Devil is ignorance and the knowledge which is light has come through Christ that we might follow experince love, understanding and living in peace with everyone.

It is not the mouth that is the main thing to be looked at in prayer, but whether the heart is so full of affection and earnestness in prayer with God, that it is impossible to express their sense and desire; for then a man desires indeed, when his desires are so strong, many, and mighty, that all the words, tears, and groans that can come from the heart, cannot utter them.
--John Bunyan

Each democracy has its own character and culture that reflect its unique traditions and history. Yet all free and successful countries share some common characteristics: freedom to worship, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, economic liberty, equal justice under the rule of law, equal citizenship for all and the limitation of state power through checks and balances. In many parts of our hemisphere, these institutions of a free society are still young, and they are fragile and we must ensure that they are strong for the tasks ahead. To deliver justice, the people must have confidence in their institutions and we must replace the rule of man with the rule of law.
--George W. Bush

http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ppt_homepage

Nigerian authorities are cracking down on all foreign-manufactured toothpaste following the discovery of a harmful agent in a Chinese-made brand.
National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control says it has found anti-freezing agent diethylene glycol (DEG) in Chinese-made Colgate.

All retailers are to destroy all foreign-manufactured toothpastes on their shelves, Nafdac says.

Retailers who fail to destroy the illegal toothpaste will be prosecuted.

Nafdac says DEG can cause abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, damage to kidneys and liver and, if ingested in large amounts, can be fatal.

The agency warned Nigerians not to patronise any foreign-manufactured toothpaste as it cannot guarantee their safety.

"No foreign toothpaste is registered for use in Nigeria," Nafdac head Dora Akunyili said.

"Only made in Nigeria toothpastes are safe for public use."

There are no known cases of people falling sick after using foreign-made toothpastes in Nigeria.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6949294.stm

I admiring the beauty and manifold charms of flowers, the unvarying goodness,wisdom and omnipotence of God.
He who causes the sun to shine and send the fertilzing rain and dew, He who feeds the birds of the air and cloths the flowers of the field in such regal beauty. I praise Almighty God for His wonderful, unimmaginable love and caring!.

Welcome to the 4th Annual Youth Assembly August 12-15, 2007
UN Headquarters, New York

The Youth Assembly is an annual gathering of outstanding individuals and young leaders from around the globe at the UN Headquarters. The Youth Assembly is about showing how one person can make a difference by engaging with the challenges of the present and being an educated and active citizen. In 2007, the 4th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations will take place from August 12-15, with a Leadership Training extension August 8-12. The Assembly has grown to become a major gathering of young people at the United Nations. Every year, the Assembly provides avenues for students and young professionals (18-26 years old) to learn about and become involved with programs that address global and local issues, network among a large
Key Dates


Three days at the U.N. Headquarters in New York

Plenary sessions, workshops, networking

Captivating speakers and workshop facilitators, youth leaders from around the world

Three days of Leadership Training that has been called "Life Changing"

A must for anyone interested in U.N. Relations, programs and goals

All participants reside at Pace University, Manhattan for the entire program and optional, post-program activities

For more info.
http://www.faf.org/programs/unyouthassembly2007/ya_home.htm

July 31st, 2007

A World Bank team took a look at the state of infrastructure in Nigeria and said it was shocked by the condition of the roads, the privatisation programme, indeed all the facilities that could have made life easier for the citizenry.


The team from the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) of the bank assessed World Bank’s policies of engagement and projects in the last 10 years and could not believe what it saw.

Both federal and state roads across the country have been the subject of much concern by business and the Nigerian public who use them. Over an eight-year period, the last government, under Olusegun Obasanjo, is believed to have spent well over N1-trillion for the rehabilitation of roads across the country for which nothing is on the ground to show for the huge expenditure.

The country also continues to suffer from poor state of electricity supply, with generation capacity falling to below 3,000 megawatts this year. The country acutally requires an estimated 40,000 megawatts to able able to enjoy constant power. Poor state of refineries has also meant that the country is faced with constant disruption in fuel supply, with a litre of petrol selling for N150 in some far northern and eastern states.

Education remains in a shambolic state in a period of rising global oil prices for a country known for being the world’s eighth exporter of crude oil in the world. The five-man team from the World Bank appears to have been convinced to draw its conclusion from its observation of the current state of disrepair of the different infrastructural facilities that it examined. The team comprises Basil Kavalsky, Catherine Gwin, David Pearce, Inder Sud and Omar Lyasse. The group is independent of the bank management and so answers directly to the board.

The July 1 1998 to June 30 2007 evaluation covers mostly projects and policies funded during the Obasanjo tenure.

The team’s areas of coverage include macro and public-sector management, capacity building and governance, poverty and Human development, infrastructure and private sector development as well as agriculture, environment and community development

Team leader Basil Kavalsky said in Abuja that the roads were in a sorry state and needed urgent repairs. Kavalsky assisted by Catherine Gwin said: "...we started two weeks ago with the Federal Government and then went to Lagos to look at World Bank projects as well as talk to people.

"Some went to Calabar also and some went to Ibadan , the University of Ibadan and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) by roads.

"The problems of Nigerian roads are lack of maintenance culture. This has to change. The first change has to ensure that old roads have to be maintained."

He expressed shock that the country was still grappling with the problem of infrastructure, in spite of the huge funds injected into its provision during the tenure of Obasanjo.

"Infrastructure is a difficult problem. There should have been a breakthrough but it is taking a longer time. In my discussion with President Obasanjo, he said he thought they could fix the problem in six months but it was not possible."

He, however, described the privatisation programme under the last administration as a difficult issue with the several policy somersaults experienced as he condemned the sale of refineries.

"Privatisation is a difficult issue. The private sector is not developed to take the lead. We have seen that the public sector cannot manage the state enterprises. Yeah, we should not have privatised refineries but how do we manage it?"

He stated that countries like China and India had used the World Bank to achieve a lot, stressing that the bank would listen more to government, civil societies as well as engage people in debate and dialogue.

The IEU assessment is designed for all major borrowers at eight to 10 years interval.

for more info visit http://www.businessdayonline.com/?c=45&a=15142