Islamic Insanity in Africa > Christian genocide in Nigeria progressing nicely; Murderers getting nice military equipment

 

Nigeria: Muslims sack Christian villages, rename them,

murder over 200 people in January alone

FEB 19, 2024 12:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER

The renaming of the Christian villages is meant to be a sign that they have been conquered and incorporated into Muslim territory.

How Attackers Murdered Over 200 Nigerians In January Alone,

Renamed ‘Conquered’ Plateau State Villages – Report

Sahara Reporters, February 15, 2024:

No fewer than 200 defenceless civilians were murdered by gunmen and extremists nationwide in January 2024 alone including attacks on Barkin Ladi and Bokkos areas of Plateau State, a report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has stated.

The armed attackers also had a culture of renaming some of the villages they sacked, the report added, while citing how “Rankum was renamed Mahanga; Fass in Riyom (renamed Tafawa), Gwoi in Barkin Ladi (renamed Lugere), Fit ma Bucher (renamed Magaraje), Farandong Hai (renamed Josho) and Horop Mushere (renamed Dajin Gwamna) all in Bokkos.”

The Intersociety report released on Wednesday to SaharaReporters called on the international community to intensify their campaigns against ethno-religious persecution in Nigeria and compel the President Bola Tinubu-led government to respect religious freedom and human rights.

The report partly read, “Many of the Plateau Christian villages uprooted and sacked by Jihadist herdsmen have been renamed including: Rankum (renamed Mahanga), Fass in Riyom (renamed Tafawa), Gwoi in Barkin Ladi (renamed Lugere), Fit ma Bucher (renamed Magaraje), Farandong Hai (renamed Josho) and Horop Mushere (renamed Dajin Gwamna) all in Bokkos; all of which currently serve as staging grounds for more Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen attacks in Plateau State.

“The attacks on defenceless Nigerians in the past 13 months (Jan 2023-Jan 2024) also led to the burning down or wanton destruction of more than 20,000 houses and uprooting and sacking of no fewer than 500 communities in the ten worst hit States of Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna and other parts of the state; Niger, Taraba, Borno, Yobe, Adawama, Kebbi, FCT, Kogi and Enugu State where over 22 communities have been attacked or threatened with Jihadist herdsmen and nomad militia attacks.

“The most shocking of it all is that the herdsmen operate freely and unchallenged with impunity and reckless abandon; with the Nigerian Security Forces (NSFs), widely accused of turning blind eyes or looking the other side; except when it comes to protection of cows and their herders.

“Instances of the Nigerian Military’s brazen partisanship and biasness in the massacre of Nigerians are too many to be mentioned….

 ================================================================================

How Former Nigerian Air Force Officer Supplied Military

Uniforms, Arms To Terrorists In Zamfara State – Police

Sahara Reporters, February 14, 2024:

The Nigeria Police Force High Command, on Tuesday revealed how its operatives arrested a dismissed officer of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) who has been supplying military camouflage and other accoutrements that belong to security operatives to bandits terrorising Zamfara State.

The police explained that the former NAF personnel, Ahmed Mohammed, attached to the Air Force Base, Kaduna State, only served in the air force for just five years before he was court-martialled by the military for a yet-to-be-revealed offence.

The spokesman of the Nigerian police, Muyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, also disclosed that the dismissed personnel introduced sales of military camouflage and other accoutrements to Mushiri Abubakar who had supplied different camps of criminal gangs.

Adejobi said the duo had in the past supplied military camouflage to the notorious bandit, Bello Turji, and his gang members who have been terrorising the State.

Parading the suspects at the headquarters of Special Tactical Squad-Intelligence Response Team in Abuja, the police spokesman listed items recovered from both Mohammed and Abubakar as 10 sets of military camouflage uniforms and 10 pieces camel pack.

Other items recovered include: 2 military hats, 3 cardigans, 3 T-shirts, 2 belts and 3 anklets, adding that they were intercepted when they were transporting the items from Kaduna to Zamfara for bandits….

==========================================================================================

Corruption is Everywhere > Billions in Bitcoin Lost to Criminals - FTX and Inner Mongolia

..

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried busted in Bahamas,

charged with defrauding investors out of $1.8B

By Emily Crane and Lee Brown

December 12, 2022 6:52pm  Updated

Accused crypto crook Sam Bankman-Fried has been busted in the Bahamas — accused of “massive, years-long fraud” that defrauded investors out of $1.8 billion through “a house of cards” built “on a foundation of deception.”

The fallen 30-year-old FTX mogul was arrested Monday night after the Bahamian government received formal notification from the US of charges against him.

The US attorney for the Southern District of New York is expected to charge him Tuesday with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering.

As he awaited his first appearance before a magistrate in the Bahamas on Tuesday, he was separately charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said while revealing the civil complaint.

“The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.”

Disgraced former FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday.

Getty Images

The SEC complaint says that “Bankman-Fried raised more than $1.8 billion from investors” who believed “that FTX had appropriate controls and risk management measures.”

“Unbeknownst to those investors (and to FTX’s trading customers), Bankman-Fried was orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud, diverting billions of dollars of the trading platform’s customer funds for his own personal benefit and to help grow his crypto empire.”

Bankman-Fried “portrayed himself as a responsible leader of the crypto community” and “touted the importance of regulation and accountability,” the complaint says.

A house in the Bahamas linked to disgraced FTX co-founder Bankman-Fried. Albany Bahamas

It just seems odd to me that the house and yard of such a chronic liar would be built with so many straight lines. Curious.

“Customers around the world believed his lies, and sent billions of dollars to FTX, believing their assets were secure.”

Bankman-Fried also “placed billions of dollars of FTX customer funds into Alameda,” his privately held crypto fund, without telling them, the complaint alleges.

“He then used Alameda as his personal piggy bank to buy luxury condominiums, support political campaigns, and make private investments, among other uses,” the complaint reads. 

“None of this was disclosed to FTX equity investors or to the platform’s trading customers.”

China arrests 63 in $1.7 billion crypto money laundering scheme

By Simon Druker

   

Police in northern China arrested 63 people over the weekend, accused of laundering nearly $1.7 billion worth of

Chinese Yuan using cryptocurrency. Photo courtesy of Public Security Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Police in northern China arrested 63 people accused of laundering nearly $1.7 billion worth of Chinese yuan using cryptocurrency.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau announced the arrests on Saturday, seizing around $4.5 million in Chinese currency in the process.

Those arrested have ties to a money laundering gang, which started operating in May 2021, according to police.

This comes amid a growing crackdown from Beijing on China's crypto market, which ranks fourth worldwide, despite an official ban on trading.

Police accused the gang of collecting illicit proceeds from online pyramid schemes, fraud and gambling among other sources. Those involved then converted the cash into Tether, a stablecoin on par with the U.S. dollar.

The money was eventually converted back into Chinese yuan, through several different cryptocurrencies.

Police say the participants used the messaging app Telegram, which is banned in China, to recruit international participants and help launder the money back into Chinese currency.

More than 200 police officers were involved in the operation in the northern region of the country. A pair of suspects were also traced to Bangkok, Thailand and extradited to China, according to police.

Investigators were first tipped off in July, after identifying a bank account with regular monthly deposits of around $1.4 million or 10 million yuan.

China has been trying to root out cryptocurrency from its financial markets for more than a year. In June 2021, Beijing publicized a multi-billion-dollar shutdown of the crypto trading industry.

Despite the official ban, the country still has a large underground community.

Chinese authorities arrested over 1,100 people in 2021 in relation to crypto-related money laundering.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, these two stories make it clear that you should only invest in crypto-currencies with money you can afford to lose.

This Scientist Proved Climate Change Isn’t Causing Extreme Weather — So Politicians Attacked

And so, many scientists who have the facts and know the truth remain silent

Hurricanes have not been proven to be more frequent or more dangerous than in the past.

NOAA / AFP / Getty Images

Special to Financial Post
By Ross McKitrick

This week in Vancouver, Prime Minister Trudeau said the federal carbon tax, a key pillar in his government’s climate policy, will help protect Canadians from extreme weather. “Extreme weather events are extraordinarily expensive for Canadians, our communities and our economy,” he said, citing the recent tornadoes in Ottawa and wildfires in Western Canada. “That’s why we need to act.”

Of course, even if it were true, and even if we shut down the oil sands and every Canadian stopped driving their cars and trucks - it would make absolutely no difference in the weather in Canada. Anthropogenic CO2 accounts for between 3-4% of all CO2 created. Canada accounts for less than 2% of that. Nothing we can do will affect the climate of Canada! It is all tokenism and extremely expensive tokenism.

While members of the media may nod along to such claims, the evidence paints a different story. Roger Pielke Jr. is a scientist at University of Colorado in Boulder who, up until a few years ago, did world-leading research on climate change and extreme weather. He found convincing evidence that climate change was not leading to higher rates of weather-related damages worldwide, once you correct for increasing population and wealth. 

He also helped convene major academic panels to survey the evidence and communicate the near-unanimous scientific consensus on this topic to policymakers. For his efforts, Pielke was subjected to a vicious, well-funded smear campaign backed by, among others, the Obama White House and leading Democratic congressmen, culminating in his decision in 2015 to quit the field.

This is how you get a majority of scientists to agree with anthropogenic induced climate change - you drive those who speak the truth out of the field, and that shuts up everyone else with any real scientific integrity.

A year ago, Pielke told the story to an audience at the University of Minnesota. His presentation was recently circulated on Twitter. With so much misinformation nowadays about supposed climate emergencies, it’s worth reviewing carefully.

Pielke’s public presentation begins with a recounting of his rise and fall in the field. As a young researcher in tropical storms and climate-related damages, he reached the pinnacle of the academic community and helped organize the so-called Hohenkammer Consensus Statement, named after the German town where 32 of the leading scientists in the field gathered in 2006 to sort out the evidence. They concluded that trends toward rising climate damages were mainly due to increased population and economic activity in the path of storms, that it was not currently possible to determine the portion of damages attributable to greenhouse gases, and that they didn’t expect that situation to change in the near future.

Hohenkammer Consensus Statement

Trends toward rising climate damages were mainly due to increased population and economic activity in the path of storms

It was not currently possible to determine the portion of damages attributable to greenhouse gases

They didn’t expect that situation to change in the near future

Shortly thereafter, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its 2007 report, largely agreeing with the Hohenkammer Consensus, while cherry-picking one unpublished study (and highlighting it in the Summary for Policymakers) that suggested a link between greenhouse gases and storm-related damages. But the author of that study — who just happened to be the same IPCC lead author who injected it into the report — later admitted his claim was incorrect, and when the study was finally published, denied the connection.

In 2012, the IPCC Special Report on Extreme Weather came out and echoed the Hohenkammer Consensus, concluding that once you adjust for population growth and economic changes, there is no statistical connection between climate change and measures of weather-related damages. 

In 2013 Pielke testified to the United States Congress and relayed the IPCC findings. Shortly thereafter, Obama’s science advisor John Holdren accused him of misleading Congress and launched a lengthy but ill-informed attack on Pielke, which prompted congressional Democrats to open an investigation into Pielke’s sources of funding (which quickly fizzled amid benign conclusions). Meanwhile heavily funded left-wing groups succeeded in getting him fired from a popular internet news platform. In 2015 Pielke quit the climate field.

So where did the science end up?

In the second half of his talk, Pielke reviews the science as found in the most recent (2013) IPCC Assessment Report, the 2018 U.S. National Climate Assessment, and the most up-to-date scientific data and literature. Nothing substantial has changed.

Globally there’s no clear evidence of trends and patterns in extreme events such as droughts, hurricanes and floods. Some regions experience more, some less and some no trend. Limitations of data and inconsistencies in patterns prevent confident claims about global trends one way or another. There’s no trend in U.S. hurricane landfall frequency or intensity. If anything, the past 50 years has been relatively quiet. There’s no trend in hurricane-related flooding in the U.S. Nor is there evidence of an increase in floods globally. Since 1965, more parts of the U.S. have seen a decrease in flooding than have seen an increase. And from 1940 to today, flood damage as a percentage of GDP has fallen to less than 0.05 per cent per year from about 0.2 per cent.

And on it goes. There’s no trend in U.S. tornado damage (in fact, 2012 to 2017 was below average). There’s no trend in global droughts. Cold snaps in the U.S. are down but, unexpectedly, so are heatwaves.

Trends and patterns:

No trend in U.S. hurricane landfall frequency or intensity

No trend in hurricane-related flooding in the U.S.

Nor is there evidence of an increase in floods globally

More parts of the U.S. have seen a decrease in flooding than have seen an increase since 1965

Flood damage as a percentage of GDP has fallen

There’s no trend in U.S. tornado damage (in fact, 2012 to 2017 was below average)

There’s no trend in global droughts

Cold snaps in the U.S. are down but, unexpectedly, so are heatwaves.

The bottom line is there’s no solid connection between climate change and the major indicators of extreme weather, despite Trudeau’s claims to the contrary. The continual claim of such a link is misinformation employed for political and rhetorical purposes. Powerful people get away with it because so few people know what the numbers show. Many scientists who know better remain silent. And the few who push back against the propaganda, such as Roger Pielke Jr., find themselves on the receiving end of abuse and career-threatening attacks, even though they have all the science in their corner. Something has gotten scary and extreme, but it isn’t the weather.

Climate alarmism is a diversion from other issues that are far more urgent and dangerous.

A New 'Arms Race': How the U.S. Military is Spending Millions to Fight Fake Images

Truth is getting more and more difficult to determine

The Tribulation is getting closer and closer

Competing technology would automatically spot manipulated video

Stephanie Kampf, Mark Kelley · CBC News 

A video that appeared to feature former U.S. president Barack Obama was produced and voiced by director Jordan Peele and Buzzfeed to warn people of an emerging technology that can make it seem as though people are saying or doing things they never did. (Monkeypaw Productions/Buzzfeed)

It's a video that looks convincing — former U.S. president Barack Obama speaking directly to a camera and calling current U.S. President Donald Trump "a total and complete dipshit."

But it never actually happened.

The video was produced and voiced by director Jordan Peele and Buzzfeed to warn people of an emerging technology that can make it seem as though people are saying or doing things they never did.

Watch the video below. Caution: Vulgar language at the end of video.

Convincing fake videos like that are just one of the reasons a specialized team at the U.S. Department of Defence is investing tens of millions of dollars to develop competing technology that would automatically spot manipulated videos and images. The Department of Defence says this technology can have an impact on national security.

Matt Turek, manager of the media forensics program at the department's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), told CBC's The Fifth Estate that "in some sense it's easier to generate a manipulation now than it is to detect it."

Part of the agency's goal is to anticipate what they call "strategic surprise" and the impact technology will have on the world, Turek says. They came to the conclusion that the capability to manipulate images automatically and without skill "was probably going to arrive sooner rather than later."

Turek says the U.S. government's adversaries could be anyone at this point.

"Could be an individual, could be low resource groups, could be … more organized groups and nation states certainly. But I will point out that nation states have always had the capability to manipulate media."

Eager for a solution

DARPA's media forensics program is halfway through its four-year research mandate and has spent an estimated $68 million on this technology so far.

For digital forensics expert Hany Farid, a technological solution for spotting manipulated videos can't come fast enough.

Farid, a computer science professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, is concerned about how technology that can manipulate video could potentially be misused.

"The nightmare situation is a video of Trump saying I've launched nuclear weapons against North Korea and before anybody figures out that it's fake, we're off to the races with a global nuclear meltdown," he says.

Farid doesn't think that's likely, but he also doesn't think it's out of the question.

"Certainly that technology exists today."

At DARPA's offices in Arlington,  Va., Turek showed The Fifth Estate some examples of manipulated videos that DARPA's detection technology can spot.

In one example, two people appear to be sitting beside each other. But they never were. DARPA's detection technology picked up on inconsistencies in the lighting in the frame.

Watch the video below.

"You can actually see the sunlight reflecting off the back wall there, and then they were merged together to create this video," Turek says.

Another example was meant to mimic a surveillance video. In that case, DARPA's detection technology looked at motion information in the video and could automatically detect that part of it was missing.

"This frame's going to turn red at the places where the video was spliced, and so basically a series of frames was removed and that produces inconsistency in the motion signal, and that's what the automated algorithm can pick up on," says Turek.

Watch below to see what the detection technology found 

   

It's not just videos. DARPA is analyzing still images, too.

In the image below, the detection technology spotted that not all of the pixels come from the same camera.

This plane was not in the original photo. (DARPA)

"There's sort of an outline of the airplane that you can see in this noise pattern, and so the computer can automatically pick up on that," says Turek. "Likely the airplane pixels come from a different camera than the rest of the scene."

It's easier than that! The sun is shining on the airplane on what is obviously a dismal, overcast day. USDoD, please feel free to send me a few tens of millions of dollars for that input, American dollars, preferably.

This is the original photo, without the airplane. (DARPA)

A lot of skill

Farid says developing technology to spot fakes created by technology is an "arms race."

"The adversary will always win, you will always be able to create a compelling fake image, or video, but the ability to do that if we are successful on the forensics side is going to take more time, more effort, more skill and more risk."

While software has been released online that allows almost anyone to create manipulated video, Farid says it still takes a level of skill to develop a convincing fake using this kind of technology.

Hany Farid, a computer science professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, is concerned about how technology that can manipulate video could possibly be misused. (CBC)

Eventually, he says, if they are successful with developing automated forensic technology to spot fakes, it will mean only a relatively small number of people will be able to create them.

"That's still a risk, but it's a significantly less risk than we have today."

How easily could you be duped by fake news?

Farid says that in addition to developing technology to spot fakes, there could be another way to combat the spread of misinformation.

"We as consumers have to get smarter. We have to stop being so gullible. We have to get out of our echo chambers. We have to be more rational about how we digest and consume digital content online."

DARPA's media forensics program has a focus on the threat manipulated media could pose to national security.

The program would also help the U.S. military. Right now, human analysts have to verify videos and images, which is a manual process. Analysts examine imagery like foreign propaganda. Law enforcement agencies and organizations like the FBI analyze video and imagery such as security videos.

The media forensics program would heavily automate the process and would aim to give analysts a tool to make their jobs easier.

The U.S. government’s adversaries could be anyone, says Matt Turek, manager of the media forensics program at the U.S. Defence Department's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency. (CBC)

But for the general public, Turek says one of the biggest dangers these kinds of fakes could pose is the potential erosion of the idea that seeing is believing.

"I think we as a society right now have significant trust in image or video. If we see it then we have faith that it happened," he says. "And so the ability for an individual or a small group of people to make compelling manipulations really undermines trust."

Turek says that while manipulators may have the upper hand now, in the long term the detectors have the potential winning advantage "because we're coming at things from so many different angles."

I'm sure the US is not investing in weaponizing the technology. It's all those other guys who would do that kind of evil.

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Rev 13:3,15

Nigerian Supreme Court Justice, 7 other Judges Charged with Corruption

If you have read this blog for more than a few months you will know that I believe Nigeria to be one of the most corrupt countries on the planet. From government to military to business, corruption runs rampant. It is my hope that President Buhari is considerably cleaner than his pathetic predecessor Goodluck Johnathon, and this action may be a sign that that is so. It's a drop in the bucket, certainly, but a big drop. Let's hope and pray the waves reverberate around that bucket and make life very uncomfortable for those who bring shame upon a country of beautiful people who deserve better.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, pictured at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in New York City in September, pledged during his election campaign last year to fight corruption at all levels 

-- a pledge that resulted in the arrest of Nigerian supreme court justice Sylvester Ngwuta, as well 

as seven other judges. Ngwuta, who faces 15 counts, has pleaded not guilty. 

File Photo by Drew Angerer/UPI/Pool 

By Doug G. Ware

ABUJA, Nigeria, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A judge on Nigeria's supreme court was charged Monday with 15 counts of fraud, including money laundering, authorities said.

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, along with seven other Nigerian judges, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday. He was arrested last month after a raid on his home yielded cash and several different passports, officials said.

Prosecutors also claim that Ngwuta attempted to conceal evidence in his home, including bags containing about $85,000 in cash.

"We object to bail being granted because we are of the opinion that the defendant may conceal or destroy evidence," prosecutor Charles Adeogun Philips argued in Abuja Federal High Court, asking the judge that bail be revoked for Ngwuta.

The supreme court justice, though, was granted release on $317,000 bail until his trial, with assistance from the Nigerian Bar Association, BBC News reported.

The judges are not allowed to resume presiding over their respective courts, however, until at least the conclusion of their trials.

The raids involving Ngwuta and the other judges were motivated by suspicions of corruption, and follow a pledge by President Muhammadu Buhari last year during his campaign to fight corruption. He won election and took power in May 2015.

Just How Reliable is Scientific Research These Days?

Sugar industry paid scientists for favourable research, documents reveal

Harvard study in 1960s cast doubt on sugar's role in heart disease,

pointing finger at fat

The Associated Press 


Newly uncovered correspondence between a sugar trade group and researchers at Harvard University in the 1960s shines more light on how food and beverage makers have attempted to shape the public's understanding of nutrition. (iStock)

The sugar industry began funding research that cast doubt on sugar's role in heart disease — in part by pointing the finger at fat — as early as the 1960s, according to an analysis of newly uncovered documents.

The analysis published Monday is based on correspondence between a sugar trade group and researchers at Harvard University, and is the latest example showing how food and beverage makers attempt to shape public understanding of nutrition.

Sugar industry's secret documents echo tobacco tactics

In 1964, the group now known as the Sugar Association internally discussed a campaign to address "negative attitudes toward sugar" after studies began emerging linking sugar with heart disease, according to documents dug up from public archives. The following year the group approved "Project 226," which entailed paying Harvard researchers today's equivalent of $48,900 US for an article reviewing the scientific literature, supplying materials they wanted reviewed, and receiving drafts of the article.

The resulting article published in 1967 concluded there was "no doubt" that reducing cholesterol and saturated fat was the only dietary intervention needed to prevent heart disease. The researchers overstated the consistency of the literature on fat and cholesterol, while downplaying studies on sugar, according to the analysis.

"Let me assure you this is quite what we had in mind and we look forward to its appearance in print," wrote an employee of the sugar industry group to one of the authors.

It's astonishing how corporate America puts profits above the health and well-being of the very customers it fleeces. How many millions of people died prematurely because of this deception?

The sugar industry's funding and role were not disclosed when the article was published by the New England Journal of Medicine. The journal did not begin requesting author disclosures until 1984.


Harvard researchers were paid today's equivalent of $48,900 for an article that concluded there was 'no doubt' that reducing cholesterol and saturated fat was the only dietary intervention needed to prevent heart disease. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)

'No appreciable relationship'

In an editorial published Monday that accompanied the sugar industry analysis, New York University professor of nutrition Marion Nestle noted that for decades following the study, scientists and health officials focused on reducing saturated fat, not sugar, to prevent heart disease.

While scientists are still working to understand links between diet and heart disease, concern has shifted in recent years to sugars, and away from fat, Nestle said.

A committee that advised the federal government on dietary guidelines said the available evidence shows "no appreciable relationship" between the dietary cholesterol and heart disease, although it still recommended limiting saturated fats.

The American Heart Association cites a study published in 2014 in saying that too much added sugar can increase risk of heart disease, though the authors of that study say the biological reasons for the link are not completely understood.

The findings published Monday are part of an ongoing project by a former dentist, Cristin Kearns, to reveal the sugar industry's decades-long efforts to counter science linking sugar with negative health effects, including diabetes.

The latest work, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, is based primarily on 31 pages of correspondence between the sugar group and one of the Harvard researchers who authored the review.

In a statement, the Sugar Association said it "should have exercised greater transparency in all of its research activities," but that funding disclosures were not the norm when the review was published. The group also questioned Kearns' "continued attempts to reframe historical occurrences" to play into the current public sentiment against sugar.


Though scientists are still working to understand links between diet and heart disease, concern has recently shifted to sugars, and away from fat. (Matthew Mead/Associated Press)

Thinly veiled marketing

The Sugar Association said it was a "disservice" that industry-funded research in general is considered "tainted."

And yet, you had an awful lot to do with that. It's funny that when a particular industry, like sugar, decides they want to improve people's attitudes toward sugar, that funded research just happens to work in their favour. If the meat industry had funded a study at the same time, it would, no doubt, have shown the benefits of fat and put all our ills on the sugar industry.

Research benefits the entity that sponsors it or the sponsorship dries up and researchers have nothing to do and no income. Right now, environmental research funds in the US are controlled by a body that wants scientific proof of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Anyone who's research pokes holes in that theory has a very difficult time getting funding for further research. That, in itself, is a pretty strong indicator that AGW is not what it appears to be.

Companies including Coca-Cola Co. and Kellogg Co., as well as groups for agricultural products like beef and blueberries, regularly fund studies that become a part of scientific literature, are cited by other researchers, and are touted in news releases.

Companies say they adhere to scientific standards, and many researchers feel that industry funding is critical to advancing science given the growing competition for government funds. But critics say such studies are often thinly veiled marketing that undermine efforts to improve public health.

"Food company sponsorship, whether or not intentionally manipulative, undermines public trust in nutrition science," wrote Nestle, a longtime critic of industry funding of science.

The authors of the analysis note they were unable to interview key actors quoted in the documents because they are no longer alive. They also note there is no direct evidence the sugar industry changed the manuscript, that the documents provide a limited window into the sugar industry group's activities and that the roles of other industries and nutrition leaders in shaping the discussion about heart disease were not studied.


Companies including Coca-Cola Co. and Kellogg Co. regularly fund studies that become a part of scientific literature, are cited by other researchers, and are touted in news releases. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)

'Public health extremists'

Nevertheless, they say the documents underscore why policy makers should consider giving less weight to industry-funded studies. Although funding disclosures are now common practice in the scientific community, the role sponsors play behind the scenes is still not always clear.

In June, the Associated Press reported on a study funded by the candy industry's trade group that found children who eat candy tend to weigh less than those who don't. The National Confectioners Association, which touted the findings in a news release, provided feedback to the authors on a draft even though a disclosure said it had no role in the paper. The association said its suggestions didn't alter the findings.

Did I mention I have a tropical island off the coast of Labrador for sale, cheap?

In November, the AP also reported on emails showing Coca-Cola was instrumental in creating a non-profit that said its mission was to fight obesity, even though the group publicly said the soda maker had "no input" into its activities. A document circulated at Coke said the group would counter the "shrill rhetoric" of "public health extremists."

The new name for 'truth' - shrill rhetoric.

Coca-Cola subsequently conceded that it had not been transparent (read - utterly dishonest), and the group later disbanded.

The Irony in the Quest for Equality

Provocative perspective on gay marriage and Christians

If you have been reading my blogs for some time you may have picked up that I love irony. But sometimes irony is very uncomfortable and disappointing, especially when the irony is revealed by the exposure of truth.

This may be hard for some to read, but it is truth; and if you comment on it before reading the entire article, there's a good chance you are part of the problem.

It's extremely well written, thoughtful, a good read, and not very long.

by Constantine Campbell  Topic: Homosexuality
Desiring God

Facebook friends will immediately flee and label me a bigot just for the title of this piece. Most of them will not read what we have to say because they can reach their conclusion simply on suspicion that we might be on the wrong side of marriage equality. A great irony is embedded in that fact. And it’s an irony we must understand.

Prejudice

The heart of the irony involves prejudice. According to the Oxford Dictionary, prejudice is a “preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.” Prejudice is the enemy of equality, since it is an a priori judgment about someone just because of, say, the color of their skin, their religion, their gender, or their sexual orientation. If you see an African American walking down the street and automatically think he must be a violent gangbanger, that’s prejudice. If you see a Muslim and think she’s a terrorist, that’s prejudice. If you oppose gay marriage and are immediately named a bigot, that’s prejudice.

Prejudice is wrong and very often ignorant, and Christians are often guilty of it. Have Christians been prejudiced against gays and lesbians? Absolutely. Do we need to repent of that prejudice? Absolutely. Every man and woman has been created in the image of God, and is deeply loved by him, regardless of his or her sense of sexual orientation. Christians have no right to mistreat gays and lesbians because we know that, apart from the grace of God, we are all guilty rebels before him — as guilty as anyone else anywhere else.

But now the tables have turned. Christians are the new targets of prejudice. If we oppose gay marriage, we are automatically bigots.

How did that happen?

Marriage Equality

The movement for marriage equality did two extremely clever things. First, it used the word, “equality.” Who could be against equality? Only bigots. There it is — if you’re on the wrong side of “equality,” you must be a bigot.

A bigot is “a person who has very strong, unreasonable beliefs or opinions about race, religion, or politics and who will not listen to or accept the opinions of anyone who disagrees.” In other words, a bigot is someone who is strongly prejudiced. As soon as “equality” was introduced into the discussion, the quest for marriage equality was viewed alongside the Civil Rights Movement, women’s suffrage, and so on. Anyone against such positions is simply wrong. End of story.

The second clever thing the movement did was to assume the conclusion in the premise (also known as “begging the question”). That is, by calling gay marriage “marriage,” the conclusion has already been reached. We are then only talking about whether gay marriage should be equal to heterosexual marriage. Once the conversation begins there, there’s no way for us to oppose the idea of gay marriage and win.

The real question is “Should we redefine what marriage is?” That is the fundamental question, since marriage has traditionally been understood to be an exclusive union between a man and a woman, who are not directly related.

The movement for marriage equality was clever not to frame the discussion in terms of “changing the definition of marriage,” because that would surely meet greater resistance than pushing for “equality.” Instead, pushing for marriage equality already assumed the conclusion in the premise: a homosexual union is a marriage.

The New Prejudice

These moves have been so successful that now the crowd cannot see the irony. If you oppose gay marriage, you must be a bigot. There is no way to think otherwise, since the discussion has been framed in terms of equality, instead of in terms of the redefinition of an established social institution. The prejudice is now on the other foot. Without even considering arguments to the contrary, people will form negative conclusions about others because of an alternate opinion. That is prejudice.

Ironically, those who say that Christians are bigots are in fact engaging in bigoted behavior. And not just against Christians, but against anyone who holds reservations about “marriage equality.” You do not need to be a Christian to recognize the problems with it. Remember that a bigot is “a person who has very strong, unreasonable beliefs or opinions . . . who will not listen to or accept the opinions of anyone who disagrees.” Society will now not even listen to alternate points of view on the issue. And therein lies the irony.

The Old Prejudice

Christians facing prejudice is nothing new. The first Christians faced it head-on in the Roman Empire. The apostle Peter encouraged his readers to conduct themselves honorably among the pagans so that “when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glory God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12). Notice Peter’s phrase, “when they speak against you as evildoers.” How could genuine Christians be thought of as evildoers?

The Romans thought that Christians hated the human race (so recorded the historian Tacitus), that they engaged in incest because they were married to their “brothers and sisters,” and were cannibals because they ate the body and blood of Christ. All of these were obviously grave misunderstandings. But Peter’s exhortation is, in effect, let them get to know you. The only real solution to prejudice is knowledge. As a friend of mine once said, “It’s hard to demonize someone when you get to know them.”

We are now the targets of an irrational prejudice. But we should not pout, despair, or withdraw. Unjust opposition is nothing new for followers of the crucified Christ. We are called to suffer it well, following his example (1 Peter 2:21–25). So far as we are able, let’s allow those who vilify us to get to know us. If we are truly following Christ, knowing who we really are will go a long way to dispel prejudice.

That, unfortunately, is a very big 'if'. Who knows how many so-called Christians are actually Christians? My take is that genuine and mature Christians make up a small minority of those who claim that Name. As such, many immature or pseudo-Christians make so much noise that the rest are drowned out. If you truly get to know some of these people, you will find bigotry, prejudice, legalism, and intolerance.

Of course, these traits are not restricted to Christians, they exist everywhere that fallen man exists. They are particularly evident in some religious circles like militant Islam and some fundamental Christian sects. The irony here is that they all seek to create an ideal society through means that are far from the values of the society they hope to create.

They are trying to build their ideal societies for God, but are not utilizing God, nor are they even following His ways, to build it. They are anything but Christ-like in their attitudes and behaviour.

So how do you know if you are a real Christian, or an immature Christian? 

All too often, immature Christians, and pseudo-Christians do a lot more yelling than they do listening? They should be the last to put themselves on a pedestal and preach to people, but because of their lack of humility and their pride, they often put themselves first. Humility is almost anathema to western civilization these days, so the truly humble are rarely ever heard from.

The Bible teaches us that real Christians are obvious by their fruit - good fruit, not rotten fruit. Good fruit comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit as we practice the gifts and the fruit that He gives us: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Love, peace, kindness, gentleness - does that describe you, or any Christian you know?

Furthermore, the Bible tells us that real Christians feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit shut-ins, welcome strangers. It tells us that we are concerned for 'the least of these'. That means that our charity does not stop at the National borders. 

One last thing; I believe that contentious issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc., ought to bring us to our knees not cause us to raise up in arms. Lot was considered righteous because his soul was tortured at the evil around him. He did not slay the wicked - that was God's decision. 

Neither Jesus, nor any of the disciples, raised a hand or spoke against the many institutionalized evils that existed in the first century except where it concerned a Christians reaction to such evils, and then the warnings were simply to keep oneself holy. 

Do you react to evil with evil? Do you display the character of Jesus Christ when confronted with those whose beliefs are opposed to yours? It is God's decision when and where to bring judgment upon evil, not ours. It is our responsibility to shut-up and pray.

Remarkable Story of Survival and Triumph in Boko Haram's Nigeria

Nigerian student defies odds to graduate 

after Boko Haram attack

Abubakar Umar - my hero today

Abubakar Umar looks on during his graduation ceremony at the American
University of Nigeria in Yola, Adamawa state, on Saturday May 9, 2015

AFP By Phillip Hazlewood

Yola (Nigeria)  - Dressed in a red and blue gown and mortar board, Abubakar Umar collected his degree on Saturday looking like just another proud student.

But if there was nothing to make the 26-year-old petroleum chemistry student stand out from his classmates, the story of how he came to be at his graduation ceremony at the American University of Nigeria in the northeastern city of Yola, is one of sheer courage and determination.

Last November, Umar was driving home to the city of Kano 640 kilometres (400 miles) away when he ran into Boko Haram insurgents, who opened fire twice on his car, hitting him in both arms.

"I think I should have died on that day, I could have died on that day," he told reporters before the graduation ceremony.

"I lost so much blood, there wasn't any medication. But somehow I think the Lord kept me alive for a special reason and one of those reasons was to complete my degree."

- Warning signs -

The signs were ominous as Umar left Yola, crossing from Adamawa state into neighbouring Gombe on the seven-hour journey to Kano, northern Nigeria's biggest city.

Abubakar Umar celebrates after
graduating from the American
University of Nigeria in Yola

Fellow drivers warned him to take another route. On it, the military checkpoints were unmanned.

In the early hours of the morning as he approached Potiskum, the commercial capital of Yobe state and a frequent Boko Haram target, he slowed to avoid potholes on the road. Then he heard gunshots.

"I just saw these people coming out of the bush. They were screaming 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) and shooting at my car," he recalled.

"At first I stopped because some of them had military trousers and boots but then I noticed their headbands and what they were saying, so I realised they were insurgents.

"They shot me in my right arm. I continued (driving). I didn't know where I was going. I just kept on driving. I thought I would reach a checkpoint and report the case. I never met any checkpoint.

"I slowed down again because of the road and they shot me for the second time. I fractured my arm."

After abandoning his car, blood flowing from his wounds and broken bone exposed, he stumbled upon a village and was taken in by locals, at grave risk to their own lives.

He was ushered to a filthy communal toilet where he passed out.

Class of 2015 graduating students of the American University of Nigeria
 in Yola, Adamawa state, celebrate

- Disguise and escape -

When he came round later in the day, the locals -- wary of reprisals if he was ever found -- provided him with a heavy salt and water mix to pour into his wounds to stop the bleeding.

After hiding out all day, he managed to call for help on a borrowed mobile phone. He spent the night in the village until friends picked him up the next day.

Even then, he had to disguise himself just in case he stumbled across rebel fighters, who at the time had bases in the area.

"I put mud and chicken dung on my head to look like a madman," he said. "I removed my shoes and put them in my pocket... (but) I didn't see Boko Haram."

Umar returned to university in January after surgery on his wounds, the scars of which are still visible on his arms.

"I came back and I couldn't use my right hand for 14 weeks... I couldn't write, I couldn't press (keys on) the computer. When the cast was removed, I was OK," he added.

After six years of violence, at least 15,000 deaths and some 1.5 million left homeless, there are often few positive tales to tell about the bloody Boko Haram insurgency.

But by battling to complete his degree -- at a university teaching the secular "Western" education Boko Haram opposes -- Umar knows he is one of the lucky ones.

"I've made it and I've graduated, so I'm very happy," he added.

To go with his degree scroll, Umar, who now wants to study for a master's qualification, also received a special award for courage.

"I've never seen anyone with more determination, with more courage, with more positive attitude," said university director Margee Ensign.

Well deserved, Abubakar Umar. May God bless and protect you in your further studies and the great career that awaits you.