Viewing global warming from a different angle

Don't forget plankton in climate change models, says study

27 Nov 2015, 04:23 pm

Phytoplankton absorb as much carbon dioxide as tropical rainforests and so understanding the way they respond to a warming climate is crucial. (Gabriel Yvon-Durocher)

A new study from the University of Exeter, published in the journal Ecology Letters, found that phytoplankton -- microscopic water-borne plants -- can rapidly evolve tolerance to elevated water temperatures. Globally, phytoplankton absorb as much carbon dioxide as tropical rainforests and so understanding the way they respond to a warming climate is crucial.

Phytoplankton subjected to warmed water initially failed to thrive but it took only 45 days, or 100 generations, for them to evolve tolerance to temperatures expected by the end of the century. With their newfound tolerance came an increase in the efficiency in which they were able to convert carbon dioxide into new biomass.

The results show that evolutionary responses in phytoplankton to warming can be rapid and might offset some of the predicted declines in the ability of aquatic ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide as the planet warms.

Dan Padfield a PhD student at the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall said: "Our findings suggest that evolution could play a key role in shaping how aquatic ecosystems respond to climate change. The phytoplankton in our study adapted to warmer water in the lab and evolved the ability to capture more atmospheric carbon dioxide.

"Our results demonstrate that evolutionary responses of phytoplankton to warming should be taken into account when developing models of how climate change will affect aquatic ecosystems. This experimental work provides the empirical basis for incorporating evolution into the models used to forecast future ocean productivity."

The researchers exposed Chlorella vulgaris, a model species of phytoplankton, to temperatures of 20 -- 33 degrees. Initially rates of growth peaked at 30 degrees, while 33 degrees was stressful and limited growth. After 100 generations (45 days) growth increased to levels expected from the exponential effects of temperature on physiological rates, showing that the algae had evolved the ability to thrive at the increased temperatures.

The underlying mechanism for the ability to tolerate warmer temperatures was an increase in the efficiency in which the alga was able to convert carbon dioxide into new biomass by reducing rates of respiration (production of carbon dioxide). It is this shift in the relative rates of respiration and photosynthesis that enabled the phytoplankton to cope with warmer temperatures.

While these experiments focused on a single species and strain of phytoplankton, the researchers believe that the rapid evolution of carbon-use efficiency will apply to other species of phytoplankton and substantially improve models describing ecological and biogeochemical effects of climate change.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Exeter. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

Daniel Padfield, Genevieve Yvon-Durocher, Angus Buckling, Simon Jennings, Gabriel Yvon-Durocher. Rapid evolution of metabolic traits explains thermal adaptation in phytoplankton. Ecology Letters, 2015; DOI: 10.1111/ele.12545

Fuel Subsidy: Customs indicts NNPC

Culled from the Nation

Alleged subsidy fraud: Customs indicts NNPC

By Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja 12 hours 5 minutes ago

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•Mrs Alison-Madueke with NNPC Group Managing Director Austin Oniwon at the hearing ... yesterday Photo: Abayomi Fayese

FROM the streets and seminar halls, the petrol subsidy battle returned to the House yesterday, with the Customs disclosing that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) does not have documents to back up fuel importation.

According to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Ministry of Finance also aided the “illegality” by coercing Customs to overlook the essential documents to “avert undue hardship on Nigerians”.

Also yesterday, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, which supervises the NNPC, denied being the approving authority for subsidy deductions.

The Farouk Lawan-led House of Representatives Ad-Hoc committee investigating the management of fuel subsidy heard from Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs Julius Ndubuisi Nwankwo, who represented Comptroller-General Abdullahi Dikko Inde, that most fuel importation did not follow due process.

Nwankwo said no invoices are attached during clearance of fuel, adding that “as we speak, most of the importation of PMS has no documentation”.

He said as a result of the lack of documentation, the NCS is not in a position to give the exact number of vessels imported by the NNPC.

“NNPC does not make any documentation to the Customs. Several meetings were held where the NCS was directed not to ask for documents. The Ministry of Finance wrote to NCS, warning them not to ask for documents because this will cause crisis,” Nwankwo said.

Besides, revealed the officer, NNPC never berthed the mother vessels at Nigerian ports, contrary to the provisions of the extant laws.

Said Nwankwo: “Vessels imported into this country are referred to as mother vessels. These mother vessels never get to the ports in Nigeria. The vessels are normally anchored offshore. If you see the manifest covering these imports, what you will see is ‘offshore Cotonou, offshore Lome’.

“They never get to the ports. Rather, you have smaller vessels that pick these products from the mother vessels and they come to the ports to report to the Customs – in line with the provision of the enabling Act of Customs.

“These mother vessels do not report to Customs. Customs does not board mother vessels; we can only board vessels that are anchored within our territorial waters. The smaller vessels take these products to the ports.”

Nwankwo urged the Committee to look into “the average diversion and compare with the capacity of the mother vessels with the smaller ones that their capacity are known”.

He said NNPC has failed to pay duty on imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) worth N45 billion to Customs from 1999 to 2002 when the duty was formally suspended by the Federal Government.

Nwankwo said to ensure transparency, NEITI should conduct forensic audit of all the ships in Nigeria and from exporting countries.

While he berated the corruption in the oil and gas sector, Nwankwo said there was no documentation of PMS imported by NNPC into the country and that only independent oil marketers attempted to document importation.

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Finance had in a letter sent to Customs warned that any insistence on enforcing Customs rules (SEMA) would cause untold hardship and petrol scarcity.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), corroborating the allegation by the NCS, said the management of the country’s crude oil and importation of petroleum products by the NNPC was deficient in transparency.

NEITI chairman Prof. Assisi Asobie, payments made in respect of fuel subsidy by the NNPC “lack transparency and due process”.

According to him, subsidy payments should be made from the Central Bank through the Petroleum Fund, but that has not been the case with the NNPC.

His words: “This clear due process is not followed by the NNPC. NNPC estimates the subsidy entitlements and deducts the estimated amounts directly from the domestic crude proceeds before remitting the rest to the Federation Account.”

He noted that during the audit of the oil and gas sector for 2006 and 2008, NEITI discovered inadequacies that complicated the problem of accurate determination of volume of imported petroleum products.

Asobie said from 2002, NNPC lifted domestic crude at the market price, providing incentive for export of domestic crude rather than domestic refining of all crude. From 2006 to 2008, the total oil lifted from the country was 8.8 million barrels. NNPC lifted 4.8 million barrels,” Asobie said.

According to him, “the measurement methods used by the PPMC and DPR are not in accordance with best practice. Even then, they are not consistently applied and cannot be relied upon.”

The NEITI chair noted that the systems for recording the movement of refined products through the PPMC pipeline are outdated, paper based and subject to error.

Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke told the committee that deductions by the NNPC for subsidy were legal.

She said NNPC’s action was embedded in the 2011 Appropriation Act, page 14, item no. 8 where it is stated that deductions be made on domestic subsidy and joint venture cash calls, adding that section 5 (80) (3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowers the corporation to deduct from source.

“I need to say clearly that we have done nothing unconstitutional as a ministry, particularly regarding deducting at source. We do not take money from the federally appropriated revenue,” Mrs Alison-Madueke said.

The Minister said N245b was budgeted for two months because it was calculated that deregulation was going to take off, but the budget went up to N1.3tr as the process could not begin as planned.

“It is Ministry of Finance that authorises the payments that are made for subsidy and not the Ministry of Petroleum Resources,” she said.

Mrs Alison-Madueke dismissed the existence of a cabal in the NNPC and stressed that deducting subsidy cash at source by the NNPC was in line with the provisions of the law.

Lawan asked the Minister to name the “cabal” in the oil sector. The Minister replied: “I think I have to say at this time that I’m under oath and it will be most improper to speculate on the existence or not of the purported cabal.

“Let me say for the purpose of records that I think that we cannot afford as a country to criminalise either a certain group in one fell swoop, just as we cannot afford to criminalise the policy of subsidy itself.

“The policy on subsidy, I believe, was enacted at a time when the government, was trying to do its best for the people of Nigeria, I believe it was the best of intentions at the beginning.”

She, however, clarified the roles of oil marketers, some of whom were accused of being responsible for the rot in the subsidy regime.

Said the minister: “When you have a pool of marketers, many of whom are bonafide marketers, who do very legal job for this country, and I say this because I have been severally taken to task and called all sort of names for saying this, but as Minister of Petroleum Resources, I think I have the courage to say, ‘Yes, there have been manipulations in the sector; there is no question about it’. Yes, we are looking into it very aggressively and we have made certain changes and once we have taken time to look at the situation on ground to begin to institute those aggressive changes which are already reaping rewards for us.”

Mrs Alison-Madueke restated the government’s resolve to combat corruption in the sector. She said: “I will continue to do that as I am sure the entire country can see that a lot of things are happening that we will continue to harp on, until we are able to weed out those who have actually corrupted the system and manipulated the system to their own advantage to the detriment of the entire country and the economy as a whole.

“So many of them were not found to do that, there are elements who have not done so and who have gained a lot from manipulating the system and we expect to find them in the soonest possible time.

“But I think we should not criminalise the actual act or legal marketing or the concept of fuel subsidy.”

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Steve Jobs - Three Stories

Prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

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It had to be Roger Federer

Yesterday, Roger Federer silenced the critics who say that he is finished. Novak Djokovic had his unbeaten run of 43 matches suddenly abrogated when he met the master.

Throughout 2011, Novak was on a high and nobody could stop him. He was unstoppable on all surfaces and rivals were overawed by him. He seemed to have put on a new cloak of invincibility. When asked about the impending semi-final match, between Djokovic and Federer, Rafael Nadal commented that it was a match between the current best tennis player in the world against the best tennis player in history. That description said it all. If we were to predict from Nadal's description, it was fairly obvious who would win. The best player in history was still in excellent form and as recently as December 2010 defeated Novak in the end of season tournament of the masters in London.

When the match was played, it was clear why Roger Federer has the title of best player in tennis history. The gods of tennis inspired him to play some sublime tennis, we have not seen in recent times. He was simply magnificent. Novak was stunned and succumbed to Roger's super tennis in just four sets.

Poor Novak, had he simply won that match he would have secured for the first time in his career, the No. 1 position in the ATP world tour men's singles ranking even if he did not go on to win the Roland Garros tournament. However, there is still a silver lining in the clouds because Roger having undone Novak can make him again.

In his current form, Federer is primed to beat Rafael in the finals on Sunday. When he does that, Novak will then be No. 1 over Nadal. So you see, these days Roger Federer has arrogated to himself the power to do and undo.

Gaddafi prepares for Armageddon

The last few weeks have witnessed changes in the Maghreb that no one could have predicted even at the beginning of the year. The power of the people is beginning to take a unique stride in international politics. An Arab race long lost in slumber is waking up to meet its social responsibility. A sandstorm of change is blowing across the Arab world in all directions and no one can tell its final destination. The power of social media is being wielded in a way that could not have been imagined a few years ago.

The old saying "the pen is mightier than the sword" is being manifested in a strange way that reveals afresh that the characteristic of the pen that holds its power is its communicative strength.

Social media has empowered the people to communicate in a manner that was considered the preserve of only powerful witches. People are called to gather at the wink of an eye. Messages and even graphic images are passed at the speed of sound.

Tyrants can no longer hold sway as their firm grips on power slip out of control. They are left tongue tied and bemused. The natural instinct to resist soon gives way to calm acceptance of the new scheme of things. It is said that calm acceptance soon gives way to DDS (deposed dictator syndrome), the symptoms of which are immediate withdrawal from public view followed closely by coma. Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt are widely rumoured to be suffering from this condition.

First it was Tunisia, Yemen, and then Egypt and Bahrain and Libya then Jordan, Oman, Algeria and where else, who knows.

If these were put is seismological perspective, it would be 6.0 on the Richter scale in Tunisia, 6.4 in Egypt and a sustained series of after-shocks that left Hosni Mubarak confused and bemused. The biggest one was however still to come in Libya, first a minor rumbling, then the belching and spewing of smoke in ammunition dumps went up in loud bang to herald the beginning of the end for Colonel Gaddafi as the desperate despot attempted to cower a people who in forty long years ensconced in an iron grip have outgrown fear.

The big bang is yet to come as Gaddafi hold out against his "rats" and "dogs". It is dangerous enough to be faced with rabid stray dogs constantly barking at you to leave your own house. It is doubly dangerous when those dogs and even the rats are known to be sniffing drugs and drinking Al Qaeda power potions.

The good old Colonel has drawn his battle lines and the cry is "I will never leave my country. We shall fight to the death." As he prepares for the final showdown, we all wait in awe and great apprehension of the Armageddon, the mother of all battles.

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Swiss Chickens Sue the Swiss Federal Government for Genocide

George Orwell would love to have watched proceedings in the Swiss Parliament when the latest bill on animal rights was being discussed. Switzerland has one of the most stringent animal rights laws in the world. Under the Swiss constitution, the protection of the "dignity" of plant life is upheld and animal rights have been established under a law passed last year for creatures such as goldfish and canaries. Pigs, budgies and other social creatures cannot be kept alone; horses and cows must be regularly exercised outside their stalls and dog owners are required to take a training course to learn how to properly care for their pets.
Given the vibrant discussions on this subject, the Association of Pro-Life Poultry (APLP) has taken the Swiss government to court to seek reparations for persistent genocide over the centuries and for a perpetual injunction to stop the killing and let their members live to old age and die naturally. They had waited patiently to see the outcome of the referendum that was to provide human lawyers to defend animal right cases. They had hoped that if the vote had been favourable they would have engaged a top Swiss lawyer at no cost to prosecute their case against the Swiss state for hypocrisy and blatant discrimination. APLP members had complained that even gold fish had better rights that they have. Unfortunately for them, the voters failed them as they overwhelmingly voted against the bill. The canton of Zurich has had its own animal lawyer since 1992. The Animal rights lawyer has had clients ranging from dogs, cats, guinea pigs, farm animals and, recently, to even a large pike. He argued "It took 10 minutes of struggle to reel the pike in before killing it. I regard that as cruelty. If someone had done that to a puppy, there would have been outrage," He further went on say, "People accused of animal cruelty very often hire lawyers to defend themselves. Why shouldn't someone speak for the animal as well? It's about fairness and defending a minority."
This is precisely the point for the APLP members. If the rights to comfort are being guaranteed by the state for some animals and even fish, surely chickens should have a right to life. They too would like to live to a ripe old age and die a natural death as pets do. The Swiss have cleverly made cases for “social animals” a group to which dogs, cats, budgerigars, gold fish have been put. APLP is calling up top ethologists and veterinary psychologists to prove that chickens are more sociable than dogs and cats. They question why they are singled out for annihilation, generation after generation. Why should the only beauty humans see in chickens be the tenderness of their flesh for food?
If human beings are so concerned about cruelty to their peers, they ought to have a bigger concern for the systematic murder generation after generation of their progenitors had suffered. They are deeply saddened by the fact that the clock has been turned back to Orwellian times when all animals were equal but some were more equal.

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Togo team banned from next two competion – CAF’s decision is insensitive and immoral

The recent decision by the Organising Committee of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Angola, 2010 to ban Togo from participation in the next two competitions of the African Cup of Nations is an insult to common sense and a warped and vindictive interpretation of the rules that govern their tournaments. The CAF Organising Committee completely threw overboard the underlying philosophy of justice that guides every rule. A blind application of rules without any thought for the spirit behind the rule or law is tantamount to an abuse of the rule.

The Committee cited “Article 78 of Regulations of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Angola 2010” as the basis for their decision. In any contract, there is the possibility of unexpected and disruptive events may that may excuse a party from the obligations of the contract. In a normal and sensitive interpretation, these become mitigating circumstances that temper the judgment on the breach of that contract. The lawyers refer to such an event as force majeure. What worse event than the death of some members of the concerned parties do we expect to occur before it begins to take a serious view of Togo’s breach? The dishonest extension of the argument to interpret the withdrawal as entirely due to the interference of the Government of Togo in the affairs of the Togo national Football Association is most unfortunate.

The statement issued by CAF is an insult on injury. Hear them “The Executive Committee and its president renewed their sincere condolences to the families of victims involved in this tragic terrorist attack which happened January 8, 2010. The attack was condemned by CAF and also a total support was given to the Togolese team.” What support can they give to the dead? What “sincere” condolence can you give to a group you are punishing for an unfortunate event that they had no control over?

Let us go back and analyse the whole situation. The Angolan government and the Organising Committee claim they were not aware that the Togolese team was travelling by road from Point Noire to Cabinda. If this is true, how did the team get the security squad that was escorting them to Cabinda? The bus was not a Togolese nor was the driver who was tragically killed in the event. But for the Angolan Security men escorting the team bus, all members of the team could have been killed.

Immediately after the attack Rodrigues Mingas, Secretary General of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), said his fighters had meant to attack security guards as the convoy passed through the Angolan province of Cabinda, which is situated inside Congo. Rodrigues Mingas was reported to have told France 24 television. "This attack was not aimed at the Togolese players but at the Angolan forces at the head of the convoy, so it was pure chance that the gunfire hit the players. We don't have anything to do with the Togolese and we present our condolences to the African families and the Togo government. We are fighting for the total liberation of Cabinda."

The whole world saw video footage of a traumatized team. We heard what the team members said in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

According to a BBC report on that day, Togolese midfielder Alaixys Romao said the team was likely to pull out of the 16-nation cup.

"No-one wants to play," he said. "We're not capable of it. We're thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2010/jan/11/togo-team-home-africa-cup-nations

Despite their unfit psychological state, they were put under great pressure by the Angolan government and the Organising Committee to change their mind and play. So, who was interfering with the team’s decision, the Togolese government or the partnership of CAF and the Angolan government? Who knows what threats CAF made to the Togolese team to make them “change” their mind to stay on and play when they had explicitly told the whole world that they were too traumatized to play. Simply put, they were not in a proper psychological state to go into the tournament. The Togolese government did what any responsible government would have done in the circumstances. With relatives of team members bombarding them with questions and requests to bring the boys back home in accordance with the strong desire of the team members just after the attack, what should they have done? The Togolese nation went into mourning and they were fearful for the lives of the survivors.

Interestingly, the statement from CAF posted on their website does not mention the aspect of interference of the government of Togo. The decision appears to be entirely predicated on Article 78 which reads” A forfeit notified less than twenty days before the start or during the final competition, shall entail in addition of the forfeit of the entry fee, a maximum fine stipulated by the regulations as well as the suspension of the concerned national association for the following two editions of the African Cup of Nations.

Moreover, the withdrawal shall entail the forfeit of its share in the profits realised from the receipts. In addition, the Organising Committee may order the concerned national association to make compensation for any eventual damages.” Despite all the mitigating circumstances of the breach of the rules, the Committee applied the full weight of the prescribed sanctions. It will be observed that the Organising Committee ignored the provisions of their own Article 89 which says “Reserves are made as to cases of force majeure and shall be decided by the Organising Committee.”

Notice that there is no specific amount prescribed as the punitive fee in Article 78 – only “the forfeit of its share in the profits realised from the receipts.” What if there was no profit in this case, the Togolese FA still has to pay $50,000. This is an interpretation and application of law with a petty and rigid mind. They forgot to mention Article 90 which stipulates specific amounts. This was a very shoddy job of the Committee.

From the preliminary reaction of the Togolese government to the CAF statement, there is a clear indication that we have not heard the last of this matter. FIFA has a duty to intervene and correct this mindless, vindictive decision. Let common sense prevail in the interest of African football.

Fighting Al Qaeda: America's "Countries of Interest" - An incomplete list

In the wake of the failed Christmas day suicide bomb plot, President Obama ordered a swift investigation to find out why there was a system failure. Last Tuesday, the world was told of the near catastrophic failure arising from information hoarding, communication lapses and general system inertia.

As a direct response to the findings of this investigation, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has announced that "Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening. The Nations that are state sponsors of terrorism were identified as Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria and the ten "countries of Interest"; Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.

Nigeria was included in the infamous list because of the singular act of its national, Abdul Umar Farouk Mutallab, the 23-year old mechanical engineering graduate of the University College of London who had been radicalised while studying in England and trained for his mission in Yemen.

It will be recalled that Richard Colvin Reid, otherwise known as the shoe bomber, was a member of Al Qaeda who was convicted by an American federal court for attempting to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes in December 2001. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in a super maximum security prison in the United States. His crime led to the new requirement of U.S. airline passengers having to remove their shoes for inspection before boarding. Richard Reid was born and bred British, radicalized to Islamic extremism at Finsbury Park Mosque in London. The series of coordinated suicide bombings on London's public transport system during the morning rush hour on July 7, 2005 were carried out by four British Muslim men.

In 2006, there was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada. Interestingly the explosive of choice was also PETN, the same explosive found on the Nigerian. At least 24 suspects were arrested and charged to court for terrorism offences. These were all British home grown terrorists. Most of these have been convicted. This incident brought to the fore the need to look at the British social system to see what the key factors were that enhanced the incubation of these terrorists.

The young Nigerian Abdul Mutallab became radicalised while studying at the University College, London. From England, he went to the Middle East to live out his new extremist faith. So I see a common thread in all of these incidents - the British society offers a favourable atmosphere for impressionable young people to become terrorists. The law in that country allows all kinds of Islamic extremists to use, with impunity, hate-filled messages to poison the minds of young gullible Muslims.

These instances of British terrorists clearly point to Great Britain as a country in which several terrorists have been produced. It then goes without saying that any list of "countries of interest" without Great Britain seems to me to be incomplete, if the single incidence of a Nigerian attempted bomber can qualify that nation to be in that list. In this particular case the father of the young man made a report to both the authorities in Nigeria and to the US Embassy in Nigeria. This indicates there is no intrinsic jihadist inclination or culture in Nigeria and that the Nigerian system does not tolerate it.

Newspaper reports indicate that the Committee on Foreign Relations of the US Senate has invited the father of the alleged terrorist to appear before the Senate on January 20, 2010. The letter which requested the former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria to testify before it stated that: “The United State Senate Committee on Foreign Relations would like to extend an invitation to Mr. Farouk Abdul Mutallab, former Chief Executive Officer of the First Bank of Nigeria, to testify before the Committee on the morning of January 20, 2010.

“Mr. Abdul Mutallab acted in a heroic fashion by informing US authorities of his concerns about his son’s whereabouts and activities and by seeking to disrupt what he believed could have been a dangerous situation. We would like to afford him the opportunity to discuss his experience with his son and to provide his recommendations on the process by which he worked with US authorities.

“I would also note that Mr. Abdul Mutallab's appearance would allow him to correct the negative press to which Nigeria has been unfairly subjected over the past two weeks.

If this is how the United States Senate feels about the role of Abdul Mutallab Snr in the failed bombing episode, the inclusion of Nigeria in the list of "countries of interest" is absolutely unjustified.

Roger Federer , King of Tennis - The Final Verdict

The debate about who is the Greatest Tennis Player ever was concluded today when Roger Federer took Andy Roddick through over four hours of brilliant tennis to emerge winner of the 2009 Wimbledon Men's Singles tennis championships 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14. In this single match alone Federer served 50 aces - a record at the Wimbledon championships. The final set went to 16-14 and lasted over one hour.

All the Tennis greats were on hand to watch him prove his mettle. Rod Laver of Australia had won the tournament four times, Bjorn Borg of Sweden five times, Pete Samparas of the US seven times. Pete Sampras flew in from the United States especially to watch the final and to witness Federer break his record of 14 Grand Slam titles, a record which Federer had equalled when he won Roland Garros in May. At the post match interview with BBC Sports journalists, their verdict was unanimous - Roger is the greatest of all time, and come to think , he surpassed Pete Sampras's seemingly unbreakable record in a spate of just six years.

Long live the King of Tennis!!