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Saturday, December 7, 2013

U.S war veteran released by North Korea

North Korea has deported a United States veteran of the Korean War who had been detained in the country since October.
State news agency KCNA said Merrill Newman was expelled on “humanitarian grounds” after confessing to “crimes” in the 1950-53 war and “apologizing.”
BBC reports that Mr. Newman, 85, had been held on charges of “hostile acts” against the North, while visiting as a tourist.
The U.S State Department has welcomed the decision to free Mr. Newman, who has now arrived in Beijing.
“We are pleased that Mr. Merrill Newman has been allowed to depart the DPRK (North Korea) and re-join his family. We welcome the DPRK’s decision to release him,” said Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman.
“I’m very glad to be on my way home,” Mr. Newman told Japanese reporters after he arrived in the Chinese capital, Reuters news agency said.
“And I appreciate the tolerance the DPRK government has given to me to be on my way. I feel good, I feel good. I want to go home to see my wife.”
Last week, KCNA said Mr. Newman had ordered the deaths of North Korean soldiers and civilians in the Korean War.
Although Mr. Newman did serve during the Korean War, his family said he is the victim of mistaken identity.

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Ibori’s UK lawyer questioned over alleged police bribery

Alleged to have hired private eyes to buy information from London Police
One of the counsels to Chief James Ibori, the jailed former governor of Delta State, has been arrested in London for allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice in the money-laundering case that got the politician sent to prison.
Ian Timlin, a former litigation partner at City Law Firm Speechly Bircham, was held by Met anti-corruption detectives investigating the alleged bribery of police officers. The senior lawyer was arrested at his home in Kent on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt a police officer, perverting the course of justice and money-laundering offences concerning Ibori.
The former governor was jailed last year for embezzlement after admitting stealing almost £50m, although the true amount may have been many times greater.
The Independent of London reported that during a long-running Scotland Yard investigation into his business affairs, Mr Ibori hired the law firm, Speechly Bircham, which specialises in tax advice for non-domiciled people living in the UK. Mr Timlin, who until 2010 was a partner at Speechly Bircham, then hired RISC Management, a controversial private detective agency embroiled in the scandal that erupted after the murder of the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.
Leaked documents, according to the newspaper, suggest RISC, run by former Met Police officers, gained inside information into the ongoing investigation of Ibori and that the agency paid serving detectives £20,000 for intelligence that helped the convict’s defence lawyers. One £5,000 payment was allegedly made to a source for information relating to “forthcoming interviewing strategy to be deployed by police”.
Mr Timlin was arrested in April and it is understood police have retrieved internal documents from the law firm. Keith Hunter, the boss of RISC Management, has also been arrested as part of the investigation, which was triggered in May 2012 when newspapers revealed the Met had done nothing since a whistleblower passed police leaked documents revealing the alleged payments to officers many months before.
Like all current investigations into damaging allegations of police corruption, the long-running inquiry has inched its way tortuously forward, which prevents the media from reporting the full details. Both Mr Hunter and Mr Timlin deny the allegations and are on bail.
Mr Timlin qualified as a solicitor in 1991 and was a partner for 15 years in a number of London law firms before he left Speechly Bircham in 2010. He is now legal director of the Long Port Group, a property development company in the tax haven of Guernsey, and has been involved in the construction of a sports resort in Brazil.
RISC, which is also used by law firm Mischon de Reya, has links to Russian oligarchs in London. It was first established as ISC Global in October 2000 by a lawyer called Stephen Curtis. He died in a helicopter accident in 2004, a crash that his family claimed was highly suspicious.
In 2006, it emerged the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko visited RISC’s central London offices shortly before he died of polonium poisoning, and traces of the radioactive substance were found at the premises.
A spokesperson for Speechly Bircham said: “Given an arrest was made some months ago and there has since been no charge, it would be inappropriate for us to comment. Suffice to say that we have assisted the police with their enquiries.”
Mr Hunter said: “RISC management does not need to pay serving police officers for confidential information as we pride ourselves on our ability to provide positive solutions and accurate information legitimately.” Mr Timlin and the Long Port Group did not respond to requests for comment.
At Ibori’s sentencing, prosecutor Sasha Wass said: “From the moment he was elected he set about enriching himself at the expense of some of the poorest people in the world.” She told the court he was “effectively a thief in government house.”

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When cometh our own Mandela


In this age and time, I cannot think of any other person, from any part of the world, white or black, who has as much name recognition as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. He is my hero. He is known, cherished and recognised the world over. No Head of State or Government visits South Africa without seeking audience with the humanist.

The words that he uttered at different times continue to ring in my memory. I cannot afford to put them away. At his famous trial in 1962, he defined where he stood in the ideological debate. He told humanity what life meant to him and why he had decided to fight for egalitarianism. His words: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
At the time, it appeared far-fetched that he could one day become the President of a multi-racial South Africa. Yet, he committed (nay, condemned) himself to fighting for a free and just society. He pledged solemnly to stand by the ordinary people; he was determined to live only in a free environment. For being so steadfast, Mandela was to spend the next 27 years of his life in Jail. The next time he would breathe free air was in 1990. He was 71.
From that point, he began to receive the reward for taking the side of the people in their just struggle against oppression. He was the only one found worthy of steering the ship of the delicate new state. He handled the negotiations and only reluctantly and humbly accepted to assume office as president.
When called upon to take up the mantle of leadership, he defined his stand on the most important issues of the time, once again. He said: “Today, all of us do, by our presence here, and by our celebrations in other parts of our country and the world, confer glory and hope to newborn liberty. Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud. Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity’s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all. All this we owe both to ourselves and to the peoples of the world who are so well represented here today.”
As soon as he was convinced that the ship of state was relatively stable on the high sea, he opted to decline nomination for a second term. He was in office from 1994 to 1995.Ironically, the period during which Mandela ruled, Nigeria got the winner of the freest and fairest election in her history, the late Bashorun Moshood Abiola, was arrested. He was still in power when Abiola was killed in detention.
He was in charge, laying the foundation for a new South Africa throughout the Abacha reign. Mandela was in charge of his country when General Abdulsalami Abubakar took charge of Nigeria. As South Africa progressed, Nigeria declined. Economically, politically, socially, the gap between the two countries widened. The whole world today salutes Mandela.
Why am I writing about Mandela today? It is neither his birthday, nor is it the anniversary of his assumption of power. It is however, the anniversary of his release from power on February 11, 1990. That date falls within the week.
But, I am not really writing to commemorate his release. I was led into pouring out my heart on Mandela to call attention to the opportunities that we have missed. So far, we have never had a statesman in power in our country. The person who had the best opportunity to replicate the Mandela persona in Nigeria is General Olusegun Obasanjo. He achieved some form of international recognition when he handed power to civilians in 1979. Promptly, he was brought on board the Eminent Persons Group set up by the Commonwealth of Nations to facilitate peaceful end to apartheid. He became (or was thought) the conscience of the nation when the military toppled the Shagari regime. At intervals, Obasanjo sought to whip the military men to line.
But, he is not Mandela. He could not lace the shoes of Mandela. Whereas Mandela voluntarily declined nomination for a second term, Obasanjo would do anything to subvert the constitution of his country to gain access to power a third time.
It is time to elect our leaders at different levels again. Agreed, there is no Mandela here. But, we can insist that men be judged by how close they come to the legendary African hero, Mandela.
This column was orginally published in 2011. It is today a tribute to the memory of the man that President Jacob Zuma as described as |the greatest son of South Africa”. Adieu Madiba.

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Monday, December 2, 2013

10 Secrets A Flight Attendant Will Never Tell You



You probably sense there’s some hidden bureaucracy happening on an airplane — that just a few well-kept secrets stand between you and a much better in-flight experience. You’re right! Here’s what your flight attendant won’t tell you.


They throw out the extra wine
The plane isn’t allowed to have opened, unfinished bottles of wine when they land, so they pour out all extra wine. If you mention you know this, it could be hard for your attendant to deny you a couple extra free glasses.


They delay dinner on purpose

If you’re asleep, your flight attendant is supposed to leave you alone and that means less workFor this reason, the crew will often delay dinner as long as possible on night flights, so that half the plane is asleep and they don’t have to serve that half.


You can have first class’s leftovers

After everyone in first class has been served their meal, a flight attendant could technically give you one of those sought-after leftover meals. It’s worth asking.


Nice clothes can get you to first class
You actually can be upgraded for free to business or first class once the cabin doors have been closed. But here’s a secret: the crew isn’t going to put a slob in stained sweatpants up there, so dressing nice could be your ticket to first class service at economy prices.


They’re not on the clock until the doors are closed
If the crew doesn’t seem to care about you until the doors are closed, that’s because they’re not being paid to. They don’t make a dollar until those doors are shut which is also why they rush you to put your bags away and sit down.




They’re the law

They may look unassuming in their pencil skirts and cardigans, but it’s against the law to disobey crew members’ commands. Simply refusing to put your seat up when it’s time could mean a meeting with police when the plane lands.
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You only think you know turbulence
Flight attendants laugh when they hear passengers swap stories of “the worst turbulence ever” and “dangerously bumpy flights.” Out of the over 2 million people who fly yearly, there have only been three fatalities due to turbulence in over 30 years, and two of those individuals were not wearing their seatbelts.

Joining the mile high club is not illegal
That’s right! If you can get away with it, you didn't do anything wrong. That being said, flight attendants almost always know when this is happening, and will ask you to exit the lavatory.

They’re sneaking you decaf coffee
Why would they give you regular if that just means you’ll be awake for hours, wanting snacks, wanting drinks, and asking pointless questions?

They’ll intentionally delay flights
If a flight is delayed, the crew often gets paid overtime. But this only kicks in after a certain amount of delay, so sometimes the crew (after the doors have closed and they are in fact on the clock) will delay take off intentionally.