America's nonreligious population on the rise

 

The number of religiously unaffiliated Americans has risen, while Protestants are for the first time ever no longer a majority, a study reveals. The so-called “nones” vote primarily Democratic, giving Obama a boost in the upcoming election.
­The survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and released on Tuesday, says one in five Americans describe themselves as atheists and agnostics, or choose not to identify themselves as religiously affiliated when it comes to their faith. The figure is an increase from the 15 per cent reported five years ago.

Virginia official labels atheists as 'fanatical terrorists'

Loudoun County Courthouse in historic downtown Leesburg.(Photo from wikipedia.org / Karen Nutini)

A Virginia official referred to a group of atheists as ‘terrorists’ after one of the group’s members criticized a local courthouse for putting up religious holiday decorations.
Ken Reid, a supervisor who represents Virginia’s Leesburg District, was angered by the atheists’ reaction to the Christmas decorations on the lawn of the Leesburg courthouse, the Washington Times reports.
Over the years, the courthouse decorated its facility by hanging a Skeleton Santa Claus from a cross and featuring paintings that show the manger birth of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as well as the traditional birth of Jesus. The lawn this year also contained a Christmas tree and a menorah. Such decorations have been displayed at the courthouse every year since 2009, when the Loudon County Board of Supervisors lifted a ban on courthouse holiday displays, allowing any religious group to contribute decorations.

ATM Charges Removal to be Implemented from December 17

 

The laudable collaborative effort and decision by the Central Bank and the Bankers Committee to streamline the e-banking services and transactions to the point of ensuring that inter-bank transactions no longer attracts service charges , will be implemented from Monday 17 December.
The Committee believed their decision is based on their embrace of the principle of financial inclusion and creating a favourable atmosphere for Nigerians with ATM phobia, and enabling them to use the machine without fear and anxiety.
Also Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi highlighted further on the ATM policy direction at the retreat of the Bankers Committee, held in Calabar saying “We have agreed on a final date of Monday, 17 December, 2012 for the kick-off when every bank will remove the charges. We allowed some time for banks that have not configured their IT to do so and stop charging and hopefully by 17th of December, you are not going to have any customer pay additional charges”.
From this statement the ATM services will definitely experience increased subscription especially during the Christmas period when Customers across the Nation realize that using the ATM of other banks will not lead to service charges again.
This underscores again the Proactive Sanusi leadership and the power of collaboration which is the key to achieving Policy plans and initiatives in any given sector whether Oil and Gas, Agriculture, Telecommunications and also Banking.
Speaking further on this Governor Sanusi stated “Through collaboration with the government, the banking community and real sector stakeholders, the Bankers’Committee programmes and initiatives have contributed to a tangible improvement in the enabling environment and private sector funding for the power and agriculture sectors”.
Which this decision, the Banking Industry is set to reposition itself in Nigeria as a sector that has great value for Citizens, with people-oriented policies that will encourage Nigerians to be more engaged with the banks.

Businessnews

Gunmen kidnap Okonjo-Iweala’s mother

 

PROF. Kanene Okonjo, mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
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PROF. Kanene Okonjo, mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was on Sunday abducted at the gate of the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo, who is her husband.

The 82-year-old monarch’s wife was said to have been abducted at about 1.47pm by a gang of armed men who seized her at the gate of the palace at Ogbe-ofu and took her away, when her husband travelled out of the town.

ACN, ANPP, CPC to form new party in 2013

 

Buhari, Tinubu and Onu
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THREE major opposition political parties - Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party – may drop their identities by April 2013, when talks on their proposed merger are expected to be completed.

The merger of the parties is one of the strategies being canvassed by some politicians to defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party which has dominated power since the advent of the present democracy in 1999.

Analysts are of the opinion that any genuine and honest cooperation among opposition parties for the 2015 general elections could make the election tough for the PDP.

The Chairman of the ANPP National Rebuilding and Interparty Contact Committee, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, told journalists in Abuja on Sunday, that the merger talks between the three ACN, CPC and ANPP had reached the last stage.

INEC may deregister 25 more parties

 

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega
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BARELY 72 hours after 28 political parties had their names deleted from the register of the Independent National Electoral Commission, indications emerged on Sunday that 24 more political parties might cease to exist before the 2015 general elections.

The PUNCH learnt that INEC had decided that only 11 political parties would participate in the 2015 electoral processes. Sixty-three political parties participated in the 2011 elections.

INEC, last Thursday, had deregistered Pastor Chris Okotie’s Fresh Party; Balarabe Musa’s Peoples Democratic Party; the late Anthony Enahoro’s National Reformation Party, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite’s National Advanced Party and 24 others for not meeting the provisions of Section 7 of the Electoral Act 2011.

The section states, “The commission (INEC) shall have powers to de-register political parties on the following grounds: (i) breach of any of the requirements for registration, and (ii) for failure to win a seat in the National Assembly or state Assembly election.”

Only 11, out of the parties that participated in the 2011 polls, satisfied the requirement of Section 7 of the Electoral Act by winning at least a seat in the National Assembly.

Ghana's Mahama wins election, opposition cries foul

• Reuters/Reuters - Supporters of National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party of the late Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, carry a poster of their candidate John Dramani Mahama as they celebrate his victory …more along a street in Accra December 9, 2012. Ghana's main opposition National Patriotic Party said on Sunday the country's presidential election had been manipulated, raising concerns about the outcome of the poll in a nation seen as a bulwark of democracy in an unstable region. REUTERS/Luc Gnago less

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's electoral authorities said on Sunday incumbent leader John Dramani Mahama won a new term as president in the West African state in an election the opposition claimed was marred by tampering.

Mahama, who replaced former president John Atta Mills after his death in July, took 50.7 percent of the ballots cast - just enough to avoid a run-off with his chief rival Nana Akufo-Addo.
"Based on the results, I declare President John Dramani Mahama president elect," Ghana Electoral Commission President Kwadwo Afari-Gyan told a news conference in the capital Accra.
In a brief speech at his residence following the results, an exhausted-looking Mahama said his win was a "victory for all Ghanaians", and urged the leaders of rival parties to "respect the voice of the people".

Drugged and rape by my BB contact

By Angel Proverb Olabintan.

The role of the social media in building relationships and businesses cannot be overemphasised. But the negative aspects seem to be growing with mixed reactions after the death of Cynthia Osokogu who was killed by friends she met on social media
Since the case of Cynthia went viral, ladies who were before now ashamed to share their experiences in the hands of bad guys have started talking
Now read her story and you can share with your friends. Social media was suppose to be a place where you meet people you never think of meeting in your life but has been taken over by greedy men and women who seize it as a so-called opportunity to acquire wealth.
I am a girl who has fears, beliefs, reservations and just your regular typical Nigerian girl. This past few weeks has been one hell of a game for me. I have really been unsettled and I thought I share this story with you
When Cynthia (the lady killed in the hotel room in Festac, Lagos) surfaced on the internet and various news media, I was scared and it brought back a whole lot of memories to me and also served as and eye opener. Many people castigated and criticised Cynthia (may her gentle soul rest in peace), but my point is, it could have been anybody, anybody at all.

INEC De-registers 28 political parties

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission yesterday Thursday December 6th announced the De-registration of 28 political parties.

"In the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the Independent National Electoral Commission has today, Thursday, December 6, 2012, de-registered the following political parties:

Britain jails shipper of 80,000 guns to Nigeria

An arms dealer who arranged to sell 80,000 AK47 assault rifles and 32 million rounds of ammunition to Nigeria has been jailed for seven years, just months after a judge threw the case out of court.
Gary Hyde, 42, oversaw the £800,000 shipment of tens of thousands of assault rifles, 9mm pistols, rifles, and bullets, from China to Africa in 2007, according to the Telegraph.
Hyde, who started in the gun trade when he was 14, flouted British legislation designed to control the trade and transportation of the weapons despite being regarded as an “authority” on those laws.
The businessman, based in York, acted in “a deliberate and calculated breach of the law” to pull off the $1.3m (£808,000) deal in return for around £280,000, which he attempted to hide in a bank account in Liechtenstein.