more than 100 people would die in the Democratic Republic of Congo as followers of evangelical Christian pastor Joseph Mukungubila attacked state institutions with gunfire on the second last day of 2013?

Pastor Mukungubila is known as the "prophet of the eternal" and he issued a press statement on his Facebook and Twitter accounts from "the office of the prophet" saying his followers had spontaneously rebelled against soldiers who had attacked his home.

And perhaps it is to these so-called prophets, the seers said to be blessed by holy visions that we should turn in predicting what this year has in store for us all.

Not only do these men say they can predict our uncertain future, they are also credited with performing astounding miracles.

Prophets are everywhere you look in most African countries, ministering to the poor, the needy and the rich.

In Zimbabwe, Uebert Angel, a young charismatic prophet, arrives to preach to his flock by helicopter and tells them that God wants them to be rich, as rich as he is.

In Lagos, Nigeria, TB Joshua receives men and women of influence and presidents of different lands.

In Ghana, for these holy men are everywhere, Victor Kusi Boateng replenishes the spiritual needs of other prophets.

It would be foolish for anyone to cast aspersions on the acts of the divinely gifted, these miracle workers, these gardeners of the desert.

But seeing as so many of Africa's urban populations are filling the churches and the prayer halls in search of signs and miracles and salvation, I thought it wise to spend some time surfing the web in search of 2014 predictions for you from those in the know.

For the World Cup, no prophet goes out on a limb to hand the trophy to Africa, although one sees Nigeria's Super Eagles making it to the semi-finals.

Another man of vision informs us that African politicians who depend on corruption for their wealth will fall by the wayside in 2014.

It seems, though, that a principal talent a prophet needs is the ability to foretell a leader's death, or to warn of some kind of attack or natural disaster before it occurs - but without giving us the specifics.

So it is possible we may hear a prophecy that a long-serving African leader will leave us in this 14th year of the new century and we, believing our prophets, will cast our roving eyes around to Eritrea, Zimbabwe or Cameroon and wonder where the prophet really wanted us to look.

We will watch the explosions in Somalia and the kidnappings in Libya or the murders in northern Nigeria and Mali and understand that the prophets have been telling us for some time that terrorism in Africa has been strengthening its grip and our governments must remain alert.

And what of the fate of all Africans all over the world? Despite the Bible and a love of scriptures, the world at large will watch us die in leaking boats in the Mediterranean or killed while crossing deserts as we demonstrate for the right to stay in places like Israel and Saudi Arabia where we are not wanted.

One thing you can be sure of is that 2014 will come and go of its own accord regardless of the prophecies - and it may well be more of the same but not necessarily in that order.