#recent jobs in lagos 2018

[hardynwa]

NAFDAC, MAN disagree over sachet alcohol ban

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has countered claims by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control that the recent implementation of the ban on sachet alcoholic drinks was a collective decision. Speaking at a press conference held in Lagos on Friday, the Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, insisted that members of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, a sub-sector under MAN, had repeatedly expressed reservations over the planned implementation of the ban. NAFDAC had, in a statement released on Thursday, insisted that the ban, which affects alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml, was a collective decision. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, said the ban was a collective recommendation of a committee and listed representatives in the committee as the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. She said, “It is also important to clarify that the implementation of the ban on alcohol in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles was not hasty. “It is in line with the five-year phase-out plan of the affected presentations of alcoholic beverages, which started in January 2019 and ended on January 31, 2024. “The five-year period granted to the industry stakeholders was a practical, reasonable, and sufficient time for full compliance with the phase-out of the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml.” However, Ajayi-Kadir dismissed the claim by the regulator that the decision was a collective one. According to the MAN DG, notwithstanding its earlier objections (to the immediacy of the ban), Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria participated in the preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding, which was then signed (with evident reservations) on December 18, 2018, between the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, Consumer Protection Commission (now Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) and Association of Food, Beverages, and Tobacco Employers and DIBAN to address the concerns raised at the time. The goal, he said, was to enlighten citizens on responsible consumption, by supporting the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC to undertake the advocacy, messaging, training and education of the public. Ajayi-Kadir said appropriate consideration was not given to the impact the ban would have on the manufacturers, the workers, the citizenry and the economy. He claimed the ban, which sought to discourage irresponsible consumption of alcohol, would be counterproductive in the long run because bigger sizes encourage consumption of bigger portions, while small sizes encourage portion control. He said that rather than ban products within the stipulated category, NAFDAC should intensify its activities and support in the form of access control and tighter regulations. He said, “This is what the ban is going to wreck for no justifiable reason. It must be explicitly stated that moderation and responsible drinking promote good health. Small is good, if you buy small, you will consume a small. “If you buy big, you will consume big; this is not healthy. Bigger sizes encourage the consumption of bigger portions, while small sizes encourage portion control. If you take away small sizes, you are encouraging excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. “To go ahead with the policy based on perceived danger, without empirical information and not minding the consequences, unfair to the industry operators and the thousands of workers that will lose their jobs and inimical to the Nigerian economy.” The MAN DG also called on NAFDAC to encourage collaborative efforts to eliminate underage drinking or the use of alcoholic beverages. Meanwhile, members of the Trade Union Congress protested on Friday against the ban on sachet alcoholic drinks imposed by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration. The TUC, alongside some of the affected businesses, took to the streets of Obafemi Awolowo Way in Ikeja, Lagos State, to demonstrate against the recently implemented ban. The protesters, who carried placards indicating their grievance, said the ban had rendered them jobless. Read the full article

[xtruss]

Striking Photos of Human Scars on Earth

Edward Burtynsky’s images show ‘the indelible marks left by humankind on the geological face of our planet’. They are surreal and glorious at first sight, writes Cameron Laux.

— Image Credit: Edward Burtynsky, Courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto

— By Cameron Laux | Published 17th October 2018

Saw Mills #1, Lagos, Nigeria, 2016 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

The Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky is a master of the post-industrial sublime. His sweeping point of view is, at the very least, ambivalent. His shots, most recently taken from the coolest possible standpoint of a helicopter and sometimes a satellite, are at first sight surreal and glorious, but they have an ominous documentary undertow.

His large-format photos aestheticise mining, deforestation, industrial waste and decay, monumental piles of garbage, plastic, rubber; expanses of new and decommissioned equipment so vast that they look like crystalline formations; dense human settlements which from an Olympian standpoint look like creeping mould or infestations.

Dandora Landfill #3, Plastics Recycling, Nairobi, Kenya, 2016: among the world's largest (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

“Most people would walk by a dump pile and assume that there’s no picture there,” Burtynsky has said. “But there’s always a picture, you just have to go in there and find it.” One of his famous sequences depicts mountains of discarded tires in California. Another shows mountains of poached ivory being burnt. Waves of rock curve into an unsettling symmetry in his photo of Chuquicamata, one of the world’s largest open-pit mines. There is dark irony in his radically anti-idyllic view of the world.

Chuquicamata Copper Mine Overburden #2, Calama, Chile, 2017 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

Nobel Prize winner Paul Jozef Crutzen has popularised the idea of the Anthropocene, a geological age dominated by human activity. For a New Multimedia Anthropocene Project, Burtynsky visited 20 countries over five years. He argues that “we are on the cusp of becoming (if we are not already) the perpetrator of a… major extinction event”. This is made stark in the unnatural colour of a phosphor tailings pond in Florida: regions where phosphate – essential to industrial agriculture – is mined are typically unable to revert back to their natural state because of pollution. “Let me ask you a question,” asked Burtynsky in a 2016 Facebook Post: “when was the last time you talked or heard or even thought about phosphorus?”

Phosphor Tailings Pond #4, near Lakeland, Florida, USA, 2012 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

“Scientists do a pretty terrible job of telling stories, whereas artists have the ability to take the world and make it accessible for everyone,” argues Burtynsky. According to his new book Anthropocene, it is estimated that it currently takes 60 billion tonnes of material annually (biomass, fossil energy carriers, metal ores, industrial and construction minerals) to feed humanity’s global metabolism. Burtynsky’s images offer a disturbing insight into how we’re consuming the Earth at an alarming rate – as well as giving a sense of the scale at which we’re dumping it back out, in giant heaps, streams, and lagoons.

Morenci Mine #1, Clifton, Arizona, USA, 2012: primary copper producing region in the US (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

In images like that of the Morenci Mine – showing copper smelting in Arizona, with ponds holding liquid reserves of the effluents left by the extraction process – Burtynsky can tell stories that largely remain out of the mainstream, with an immediacy missing from lengthy articles. His aerial shots are graphic reminders of something that many choose to ignore. In Nigeria, poor communities have begun pirating crude oil from the pipelines through a process known as ‘bunkering’. Makeshift micro-refineries are set up to convert the crude into fuel. These systems leak volumes of crude and toxic by-products into the surrounding forests and waterways.

Oil Bunkering #1, Niger Delta, Nigeria, 2016 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

Burtynsky categorises himself as an environmentalist, and has dedicated his life to bearing witness to “the indelible marks left by humankind on the geological face of our planet”. In other words, the increasingly ambitious scars and blemishes created by industry and large-scale human habitation, such as the vividly coloured layers from an ancient sea floor exposed by tunnelling machines 350m beneath Berezniki in Russia.

Uralkali Potash Mine #4, Berezniki, Russia, 2017 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

Burtynsky explores how this is not just a recent development, either. The marble quarries in Carrara have been mined since the time of ancient Rome. This stone was famously used by Michelangelo, who would stay for three months at a time to supervise its removal. The ‘negative architecture’ formed on the land by the quarries is large enough to be seen from space.

Carrara Marble Quarries, Cava di Canalgrande #2, Carrara, Italy, 2016 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

Burtynsky’s photos of sprawling wind farms and solar installations, on the other hand, document a shift towards sustainability. Equally, the enormous lithium mining and purification operation he captures in the Atacama desert in Chile, however virulent and lurid it appears, looks to a future in which cars powered by lithium batteries enable us to phase out fossil fuels.

PS10 Solar Power Plant Seville, Spain, 2013 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

Burtynsky also evidently cherishes the bits of Eden that survive. He has recently photographed tracts of virgin rainforest in British Columbia, Canada, and the pristine coral reefs in Indonesia. The coral wall in Pengah is a rare remnant of our globally diminishing coral reefs. Coral bleaching might be more likely to occur there (as elsewhere, such as on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016) should sea water temperatures begin to rise.

Pengah Wall #1, Komodo National Park, Indonesia, 2017 (Credit: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London/Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

Looking at those pictures makes the soul soar. But they are also a reminder that there is currently no ecology on Earth that isn’t in some way threatened.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Latin American democracy is in poor but surprisingly stable health

The pandemic has fuelled indifference more than authoritarianism

[Image description: illustration of a voting ballox box with low water and a fish swimming in it.]

LESS THAN half of Latin Americans are committed democrats and a growing number are indifferent towards their country’s political regime. A large majority remain deeply dissatisfied with the way their democracies work in practice and they place little trust in their institutions or in each other. They are opposed to military government but a growing number are prepared to accept elected caudillos (strongmen). And they continue to have more trust in the United States than China.

These are some of the findings of the latest Latinobarómetro poll, taken in 18 countries and published exclusively in The Economist. Because the poll has been taken regularly since 1995 it does a good job of showing how attitudes in the region are evolving. The latest poll reflects views after the first seven months or so of the pandemic, which complicated the fieldwork. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in 17 countries between October and December 2020. That was not possible in Argentina, because of a prolonged lockdown. Online interviews were conducted there in May 2021.

The pandemic has hit Latin America disproportionately hard: with 8% of the world’s population it has suffered around 32% of officially recorded deaths. Despite this shock, the poll did not show a drastic change in political attitudes compared with the previous one in 2018. “I expected a fall in support for democracy,” says Marta Lagos, Latinobarómetro’s director. That this didn’t happen may reflect “the sense of solidarity” the pandemic generated, at least in its early months.

But the broad trend, expressed in recent protests in several countries, comes over loud and clear. Compared with the late-1990s, when the transition from dictatorship to democracy was still fresh in many countries, support for democracy in the region has waned (see chart 1). Only 49% say that democracy is their preferred form of government. Support for authoritarian government is low, at 13%. But, worryingly, more than a quarter of respondents say they don’t care whether or not their country is democratic, a figure that has risen from 16% in 2010. Ask the question in a different, Churchillian, way and 63% think that while democracy may have problems it is the best system, down from a peak of 79% in 2013.

Support for democracy in Brazil and Mexico, Latin America’s two giants, is well below the regional average. Another worrying trend concerns the profile of the typical democrat in Latin America. Younger people and especially those of the upper classes tend to be indifferent towards the political regime (see chart 3). That points to the disdain of elites for democracy.

Continue reading.

[phroyd]

Trump’s Promises in 2016!

While Trump is laying it on good and thick at the RNC Trump Fest 2020, I'd like to remind you of some of his great accomplishments.* *beside all the environmental protections he has diminished, dismantled and done away with outright - that is a whole list by itself.(copied from another post, I didn't write this list)1. He told you he’d cut your taxes, and that the super-rich like him would pay more. You bought it. But his 2017 tax law has done the opposite. By 2027, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the richest 1 percent will have received 83 percent of the tax cut and the richest 0.1 percent, 60 percent of it. But more than half of all Americans — 53 percent — will pay more in taxes. As Trump told his wealthy friends at Mar-a-Lago just days after the tax bill became law, “You all just got a lot richer.” 2. He promised that the average family would see a $4,000 pay raise because of the tax law. You bought it. But real wages for most Americans are lower today than they were before the tax law went into effect.   3. He promised to close special interest loopholes that have been so good for Wall Street investors but unfair to American workers, especially the notorious “carried interest” loophole for private-equity, hedge fund, and real estate partners. You bought it. But the new tax law kept the “carried interest” loophole.4. He promised to bring an end to Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear program. You bought it. Kim Jong-Un hasn’t denuclearized. 5. He told you he’d repeal Obamacare and replace it with something “beautiful,” including “insurance for everybody.” You bought it. But he didn’t repeal and he didn’t replace. (Just as well: His plan would have knocked at least 24 million Americans off health insurance, including many of you.) Instead, he’s doing what he can to cut it back and replace it with nothing. According to the Commonwealth Fund, about 4 million Americans have lost health insurance in the last two years.6. He told you he wouldn’t “cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.” You bought it. But now he’s planning such cuts in order to deal with the ballooning deficit created, in part, by the new tax law for corporations and the rich. 7. He promised to protect anyone with pre-existing conditions. You bought it. But in June, his Justice Department told a federal court it would no longer defend provisions of Obamacare that protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the decision was made with Trump’s approval.8. He said he’d build a “wall” across the southern border. You believed him. But there’s no wall.9. He told you he’d invest $1 trillion in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. You bought it. But after his giant tax cut for corporations and millionaires, there’s no money left for infrastructure. 10. He said he’d drain the Washington swamp. You bought it. But he’s brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history, to make laws that will enrich their businesses, and he’s filled departments and agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who are crafting new policies for the same industries they recently worked for.11. He promised to re-institute a five-year ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the government for five years after they leave government.” You bought it. But the five-year ban he signed applies only to lobbying one’s former agency, not the government as a whole, and it doesn’t stop former officials from becoming lobbyists.12. He said he’d use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. You bought it. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants that people there barely know who’s in charge of what. 13. He told you he’d “bring down drug prices” by negotiating “like crazy” with drug companies. You bought it. But he hasn’t.14. He told you he’d “stop foreign lobbyists from raising money for American elections.” You bought it. But foreign lobbyists are still raising money for American elections. 15. He promised “six weeks of paid maternity leave to any mother with a newborn child whose employer does not provide the benefit.” You bought it. But the giant tax cut for corporations and the rich doesn’t leave any money for this. 16. He said he’d create tax-free dependent care savings accounts for younger and elderly dependents, and have the government match contributions low-income families put into their savings accounts. You bought it. He’s done neither.17. He said that on Day One he’d label China a “currency manipulator.” You bought it. But then he declared China is not a currency manipulator.18. He said he “won’t bomb Syria.” You bought it. Then he bombed Syria.19. After pulling out of the Paris accord, he said he’d negotiate a better deal on the environment. You bought it. There have been no negotiations.20. He promised that the many women who accused him of sexual misconduct “will be sued after the election is over.” You bought it. He hasn’t sued them, presumably because he doesn’t want the truth to come out.21. He said he would not be a president who took vacations, and criticized Barack Obama for taking too many vacations. You bought it. But since becoming President, he has spent a quarter of his days at one of his golf properties.22. He vowed to “push colleges to cut the skyrocketing cost of tuition.” You believed him. But he hasn’t. Instead, he’s made it easier for for-profit college to defraud students. 23. He said he’d force companies to keep jobs in America, and that there would be consequences for companies that shipped jobs abroad, especially government contractors. You believed him. Never before in U.S. history have federal contractors sent so many jobs overseas. There have been no consequences. 24. He promised to end DACA. Then in January 2018 promised that “DACA recipients should not to be concerned… We’re going to solve the problem,” then he reversed himself again and vowed to end the program by March, 2018. Currently, the federal courts have stayed any action on it. 25. He promised to revive the struggling coal industry and bring back lost coal mining jobs. You bought it. But coal is still losing customers as utilities turn to natural gas and renewable power. 26. He promised to protect American steel jobs. You bought it. His tariffs on steel have protected some steel jobs. But industries that use steel – like automakers and construction – now have to pay more for the steel they use, with the result that their jobs are threatened. The Trade Partnership projects that 400,000 jobs will be lost among steel and aluminum users.27. He said he’d make America safer. You believed him. But mass shootings keep rising, and Trump has failed to pass effective gun control legislation. After 17 died in Parkland, Florida, Trump promised “immediate action” on gun safety in schools, but has done nothing.28. He promised to make two- and four-year colleges more affordable. You bought it. But Trump’s most recent budget contains deep cuts in aid for low-income and first-generation college students, reduces Federal Work Study, and eliminates the 50-year-old Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program, which goes to more than a million poor college kids each year.29. He promised to eliminate the federal deficit and bring down the debt. You bought it. Yet due to his massive tax cut mostly for corporations and the rich, and his military spending, the deficit is set to rise to $1 trillion, and the debt has ballooned to more than $21 trillion.30. He said he’d release his taxes. “I’m under a routine audit and it’ll be released, and as soon as the audit is finished it will be released,” he promised during the campaign. You bought it. He still hasn’t released his taxes.

Trump Lied!

Phroyd

[justforbooks]

Tony Allen, legendary drummer and Afrobeat co-founder, dies aged 79

Gilles Peterson and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers pay tribute to the Fela Kuti collaborator, described by Brian Eno as ‘perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived’

The Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, who is credited with creating Afrobeat along with his old bandmate Fela Kuti, died suddenly at the age of 79 in Paris on Thursday, his manager said.

“We don’t know the exact cause of death,” Eric Trosset said, adding it was not linked to the coronavirus.

“He was in great shape, it was quite sudden. I spoke to him at 1pm then two hours later he was sick and taken to Pompidou hospital, where he died.”

Allen was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti’s band Africa ’70 in the 1960s and 70s.

During that time the pair created Afrobeat, combining west African musical styles such as highlife and fuji music with US jazz and funk. Afrobeat went on to become one of the totemic genres of 20th century African music.

Over Allen’s thrilling beat, Kuti laid out his revolutionary and pan-African message, which led him to become one of the abiding icons of the struggle for freedom across the continent. “Few people have the kind of communication that Fela and I had when we played music,” Allen said.

Allen and Kuti recorded some 40 albums together as Africa ’70, before parting ways after a mythic 26-year collaboration, with Allen citing Kuti’s disorganisation and debts to him as the reason for his departure. Such was the hole that Allen left in his band, Kuti required several drummers to replace him.

Of his singular style, Allen said: “I try to make my drums sing and turn them into an orchestra. I don’t bash my drums. Instead of bashing, I caress. If you caress your wife, you’ll get good things from your wife; if you beat her, up I’m sure she’ll be your enemy.”

Born in Lagos in 1940, Allen taught himself to play drums at the age of 18, drawing inspiration from the US jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, as well as contemporary African music. He has attributed his versatility to the need to make a living as a jobbing musician in Lagos in the early 60s. “Latin American, African horns, jazz, highlife … you had to be able to play it all because in the club they asked for it,” he said.

In 1969, touring the US for the first time with Kuti, a meeting with west coast jazz drummer Frank Butler inspired him to practise every morning on pillows, making his sticks bounce off them while he was rolling. “It adds flexibility,” he said. “Very effective. Effortless – that’s what I tried to catch from [Butler].” As part of Kuti’s band, he would sometimes drum for six hours without a break.

The British musician and producer Brian Eno has called Allen “perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived”.

In 1984, Allen moved to London, and by the turn of the millennium had settled in Paris. In the 2000s, he added dub and electronica to his solo output – sometimes to the ire of Afrobeat purists – and became an in-demand collaborator for a younger generation of musicians, among them Jarvis Cocker, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sébastien Tellier.

On Blur’s 2000 song Music Is My Radar, Damon Albarn sang: “Tony Allen really got me dancing.” The pair would begin regular collaborations soon after. Allen sometimes participated in Albarn’s Africa Express residencies on the continent. He was the drummer in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen, also featuring Clash bassist Paul Simonon, which released albums in 2007 and 2018. In 2008, Allen, Albarn and Flea formed the supergroup Rocket Juice and the Moon.

Allen was dismissive, however, of a wave of Afrobeat-inspired indie bands such as Vampire Weekend that emerged at the end of the 2000s. “They write the basslines and the horns … but what about the drums? The drummer comes and doesn’t know what to play, because that is the bit with the discipline. He will play what he knows, which doesn’t fit the music.”

His most recent album was Rejoice, a collaboration with Hugh Masekela. The pair met in Nigeria in the 70s, when Allen was playing with Kuti.

This year he planned to work on what he described as a “travel album”, playing with young musicians in Nigeria, London, Paris and the US, “because I want to take care of youngsters – they have messages and I want to bring them on my beat,” he told the Guardian.

Allen, who described himself as a “simple gentle guy”, lived in the Paris suburb Courbevoie.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[robertreich]

TRUMP’S 30 BROKEN PROMISES

Trump voters: Two years in, here’s an updated list of Trump’s 30 biggest broken promises.

1. He told you he’d cut your taxes, and that the super-rich like him would pay more. You bought it. But his 2017 tax law has done the opposite. By 2027, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the richest 1 percent will have received 83 percent of the tax cut and the richest 0.1 percent, 60 percent of it. But more than half of all Americans — 53 percent — will pay more in taxes. As Trump told his wealthy friends at Mar-a-Lago just days after the tax bill became law, “You all just got a lot richer.” 

2. He promised that the average family would see a $4,000 pay raise because of the tax law. You bought it. But real wages for most Americans are lower today than they were before the tax law went into effect.   

3. He promised to close special interest loopholes that have been so good for Wall Street investors but unfair to American workers, especially the notorious “carried interest” loophole for private-equity, hedge fund, and real estate partners. You bought it. But the new tax law kept the “carried interest” loophole.

4. He promised to bring an end to Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear program. You bought it. Kim Jong-Un hasn’t denuclearized. 

5. He told you he’d repeal Obamacare and replace it with something “beautiful,” including “insurance for everybody.” You bought it. But he didn’t repeal and he didn’t replace. (Just as well: His plan would have knocked at least 24 million Americans off health insurance, including many of you.) Instead, he’s doing what he can to cut it back and replace it with nothing. According to the Commonwealth Fund, about 4 million Americans have lost health insurance in the last two years.

6. He told you he wouldn’t “cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.” You bought it. But now he’s planning such cuts in order to deal with the ballooning deficit created, in part, by the new tax law for corporations and the rich. 

7. He promised to protect anyone with pre-existing conditions. You bought it. But in June, his Justice Department told a federal court it would no longer defend provisions of Obamacare that protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the decision was made with Trump’s approval.

8. He said he’d build a “wall” across the southern border.You believed him. But there’s no wall.

9. He told you he’d invest $1 trillion in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. You bought it. But after his giant tax cut for corporations and millionaires, there’s no money left for infrastructure. 

10. He said he’d drain the Washington swamp. You bought it. But he’s brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history, to make laws that will enrich their businesses, and he’s filled departments and agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who are crafting new policies for the same industries they recently worked for.

11. He promised to re-institute a five-year ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the government for five years after they leave government.” You bought it. But the five-year ban he signed applies only to lobbying one’s former agency, not the government as a whole, and it doesn’t stop former officials from becoming lobbyists.

12. He said he’d use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. You bought it. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants that people there barely know who’s in charge of what. 

13. He told you he’d “bring down drug prices” by negotiating “like crazy” with drug companies. You bought it. But he hasn’t.

14. He told you he’d “stop foreign lobbyists from raising money for American elections.” You bought it. But foreign lobbyists are still raising money for American elections. 

15. He promised “six weeks of paid maternity leave to any mother with a newborn child whose employer does not provide the benefit.” You bought it. But the giant tax cut for corporations and the rich doesn’t leave any money for this. 

16. He said he’d create tax-free dependent care savings accounts for younger and elderly dependents, and have the government match contributions low-income families put into their savings accounts. You bought it. He’s done neither.

17. He said that on Day One he’d label China a “currency manipulator.” You bought it. But then he declared China is not a currency manipulator.

18. He said he “won’t bomb Syria.” You bought it. Then he bombed Syria.

19. After pulling out of the Paris accord, he said he’d negotiate a better deal on the environment. You bought it. There have been no negotiations.

20. He promised that the many women who accused him of sexual misconduct “will be sued after the election is over.” You bought it. He hasn’t sued them, presumably because he doesn’t want the truth to come out.

21. He said he would not be a president who took vacations, and criticized Barack Obama for taking too many vacations. You bought it. But since becoming President, he has spent a quarter of his days at one of his golf properties.

22. He vowed to “push colleges to cut the skyrocketing cost of tuition.” You believed him. But he hasn't. Instead, he's made it easier for for-profit college to defraud students. 

23. He said he’d force companies to keep jobs in America, and that there would be consequences for companies that shipped jobs abroad, especially government contractors. You believed him. Never before in U.S. history have federal contractors sent so many jobs overseas. There have been no consequences. 

24. He promised to end DACA. Then in January 2018 promised that "DACA recipients should not to be concerned... We're going to solve the problem,” then he reversed himself again and vowed to end the program by March, 2018. Currently, the federal courts have stayed any action on it. 

25. He promised to revive the struggling coal industry and bring back lost coal mining jobs. You bought it. But coal is still losing customers as utilities turn to natural gas and renewable power. 

26. He promised to protect American steel jobs. You bought it. His tariffs on steel have protected some steel jobs. But industries that use steel -- like automakers and construction -- now have to pay more for the steel they use, with the result that their jobs are threatened. The Trade Partnership projects that 400,000 jobs will be lost among steel and aluminum users.

27. He said he’d make America safer. You believed him. But mass shootings keep rising, and Trump has failed to pass effective gun control legislation. After 17 died in Parkland, Florida, Trump promised “immediate action” on gun safety in schools, but has done nothing.

28. He promised to make two- and four-year colleges more affordable. You bought it. But Trump's most recent budget contains deep cuts in aid for low-income and first-generation college students, reduces Federal Work Study, and eliminates the 50-year-old Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program, which goes to more than a million poor college kids each year.

29. He promised to eliminate the federal deficit and bring down the debt. You bought it. Yet due to his massive tax cut mostly for corporations and the rich, and his military spending, the deficit is set to rise to $1 trillion, and the debt has ballooned to more than $21 trillion.

30. He said he’d release his taxes. “I’m under a routine audit and it’ll be released, and as soon as the audit is finished it will be released,” he promised during the campaign. You bought it. He still hasn’t released his taxes.

[steamedtangerine]

Felt compelled to post this 12/93 blip from Mad Magazine comparing Holywood with Washington D.C.

Now, while it is easy for us now to assume this was to be prophetic of the scandal of Mark Foley (R) hitting on under-aged congressional pages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Foley , but keep in mind there was this scandal in 1983 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_congressional_page_sex_scandal where both an Illinois Republican representative had repeat sexual encounters with an underage female page and one Democratic representative from Massachusetts had an encounter with an underage male page (who seemed to hold no grudges afterwards towards the guy, I guess).

One can selectively say, that because a Democrat was involved in the one incident-and because Gingrich was one of the men calling for the expulsion of both men-that this somehow puts Republicans in the clear of anything suspicious in the areas of pedophilia......

However, let us examine and tally up a few facts here: With prominent conservative men in the last six years getting caught as flagrant pedophiles-Trump buddy Roy Moore, Trump OK-booster Ralph Shortey, anti-Obama/immigrant GOP pusher and shitty driver Daniel Wenzek, Trump go-between George Nader, Illinois representative Dennis Hastert, and not to mention guys who openly espouse pedophilia like Trump boosters Ted Nugent and Milo Yiannopoulos-one has to wonder what is up with the Republican party.

Now, through some witnesses, it has recently been revealed that Ohio representative Jim Jordan (remember how he was during the impeachment trial?) was involved in attempting to cover-up the OSU sex abuse scandal. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brother-osu-whistle-blower-said-rep-jim-jordan-asked-support-n1135321  

-shades of former conservative Michigan Gov. John Engler acting as MSU President trying to slyly pay off victims of Larry Nassar https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2018/04/13/larry-nassar-abuse-victim-accuses-michigan-state-president-of-trying-to-secretly-pay-her-off/    -and all the immense insensitivity and antagonism he has demonstrated against victims of Larry Nassar.

On a Michigan note, consider how Betsy Devos (on Trump’s own cabinet and a member of the Council for National Policy along with Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Elsa Prince, and Mike Pence-a group once funded by famous cult leader Rev. Moon) is making an already difficult process of reporting rape and sex abuse an even harder thing on campuses.

https://www.vox.com/2019/11/27/20985353/sexual-assault-title-ix-regulations-betsy-devos

Heh-we can even say that while we can never be too sure what goes on at the very secretive and conservative Bohemian Grove, there are clearly some prominent conservative interests doing all they can to keep those matters under wraps.

-but wait a minute! What about Jeffrey Epstein and his connections to Clinton? Did an aged former President have more of the power and inclination to kill Epstein over say, the current acting one in power who has ties to powerful men who have gotten away with murder (ie. Putin, Duterte, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, etc.)?

Clinton severed ties with Epstein in 2003; whereas, Trump stayed close and partied often with “terrific guy” Epstein. Consider that from a man who barges into Miss Teen USA pageant dressing rooms or thinks his own daughter would be hot enough to fuck.

Epstein often visited Mar-a-Lago and often expressed that he could structure his modeling agency after Trump’s.

Epstein also had close ties to current acting AG William Barr (who once-like Ajit Pai-had ties to Verizon which made many attempts to buy out and cripple Tumblr over it’s effectively liberal-leanings and pro-Net Neutrality stance), whose father got Epstein a teaching job at Dalton (with no college degree) and also worked for a law firm (Kirkland & Ellis) that defended Epstein during the first allegations (those charges were plea-dealed by Alexander Acosta who would become Trump’s choice for Labor secretary). After Epstein’s suspicious death, Barr’s investigation declared the matter a “suicide”, whereas, an independent investigation by Epstein’s family proved foul play. This was all under Barr’s watch.

Meanwhile, Trump’s impeachment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, has been repeatedly accused of having ties to Epstein (actually defending him https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Dershowitz#Jeffrey_Epstein_(2008)) and involved in rape allegations himself. Dershowitz has defended the more deplorably actions of Trump as well as Brett Kavanaugh.

Wow-Barr, Acosta, Dershowitz---who else? Oh yeah, Epstein was also close with billionaire Les Wexner, who is now a current name being dropped by concerned people in Ohio who want to know Wexner’s connections to OSU and Epstein https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-ohio-state-wrestlers-call-investigation-university-s-ties-jeffrey-n1134071 thus, closing that loop. Wexner’s favorite political party to contribute?-you guessed it-the Republicans.

But hey! who follows a deluge of boring facts and observed events to read when you got ask-your-doctor-about-meds and emotionally charged reports coming from FoxNews (with it’s sex abuse issues) steering your Boomer “feelings” away in the wrong direction? Right?

Because deceivers will get worse and worse, and bullshitters are gonna bullshit heavily online, on bathroom walls, and on every site from Pinterest to Facebook to Twitter to Reddit to Tumblr trying to say Epstein had more to do with Clinton than Trump.

You got concerned agencies (conservative think tanks at home and confirmed Russians abroad) trying to push artificial conspiracies of conjecture that any celebrity who criticizes Trump is a pedophile based on scant ambiguous clues with absolutely no sources or evidence whatsoever by anonymous nobodies on a site like 4Chan that is re-known for it’s pedophile issues (among other things). It is all projection, denial-ism, redirection, and a fierce “I’m dancing as fast as I can” BS attempt to get people to not see the deluge of facts that cannot be suppressed anymore....

....and that is that the Republican party is the atrocious party of pedophiles protecting pedophiles.

There I said it!

[jobskenyaone-blog]

Jobs Vacancy Gidi Mobile Limited Ongoing Recruitment [8 Positions] - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy Gidi Mobile Limited Ongoing Recruitment [8 Positions] – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy Gidi Mobile Limited Ongoing Recruitment [8 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy Gidi Mobile Limited Ongoing Recruitment [8 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

Gidi Mobile Limited – Our organisation is a dynamic fast-paced technology firm, positioned to make an impact in the technology sector while delivering…

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NAFDAC, MAN disagree over sachet alcohol ban

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has countered claims by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control that the recent implementation of the ban on sachet alcoholic drinks was a collective decision. Speaking at a press conference held in Lagos on Friday, the Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, insisted that members of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, a sub-sector under MAN, had repeatedly expressed reservations over the planned implementation of the ban. NAFDAC had, in a statement released on Thursday, insisted that the ban, which affects alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml, was a collective decision. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, said the ban was a collective recommendation of a committee and listed representatives in the committee as the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. She said, “It is also important to clarify that the implementation of the ban on alcohol in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles was not hasty. “It is in line with the five-year phase-out plan of the affected presentations of alcoholic beverages, which started in January 2019 and ended on January 31, 2024. “The five-year period granted to the industry stakeholders was a practical, reasonable, and sufficient time for full compliance with the phase-out of the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml.” However, Ajayi-Kadir dismissed the claim by the regulator that the decision was a collective one. According to the MAN DG, notwithstanding its earlier objections (to the immediacy of the ban), Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria participated in the preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding, which was then signed (with evident reservations) on December 18, 2018, between the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, Consumer Protection Commission (now Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) and Association of Food, Beverages, and Tobacco Employers and DIBAN to address the concerns raised at the time. The goal, he said, was to enlighten citizens on responsible consumption, by supporting the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC to undertake the advocacy, messaging, training and education of the public. Ajayi-Kadir said appropriate consideration was not given to the impact the ban would have on the manufacturers, the workers, the citizenry and the economy. He claimed the ban, which sought to discourage irresponsible consumption of alcohol, would be counterproductive in the long run because bigger sizes encourage consumption of bigger portions, while small sizes encourage portion control. He said that rather than ban products within the stipulated category, NAFDAC should intensify its activities and support in the form of access control and tighter regulations. He said, “This is what the ban is going to wreck for no justifiable reason. It must be explicitly stated that moderation and responsible drinking promote good health. Small is good, if you buy small, you will consume a small. “If you buy big, you will consume big; this is not healthy. Bigger sizes encourage the consumption of bigger portions, while small sizes encourage portion control. If you take away small sizes, you are encouraging excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. “To go ahead with the policy based on perceived danger, without empirical information and not minding the consequences, unfair to the industry operators and the thousands of workers that will lose their jobs and inimical to the Nigerian economy.” The MAN DG also called on NAFDAC to encourage collaborative efforts to eliminate underage drinking or the use of alcoholic beverages. Meanwhile, members of the Trade Union Congress protested on Friday against the ban on sachet alcoholic drinks imposed by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration. The TUC, alongside some of the affected businesses, took to the streets of Obafemi Awolowo Way in Ikeja, Lagos State, to demonstrate against the recently implemented ban. The protesters, who carried placards indicating their grievance, said the ban had rendered them jobless. Read the full article

[jobskenyaone-blog]

Jobs Vacancy Royal Heritage Available Job Position – Apply Now! - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy Royal Heritage Available Job Position – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy Royal Heritage Available Job Position – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy Royal Heritage Available Job Position – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

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Jobs Vacancy Juesco Nigeria Limited Current Job Vacancies [3 Positions] - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy Juesco Nigeria Limited Current Job Vacancies [3 Positions] – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy Juesco Nigeria Limited Current Job Vacancies [3 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy Juesco Nigeria Limited Current Job Vacancies [3 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

Juesco Nigeria Limited is an indigenous Oil and Gas servicing company incorporated under the laws of Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29th day of…

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Jobs Vacancy Federal Ministry of Health New Job Recruitment - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy Federal Ministry of Health New Job Recruitment – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy Federal Ministry of Health New Job Recruitment – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy Federal Ministry of Health New Job Recruitment – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

The Federal Ministry of Health is one of the Federal Ministries of Nigeria concerned with the formulation and implementation of policies related to health. It is headed…

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Jobs Vacancy Breeze Driving School Limited Job Opportunity – Apply Now! - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy Breeze Driving School Limited Job Opportunity – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy Breeze Driving School Limited Job Opportunity – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy Breeze Driving School Limited Job Opportunity – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

Breeze Driving School Limited is a new driving school. Breeze Driving School Limited is a duly registered company in Nigeria with Corporate…

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Jobs Vacancy WoodfordPR New Available Job Opportunity – Apply Now! - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy WoodfordPR New Available Job Opportunity – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy WoodfordPR New Available Job Opportunity – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy WoodfordPR New Available Job Opportunity – Apply Now! – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

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Jobs Vacancy Center for Civilians in Conflict New Job Openings [5 Positions] - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy Center for Civilians in Conflict New Job Openings [5 Positions] – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy Center for Civilians in Conflict New Job Openings [5 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy Center for Civilians in Conflict New Job Openings [5 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

Center for Civilians in Conflict’s mission, is to improve protection for civilians caught in conflicts around the world. We call on…

[jobskenyaone-blog]

Jobs Vacancy Famous Motors Transport Limited Recent Vacancies [4 Positions] - Nigeria 2018

Jobs Vacancy Famous Motors Transport Limited Recent Vacancies [4 Positions] – Nigeria 2018

Career Recruitment – Jobs Vacancy Famous Motors Transport Limited Recent Vacancies [4 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job vacancy Nigeria: Jobs Vacancy Famous Motors Transport Limited Recent Vacancies [4 Positions] – Nigeria 2018 Job Description: Today Work Nigeria

Famous Motors Transport Limited is a closely held family transportation company and part of a larger group of companies, specialized in…