Is The Idol Being Rigged ??

American Idol bosses have rejected allegations of vote fixing after fans were shown how to "power-text" for this year's surprise winner, Kris Allen.
Show sponsor AT&T sent employees to two Allen supporter parties in Arkansas where they provided phones capable of sending 10 text message votes a time.
But TV network Fox dismissed the claim, saying: "In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome."
It added voting procedures were closely monitored by independent adjudicators.

"Fox and the producers of American Idol are absolutely certain that the results of this competition are fair, accurate and verified," a statement said.
"Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol. We have an independent third-party monitoring procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process."

Prince Harry in N.Y

Prince Harry chatted with a math class and competed in an obstacle course today at a Harlem children's organization on Day 2 of his first official visit to the United States.
Harry visited a ninth-grade classroom at the Harlem's Children Zone, a community organization that offers families social and educational services, where 14 students were working on math in preparation for a Regents Exam.
"Who's the best pupil?" he asked the class and joked, "I was always the worst!"
Later, the 24-year-old prince competed in an obstacle course with the Prince Seesio of Lesotho, who co-founded Harry's Lesotho-based charity that aids the African country's impoverished children.
He lost the race but threw his arms in the air and yelled, "Yeah!" to the cheering kids.
The prince was to participate later Saturday in a polo match on Governors Island in New York Harbor, facing off against Argentine polo player and heartthrob Nacho Figueras

Presidents 1st Visit to N.Y

President Obama makes his first trip to New York Saturday to enjoy a date night on Broadway with First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Obamas plan to take in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at the Belasco Theater
The August Wilson drama chronicles the struggles of African-Americans in the early 20th century.
The White House, citing security concerns, declined to comment on the details of the First Couple's "date night" in the Big Apple.
Before heading up to New York today, Obama was hard at work Friday rolling out his cybersecurity strategy in a White House speech.
He revealed that his presidential campaign's computers were hacked by intruders who broke into sensitive files

Joshua Under Fire...

There is no denying the fact that whatever brings a man to stardom lies in his vision and personal drive and that fame, success and recognition do not come by accident but through commitment and dint of hard work.

Interestingly, those who stand the test of time and reach the pinnacle of success will almost certainly attract both negative and positive attention, which, depending on the authenticity and how it is managed, would determine whether the person involved survives or not.

For now, it may be difficult to ascertain the extent of damage the ongoing war of words between embattled Prophet Temitope Joshua on the one hand and his estranged aides (Bisola Johnson and Paul Agomoh on the other hand) who accused the prophet of promiscuity, deception, manipulation and fake miracles, would cause.

But the truth is that the General Overseer of Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet T.B. Joshua, is currently under fire as a victim of very incriminating allegations, especially on the veracity of series of miracles performed by him. Many therefore are wont to ask: Is T.B. Joshua a true prophet of God? Can he be classified amongst genuine men of God or is he a magician? Where do we place him?

First, the recent attack was in form of an open letter to Fatai Balogun aka T.B. Joshua of Synagogue Church of All Nations, Lagos, as written and signed by Pastor Ladi Peters Thompson of Living Waters Unlimited Church, Lagos, in which the former was accused of casting a spell on his members and being engulfed in the 'perfidy of deceit'. It also gave an urgent call to the former to repent of his wickedness or face the wrath of God.

Gold Output 4 Ghana Rises 9%

Ghana's gold output in the first quarter of 2009 was 675,151 ounces, up 9 percent on the first three months of last year, while higher world prices pushed cumulative mining revenue up 11 percent to $641.2 million, Chamber of Mines data showed on Saturday.

Ghana, the world's no.2 cocoa producer, is also Africa's second biggest gold miner after South Africa.

It produced 2.6 million ounces of the precious metal in 2008, when total mining revenues were $2.2 billion.

"There are prospects for increased output in the gold sub-sector this year," said Jurgen Eijgendaal, president of the chamber. "The resources are available -- the mines are putting in more and we expect production to go up."

Bauxite shipments also went up 41 percent, earning the country 49 percent more in revenue, but manganese output fell 30 percent. Gold accounted for 96 percent of Ghana's minerals revenue last year.

Many investors see gold as a safe store of value, and it has performed strongly during the global financial downturn. Gold futures rose above $980 per ounce on Friday to end the day's business close to a three-month high.

OMG! Look Who's Getting Married

He has been variously described as Nollywood’s playboy -a serial heartbreaker, one whose motto vis-a-vis relationships with women, appears to be “use them and leave them.”

Tabloid stories about his sexual escapades are in volumes, leaving many to wonder what he is looking for in a woman or if he will ever find that unique woman who will melt his heart and make him entertain the thoughts of walking down the aisle.
There have been some rumors and published speculations that the handsome actor may have finally found a woman of his dreams - a fact that he has neither denied nor confirmed, until now. Jim Iyke was asked explicitly if he had finally found the elusive dream woman, and if so, what qualities stood her out of the numerous others that competed for his heart, love and affection?
well FYI he's getting married to a jamaican named simply phil

IS IT RIGHT?

The NDC’s promise of a better Ghana; investing in People, Jobs, Economy, and their campaign mantra of CHANGE, provided the needed stimulus for the Ghanaian electorate to reject the government of the NPP, who were busily supervising an unprecedented mass unemployment and high cost of living and doing business.

To call a spade by its name, it will be impossible to explain the demise of the NPP government in the last elections outside indicators such as, the pervasiveness of violent crime, drug peddling and trade, official corruption, misplaced priority of government, nepotism, the collapse of state institution and the lack of clear policy direction for the ‘Next Generation’. Such was the extent of hopelessness when Ghanaians went to the polls in 2008.

watch anime free online now

Militant Leader Killed in Nigeria

A Nigerian oil militant leader has been shot dead in police custody.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) claim Ken Niweigha known as "Daddy Ken" was executed by the police.
But the police say he was killed in a shootout after he took them to his hideout to surrender his weapons.
Human rights groups say extra-judicial execution is "shockingly common" in Nigeria, where the police lack the capacity to do their jobs effectively.
After his arrest on Tuesday, Mr Niweigha, who led the Egbesu Boys armed group in Bayelsa State, was paraded in front of journalists.
We did not know that he had arranged with his gang to attack us
Police Commissioner Onouha Udeka
Nigeria's infamous police executions
He then agreed to take the police to his hideout in Odi town and surrender all his arms, local media reported police commissioner Onouha Udeka as saying.
"He promised he was going to take us to his hideout in Odi where he hid his weapons," said Mr Udeka.
"But we did not know that he had arranged with his gang to attack us and possibly get him freed. Ken was shot trying to escape."
'Harbouring militants'
Mr Niweigha was the only person killed in the shootout, he said.

Thousands flee Delta fighting
Will Nigeria oil offensive backfire?
A spokesman from Mend - an affiliation of armed groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta - accused the police of "summarily executing" Mr Niweigha.
"The Nigerian government in authorising extra-judicial killings is sending a clear message to youths from the region that it is better to die fighting for freedom than be killed by a lawless system of government," Jomo Gbomo said in an e-mail to journalists.
Mr Niweigha had been arrested after 500 women from Odi demanded something should be done to stop militants fleeing from an army operation in neighbouring Delta State coming to the town.
The women told police "Daddy Ken" that was harbouring them.
It is unusual for people to turn in militants as they are often feared or pay Delta communities to keep quiet, but Odi residents said they feared a repeat of an army operation 10 years ago which devastated the town.
Military operation
US-based rights body Human Rights Watch reported 50 people were killed in that attack, which was provoked by the murder of 12 policemen, allegedly by militants led by Daddy Ken.
Other local accounts put the number of dead at much higher.
A security operation is currently under way in the swamps of Delta State where the military Joint Task Force (JTF) is hunting Mend fighters.
Militant groups in the Niger Delta have flourished amid a lack of governance and rule of law.
They claim to be fighting to help local people benefit from the region's oil wealth but fund their activities with oil theft, extortion and kidnapping.

Is Wells Fargo Going Too Far?

Shares of Wells Fargo, which uses a red horse-drawn carriage as its corporate mascot, have risen nearly 200%, to $24 per share, in less than three months. And while the stocks of all banks are up over that period, Wells Fargo's increase is more than double the rise of the KBW Bank Index. As a result, Wells' shares are starting to look pricey — and the bank is still facing tens of billions of dollars more in loan losses in the next two years.
Analyst Ed Najarian, who follows bank stocks at independent research firm ISI Group, says Wells will weather the current economic crisis better than its rivals, but that investors shouldn't take much comfort in that. "We think Wells' earnings may be lower than expected in the second half of this year as credit losses rise and mortgage-origination revenue declines," says Najarian, who rates Wells shares a "hold." (Watch TIME's video of Peter Schiff trash-talking the markets.)
To be sure, Wells Fargo still has plenty of fans, and its bottom line has held up better than expected — the bank's first-quarter earnings of $3 billion were up 50% over the prior year's first quarter, despite a tough economy. Executives at Wells are also reassuring investors that the bank's loans will perform better than rivals; they point to the $39 billion in loans the bank wrote off when it acquired Wachovia last fall as proof of its conservative posture.
At least one prominent investor thinks Wells is doing something right. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought nearly 12.4 million shares of Wells Fargo stock in the first quarter, upping its stake to just over 300 million shares. In early May, Buffett told attendees at his firm's annual meeting that he thought Wells was well capitalized and had a competitive advantage over other banks. (Read "My $650,100 Lunch with Warren Buffett.")
But Buffett and other investors may be putting too much faith in the bank management's ability to gauge future loan losses, something no major bank has gotten right during this downturn. And if there's even a bit of disappointment, Wells Fargo shares have further to fall than its rivals. The stock trades at a price-to-book multiple of 1.6; JPMorgan, another bank deemed to be in relatively good shape, has a price-to-book of just 1. On earnings, Wells trades at 16 times its expected bottom line this year. That's better than even Goldman Sachs, which has a price-to-earnings multiple of just 13.
With unemployment rising and house prices continuing to fall, Wells' unpleasant earnings news could persist past the end of the year. Bank examiners in the recent government stress tests estimated that Wells Fargo will have as much as $86 billion in loans that go unpaid over the next two years. The bank has already put aside some money to cushion that blow — $22 billion as of the end of March — and Wells would be able to tap another $24 billion of loss provision that it set up when it acquired Wachovia. But that still leaves another $40 billion in loan losses that could find their way to Wells' bottom line in the next two years.
A greater threat to investors springs from the fact that Wells Fargo's loan losses could exceed the government's expectations. In calculating the stress tests, government bank examiners applied different loan-loss rates for different banks. For instance, bank examiners were relatively tough on Wells' primary mortgage-loan portfolio, predicting that nearly 12% of the loans would default over the next two years. This compares to an estimated loss for Citigroup of just 8% for its primary mortgage loans. That makes sense. More of Wells' mortgage loans are concentrated in California than Citigroup. And California has had more foreclosures than any other state. (Read "Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy?")
But on commercial real estate loans, it was just the opposite, as bank examiners were particularly easy on Wells Fargo. The government estimated that even if the economy turns worse, slightly less than 6% of Wells' commercial real estate loans would default this year and next, which was much less than the industry average expected loss of as much as 12%. Some economists think it will be even worse than the government thinks. New York University economist Nouriel Roubini estimates that as much as 17% of commercial real estate loans could eventually go unpaid. Regulators wouldn't say why the government predicted that Wells' commercial loan portfolio would perform better than other banks. But if it doesn't, Wells' bottom-line losses could be a big negative surprise. If Roubini's estimates are right, Wells could have an additional $19 billion in commercial loan losses.
"While [Wells'] management's efforts to 'de-risk' Wachovia's problem loans may help in the near term, we still expect losses to exceed management's expectations," wrote analyst Paul Miller, who follows banks at FBR Capital Markets, in a recent report to clients. Miller, who rates Wells' shares "underperform," expects Wells' stock to fall by half its current price to $12. "Given our macro outlook ... we just can't get comfortable with Wells' balance sheet."

Who realy is Sotomayor?

As a child, she aspired to be like Nancy Drew, the detective in the popular children's mystery series. But at the age of 8, she was diagnosed with diabetes and told she would not be able to pursue that line of work.
Sotomayor said it was another fictional character that inspired her next choice.
"I noticed that [defense attorney] Perry Mason was involved in a lot of the same kinds of investigative work that I had been fascinated with reading Nancy Drew, so I decided to become a lawyer," Sotomayor told the American Bar Association publication in 2000. "Once I focused on becoming a lawyer, I never deviated from that goal." See Sotomayor's life in photos »
Sotomayor's parents came to New York from Puerto Rico during World War II. Her father worked in a factory and didn't speak English.
She was born in the Bronx and grew up in a public housing project, not too far from the stadium of her favorite team -- the New York Yankees. Her father died when she was 9, leaving her mother to raise her and her younger brother on her own. Related: Sotomayor well known in sports
Her mother, whom Sotomayor describes as her biggest inspiration, worked six days a week to care for her and her younger brother, and instilled in them the value of an education. Background on Sotomayor »
Sotomayor later graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and went on to attend Yale law school, where she was editor of the Yale Law Journal.
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In her three-decade career, she has worked at nearly every level of the judicial system, and on Tuesday she became President Obama's pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Watch Sotomayor accept the nomination »
Sotomayor thanked Obama for "the most humbling honor of my life."
"I hope that as the Senate and American people learn more about me, they will see that I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. Today is one of those experiences," she said.
The 54-year-old judge, if confirmed, would become the first Hispanic to serve on the high court. She would also be the third female named to the Supreme Court, and the second on the current court. See who's already on the Supreme Court »
Sotomayor is touted by supporters as a justice with bipartisan favor and historic appeal.
She currently serves as a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The liberal-leaning justice was named a district judge by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 and was elevated to her current seat by President Clinton.
Supporters say her appointment history, along with what they describe as her moderate-liberal views, will give her some bipartisan backing in the Senate.
Sotomayor presided over about 450 cases while on the district court. Prior to her judicial appointments, Sotomayor was a partner at a private law firm and spent time as an assistant district attorney prosecuting violent crimes.
Robin Kar, who clerked for Sotomayor from 1998 to 1999, described her as a "warm, extraordinarily kind and caring person." Watch Kar recall his work with Sotomayor »
"She has an amazing story, but she's also just an amazing person," he said, adding that she has a knack for getting to know those around her. "She was the judge who, in the courthouse for example, knew all of the doormen, knew the cafeteria workers, who knew the janitors -- she didn't just know all of the other judges and the politicians. She really went out of her way to get to know everyone and was well loved by everyone."
Conservatives argue Sotomayor has a "hard-left record" and believes that judges should consider experiences of women and minorities in their decision-making. They also described her as a "bully" who "abuses lawyers."
Asked about allegations that she tends to be prickly with her colleagues, Kar said, "I would say no to that. What I would say is that she has a reputation for being prickly on the bench, which is a bit different."
Kar said if attorneys have with a weak argument, "she's very quick ... and intellectually demanding."
"They'll have a hard time if they show up in her court without really doing their homework," he said.
Margarita Rosa, a Princeton classmate of Sotomayor, said she's always known the high court nominee to be "measured and methodical" in her decision-making.
"She really looks at the facts and she is, I think, very evenhanded and fair -- but does bring to the table a very valuable understanding of the challenges and experiences, I think, of average people," she said.
Obama has said he hopes confirmation hearings will be held in July, with the confirmation completed before Congress leaves for the summer.Sotomayor was confirmed to her current seat by the Senate in 1998, a process that took more than a year. The final vote was 67-29.
Though a majority of Senate Republicans opposed her nomination, she did win several key Republican votes that year, which could prove critical in this year's confirmation fight.