Osama bin Laden is dead, Obama announces

This was spotted on the guardian.co.uk site and thought you should see it.
Osama bin Laden is dead, Obama announces
Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind al-Qaida, is dead, President Obama announces from the White House
Declan Walsh in Islamabad, Richard Adams in Washington and Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Monday May 2 2011


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-obama

Osama bin Laden, the criminal mastermind behind al-Qaida and the world's most sought-after terrorist since the attacks of 11 September 2001, has been killed by a US operation, President Barack Obama has announced.

In an address to the nation, President Obama said Bin Laden was killed in a "targeted operation" in Abbottabad, a highland town north of Islamabad, last night.
The operation started with an intelligence lead last August, and culminated in an operation involving a "small team of Americans". "After a firefight they killed bin Laden."
None of the Americans was killed. Pakistani co-operation "helped to lead us to him" he said.
Osama's body is in possession of the US, according to the first reports from the US television networks.
As the news spread, crowds gathered outside the gates of the White House in Washington DC, singing the national anthem and cheering.
President Obama made the highly unusual Sunday night live statement to announce the news at around 11.30pm eastern time.
Bin Laden's capture comes eight years to the day that President George Bush declared "mission accomplished" in Iraq. As president, Bush declared he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive" ? but it is now the unlikely figure of Barack Obama who has been able to announce the final triumph as US commander-in-chief.
This is a turning point in the global "war on terrorism" that has been waged since 9/11 - and the news will reverberate around the world.
The news comes as an unparalleled boost for US foreign policy, the key aim of which since 2001 has been the disarming and dismemberment of al-Qaida, and coincidentally probably ensures the re-election of Obama in 2012.
As a candidate during the 2008 election campaign, Obama repeatedly vowed: "We will kill Osama bin Laden." And so it has proved.
The Obama statement was scheduled originally for 10.30pm, but the need to inform US congressional leaders caused the delay.
In the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, one western diplomat described the news as a "game changer" ? not just for al-Qaida, but also for US foreign policy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a region embroiled in turmoil and violence since 2001.
"I'm overjoyed," said the diplomat. "But what this exactly means is really not clear."
Some analysts fear bin Laden's death could spark a precipitous US withdrawal from the region, with the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan still unresolved.
It will likely also reconfigure relations with Pakistan, where the CIA is engaged in a controversial assassination campaign against senior al-Qaida figures using Predator and Reaper drones.
"He's dead," said an official with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, declining to give details other than to say that it was "highly sensitive intelligence operation".
The official said he was "not at liberty" to give further details on the killing, including on reports that Pakistani intelligence was involved in the operation. "We'll release more information later this morning," he said.
Abbottabad is about two hours' drive north of Islamabad, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is not part of the tribal belt, where the CIA drone strike campaign has been concentrated, but is home to the Pakistan military's main training institution, the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul.
The fact that bin Laden was killed outside the tribal belt in Pakistan will raise questions about how the six-foot four-inch fugitive, one of the most famous faces in the world, managed to escape justice for so long.
Pakistan's intelligence services have largely co-operated with the US in capturing al-Qaida fugitives - some of the most notorious figures seized since 2001 were caught in Pakistan's cities such as the architect of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad.
In recent months US military and intelligence officials have publicly complained that the ISI has been assisting the Haqqani network, an al-Qaida-linked militant network that straddles the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Nigerian 2011 Elections: Nigeria Shocked the World

Nigeria, a land of possibilities, a land there is no impossibility. What looks impossible to the world is possible in Nigeria. Never say Nigeria cannot achieve it because you must be proven wrong.
What have they not said? They said Nigeria cannot conduct credible polls with INEC as umpire. They fear President GEJ cannot offer a free, fair and credible election with Baba beside him. Nigeria has performed well against all odd.
Will Nigeria disintegrate under 15 years?
Oakland, California, June 6, 2006: In May 2005, a couple of weeks ago, there was a report (also published on USAfricaonline.com) apparently emanated from the United States security/intelligence services warning that Nigeria, as an entity, will disintegrate along ethnic lines possibly within 15 years. This report raised a lot of furor among Nigerians, at home and in Diaspora. Whilst well meaning Nigerians are advocating a cool-headed analysis of this report, the Nigerian government and the National Assembly are inclined to dismiss the report with an orchestrated sleight of the hand. That is very unfortunate.
As usual our government, executive and the legislative branches, have once again chosen to play the ostrich. They are once again in denial. Rather than carefully review the said report and map out a strategy to prevent the doomsday prophesy contained therein, they are content with quibbling over the motivation of the United States in releasing that report. Our leaders have perfected a penchant to cry foul anytime anything negative is said about Nigeria or the direction its leaders are taking her. The important issue somehow always gets lost in the shuffle.
There is absolutely no need for the hue and cry that our politicians are raising against the United States for its prediction. Rather than preoccupy ourselves with seeking the motivation for the US releasing that report, we should direct our energies to a serious look at the impugned report and see how we can avert the predicted event. If the truth be told, the United States merely repeated what every Nigerian knows but somehow nobody is willing to broach. The US has now set the ball rolling for us. Let us get on with it. Our indignation at the United States ignores the fact that every Nigerian knows that Nigeria's corporate existence is being threatened by ethnic, religious and social class wars, albeit undeclared. Rather than attack the US for jolting us to reality, we should err on the side of caution and seriously work on our obvious problems.
It is crass irresponsibility for our government to dismiss this warning outright as if there is no genuine basis for it. The National Assembly and the Executive Branch of the Nigerian Government cannot seriously contend that Nigerian is not buckling under the weight of ethnic and religious frictions, as well as undeclared class warfare. Is this fact any less true because it came from an external source? Are we interested in substance or should we hide reality under a cloud of frivolities?
Whether or not the United States is motivated by ill will towards Nigeria in releasing that report, the fact still remains that the substance of that report resonates with every well-meaning Nigeria and brings to the fore a sickness that has for decades been crying for treatment. Nigerian may not disintegrate within 15 years are predicted but are we really willing to take that chance simply to prove the United States wrong?
Attorney Ezeife, a California based attorney, has served as a contributing editor of USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com for 9 years. He will write for CLASS magazine..

Watch and see, Nigeria always faults all these perceived empirical observations.

When last did you attend a wedding in Benin?

When really did you attend a wedding celebration in Benin? Has things changed or are they the same way it has always been? We are a Great People and we celebrate a great deal. Feed your eyes and stay connected to this site for more scenes and photo coverage of happenings in Benin.

CGMi prays for Japan

On March 11 at 2:46pm JST a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred near the northeastern coast of Japan, creating extremely destructive tsunami waves which hit Japan just minutes after the earthquake, and triggering evacuations and warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive and severe damage in Northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation.