Fall Out From The World Cup Begins

While America continues to ignore the World Cup, other countries are taking their teams performance very seriously. After getting bounced in the first round Nigeria's president has decided to ban the national team from international competition for two years, supposedly so they can get their collective act together.

Niboro said: "President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that Nigeria withdraws from international competition for two years to enable the country to put its house in order.

"This directive became necessary following Nigeria's poor performance in the ongoing World Cup."

The president also plans an audit of the country's World Cup organising committee.

I wonder what he would do to the American team. I know Landon Donovan is getting a lot of attention for his goal that allowed the Americans to advance to round two only to get manhandled by Ghana.

Being a big soccer fan, and someone who played the game from the time I was a teenager until I was forty something and the body just couldn't handle it anymore I get to be a armchair midfielder and offer my 2¢ on the US men's team performance. In a word: pathetic.

The only time they played worth a damn was when they were behind, which was normally within about 10 minutes of the start of a game and then as soon as they got it tied back up they would revert back to the style of play that caused them to be behind in the first place. Until the men's team gets a coach which will let them play wide open all the time and quit trying to mimic the Europeans or the Latin American countries their fate will continue to be one of a team which does okay but will never rise to upper echelons of the football world.

I say that because nobody takes into consideration the psyche of the American. We approach life, sports, and everything else with a different attitude then the rest of the world. Or at least we used to. Americans like to live life on the edge, on the attack, wide open. When they played that way they took control of the games they were in. If you want proof of this watch the champion women's team games sometimes and compare it to the men's games.

The women go all out for the whole game. Always pressing, never giving the other team any breathing room. The best example is the Ghana game. Watch the first half of the game where the Americans got behind. Then watch just the first 10 minutes of the second half. They came out on fire and everybody realized they had the Ghanans on their heels. They tied up the game and went back to that namby pamby UN, Euroweenie style of play and they lost.

I'm not bitter. Much.



Yeah he get's a dig in on Dick Cheney but halfway amusing anyway.

Nigerian Taliban Denied Religious Expression

Geez, these police officers ought to be commended not arrested for conducting a pre-emptive strike on the Nigerian version of the Taliban.

I know, I know, we can't go down to the level of the enemy, but really all these officers are guilty of is not allowing the suicide bombers in training from completing their "religious" training and probably murdering scores of innocent civilians when they suffered their holy martyr's death by detonation.

Nigeria has arrested 17 policemen who were filmed apparently executing unarmed members of a radical Islamist sect during a deadly uprising last year, a police source said Monday.

The arrest followed the February 9 broadcast of a five-minute video by Al-Jazeera satellite station showing policemen shooting dead unarmed young men and teenagers outside police headquarters in the northern city of Maiduguri.

The victims are believed to belong to Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamist sect styled on Afghanistan's Taliban that was behind an uprising in north Nigeria last July in which more than 800 people died, most of them sect members.

The article says tensions in the area have risen since Christians have started settling in the area. Now I wonder who is raising the tensions? Surely not that peace, love and sharia spouting fanatics who dress women in bags and execute them in the public square while turning a small profit by selling tickets to the events.

I know murder should not be condoned no matter what, but I just can't muster much sympathy for those killed.

BTW the Nigerians love our TOTUS.

We are particularly thrilled by the feat of Barack Obama because for the very first time in the history of the USA, he has successfully broken the colour bar. We are even more thrilled that white voters rally forcefully behind this charismatic black man in his quest to become the first black president in the most powerful nation on earth…

The Obama political phenomenon has taken a life of its own. In a mild discussion between two friends, the concept of OBAMA NIGERIA INITIATIVES, LAGOS was born. In the very first day, 30 members of 40 in the highly respected LAGOS STATE PARLIAMENT, representing 75% of the entire population of Lagos State signed up and the list continue to grow.

Our mission is to continue building support base for this illustrious “Obamania” by popularizing what he represent through the production of souvenirs and other materials particularly in Lagos and generally in Nigeria. It is our aim to enlist as many as five million Nigerians from all walks of life; market men / women, artisans, academia, public service, trade unions and as many professional bodies as we could to this for this moral crusade; who share in our dream that the black man deserves its rightful place in the new World Order just unfolding before our very eyes. We share with millions across the world that an Obama Presidency would bring global peace.

So how is that whole World Peace thing working out?

Smart Power! Bumbling Hillary Whines About 2000 Election, Compares Us With Nigeria

I'm starting to believe maybe she wanted the Vice President's slot, considering how many gaffes she's making on her Africa trip. Or perhaps she's looking for a quick way out of the disastrous Obama administration.

Whatever the case, she sounds like a bitter crank, whining over the 2000 recount in Florida. It's time to move on already.

Hillary Clinton's trip across Africa just got more controversial.

Clinton caused another firestorm during her trouble-plagued Africa tour last night by drawing comparisons between political corruption in Nigeria and President Bush's contested election win nine years ago in Florida.

The Secretary of State made the bizarre comparison during a speech to a group of political activists in the Nigerian capitol of Abuja, another stop on her 11-day, seven-country tour of the continent.

She singled out former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush -- the former president's brother -- with helping the GOP grab the White House from Democrat Al Gore.

"Our democracy is still evolving. You know we had some problems in some of our presidential elections," she said. "As you may remember, in 2000 our presidential election came down to one state where the brother of one of the men running for president was governor of the state. So we have our problems too."

The gaffe came just two days after Clinton rebuked a student's question during a forum in the Democratic Republic of Congo for asking what her husband, former president Bill Clinton, thought of the issue of Chinese trade in Africa.

Are there any Democrats out there who have anything nice to say about this country? Her boss treks around the globe apologizing for all our perceived ills and now this dunce is comparing us to Nigeria.

Why do they hate America so much?

'Magic Goat' Detained In Auto Theft

Hey, we're living in the shiny era of Hopenchange and unicorns, so who am I to argue that magic goats don't exist?

The black and white animal was turned in to police by a vigilante group, which claimed it was an armed car thief who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323.

"The group of vigilante men came to report that while they were on patrol they saw some hoodlums attempting to rob a car," Tunde Mohammed, a spokesman for Kwara state police, told Reuters.

"They pursued them. However, one of them escaped while the other turned into a goat," he said. While Mr Mohammed said he could not confirm whether a man had, in fact, turned into a goat, he did admit that the animal was in police custody. A photo of the goat, resting on its knees next to a pile of straw, was published in Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper.

Decisions, Decisions: Islamic Leader Ordered to Divorce 82 Wives, Only Gets to Keep Four

This dude's a regular sex machine.

A Nigerian religious leader has been ordered to divorce 82 wives – but Islamic authorities have allowed him to keep four.

Mohammadu Bello Abubakar, 84, has agreed to comply with the decree after a Sharia court agreed to lift a death sentence against him.

The father of an astonishing 170 children had challenged Islamic scholars, saying there was no punishment stated in the Koran for having more than four wives.

Mr Abubakar, who lives in Niger state, now faces eviction after failing to comply with Saturday’s divorce ruling.

Man Sentenced to Death for Having 80 Wives

Geez, I'm surprised he's even still alive. This guy was getting more tail than Barack Obama's father. Frankly, I think I'd be tuckered out after about a dozen marriages myself. And, of course, some would argue having 80 wives is a death sentence in and of itself.

Anyway, he's got some decisions to make and needs to thin the herd down to four wives ASAP or it'll be off with his head. I guess on the upside, 76 eligible ladies will be back on the market.

AN Islamic organisation in Nigeria has issued a death sentence on a man who married 80 women - many more than the maximum of four allowed by Islam.

The Jamatu Nasril Islam (JNI), one of Nigeria's top Islamic bodies, said in a statement that Mohammadu Bello Masaba stood condemned to death unless he divorced 76 of the women in four days, The Guardian newspaper reported.

"Unless Masaba repents within four days and take only four wives from the herd he remains condemned to death, according to Sharia law," the statement said.

"Any Muslim who married more than the approved number of wives at a time either by mistake or out of ignorance is instructed to choose but only four and ask for Allah's forgiveness."

Since the return of Nigeria to civil rule in 1999 a dozen predominantly Muslim states in the north have re-introduced a strict version of the Islamic Sharia legal system.

Sharia law is often seen as more efficient and less bureaucratic and corrupt than Nigeria's secular courts.

Oh yes, much more efficient. Death sentences definitely are efficient.

Nigerian Terrorists Roll Obama, Carter Up Next

We noted Sunday how Nigerian terrorists were holding Barack Obama in such high esteem and were curious why Obama was already engaging in foreign policy.

Well, according to the Politico, Obama hadn't intervened. Yet. But he has now.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it was mulling "a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in high esteem."

But an Obama aide said this morning that Obama had not made such a call before today.

"Senator Obama has not commented recently on the situation in the Niger Delta region," said the aide, who spoke on the condition he not be named.

Well, either the terrorists are lying or Obama is lying.

Which one is it?

I have my suspicions.

Anyway, the Nigerians apparently know how to roll gullible politicians. Now they've gone and roped in--you guessed it--Jimmy Carter.

The main militant group in Nigeria's oil-rich southern region said Tuesday it is willing to cease hostilities if the federal government allows conflict mediation by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

The militants of The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said Carter had accepted their invitation to help negotiate and end to the long-running crisis that has contributed to the sharp rise in oil prices.

Militants say they received Carter's acceptance from John Stremlau, an official of Carter's organization. But Stremlau told The Associated Press only that the ex-U.S. president was generally ready to be "helpful in the quest for peace."

We know well how successful Carter is at that game.

Nigerian Terrorists Dig Obama

This is rather mysterious. Here we have a terrorist group in Nigeria busy blowing up oil wells and out of the blue they say they've had an ceasefire offer from Barack Obama.

I wasn't aware he was President and was already working on foreign policy.

Granted, Democrats always seem willing to appeal to our enemies, but this is the first I've heard of Obama reaching out to Nigerian militants.

Rebels who have stepped up attacks on Nigeria's oil industry in the last month said on Sunday they were considering a ceasefire appeal by U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has launched five attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta since it resumed a campaign of violence in April, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shut more than 164,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

"The MEND command is seriously considering a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in high esteem," the militant group said in an e-mailed statement.

Considering Obama's past statements that he'd sit down with our enemies such as Iran, I don't doubt he's made back channel overtures to these maniacs.

Though I suspect he'll be quick to distance himself from these goons.

He's really in over his head and this is yet another example.

Maybe They Can Come to Broadway...

Sharia law is alive and well in Nigeria and the American left in Hollywood needs to wake up and pay attention.

Nigerian Sharia court bans play

An Islamic court in Nigeria has banned a satirical play written by a rights activist about corrupt politicians in states run under Sharia law.

Shehu Sani's play Phantom Crescent lampoons officials who use Sharia laws to help them plunder state funds.

A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday; meanwhile a performance on 23 October has been postponed.

So, Islamic officals are banning a play that lampoons Islamic officials. Gee, I wonder what the Islamic dominated court will decide. Wait, there's more.

This latest act of censorship comes after the authorities in Kano State suspended all filming in August for six months after a video clip of popular actress Maryam Hiyana having sex with a married man.

Officials said that in future actors and directors would need a licence to make films and production companies would have to meet strict criteria before being be allowed to do business.

Sharia courts use an Islamic system of law based on the ancient verses of the Koran and they run concurrently in northern Nigeria with the national civil system.

You would think that the Hollywood left would wake up and realize that they are the first ones the Islamic extremists want to line up against a wall.

Previously at JWF:
'Sharia is Often Perceived as Oppressive and Brutal by Westerners'

Nigerian Muslims Rioting Over Cross Dressers

Clash over Nigeria cross-dressing

Police in northern Nigeria have clashed with Muslim youths angry at a Sharia court's decision to grant bail to 18 men accused of dressing as women.

For about 30 minutes, the protesters held up traffic on Bauchi's main street chanting slogans saying the accused men had been let off lightly.

Have the gay rights advocates on the left have seen this story?

"The 18 men were arrested two weeks ago in a hotel room in Bauchi, which is governed by the Islamic Sharia legal system.

Although they were initially accused of sodomy, the charges have now been changed to "indecent dressing" or cross-dressing and "vagrancy".

"Any (male) person who dresses .. in the fashion of a woman in a public place... will be liable to a term of one year or 30 lashes" a spokesman for the local sharia police, Muhamad Muhamad Bununu, told AFP news agency.

The Sharia punishment for sodomy is death by stoning, but he said that was much harder to prove as four witnesses were needed.

More than a dozen Nigerian Muslims have been sentenced to death by stoning for sexual offences ranging such as adultery and homosexuality.

I personally don't care who sleeps with who, as long as they are consenting adults. Knock yourself out for all I care.

But those with "alternate lifestyles" need to start paying attention to what is going on around the world, and wake up to the fact that conservatives are not the biggest threat to your way of life.

Christiane Amanpour was unavailable for comment.

What, These are for Learning?

On the upside, at least they weren't sending spam email.

Nigerian pupils browse porn on donated laptops

Nigerian schoolchildren who received laptops from a U.S. aid organisation have used them to explore pornographic sites on the Internet, the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Thursday.

NAN said its reporter had seen pornographic images stored on several of the children's laptops.

"Efforts to promote learning with laptops in a primary school in Abuja have gone awry as the pupils freely browse adult sites with explicit sexual materials," NAN said.

A representative of the One Laptop Per Child aid group was quoted as saying that the computers, part of a pilot scheme, would now be fitted with filters.

Filters are on the way. Won't the kids be thrilled.

Nigerian Labor Strikes

One of the many problems with socialism is that once the government steps away from the free market and starts in with price controls, interest groups think they can vote themselves the price they pay for various goods via political pressure. For a good example of this, look at Nigeria.

Strike bites in Nigerian cities

Nigeria's main cities are reported to be very quiet on the first day of a general strike called by trade unions.

Office blocks are empty in central Lagos, with long queues at petrol stations. Schools and offices are shut in the northern city of Kano.

Police have cleared some barricades in the capital, Abuja, set up by strikers.

The government offered concessions on fuel and value-added tax rises on Tuesday, but the trade union federation said it was "too little, too late".

I get it. Damage your country's economy as much as you can to try to get a better standard of living. Right....

So, what is a socialist policy maker to do? Not much.

"Dino Mahthani, West Africa correspondent of the UK's Financial Times, told the BBC that the government was stuck between a rock and a hard place on the refineries. He says that despite being a major oil producer, it has hardly any refining capacity because the equipment is in such a poor state. To give the owners an incentive to put money into the refineries, the government should stop subsidising the price of fuel, he says.

So what you have here is a supply problem due to limited refinery space, thus causing an escalation in price (sound familiar?). Thinking you can fix a high price caused by supply shortage by price fixing is like thinking you can get rid of an infection caused fever by fixing your thermometer to say 98.6 only. You may temporarily make yourself think you've fixed the problem, but you are only kidding yourself and in the meantime the underlying problem only gets worse. And just as this will not fix the problem for Nigeria, price fixing will not work out well in the U.S. if the government is so stupid as to try it.

Oil Steadies Above $71

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil steadied above $71 a barrel on Monday after gunmen in Nigeria overran an oilfield station on Sunday, renewing concern about supplies from the world's eighth largest oil exporter.

So here we go with more potential supply disruptions, folks.

Violence in Nigeria has also supported prices this year. About 600,000 bpd of the country's output is shut down because of militant attacks. A union leader said this week's general strike will halt oil exports.

The supply risks come as world oil demand is growing faster than expected according to the International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 industrialised countries.

So, despite the increasing prices, demand continues to grow. So, if demand continues to grow, we have to increase supply, or else see continuing increases in price. It all boils down to economics, and how high we want to chase ourselves up the money tree before we allow more oil drilling and refineries to be built in the U.S. The problem is, you have, according to what I have read on the sublject, about a 10-year lead time on those kinds of projects.

But not to worry, I'm sure Al Gore has all the answers...