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Nothing wrong with National Cathedral project – Casely-Hayford
Member of pressure group, Occupy Ghana, Sydney Casely-Hayford, says he does not find anything wrong with the setting up of a National Cathedral in Ghana. Member of pressure group, Occupy Ghana, Sydney Casely-Hayford says he does not find anything wrong with the setting up of a National Cathedral in....
Transaction advice critical in Africa-China negotiations - Analyst
Michael Kottoh, a Managing Partner of the Konfidants Advisory Group, is raising concerns over recent investment agreements signed between various African Michael Kottoh, a Managing Partner of the Konfidants Advisory Group, is raising concerns over recent investment agreements signed between various....
In Ghana
Former Deputy Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato-Forson, has said that the current state of the country’s economy cannot support the floating of a $50 Former Deputy Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato-Forson has said that the current state of the country’s economy cannot support the floating of a
Galamsey: The Looming Su***de
By: Eugene-Paul Nti
News about su***de has recently stormed our airwaves and there have been varying forms of social media campaigns to help curb this or more so give depressed or young chaps contemplating taking their lives some sort of hope to give life another chance. That KNUST or Legon student could have lived a little longer if society stood up to meet them at the point of their needs: Nobody is an island my dear countrymen; we need each other to survive so we cannot continue to lose our youth to death this way. Don’t just watch on like our fathers- the politicians, chiefs, security operatives and all the stakeholders of our communities are doing to deny us that promising future.
Interestingly, these are the realities we have to face as a youth in a developing country like Ghana each passing day. The hustle is real than it looks. My colleague, a graduate for that matter in the Dormaa area has no option than to contemplate joining the Galamsey business because it’s the current job in town. ‘Everybody is doing it now so why not me. I have to survive my guy’ he retorted in a phone conversation some days after Valentine’s Day; my man was down so he forgot that such a day even existed. I then pause for a moment and thought: must society suffer for our singular quest for survival? This left me in an array of confusion and the answers I seek are jumped up thwarting my saneness to pick right from wrong.
Notwithstanding, it was the same issue of galalmsey staring in my face. My nation seems relaxed about its dawning su***de mission that has cast its shadow already on our bane of survival. The menace of galamsey is already among us and it comes with both local and international ramifications eating us up slowly like mites from our feet to our heads. Who do we blame? Who is responsible for this su***de we about to commit? We have leaders and they know we know it behoves on them to spare us this near disaster but they are watching on as illegal mining “Galamsey” choke us on our very soils so we give up on life. Oh yes! They are very much aware of the devastating effect of galalmsey on lives in Atiwa, Twifo Praso, Dormaa Akwamu, Kenyase Dunkwa on Offin and the rippling consequence on the fortunes of the Ghanaian economy. Do they want to frustrate the nation to commit su***de? How come we the future leaders fulfil our dreams? The media houses are playing their role which could be their quota they have to offer for God and country. They feed us with sensitive information like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the sole prerogative in issuance of the Environmental Impact Clearance Certificates before any entity can begin mining operations in Ghana. I would have researched and searched before I could even lay hands on this bit of information about whose responsibility is it to ensure our lands and water bodies are effectively protected without personal aggrandisement showing its face in there.
Sadly, these institutions and our dear politicians sign documents and issue statements as mere formalities to combat this emanating canker. Our water bodies are getting polluted under very nose, are trees are not spared either. The ‘Green’ colour in our flag I am sure is losing its pigment because of galamsey. Galamsey have been rendered our water bodies bare due to erosion and have significantly lost its agricultural essence to the communities: taps are not running as they used to, even dug out wells and boreholes give us coloured water now. Our lives are under threat and we need to sit up and rise to our own rescue before the rope on necks choke us and we die of suffocation Funny enough, the most plagued areas of these illegal mining activities are the very backbone of our agricultural production. We get our cocoa and other crops from these areas in the Western, Central, Ashanti and the Brong Ahafo regions and so we must be really worried because we already have the su***de rope on just waiting to die slowly but surely. Be an ambassador and let’s fight this course together because our collective goal and actions will save our own lives than wait on laws or institutions.
The Beaming Black Star: Our 60th Milestone!
By: Eugene-Paul Nti
Before the first ship docked the ever refreshing beach of this land about the 1470s, the black skinned Ghanaian lived in settlements enthusiastically pursuing forms of agricultural expansion: some fished, others cultivated lands with eventual battles of conquest under the watch of their chiefs. The white man in rather a pious manner through evangelisation in a cosmetic decoy absorbed us in toto. The ‘Black Star’ then beamed in the pockets of colonial lords with the future of our society lavishly spent by our fellow countryman and his white god. The Divine maker of the universe really had our lands as his foot stool: natural and mineral resources and we had the human resource too, our men were stout, strong and hardworking; the women were fertile and very supportive. These children born to these wonderful black men and women were intelligent, tactful, smart and ruthless. One of such traits, Kwame Nkrumah seized our identity from these white oppressors affirming that “At long last, the battle is ended! And thus, Ghana, our beloved country is free forever! “And there we had our freedom. Yes! We actually became free. Hope was restored for the young and old, women and men. We could boldly place our hands on our chest and hail out the composition of Philip Gbeho, another gem of the land “God bless our homeland Ghana…bold to defend forever…with all our will and might for evermore.”
Celebrations has always been in our DNA so 6th March, 1957 was marked like never before in pomp and pageantry. So like watching a typical Ghanaian movie, you will notice the famous “Six years later” inscription, thereafter, the characters changing for the better, relatively being same as always or will be worse off. It’s been sixty years of political independence of our beloved motherland and is our Black Star beaming? The journey in retrospect reveals some horrible scenes of greed, malice, corruption and the like which when entertained will quash the seemingly wavering sense of patriotism of the growing youth and so should court a great sense of viewer discretion from all. For our successes, a typical Fanteman will exclaim “O y’ay3 bi!” We certainly have to be proud of how we have demonstrated our democratic credentials and enjoyed a steadily refreshing breath of peace till date. “Afehyia pa” we shall say to ourselves and pat our backs well-done not to relax and glorify ourselves in mediocrity but to brace ourselves to face the colossal yet realistic task of making Ghana the hub of fulfilled dreams and the beacon of Africa we have always touted ourselves to be.
To our leaders, we have not come this far to be left stranded by your inactions and actions. For you to be faithful and loyal to Ghana our motherland and to pledge to put your service in full strength and in high esteem to protect the legacy of our forebears was the reason our thumbs got you there. You owe us this favour for God and country so you cannot fail not at this time that we are sixty. To the wise this bit is more than enough! For us the ruled, we know our attitudes most often is below belt, but there is always the will to do right and this time with conviction we are aggressively going to ensure that street of Abura is kept clean, show more concern to matters of the state espousing on development and thus bring up our kids to live the sense of patriotic feeling we have always yearned for. As for the nation wreckers, we are 60 years now, get this burden of your chest by retiring this cruelly deficient attitude and allow Ghana to work. With a united front we shall surmount the insurmountable. Peace!
Long live Ghana!!
God bless our homeland Ghana!!
The WOMAN; what makes her unique?
'... A wheel of change that will leave all men convinced that in the chest of a woman is not only an extension of breast and a feeble heart, but a strong desire to hold and use power.'-- Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, In the chest of a woman.
As told by Plato, Socrates was a Greek philosopher. During Socrates's life, Athens was going through a dramatic transition from hegemony in the classical world to its decline after a humiliating defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian war. Athenians entered a period of instability and doubt about their identity and place in the world.
As a result, they clung to past glories, notions of wealth, and a fixation with physical beauty. Socrates attacked these values with his insistent emphasis on the greater importance of the MIND. While many Athenians admired Socrates's challenges to Greek conventional wisdom and the humorous way he went about it, an equal number grew angry and felt he threatened their way of life and uncertain future. He was later prosecuted and killed by his beliefs on the importance of the MIND over any other thing by drinking a mixture of poison hemlock.
Socrates always emphasized the importance of the MIND over the relative unimportance of the human body. This credo insipired Plato's philosophy of dividing reality into two separate realms, the world of the senses and the world of ideas, declaring that the latter was the only important one.
What makes the woman uniquely unique is her BRAINS. As a woman much emphasis should be placed on your ability to compete intellectually with men. The political, religious, social and cultural order of the world suppress women. It puts women in an unfavorable position. As a woman, place more importance on your brains over physical looks. If you have good looks as a woman, combine that with your brains so that no irresponsible man can domestically and intellectually bully you. Be a beauty with brains because the Bible teaches us that the MIND is the standard of the 'man.'
The insatiable quest for gender parity and an equal right of women in an unfair and a male-dominated world has given birth to 'intellectual feminists', 'semi-intellectual feminists', 'non-intellectual feminists', 'anti-intellectual feminists' and 'pseudo-intellectual feminists.'
The trenchant voices of 'intellectual feminists' like Hillary Clinton, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and their likes even though sometimes are not given the oxygen of publicity seem to yield some positive results in the fight for equal right of women. In one of his sermons, general overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, Pastor Mensa Otabil said, "poverty of ideas is far more severe than poverty of money.'' He argues that, poverty is not a financial condition but a mental state. He says, if you are in a state of mental poverty, money can be poured on you but you will still dissipate it.
Join the voices that are fighting for the right of women in society by not just talking but by flaunting your brains. By flaunting your intellectual abilities is the surest way to achieve gender parity. As a woman you often have to FLAUNT YOUR BRAINS instead of your physical beauty wherever you find yourself.
On September 5th, 1995 during the United Nations' Fourth World Congress on women in Beijing, Hillary Clinton reiterated the point that "Human rights are women's right and women's rights are human right." Your right as a woman is a fundamental right of every human being. Don't give room for any man to harass you in any form. Don't let any man delude himself into thinking that he is the God of your life. You own your life! Owning your life should also not give you the temerity to disrespect men as most men misconstrue feminism as arrogance. Let the men know that, in your chest lies not only an extension of breast and a feeble heart but a flaming desire to possess and use power. Aspire to be the Hillary Clintonsof our time, aspire to be the Ellen Sirleaf Johnsons of our time, aspire to be the Chimamanda Adichies of our time, aspire to be the Georgina Theodora Woods of our time, aspire to be the Charlotte Oseis of our time.
I am not quite keen in acquiring tags and titles but if this viewpoint makes me a feminist, then so be it! So I ask, the WOMAN, what makes her unique?
Today is international women's day and it is the birthday of every woman. Happy birthday to all women.
'sDay. Women,
Wednesday, 8th March, 2017 By Eugene-Paul Nti
Ghana Mbaa!!
" You waste time taking your bath everyday because you are beauty itself"- an elated husband showering praises on the wife. This sparked smiles on my seemingly dull face because I just got up from bed. I then reached for my phone and the social media notifications all suggested today once again marked the International Women's Day. Oh yes! We have to celebrate our "divine channels" to this beautiful place, earth. So I placed a call to my number one motivation and strength who throughout the night stood on her feet at Labour ward in Ekumfi Narkwa to usher in newbies, how proud I am to have her. We love you Ghanaian mothers and all women, hats off! On this remarkable day, it's worth joining the various voices reminding and in fact cautioning our fathers who are behind giving our future wives to our grannies, relent your ways because your canes are drenched in kerosene. Be an advocate join us fight this is mundane act of society. To our growing damsels, the technological craze in this our world is rife so take insight from the words of Margaret Thatcher "Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.” so you can make that difference by going beyond being a boss chick on social media. The Opra Winfreys, Charlotte Oseis Nana Abas and host of other illustrious women will grace occasions to mark this day. It can be you my dear sister, think about it. Please fathers and husbands spare your wives the bruises and heartaches so they can soundly manage the home impeccably for us. Ghanaian women are the best in world. So like Barack Obama said about the wife in 'The Audacity of Hope' we equivocally share in this "Most people who meet my wife quickly conclude that she is remarkable. They are right about this. She is smart, funny and thoroughly charming. Often, after hearing her speak at some function or working with her on a project, people will approach me and say something to the effect of, you know, I think the world of you, Barack, but your wife, wow!”
God bless women
Women's Day
BRETIX REFERENDUM 2016
Leave (EU)........ 52%
Remain (EU)......48%
DECISION IMPLICATIONS /RAMIFICATIONS
1) EURO currency no longer legal tender in UK
2) Schengen visas to UK not applicable
3) EU court decision no longer applicable in UK
4) House of Lords become UK supreme court
5) EU residents in UK need visas to remain in UK
6) UK residents in EU need visas to remain in EU
7) The pound drops in value lowest since 1985
8) Import/export duties payable by EU/UK on international trade
9) EU/UK privileges revoked
10) Foreigners require two visas to travel to EU &UK
11) This election decision takes effect in up to two years time (Lisbon treaty art 50)
12) NETO protection to be withdrawn
13) UK no longer liable to pay £350'000'000 a week to EU
14) Separate international negotiations required between EU & UK
15) This revokes UK's decision on EU Rome treaty in 1975 (43years ago) to join
16) Those holding pounds (£) are to register huge financial loses due to lose in pound value
17) Ghanaians with dual citizenship with UK requires visa to travel to EU
18) EU case laws (legal decisions) no longer applicable in UK courts
19) Separate agreements required between EU, UK & USA.
20) Terms of exist needed to be agreed on
21) UK no longer legible to vote in EU elections
22) UK farmers no longer legible for EU subsidies
BBC....378/382 Confirmed.......
Interesting times ahead.
A lecturer at the Centre for African and International Studies, Douglas Frimpong Nnuroh has observed that the trade union congress (TUC) is not functioning effectively as it is mandated to do.
Ghana Today
Twenty-two students of Wesley Girls Senior High School in Cape Coast, in the Central region, have been nabbed by school authorities for practicing occultism. According to some students who spoke to Starrfmonline...
Happy Independence day to our beloved Country, Ghana
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Avoid being 'normal,' selfish, slaves of success, pope tells seminarians
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis told a group of seminarians that seeking a so-called "normal" life in the priesthood would turn them into pastors who were "m...
Empire
Empire received 2 Golden Globes nominations today 🎉
-Best Television Series, Drama
-Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama - Taraji P. Henson
'I don't let them rule my life': Adele opens up about body image issues
There are few 25 year olds known for their mature perspective — but Adele is no ordinary 25 year old.
Parolin on ISIS threats: Vatican may be a target, but we're not backing down
In wake of Friday’s violent terror attacks in Paris, the Vatican’s Secretary of State said that while the small country is also on extremists’ horizons, they won’t let themselves be “paralyzed” by fear.
Adele: 'I don't let body image issues rule my life'
The singer, riding a wave of publicity ahead of her latest album, 25, calls for acceptance of individuality – and has words of praise for Beyoncé
very soothing
Adele's 21 is considered the greatest album of all time, which, for any other artist, would be an impossibly tough act to follow. But not for Adele. She's not "any other artist." If we're basing...
we are willing to wait !!!
Adele's new album 25 has been leaked online.
EXPOSE THE DIRT IN THE SYSTEM
Ace investigative Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas will next month release what he calls his biggest investigative story ever.
http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/47712-make-sacrifices-for-ghana-s-future-cardinal-turkson.html .TvIbSfiT.gbpl&st_refDomain=www.facebook.com&st_refQuery=/
The President of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice at the Vatican, His Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, has called on Ghanaians to m...
Controversial Ghanaian actress and TV/radio presenter has once again written a satiric...
graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/45920-oguaa-omanhen-in-trouble-court-orders-his-name-deleted-from-register-of-chiefs.html
The Cape Coast High Court yesterday ordered that the name of the Paramount Chief of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osaberima Kwesi Atta II, should be str...
General News of Sun, 5 Jul 2015
Doubts over integrity of Ebola trials
Ebola vaccine trial yet to begin in Ghana
Though the public outcry over attempts by health authorities in Ghana to try out an Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) vaccine trial in the Volta Region appears to have subsided, Ghanaians are yet to receive official responses to some of the critical questions raised in the midst of those anxious moments.
Though a bit late in joining the public discourse on the proposed clinical trials, the country's foremost assembly of academics and scientists, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences' statement issued provides enough scientific basis for questioning the motive of Ghanaian authorities for opting to be part of the trials taking place in other parts of the sub-region, particularly the Ebola-endemic areas.
The report of a 5-member Technical Committee set up by the Academy to investigate issues around the proposed trials raised fundamental questions that must be addressed before a final decision is taken on whether or not to proceed with the trials. Addressing these questions do not only help to address current public concerns about the trials, but also serve as a useful guide on how to approach a similar issue in future.
The main concerns raised by the Technical Committee of the Academy relate to the following:
1. Uncertainties about the appropriateness of the vaccine, including:
a. The nature and origins of the Ebola virus, including the circumstances of its appearance in Guinea;
b. Whether the Zaire strain of the virus, which is the one being used in the GSK vaccine to be tested in Ghana, is the strain responsible for the Ebola epidemics in Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, and
c. The identity and characteristics of other strains of the Ebola virus that might exist;
2. The use in the GSK/NIH vaccine of a gene particle of the wild species of the Zaire Ebola virus, rather than the gene particle of the Makona strain isolated in the epidemic in Guinea;
3. What pre-clinical animal experimentations had been carried out with a vaccine based on the Makona strain to establish evidence of safety, immunogenicity and protection;
4. What basis is there for expecting that immune responses generated against the wild type Zaire Ebola virus GSK vaccine formulation (construct), with a live non-replicating chimpanzee adenovirus carrying a gene from Zaire Ebola virus, would be effective against the Makona strain or any other Ebola virus species and strains;
5. After a test vaccine has been shown in the vaccinated individual to produce an immune response (immunogenicity), what guarantee would there be, in this instance, that the vaccine would offer protection against the full Zaire Ebola virus and other species and strains;
6. On the basis of research conducted so far towards vaccine development, what is the likelihood of the present construct of vaccines protecting communities against the rapid emergence of new, more virulent strains of the virus, as appears to have happened with the Makona: the risk of false confidence deriving from the use of a new vaccine must be noted;
7. What assurances do we have that the chimpanzee-derived live adenovirus vector used in the GSK vaccine construct, although non-replicating for now, will remain dormant and not itself cause a disease to compromise the health of the people of Ghana;
8. It is to be noted that the application for the GSK Ebola vaccine Phase II trial in Ghana includes children, even though the Phase I trial in the US, UK, Mali and Switzerland was limited to adults, raising the question of dosage profiles for children and other vulnerable groups in the Phase II trial;
9.What evidence is there of strict compliance with the International Committee on Harmonization Protocol Guidelines for Clinical Trials, including full “informed consent” by all volunteers?
The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences says, in discharge of its mandate to provide independent science-based advice for policy making, its Council asked the President of the Academy to bring these concerns urgently to the attention of the Minister for Health.
This, the Academy says was immediate, attaching a copy of the preliminary report of the Committee and confirming the Academy's preparedness to provide all necessary support to the Ministry in dealing with the matter.
The Academy says after some delay, the newly-appointed Minister of Health convened a meeting on June 03, at which the concerns and issues it had raised were discussed with the technical staff of the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Food and Drugs Authority and its expert advisors, as well as the Principal Investigators in the GSK/NIH Phase II trials.
The meeting, according to the Academy's statement confirmed that the processes for the approval of the Phase II clinical trial of the GSK Ebola Virus Disease test vaccine had not been concluded.
The statement said the Academy was shocked to discover that approval had already been given to an application for a separate Phase I trial in Hohoe, of a test vaccine with a different construct from the GSK test vaccine, as nothing had been said anywhere previously about a separate Phase I clinical trial application, let alone its approval.
The Academy notes that, the Phase I trial of the GSK vaccine in Europe produced adverse results, particularly, prolonged bleeding in 10% - 15% of the vaccinated population. This it says is a serious adverse development that calls for extreme caution in approving clinical trials, both Phase I and Phase II, in the country.
Moreover, the statement argues, “it is the case that those vaccinated at Phase I and Phase II may be shedding the adenovirus vector into the surrounding community. In the absence of a map of adenovirus prevalence in the trial sites, there is a high risk of an 'escape virus' merging with the endemic adenoviruses to create more virulent strains.”
For that reason alone, the statement points out, “it is important that the exposed communities and, indeed, the general public be adequately informed of such trials and their benefits and risks”.
The conclusion of the country's august body of academics and scientists is that, subject to satisfactory answers to the issues it has raised, and considering the gaps in our knowledge and state of preparedness, it would be unsafe to undertake the proposed EVD vaccine clinical trials in Ghana.
mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Doubts-over-integrity-of-Ebola-trials-366573
Though the public outcry over attempts by health authorities in Ghana to...
viasat1.com.gh/news/entertainment/article.php?postId=3658
Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy, has dedicated his Black Entertainment Television (BET) Award to the victims of the recent flood disaster that left over 150 people dead.
viasat1.com.gh/news/entertainment/article.php?postId=3656 .zcB7R4u5.5roWh2va.dpbs
While the night may have belonged to Janet Jackson, Sunday night's BET Awards proved memorable for so many reasons. Check out who won what.
www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33106979
In the last year, there has been a huge rise in the number of wealthy Africans buying up premium property in London. Ikenna Azuike investigates.
m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7588478?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000047
NEW YORK (AP) -- Taraji P. Henson is on a mission: To take her brand global following the success of Fox's hit show "Empire" -- and her breakout character Cookie Lyon. "I am tired of H
www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33148906?ocid=socialflow_twitter
Sudanese media are treating President Umar al-Bashir as a hero after he avoided being arrested in South Africa on the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), while commentators elsewhere deplore the decline in the court's reputation and clout.
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