The Vote must count campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo received a major boost when Nigerians from all work of life under the aegis of Goodluck-Sambo Democratic League (GOSADEL) held its inaugural meeting in Abuja.

The meeting which was held at Agura hotel Abuja, Thursday 22^nd July, was for the inauguration of the National executive officers and lunching of the groups’ campaign for the Goodluck-Sambo principles of Vote Must Count in 2011 poll.

While presenting the Officers the National Chairman, Hezekiah Olufemi Abdulahi, said GOSADEL is a non partisan and non tribal pressure group with a mission to establish an enduring democracy that is based on credible and transparent elections, through massive mobilization and sensitization of Nigerians.

Some of the inaugurated officials were the National vice chairman for North west Barister Peter Odagu, north east Alhaji Aliyu Yakub, South west Olusegun Odewale, South South Chief Dominic Bassey, North central Captain Oni and Dr Chief B Nwokwe for southeast. Others are the National women leader Hajia Amina Sule Apollo, Barister Godwin Mahon Okpere National secretary general, Tope Brown National Financial.

In a goodwill message to the group during the inauguration, the Chairman of the Global Campaign for Africa Democracy (GCAD), Chief Oluwafemi Sanyaolu said that the vote must count principles of the Goodluck-Sambo administration was a step in the right direction. He reiterated that it is only when our vote counts that we can reap the dividend of democracy. Chief Sanyaolu who is also the PDP New York City Chapter Party Chairman,  said the Global Campaign for Africa Democracy (GCAD) will give all necessary support to GOSADEL and He will rally support among Nigerians in Diaspora for the Your Vote Must Count Campaign of the group.

Diego Okenyodo the coordinator of GOSADEL in Abuja said one of the endearing qualities of Goodluck is his ability to listen to the yearnings of Nigeria. He cited the appointment of a new INEC chairman and the reversal of the ban on the Super Eagles from competitions as some examples. He concluded by saying that what Nigerians need most is not just a messiah but a listening president.

Present at the meeting was Mrs Adebumi Oshodahun National President of National association of women opinion leaders. Others were youths, politicians, women groups, professionals and members of the group from the 36 states and Abuja.

To begin with, the Scottish Government released al-Megrahi, and the Scottish Government does not apologize for it or regard it as a mistake, and neither should they.

The main argument seems to be that it is disrespectful to the families of the victims on both sides of the Atlantic, but believe it or not there are people from the village of Lockerbie who never agreed with the verdict, including the man who was the local priest at the time who had the job of burying the dead residents, all of whom residents in the very street he lived on.

Naturally everyone is entitled to their opinion, but Cameron telling the Yanks it was a “mistake” is confusing, the Scottish Government stands by its decision to release al-Megrahi, and in no way apologizes for it.  This subject was covered in last week’s edition of Question Time, and Nicola Sturgeon Deputy First Minister of Scotland made that perfectly clear.

Regardless of what a doctor who was not involved with the original prognosis has to say on the subject, guessing how long a terminal patient has to live is not an exact science, it’s not even a science, it is guesswork.  America knows all about making rash decisions based on guesswork, their entire foreign policy for the duration of the Bush Administration was completely based on guesswork.

The rest of the World should really trust the Scots more.  It is not as we are some egotistical nation who have contributed nothing but take credit for everything.  It’s the complete opposite A Scot has been on the forefront of progress since the beginning.

I have actually written something very similar to this on a different site, albeit with slightly more colourful language, back when al-Megrahi was released and Obama was shouting for a boycott of Scottish produce.  A boycott I backed, but I felt there was no room for being meticulous.  Why not go the whole hog and boycott everything that Scotland has given the world, and that list is so long and so full of things still in use today that boycotting it would result in a quick trip back to the dark ages.

Highlights of which include; anesthetics, penicillin, tarmac, Halloween, fridges, microwaves, iron bridges, the telephone, the television and my personal favorite, The US Navy.

So while many people across the globe think of Scots as clans of men in kilts who live in castles and spend their days either fighting for freedom or roaming the glen (wend not releasing dangerous criminals willy-nilly).  They do not, but you think that because of the Stereotype, another thing to thank the Scots for.

David Cameron can call it what he wants, but his reasons are as transparent and self-serving as always.  He has taken the side of America over Scotland, not that we should be in any way surprised given his position, and his party’s history regarding relations with his neighbors to the north.  He should treat them a little better since Scotland has all the oil, and all the crazy kilted lunatics.

An inquiry may well appease the people who have read about this in the newspapers but it is not as he will be re-arrested, no matter your opinion on the subject Abdebaset al-Megrahi will die a free man, whenever he actually dies. Seeing as the only person, I know who actually lived through the hell of that night in Lockerbie not only thinks al-Megrahi was innocent, but also he campaigned for his release at great cost both professionally and personally, that is enough for me.

I find myself agreeing with a Government decision for once.  Which is a problem as I’m sure you can imagine.

Henry Hunter – WorldNewsVine Scotland

Rothbury, UK (Jul 10) – The weeklong search for the fugitive Raoul Moat ended in the early hours of the morning after a tense 6 hour stand-off.  Moat, wanted for the murder of one man, and the shooting of two other people found him surrounded on a bank of a river.

The town of Rothbury in Northumbnailerland provided the setting for Moat’s last stand, which ended with the former nightclub bouncer shooting himself in the head.  It is rumoured that a taser fired at the gunman may have inadvertently made Moat pull the trigger, this came after news cameras picked up the sound of someone screaming seconds before the fatal shot rang out.

This marked the end of a huge manhunt that lasted a week, and captivated the country.  The strange story kept getting stranger and in the final hours football legend Paul Gascoigne turned up at the site with a bucket of fried chicken and bottled water, telling the police that he was an old friend of Moat.  Not even the appearance of the Geordie hero could make Moat surrender, although it seemed for a while that he was prepared to give up.

The police admit to firing a taser at Moat, as a less lethal alternative, but there is no official word yet if it did indeed make the gunman shoot himself accidentally.  No police were injured during the siege, despite Moats declaration of war against them after his ex-partner Samantha Stobbart, with whom he had a child, informed him that her new man was a police officer (he wasn’t) in order to scare him off.  Little did she know it would end so tragically.

Raoul Moat shot himself at around 1:15 am BST, and was pronounced dead in aNewcastle hospital around an hour later.  He was discovered near a riverbank at 7pm BST.

Considering Moat embarked on his paranoia fuelled rampage days after being released from prison, a trip back to prison was unlikely to have the effect needed, it was either going to end with him being committed or it would end like it did, with the deranged muscleman dead.  Post mortem examinations will take place; this will prove just how he died, and which gun killed him.  Suicide by police was always a danger, and with so many snipers and armed police in the area, anything could have happened.

There was a threat to the public after a Dictaphone was found among his possessions in a tent thought to be where Moat had been hiding since the initial shootings one week ago. The recording stated Moat was complaining about the way the media was reporting the story, and if the public did not change the way they perceived a mad, steroid abusing, meat-head running around the town with guns, then he would start targeting them too.  He did not, and from what it seems, he did not shoot at any more police either.  Had he been emo then I’m sure he would have just written some poetry, but in fitting with the stereotypical muscleman image, he went Rambo, and ended up dead.

It was exciting though.

Henry Hunter. WorldNewsVine Scotland.

In a statement signed by the Party Chairman, Chief Oluwafemi Sanyaolu, he said it was unanimously agreed that the Chapter should declare for President Goodluck Jonathan’s candidacy and launch the presidential campaign in NYC to rally support among Nigerians in Diaspora.

He stated that the decision was reached based on the record and achievement of President Jonathan since he took over the leadership mantle of Nigeria. His ability to listen to the people and act decisively has made him the right candidate the country needs to rescue it from the shackle of poverty.

Chief Sanyaolu who is also the Chairman, Global Campaign for Africa Democracy, further stated that the President’s achievement during this short period is so overwhelming and outstanding.

The Party Chairman emphasized that when the people requested for the removal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, he took action right away and replaced him with someone that is widely accepted both in national and international circles. President Goodluck Jonathan did not hesitate to change the name of INEC Commissioners that were discovered to be card-carrying members of the ruling party.

During the undecided moment in the country, he kept his cool and held the forth despite uncertainty in the polity and distractions by cabals in Late President Umar Yar’adua’s administration. He did not hesitate to dissolve the Executive and reorganize the FEC in smooth transition and gave the country a sense of direction. He refused to support the Chairman of his own party to continue in office after being indicted for corruption.

The Party Members in New York, agreed that this was the first time the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria listened to the voice of its Citizens and act boldly and precisely without any “maradona moves”, President Jonathan is also known for making accurate and timely decisions. Since Mr President can deliver so much in such a short while ,we are satisfied and confident that he will deliver on his promise to fix the power problem that have plagued the country for decades.

The members also agreed in the statement that political leaders and aspirants who are clamoring for zoning to be retained in order to edge out a performing President have the right to do so, but Nigerians are not stupid to allow such an unconstitutional arrangement, they will fly their zoning kite, but it will not fly!

We are not waiting for the President to declare his intention to run or not, this is a call to duty by the Citizens of Federal Republic of Nigeria both home and in Diaspora. There is no choice for Mr. President but to accept it, because the people will not forgive him if he caves in to the mediocre looking for short cut to achieve their personal agenda. This is a new era, a new dawn; the wind of change that started from the western world is now blowing in Nigeria!

The Jonathan Presidency 2011 campaign will be launched in New York City in August, invitation will be sent out to progress-minded Governors, members of NASS, Party leaders and the Presidency.

The Party Executives and members also congratulated the President and the Party leaders for appointing Chief Nwodo as the National Chairman of PDP. This is another achievement of the President for supporting a unique, strong and experienced leader to stir the wheel of the Party towards success in 2011, and his recent declaration of where zoning formula belongs (the grave) it’s a prove that the president makes the right choice.

Those who are attacking the National Chairman of PDP, Chief Nwodo, on his stand on zoning, are living in the past, and should be reminded there is a new sheriff in town. The press conference was attended by notable members and executives like Chief Sanyaolu, Agwu Agwu, Chief Nicholas Owoyemi, Lady loveth Nwonkwo,  Ms Emmanuella Agwu and others.

So far Moat has killed one person, his ex-girlfriends new partner Chris Brown, he also shot and injured his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart, and a policeman, both of whom are recovering in hospital.

In the past few days, the police have followed a string of clues left across the countryside by the deranged muscleman.  First they found his car, abandoned not far from a secluded area where they found a tent which Moat had been using as his HQ, there they found a new letter, this one addressed to Miss Stobbart but equally rambling as his 49 page novel that he wrote to the police.

The police have now brought in help from someone claiming to know the former doorman, and who claims to have a knowledge of places Moat is likely to be hiding, the informant could seen yesterday behind what looked like a poor man’s Testudo Formation as they maneuvered the countryside setting.

Mr. Moat has been on the run since his shooting spree one week ago on 1 July; the same day he left prison.

In a strange turn of events, two men, previously thought to have been taken hostage by Moat, have been charged with conspiring to commit murder.  Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan were found wandering down a country road armed.  It is alleged that Ness was with Moat when he shot Sam Stobbart and her new partner Chris Brown.

After almost one week of searching, and still no sign, it would appear that Moat has either slipped the ring (so to speak), killed himself or has managed to “go Rambo” and has rigged the Forrest with traps.  There have been calls from Miss Stobbarts family for Moat to give himself up, and assertions from Moats own mother that he would be better off dead.  I am not sure how they expect Moat to hear their calls as he was living in a tent until the police put a stop to that and is now, more than likely, living in a tree/hole somewhere.

The BBC News paraded pictures of Moat as a child and asked, “What could turn this child into a maniac?”…  Steroids and ego.  The same thing that makes all bodybuilders go mad.

Update when anything new occurs.

Henry Hunter WorldNewsVine Scotland

There are many reasons why these semi-finals and the tournament on whole have been tough to watch.  Mainly those giant companies such as Nike and Adidas have got their way and made it so that heavy tackling, which could injure their profits, is fast becoming outdated.

These new rules, imposed last year, which make it almost impossible to throw in a reckless yet fair challenge have taken the flow from the game, which prevents players from finding a groove, resulting in such terrible performances from amazing players such as Messi and Ronaldo.

Football is now, essentially, a non-contact sport.  In addition, as a spectacle, the world cup is drawing its last breath.

While a player can be sent off for a tackle that was not only acceptable a few years ago, but the same tackle that your coach would bench you for not making.  These rules are set in place to enable players to play without the worry of getting a broken leg, or something, while at the same time FIFA (who make the rules) allow the tournament to be sponsored by McDonalds, Coke, Mars, and other such stalwarts of the healthy eating market.

When I say FIFA make the rules, what I meant to say was they put in place what the big companies such as Nike want.  This power was shown in the 98 final when they forced Ronaldo to turn out for Brazil despite having nearly died that morning from a fit.

This will probably be the last time I watch a world cup.  Life is too short to watch this nonsense, by the time World Cup Brazil 2014 comes around I will, or at least should be totally jaded with the whole thing.

With that in mind, it is a good thing that the last one I watch will be won by a team that has never won it before, not for lack of trying obviously, but “the two best teams who never won the cup” will play this final or so the pundits keep saying.  There is not much that can be said about either semi final, nothing really good anyway.

Uruguay played Netherlands in their semi, with rat face Suarez suspended Uruguay would have to rely on their only other player, Forlan, and it nearly worked. Once Van Bronckhorst had opened the scoring with what was one of the best goals of the tournament, you would be forgiven for thinking the game was going to be entertaining.

After what felt like about 3 days Uruguay scored, then time slowed down again and at some point, the game ended.  There were more goals, but by that time, I had slipped into a coma and missed them.  The game ended 3-2, and the last 45 seconds of the game were incredible if that makes any difference.  The Dutch goals came from Van Bronckhorst, Sneijder, and Robben.  Forlan and Periera did their best, but a goal from offside gave the Dutch the edge.

As I settled down with a friend and a smoked sausage supper to watch last night’s semi between Germany and Spain we were unaware that a bit of smoked sausage, some chips and a bottle of Red Cola would be the most exciting thing about this game.  The food was the only thing that kept me awake.

The Germans, passed the ball around trying to find a space in the Spanish defence, they could not.  Then the Spaniards got the ball and they passed the ball around waiting for a space…  This went on, and on and on…  Then on a bit more until finally Captain Fantastic Hair, Barcelona’s Puyol threw himself ferociously at a cross and beat the keeper with a header from about 10 yards out…  Other than that, and a lot of passing, nothing really happened and now we are left with a final between two players who play equally boring styles of football.

Spain will pass the ball as much as humanly possible looking for a space, which usually does not appear. When Netherlands break with the ball they will pass it out to Robben who will run down the right wing at the left back and cut into try and shoot with his left foot as his right foot is exclusively for balance…  A function it only sometimes performs.  Robben is a good player, but if he were any more one footed, he would be Heather Mills.

Once this game, and the battle for 3rd place (which should be a good game) between Germany and Uruguay, have been played I will probably start mourning football, as it has morphed in front of our eyes into a world of overpaid babies who cry at the slightest thing and overzealous referees who are intent on stopping the game as often as possible.  With the proposed changes in regard of technology, it will only get worse.  Games will be stopped every time the ref, who is paid to make decisions, feels he cannot make decisions.  The ref getting it wrong is as much a part of football as debatable goals, ludicrous tackles, and maniacs in midfield and defence kicking lumps out of strikers…  At least it used to be.

I should point out that there was a lone pitch invader last night, that broke the mood for two minutes.

I’m going to start following Whitletts Victoria or Symington Caledonian.  Who’s with me?

The Final will be played on Sunday, depending where you are depends what time.  I wouldn’t get out of bed to watch it though.

Henry Hunter – WorldNewsVine Scotland

Northumbnailria,  (Jul 5) - A gunman who is thought to have shot his ex and killed her lover has apparently sent a 49 page handwritten letter in which he passes the blame onto one of the victims and declares war on the local police.  He has assured the Northumbnailria police that he is not intending to kill members of the public, only officers in uniform.

The police have not yet confirmed that the letter came from, or was even written by the suspect Raoul Moat.  It seems a safe assumption however.  In the letter Moat (37) claims to have customised his ammo so that the cartridge used against his former lover Samantha Stobbart would only wound her, leaving her scarred for life, but giving her the chance to claim compensation.  He did no such favours for Stobbart’s new beau, who Moat shot in the head and killed.

Bodybuilder Moat had stayed out of sight beneath an open window at the home of Samantha where he claims to have listened to her and her new lover insult Moat for 90 minutes before deciding that he’d had enough and decided to shoot them.  Although he used customised ammo to ensure his ex lover survived, she is still critical in hospital and Moat has announced via his letter that he does regret hurting her and if the doctors do not save her, he will kill them too, no pressure.

To declare war on an entire police force is a rash move.  His chances of surviving much longer are slim, having already shot, injuring PC David Rathband, a photo of whom has been released today, covered in blood and lying in hospital. The police, I am sure will not be looking for an arrest, at least they should not be.

Moat's Facebook page...

Naturally, none of this is his fault it is his ex girlfriends.  She did this, and the fact that he is a steroid abusing meathead with no grounding in reality has absolutely nothing at all to do with it.  His hatred for the police has come from his belief that Samantha left him for a police officer, and that they had asked her to spy on him.

As it stands at the time of writing, Moat is still on the run, despite his assurance that he is not on the run, as much as he is just on a cop-killing spree and that he is only hunting them because they have spent years hunting him.  He is on the run though and I would suggest looking in places with lots of heavy things for him to lift and loads of mirrors for him to look at himself while he lifts heavy things, because nothing is cooler than lifting heavy things.  It is what makes you a man, it means you can wear tight clothes and live under the assumption that everyone thinks you are awesome.

Updates will no doubt be thick and fast as the day goes on.

Henry Hunter – WorldNewsVine, UK

Kabul, Afghanistan (Jul 4) – General David Petraeus took command of US and NATO forces announcing “We are in this to win.”  The ceremony was held at command headquarters in Kabul.

President Obama nominated Petraeus and the Senate confirmed his command last week. General Petraeus recently served as Commander U.S. Central Command and oversaw U.S. support to the NATO ISAF mission. The General will be overseeing more than 140,000 international personnel from 47 nations assigned to ISAF support of the Afghanistan government.

The overall mission is to synchronize security efforts with ongoing improvements in governance and socio-economic developments and to provide an environment for sustained stability.

“As President Obama and NATO Secretary General Rasmussen have noted, my assumption of command represents a change in personnel, not a change in policy or strategy,” Petraeus said. “To be sure, I will, as any new commander should, together with ISAF, Afghan, and diplomatic partners, examine our civil-military effort to determine where refinements might be needed,” adding “I feel privileged to be joining this critical effort at such a pivotal time.”

The General arrived at his command on Friday evening and has been receiving staff briefings along with, meeting key Afghan officials including, President Karzai and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.

In a closing statement Petraeus stated, “We must demonstrate to the people and to the Taliban that Afghan and ISAF forces are here to safeguard the Afghan people, and that we are in this to win,” adding “That is our clear objective.”

Islamabad, PK (Jul 2) – The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced strong condemnation of today’s suicide attack on an Islamic Shrine in Lahore, Pakistan.

The suicide bombing reported killed more than 40 people and left dozens more injured. Reports state there were two separate explosions last evening at the Data Ganj Baksh shrine, holy to Sufi Muslims. Major damage to the complex has been reported.

Pakistan has seen an increase in deadly bombings and sectarian attacks following Pakistan Army’s assault on tribal areas being ruled by outlawed Taliban insurgents from Afghanistan. The area always believed to be the center of activity leading to unrest and violence in neighboring Afghanistan leaving thousands of innocent Afghani citizens dead and injured.

Mr. Ban in a statement released today said, “The deliberate targeting of a crowded place of worship makes this particularly vicious.”

The Secretary General also sent his condolences to those that lost life and were injured in yet another senseless attack by terrorists operating in the region. “The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Pakistan.”

If the winners were chosen on merit, and ability to entertain then Paraguay and Japan would be out.  Never in this tournament have I been so bored with two teams playing in such an important game.  Paraguay probably deserved to win out the two, and it did provide us with the first penalty shoot-out of South Africa, but I was close to tears it was so boring.

Paraguay eventually won on penalties after Japan missed one, I took notes, or note to be precise.  I jotted down the name of the Japanese player who missed seeing as that was the only bit of action in the entire game worth mentioning.  There were a couple of terrible challenges which were great, but altogether a really bad, almost anti-football performance from both teams. With that in mind no one deserves having their name mentioned.

Spain v Portugal was one of those matches that everyone was interested in…  Some of the beast players in the world represent Spain, and Portugal has Ronaldo…  David Villa of Spain is insanely talented, and scored the only goal of this game.  The strange thing is he seems to have a love affair with the grass inside the penalty box…  The grass outside the box must be different because he very rarely rolls about out there…  But when he hits that penalty box it is as if there is a magnet pulling him down to the soft green grass.  Strange.

The game didn’t live up to the hype, mainly because people expected Christiano Ronaldo to act like a grown up and play football…  But as we all know, when it comes to big games where Ronaldo can attempt to justify being worth such a ludicrous amount of money (£120,000 Per Week) he would rather just walk about the park and cry like a big baby because he was born in Funchal, Madeira and knows that no matter how many tricks he can come up with, it is all for nothing because he will never, ever win a world cup playing with Portugal.

That is not to say the Spaniards will win, I think this year they will come as close as they ever had, but will eventually do their usual and bottle it, despite their current status as champions of Europe…  But Spain do have some of the world’s best players in their team while Portugal only have Ronaldo.  Spain progress to the quarter finals after beating their close rivals 1-0.

The Netherlands are an impressive team, and they could feasibly go all the way…  If the whole ‘Dutch’ thing doesn’t get in the way…  By that I mean falling out with each other and giving up completely.  They had, on paper, the easiest opposition in Slovakia…  Despite their status as giant beaters after their shock victory against Italy.

The return of Robben has been a blessing for the Dutch, and when he plays against defenses that don’t understand the concept of defending a left footed player playing on the right wing, particularly a player like Robben who is great with his left and terrible with his right.  The Slovakians didn’t grasp this and Robben opened their defence like a bag of crisps and fired in the opener.  Before the Slovakians could get into a groove Netherlands went 2-0 up through Wesley Sneijder, not Wesley Snipes no matter how much you wish it was.

Slovakia won a penalty in the dying seconds, the penalty was the last kick of the ball so it was a good thing Vitteck scored it to save a little face because he could have scored 3 or more on the day.  Netherlands progress.

Brazil faced Chile in their last 16 battle, and probably the toughest game Brazil could have pulled, in the past Brazil have knocked Chile out twice, and goals from Juan, Luis Fabiano and Robinho ensured that Chile fell to the Samba stars for a third time.  At no point in this game did Brazil look uncomfortable, which will give them the confidence to take on the Netherlands in their quarter final.

The other quarter finals matches are Uruguay v Ghana, Argentina v Germany, and Paraguay v Spain.

Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina all aiming for an all South American final.

Henry Hunter – WNV UK