The Fomunyoh Foundation Extends Hand of Fellowship in Extreme North

In response to a request from COPRESSA, an NGO based in Maroua and which focuses on empowering women and youth by building their survival and entrepreneurial skills, the Fomunyoh Foundation (TFF) donated 50 percent of the sewing machines to women of the graduating class, the remaining half being donated by a Belgian NGO (DISOP) and two other philanthropists from Maroua. COPRESSA coordinator, Dr Fatima Djibrilla Siddiki was elated that the TFF delegation came all the way, and with its founder at its head.
When the mayor of Tokoumbere who also happens to be the Lamido of Makalingai, Bouba Tiki, stood up to speak, he sprung a surprise on everyone by crowning Dr. Fomunyoh an honorary notable of the Lamidat, all with traditional garb to match. Dr. Fomunyoh expressed his gratitude to the Lamido and other traditional and administrative authorities for their hospitality and their support to the women trainees. He also congratulated the graduating class. Recounting his own humble beginnings, Dr. Fomunyoh thanked COPRESSA for giving him the opportunity to "give something back to his fellow compatriots in this part of the country." To the drumbeat of traditional groups and singers, the TFF delegation then accompanied the Divisional Officer Bouba Nicolas and other dignitaries to cut the symbolic ribbon at the Center's main entrance.

Last 26 October, Dr Christopher Fomunyoh and his delegation with members from Bamenda, Yaounde and Douala traveled to Makalingai -- Tokoumbere, Mayo Sava Division in the Extreme North Region of the country to attend a graduation ceremony for rural women who spent the past two years learning various trades and handicraft skills at a rural artisan Center run by CEFFAMAK.
 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

General Assembly President of the Cameroon Bar Association Condemns Police, Gendarmes Brutality on Lawyers

 Ntumfor Nico Halle, President of the General Assembly of the Cameroon Bar Association Condemns Police, Gendarmes Brutality on Lawyers. He writes: Without getting into any details I wish to condemn in the hardest of terms the harassment and brutalization of Advocates of the North West and South West Regions of the Cameroon Bar Association during a peaceful march. This situation is unwholesome and despicable. I express my sympathy to those who were hurt in any way. The molestation of one Advocate in Cameroon is the molestation of all advocates. I Pray our awesome God to cause the powers that be to open for dialogue for some peaceful solutions to be found,

Shalom

Nico Halle

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Why I Lost the US Presidential Election to Donald Trump - Hillary Clinton

After losing the closely contested US Presidential elections to Donald Trump recently, Hillary Clinton has finally explained why she fell short.

Hillary Clinton

 

Hillary Clinton, the former Democratic presidential nominee, has spoken out on why she lost the election.

 She blamed Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Director James Comey for her defeat in Tuesday’s presidential election.

 According to Reuters, Mrs. Clinton said in a conference call with her top campaign donors on Saturday that Mr. Trump was able to seize on both of Mr. Comey’s statements and used them to attack her, according to two participants on the call. According to the participants who were on the call, Mrs. Clinton told her supporters on Saturday that her team had drafted a memo that looked at the changing opinion polls leading up to the election and that the letter from Mr. Comey proved to be a turning point.

The memo prepared by Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said voters who decided which candidate to support in the last week were more likely to support Trump than Clinton.

 “In the end, late breaking developments in the race proved one hurdle too many for us to overcome,” the memo concluded. Mrs. Clinton was projected by nearly every national public opinion poll as the heavy favourite going into the race but Republican Donald Trump won the election, shocking many throughout the nation and prompting widespread protests.

 Mrs. Clinton has kept a low profile since her defeat after delivering her concession speech on Wednesday morning.

 She said Mr. Comey’s decision to go public with the renewed examination of her email server had caused an erosion of support in the upper Midwest, according to three people familiar with the call.

Mrs. Clinton lost in Wisconsin, the first time since 1984 that the state favoured a Republican candidate in a presidential election.

 Although the final result in Michigan has still not been tallied, it is leaning Republican, in a state that last favoured the Republican nominee in 1988.

 Mr. Comey sent a letter to Congress few days before the election announcing that he was reinstating an investigation into whether Mrs. Clinton mishandled classified information when she used a private email server while secretary of state from 2009 to 2012.

 The FBI’s director announced a week later that he had reviewed emails and continued to believe she should not be prosecuted, but the political damage was already done.

 While the second letter cleared her of wrongdoing, Mrs. Clinton said that reinforced to Trump’s supporters that the system was rigged in her favour and motivated them to mobilise on the election day.

 A spokesperson for the FBI could not immediately be reached for comment.

 On the phone call, Dennis Chang, who served as Clinton’s finance chair, said her campaign and the national party had raised more than $900 million from more than three million individual donors, according to the two participants who spoke to Reuters.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Journalist Association Condemns Police, Gendarmes Brutality on Protesting Lawyers

Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists known by its acronym as CAMASEJ has issued a release expressing disgust  over physical assaults inflicted on Common Law Lawyers by Forces of Law and Order. CAMASEJ National, Bamenda and Kumba in separate Press Releases condemned that act.
Here below is the Communique by National CAMASEJ
.
Yaounde-November 10 2016.
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The Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists CAMASEJ, is outraged by the use of force against unarmed lawyers protesting peacefully in the country. For some time now, the Cameroon common Law lawyers association has been staging peaceful marchesin Bamenda, Limbe, Muyuka and Buea to protest against the government`s lackluster attitude to look into their grievances triggered by the non-availability of the English version of the OHADA Law.The well renowned Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, in a publication “Facilitating Peaceful Protests” revealed that “everyone must be able to express their grievances or aspirations in a peaceful manner, including through public protests without fear of reprisals or of being intimidated, harassed, injured, sexually assaulted, beaten, arbitrarily arrested and detained, tortured, killed or subjected to enforced disappearance". Specifically, the ‘right’ to protest depends on and exercises several rights that are at the heart of a democratic society, including to freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of association.The Cameroon Common Law Lawyers are therefore no exceptions to that. Unfortunately, they have met with stiff opposition from the country`s law enforcement officers who are using every available means, including beatings and other forms of intimidation to stop them from making their voices heard and worries known. As journalists, we do not condone this kind of lawlessness from those who are called upon to maintain peace and order in the country and the perpetrators should not be allowed to evade justice.We are calling on the various stakeholders; the government, security officials and the lawyers torespect each other’s’ rights. We appeal to authorities to carry out prompt and reliable investigations and prosecute perpetrators of these abuses. These barbaric methods against citizens must not be allowed to prosper and must stop forth with.At a time when President Paul Biya's is touting personal freedoms as one of his achievements, these armed tactics only go to negate those achievements and rewind the hands of the clock.

The National President
Simon Lyonga

 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

The Management of Diversity and the Cry of Common Law Lawyers

  By Akere T. Muna (of Lincoln’s Inn London) Barrister at Law

Forcing learned gentlemen of the law into the streets robed in their wigs and gowns is something no Government should wish for. Lawyers are the defenders of those without power, and the watchdogs of the rule of law. Citizens, who are witnesses to such a spectacle, will immediately feel fragile, and the existence of the rule of law in any country will immediately be questioned. As pictures of lawyers flooded the social media last November 08, 2016, and as I saw lawyers in the streets of Bamenda armed only with their ideas, their professional paraphernalia and the request for a dialogue, I wondered about the kind of denial that causes a few to think that because they shut their eyes nothing is happening; and that because they close their ears nothing is being said. The fact that I can relate without any strain to the frustration of the Common Law practitioner convinces me to conclude that, the effects of cultural diversity in a country on the behavior of its citizens are complex and powerful. The time has therefore come for our nation to put into place a new paradigm for the management of our cultural diversity. That is the price we must pay to find the true unity we seek and through it the strength for which we clamor.
From the dawn of the Federation of Cameroon, the biggest challenge that hung over it like the “Damocles Sword”, was and has been the management of our diversity. Passionate Southern Cameroonians who had the vision of a United States of Africa, thought that maybe a United Cameroon was just the place to start. They felt the shackles that were constituted by a legacy of different colonial cultures could not be allowed to stand in the way of the reunification of peoples torn apart and dispersed by a War they did not start and had nothing to do with. A War which caused the colonizer to suddenly discover in Africans the virtue of valuable partners for the purposes of war but at the same time maintaining them as second class citizens for the purposes of colonization. The Federation that was born guaranteed the protection of diversity. It did so through its constitution. A Bilingual Nation, Federated States with their own Parliaments and Governments, a President and Vice President, one from either culture. Inherited laws, practices and customs maintained in either state of the federation and several other guaranties. So the Common Law lawyers had a Bar freely elected and independent, the civil law jurisdictions had no bar and were under the control of the Government whose prerogative it was to appoint lawyers.
Under the seduction of a 100% increase and even more in salaries West Cameroonians made the chant “going federal” their mantra. Yes, salaries were doubled even tripled, and some people moved to Yaounde. Arrears were paid on the new salaries and people carted away ton loads of money. “Federalization” was indeed a misnomer, for what in fact was the path to a centralization that spelt the death of the Federation. Still in good faith, the new form of the Union was given a chance. Dealing with the legal framework meant the organization of the Bar had to be revisited. So a new Law was passed in 1972 creating a Cameroon Bar totally controlled by the Government in which the lawyers were appointed by a presidential decree. The decade that followed was one in which the Bar fought for its independence and that is another story. The point of this article is not to make a pilgrimage into the past, but to reflect on the way forward. Some of those who have made the need to have a homogenous society their objective have failed to ensure that it does not become synonymous to assimilation. Any society with a minority that has a specific historical, geographical, and socio-political history must be managed in a manner to allay any fears of assimilation or discrimination and prejudice.
The movement of the Common Law Lawyers today must bring us to admit that, diversity in our country has been mismanaged. This has produced, negative dynamics, ethnocentrism, stereotyping and cultural clashes. These negative dynamics over the years have combined with imbalanced structures to create an atmosphere of social injustice. While it is true that diversity might well create ambiguity complexity and even confusion, the danger of assimilation under the guise of harmonization now appears as a time bomb. In such an atmosphere polarization of social groups becomes easy and this ultimately will breed cynicism and resentment and even heighten friction and tension that could all lead to unfathomable consequences in terms of civil and political unrest.
It will be remiss of me to give the impression that there are no other diversities to be managed. Different groups have come up with memoranda about their regions, what is the response? These are the cries of people who feel that they have been left behind or in some cases left out totally. Many international reports have concluded that the economic predicament of the areas attacked in the Central African Region, indeed facilitated the penetration by the terrorists. Thus many regions do face discrimination in many subtle forms, which are slowly contributing to disappointment and anger. When conflict is the unfortunate outcome, the “majority” or the group controlling power will see and treat any incident as “isolated” when in fact the minority just count it as another event in the pattern of oppression and injustice that is imbedded in the system.
I must hasten to add that there have been times when I have personally been witness to the clear demonstration of political will to protect diversity and ensure the respect of our constitution. When the very first OHADA laws were promulgated, the then Minister of Justice, Mr. Laurent Esso, delayed the application of the OHADA laws throughout the territory until they were translated and duly gazetted. He did this regardless of the coming into force date as per the Treaty. He insisted to the dismay OHADA authorities that our nation is bilingual and bi-jural. Further the accommodation of customary law in our judicial system is clear evidence of the fact that diversity can be accommodated.
In the final analysis, we must avoid building a nation where dialogue is assimilated to weakness and the strength of nation demonstrated by the use of force against its own people. We must have a system that builds in horizontal and vertical communication in the management of our diversity. We must unlearn practices rooted in an old mind set, change the way we manage diversity in our nation, shift our culture, revamp our policies, redesign and create new structures and emphasize the fact the ultimate goal of any Government is a better life for it citizens. The Swiss, the Nigerians, the Belgians, the Canadians, the Tanzanians just to name a few have all learned this. It is urgent that a high level Dialogue be initiated. So heed to the cry of the Common Law Lawyers we must, otherwise in the words of Alan Paton in his revered book Cry the Beloved Country “I have one great fear in my heart, that one day, when they are turned to loving they will find that we are turned to hating”. Respecting diversity might well mean CRTV will have a channel or channels in English, Cameroon Tribune reverts to having an English Edition as it once did and the Supreme Court having Common Law Benches sitting as it once was.

The cultural assimilation of a people no matter how well disguised cannot be successful and can ultimately only lead to disastrous consequences for all the concerned. The legal system of Cameroon is bi-jural constitutionally, politically socially, culturally and intellectually. Disregarding this fact is an assault on the very foundation on which our nation is built.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Security Forces Clash with Common Law Lawyers in Buea

Security forces in Buea are reported to have fired teargas, gunshots and brutalized Common Law Lawyers who were protesting against the absence of the rule of law, bad governance, Anglophone marginalization, injustice and lack of freedom. Reports say the lawyers who staged the peaceful march were blocked by security forces from entering court premises. Their wigs and gowns were seized and in the tussle some of them sustained injuries.

Barr. Bobga Harmony, President of NOWELA who was in Buea said the security forces launched a manhunt for lawyers to the point that they ransacked hotels in Buea town and environs to fish out protesters. And the police used tear gas to disperse them. Public opinion is aghast that lawyers should not be treated that way when the protest march was "peaceful". Many have frowned and regretted on the fact that security forces fired gunshots and teargas against them, as if the protesters were criminals. "We are not armed. We have only our placards," a lawyer was heard shouting out at the military.

It should be noted that Common Law Lawyers started by protesting against the non-existence an English version of "uniform acts" of the OHADA (OHADA), and other legislation


When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

TB Joshua Quietly Re-uploads Clinton Prophesy on Facebook as Followers Defend Him

After he was bashed and mocked for the deleting the failed Clinton prophecy, Prophet TB Joshua has re-uploaded the prediction on Facebook.

Prophet TB Joshua

 

Following his failed prediction that Hillary Clinton would become the next president of the United States of America, only for Donald Trump to shock the world to emerge victorious, Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations has quietly re-uploaded the Clinton prophecy on Facebook after he was attacked for deleting it.

 

 

However, his church members are defending him with the last pint of their blood as people have now turned the page into another fight zone. Some still believe that the prophecy will come true and that the man of God cannot lie.

 

See the reactions below:

 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Will Donald Trump Ban All Muslims from the US?

As the debate on whether or not America's president elect, Donald Trump will evict Muslims from the US lingers, a new development has emerged about the matter.

Donald Trump

 

Will Donald Trump ban Muslims from the US? New developments have shown that it may not be as the world expected.

 

Donald Trump’s team has caused a stir after they removed the statement on his website to ban all Muslims from the US.

 

On the same night that millions of votes were pouring in for the real estate mogul turned politician, the page linking to his December statement regarding a temporary and complete Muslim has been removed.

 

The page now redirects to his a page encouraging voters to donate to his campaign.

 

The page was available on the morning of the election on 8 November, according to online caches. But the redirected was added later the same night.

 

Caches like the Wayback Machine work by crawling websites intermittently and making a copy of what it finds there. As such, it's not possible to say exactly what time the redirect was added, but only that the change had been made between those two times it was crawled.

 

Mr Trump was widely condemned for his call shortly after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 to temporarily ban all Muslims until he figured out "what the hell was going on".

 

Mr Trump and his allies have consistently defended the ban, insisting the measure was about Americans’ "safety" and not about discriminating against religion. Videos and speeches defending the ban remain on the Trump campaign website.

 

According to The Telegraph, the Trump campaign could not be immediately contacted.

 

It is not the first time the Trump team has scrubbed pages from its websites.

 

After speculation rose that Melania Trump did not not complete her university degree, her biography page was taken down and started to redirect to Mr Trump’s golf course.

 

It will be recaleld that Mr Trump won the presidential election on 8 November with 279 electoral votes.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Wole Soyinka Finally Responds to Pressure of Destroying U.S Residency Permit

 Wole Soyinka may not be destroying his U.S passport anytime soon despite Donald Trump's election upset.

 

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Wednesday, stated that he will not destroy his United States’ residency permit just yet; while he warned that the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race could jeopardize U.S. support in Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram.

 His response was necessitated by a heavy pressure mounted on the public affairs analyst by Nigerians on social media after Donald Trump's unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton in the just concluded U.S presidential election.

 In an interview with Newsweek, Soyinka stated that Trump’s ‘bunker mentality’ could see the U.S. withdraw support for counter-terrorism operations in West Africa.

 He seized the opportunity to reaffirm his stand on the destruction of his United States of America residency permit as publicized in the media.

In response, the report quoted Soyinka as saying that he is biding his time until Trump is inaugurated in January before deciding on his next steps.

 “Why don’t we wait until Trump actually takes office?

"I am just going about my normal commitments, but definitely not getting into any more commitments. Let’s put it that way for now,” he said.

 According to the report, under the administration of Barack Obama, the U.S. has provided financial support and military training to West African countries fighting Boko Haram.  During the parley, Soyinka reiterated that Trump’s “bunker mentality” could see the U.S. withdraw support for counter-terrorism operations in West Africa.

The Nigerian author and playwright also says that he will not destroy his U.S. residency permit just yet, despite a pre-election pledge to “cut” his green card, which is afforded to immigrants granted permanent residence in the country.

 The Nigerian author—who was the first African to win the Nobel Prize in literature in 1986 - says he is biding his time until Trump is inaugurated in January before deciding on his next steps. “Why don’t we wait until Trump actually takes office?” says Soyinka.

 “I’m just going about my normal commitments, but definitely not getting into any more commitments. Let’s put it that way for now.”

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Donald Trump's Victory - Between the Man of God and the God of Man

Nigerians have been shocked by the failed prophecies of certain men of God regarding the U.S presidential elections, wondering if they were inspired by God at all. Now, Enenche Enenche weighs in on the matter.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton

 

The Bible says go into the world and preach the gospel. The gospel is the good news and what Christ has done.

 The Bible didn’t say we should go into the world and do politics. Sacred altars where the undiluted Word of God should be flowing from to feed and grow human spirits, have been reduced to political campaign pulpits.

 

We have dropped the Cross from the Gospel, and any gospel without the Cross is not a gospel, it may have religious coloration, but if it is not the gospel, it is not the gospel.

 

We have dropped the gospel and now spend more energy on the buildings that housed the church instead of concentrating on building the people that make up the church.

We have great and beautiful buildings, with shallow teachings and self appraisal doctrines that constantly keep us at the mercy of gullible adventures.

 We believe the Men of God, more than the God of men. We take ‘prophecy’ seriously more than we take our Bible.

 One thing that has been running through my mind for some time now is the extremism that we in Africa can take truth to and most times make a mess of it.

 The God of Men is an ever loving God, He instructs us to come to Him “boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy”.

 The God of men is a loving God, we wants me to come to Him BOLDLY, why because of what Christ Has done.

The “Man of God” on the other hand wants me to come to him fidgeting, because he has the anointing to make and mar. I dare not offend him because he knows how to serve the meal of punishment… I wonder if love of Christ is part of their spirituality.

 These days the God of man is truly in charge. He has a way of telling any man he is God. When a man is becoming unbecoming and humanity starts seeing him as demigod, the God of men has a way of placing him where he belongs.

 Many “Prophets” said Goodluck Jonathan was going to win. Most of the atrocities recklessly committed to General M. Buhari, was as a result of prophecies that Goodluck was going to win.

 A governorship candidate in Delta state was told by prophets he was going to win, he went home to sleep, when his fellow contestants were sharing money, he was bragging that he had won already… All thanks to the prophecy by the man of God.

 

Today, He is not the one in government house Asaba. The last time I saw him was when he was shouting on TV, “Jega you are bias…”.

 

I am not against prophets or prophecies, I know many and few I am close to. The Bible also recognizes the office of the prophet.

 

Building your life on prophecy is deadly. It has shipwrecked many marriages and destinies.

 

God’s Word is spirit and life, that is what your spirit man needs to survive and grown. Prophecy alone can’t sustain a man.

 Living on prophecy alone, is like living in an air conditioned room for One year without food but still expect to survive. You won’t suffer heat, but you would suffer starvation.

 Prophecy is an emergency intervention, being a prophet is a gift, it is like football gift, singing, writing gift etc. It doesn’t make you less human and more “God”.

When men cry out to “Man of God” for help and not the God of men who sent them, then I see someone filling his flesh with ego and pride… Nothing from the flesh realm is spiritual including ego!

God of men is forever God and no Man of God is forever. Build your life on the Word. Your body needs food to be alive, you who is a spirit in a body needs the Word of God to survive.

 Prophecy is for edification, any prophecy that breeds fear more than faith is not from God, discard it. You are the number one prophet of your life.

Prophecy doesn’t mean it must happen, it is only showing you what may likely happen if you don’t pray.

 

ANYTHING GOD CAN DO, PRAYER CAN DO IT!

 

*****************

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

U.S Election: How Oracle Monkey and Fish Humiliated 'Prophet' T.B Joshua

Two mystical animals across the world have outshone popular Nigerian 'man of God' and leader of the Synagogue of All Nations - T.B Joshua over his flat prediction of the outcome of the U.S election.

Collage of pictures of the monkey, fish, T.B Joshua and Hillary Clinton

 

If predictions were what church members follow, then Nigerian televangelist Temitope B. Joshua would lose majority of his followers to some oracles in India and China.
T.B Joshua, as he is fondly called by his congregation, predicted on Sunday that the United States Elections would be won by Hillary Clinton. He said it was going to be a narrow win for the woman and that shortly into her administration, her “boat will be rocked”, as a “vote of no confidence” would be threatened against her.
Unfortunately for the prophet, Donald Trump came out victorious, beating Hillary Clinton by a wide margin 276 electoral votes to 218.

Meanwhile, a Chinese monkey and an Indian fish predicted the Republican Presidential candidate’s win correctly. A few days to the election, a Chennai fish called Chanakya III, chose to eat fish feed placed for it on a boat with Trump’s picture on it, and not from the one with Democrat Hillary Clinton’s photo on it. Chanakya-III apparently picked the Trump boat a total of seven times.

Last week, AFP reported that a Chinese monkey described as the “king of prophets” tipped Trump for the U.S presidency. The monkey was reportedly given a chance to pick between life-sized cut-outs of Trump and Clinton.

“After “deliberate thought” the mystic monkey chose Trump, Shiyanhu Ecological Tourism Park said in a statement on its website. Without even waiting, he congratulated the cardboard candidate with a kiss on the lips,”

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Donald Trump: An American Tragedy

This is an interesting expose on the unprecedented victory of U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

Donald Trump

 

The election of Donald Trump to the Presidency is nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces, at home and abroad, of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism.

 

Trump’s shocking victory, his ascension to the Presidency, is a sickening event in the history of the United States and liberal democracy. On January 20, 2017, we will bid farewell to the first African-American President—a man of integrity, dignity, and generous spirit—and witness the inauguration of a con who did little to spurn endorsement by forces of xenophobia and white supremacy. It is impossible to react to this moment with anything less than revulsion and profound anxiety.

There are, inevitably, miseries to come: an increasingly reactionary Supreme Court; an emboldened right-wing Congress; a President whose disdain for women and minorities, civil liberties and scientific fact, to say nothing of simple decency, has been repeatedly demonstrated. Trump is vulgarity unbounded, a knowledge-free national leader who will not only set markets tumbling but will strike fear into the hearts of the vulnerable, the weak, and, above all, the many varieties of Other whom he has so deeply insulted. The African-American Other.

 

The Hispanic Other. The female Other. The Jewish and Muslim Other. The most hopeful way to look at this grievous event—and it’s a stretch—is that this election and the years to follow will be a test of the strength, or the fragility, of American institutions. It will be a test of our seriousness and resolve.

Early on Election Day, the polls held out cause for concern, but they provided sufficiently promising news for Democrats in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, and even Florida that there was every reason to think about celebrating the fulfillment of Seneca Falls, the election of the first woman to the White House. Potential victories in states like Georgia disappeared, little more than a week ago, with the F.B.I. director’s heedless and damaging letter to Congress about reopening his investigation and the reappearance of damaging buzzwords like “e-mails,” “Anthony Weiner,” and “fifteen-year-old girl.” But the odds were still with Hillary Clinton.

All along, Trump seemed like a twisted caricature of every rotten reflex of the radical right. That he has prevailed, that he has won this election, is a crushing blow to the spirit; it is an event that will likely cast the country into a period of economic, political, and social uncertainty that we cannot yet imagine. That the electorate has, in its plurality, decided to live in Trump’s world of vanity, hate, arrogance, untruth, and recklessness, his disdain for democratic norms, is a fact that will lead, inevitably, to all manner of national decline and suffering.

In the coming days, commentators will attempt to normalize this event. They will try to soothe their readers and viewers with thoughts about the “innate wisdom” and “essential decency” of the American people. They will downplay the virulence of the nationalism displayed, the cruel decision to elevate a man who rides in a gold-plated airliner but who has staked his claim with the populist rhetoric of blood and soil.

 

George Orwell, the most fearless of commentators, was right to point out that public opinion is no more innately wise than humans are innately kind. People can behave foolishly, recklessly, self-destructively in the aggregate just as they can individually. Sometimes all they require is a leader of cunning, a demagogue who reads the waves of resentment and rides them to a popular victory. “The point is that the relative freedom which we enjoy depends of public opinion,” Orwell wrote in his essay “Freedom of the Park.” “The law is no protection. Governments make laws, but whether they are carried out, and how the police behave, depends on the general temper in the country. If large numbers of people are interested in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech, even if the law forbids it; if public opinion is sluggish, inconvenient minorities will be persecuted, even if laws exist to protect them.”

Trump ran his campaign sensing the feeling of dispossession and anxiety among millions of voters—white voters, in the main. And many of those voters—not all, but many—followed Trump because they saw that this slick performer, once a relative cipher when it came to politics, a marginal self-promoting buffoon in the jokescape of eighties and nineties New York, was more than willing to assume their resentments, their fury, their sense of a new world that conspired against their interests. That he was a billionaire of low repute did not dissuade them any more than pro-Brexit voters in Britain were dissuaded by the cynicism of Boris Johnson and so many others.

 

The Democratic electorate might have taken comfort in the fact that the nation had recovered substantially, if unevenly, from the Great Recession in many ways—unemployment is down to 4.9 per cent—but it led them, it led us, to grossly underestimate reality. The Democratic electorate also believed that, with the election of an African-American President and the rise of marriage equality and other such markers, the culture wars were coming to a close. Trump began his campaign declaring Mexican immigrants to be “rapists”; he closed it with an anti-Semitic ad evoking “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”; his own behavior made a mockery of the dignity of women and women’s bodies. And, when criticized for any of it, he batted it all away as “political correctness.”

 

Surely such a cruel and retrograde figure could succeed among some voters, but how could he win? Surely, Breitbart News, a site of vile conspiracies, could not become for millions a source of news and mainstream opinion. And yet Trump, who may have set out on his campaign merely as a branding exercise, sooner or later recognized that he could embody and manipulate these dark forces. The fact that “traditional” Republicans, from George H. W. Bush to Mitt Romney, announced their distaste for Trump only seemed to deepen his emotional support.

The commentators, in their attempt to normalize this tragedy, will also find ways to discount the bumbling and destructive behavior of the F.B.I., the malign interference of Russian intelligence, the free pass—the hours of uninterrupted, unmediated coverage of his rallies—provided to Trump by cable television, particularly in the early months of his campaign. We will be asked to count on the stability of American institutions, the tendency of even the most radical politicians to rein themselves in when admitted to office. Liberals will be admonished as smug, disconnected from suffering, as if so many Democratic voters were unacquainted with poverty, struggle, and misfortune. There is no reason to believe this palaver. There is no reason to believe that Trump and his band of associates—Chris Christie, Rudolph Giuliani, Mike Pence, and, yes, Paul Ryan—are in any mood to govern as Republicans within the traditional boundaries of decency. Trump was not elected on a platform of decency, fairness, moderation, compromise, and the rule of law; he was elected, in the main, on a platform of resentment. Fascism is not our future—it cannot be; we cannot allow it to be so—but this is surely the way fascism can begin.

Hillary Clinton was a flawed candidate but a resilient, intelligent, and competent leader, who never overcame her image among millions of voters as untrustworthy and entitled. Some of this was the result of her ingrown instinct for suspicion, developed over the years after one bogus “scandal” after another. And yet, somehow, no matter how long and committed her earnest public service, she was less trusted than Trump, a flim-flam man who cheated his customers, investors, and contractors; a hollow man whose countless statements and behavior reflect a human being of dismal qualities—greedy, mendacious, and bigoted. His level of egotism is rarely exhibited outside of a clinical environment.

For eight years, the country has lived with Barack Obama as its President. Too often, we tried to diminish the racism and resentment that bubbled under the cyber-surface. But the information loop had been shattered. On Facebook, articles in the traditional, fact-based press look the same as articles from the conspiratorial alt-right media. Spokesmen for the unspeakable now have access to huge audiences. This was the cauldron, with so much misogynistic language, that helped to demean and destroy Clinton. The alt-right press was the purveyor of constant lies, propaganda, and conspiracy theories that Trump used as the oxygen of his campaign. Steve Bannon, a pivotal figure at Breitbart, was his propagandist and campaign manager.

It is all a dismal picture. Late last night, as the results were coming in from the last states, a friend called me full of sadness, full of anxiety about conflict, about war. Why not leave the country? But despair is no answer. To combat authoritarianism, to call out lies, to struggle honorably and fiercely in the name of American ideals—that is what is left to do. That is all there is to do.

 

Written by David Remnick for the New Yorker

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Will Wole Soyinka Tear His Green Card after Trump's Shocking Win?

 Following Donald Trump's shocking win in the US presidential elections, Nigeria's professor, Wole Soyinka has come under a blast.

 

Wole Soyinka

 

Many Nigerians on social media have called on Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, to tear his green card. This is following the vow he made should Donald Trump become the president of the United States.

It will be recalled that Soyinka made the vow last week while giving a speech to students of Oxford University, England.

According to the literary doyen, “If in the unlikely event he does win, the first thing he’ll do is to say [that] all green-card holders must reapply to come back into the US. Well, I’m not waiting for that.”

“The moment they announce his victory, I will cut my green card myself and start packing up,” said Soyinka, who is scholar-in-residence at New York University’s Institute of African American Affairs.

Trump won the US presidential election early this morning in an incredible victory that has shocked pundits and observers all around the world.

‎Democrats nominee, Hillary Clinton, had thanked her supporters and called Trump to concede defeat.

Twitter went agog following the results as some Nigerians reminded Soyinka of his vow, and others dragging him to the mud for ‘just opening his mouth to talk.’

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Just In: Donald Trump's Victory Speech

After shocking the world by defeating favourite, Hillary Clinton, the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump has delivered a remarkable victory speech.

US President-elect, Donald Trump

 Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business, complicated. Thank you very much.

 

I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us. It’s about us. On our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. 

 

I mean, she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.

 

I mean that very sincerely. Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.

 

It is time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family.

 

It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.

 

Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I’ve spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world.

 

That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I’ve gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It is going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. 

 

We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it. We will also finally take care of our great veterans who have been so loyal, and I’ve gotten to know so many over this 18-month journey.

 

The time I’ve spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors.

 

Our veterans are incredible people. We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal. I will harness the creative talents of our people, and we will call upon the best and brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all. It is going to happen. We have a great economic plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world. At the same time, we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us. We will be. We will have great relationships. We expect to have great, great relationships. No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach. 

 

America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We’re going to dream of things for our country, and beautiful things and successful things once again.

 

I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone. 

 

All people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict. And now I would like to take this moment to thank some of the people who really helped me with this, what they are calling tonight a very, very historic victory.

 

First, I want to thank my parents, who I know are looking down on me right now. Great people. I’ve learned so much from them. They were wonderful in every regard. Truly great parents. I also want to thank my sisters, Marianne and Elizabeth, who are here with us tonight. Where are they? They’re here someplace. They’re very shy, actually.

 

And my brother Robert, my great friend. Where is Robert? Where is Robert?

 

My brother Robert, and they should be on this stage, but that’s okay. They’re great. 

 

And also my late brother Fred, great guy. Fantastic guy. Fantastic family. I was very lucky.

 

Great brothers, sisters, great, unbelievable parents. To Melania and Don and Ivanka and Eric and Tiffany and Barron, I love you and I thank you, and especially for putting up with all of those hours. This was tough.

 

This was tough. This political stuff is nasty, and it is tough. So I want to thank my family very much. Really fantastic. Thank you all. Thank you all. Lara, unbelievable job. Unbelievable. Vanessa, thank you. Thank you very much. What a great group. 

 

You’ve all given me such incredible support, and I will tell you that we have a large group of people. You know, they kept saying we have a small staff. Not so small. Look at all of the people that we have. Look at all of these people.

 

And Kellyanne and Chris and Rudy and Steve and David. We have got tremendously talented people up here, and I want to tell you it’s been very, very special.

 

I want to give a very special thanks to our former mayor, Rudy Giuliani. He’s unbelievable. Unbelievable. He traveled with us and he went through meetings, and Rudy never changes. Where is Rudy. Where is he? 

 

[Chanting “Rudy”]

 

Gov. Chris Christie, folks, was unbelievable. Thank you, Chris. The first man, first senator, first major, major politician — let me tell you, he is highly respected in Washington because he is as smart as you get. Sen. Jeff Sessions. Where is Jeff? A great man. Another great man, very tough competitor. He was not easy. He was not easy. Who is that? Is that the mayor that showed up? Is that Rudy?

 

Up here. Really a friend to me, but I’ll tell you, I got to know him as a competitor because he was one of the folks that was negotiating to go against those Democrats, Dr. Ben Carson. Where’s been? Where is Ben? By the way, Mike Huckabee is here someplace, and he is fantastic. Mike and his familiar bring Sarah, thank you very much. Gen. Mike Flynn. Where is Mike? And Gen. Kellogg. We have over 200 generals and admirals that have endorsed our campaign and there are special people.

 

We have 22 Congressional Medal of Honor people. A very special person who, believe me, I read reports that I wasn’t getting along with him. I never had a bad second with him. He’s an unbelievable star. He is — that’s right, how did you possibly guess? Let me tell you about Reince. I’ve said Reince. I know it. I know it. Look at all of those people over there. I know it, Reince is a superstar. I said, they can’t call you a superstar, Reince, unless we win it. Like Secretariat. He would not have that bust at the track at Belmont.

 

Reince is really a star and he is the hardest-working guy, and in a certain way I did this. Reince, come up here. Get over here, Reince.

 

Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. It’s about time you did this right. My god. Nah, come here. Say something.

 

[Reince Priebus: Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the united States, Donald Trump! Thank you. It’s been an honor. God bless. Thank God.]

 

Amazing guy. Our partnership with the RNC was so important to the success and what we’ve done, so I also have to say, I’ve gotten to know some incredible people.

 

The Secret Service people. They’re tough and they’re smart and they’re sharp and I don’t want to mess around with them, I can tell ya. And when I want to go and wave to a big group of people and they rip me down and put me back down in the seat, but they are fantastic people so I want to thank the Secret Service.

 

And law enforcement in New York City, they’re here tonight. These are spectacular people, sometimes under appreciated unfortunately. We appreciate them. So it’s been what they call an historic event, but to be really historic, we have to do a great job, and I promise you that I will not let you down. We will do a great job. We will do a great job. I look very much forward to being your president, and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years or maybe even eight years you will say so many of you worked so hard for us, with you. You will say that — you will say that that was something that you were — really were very proud to do and I can — thank you very much.

 

And I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really just beginning. We’re going to get to work immediately for the American people, and we’re going to be doing a job that hopefully you will be so proud of your president. You will be so proud. Again, it’s my honor.

 

It’s an amazing evening. It’s been an amazing two-year period, and I love this country. Thank you.

 

Thank you very much. Thank you to Mike Pence.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Donald Trump Elected 45th President of the USA

American billionaire businessman, Donald John Trump, is officially the 2016 President-elect of the United States of America, in a historic presidential election.

 

According to multiple international media organizations, Donald Trump has won the American presidency, and will be the country's 45th president after capturing the Democratic bastion of Wisconsin and moving within 13 electoral votes of the White House.

 

The GOP nominee picked up crucial battleground states earlier including Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.

 

 

The victories are stunning for a candidate long seen as unlikely to win the presidency. Hillary Clinton's campaign was confident it was competitive in places like Florida and North Carolina and even sought to expand the map with recent visits to traditionally Republican states such as Arizona.

 

 

We'll be bringing you more updates as soon as it's made available.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

US Presidential Elections: Chinese Mystery Monkey Made the Right Prophecy

Donald Trump is favoured to trounce his Democratic Party counterpart, Hillary Clinton in the highly heated U.S election which is 4 days away.

The mstical monkey kissing Donald Trump as it predits him as winner

 

A Chinese monkey described as the “king of prophets” has tipped Donald Trump for the US presidency, a tourism park said, after the creature successfully predicted the winner of football’s European Championship final earlier this year.

Known as Geda which means knots or goose bumps, the prophetic primate is the latest in a series of purportedly psychic animals that have popped up around the world since Paul the Octopus correctly predicted multiple 2010 World Cup matches.
The simian seer, wearing a yellow shirt emblazoned with his title, was given a chance to pick between bananas placed beside life-sized cut-outs of Republican Trump and his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton.

After “deliberate thought” the mystic monkey chose Trump, Shiyanhu Ecological Tourism Park said Thursday in a statement on its website. Without even waiting, he congratulated the cardboard candidate with a kiss on the lips.
The five-year-old simian correctly predicted Portugal would win the 2016 European football championship in July, two days before Cristiano Ronaldo’s side prevailed 1-0, online news portal ifeng.com reported at the time.
Then, the monkey was presented with the national flags of Portugal and France with bananas on both. It finally walked towards the national flag of Portugal and ate a banana there, the report said.
Geda’s antics seem to have been inspired by the oracular octopus Paul. In 2010, Paul the Octopus became the world’s most famous mollusc when he foretold the results of every match played by Germany at the World Cup in South Africa, as well as Spain’s victory against the Netherlands in the final.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

TB Joshua Deletes Prophecy of Clinton Win, BBC Says

A prediction by influential Nigerian TV evangelist TB Joshua that Hillary Clinton would win the US presidential election has been removed from the his Facebook account.
Mr Joshua told his congregation on Sunday that he "saw" a woman winning.
After Donald Trump convincingly won Tuesday's vote, visitors to the preacher's Facebook page noticed the prophecy had been removed.
The wealthy pastor is known as "the prophet" to his many followers.
He is one of Nigeria's best-known and influential evangelists - and is popular across Africa, with many top politicians among his flock.
The US election prediction was broadcast on Mr Joshua's TV channel Emmanuel TV, which an individual uploaded to YouTube.
A section of that "prophecy" was posted on the preacher's Facebook page but is no longer available.
"Ten days ago I saw the president of America with a narrow win... What I frankly saw was a woman," it said.
TB Joshua has been trending on Twitter across Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa as people shared memes poking fun at his prediction. People have also taken to a Facebook entry he posted on Wednesday to complain.
Clive Mashiri from South Africa asked: "Why was the prophecy deleted? If this was uttered by the man of God, why remove it?"
Though some have defended him. "I will always believe in your prophesies, through thick and thin," said South African Gugu Mathonsi. Many people believe TB Joshua has supernatural powers, which include healing and prophecy. Ghana's late President John Atta Mills said in a speech at TB Joshua's thanksgiving service after winning an election in 2008 that he had consulted the preacher through his campaign.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli and Malawi's former leader Joyce Banda have also paid homage to him in the past.




When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

President Paul Biya Congratulates Donald Trump

 In his letter, President Paul Biya acknowledged the fact that the American people have demonstrated their political maturity and democracy. President Biya in his message expressed the feelings of Cameroonians and his desire to consolidate the cordial relationship that has existed between Cameroon and the United States of America.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Cristiano Ronaldo Signs 350,000 Pounds Per Week Contract with Real Madrid

Sensational Portuguese winger, Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged as the highest paid athlete in the world with his new deal with Spanish side, Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo and club representatives

 

The world’s highest-paid athlete won’t be taking a pay cut anytime soon, according to Forbes.

Real Madrid announced a new contract yesterday with star forward, Cristiano Ronaldo. The contract runs through June 2021 and its worth 365,000 pounds per-week, extending Ronaldo’s previous Real deal, which was set to expire after the 2017-18 season.

 Ronaldo’s annual compensation from salary and bonuses is expected to be similar to his prior deal at more than $50 million a year before taxes.

The deal keeps Ronaldo at Real until his 36th birthday if he serves out the agreement and would mark 12 years with the world’s most valuable soccer club.

 At a news conference Monday at Santiago Bernabéu stadium announcing the contract, the Portuguese star said he would like to sign one more contract after this one expires and play until he is 41.

 

 

“Who knows what the future holds. Of course, I would like to end my career at this club. This is my penultimate contract. I want to be here for many years to come. I’m overjoyed.”

Ronaldo is the top scorer in Real Madrid’s history with 372 goals in 360 appearances since joining the Spanish club from Manchester United in 2009 for a then-record $132 million transfer fee. He led the team to two Champions League crowns, including in 2016 when Ronaldo hit the game-winning kick in a penalty shoot-out to defeat Atletico Madrid.

 Ronaldo won two Balloon d’Or trophies with Real as the top player in the sport and is widely expected to win a third in January when the 2016 results are announced. Ronaldo previously won the award at United in 2008.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

U.S Election: Donald Trump Takes the Lead in New Hampshire

Verbose Republican Party presidential candidate, Donald Trump has taken an early lead over his Democrat counterpart, Hilary Clinton in one of the American towns.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

 The first results have been counted in one of the most contentious U.S presidential votes of recent times.
Across four New Hampshire towns where the polls opened at midnight, Republican Donald Trump came out ahead by 32-25 according to Euro News.
However, the very first result, coming from Dixville Notch, saw Democrat Hillary Clinton initially slip into an early lead.
She received four votes, to Trump’s two. Libertarian Gary Johnson came out with one vote in the tiny town and there was one surprise write-in ballot for Mitt Romney.

Dixville Notch has historically been the first to cast and count its ballots. And this year was no exception.
Under state law, communities with fewer than 100 voters can request permission to open the polls at midnight and close them as soon as all registered residents have voted.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)