IGIHE

Category: Lifestyle

  • Clown Wearing Obama Mask Banned

    {{The Missouri State Fair has permanently banned a rodeo clown whose imitation of US President Barack Obama has been widely criticised as disrespectful.}}

    In a statement on Monday, fair officials said that the rodeo clown has been barred from ever performing at the fair again.

    They are also reviewing whether to take any actions against the contractor responsible for Saturday’s rodeo.

    During the event, a clown wore a mask of the US president and asked the spectators if they wanted to see “Obama run down by a bull”. Many in the audience responded enthusiastically.

    The act was criticised by Democrats and Republicans alike after video and photos of the event were posted online.

    Some Democratic Missouri lawmakers suggested on Monday that there should be financial consequences for the fair.

    ‘Unconscionable stunt’

    The fair said in the statement announcing the rodeo clown’s lifetime ban that he had engaged in an “unconscionable stunt” that was “inappropriate and not in keeping with the Fair’s standards”.

    The fair’s press release did not identify the clown.

    The rodeo’s announcer sought on Monday to distance himself from the clown’s actions.

    Announcer Mark Ficken said through an attorney that the clown was wearing a live microphone and had given the announcer no advance notice about his performance.

    Ficken is president of the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association.

    “He was as surprised as anyone with the appearance of an Obama-masked rodeo clown,” attorney Albert Watkins said of his client.

    Source: Agencies

  • Ghanaian reaches Big Brother finale

    {{After spending an intense 75 days in the Big Brother House, dodging bullets, gossip and six prior dalliances with the Eviction guillotine, Elikem became the first Ghanaian in history to cruise through to the Big Brother Finale this afternoon.}}

    The Ghanaian managed this stunning coup following a convincing display during the Head of House Task.

    Elikem is not up for possible Eviction this week, which means he is not going anywhere on Sunday.

    On Monday, the Ghanaian will take up his sheriff badge till next week Sunday. Thereafter, it will be all systems go for the Finale.

    Before Big Brother made the HoH announcement, a hush fell over the lounge where the Housemates were gathered. It was clear something big was going to happen.

    As soon as Big Brother roared “Next week’s Head of House is Elikem,” his fellow Housemates congratulated him on his feat.

    “I wish I was in your shoes. Congratulations man. I’m sure your country is proud of you,” Dillish said, while Feza told him “Look at you being so quiet. This is a first. You’re supposed to be making noise,” the Tanzanian said.

    Elikem then opened up to his fellow Chasemates as the realisation of making history dawned on him.

    “If I wasn’t swapped this week, I will be the first Ghanaian to make the Big Brother finals,” Elikem said.

    Elikem can rest easy because Head of House Beverly put Dillish up instead.

    Elikem is not only in the Finale but also made history today by becoming the first Chasemate to win ‘Power of No’ and ‘Head of House’ in the same week.

    It was certainly a tough road for Elikem. Congratulations are in order! Ghana, bring out the champagne!

    {myjoyonline}

  • Mandela ‘Conscious and Responsive’

    {{The South African presidency has said that former president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is still in “critical but stable condition”.}}

    The official statement came on Wednesday, as South African church leaders led prayers in front of the hospital where Mandela has spent two months in care.

    After the prayers the president of the Council of Churches, Johannes Seoka, told journalists that – according to Mandela’s wife Graca Machel – the ailing former president was responsive.

    “We did not see Madiba, we prayed in a room reserved for visitors, for churches to come and pray where the family also receive Madiba’s guests,” he said, using Mandela’s clan name.

    “We were informed that he is critical but stable and that he is very conscious, he can hear every word that is spoken to him and he does respond.”

    Mandela, 95, was rushed to the Pretoria Mediclinic Heart Hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.

    His health has become a concern for South Africa’s 53 million people, for whom Mandela remains a potent symbol of the struggle against decades of white-minority rule.

    Although it has been relatively quiet outside the hospital where he is being treated, various family members have been visiting him daily.

    South Africa’s government has been secretive about Mandela’s health, issuing infrequent and vague statements and declining to comment on the specifics of his condition.

    Source: Agencies

  • Uruguay starts marrying gay couples

    {{Same sex couples will be allowed to apply to marry in Uruguay from Monday, nearly four months after a bill was approved by the country’s Congress.}}

    President Jose Mujica signed the legislation in May but it was only due to enter into effect 90 days later.

    About half a dozen couples should apply for dates at civil registry offices in the coming days, activists say.

    Following Argentina in 2010, Uruguay became the second South American nation to pass same-sex marriage legislation.

    Across Latin America, the number of countries allowing gay unions or marriages is growing.

    In Brazil, the council that oversees the country’s judiciary said offices could not deny the issue of civil union documents when gay couples wanted full marriage certificates.

    However, the issue still requires a bill to be approved by the Congress.

    BBC

  • Tall Women Face Higher Cancer Risk: Study

    {{Taller women may face a higher risk of many cancers than their shorter counterparts, according to a US study released Thursday.}}

    Researchers looked at a sample of nearly 145,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 for the analysis published in the US journal Cancer Epidemiology.

    They found that each additional 10 centimeters (four inches) of height was linked to a 13 percent higher risk of getting cancer.

    “Ultimately, cancer is a result of processes having to do with growth, so it makes sense that hormones or other growth factors that influence height may also influence cancer risk,” said lead author Geoffrey Kabat, senior epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York.

    After 12 years of following women who entered the study without cancer, researchers found links between greater height and higher likelihood of developing cancers of the breast, colon, endometrium, kidney, ovary, rectum, thyroid, as well as multiple myeloma and melanoma.

    The height association remained even after scientists adjusted for factors that might influence these cancers, such as age, weight, education, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and hormone therapy.

    “We were surprised at the number of cancer sites that were positively associated with height. In this data set, more cancers are associated with height than were associated with body mass index (BMI),” added Kabat.

    Some cancers saw an even higher risk among taller women, such as a 23 to 29 percent increase in the risk of developing cancers of the kidney, rectum, thyroid, and blood for each additional 10 centimeters of height.

    None of the 19 cancers studied showed a lower risk with greater height.

    The study did not establish a certain height level at which cancer risk begins to rise, and Kabat said it is important to remember that the increased risk researchers found was small.

    “It needs to be kept in mind that factors such as age, smoking, body mass index, and certain other risk factors have considerably larger effects,” he said.

    “The association of height with a number of cancer sites suggests that exposures in early life, including nutrition, play a role in influencing a person’s risk of cancer.”

    {AFP }

  • Sharapova Tops Forbes’ List of Russian Celebrities

    {{Maria Sharapova has claimed the throne in Forbes’ 2013 edition of Russia’s top 50 celebrities. The nominations were allocated based on three factors: income for the year, media coverage and top searches in Yandex.}}

    The tennis player has replaced singer Stas Mikhailov — who topped the list two years in a row — due to her hefty income of over $29 million.

    Gregory Leps came in second place with an estimated earning of $15 million for the year.

    Although Leps came in behind Sharapova, he dominated in being the top searched celebrity in Yandex, having 6.5 million searches to his name versus Sharapova’s 760 thousand.

    Many accredit Leps’ recent popularity to his performance at the State Duma where he publicly chastised journalists and their constant presence.

    Third place went to the conductor and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev. According to Forbes, Gergiev’s income was $16.5 million, topping Leps’. The directors yearly income has more than tripled over one year; it is reported that in 2012 the conductor’s annual income was $3 million.

    The top ten positions also included: singer Philip Kirkorov ($9.7 million), hockey player Alexander Ovechkin ($16.8 million), TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak ($1.4 million), singer Nikolai Baskov ($8.9 million), model Natalia Vodianova($8.6 million) and football player Andrei Arshavin($6.4 million).

    For the first time since this edition started printing, Alla Pugachyova did not make in the top 10, and is instead at 11th place with an annual earning of $2.5 million.

    {The Moscow Times }

  • Miss World Arrives in Ghana

    {{The reigning Miss World Wenxia Yu, and Chairwoman of the Miss World organization Julia Morley as well as some members of their backroom staff, have arrived in Accra Monday.}}

    The eight-member delegation jetted in on Monday evening, and was met on arrival by the reining Miss Ghana Naa Okailey Shooter and her first runner up Nadia Ntanu, as well as some officials of Exclusive Events Ghana including Inna Maryam Patty.

    They are here to lend support to the Miss Ghana Foundation’s charity projects in Northern Ghana, which includes construction of some two Bore Holes at the Nabuli and Leili Witch Camps.

    Miss Morley and her team will be in the Northern Region for two days, during which they will meet with the Regional Minister, the Tamale Chief and also visit the Tamale Children’s Home.

    The team will also visit the Maternity Block of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which the Miss Ghana Foundation is raising funds to renovate.

    The delegation is also expected to pay a courtesy call on President John Mahama on Wednesday.

    They will also attend the finals of the Miss Ghana pageant at the Banquet Hall on Saturday July 20. The team will leave on Sunday July 21.

    {myjoyonline}

  • Why Place a Fridge in Your Living Room?

    With an emerging middleclass mostly congested in urban centers, there is a growing anomally in the way certain gadgets are just acquired as status symbols as opposed to their purpose as prescribed from factories.

    Some urban homes boast of a fridge these days. However, fridges are fixed in a corner of the living room, and not the kitchen.

    It is a funny situation when the woman in house has to keep walking into the livingroom to retrieve onions, tomatos and other stuff from the fridge.

    The matter is made worse by landlords that construct tiny houses that one has to exit the kitchen to get enough elbowroom to blow their nose. In most situations, Kigali houses have bogus kitchens.

    She has to navigate her way past her husband’s stretched feet, which is not very romantic when the two have been sleeping back-to-back for the past three weeks because he was caught answering a phone call in the toilet.

    Annoyingly, after having used half of the tomato, she has to negotiate her way past his scaly legs to deposit the remaining bit in the fridge.

    But even when the fridge is rightfully in the kitchen, it is never used for storage. How would it, when all it has is a bottle of water and a packet of milk? It is true; most of those elephant-sized fridges that buzz on and on are so empty you get tempted to store your shoes in them.

    When you think about it, fridges should not be a Rwandan thing, they might be good for Muzungu who shop in bulk.

    However, with our small economy, we buy one onion, two tomatoes, a quarter kilo of meat, one cabbage and a few grams of cassava flour for one meal.

    We live one day at a time. So why do we pretend that we will have enough food to store in a fridge for one month?

    In any case, our countries in the region tomatoes and onions can be bought from vendors. The day’s dinner comes stuffed in a woman’s voluminous handbag and when she alights from taxi in the neighbourhood, she even gets veggies that have been chopped. Why, then, would she need a fridge?

    Besides, shopping in bulk is not strategic because it encourages waste and theft. Studies have shown that when the housemaid notices a bag of rice in the store, she ensures that some kilograms disappear.

    In the circumstances, one would be crazy to stuff a whole goat carcass in that gigantic fridge stuck next to the TV set. That hunky watchman will have a meat bash at your expense!

    {adapted from standard}

  • Book Review: Why the 20s Affect Shape of Your Career

    {{Are you in your 20s, fresh from college, already working, or looking for a job? You may want to read The Defining Decade, a book by clinical psychologist Meg Jay.}}

    The author seeks to inspire young people in their 20s into discovering their inner working powers, in ways that even some authors have found intriguing.

    For example, Rachel Nalebuff, the editor of My Little Red Book, confesses: “Before reading The Defining Decade, I didn’t know enough about the importance of our 20s to be concerned that I could mess it all up.

    Now that I do, I could worry myself into paralysis, or, as Meg Jay, suggests, grab life by the helm, even if I still have no idea where I’m going. Without a doubt, The Defining Decade will leave you eager to embark on what I now see can be the most exciting odyssey of one’s life.”

    According to Jay, the things people do and do not do in their twenties will have an enormous effect across years and even generations to come. That’s how important this age is, in her view.

    She writes, for instance, that, “In the 21st Century, careers and lives don’t roll off an assembly line. We have to put together the pieces ourselves.” She continues: “Be intentional. Get to work. Pick your family. Do the math. Make your own certainty. Don’t be defined by what you didn’t know or didn’t do. You are deciding your life now.”

    Many people in this age are either enrolling into college or just entering the job market. A lot of them can easily get confused and end up lonely when they fail to achieve in life.

    Jay’s additional advice is that at such an age, one needs to be realistic about their skills and goals. She argues that at 20s, people already know their weaknesses and strengths. It is therefore the best time to work on one’s dreams.

    Her book tells people at that age to put together endless possibilities of concrete plans that they nurtured and dreamt of as kids. The 20s is the period to best pursue aspirations.

    That’s why she refers to the age as the “defining decade”. The book suggests that every friend you have in your life during this period should be what you exactly need.

    Kenyan psychologist Pius Mureithi agrees to the definition of the 20s as the defining decade. He explains further that this is the period in which self-identity, vocational identity and independence among other issues occur.

    The book urges people of this age to stop believing that work will always come easy so long as they follow their passion. Mr Mureithi finds the statement very applicable.

    “Jay is very correct when she writes that 20-something should stop thinking of the idea of the perfect job. This is like thinking that once you get married, you will live happily ever after,” Mureithi argues.

    The book further dismisses as careless, the attitude among youths that one should quit the moment they don’t like a job. It comes from the ill-informed assumption that an alternative will easily be found.

    In reality, and Mureithi stresses this, that’s hardly ever the case.

  • Amnesty International condemns ‘homophobia’ in Africa

    Homophobic attacks have reached dangerous levels in sub-Saharan Africa and must stop, Amnesty International has said in a report.

    Governments are increasingly criminalising “homosexual acts” by seeking to impose new laws and draconian penalties, it adds.

    This sends the “toxic message” that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are criminals, the report says.

    Some of the continent’s leaders say homosexuality is un-African.

    In 2011, the US and UK hinted that they could withdraw from countries which did not respect homosexual rights on the socially conservative continent.

    However, Amnesty said US religious groups “actively fund and promote homophobia in Africa”, while many of the laws were inherited from the colonial era.

    {agencies}