With each fall season over-flowing baskets of gorgeous apples begin to appear in farmers' markets, road-side stands as well as local grocery stores. In my opinion, apples are one of life's tastiest pleasures. Apples are actually one of the healthiest fruits provided to us by our Creator. In fact, some anti-cancer studies show that one of the health benefits of apples is, when eaten on daily basis, they provide better anti-cancer benefits than lesser amounts meaning that the old-saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!" is actually great advice.
September 16th of every year is International Eat an Apple Day which is celebrated by people all over the world by enjoying a piece of this delightful and delicious fruit. Fortunately we don't have to make it a one-day celebration. In fact, because of the many health benefits of apples, eating just one apple a day has been found to be more effective at preventing cardiovascular disease than the statin drugs so often prescribed. Did you know there are approximately 7,500 varieties of apples grown today, and they offer a great range of flavor from tart to tangy to sweet? However, it's the health benefits of apples that make all of these varieties common.
Apples are also an age-old fruit. Apples are mentioned in the Biblical story of Adam and Eve and also in Greek mythology. In the USA we think of apples as American as apple pie even though apples are grown literally all over the world.
Worried about Sugar in Apples? Don't.
Slowing down of carbohydrate digestion. Quercetin and other flavonoids found in apples act to inhibit carbohydrate-digesting enzymes like alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. When these enzymes are inhibited, carbohydrates are broken down less readily into simple sugars, and less load is placed on our bloodstream to accommodate more sugar.
Reduction of glucose absorption. Polyphenols in apples clearly lower the rate of glucose absorption from our digestive tract. Once again, this change lessens the sugar load on our bloodstream.
Stimulation of the pancreas to put out more insulin. Getting sugar out of our bloodstream often requires the help of insulin, a hormone produced by the beta cells of our pancreas. By telling the beta cells of our pancreas to produce more insulin, the polyphenols found in apple can help us clear more sugar from our blood and keep our blood sugar level in better balance.
Preheat oven to 200. Core apples & slice as thin as possible. You can also use a mandoline. In a bowl, mix together the spices & salt. Toss the apple slices in the spice mixture to coat. Place apples on a parchment lined baking sheet & bake for 30 minutes. Then check the apples & flip them. Bake for another 30-45 minutes or until crispy. Let cool & enjoy!
Consumers Union of United States, Inc. Do you know what you're eating? An analysis of US government data on pesticide residues in foods. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. Edward Groth III, PhD, Project Director, Charles M. Benbrook, PhD, Consultant, Public Service Projects Department, Technical Division. Feb 1999. 1999.
Hanhineva K, Törrönen R, Bondia-Pons I et al. Impact of Dietary Polyphenols on Carbohydrate Metabolism. Int J Mol Sci. 2010; 11(4): 1365-1402. 2010.
Solovchenko A and Schmitz-Eiberger M. Significance of skin flavonoids for UV-B-protection in apple fruits. J. Exp. Bot., Aug 2003; 54: 1977 – 1984. 2003.


text:
America in Alexandria, de Tocqueville in Arab
July 21, 2010 ~ Matt Armstrong
By Amb. Cynthia P. Schneider
"This is the most extraordinary place I have ever seen," exclaimed Sid Ganis, film producer and past President of the Academy of Motion Pictures, about the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the modern day reincarnation of the famous Library of Alexandria. Ganis was in Alexandria to participate in a conference organized by the Library commemorating the one year anniversary of President Obama's Cairo speech. The brainchild of the Bibliotheca's founding Director, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Initiatives in Education, Science and Culture Towards Enhanced US-Muslim Countries Collaborations, aimed to focus on concrete projects and initiatives in those three areas, and not on divisive political issues such the Israeli-Palestine conflict and Iraq.
To a large degree, the conference succeeded in its goal: sessions presented a wide range of initiatives and projects. From Inspire Dreams, a nonprofit launched by three Georgetown graduates that offers classes and programs to youth in Palestinian refugee camps; to Share the Mic, a new online venture that features music from around the globe and links artists with philanthropic causes to the mutual benefit of each; to the online Science "Supercourse" developed by the Library of Alexandria, it was apparent that civil society in the East and the West had responded to (or in some cases, anticipated) President Obama's call for collaborative action. The participant's list included a wide range of representatives from inside and outside governments, from 24's executive producer Howard Gordon (whose son Micah starred on the piano in the jazz concert) and actor Peter Weller (who led the jazz trio on the trumpet) to Iranian American nuclear engineer Najmedin Meshkati and the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Mustafa Ceric, as well as representatives from the Arab League, the US government and ISESCO (the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization).
"Hip-Hop is My Life"
Outside the formal conference sessions, Alexandria had much to offer, from the marvels of the Library itself (six specialized libraries, four museums, a planetarium, a Culturama, a patented nine projector interactive system, eight academic research centers, plus permanent and temporary exhibitions in art, science, and history), to scenic seafood restaurants and a lively music scene. Egyptian actor Khaled Abolnaga organized an impromptu jam session of Alexandria's underground music groups at a local night spot. Lebanon's female rapper Malika mixed with Alexandria's Y-Crew, and the Americans recognized familiar sounds of hip-hop beats, but with Arabic words and musical strains.
"Hip-hop is my life," declared one of the musicians attending a workshop sponsored by the German Goethe Institute and the Swedish Anna Lindh Foundation. "How can we reach the Arab youth?" is a question constantly posed by policymakers in the US. Hip-hop and standup comedy, two American inventions that incorporate "American" ideas of dissent, critiquing authority, and the individual making his/her own way in society are reaching them.
"Let's Hug": the US Government as Dr. Phil
Despite the Library's efforts to focus on concrete projects, politics reared its ugly head, and the resentment of American policies simmering beneath the surface erupted. Although Sid Ganis and his colleagues, including Iranian filmmaker Behrooz Hashemian offered a fascinating account of the Academy's trip to Iran (March 2009) and exchange with the Iranian House of Cinema (October 2009 in Los Angeles), audience questions vented about U.S. policies — for which, needless to say, none of the panelists were responsible. "There seems to be a generation gap," observed standup comedian Dean Obeidallah. "The young people really do want to engage in the areas of culture, technology, and education (even though they might disagree with U.S. policies), while older generations still focus on the political divisions."
Although the US government provided no financial support for the conference but Canada did — U.S. government representatives, Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey, U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith, and U.S. Representative to the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) Rashad Hussain, presented an optimistic vision of relations between the United States and the Muslim world. While the appointments of Ms. Pandith and Mr. Hussain initially were welcomed by Muslim communities around the world, comments at the conference and in the Arab press indicated that patience is wearing thin. Ms. Pandith noted the "tone, energy, and passion" behind the U.S. government's desire for engagement with Muslim communities. She offered the American government as a "convener, facilitator, and intellectual partner."
From the conference itself and subsequent commentary in Arab media, expectations for the United States are higher. The spokesperson for Arab League enumerated frustrations with "engagement" since the Cairo speech, including the lack of response from the White House to their proposed initiatives or request to collaborate on the Entrepreneurship Summit. An article entitled "Let's Hug" in the respected pan-Arabic newspaper al-Hayat noted the similarity between the speeches by the U.S. government representatives and the approach of Dr. Phil, who also thinks that "mutual respect and understanding" can solve all problems. In another analysis of the conference, which reflects the tone of commentary in other Arabic publications, al-Hayat contrasted the empty rhetoric of the U.S. government representatives at the conference with the more substantive pledges of Obama's speech. Echoing the point made by ISESCO representative Muhammad Bin Salih that the Palestine remains the critical determinant in the relationship between the U.S. and Muslim communities around the world, the article gave President Obama a failing grade on that issue, and wryly noted that the "so-called need for dialogue dissolves when compared to everyday reality" (translation from Arabic by Nadia Oweidat).
A History of America in Arabic
If the U.S. government underwhelmed with its ambition for delivering on the promise of the Cairo speech, the same cannot be said of the Library of Alexandria, which has projects in film, with NYU's Tisch School; in developing a Universal Networking Digital Language, with UNESCO; in building an Arab network for women in science and technology, with various international science and education organizations; and in translation, with Yale University — to name but a few. One of the most exciting ideas was Ismail Serageldin's proposal to host a series of television programs in Arabic on American history. Dr. Serageldin, who enthuses about Abraham Lincoln and the American meritocracy — "unique in the world"– developed the concept after a well-received "marathon series" of lectures on American history presented at the Library in 2007. Is the world ready for de Toqueville in Arabic? Akbar Ahmed's recently published book Journey into America interpreting American history and life through the eyes of Muslim Americans gives one version of a Muslim de Tocqueville. Let's hope that Dr. Serageldin's American History project garners the necessary funding and support to produce another — in Arabic for Arab audiences.
Cynthia P. Schneider is an expert in cultural diplomacy. She leads the Arts and Culture Initiative within the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, and teaches Diplomacy and Culture at Georgetown University. She served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands (1998-2001).
Guests posts are the opinions of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.MountainRunner.us. They are published here to further the discourse on America's global engagement.
Cynthia Schneider's TEDtalk on Cultural Diplomacy, including the surprising spread of "Idol" TV
Refurbished approach to cultural diplomacy by Martin Rose of the British Council
The Role of Cultural Relations in Conflict Prevention and Resolution from 24 March 2010
Posted in Cultural Diplomacy cultural diplomacypublic diplomacy
‹ PreviousRefurbished approach to cultural diplomacy by Martin Rose of the British Council
Next ›In the interest of informed debate on Public Diplomacy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Fincher, Hooper Vie For Top Directors Guild Prize
Filed Under:David Fincher, DGA, The King's Speech, The Social Network
US actor Justin Timberlake (L) poses with US director David Fincher prior to attend the Premiere of Fincher's film, "The social network" on October 3, 2010 in Paris. AFP PHOTO THOMAS SAMSON (Photo credit should read THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)US actor Justin Timberlake (L) poses with US director David Fincher prior to attend the Premiere of Fincher's film, "The Social Network" on October 3, 2010 in Paris. (credit: THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The makers of Academy Awards favorites "The Social Network" and "The King's Speech" are among those competing for top honors from the Directors Guild of America, one of Hollywood's last prize shows before the Oscars.
"The Social Network" filmmaker David Fincher is considered the front-runner for Saturday night's guild awards, whose winner almost always goes on to claim the directing prize at the Oscars.
Tom Hooper — director of "The King's Speech," which leads the Oscars with 12 nominations — also is up for the guild honor, along with Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Christopher Nolan for "Inception" and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."
Once again, Nolan is odd man out at the Directors Guild honors, the only contender who was not nominated for the directing Oscar. The same thing happened to Nolan two years ago, when he was up for the guild prize for "The Dark Knight" but was overlooked for a best-director nomination at the Oscars.
Joining Aronofsky, Fincher, Hooper and Russell in the Oscar race for director are Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit."
Only six times in the 62-year history of the guild awards has the winner failed to take home the Oscar for best director.
Fincher, a past guild and Oscar nominee for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," won the directing prize at the Golden Globes for "The Social Network," which also earned him best-director honors from key critics groups.
The Directors Guild prizes are followed this weekend by Sunday night's Screen Actors Guild Awards, the last big honors before the Feb. 27 Oscars.
Besides its feature-film prize, the Directors Guild also will present awards in documentary, television and commercial categories.
Presenters include last year's feature-film recipient, "The Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win the guild award and directing Oscar. Other presenters include Bigelow's ex-husband, "Avatar" creator James Cameron, whom she beat for Hollywood's top directing prizes a year ago, and such stars and filmmakers as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio and Helen Mirren.
Current Oscar nominees Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Melissa Leo and Jennifer Lawrence also are on the presenter list for the guild awards, which are not televised.


Try us out. Your bike will thank you!
Berkshire Cycle For All Your Motorcycle Needs.
For whatever your bike needs, bring it to people that love motorcycles as much as you do. We´re a bit off the beaten path, but our customers feel that we´re worth the ride. You should at least try us out! Stop by for an oil change. Check out the bikes. Check out the vibes. You´ll be back!
Over 30 years repairing & restoring every brand of bike there is.
Factory trained & certified by multiple manufacturers.
For those hard to find parts, we know a guy that knows a guy.
Our low overhead lets us charge less than the fancy places.
We´re fully insured and sleep 20 feet from your bike.
Your bike is the most important bike in our shop.
Berkshire Cycle is a full service repair shop able to handle any job large or small. We enjoy working on all brands including ATV's and scooters. Our team has a passion for vintage bikes and we have a lot of experience on 60´s Japanese and British makes. We can rebuild your 1966 Honda 305 scrambler or restore your 1971 Norton commando. If you call for advice or help in finding a part you will always get a friendly voice on the other end helping you in any way we can. Some of our customers just stop by to say hi and to see the bikes we are working on that week. Call or stop by anytime during our business hours.
Brad has been working as a mechanic since 1975 on both cars and motorcycles. His true passion is motorcycles, so he started his own part time repair business in 1995. Thanks to repeat customers and referrals over the years we have grown our business and expanded our hours of operation. In 2004 we moved the family and business to Goshen and built a bigger and better repair shop to better serve our customers. Brad is shop owner and mechanic so you always get professional and personal service. In 2014 Brad's stepson Adam joined Berkshire Cycle as a motorcycle dealer trained mechanic, what a great team they make. Brad and Adam also share a passion for vintage bikes of all makes and have become active in local Moto-Giro and VJMC (Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) activities.
We can bring your pile of parts back to rideable or show condition.
We´ll take on the the toughest repair and guarantee your complete satisfaction.
We are a licensed Massachusetts Inspection Station.
Preventive maintenance can go a long way towards happy ownership.


text:
namespace ash {

namespace tether {

// Sends a DisconnectTetheringRequest to the formerly active host. Supports
// multiple concurrent messages.
class DisconnectTetheringRequestSender {
 public:
  class Observer {
   public:
    Observer() {}
    virtual ~Observer() {}

    virtual void OnPendingDisconnectRequestsComplete() {}
  };

  DisconnectTetheringRequestSender();

  DisconnectTetheringRequestSender(const DisconnectTetheringRequestSender&) =
      delete;
  DisconnectTetheringRequestSender& operator=(
      const DisconnectTetheringRequestSender&) = delete;

  virtual ~DisconnectTetheringRequestSender();

  // Sends a DisconnectTetheringRequest to the device with the given ID.
  virtual void SendDisconnectRequestToDevice(const std::string& device_id) = 0;

  // Returns whether at least one DisconnectTetheringRequest is still in the
  // process of being sent.
  virtual bool HasPendingRequests() = 0;

  void AddObserver(Observer* observer);
  void RemoveObserver(Observer* observer);

 protected:
  void NotifyPendingDisconnectRequestsComplete();

 private:
  base::ObserverList<Observer>::Unchecked observer_list_;
};

}  // namespace tether

}  // namespace ash

#endif  // ASH_COMPONENTS_TETHER_DISCONNECT_TETHERING_REQUEST_SENDER_H_

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Category: Crime
Article: Vegas woman due in court on child abuse charges
By Ryan Lowery | March 13, 2019
From the Las Vegas Optic A Las Vegas woman is scheduled to be arraigned in San Miguel Magistrate Court this week following charges of child abuse and battery of a household member stemming from a February incident. According to a statement of probable cause filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court, Las Vegas Police were dispatched…
Article: NMSP: Woman who crashed with kids in SUV was high
By Ryan Lowery | February 8, 2019
From the Las Vegas Optic A Las Vegas woman has been charged with child abuse and DWI after police say she was high on marijuana when she was involved in a multi-vehicle crash with two children in the vehicle. Linda Maldonado, 34, was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center following the incident that…
Article: Apparent road rage incident ends with 15-year-old shot in the head
By Ryan Lowery | January 30, 2019
From the Las Vegas Optic A high-speed car chase through the streets of west Las Vegas culminated in a 15-year-old boy being airlifted to Albuquerque with a gunshot wound to the head, and a Las Vegas man facing multiple felony charges. Leopoldo J. Jaramillo III, 30, was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center…
Article: Police: Man struck wife, daughter
From the Las Vegas Optic Just days before Christmas, Las Vegas Police responded to a domestic disturbance call that resulted in a Las Vegas man being charged with child abuse. Brian E. Mondragon, 44, was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on Dec. 22, charged with felony abuse of a child and misdemeanor…
Article: Man out on bond for DWI leads police on chase
By Ryan Lowery | January 1, 2019
From the Las Vegas Optic Hours after appearing in court to have an ankle monitor removed, a Las Vegas man was arrested for felony aggravated fleeing of law enforcement following a high-speed chase. According to Las Vegas Police, around 8 a.m. Dec. 12, an officer's radar recorded 24-year-old Jeffrey C. Fernandez driving 98 mph on…
Article: Police arrive on Bridge Street with guns drawn, arrest man
By Ryan Lowery | December 14, 2018
From the Las Vegas Optic Las Vegas Police responded to a business in the 100 block of Bridge Street with guns drawn after receiving a call about a man pointing a handgun at people. LVPD officers confronted 32-year-old Alfonso H. Garduño on Dec. 3 around 3:30 p.m. in the breezeway of a building on Bridge…
Article: Man arrested after threatening to kill his family
By Ryan Lowery | December 8, 2018
From the Las Vegas Optic A Las Vegas man was charged with two felonies and multiple misdemeanors after threatening to kill himself and his family. Joseph L. Garcia, 58, was charged with two felony counts of false imprisonment, two misdemeanor counts of assault against a household member and misdemeanor aggravated battery against a household member.…
Article: Suspect in Rociada slaying held without bond
By Ryan Lowery | November 29, 2018
From the Las Vegas Optic The man accused of shooting and killing a Rociada man will remain in jail as he awaits trial. William Daniels, 60, was charged in the slaying of 46-year-old Roman Latimer Lucero after the two men got into an argument along New Mexico Highway 276 in Rociada on Oct. 27. In…
Article: Man awaits competency evaluation in child abuse case
By Ryan Lowery | November 2, 2018
From the Las Vegas Optic A Las Vegas man is in jail awaiting a competency evaluation following an arrest for felony child abuse and possession of marijuana. Las Vegas Police say Angel Juarez Jr., 28, was arrested Oct. 16 after LVPD responded to a call about an injured child at Alta Vista Regional Hospital. According…
Article: Man held on murder charges following fatal shooting of Rociada man
By Ryan Lowery | October 30, 2018
From the Las Vegas Optic A man is being held without bond following the fatal shooting of 46-year-old Roman Lucero of Rociada. William R. Daniels, 60, was arrested Saturday night following an investigation by New Mexico State Police and is being held at the San Miguel County Detention Center on an open count of second-degree…


wall mounted letter holder wall wall mount letter holder wood.
wall mounted letter holder wall letter holder wood mail organizer key holder bamboo keys and letter wall mounted letter holder wall mount letter holder white.
wall mounted letter holder 5 pocket file holder wooden wall mounted letter key holder.
wall mounted letter holder wall mounted letter rack cool wall mount letter holder cover letter decorating design wall mounted letter racks uk.
wall mounted letter holder wall mounted letter holder and key rack unique key holders ideas on key woodworking wall mount letter holder.
wall mounted letter holder century country french carved wood wall mount letter holder wall mount letter holder wood.
wall mounted letter holder home intuition wall mount bamboo mail letter holder organizer rack 3 slot scroll wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder multi pocket holders wall mounted letter holder uk.
wall mounted letter holder wicker mail holder mid century mail organizer rattan wall mount letter holder wicker mail sorter vintage wall mount letter holder white.
wall mounted letter holder key wall mount letter holder walmart.
wall mounted letter holder scroll wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder spectrum scroll wall mount letter holder satin nickel wall mounted letter holder uk.
wall mounted letter holder mail organizer wall mount with white color design woodworking wall mount letter holder.
wall mounted letter holder best key holder for wall ideas on key hanger for wall mounted letter holder wooden wall mounted letter key holder.
wall mounted letter holder acrylic wall mount brochure holder mounted literature holders throughout picture for decorations 6 scroll wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder cut out heart wall rack wooden wall mounted letter key holder.
wall mounted letter holder tray antique pastel wall mounted letter rack wooden wall mounted letter key holder.
wall mounted letter holder introduction box cardboard wall mounted mail holder wall mount letter holder white.
wall mounted letter holder organize your mail and your keys with the spectrum euro wall mount letter holder featuring an attractive euro design this holder will compliment any wall mounted letter hold.
wall mounted letter holder wall letter holder wall mounted mail holder retro wall mount scroll wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder wall mount bill organizer wall mounted bill organizer mail holder mid century mail organizer wood wall wall mount letter holder wood.
wall mounted letter holder wall mounted letter organizer wooden mail sorter wall small rustic key holder and mail organizer wooden scroll wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder mail key organizer wall mount letter holder wall mount key and letter rack 4 pocket mail wall mount letter holder walmart.
wall mounted letter holder wall mounted mail organizer key rack white wood storage hanging letter holder what s it worth wall mounted mail organizer and key rack wall mount letter holder white.
wall mounted letter holder beautiful wall mount letter holders for home office wall mounted letter rack wooden wall mounted letter holder and key rack.
wall mounted letter holder wall mount toothbrush holder scroll wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder 8 ways to use your wall mounted letter holder wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder letter holder and key rack wall mount wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder wall mounted letter rack new wall mount letter holder cover letter wall mounted letter inspiration wall mounted letter holder wooden.
wall mounted letter holder wall mounted letter rack mail organizer nautical inspiration and modern design scroll wall mount letter holder black.
wall mounted letter holder letter holders wall mounted best mail organizer wall ideas on mail wall mount letter holder canada.
wall mounted letter holder distressed vintage wall mounted letter mail holder license plate tag art wall mounted letter racks uk.
wall mounted letter holder shabby chic wall mount teal letter holder wooden wall mounted letter holder and key rack.
wall mounted letter holder letter holder wall mount wall mounted letter rack with blackboard wall mounted letter rack letter holder wall mounted letter holder wooden.
wall mounted letter holder best mail holder ideas on find a mail wall mounted letter holder and wall mount letter holder canada.
wall mounted letter holder wall mail sorter wall mounted mail organizer fanciful the famous bedroom ideas wall mounted letter holder wooden wall mounted letter holder and key rack.
wall mounted letter holder nice wall letter organizer about metal wall mount letter rack holder letter wall mount letter holder walmart.


Getting choked out by Gina Carano is the hottest thing you'll see today.
Former Strikeforce world champion turned Actor, Gina Carano joins the sports science show to demonstrate her rear naked choke on a host who is a little bit too excited.
Previous O.J Simpson Losses his Sh*t and is thrown out of a Las Vegas Hotel.
Next It's called Extreme Arm Wrestling, & It's the most Badass sport ever.


text:
Wyatt's World
Garbage Truck Santa marks 25 years of Christmas cheer
Early in his career Wayne Henderson had to learn to be quick on his feet. One winter morning a young kid in Valleyview asked him a very important question: "Santa, how come you're picking up garbage?"
Ashley Joannou
Dec. 21, 2016 12:49 p.m.
Early in his career Wayne Henderson had to learn to be quick on his feet.
One winter morning a young kid in Valleyview asked him a very important question:
"Santa, how come you're picking up garbage?"
Henderson came up with his answer on the fly.
"'The garbage man was sick today so I thought I'd help out,'" he remembers telling the child. "He just looked at me, thought it was a good answer, smiled and moved on."
Though Henderson's given name might not be on the tip of everyone's tongue, few in Whitehorse are unfamiliar with his festive moniker.
For the last 25 years Henderson has been known as Garbage Truck Santa.
"It's been so long I'm even feeling like Santa Claus. Old," he said.
For the uninitiated, Henderson spends four days every holiday season driving around Whitehorse in a garbage truck covered from bumper to bumper in 2,500 Christmas lights.
With caribou antlers affixed to the front of his truck and a set of bells on a rope outside his window, Henderson travels to schools, daycares and seniors residences spreading Christmas cheer.
The kids don't know Santa's coming until he shows up, said Kim Ramsay, the principal at Grey Mountain Primary School. That leads to some happy reactions.
"Just the wide eyes, the smiling faces, 'Santa!' They're just so surprised."
Inside the suit "I'm a totally different person," Henderson said, sitting inside Whitehorse Motors last week. "I'm out there trying to make people happy."
Even taking Santa's picture for the newspaper can take a bit of extra time. While waiting in the parking lot multiple families stop their cars to say hello.
Santa had a candy cane and a smile ready for everyone.
Henderson's journey to becoming Santa began 25 years ago when he was working for the city as a garbageman.
Every Thursday a young boy would be waiting outside to see the truck.
"I'd let him use the controls, lift the truck up, push the garbage back."
Henderson said it dawned on him how much young kids love big trucks.
"I thought, you know what, I'll go and see what the manager says about me putting on a Santa suit."
For two years he spent a few days each Christmas, dressed as Santa, picking up garbage along his route. The truck was decorated, but not to the extent you see today. A few lights were draped over the hood and there were some bows, he said.
After that the city agreed to let Henderson skip his route for a few days and just drive the truck around town while still being paid.
Henderson acknowledges Yukoners' love to complain about city politics but says he never heard anyone speak a bad word about the decision to let him work as Santa on the city's dime.
Over the years the truck has gotten twinklier and Garbage Truck Santa has gotten even more popular. Henderson estimates he handed out 3,000 candy canes during the four days he worked last week.
During one visit, while going room-to-room at a continuing care facility, he came across a volunteer playing piano for some of the residents and decided to sing jingle bells with the group.
He clearly still loves the job, though things have gotten a little more bureaucratic over the years.
He now has to get a waiver each Christmas to put the lights on his truck. Technically vehicles on the road are only supposed to have red lights.
He's quick to credit a handful of Whitehorse businesses with helping get Santa ready every year.
The trucks lights are donated by Canadian Tire, while Wykes Your Independent Grocer and Superstore donated the candy canes. Ajax Steel and Industrial Supplies get Santa his white gloves, since he goes through quite a few getting in and out of the truck.
But the folks at Whitehorse Motors may be Santa's biggest helpers, he said.
It was thanks to them, and the Takhini Trailer Park, that the tradition was able to continue after the city did what some saw as the unthinkable.
It sold Santa's truck.
The new garbage trucks weren't able to have to twinkly lights, Whitehorse officials said in 2012.
After a flurry of complaints, city councillors drove a different Santa around that Christmas in a lit-up van instead.
Henderson helped decorate the van but says he wasn't comfortable donning the red suit.
"It's always been Garbage Truck Santa."
In 2013 the event didn't happen at all.
But then Henderson got a call from Whitehorse Motors' general manager Tina Woodland.
If there was a garbage truck to be found, would Santa be willing to ride again? she asked.
"I said absolutely. She gave me a call a few weeks later, 'I found you a garbage truck.'"
The truck gets borrowed from the Takhini Trailer Park each year.
"For me, in a nutshell, it's really important for us to participate in the community, and I think this is something the whole community can enjoy," Woodland said.
Staff at Whitehorse Motors often spend their time, energy and money keeping the garbage truck in good working order but Woodland said it's worth it.
"It's an investment in our community and it makes us feel good."
Now that Henderson is not driving a city truck he takes vacation days to make time for his Santa duties.
His son and friends, who were babies when the tradition started, help decorate the truck.
As long as he stays healthy, and the truck stays in working order, he'll keep doing it, He said.
"It's something in me. It's giving back to the city, I guess, back to the people."
Contact Ashley Joannou at ashleyj@yukon-com
Yukon senator turns back on pledge to retire after 8 years
Yukon government releases scathing review of access to information laws
'Our people's patience is running thin': VGFN citizens concerned about low salmon count, councillor says
Darius Elias said meetings with Alaskan counterparts have been arranged this year
Second Avenue study nears completion
City engineer promises that the document will be made public at a roundtable discussion
Claims process for Indian day schools settlement opens
Eight Yukon day schools are on the final approved list of facilities covered by the settlement
Longtime party supporter vies for Yukon Party leadership
Linda Benoit said she brings a different perspective than other candidates
History Hunter: Old scrapbook tells story of Yukon tourism in the early days
It was quite the Christmas gift
Yukonomist: A zero-carbon replacement for our LNG plant
Consider small, modular nuclear reactors
Nicolas Petit wins Copper Basin 300
Rob Cooke was the lone Yukoner to finish, placing 12th
City news, briefly
Some of the discussions from the Jan. 9th meeting of Whitehorse city council
Commentary: Burning wood for energy is not a climate-friendly policy
New projects to increase the use of wood and wood products as energy sources should not be promoted
Yukonomist: Yukon risks 2020
It might not be a terrible idea to take advantage of quiet in January to update your emergency kit
Holiday Hockey Tournament an all-ages affair in Dawson City
"Everybody is making it about the kids and making sure that they're having a good time"
Christmas Insomnia Tournament concludes 2019 with soccer showdown
Charly's Angels and Liverpool Reserves were this year's winners
Explore Yukon News
Yukon Weather
Yukon Classifieds
© 2020, Yukon News and Black Press Group Ltd.


text:
March 4, 2019 - P.G. Peeples (Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Mar. 4, 2019) - In the late 1960s, P.G. Peeples made his way to the University of Kentucky from the coal town of Lynch in Eastern Kentucky.
He thought he would be a teacher – studies he focused intently on.
But five decades later, Peeples has been marking some 50 years as President/CEO of the Urban League of Lexington. There, he is known as a national leader in urban redevelopment, training and housing efforts.
In this edition of Behind the Blue, you can listen to how UK helped prepare him not only to be a teacher, but a community leader across generations in Lexington and beyond. It's a path he didn't know he would take at the time, but one that has changed the trajectory of Lexington.
Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.


text:
Q: Outlook Add-In office 365 deployment > Add-In not visible I am trying to build my first Outlook Add-In (not VSTO) and followed the tutorial here. After setting up my Office 365 developer license/environment, I finally manage to compile/deploy the Add-In:
3>The manifest file "C:\Users\AAX\source\repos\MyProject\MyProject\bin\Debug\OfficeAppManifests\MyProject.xml" is being deployed to the Exchange server.
3>Successfully registered the mail app on the Exchange Server using service at https://outlook.office365.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx

The compile/deploy action ask me to sign to OWA which I can do but I do not see my Add-In.
I try to a track of my Add-in

*

*Search under the OWA > Settings > Manage Add-in --> Nothing

*Search under Exchange Admin > Settings > Add-In --> Nothing

*I tried to deploy it manually using OWA: All Ok

The workaround 3 does not help as I want to be able to develop build/deploy in a convenient manner. Any hint on why the Visual Studio deploy does not work?

A: Users can't see add-in? Try one of these:
Use the compatibility checker

*

*Outputs a status report for each user in your organization, whether they have a valid Office License, if they are set up correctly on Exchange, and if they are ready for centralized deployment. For more information, see deployment compatibility checker.

Check Office version requirements

*

*The user might be on an older, incompatible version of Office. For add-ins to be deployed the user must have Office ProPlus 2016. You can check this out for any member of your organization. To find out how, see Office 365 reports.

*Alternatively, you can check this manually by going to the application, such as Word, then choose File > Account. Under Product Information, you should see Office 365 ProPlus.

Check Exchange requirements

*

*Microsoft Exchange stores the add-in manifests within your organization's tenant. The admin deploying add-ins and the users receiving those add-ins must be on a version of Exchange Server that supports OAuth authentication. By default, Exchange Multi-Tenant and Dedicated VNext deployments support OAuth. Exchange Dedicated Legacy and hybrid on-premises deployments can be configured to support OAuth; however, it isn't the default configuration.

*Check with your organization's Exchange admin to find out which configuration is in use. OAuth connectivity per user can be verified by using the Test-OAuthConnectivity PowerShell cmdlet.
See regulations surrounding minors using add-ins

*

*Please see further information regarding minors using add-ins if applicable.

For more information, please see the following link:
Troubleshoot: User not seeing add-ins

A: Ok so the solution was to create a fresh account in the O365 developper subscription and to use that account in Visual Studio to deploy the manifest. After doing so the Add-In appears in Outlook and the OWA portal.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Renishaw is highlighting a developing family of high performance hardware and software products for co-ordinate measuring machines that are specifically designed to aid the measurement and manufacturing of aerospace blades.
All products complement the multi-award winning REVO® 5-axis measurement system and include APEXBlade™ planning software for REVO sweep scanning and DMIS programming, MODUS™ airfoil analysis for the calculation and reporting of blade section profile and airfoil characteristics, and SurfitBlade™ to aid reverse engineering of the complete airfoil.
Historically blades have been measured in sections due to the limitations of measurement techniques. Now, the new family of Renishaw products enables the whole blade to be inspected quickly and accurately allowing unlimited section or full surface analysis based on high precision contact probe data.
APEXBlade is a software package designed to quickly generate collision free programs that drive the REVO measurement system to carry out complex 'sweep scans' that will collect point cloud data from across the complete blade surface. The CAD model is imported into the virtual REVO CMM environment prior to the automatic generation of the measurement plan. Both transverse and longitudinal scans are supported and each sweep can be split, which is useful for edges where the actual position is expected to be significantly different from the nominal CAD. Once the user is happy with the program, a DMIS file is generated that can be executed within Renishaw's MODUS metrology software.
A key advantage of the new Renishaw approach to blade measurement is that a cloud of tip centre data points is generated over the entire airfoil and root surfaces. The MODUS point cloud sectioning (MPCS) functionality then allows 'on surface' sections to be constructed by intersecting any defined plane with the captured point cloud. This can be carried out at the time of measurement, or in the future if further sections at different locations are required, without the need for re-measurement of the blade.
The MODUS airfoil module then allows the user to take the nominal aerofoil sections available from the CAD model and the actual sections from the MPCS to provide blade fitting functionality for the reporting of blade section profile and aerofoil characteristics. MODUS offers comprehensive graphical reporting tools and the profile measurement results, which are fully integrated with all other feature measurement reports, can be output in pdf file format.
For users requiring a reverse engineering capability, Renishaw's SurfitBlade software is an offline application used to generate NURBS blade surface forms for use in downstream processes such as computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis. It also allows average blade geometry to be established from a series of blade results.
In summary, the Renishaw airfoil inspection suite provides automatic generation of the CMM program, rapid, high accuracy REVO data collection and comprehensive tools for cross section or full surface analysis.


Sorry the video is choppy, but it surely has that megaphone, glitter-tossing, dancing insanity that's Tom Waits going on. I remember seeing this and thinking he sounded like a cross between the blues and The Squirrel Nut Zippers. At 63, I discover that I don't seem to have as a lot fun or get as much of the advantages of aerobics as I use to. Sure it helps to keep fit however after the class is over I do not actually feel something long term.
Ellen returned to her roots as a stand-up comic. On stage she discovered not only acceptance for being herself but also tremendous acclaim. Hosting her lengthy-working discuss present has given her the chance to expose her true self to a wider viewers with a lot success. When I first became excited about psychology and counseling, I all the time imagined myself sitting in a chair and speaking to someone mendacity on a sofa. That's not precisely the way it turned out but I cannot imagine doing anything. I help people in need every day and I really feel like I'm making a distinction in my community. A profession Expedition on American Airlines Pilot, Pam Torell. The view is from the cockpit of one among her scheduled flights.


text:
The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Our Honors
Working Parties (WP) with Subsidiary Panels (SP)
Working Committees (WC)
Working Groups (WG)
Editorial Boards for periodicals and magazines
Academic Exchanges
Mechanics Popularization and Education
Seminar on Intelligent Simulation and Control of Mechanics of Complex Systems Held in Beijing, October 28, 2020
The 8th Academic Forum on "Mechanician's Voice" Held Online, 24 September 2022
CSTAM's Activity of the National Science Popularization Day Held Online, 15 September 2022
The 2nd BICTAM Master Lecture on Mechanics for 2022 Held Online, 16 September 2022
The 5th Symposium on Dynamics for Multibody Systems for Young Scholars Held in Nanning, 15 October 2021
The 13th National Biomechanics Academic Conference Held in Guiyang, 5 October 2021
ACSMO AFMC AIMBE AMS AMSS Award BICTAM CCTAM CISM Committee Competition Conference Congress CSTAM Dispersed Multiphase Flows Dynamics and Control Executive Council experimental mechanics Fracture mechanics IACM ICDVC ICFM ICILSM ICMFLOC ICTAM2020 In Memoriam IUTAM IWSMM Lecture mechanics competition Mechanics development NAE President of CSTAM Seminar Short course Standing Committee Symposium TAML thermal stresses TWAS USNCTAM WCB WCCM Workshop Youth Salon Youth Talented Program Zheng Xiaojing Zheng Zhemin Zhuo Zhuang
News from IUTAM
Meeting of the General Assembly of IUTAM in 2022 2022-08-30
The General Assembly of IUTAM met on 22 and 23 August 2022 in Cambridge, UK.
Alfred Kluwick (28 June 1942 – 2 February 2022) 2022-08-21
With deep sadness, we announce that the renowned fluid mechanician Alfred Kluwick, a former member of the IUTAM Bureau (2004-2008) and Congress Committee (1998-2010), as well as a member of the General Assembly (1990-2020) and Electoral Committee (2014-2018) of IUTAM, passed away on 2 February 2022. His research focused on aerodynamics and nonlinear wave propagation, which […]
IUTAM Statement on the Ukrainian crisis 2022-03-21
15 Beisihuanxi Road
Email: office@cstam.org.cn
Headline (146)
Archives Select Month September 2022 (4) August 2022 (7) July 2022 (1) June 2022 (2) May 2022 (1) April 2022 (2) March 2022 (1) February 2022 (3) January 2022 (1) December 2021 (2) November 2021 (8) October 2021 (7) September 2021 (2) August 2021 (9) July 2021 (3) June 2021 (4) May 2021 (9) April 2021 (3) March 2021 (4) December 2020 (4) November 2020 (3) October 2020 (5) August 2020 (2) July 2020 (1) June 2020 (1) May 2020 (1) January 2020 (4) December 2019 (5) November 2019 (7) October 2019 (4) March 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) December 2018 (1) November 2018 (5) October 2018 (3) September 2018 (4) August 2018 (6) July 2018 (1) June 2018 (2) May 2018 (3) April 2018 (1) March 2018 (2) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (19) December 2017 (3) November 2017 (2) October 2017 (3) September 2017 (2) August 2017 (2) July 2017 (2) June 2017 (1)
Copyright © 2016 - 2021 CSTAM. All Rights Reserved.


text:
NANAIMO CLIPPERS forwards Sheldon Rempal
Vees blow away Clippers on the road
Tyson Jost nets a hat-trick to help lead the Penticton Vees past the Nanaimo Clippers
Feb. 6, 2016 3:00 p.m.
Vees
Luke Voltin fired home the winner, while Tyson Jost lit the lamp three times as the Penticton Vees blew away the Nanaimo Clippers 6-1 at Frank Crane Arena Friday.
Jost put the Vees up 1-0 at 4:01 of the opening frame with a wrist shot and Voltin made it 2-0 just over seven minutes later. The Clippers lone goal came from the BCHL's leading goal-scorer, Sheldan Rempal who tallied his 53rd of the season at 17:58.
Jost then blew the doors open in the second period with his 32 and 33rd tallies of the season at 7:33 and 11:52, respectively. The Vees captain said he was really happy with his team's play in a game they were excited about.
"One of our game plans going in was just trying to get pucks to the net and create offence off that, and I think we did that really well…" he said, as they fired 35 shots at Clippers goalie Evan Johnson. "We had some lucky bounces, but that all comes off hard work."
Dixon Bowen made it 5-1, 1:50 into the third period with his eighth, assisted by Scott Conway, who finished with two assists on the night, and Easton Brodzinski. Nicholas Jones potted his 15th, assisted by Jost and Dante Fabbro, who had a three-assist night.
"We needed more saves in the game, for sure, and then I thought that once the score got a little bit lopsided and they buckled it down, by then our heads were in left field. We just didn't finish strong," said Mike Vandekamp, Clippers coach to the Nanaimo News Bulletin.
He said the game hinged on key moments. Nanaimo had a good start to the second period and earned an early power-play opportunity, but couldn't get the game-tying goal.
"At 2-1, even at 3-1, it was an even game, but they happened to have gotten a couple more pucks past our goalie than we had with theirs," Vandekamp said. "And then we just didn't have the maturity to stick with that."
After being pulled against the Victoria Grizzlies on Thursday night, Anthony Brodeur bounced back with a strong performance to make 22 saves for his 25th win of the season.
With the win, the Vees improve to 43-6-0-1, while the Clippers drop to 33-17-1-1. Conway trails Rempal by two points for the lead in BCHL scoring, 102 to 104. Jost now has 84 points in 40 games.
The Vees conclude their Vancouver Island road trip in Alberni Valley today. The Vees can clinch their second straight BCHL regular season title by collecting a point.
Written with files from the Nanaimo News Bulletin.
Ben Brar
Penticton's Soupateria facing uncertainty due to dwindling grant money, COVID restrictions
The Soupateria served over 25,000 meals in 2020
Pink Shirt Day re-imagined as COVID-19 pandemic continues
The Boys and Girls Clubs are introducing Breakfast in a Box


text:
ABOUT NICO
NICO NEWS
We're Collaborating with Stakeholders over Social Media Regulation-Lai Mohammed
There's No Going Back On Fight Against Corruption-FG
The Influence Of The Umu Ada Sect In Igboland
Emulate Sayawa In Culture Preservation ― Bauchi Speaker Advises Other Tribes
Language is Key to National Development-Eriomala
Re-Inventing the Political Process in Nigerian Films: A Critical Reading of Teco Benson's The Senator
Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, PhD
Executive Secretary/CEO
National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO)
Website: www.nico.gov.ng
The general impression in Nigeria is that, politics is the shortest cut to the top, the surest way to arrive in the society. To the average Nigerian, politics is a do-or-die affair; and if one has to enjoy its dividends, it is not to be played by the rules. The politicians: the military, civilians, or 'militicians' (retired military men in politics), speak from both sides of the mouth. Thus, the legacy of our political tradition is the determination of a group to get revered political authority, at all cost, and hold on to it as long as possible, until they are forced to leave. One shortcoming of the present Nigerian democratic experience is the electoral process that has lacked transparency. As it were, every film is a representation of the economic, social, political, religious, cultural, and technological developments of the producing country. Hollywood films have continued to reflect the American way of life – politically, economically, socially, culturally, technologically, and so forth. Popular films intervene in the political struggles of the day. Incidentally, the political film genre did not received serious attention from Nollywood producers, until the demise of the Gen. Sani Abacha, probably because of economic considerations and exigencies of the political landscape. From a critical reading of Teco Benson's The Senator, it is posited that the re-invention of the electoral process in Nigeria cannot be achieved with printed literatures alone; and that the films, like The Senator, could be used to bring positive developments in the country's political system.
The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary defines politics as, the act of "scheming and manoeuvring with a group" (777). It is not surprising then that a politician is seen in a derogatory sense as, "a person engaged in politics merely for personal gain" (Webster's 777). Though the dictionary says, 'in a derogatory sense,' there is no arguing the fact that, this is the reality of the game of politics as played in Nigeria. There is the impression, generally, that politics is the shortest cut to the top and it is the surest way to make it or arrive in the society. The average Nigerian sees politics as a do-or-die affair; and if one has to enjoy its dividends, it does not have to be played by the rules. The legacy is the determination of a group of people to get into political office, at all cost, and hold on to power as long as possible. Little wonder then that the political process is characterised by intrigues. The general thinking is that the electoral process in the present Nigerian democratic experience lacks transparency.
However, every film represents the economic, social, political, religious, cultural, and technological developments of the producing country. This explains why popular films intervene in the political struggles of the day. A study of the contemporary Nigerian film industry, Nollywood, reveals that political genre films had not received serious attention from producers, until the demise of Gen. Sani Abacha in 1998. This paper posits that political genre films have a critical role to play in enlightening the electorate in Nigeria. From a critical reading of Teco Benson's The Senator, it is argued that re-inventing the electoral process in Nigeria cannot be achieved with printed literatures alone; and that feature films, like The Senator, could be used to engender positive developments in the country's political landscape.
The Political Process in Nigeria
The political process in Nigeria could be delineated in three stages, namely, the search, the moment of decision, and the time for rebate (Ayakoroma 349). It is necessary to examine the stages to see how they are reflected in the selected film, The Senator. This is pertinent because the political process determines the quality of leadership that emanates in any society.
The search is the process of charting the road towards a political office in the sense that it is the time the idea is mooted and pursued vigorously. Very often, some persons who had had no political ambition are cajoled by followers or sycophants who believe that such a decision would be in their favour. This is the period campaigns for elective offices are carried out, and every means is applied to achieve set objectives; it is also the time for alignments and re-alignments. As it were, terms like cross-carpeting, decamping, sellable candidate, campaign organisation, harmonisation, settlement, and many more, have found their way into the contemporary Nigerian political lexicon.
The moment of decision is the time the electorate decides who should rule; it is the point of no return in the political process. Elections have, over the years, become synonymous with the triumph of the highest bidder. They are characterised by ubiquitous wars – war of words, war of the media, war of party thugs, war of youth wings or vanguards, war of naira, and war of rigging techniques. Chapters IV and V of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for instance, stipulate the requirements for election to the Legislative and Executive arms at the National and States levels. Unfortunately, such elections are almost always marred by electoral malpractices, ranging from printing of fake ballot papers, duplication of ballot boxes, over voting, snatching or vandalisation of ballot boxes, falsification of election results, to sundry electoral violence to scare the opposition.
When an election is won, it is the time for rebate; it is the time to enjoy, just as the losers count their losses. Party loyalists are usually compensated with appointments while sycophants shout the praises of the leaders to get some attention. Sometimes, the post-election period could be characterised by legal fireworks in the law courts to keep or up-turn the mandate. Thus, for the winners, it is a time to extend a hand of fellowship to the losers so that they would not go to court. Again, these negotiated settlements entail promises of contracts to offset campaign expenses or appointments for the losers or some of their strong supporters. For a Presidential, Gubernatorial or Local Government Chairmanship elect, it is also a time to wave the carrot in the face of the Legislature to avoid being served impeachment notice for no just cause.
Paradoxically, once a person wins an election, it is believed in every quarter that he/she has arrived. It is a time for congratulatory messages to pour in; it is also a time for courtesy calls (or solidarity visits) by political jobbers and even portfolio carrying traditional rulers and elder statesmen. It is a time of celebration because there is the general expectation that such a person has to recover all the money spent in the elections, and that he/she has to be financially buoyant for re-election. Furthermore, ways of choking (dealing with) political opponents are mapped out. Communities that did not give their support during the election are dealt with accordingly. This could be by not siting government projects in such communities, or not giving their sons and daughters political appointments. For strong supporters or those who worked for the candidate, it is a time of harvest: it is their government. To them, any contract they get is a form of compensation so they just collect the mobilisation, buy flashy cars, marry more wives, acquire chieftaincy titles, buy honorary doctorate degrees, and cap it with second burial ceremonies of long dead parents.
It is common knowledge that there are many contracts that have become white elephant projects due to the hydra-headed abandoned projects syndrome. This has been occasioned by the bid by unscrupulous politicians to get a piece of the national cake from the federal allocation, decided in the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory every month. The truth is that many states in Nigeria are not viable and cannot pay workers' salaries unless they receive the monthly allocation. The reason is that such states were created by fiat by past military dictators, who wanted to favour their friends and relations, and not with the real intent of bringing government closer to the people. Since most of them cannot generate appreciable internally generated revenue (IGR), they are wholly dependent on the Federal Government that metaphorically holds the feeding bottle, and workers bear the brunt as salaries and allowances are owed now and again.
The situation in the local government councils is even pitiable. Most of the Chairmen are never on seat and hardly having any relationship with the local populace. They barely undertake meaning development programmes in their council areas, only surfacing at the end of the month to share the monthly largesse. Furthermore, they are under the stranglehold of the Executive Governors, who, very often, deduct large chunks from their monthly allocations through the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee (JAAC) to oil their political machinery.
Over the years, those who seek to rule and despoil have adopted political killings and gangsterism as ready tools in the political process. This is definitely not the disposition of those who seek to lead and build. According to Makanju, political violence is
a strategy to hijack the democratic process, an annexation and fraudulent conversion of democratic structures to the antagonistic family estate thereby annulling the majority wish of the people for self-serving purposes… the moment a candidate or a group of party loyalists conspire to rig an election, a political terrorist act has been perpetrated against the people. Political terrorism is not only an infringement against the individual fell by the assassin's bullet or his immediate family, it is equally an open, and a most unwholesome infringement against the collective psyche of the people (Makanju 3).
Incidentally, the Federal Government has effectively played the role of the chief mourner at condolence visits to the bereaved, via the visible presence of the President, his deputy and/or other top government officials. At such moments, government would consistently promise that justice would prevail, and that everything possible would be done to bring the culprits to book. This underpins the call on politicians, by the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), to put an end to such acts, as a matter of urgency, and spare the nation further loss of lives. It observed that justice remains the only instrument that can douse and assuage the psycho-social and political tension generated by political killings, and that anything short of this would remain, "a grand national illusion and an international humiliation" (Makanju 3).
Film and Politics
Having taken a brief look at the political process in Nigeria, the issue that will be examined next is the interplay between film and politics. The point had been made that every film is a representation of the economic, social, political, religious, cultural, and technological developments of the producing country. In analysing the relation between film and politics, Noel King states that in a broad sense, a cinema of political experience can be expected to deploy realistic characterisation and narrative structure, and that there is need to conceive of politics as an element of the world waiting to be pictured or represented:
The cinema of political experience understands politics as "subject-matter" and makes its calculations in terms of how accurately and persuasively it pictures political events or adequates a subject's political experience. One consequence of such a cinematic practice is that the viewer is conceived as an experiencing subject… a subject awaiting politicisation by empathy (King 2).
In further explicating the above, King quotes Tony Bennett as remarking that,
not all practices of textual commentary acquire their social effectivity by organising the reader as a subject who takes a meaning from the text with subsequent consequences for his or her consciousness and mode of relating to and acting within a generalised public arena. Others do so by producing the reader as an agent who performs a practice within specific institutional domains to become the bearer of specific certificated competences (as cited in King 2-3).
According to King, the notion of a cinema of political experience, contrasts to a cinema of political address, which operates on the assumption that the domain of the political does not exist independently of a set of apparatuses, techniques and practices, amongst which one finds cinematic techniques. In this understanding of the relationship between film and politics, cinema is itself treated as a material mechanism capable of various insertions in political domains. The cinema of political address does not try to evoke the experience of these domains (thereby effecting a politicisation of the viewing subject by way of the category of experience), but rather concentrates its attention on the relation between itself as an institution (a set of techniques and practices) and those it addresses.
In examining film culture, politics and industry, with specific reference to India, Srinivas observes that, "film consumption is linked to politics on the one hand and the film industry on the other" (Srinivas 1). He argues that the promise of democracy, whether or not it is realised, is what makes the cinema political. Srinivas submits that film culture is political for two reasons:
It is founded on a democratic promise and it develops around the notion of spectatorial rights. I not only have a right to be present in the cinema hall but have the further right to make demands of the narrative, the star, etc. The cinema has to acknowledge my presence and address my expectations (Srinivas 3).
There is no arguing the fact that over the years, Hollywood films have continued to reflect American way of life – politically, economically, socially, culturally, technologically, and so forth. Douglas Kellner aptly posits that popular films intervene in the political struggles of the day. According to him, the Hollywood film, like the American society, should be seen as, "a contested terrain and that films can be interpreted as a struggle of representation over how to construct a social world and everyday life" (Kellner 1). Taking a cue from this perspective, undertaking an ideological critique of a film involves analysing images, symbols, myths, and narratives as well as propositions and systems of belief. To substantiate his position, Kellner carries out an ideological criticism of Rambo, noting that, simply attacking the militarist or imperialist ideology of the film is not enough; rather, an argument should be made for the fact that the militarism and imperialism implicit in the film serves capitalist interests by legitimising intervention in such places as South-East Asia, Central America or wherever.
As it were, Rambo is one of a whole series of "return-to-Vietnam films," a film movement that follows the same formula of representing the return to Vietnam of a team of former veterans, or a superhuman, superhero veteran, like Rambo, to rescue a group of American soldiers "missing in action," who are still imprisoned by the Vietnamese and their Soviet allies. All of these post-Vietnam syndrome films show the United States and the American warrior hero victorious this time and thus exhibit a symptom of inability to accept defeat. They also provide symbolic compensation for loss, shame, and guilt by depicting the United States as good and this time victorious; while its communist enemies are represented as the incarnation of evil, who this time receive a well-deserved defeat (Kellner, 3-6; see also Ayakoroma 27).
In an analysis of the political imperative of cinema in Nigeria, Okome acknowledges the relative successes of Latin American filmmakers like Julio Garcia Espinosa and Miguel Littin in using the film medium to make incisive political statements, noting with dismay that the Nigerian filmmaker fights shy of his political self, not taking advantage of the medium's potency as a tool for enhancing national growth and cohesion. According to Okome, unlike the significant role played by the print media, the film medium did not help in the political struggle for Nigeria's independence, and not contributing meaningfully to the political history of the country. He states further that,
Still suffering from the vestiges of colonialism and saddled with a festering political situation, the Nigerian filmmaker vacillates between the mere glamorisation of aspects of Nigerian culture and the uncritical portrayal of some dim historical past, producing in the final analysis films that are politically innocuous and culturally patronising (Okome 73).
From every indication, the political culture in Nigeria is not one that can produce the kind of leaders that would be committed to serve the people that elected them into office. As a point of fact, every elected government has the obligation to provide the primary needs of the people: food, clothing and shelter. Add to these, roads, transportation, water, electricity, education, and primary healthcare, among others. However, when a politician buys his/her way into office, he/she will not be accountable to the people.
In the light of the foregoing, a critical study will be undertaken on how some Nigerian filmmakers have directed their creative imaginations toward portraying the country's political climate in films. This is of interest because the political genre had not received serious attention by film producers before now, probably because of the economic considerations and the exigencies of the political landscape. Stories reflecting political issues appeared to offer no success formula, until the demise of the maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha; that was when The Stubborn Grasshopper was released. The success of this work seemed to have provided the impetus for the foray into political themes, as seen in The Incumbent, His Majesty, King Makers, Queen of Hasso Rock, Executive Crime, and many more.
A Critical Reading of The Senator
The Senator (2003) is a two-part film produced and directed by Teco Benson for TFP Productions. Since his entrance into Nollywood in 1994, first as an actor, Teco (as he is popularly called) has made a mark as an action-movie director, starting with Waterloo. He has also directed several Christian films for Helen Ukpabio's Liberty Gospel Ministries Films, including the highly acclaimed The Price, starring Richard Mofe-Damijo and Eucharia Anunobi. Some of his other credits include End of the Wicked, Executive Crime, State of Emergency, Wasted Years, Broad Daylight, War Front, and Explosion.
The Senator, one of the few films that reflect the Nigerian political process, portrays the innate desire of a young boy, Larry, to actualise his lifelong ambition of becoming a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Right from high school, young Larry (played by Young Ujah) learns in a typical Machiavellian way that, "the end justifies the means," which explains why he uses the instruments of blackmail consistently to get whatever he wants. He capitalises on the amorous acts of his mother (Rachael Oniga) and father (Laz Ekwueme) as instruments of blackmail to collect money from them to take care of his financial needs. When Linda dumps Mike for another boy, Piccolo, Larry again blackmails Linda by threatening to reveal to her mother and the Principal of the school that at a very young age, she had already committed abortion. Piccolo becomes his next victim for befriending Linda, as he confronts him with an armed robbery operation he (Piccolo) had earlier carried out.
In the university, Larry (Hanks Anuku) comes to the rescue of Mike (Emeka Okoro) when the leader of the Black Belt cult group, Jasper (David Nwajei), starts going after Mike's girlfriend, Rose (Nkiru Abazie), and threatens that he would bathe her with acid if she refuses his sexual advances. Larry decides to take the war to the cult group in line with the belief that the best form of defence is to attack. They take the fight to the hideout of the Black Belt cult group in the bush, late in the night, and kill Jasper and three others.
Faced with the problem of making Mike to pass his exams in the Department of Sociology, since they were admitted to read different courses, Larry contracts Magnus (Desmond Elliot), an intelligent classmate of Mike to help write the exams for a fee of one thousand naira per paper which comes to the sum of eight thousand naira for the eight papers, to pay half the amount before the exams and the balance after passing the exams. Complications set in after the fifth paper as the invigilator catches Desmond and Mike, thereby making Mike to fail the remaining three papers. To ensure that Mike passes all his exams and graduates, Larry blackmails Mike's lecturers, beginning with the Head of Department, Professor Adigun (Festus Aguebor), who had killed a colleague that had keenly contested the headship of the department with him.
As the plot unfolds, Larry meets a brick wall in Dr. Mrs. Eunice Okoro (Amaka Ezeonwukwe), in their final year. He records her husband on camera asking an orange seller out and brings the tape to her, thinking that it will make her accede to his request that she should help to pass Mike in her course. Unknown to Larry, Mrs. Okoro had been looking for strong grounds to divorce her husband for about ten years and he (Larry) had just provided her a concrete evidence to do so. Angry that the woman is obstinate, Larry assassinates her.
While Larry proceeds to do a Masters programme after their graduation, Mike opts to go into supply business since he does not have the intellectual ability for postgraduate studies. Larry dissuades him from the supply business on the ground that one is owed payments for years; thus, they agree to go into partnership and look for contracts in the construction industry. On getting vital information that National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) is awarding the Obanikoro building contract, which Julius Berger is likely to get, Larry visits the chairman of the Tenders Board, Alhaji Bamanga (Michael Adingi), and blackmails him into re-awarding the contract within one week to their company, Tin Can Ventures. The damning evidence is a printout of the Alhaji's several foreign Swiss bank accounts, which run into millions of dollars. To secure the necessary funds to execute the contract, Larry again blackmails a Bank Manager (Val Nwigwe) to get a loan of thirty million naira without the necessary collateral. The manager capitulates out of fear because Larry confronts him with evidence that he is a fake "Toronto graduate" who had smartly married the governor's daughter, and so, cannot afford a scandal of such magnitude.
In another sequence, Larry faces a heavier business challenge when Mike informs him about a contract for the construction of the Bakassi-Ikom Road, worth five hundred million naira. In consonance with his modus operandi, he visits the NNPC Director of Finance (Tony Ezimadu), and blackmails him with the murder of his female lover, Rosa Martins, who had attempted to blackmail him to the tune of five hundred thousand dollars. Reflective of the soap opera tradition, the first part of the film ends on a suspended note, as Larry confronts the Director with photographs of the murder.
The story continues in Part 2, as Larry tightens the noose around the NNPC Director by disclosing that he had a video recording of the criminal act; and will not only tell his wife, but also the Police. He instructs the Director to influence the award of the Bakassi-Ikom Road contract to their company or risk going to jail. When the Director reports back later that one of the Board members, Professor Oyewale Banjo (T.J. Morgan), is defiant, maintaining that the contract can only be awarded to them, "over his dead body," Larry visits him to make a passionate appeal. The gesture fails to make any impression on Professor Banjo, and Larry double-crosses him on the road and assassinates him and his driver.
After completing the Masters Degree programme, Larry enrols for a Doctorate degree in the Eastern University as part of his political agenda of becoming the Senate President. However, things take a fortuitous turn with the sudden death of the military Head of State (inferring supposedly to the demise of Gen. Sani Abacha in 1998). The next military junta that takes over power signals some hope in the sense that it promises that within a year, power was going to be handed over to a democratically-elected government. This gives room for politicking and it dawns on Larry that it was high time he got into active politics. The first incredible thing he does in this direction is to ask to be quickly awarded the doctorate degree, when he had just spent 14 months, and still had 18 months left to complete the programme. To actualise this, he again uses the same instrument of blackmail and succeeds because the evidence he uses to confront Professor Onyeama (Philip Okpoko) is that in his bid to become the Dean, he had visited a native doctor and sacrificed his father as requested by the medicine man.
Larry eventually joins the P.E.P. to run for the Senate when the position of Senate President was zoned to the East. For purposes of eligibility to contest, he adds six more years to his age. With Mike as his Campaign Manager, he plots his strategy, going to his home village to cultivate the right political atmosphere. He schemes in his usual way and gets the endorsement of the Igwe (Mike Manafa) of his community, gets a chieftaincy title, and crowns it by forcing Chief Nicholas Uwakwe (Enebeli Elebuwa) to step down for him. The grounds for the blackmail are that Chief Uwakwe's son had been involved in drug-related offences in the United States, while his daughter, Daphne Ifeoma Uwakwe, was a commercial sex worker in Milan, Italy. The road eventually becomes clear for Larry to coast to victory, not only as a Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but very likely the Senate President.
Within this period, Larry had also traced his background and found out that his grandfather had been confined to the evil forest when he incurred a debt while trying to sponsor his father to school in Onitsha. The poor man was wrongly accused of being a thief and was strangled, ostracised, and buried in the evil forest. Having found out what actually happened to his grandfather, Larry conveniently blackmails the grandson of one of the persons who committed the crime and makes him confess to the Igwe that his own grandfather had confessed to him. This clears all barriers that his questionable background would have placed upon him, which was why the Igwe installed him as a red-cap chief.
Teco Benson calls The Senator a political explosion; but one would rather quality it as a morality tale on the current style of politicking in Nigeria. It portrays the type of politics that is built on character assassination, blackmail, and elimination of opponents, among other vices. Incidentally, the plot of the film is very thin in the sense that there is nothing substantial apart from the instruments of blackmail which Larry uses from one victim to the other. In terms of structure, the usual trend in advanced film cultures is to handle crime stories in such a way that the criminal is brought to book, no matter how smart the person may be, so that the viewer achieves a certain level of purgation at the end of the film. This is not the case here because Larry is not punished at the end of the film.
The film portrays a society where vices like blackmail and murder are more or less glorified. This is the impression that one gets, as Larry, in spite of all his high level of criminality, was not brought to book at the end of the story. It could be recalled that he gave Mike money for Linda to procure an abortion; he mercilessly murdered Jasper and three other cultists, in addition to Mrs. Okoro and Prof. Adigun, all in the bid to have his way. Furthermore, to achieve his political ambition, he blackmailed his parents, Linda, Piccolo, university lecturers, Alhaji Bamanga, the "Toronto graduate" Bank Manager, the NNPC Director and Chief Uwakwe. Ironically, he is not brought to book because the film ends with himself and his friend celebrating. Most crime stories are usually morality tales in which the criminals are brought to book and punished. Rather than follow this structure, the criminal is let off the hook in the film, which subtracts from the whole story.
Secondly, the film exposes most of the intrigues employed by politicians against their opponents, except that other dimensions of the character of Larry are not really exploited. For instance, he is never found indulging in other activities, for example, drinking, meeting with political associates, going to the party secretariat, campaigning for the elections, and so on. The character is quite dysfunctional because the only thing that gives him pleasure is when he is blackmailing or killing people. The fact is that when a person commits a crime, naturally, some kind of nervousness is expected, which is not the case with Larry because when he is committing a major crime (or after), he becomes extremely calm and calculative.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the intrigues of Larry, in his attempt to fulfil his dream of becoming not only a Senator but the Senate President, sustain the story. Though Nigeria is seen as a country where just anything goes, it is a little bit off-handed to write a story that seems to be a one-way track, in which Larry commits all sorts of crimes and gets away with all of them. Somehow, it is curious that Larry seems to know the past crimes of people before he gets to the spot and there is nothing to tell us how he got that power of clairvoyance. Questions as to how he got to know that his mother was dating a family friend, that his father was dating his secretary, that Professor Adigun killed his colleague, that Dr. Mrs. Okoro's husband is flirting with a mere orange seller, and that Professor Onyeama killed his father for a ritual, are all begging for answers. The exception here may be the classified information on the children of Chief Uwakwe because he actually called a friend to investigate and send him the findings through a courier service. This amplifies one joke of a stand-up comedian, Michael Ogbolosingha, that politicians should not waste time to write autobiographies because their opponents would write them (Ayakoroma 407).
In terms of thematic pre-occupation, The Senator centres on blackmail as an instrument of political advancement. Basically, this is the type of politicking that characterise most African countries, not just Nigeria, because the political terrain is replete with questionable characters, people who are prepared to engage in all kinds of projects in order to achieve their selfish aims. The film portrays Machiavellian schemes employed by Larry to achieve his political ambition. Larry grows up with a compelling dream to become a Senator and works assiduously towards it; and like many politicians, he is very ruthless and would not hesitate to destroy any obstacle that comes his way. Larry's parents, like most parents, did everything possible to put him on the path of morality because his mother kept reminding him that it was not advisable to use the instrument of blackmail to extract services, or as a way of asking for a favour. His father also kept reminding him that if he kept using blackmail as an instrument for achieving his goal in life, he will one day come across somebody who would not want to shift ground and that it was going to greatly affect his ambition. It is thus not a matter of coincidence that this was confirmed in his encounter with Dr. Mrs. Okoro who refused to be blackmailed. In other words, his extermination of Jasper, Dr. Mrs. Okoro, Professor Banjo, and his driver, all show his ruthlessness to overcome every opposition. Added to the above is the series of blackmails he masterminded all in the bid to achieve his ultimate aim.
The filth in the academic system is also highlighted as Larry sets out to get his Doctorate degree in just 14 months, when he had up to 18 months to complete the programme. While the Dean says the institution does not award "Toronto degrees," he capitulates under Larry's threat of blackmail. The recurring decimal here is the rot in boardroom politics and even citadels of learning. People believe that once you are in a position of authority, you have made it; so, they do everything possible to get there.
In another breath, the film also explores the sexual excesses of the elites, especially the political class in Nigeria. Firstly, Larry capitalises on the extra-marital pleasures of his parents to blackmail them. Secondly, he attempts to use the sexual escapades of Chief Okoro to blackmail his wife though he fails, as the woman was very much aware of her husband's base nature. Thirdly, he hounds Chief Uwakwe to step down, using his daughter's involvement in prostitution as one of the instruments of blackmail. Also significant or symbolic is the use of costumes. For instance, at the beginning of the film, Larry wears jeans, and the jeans become more rugged when they enter the university; but toward the end of the film, he changes to the typical agbada dressing of the political class. Symbolically, his wardrobe had changed to reflect his new status.
The predisposition to maximising profits is reflected, among other aspects, in the production design. For example, to avoid the problem and huge cost of managing a large crowd in the handling of a political rally, the director resorts to footages of crowd from different events, a political rally at the Eagle Square, Abuja, and some other stadia in the country. The implication is that the sequence is more of an appliqué or mosaic of pictures, in the sense that the cut away shots of crowd, the picture quality, the mood, and the dais for the political campaign speeches, are all at variance or cross-purposes.
The Political Context of The Senator
At this juncture, it is pertinent to relate the film to the realities in the Nigerian political terrain. Despite the many politically motivated assassinations, as highlighted earlier, none of the perpetrators have been brought to book. For instance, sometime in May 2007, a former Inspector-General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, purportedly paraded suspected killers of Bola Ige, the assassinated Attorney-General of Nigeria, before a masked witness but members of Ige's family and the suspects countered that the whole exercise was a charade (Okezie & Ukpong, 2, 4). In the bid for politicians to get into coveted political offices, they perpetrate many crimes but go unpunished. It is therefore possible that the film is trying to highlight the abnormalities in our political landscape by putting the ball in the public court for us to judge.
However, it is also the case that once a producer is working within a particular genre, some level of adherence to the structure of that genre is expected, and in this instance, it is a crime story. Larry is somebody who wants to become a Senator, by all means, not even the moral scruples of his parents can stop him; and not even the obstacles placed in his way by his political opponents would stop him. He is and unstoppable political machine rolling towards and over all his opponents. In all of these, no conscious attempt is made to investigate any of the crimes. Nobody asks any questions on the murder of the cultists in the university or Mrs. Okoro. These aspects of the story violate the structures of crime stories. It is not true that the Nigerian society has become that depraved because even if the culprits of the several political killings have been not found out, attempts are usually made to investigate such crimes.
In the film,Larry dreams of becoming a Senator, and pursues his childhood dream assiduously. This is the reality of the political process in Nigeria because no politician thinks of giving up on his/her dream, unless there are circumstances beyond his/her control. Also, taking cognizance of the fact that politicians pay very high premium on paper qualification, Larry resolves that he needs a Doctorate degree as an added advantage. It would be recalled that Gen. Abacha was pursuing a degree programme in the University of Abuja before his death, though he never attended classes; and President Obasanjo was the first student that the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) registered. There was the case of Alhaji Salisu Buhari, the first Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives in the Fourth Republic, who was disgraced out of office because his false claim of having a university degree from the University of Toronto. The same could be said of the Evan or Evans Enwerem case in Imo State. These are some of the reference points in the paper qualification craze in Nigeria, especially among politicians.
The film also straddles the Abacha transition programme up to the time he met his sudden death. To the Onuigbos, the demise of the maximum ruler was, "good riddance to bad rubbish." This was the reaction of the notable radical lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), when Gen. Abacha's death was announced. On getting the death news, Mike equally expressed concern whether the person taking over (obviously referring to Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar) would continue with the transition and hand over to a democratically elected government.
Despite the fact that royal fathers, as custodians of the people's cultures and traditions, are expected to be apolitical, most of them are actively engaged in politics. This is to the extent that many of them are domiciled in their state capitals or the Federal Capital Territory, hardly seen in their domains; and some of them are even involved in businesses, actively bidding for juicy government contracts. Little wonder then that Larry consolidated his position by getting the backing of his traditional ruler, because the act of receiving the blessing of royal fathers to score a political point subsists in the country. This comes mostly in the form of chieftaincy titles, which evidently confer status on such beneficiaries. As a point of fact, such titles are highly monetised in the sense that persons acquiring such chieftaincy titles pay dearly and this goes a long way in enhancing the economic and social status of the monarchs.
It had been noted that the campaign period is always heated, and that it was a time to arm-twist one's political opponents to step down. Chief Uwakwe as an experienced politician would not want a political neophyte like Larry to challenge him in the party primaries. He talked to him with contempt, thinking that as a starter, Larry would eventually come and beg to be settled, as it obtains in the political process. On the contrary, he was rattled when Larry eventually confronted him with a dossier on his rotten family background. He realised that news of his son's involvement in hard drugs in the United States and his daughter being a prostitute in Italy would cause serious damage to him at the polls, he had no option than to step down for Larry. It brings to the fore the self-centred disposition of politicians, because Chief Uwakwe stepped down for Larry in order to protect his children. This is rather unfortunate because in taking that decision, he heartlessly abandoned his followership mid-stream. This is the tendency of many a Nigerian politician, who while agreeing to negotiated settlements, do not consider their numerous followers.
The point of Larry escaping the long arm of the law is also of interest in The Senator because this seems to underpin the several unresolved political killings in the country. Many political aspirants, maybe because of lack of self-confidence, think that the best way to overcome the opposition is through outright assassination. Of course, they have no qualms doing that because of the failure of the policing system. Larry progressed from one blackmail to the other and from one killing to the other to actualise his political ambition. This substantiates the point about the assassinations of Bola Ige, Pa Alfred Rewane, Marshall Harry, A.K. Dikibo, and Funsho Williams, which are just a few of the unresolved murders that have shaken the country down to its foundations. Perhaps, this has given perpetrators of political crimes, in the likes of Larry, the confidence to carry on their heinous deeds with impunity.
Re-Inventing the Political Process in Nigeria
A critical look at the above analysis brings to the fore the imperative of re-inventing the political process in Nigeria. In this direction, the following recommendations, which are by no means definitive, need to be taken into consideration:
Operate the Legislative arm of Government at the Federal, State and local Government levels on part-time bases. This is premised on the need to for people to take political offices as a call to service, not as an avenue for self-enrichment;
Adopt practical Fiscal Federalism in Nigeria where States and Local Government Councils would control their resources and only pay agreed taxes to the Federal and State Governments, respectively. Where there is no national cake to share, the prospects of people scrambling for political offices would be reduced considerably;
Reposition Local Government Councils to enjoy some level of autonomy because they are currently being operated, more or less, as Parastatals of the State Governments, where an Executive Governor can dissolve and appoint Caretaker Committees, whenever he likes and whenever elections could hold;
Abolish the States' Electoral Commissions as they are under the direct control of the Governors and are incapable of conducting free and fair elections;
Adopt staggered elections on the six geo-political basis so that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could conduct elections in about six weeks. This will enable the security agencies to provide adequate security in all the affected states and not work under very strenuous conditions;
Ensure transparent electoral process – the principle of, one man one vote should be pursued vigorously so that the people imbibe the culture;
Ensure that cases of electoral malpractices attract grave consequences to act as deterrent for future offenders;
Review the educational qualification requirement upward for those aspiring for political and elective offices to a minimum of Masters Degree to reduce the propensity for unmitigated and uncivilised aggressions;
Subject corrupt public officers to face the long arm of the law instead of their walking around with impunity; and
Carry out intensive public enlightenment campaigns to sensitise the citizenry on the need to hold public servants accountable for their actions and inactions.
In concluding this study, it is necessary to reiterate that re-inventing the Nigerian political process is imperative to produce acceptable and effective leadership. Eventually, the leaders that are likely emerge would have the desire to serve the people and not to despoil them. This can only be guaranteed from an electoral process that is not froth with violence and all forms of rigging.
It could be surmised that the critical analysis of The Senator, produced and directed by Teco Benson, reveals the kind of politics that is not salutary to national development. The only thing that sustains interest in the film is the desire for the viewer to find out whether Larry would end up becoming a Senator or face retributive justice for all the crimes he had committed. It is when one sees that he achieved his goal with impunity that one is jolted and feels a sense of indignation.
It is apparent that the film acts a warning to the political class that there are better and more decent approaches to playing politics. Re-inventing the political process means engendering the kind of politics where the people would be highly enlightened to discern those who have the interest of the masses at heart; where leaders seek political offices to actually serve and that which is based on personal gains; where leaders emerge from credible elections that would be acceptable to all parties; where leaders are truly accountable to be people and are held accountable by the people at every point in time; and where the generality of the people will be happy with the quality of the leadership and would gladly re-elect them into office without being induced financially. It is only then that Nigerians would be proud to say the political process has been really transformed and re-invented.
Ayakoroma, Barclays F. "Trends in Contemporary Nigerian Video Film Industry: A Study of Selected Genres." PhD Dissertation, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 2007.
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Abuja: Federal Government Printers, 1999.
Ekwuazi, Hyginus. Film in Nigeria. Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), 1987.
Kellner, Douglas. "Film, Politics, and Ideology: Reflections on Hollywood Film in the Age of Reagan." 15 Feb. 2007. http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/ essays/filmpoliticsideology.
King, Noel. "Reconsidering the Film-Politics Relation." In Continuum: The Australian Journal of Media & Culture, 6(1): 1992. 15 Feb. 2007. http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/6.1/King2.html.
Makanju, O. "Assassinations and Unresolved Killings in our Land: The Disturbing Trend of Political Terrorism in Nigeria." 5 Sept. 2006. [Electronic Version]. 4 Dec. 2006. www.bayelsaartsng.com.
Okezie, B. & Ukpong, U. "Ige: Drama as Suspects Lambast Ehindero." Sunday Sun. 27 May 2007: 2, 4.
Okome, Onookome. "Cinema and Social Change in Nigeria: The Political Imperative." In O. Okome & J. Haynes (Eds.), Cinema and Social Change in Nigeria (73-83). Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation, 1995.
"Politics." 22 Jan. 2007. http://www.answers.com/Politics.
"President can't Remove VP from Office." Being text of Judgement at the Federal Appeal Court, Abuja. The Punch, 22 Feb. 2007: 38.
Srinivas, S. V. "Film Culture, Politics and Industry." Seminar 525 (2003): 47-51. 15 Feb. 2007. http://www.iisg.nl/~sephis/pdf/srinivas4.pdf.
Selected Filmography
The Senator 1 & 2. Prod/Dir: Teco Benson. Perf: Hanks Anuku, Laz Ekwueme, Enebeli Elebuwa, Emeka Okoro, Rachael Oniga, Johnpaul Nwadike, Grace Amah, David Nwajei, Desmond Elliot, Young Ujah, Tony Ezimadu. TFP Global Network, 2003.
******Being a Presentation at the Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA) Annual International Conference at the University of Lagos, Akoka-Lagos, Nigeria, from 26-29 August, 2014.
You are welcome to the Website of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO). The National Institute for Cultural Orientation, a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation was established by Act 93 of 1993.
NICO Training School
Copyright © NICO 2017 , All Rights Reserved , Designed by Quezt Global Solutions.


text:
<manifest package="com.gmuniz.fancyspinner"
          xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <library android:name="FancySpinner" />

</manifest>