Thursday, September 26, 2013
Photo of the day: Lagos leaving Nigeria behind! Lo...
Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: Photo of the day: Lagos leaving Nigeria behind! Lo...: This is a photo of the Lagos State Government's ten-lane Lagos-Badagry Expressway and railway line. Erm...yeah, people are already tr...
[NewsRescue.com] : "Paying Double The World Price: Dangote Cements Nigerians In Poverty"
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A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Paying Double The World Price: Dangote Cements Nigerians In Poverty
Sept. 26, 2013
NewsRescue- The going price for a 50kg bag of cement in Nigeria is anywhere between N1,650.00 and N1,800.00. That corresponds to -11. At this rate, Nigerians pay at least double the cost of the same size bag of cement in most nations around the world.
Samuel Awoyinfa writing for the Punch this March, captioned this 'Cement price still defies laws of demand and supply.' It does.
In his article, he compared costs to the amount paid for the same product in neighboring Ghana and Benin republic, two countries who unlike Nigeria, do not have cement manufacturing plants. In neighbouring Republic of Benin and Ghana, a bag of 50kg of cement sells for 4500CFA (N1,500) and GH¢15.295 (N1,150) respectively. That equals and /bag.
But the disparity in price is even much worse when other countries are compared globally. In the United States, this quantity of cement sells between and .00
In India, the 50kg bag cost hiked from RS215 to RS315, that is between .40-5.00. It only recently increased in cost.
In South African Rands, the bag sells for an equivalent of .50.
In Kenya, the 50kg bag of cement sells for 450 Kenyan shillings, that's about .00
We can go on and on. The median price of this raw material is about worldwide.
Nigerians pay double.
One asks why if Nigeria manufactures this product, the price should be double the cost around the world. It is expected that by manufacturing Nigerians should have an advantage and possibly pay less than the price of the product in other countries, or at least equal.
Cement is a commodity that is almost always manufactured and utilized locally. 97% of cement is manufactured locally around the world from glue and limestone. Hence the difference in rate is not related to importation costs or other such factors.
Gladly though, Nigerians only recently started paying just double after new government regulations. Prior to 2011, Nigerians paid about N2700 for the same 50kg bag of cement. That is three times the global average.
With the rate of constructions developing Nigeria is churning out, one sees that only a single man benefits from this exorbitant price. This is Aliko Dangote. The man who became a billionaire and the world's 40th richest man courtesy of his monopoly policies in Nigeria.
Dangote manufactures Dangote cement. With his friends in the government, Dangote, Nigeria's president sponsor, who literally finances and imposes most recent leaders on the nation, benefits from various sole production and importation rights. As Samuel Awoyinfa commented, the demand and supply just does not add up. Without competition in the market, there is frank exploitation bordering on robbery. Stealing from the poor.
Every Nigerian who builds a house pays Dangote and his cronies in the government, almost double for each cement bag. The impact of this in houses not built, built to sub-standards and infrastructure Nigeria fails to have is enormous.
- Punch: Cement should not cost more than N800 a bag- Ibeto Cement
Sometime in June, 2012, Ibeto Cement had to seek a legal option to retain its import licence when the FG tried to stop it.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="283"]
Dangote and Ibeto, cement manufacturing giants, on a silent war.[/caption]
The latter's action was said to be based on advice allegedly offered by local manufacturers (Guess who?). Reacting to this trend, the chairman of New Entrants into Cement Production, Mr. David Iweta, says there is a need for the local manufacturers to review their prices downwards, since there are many variables that work in their favour, which the importers of the commodity do not enjoy.
Iweta sees no reason why a bag of 50kg bag of cement should be sold above N800, since local manufacturers are using lime stones, which are sourced locally, as raw materials. Besides, he notes that labour is available and cheap. He says, "I believe it is exploitation for Nigerians to pay above N800 for a 50kg bag of cement as retail price. Let them reduce it to N700 and see how the commodity will disappear from the market."
Also, Iweta does not see wisdom in selling imported and locally produced cement at the same price. According to him, an importer pays 0 on cost and freight per metric tonne of cement. He says the locally produced cement should be cheaper than the imported variety because the latter attracts duty and 35 per cent levy, which is another per tonne.
"The local manufacturers do not pay these levies. So, their prices should be cheaper. Imported cement sells within the same price range as the locally-produced ones. This should not be," Iweta stresses. Read full on Punch
Ibeto Cement berated Dangote Group for being afraid of competition and trying to instigate the federal government to wade in and stop the importation of bulk cement.
It is little surprise that Dangote cement which has now edged itself to control up to 90% of the Nigerian cement market is a whopping 33% of Nigeria's entire stock market. Literally by monopolizing this industry, and by facilitating the limitation and business death of all his competitors, Dangote has been able to raise his stock and his worth on the backs of all Nigerians, to global recognition. Africa's richest man, thanks to our thousands in cement dollars and our shut-down businesses.
The United States as documented in a wikileaks expose, criticized the Dangote's oppressive business model in Nigeria. Classifying it as the 'Beggar-thy-countrymen' Dangote business model which turns Nigerians into beggars at Dangote's benefit.
Quoting:
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="204"] Wikileaks: Julian Assange[/caption]
¶1. (C) Summary. Alhaji Aliko Dangote (Dangote) is Nigeria's most well known businessperson and may be its wealthiest citizen. He has taken on the aura of an economic folk hero for some, villain for others. To supporters, he symbolizes that Nigeria can do more than barter and trade. It can succeed in manufacturing. To detractors, he is a predator using connections in a corrupt political economy to tilt the playing field in his favor and sideline potential competition. The truth resides somewhere between these caricatures. Dangote is counted among President Obasanjo's inner circle of business advisors. It is no coincidence that many products on Nigeria's import ban lists are items in which Dangote has major interests.
¶2. (C) Summary Cont'd: Although an undiluted success in terms of wealth accumulation, Dangote personifies the duality in Nigeria's economy. This duality presents a dilemma for US economic policy. On one hand, Dangote imports significant amounts of US produce and equipment for his manufacturing ventures. On the other, he has had success blocking trade and investment that might compete with his enterprises. Weighing everything in the balance, we believe the Dangote model is harmful to Nigerian and American interests in the long run. Unfortunately, the Dangote model will likely be the one most emulated until its beggar-thy-countrymen contradictions become more apparent. End summary.
The same wikileaks report described how Dangote literally financed the campaign and bought the presidency of dying Yar'Adua and in effect made Jonathan the president of Nigeria.
By sponsoring Nigeria's gubernatorial and presidential candidates, Dangote ensures that his interests are protected to the detriment of his competition, smaller businesses and the Nigerian populace in general who can end up paying double for each bag of cement.
It is no surprise and coincidence that as Boko Haram terrorists killed, bombed and destroyed the country, Aliko aka Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote remarked that Boko Haram was not Nigeria's worst evil, but the lack of infrastructure was the issue. Reconstructions of all bombed buildings, over 800 schools in Borno will be carried out with which exorbitantly priced cement?
Nigerians are quick to admire and respect whoever is wealthy. Many Nigerians sing Dangote's praise, not realizing that he represents the ultimate cabal that fixes his puppet leaders and ensures the country remains with the most corrupt leadership who safe guard the interests of the tycoons who can literally kill their competition.
It is recalled that when Michael Otedola ranked also as a billionaire in a top world wealth list, Aliko aka Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote was alleged to have intentionally crashed the value of Otedola's business, simply to diminish his competition.
Duel of the Oligarchs,Otedola Vs Dangote & the winner is….. In February last year, the SEC had accused Otedola and AP of price manipulation, but took no concrete action against him. A recent report by Forbes, which only a few weeks back rated Otedola as the second Nigerian, behind Dangote, on its world billionaires' list, stated: "Nigeria's only other billionaire when we published our ranks in March, worth .2 billion. His fortune is now down to approximately 0 million," in reference to Otedola.
Some people believe in rising and allowing others the space to rise, the limitless sky being broad enough to take us all, while others believe in squashing everyone else and rising on their heads then giving them alms and peanuts. This is the known Dangote model.
People celebrate when this billionaire donates as he is doing now; he is engaged currently in the disbursement of million in grants to 'empower' women. Dangote publicly announced this 'charity', in so-called grants to empower women. .00 per woman. Everyone knows that does not empower, but rather merely buys 3 meals and then turns people to fans and dignified beggars.
What people do not realize is that when the wealthy give these charitable donations, they do so for tax breaks, to evade paying taxes. By doing so they get two benefits for the price of one. They get fame and publicity and get government tax write-offs to the value of the amount donated.
This is why companies like Nigerian Breweries is seen sponsoring shows and occasions all over Nigeria, year in, year out. These shows are the way this company which makes billions in profits sheds off its tax burden. Dangote's publicized grants are pretty much the same thing.
Nigeria's cabal like Dangote steal ,000 from each woman via their government enforced monopolies, then give back .00.
For what Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote has stolen from Nigeria, the rights and resource Nigerians have lost, carved up and handed to Dangote by Obasanjo and Jonathan, both of whom he paid for their presidential victories; Dangote should return not to his companies and by giving peanuts to the people, but by real social empowerment. Free infrastructure, road access for the farmers to convey their goods. Free developmental, educational and research institutions. Acquiring land and giving this free to farmers. Providing supported irrigation, security, technology, transportation, etc. These are real contributions, that if Dangote did on any serious level, broadly, Nigerians will be able to say that at least he gave back one tenth of what he stole from them.
[caption id="attachment_22398" align="aligncenter" width="544"]
The Cabal - Dangote and Obasanjo: Image from Obasanjo Foundation[/caption]
Former NSA of Nigeria, Aliyu Gusau complained to the US ambassador, that Obasanjo and Dangote were willing to put a dying, already suffering from black-outs, epileptic and unable to govern Yar'Adua into power, so as to destroy the country.
When Yar'Adua objected, telling Obasanjo that he was too sick to run Nigeria, Obasanjo allegedly told him that 'God will cure you.'
When Yar'Adua complained that he had no money, Dangote and Transcorp came in to finance the dying man's campaign, with Jonathan ready beside to assume office if and in the event that he passed.
[caption id="attachment_17208" align="alignright" width="204"]
Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Rtd)[/caption]
- Wikileaks: Aliyu Mohammed Gusau said that Dangote and the other "Transcorp boys" seek a Yar'Adua presidency to facilitate their gaining control over most of Nigeria's oil and gas production
¶4. (S) Aliyu Mohammed, saying he was quoting Yar'Adua directly, said that Obasanjo had "ordered" the Katsina governor to contest for the Presidency. When Yar'Adua objected that the state of his health precluded it, Obasanjo countered that "God will cure you," and undertook to cover all medical expenses. When Yar'Adua said he had no money, Obasanjo organized financial angels, all associated with Transcorp and led by Northern millionaire Alhaji Aliko Dangote. This group is supplying the Yar'Adua campaign with 45 jeeps (of which four are armored), a war chest of 5 billion naira, and a rented jet. (Aliyu Mohammed said that Dangote and the other "Transcorp boys" seek a Yar'Adua presidency to facilitate their gaining control over most of Nigeria's oil and gas production.) Andy Uba, recently selected as PDP gubernatorial candidate for Anambra state, has been a "special assistant" to President Obasanjo; he has no independent power base of his own, and is widely disliked because of his arrogance. Aliyu Mohammed went on to say that the President had ordered the arrest of the chief of staff to Rivers State Governor Peter Odili to warn the latter away from seeking the vice presidential nomination himself.
Many cherish Dangote for providing over '50,000' jobs to Nigerians (his staff, but better called 'slaves' who run his industries as machines can't yet), they compare him to others who are certainly not as rich, but appear to do less than him. It is a slavery and worship of money as greatness mentality that some Nigerian have. This is why the late MKO Abiola overwhelmingly won the annulled June 12 elections, despite the popular belief that he robbed Nigeria blind with the ITT schemes, that in his memoirs, he himself admitted the program was far from perfect.
People do not understand that a thief is a thief, whether he wears a suit and drives a fancy car or walks and wears a hood. And a thief potentially kills. Excessive greed and profiteering is wicked, bordering on criminal. It is really sad to have to lay it bare about the worlds richest African this way. Africans possibly should rather than dignify a man whose state has over 1.5 million beggars, remember and cherish their ancient worlds richest man in history, dignified King Mansa Musa of the Malian empire which included north Nigeria.
People simply believe that wealth is greatness in Nigeria, regardless of how it is amassed, even if the wealth given to you as salary or grant-charity is your money from the double cost you paid to build your house and from the business you were forced to shut down due to these cabal and their puppet rulers' economic and national monopolistic policies. Abdul Basit, Yesterday put it this way: "The Dangote issue is like one of a person who seizes your river and then feeds you fish. Do you praise such a person? He has taken your means of self suffice through corrupt and unethical business practices." He further stated, "Dangote's empire destroys competition. If he were in a country with actual laws, he would be sued for anti competitive practices. However, in our gorilla republic, he owns the government."
To make situations worse and add insults to the beggars Dangote makes of Nigerians, it is widely understood that Dangote highers staff--more like slaves--PhD holders to drive his trucks. Thus devaluing the Nigerian education system. Bachelor holders are likely hired to be his cleaners.
And to protect the image he gets in the press, you will see his sponsored ads on almost all Nigerian newspapers and popular blogs. Look out for the emblem that lets you know you Aliko beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote runs what you read:
Immunity from criticism of the press bought by paid sponsored ads
Dangote for president, right?
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/paying-double-the-world-price-dangote-cements-nigerians-in-poverty/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "TERROR: Dozens of US Armored Trucks and Military Weapons Stolen In Libya; Nigeria, Syria Other At Great Risk"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
TERROR: Dozens of US Armored Trucks and Military Weapons Stolen In Libya; Nigeria, Syria Other At Great Risk
- NewsRescue- To the exclusive Fox news story below, please remember and add an earlier story we published 'Prison Break,' which described up to 2000 of the worst terrorist who "astonishingly" broke out of jails in Libya, Pakistan and Iraq last July.
Sept. 25, 2013
EXCLUSIVE: The recent theft of massive amounts of highly sensitive U.S. military equipment from Libya is far worse than previously thought, Fox News has learned, with raiders swiping hundreds of weapons that are now in the hands of militia groups aligned with terror organizations and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The equipment, as Fox News previously reported, was used for training in Libya by U.S. Special Forces. The training team, which was funded by the Pentagon, has since been pulled, partly in response to the overnight raids last August.
According to State Department and military sources, dozens of highly armored vehicles called GMV's, provided by the United States, are now missing. The vehicles feature GPS navigation as well as various sets of weapon mounts and can be outfitted with smoke-grenade launchers. U.S. Special Forces undergo significant training to operate these vehicles. Fox News is told the vehicles provided to the Libyans are now gone.
Along with the GMV's, hundreds of weapons are now missing, including roughly 100 Glock pistols and more than 100 M4 rifles. More disturbing, according to the sources, is that it seems almost every set of night-vision goggles has also been taken. This is advanced technology that gives very few war fighters an advantage on the battlefield.
- NewsRescue- CIA Was Moving Libya Missiles to Syria Terrorists When Benghazi Attack Blamed on Islam Occured: Report
"It's not just equipment ... it's the capability. You are giving these very dangerous groups the capability that only a few nations are capable of," one source said. "Already assassinations are picking up in Tripoli and there are major worries that the militias are using this stolen equipment to their advantage. All these militias are tied into terrorist organizations and are tied to (salafists)."
The "salafists" are a jihadist movement among Salafi Muslims. This growing movement in Libya directly endangers the U.S.-supported government, and sources worry that this sensitive equipment is now going to be used by these groups in an attempt to overthrow the government and install a more hardline Muslim leadership.
Some diplomats, who asked to remain anonymous, say they are seeing the kinds of conditions that opened the door to the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack now appearing in Tripoli and across the rest of Libya. They worry that American convoys and western convoys will be attacked using these stolen weapons and vehicles.
"The European ambassador was attacked and we are now commonly seeing robbing and attacking of people in broad daylight. ... This isn't perception, this is actually happening," said one source. The source was referring to an August incident where an escort vehicle for the European Union ambassador was attacked in Tripoli.
To make matters worse, the U.S.-developed training camp on the outskirts of Tripoli has now been taken over by one of these militia groups who are hoarding weapons, sources said. The worry is this camp, abandoned by U.S. trainers within the last month, is being used in preparation for an attack on the new Libyan government.
Meanwhile, special operators told Fox News that training camps throughout eastern Libya continue to train terrorists, and border controls right now around the country are non-existent in most areas.
"The theft of these weapons and the open borders are feeding Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood and threatens Libya's neighbors as well. It's already bad. ... and now it's really bad."
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/terror-dozens-of-us-armored-trucks-and-military-weapons-stolen-in-libya-nigeria-syria-other-at-great-risk/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Dangote Gives Pennies To "Beggars" 65,500 Women In Adamawa And Yobe In Spurious Grants"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Dangote Gives Pennies To "Beggars" 65,500 Women In Adamawa And Yobe In Spurious Grants
"Headlines: Empowering Women with .00" ... the insult to Nigeria's women!
Sept. 24, 2013
by Hamza Suleiman
NewsRescue- The media is awash with so-called grants by Aliko Dangote to women and youth in Adamawa and Yobe state, to the tune of N655 million ( million) to be given as cash to 'assist the women in starting petty businesses'. 65,000 women are to receive N10,000 each, that's .00 a piece in the scheme/scam.
The true level of destruction of Nigeria by Aliko Dangote is well covered and only covered on NewsRescue. You will not read of how he turns Nigerians into beggars on any other media, thanks to Dangote cement and Dansa juice advertising with which he has 'bought' all Nigerian media companies, just like the mogul bought the nation its dying president, Yar'Adua and inadvertently bought the nation its current and unfit president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Described aptly by the United States in wikileaks as 'Beggar-they-countrymen' Dangote. The policies of Africa's richest man are well tailored to destroy what is left of the essence and fabric of the Nigerian masses.
[caption id="attachment_20194" align="alignright" width="298"]
Thoroughly trained by his mentor, Bill Gates, Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote incorporates the big corp own it all and turn them into beggars, new world order exploitative economics in Nigeria.
Dangote has been given sole-importation and sole-manufacture rights of so many commodities in Nigeria. His crony, ex-president Obasanjo literally carved up and transferred the nation to him and his likes.
Destroying small businesses, the bane of the economy and the subsistence and dignified insurance of survival above begging of the masses, by blocking imports of all products Dangote manufactures, the government of Obasanjo in policies continued by Dangote-Obasanjo imposed Jonathan, crippled very many small businesses and entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
This beggar-thy-countrymen principle is executed by them, after stealing trillions of dollars directly through Federal government projects, through corrupt kick-back privatization and being granted sole and government supported commodity import and production rights; by then giving peanuts to the masses in purported poverty alleviation schemes or better put, scams to buy gullibility, allegiance and divination.
With a paltry .00 a piece, according to time tested and documented economic studies, there will be absolutely no poverty alleviation in these women and youth. These 'beggars' will have a meal on their table for a week, and then that is it. These new beggars will now feel indebted to Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote for his spurious endowment, that has only complicated their misery and increased their shame.
We have all heard the Chinese proverb:
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
NewsRescue recently wrote: Forbes Lists Dangote As Africa's Richest Man: His State Has 1.5 Million Almajiri's (Beggars)
It is great to know Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote, who is famous for saying that Boko Haram terrorism is not Nigeria's big problem, rather the lack of infrastructure (which he alone can build and his cement will be used for) is Nigeria's biggest problem, will soon be addressing the terror related problem of the 1.5 million Almajiri's in his state. He will soon in this same principle, give them each .00 in grants to 'set up businesses.'
Throwing pennies at the poor is only a method of gaining cheap publicity and feeling of self-worth, while further crushing them. This is Dangote's legacy.
Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote creates jobs by building companies he will use to crush small businesses and operate as an arm of a communist type government, while employing staff (slaves) to work in them. The staff he employs, overqualified Nigerians who work for him in his sole-right companies are the jobs he creates, including when he employs PhD holders to drive his trucks. This is Dangote empowerment.
For what Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote has stolen from Nigeria, the rights and resource Nigerians have lost, carved up and handed to Dangote by Obasanjo and Jonathan, both of whom he paid for their presidential victories; Dangote is to return not to his companies and by giving peanuts to the people, but by real social empowerment. Free infrastructure, road access for the farmers to convey their goods. Free developmental research institutions. Acquiring land and giving this free to farmers. Providing supported irrigation, security, transportation, etc. These are real contributions, that if Dangote did on any serious level, broadly, Nigerians will be able to say that at least he back one tenth of what he stole from them.
Dangote's name is predicted to crumble just as late multimillionaire Abiola's name all but crumbled when he passed. It is remembered that University of Lagos students protested and rejected the renaming of their institution after Abiola, despite his wealth.
Already in Dangote's Kano, they say they prefer a dog walking the streets to him.
A Kano man made this comment about the son of the soil:
Dangote was born and grown up in Kano; but Wallahi; Owella Rochas Anayo Okorocha is far better than him and his so-called father Aminu Dantata. They are killing Kano, they should go to hell with their wealth. A. A. Rano, A. S. A Hadejia and the likes of Na Allah are the kind of people Kano, north and Nigeria want. Forget Dangote, Dog feel more safer than him in Kano metropolis.
- NewsRescue- Shocking Video: Dangote's mentor, Bill Gates Attacks Dr. Dambisa Moyo; Says She Believes in Death
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/dangote-gives-pennies-to-beggars-65500-women-in-adamawa-and-yobe-in-spurious-grants/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Monday, September 23, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Kenyan Bloodbath: Reaping the "Benefits" of US AFRICOM Collaboration -- Tony Cartalucci"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Kenyan Bloodbath: Reaping the "Benefits" of US AFRICOM Collaboration -- Tony Cartalucci
NATO's North African terror tidal wave predictably sweeps into Kenya.
September 23, 2013 (Tony Cartalucci) - At face value, and how the Western media is attempting to portray it, the Westgate Mall siege in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi appears to be yet another senseless terrorist attack by the "religious fanatics" of Al Qaeda's Somalia franchise, Al Shabaab. Already, both Kenyan and Western politicians, as well as editorials across the Western media, are attempting to use the attack as a pretext to launch a military campaign against neighboring Somalia, while fueling anti-Muslim sentiment across profoundly ignorant audiences in the West.
A telling op-ed in USA Today titled, "Nairobi mall attack strikes against all of us: Column" states in its subtitle that:
As on 9/11, terrorists are waging a war on our modern, democratic way of life. Today, we are all Kenyans.
The op-ed continues by stating:
Just as important: The fight is not just a Kenyan, or African, fight. Somalia could be the new Afghanistan. A lawless, fundamentalist Somalia could incubate a Somali Osama bin Laden and new attacks on the USA, just as Afghanistan protected and nurtured bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
And:
After the Nairobi attack, the message should be "We Are All Kenyans." Not just in our sympathy. But also in going all out to prevent another terrorist attack.
Leaving Somalia to al-Shabab is not an option.
Kenya: Proxy for US Aggression in Africa
What the USA Today op-ed fails to mention, even as it alludes to impending military intervention in Somalia, is that Kenya has already participated in military operations against its northern neighbor, including a full-scale military invasion complete with US and French military support in 2011. In the UK Independent's October 2011 article, "Somali invasion backed by West, says Kenya," it was reported that:
Kenya has confirmed that Western allies have joined its war on Islamic militants al-Shabaab despite denials from the US and France that they are involved in fighting in southern Somalia. Foreign military forces have carried out air strikes and a naval bombardment close to the militant stronghold of Kismayo, a Kenyan army spokesman said yesterday.
"There are certainly other actors in this theatre carrying out other attacks," said Kenya's Major Emmanuel Chirchir.
The Kenyan invasion has already caused a major rift between Somalia's interim prime minister and president, who yesterday condemned the presence of foreign troops inside his country.
While the US attempted to deny any role in the invasion, it has admittedly carried out periodic airstrikes and drone strikes across Somalia, as reported by the BBC's 2012 article, "Somalia air strike 'kills foreign al-Shabab militants':"
The US military, which has a base in neighbouring Djibouti, has previously carried out drone strikes in Somalia.
It has also launched air strikes against alleged al-Qaeda militants in the country.
Before using Kenya as a proxy for US aggression in Africa, and amidst two decades of unilateral, covert military operations, the US had backed two Ethiopian invasions into Somalia. The first US-backed invasion, under then US President George Bush, was carried out in 2006. USA Today reported in its 2007 article, "U.S. support key to Ethiopia's invasion," that:
The United States has quietly poured weapons and military advisers into Ethiopia, whose recent invasion of Somalia opened a new front in the Bush administration's war on terrorism.
The second US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, under US President Barack Obama, was carried out in 2011 - coordinated with Kenya's 2011 US-French-backed extraterritorial adventure into Somali territory. The UK Independent's December 2011 article, "UN-backed invasion of Somalia spirals into chaos," reported that:
Kenya's invasion of Somalia, hailed by the West and the UN Security Council, was meant to deliver a knockout blow to the militant Islamist group al-Shabaab. Instead it has pulled Somalia's regional rival Ethiopia back into the country, stirred up the warlords and rekindled popular support for fundamentalists whose willingness to let Somalis starve rather than receive foreign aid had left them widely hated.
It was in fact this US-backed military invasion that served as the alleged motivation of the Al Shabaab terrorists who attacked Kenya's Westgate Mall this week.
The Same Terrorists the US is Arming in Syria are Killing Civilians in Kenya
Beginning in 2011, geopolitical analysts warned that US, British and French intervention in Libya would create a terror emirate that would unleash a tidal wave of militant destabilization across Northern Africa and beyond. From Mali to Kenya, and as far as Syria, violence directly linked to the militants and the aid and weapons they received from the West in Libya, have now been felt.
Image: (click image to enlarge) Truly NATO's intervention in Libya has been a resounding success. Not only has the West managed to revive the terrorist LIFG organization Qaddafi had been fighting successfully for decades, but now "international institutions" have a casus belli spreading across the whole of North Africa, into the Middle East and beyond as NATO weapons and Western cash enable LIFG fighters to battle as far as Syria in the east and Mali to the west. The wave of terror unleashed and the predictable "pretexts" it will provide, has now swept into Kenya.
....
Shortly after NATO's intervention in Libya, it was Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a US State Department listed terror organization (listed #38), that played a central role in the invasion of northern Mali, which provided the pretext for French military intervention and occupation. AQIM of course, was merged with Al Qaeda's Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), the ground troops used in NATO's regime change operation in Libya starting in 2011. In a 2007 West Point Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) report and a 2011 CTC report, "Are Islamist Extremists Fighting Among Libya's Rebels?," AQIM is specifically mentioned as working closely with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). The latter report admits:
There have also been reports during the past few years of a handful of Libyans who have traveled to Algeria to train with al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), although these reports are unconfirmed. AQIM has sought to capitalize on the situation in Libya
Geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar would elaborate in an Asia Times piece titled, "How al-Qaeda got to rule in Tripoli," that:
"Crucially, still in 2007, then al-Qaeda's number two, Zawahiri, officially announced the merger between the LIFG and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM). So, for all practical purposes, since then, LIFG/AQIM have been one and the same - and Belhaj was/is its emir. "
"Belhaj," referring to Hakim Abdul Belhaj, leader of LIFG in Libya, led with NATO support, arms, funding, and diplomatic recognition, the overthrowing of Muammar Qaddafi and has now plunged the nation into racist genocidal infighting. This intervention has also seen the rebellion's epicenter of Benghazi peeling off from Tripolias a semi-autonomous "Terror-Emirate." Belhaj's latest campaign has shifted to Syria where he was admittedly on the Turkish-Syrian border pledging weapons, money, and fighters to the so-called "Free Syrian Army," again, under the auspices of NATO support.
The torrent of militants and weapons flowing from Libya into Syria to support Western-backed regime change against the Syrian government has been extensively documented over the last 2+ years.
In November 2011, the Telegraph in their article, "Leading Libyan Islamist met Free Syrian Army opposition group," would report:
Abdulhakim Belhadj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and the former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, "met with Free Syrian Army leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey," said a military official working with Mr Belhadj. "Mustafa Abdul Jalil (the interim Libyan president) sent him there."
Another Telegraph article, "Libya's new rulers offer weapons to Syrian rebels," would admit
Syrian rebels held secret talks with Libya's new authorities on Friday, aiming to secure weapons and money for their insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
At the meeting, which was held in Istanbul and included Turkish officials, the Syrians requested "assistance" from the Libyan representatives and were offered arms, and potentially volunteers.
"There is something being planned to send weapons and even Libyan fighters to Syria," said a Libyan source, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There is a military intervention on the way. Within a few weeks you will see."
Later that month, some 600 Libyan terrorists would be reported to have entered Syria to begin combat operations and as recently as last month, CNN, whose Ivan Watson accompanied terrorists over the Turkish-Syrian border and into Aleppo, revealed that indeed foreign fighters were amongst the militants, particularly Libyans. It was admitted that:
Meanwhile, residents of the village where the Syrian Falcons were headquartered said there were fighters of several North African nationalities also serving with the brigade's ranks.
A volunteer Libyan fighter has also told CNN he intends to travel from Turkey to Syria within days to add a "platoon" of Libyan fighters to armed movement.
On Wednesday, CNN's crew met a Libyan fighter who had crossed into Syria from Turkey with four other Libyans. The fighter wore full camouflage and was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle. He said more Libyan fighters were on the way.
The foreign fighters, some of them are clearly drawn because they see this as … a jihad. So this is a magnet for jihadists who see this as a fight for Sunni Muslims.
CNN's reports provide bookends to 2011's admissions that large numbers of Libyan terrorists flush with NATO cash and weapons had headed to Syria, with notorious terrorist LIFG commanders making the arrangements.
Al Shabaab - Al Qaeda's Somali franchise - is also directly linked to AQIM and the myriad of other Al Qaeda extremist subsidiaries, including Libya's LIFG, and the more recently christened Al Nusra front in Syria. The BBC in its 2012 report titled, "Africa's Islamist militants 'co-ordinate efforts'," stated:
Three of Africa's largest militant Islamist groups are trying to co-ordinate their efforts, the head of the US Africa Command has warned.
Gen Carter Ham said in particular North African al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was probably sharing explosives and funds with Nigeria's Boko Haram.
Speaking in Washington, he said the separatist movement in northern Mali had provided AQIM with a "safe haven".
Somalia's al-Shabab was the other "most dangerous" group, he said.
This cooperation between AQIM, Boko Haram, and Al Shabaab has been clearly bolstered by the immense influx of NATO-provided cash and weapons flowing into Libya first to overthrow the Libyan government, then to be shipped to Syria to overthrow the government there. NATO's assistance in expanding Al Qaeda's operational capacity in North Africa can only be helping terrorists like those behind the Kenya Westgate Mall siege carry out cross-border operations of this scale.
Despite attempts by the West to provide other explanations as to where Al Qaeda is receiving its funds, manpower, and arsenal to carry out global campaigns, it is clear that it is a product of state-sponsorship - states like the US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, and others.
Indeed, Al Shabaab's attack in Kenya is abhorrent, unjustifiable terrorism - however, what Kenyans and the world as a whole must remember, is who armed them, who continuously props them up, provides them entire nations (Libya) as safe havens, and swells their ranks and armories with billions in cash and thousands of tons of weaponry at a time in war zones like Syria.
Al Shabaab's continued existence, along with its counterparts AQIM across Northern Africa, LIFG in Libya, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and Al Nusra in Syria, is due entirely to both covert and overt Western military and financial backing. The blood of Kenya's innocent are on the hands of those within the Kenyan government willfully serving as a proxy for US aggression across Africa, and those across the West using Al Qaeda as a geopolitical tool to achieve their global objectives.
Al Qaeda: The Perfect Pretext to Invade, The Perfect Mercenary Army to Covertly Wage War
Al Qaeda, for the West, serves as the ultimate geopolitical tool. It can be used as a pretext to invade, as well as a nearly inexhaustible mercenary army to carry out ruthless terrorist campaigns and even full-scale war as seen in Syria and Libya, to achieve Western objectives. Additionally, the omnipresent, nebulous nature of Al Qaeda serves as justification to strip away the rights and liberties of people at home, across Western civilization - perpetuating a climate of fear within which the seeds of very profitable war can be sown and continuously reaped.
How profitable? A Harvard's Kennedy School research paper titled, "The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan," places the total expenditures of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars alone somewhere between 4-6 trillion dollars. That isn't 4-6 trillion dollars that went into a black hole. That is 4-6 trillion dollars that went to the Fortune 500 corporations that engineered and sold these conflicts to the American public in the first place.
The Washington Post in its recent article, "Americans are tweeting about 'Syria' almost as much as 'twerking' – sometimes more," celebrated the general public's ignorance regarding geopolitics. It stated:
The fact that more people are discuss twerking than Syria is not necessarily bad news. They share, as Floating Sheep notes, "little in common apart from recent media attention": One is a pop culture phenomenon (both more fun and more accessible to a wider swath of the population) and one is a tragic, complicated news event halfway around the world (critically important, but not very fun — particularly on a platform many use for recreation).
It continued by claiming:
Of course, even if you polled all 300 million Americans on their relative interest in twerking and Syria, twerking would probably win — and that's okay, too. There are many justifiable reasons why an individual or a population wouldn't care about foreign news — things like a lack of education and limited access to computers or newspapers.
It is this " lack of education" that the Washington Post's editorial board and the special interests that steer it, claim is "okay too," that allows these special interests to continue to use Al Qaeda both as the ultimate villain and to swell the ranks of its inexhaustible global "freedom fighters."
The aforementioned USA Today editorial seeking to exploit the latest tragedy in Kenya also warned:
The Nairobi shopping mall attack is heartbreaking. The stories could so easily be American stories.
For the real interests driving and solely benefiting from Al Qaeda's campaign of global terror, should they decide these stories need to be "American," they will be, unless we rectify the "lack of education" these special interests have carefully cultivated and reassuringly claim is "okay."
Article originally posted in LandDestroyer
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/kenyan-bloodbath-reaping-the-benefits-of-us-africom-collaboration-tony-cartalucci/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Sunday, September 22, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Abuja: Security Agencies Plot To Plant Weapons In Apo Building Where Squatters Were Killed "
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A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
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NewsRescue
Abuja: Security Agencies Plot To Plant Weapons In Apo Building Where Squatters Were Killed
Sept. 22, 2013
To cover up their extra-judicial murder of at least seven innocent squatters at an unfinished building in the Apo District of Abuja, Nigerian security agencies are plotting to plant weapons in the building as a purported evidence that it was used for terrorist activities, multiple security sources have told PREMIUM TIMES.
Soldiers and operatives of the State Security Service had on Friday stormed the building, inhabited by homeless artisans and petty traders, and immediately began shooting at random, killing at least seven and injuring 17 others, witnesses said.
They then tried to cover up their atrocity by labeling the murdered men Boko Haram insurgents plotting an attack in Abuja. They claimed they carried out the raid to recover hidden weapons but that they were shot at shortly after they began digging up the weapons.
They are however yet to tell the world whether any of the operatives were injured or killed in the purported shootout. They are also unable so far to display the weapons they purportedly recovered from the building.
The two security agencies have come under global condemnation for the killings, and, our sources said, are now plotting fresh cover-up schemes to convince the world that the raid and the killings were done in the interest of national security.
Our sources said on Saturday night that the Army and the Department of State Security have now resolved to return to the building, plant weapons therein and then pretend to have dug out hidden weapons from there.
The weapons will then be displayed right in front of the building with journalists in attendance, our sources said.
"Our people are really embarrassed by the way the issue of this killing is turning out," one of our sources said. "They are desperately planning a cover-up and some of us have resolved not to be part of it. They are going back to the building to plant weapons and then accuse the murdered men of having buried them there. It's really sad but that's what our people are planning."
Another of our sources said the operatives that are being selected for the cover-up operation would be sworn to secrecy.
Spokesperson for the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, did not answer or return calls seeking her comments for this story.
While news of the killings and pictures of the victims spread on social media on Friday morning, the SSS released a statement saying its officials acted based on information obtained from two Boko Haram suspects, Kamal Abdullahi and Mohammed Adamu, who it claimed had earlier been arrested for terrorist activities.
"They led the security team to the uncompleted building where arms were purported to have been buried underground," Marilyn Ogar, the SSS spokesperson said in the statement. "No sooner had the team commenced digging for the arms than they came under heavy gunfire attack by other Boko Haram elements within the area."
But several witnesses and residents of the area have debunked the claim by the SSS. All those interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES said no one shot at the security team that stormed the building.
Unable to afford the excessively high cost of housing in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, these squatters usually gather in scores to sleep on mats in the few uncompleted buildings on the street, after returning from their daily jobs.
"The keke-napep (tricycle) men that stay in the house (where the shooting occurred) are almost 100," Abu, a construction worker in another uncompleted building on the street, told PREMIUM TIMES. "Apart from keke-napep, some also sell recharge cards act as phone chargers on the street."
Witnesses told this paper that the owner of the house (or his representative), believed to be a top army officer, visited on Thursday morning and ordered the squatters to vacate.
"He gave us one week, one week to leave his house," said one survivor, who declined to be named for fear he could be arrested or targeted by soldiers. "He threatened us saying he would bring soldiers to do anything to us if we don't leave after one week.
"But just two days later, they came to attack us," one of the tricycle operators who used to sleep in the house cut in in Hausa. He pleaded anonymity saying he feared he could be targeted by 'soldiers'.
Many of the residents of the building, who escaped being killed or arrested, have already fled the area.
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/abuja-security-agencies-plot-to-plant-weapons-in-apo-building-where-squatters-were-killed/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Saturday, September 21, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Kenya Westgate Mall Terrorists Kill Ghana Elder Professor Kofi Awoonor"
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A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
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Kenya Westgate Mall Terrorists Kill Ghana Elder Professor Kofi Awoonor
Sept. 21, 2013
NewsRescue- Ghana's Senior citizen, poet and author, Professor Kofi Awoonor was among the victims who were killed in the September 21, 2013 terrorist attack at Westgate Shopping Mall, Nairobi, Kenya.
So far, 39 people have been killed in the terrorist attack at the Kenyan mall. The radical Islamist Al-Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack which led to a hostage situation. Several other foreigners have also been reported killed in the tragedy the upscale mall.
Kofi Awoonor (13 March 1935 - 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonization. He started writing under the name George Awoonor-Williams.
[caption id="attachment_22309" align="alignright" width="231"]
Late Prof. Kofi A. Awoonor[/caption]
Kofi Awoonor is a lecturer in English and African literature at the University of Ghana. He directed the Ghana Film Corporation. He also founded and directed the Ghana Playhouse. Kofi Awooner served as an editor of the literary journal Okyeame and as an associate editor of Transition. He is the author of several volumes of poetry, including Night of My Blood, Ride Me, Memory, The House by the Sea, and The Latin American and Caribbean Notebook. His collected poems (through 1985) were published in Until the Morning After. -Bio
Awoonor was born in Ghana when it was still called the Gold Coast. He went to university there and went on to teach African literature at the University of Ghana. While at the University of Ghana he wrote his first poetry book, Rediscovery. Like the rest of his work, Rediscovery is based on African oral poetry. In Ghana he managed the Ghana Film Corporation and founded the Ghana Play House. He then studied literature at the University of London, and while in England he wrote several radio plays for the BBC. He spent the early 1970s in the United States, studying and teaching at universities. While in the USA he wrote This Earth, My Brother, and My Blood. Awoonor returned to Ghana in 1975 as head of the English department at the University of Cape Coast. Within months he was arrested for helping a soldier accused of trying to overthrow the military government and was imprisoned without trial. After ten months he was found guilty and released. The house by the Sea is about his time in jail. After imprisonment Awoonor became politically active and has written mostly nonfiction. From 1990 to 1994 Awoonor was Ghana's Ambassador to the United Nations where he headed the committee against apartheid. -Bio: Wikipedia
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/kenya-westgate-mall-terrorists-kill-ghana-elder-professor-kofi-awoonor/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
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