Solar eclipse to occur on 3rd November

THE Director-General of National Biotechnical Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr Saidu Mohammed, has said the solar eclipse, which will occur on November 3, will come with mild darkness across the 36 states of the federation.

The Director-General, who made this known during a press briefing, last Thursday in Abuja, also advised Nigerians to remain calm, as the eclipse would not affect satellite communications or air services.

The eclipse, however, will be characterised by a flush of sunlight and mild darkness during its peak. The agency has, therefore, made available at its headquarters, sunglasses, which will serve as filters for the effect of the sun.

Dr Mohammed added that: “It will be like any other day, but its effect will be felt at its peak. It is recommended you wear sunglasses. There is no need to panic,” he concluded.

Earlier in his presentation, the Director of Centre for Astronomy, University of Nsukka, Professor Felix Okpara, who outlined the various times of the eclipse across the nation said, in Abuja, the eclipse will begin by 1:03 p.m. It will be at its maximum by 2.40 p.m and it will end by 4.03 p m in the evening. In Lagos, it will begin by 12.50 p.m, its maximum level will take place by 2.40 p.m and end by 4.01p.m.

In Ibadan, the eclipse will start by 12.52 p.m, the maximum level will be witnessed by 2.32 p.m and it will end 4.01 p.m. In Port Harcourt, the eclipse will begin by 1.03 p.m, its maximum will be experienced by 2.43 p.m and by 4.09 p.m, it will end. In Uyo, the eclipse will begin by 1.06 p.m, its maximum will be experienced by 2.45 p.m and by 4.10 p.m, it will end.

In Enugu, the eclipse will begin by 1.04 p.m, its maximum will be experienced by 2.43 p.m and by 4.07 p.m, it will end and in Kano, the eclipse will begin by 1.07 p.m, its maximum will be experienced by 2.40 p.m and by 4.01 p.m, it will end.

An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object/objects is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer as seen from the earth.

Solar eclipse was previously recorded in Nigeria concurrently in 1945, 1959, 2001 and 2006.
http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/item/25104-solar-eclipse-occurs-on-sunday.html

Chewing stick is better than toothbrush- Dentist

The Head of Dental Department at the State Specialist Hospital, Okitipupa in Ondo State, Dr Segun Adegoke, has said that chewing sticks are better for cleaning the teeth than tooth brush.

Adegoke said that chewing sticks contained anti-microbacterial substance called ‘tannin’ which was the same as fluoride in toothpastes.

He said the natural ‘tannin’ helped to fight bacteria in the mouth, maintained the gums, made the teeth stronger and improved the oral hygiene more than tooth brushes.

“Our aged parents use chewing sticks and even at 60 years of age, their teeth are stronger than that of the youth of today,” he said. “Why many people choose tooth brush is because it is faster to use and they also hold the belief that chewing stick is outdated.

I think chewing sticks are better than tooth brushes because the tannin in it helps in various ways to keep the teeth cleaner, fresher and stronger.”

He, however, said that the only advantage tooth brush had over chewing stick was its ability to get to the corners of the mouth


.http://telegraphng.com/2013/10/dentist-says-chewing-stick-better-toothbrush/

My growing up

My growing up story has no chasm with that of a ghetto child who lives in the slum and living on a hand-to-mouth income.  Today marks the 24th year of my existence on this earth, the first in a family of seven, ring by a five sisters and a little brother, what a great bond we are! Mum and God has been the cradle of my survivor till hitherto.  My life as a lil boy was mocked by the multifarious ailment that struck me, many people thought I won't survive them, dad was not an exception but I made it and survived them. At 3, mum and dad left me for the city with my granny because of fear of sickness (then it was a herbal concentrate that were administered to me), I didn't feel their depature as I quickly adapt and got attuned to life therein. Granny was another woman I can't forget in my life, she took care of me and often scold my parents for missing any of their onus as regards to me. I wore tore shirt and patched short like anyother ghetto child or present day road urchins, so don't think I was born with a silver spoon and got everything in a platter of gold, life passed through me and am now passing through life. I returned with my parent to the city in 1993 and started my education in 1996. Did I tell you about my kindergarten school in the village? It is called/christined 'ota akara', beans cake eaters. It is more of a normadic school, we'd refuse going until we're give akara(beans cake), then we'd derilious and rush to school with a slate and chalk, we use the slate and chalk as our book and pencil, we scribble anything our miss(teacher) tells us to write on a slate, by 12 noon we would rush back home with our back heel almost touching our head, all this is racing is not to meet granny but to touch her cooking pot, to stuff our belly with her delicious meal.

My growing up

Crude oil gushes out of tap in Kogi Village

Operatives of the Inspector General of Police, Special Taskforce on Pipeline Vandalism, Kogi State Sector are on the trail of a landlord identified only as Mallam Mohammed after a well filled with crude oil was discovered in his compound located at Gegu, Koton Karafi Local Government area of Kogi State.

It was learnt that the compound is located about 30 metres from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pipeline in the area. The landlord was said to have escaped as soon as he learnt that policemen were on his premises.

Also discovered were several overhead tanks that belonged to one Alhaji Suleiman Mohammed who owns a pure water factory in the area.

Police told Saturday PUNCH that Suleiman insisted that he woke up and discovered that all his overhead tanks were filled with crude oil.

Our correspondent learnt that residents had lined up to fetch water when crude oil started gushing out of the tap.

Residents were said to have started struggling to fetch the crude oil before the police stormed the area.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Friday Ibadin, who is in-charge of the taskforce, said on August 22, 2013, he got an intelligence report that some individuals were carting away gallons of crude oil from a village in Kogi state.

He said, “Policemen led by Kogi Sector Commander, Dawn Eremie, stormed the premises and discovered a well filled with crude oil as well as empty kegs littered in the compound. The owner of the house disappeared while his wife who was met compound claimed that they discovered that their well was filled with crude oil. She admitted that they made attempts to scoop the oil in a bid to get clean water for domestic use.

“In the course of investigation, it was also discovered that the nearby pure water factory which belongs to one Alhaji Suleiman Mohammed had crude oil filled in its tank. Investigation is ongoing while we are still on the trail of the owner of the house who is currently at large.

Man claims to be Michael Jackson's ex-gay lover

Scott Thorson, Liberace’s former
live-in boyfriend, shared private
details of his five-year romance
with the flamboyant entertainer.
Today, Thorson drops a bombshell
regarding Michael Jackson,
claiming he andthe King of Pop
shared an intimate, intimate
relationshipin the eighties.
“Michael and I had a relationship
that… would cross the
boundaries,” Thorson reveals in an
exclusive sit down with ET’s
Christina McLarty. “That’s about all
I’m comfortable saying… We were
both young.”
While he concedes that not many
will believe that he and Michael
were lovers, he says that the two
became unlikely friends while he
was dating Liberace. After a period
of friendship, their relationship
blossomed into more.
Thorson details his tumultuous
relationship with the King of Pop
and more in Behind the
Candelabra: My Life with Liberace,
a book he wrote in 1998 which is
currently being adapted for the big
screen featuring Matt Damon and
Michael Douglas. He is presently
penning a follow-up.
http://
www.deelinkage.com/2013/06/
man-claims-hes-late-michael-
jacksons.html?m=1

Gays are just Victims of Biology

GAYS ARE JUST VICTIMS OF BIOLOGY

Email: anonymousng.91@gmail.com

     

 Over the past few years the heat has intensified and everybody has been gasping for the thin air as a result of what some of us perceive as a malady and perverse.  This little line of write ups is not purported to create another school of thought or to generate controversies but to avail ourselves to sexual diversities and reality.

     
 Take it or leave it, some homosexuals are born this way whilst some were adopted into it by close friends either through mutual consent or otherwise, gays make up at least 4-5% of this country, Nigeria, and also exist in virtually in every society (though some might not be able to showcase it as a result of fears of being rebuffed, rebuked or even fear from being banished from the community) of the world, no wonder why Prof. Wole Soyinka tagged Gays as “Minorities and also victims of Biology” but to me they also equally victims of psychology.  Scientist are still trying to discover the gene responsible for homosexuality, Psychologists once listed homosexuality as a mental disorder but in 1973 APA(American Psychological Association) delisted it and distant itself from it by acknowledging it as a normal behavior- after all it also exists in higher animals.  Now how can you blame someone that his mental processes and sexual hormones is been directed to a same sex partner whom through mutual consent has agreed to be for each other? The only thought that comes to mind of a gay dude is just a person of same sex, now will you blame God for that or are you going to blame his thinking faculties?

      
Africans in the past and present have pretended to be more holy than the Vatican City or better than the Bishop of Canterbury- always quick to jump at anybody perceived to be gay forgetting that we all have our own skeletons in our cupboards.   Why would the actions and inactions of two consensual adults in their private rooms be of utmost concern to you? It’s lugubrious! It just seems like we prefer a criminal who will walk to your door post and cart away with your belongings than to someone whom his/her activity doesn’t in anyway infringe on your right.  Our NASS took no time in passing a bill on LGBTs by incriminating it with a draconian  and punitive sanction of 14 years of imprisonment  while the Deputy Director of the Police Pension Office, John Yakubu Yusuf whom have impoverish the lives of patriots that worked selflessly in contributing to national development  to just two years imprison for embezzling N27bn (are you sure a presidential pardon won’t pull him out?). 

Are we trying to be religious gate keepers, those that are trying to internalize religious norms on individual? Are we better than the Brits that brought religion into the shores of Nigeria? In case you are not current, in January, 2013 the Church of England (Anglican Communion) repealed the ban on gay bishops as they are now qualified to be made a Bishop provided they meet up with some certain agreements and just recently in February MPs in the British Parliament voted in favor of the Marriage bill (though nobody’s asking for it) by 400 t0 175, a majority of 225.  Israel, a country we claim to be a God’s own state doesn’t discriminate on the basis of sexuality, they organize civil unions for LGBT persons in their synagogues with Tel Aviv being a major hotspot for gay tourists, it doesn’t stop there, they permit annual gay pride day (see: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Isreal ).  Do you refer me to Leviticus? Leviticus tells us not to eat pork, rabbits or any kind of crayfish.

   
We claim it’s against our traditional practice, Chimamanda Adichie in an interview with Okay Africa (23/7/2012) was posed with questions regarding LGBT rights; “I believe in love” was Adichie’s simple answer to Africa’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights question. Boldly declaring that homophobia is “fundamentally wrong,” Adichie maintained, “Being gay is not something white people brought to us. Africans have been gay for centuries.”   Make your research and you will find out that homosexuality in Africa is as old as civilization.

So why chose to discriminate when homosexuality has been found in 450 species?  There’s need for tolerance between heterosexuals and homosexuals for it’s the best collision for peaceful coexistence, we’re all unique in our way, being gay is not by choice; for no one will like to be a minority, people are born gay.  And you can’t claim to be holy because no one is perfect, you can’t be Jesus but can emulate him (he ate with the tax collector and stopped the stoning of a prostitute).

For where there’s tolerance there’s progress, unity and absent of differentialism and corruption.  Live and let’s live.

In the word of St. Francis of Assisi “ Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot  change….”