Confessions Of Michael Jackson's Irish Surgeon

Despite his colorful past and all of his professional awards, celebrity surgeon Dr. Patrick Treacy knows that many who buy his autobiography "Behind The Mask", published in July 2015, will immediately skip ahead to the two chapters where he discusses his world famous celebrity client and friend, the late Michael Jackson.

 

They met in Ireland in 2006, when Treacy, a celebrity surgeon in his own right, appeared on the Ryan Tubridy show on RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster. After the show aired, Treacy discovered a young African-American woman waiting in the green room, who told him she represented a celebrity who would like to meet him.

“I had no idea who it would be,” explains Treacy. “We opened the clinic late at night to avoid the press but at this stage I didn't know who to expect. When he arrived he said, “Hello I'm Michael Jackson,” and then he added, “Thank you for the work you do for the people of Africa.”

 

To Treacy's surprise, Jackson had already read an article in a medical journal that Treacy had written about the devastating epidemic of AIDS on the continent. “He told me he had read it and that it had made him cry,” says Treacy. “It was clear he wanted to offer humanitarian assistance by scheduling a concert.”

Treacy working in Africa.

Over the next days and months the pair became friendly. “I stayed in his house in Ireland. One night we started talking about our respective fathers. Mine had been kind, but his had beat him growing up. It was one of the reasons he first started getting into cosmetic procedures. His father used to slag him about his 'black nose'.”

There's little doubt among most observers that Jackson suffered from a form of dysmorphia, which saw him struggle to attain the perfect looks he wanted, with disastrous cost to his appearance over time. Treacy acknowledges that reality but does not comment on the nature of the procedures he was asked to do for Jackson. Instead he focuses on what he loved about him.
“He was incredibly funny, very interested in science and medicine, and one day he picked up a medical book in my office and opened it to a picture of a black child with black and white skin. He told me, 'I know the pain that that child feels,' and then he pulled up his pant leg and I saw his skin was black and white. His whole body was.”

Treacy at the Humanitarian Awards with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Jackson famously suffered from vitiligo, an often painful skin pigmentation disease that Treacy helped to treat at his famous Dublin clinic.
“Another day he had read about the Murray children who had been injured in a gangland fire in Limerick. He said to me, 'Those children are in pain,' and he asked me which hospital were they in. It turned out to be Crumlin Hospital, and I'd worked there.”

But Treacy was reluctant to see Jackson visit given his friendship with Jackson and his concern about negative tabloid headlines so soon after his 2005 court case for alleged sexual abuse. Treacy felt that the star would expose himself needlessly to more press ridicule and he was against the idea of a visit. “It wasn't for selfish reasons, it was more to protect him from the news reports,” he explains.

But then Jackson did something that startled him, he took off his wig and exposed the scalp that had been scarred during a fire on set when he filmed a Pepsi commercial in 1984. “The whole top of his head was completely scarred,” Treacy explained. “Then I felt really sorry for him. At the time, I didn't know he made regular hospital visits like that all the time.”

It probably helped their budding friendship that Treacy, 54, who hails from Garrison in County Fermanagh, wasn't easily star-struck. He had already lived a remarkable life long before Jackson appeared in it, as his new memoir "Behind The Mask" makes clear.

As a teenage schoolboy, Treacy won the amateur Young Scientist of the Year Award for an innovative project to help plants grow. Later he attended Queens University in Belfast in the early days of the Troubles, where he became involved in student politics, and where he had his legs broken for a prank that saw the Tricolor flying over one of the halls of residence.

“It had nothing to do with me, as it happens. Some of the student committee had bullets sent to them over it. It was at the time of the tit-for-tat murders. And at the time Catholics weren't supposed to be doctors, in many people's view,” says Treacy, who still has the scars on his legs.


His mother felt he'd be safer in Dublin and whilst still a medical student there, he traveled extensively, taking a year off to follow David Bowie's legendary "Serious Moonlight" tour as a roadie across Europe. Strapped for expensive college fees, Treacy eventually funded his studies by smuggling cars for a year from Germany to Turkey where he sold them at a considerable profit, which showed his initiative and willingness to do whatever it took for the hard-working student to get by.

Treacy with Bono at the UN Humanitarian Awards.

And later still, in his first job as a practicing surgeon, to survive a HIV needle stick injury from a Dublin heroin addict, he had to get a piece cut out of his leg in the days before there was any protease inhibitor treatments for AIDS. In the late 80s, this was considered a death sentence.

With effective treatments against the HIV virus still years away, Treacy found that some of the Irish hospital staff he had worked alongside were reluctant to treat him in the aftermath of the incident and soon his relationship with his longtime girlfriend ended too, causing a scar of a different kind.

“Thank God I never seroconverted,” says Treacy, but it is quite clear the rejection he experienced wounded him deeply. “That's really part of what the memoir is about,” he adds. In fact, the memory of it later contributed to his own desire to work on humanitarian projects in Africa around AIDS and to help pioneer new surgeries to help people with HIV.

Jackson's surgeon, Treacy, working in Haiti.

Among the many notables Treacy has met in his long career are Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Bono, John Lennon and of course, Michael Jackson. In the mid 1990s, he even knew, in a medical sense, Lady Diana Spencer. It's a long way from his humble origins in Garrison, County Fermanagh and "Behind The Mask" tells the story compellingly.

But it's the legacy of his friendship with Jackson that continues to delight and surprise him as time passes. His involvement with humanitarian projects that Jackson also supported continue and Jackson's own passionate international fan base think of him as a particularly eloquent ambassador for the late star.

Think of his diamond crusted glove, think of the moonwalk, think of the sunglasses, think of that red leather jacket with the black trim he wore in "Thriller." Those are the things that mean Michael Jackson, not the rootless and diminished last years of his haunted and rather lonely life.

Those things will all still be famous in five hundred years. That's the man that Treacy remembers and the man he wants the world to recall.

EFCC Gets The Nod To Probe Goodluck Over Arms Deal

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday formally received a petition asking the agency to probe ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on the alleged mismanagement of $2.1 billion released to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for arms purchase. The petition is the first written against the former president.

The Nation reports that the petition came from a former member of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Ikenna Ejezie, through his counsel, Barrister Osuagwu Ugochukwu.

The petition reads: “We are solicitors to Hon. Ikenna Ejezie hereinafter called our client and with you as he has instructed.

“Our client is requesting you to, in the public interest, invite ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for questioning and possible prosecution over his role in the misuse of $2.1 billion through the Office of the National Security Adviser (Col. Sambo Dasuki rtd) and disbursement of N400 million funds to Olisa Metuh for personal and private political party use.

“Our client notes that Dasuki had stated severally whilst in your commission that the $2.1billion was authorized for disbursement by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for arms purchase, but later turned out to be for selfish purpose.

“Our client informed us that the confession of Olisa Metuh is contained in his criminal statement with the EFCC.

“Our client is thus shocked that in spite of the implication of ex-President Jonathan in the current prosecution of Metuh and Dasuki, the former President has not been invited for his statement to be taken nor has he been prosecuted by the EFCC as co-accused/ defendant.

“Our client herewith requests that the ex-President be invited for questioning and to commence prosecution as he was the one who did authorize the disbursement of the $2.1billion and N400million public funds that were illegally abused and misappropriated by Dasuki and Metuh who are both standing trial in various courts in Abuja.

“Our client demands that this request be responded to within seven days from the receipt of this letter and as quickly as possible.”

See What Mercy Johnson Used In Charming Her Husband

Oh my God, Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson, has stylishly revealed what she used in charming her husband Odi Okojie.

The actress, who already has three kids to her marriage with her millionaire hubby, is not slowing down at all as she has had some good workout session which has helped return her shape and killer curves.

Mercy with her husband, Odi Okojie, were spotted looking dapper as they stepped out in matching outfit and the actress beauty is still intact that the husband will enjoy for many years to come without looking outside.

Which man will have such a pretty and curvy wife at home and still jump outside? That is not possible!

Seyi Shay Begins Multi-million Naira Home in Abuja

Many might not like her personality, but singer, Seyi Shay, is living her dream and not ready to allow anyone or rumours bring her down.

Waxing stronger as the day goes by, her name continues to ring in the hearts of advertisers who see her as a good ambassador for an investment as drives traffic each time.

She once said that people sit back and hate her but the hatred brings her money money and that is actually paying of for her as she is currently building her home in Abuja.

The singer was some months given a plot of land by Numatville, a property company based in Abuja, and without wasting time, the singer has began construting her building in the estate.

Seyi is not the only person who has started building as the likes of Suka Sounds, Mary Uranta, Ambassador Rachel Bakam, Ifunaya Igwe have also began their own building also.

In the past few months, as part of attracting people to the fast growing parts of the federal capital territory, Numatville has been allocating various plots of lands to some Nigerian entertainers as a means of creating awareness and also attracting investors to the city.

Cossy Orjiakor and Saraphina Amaechi in boobs battle.

Hairy Lady Discovered

Nollywood Boobs Celebrity Cossy Orjiakor In Desperate Need For A Decent ...

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Daughter Loses South African Church Licence After Her Gay Marriage

Desmond Tutu’s daughter, Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu-van Furth has been forced to give up her duties as a priest in South Africa’s Anglican church after she married a woman, she told AFP today
Mpho can no longer preside at holy communion, weddings, baptisms or funerals after handing in her licence because the church does not recognise gay marriage. She said her father, the retired archbishop and celebrated anti-apartheid campaigner, was “sad but not surprised” at the news.

“The canon (law) of the South African Church states that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Tutu-van Furth said in an email. “After my marriage… the Bishop of Saldanha Bay was advised that he must revoke my licence. I offered to return my licence rather than require that he take it from me.”
Mpho and Marceline Tutu-van Furth have been on honeymoon on the Indonesian island of Bali after holding a wedding party outside Cape Town earlier this month.

Desmond Tutu, 84, who has been in frail health, attended the celebrations with his wife. He has previously spoken out in favour of gay marriage.
Marceline Tutu-van Furth is an Amsterdam-based professor specialising in paediatric infections. The couple — who are both divorced and have children — officially tied the knot in the Netherlands in December.
“My wife and I meet across almost every dimension of difference. Some of our differences are obvious; she is tall and white, I am black and vertically challenged,” Mpho told the South African City Press newspaper.

“Ironically, coming from a past where difference was the instrument of division, it is our sameness that is now the cause of distress,” she said in a reference to apartheid.
Senior local priest Bruce Jenneker told AFP that the Saldanha diocese had received Mpho’s licence with “sadness”.
“It was a great pity that it had to happen,” he added.

Funny World; 60 Years Old Lady Marries 8 Years Old Boy

I wonder what this world is turning into.This cannot be real.This old lady is truely insane!

Nollywood Boobs Celebrity Cossy Orjiakor In Desperate Need For A Decent Husband

Nollywood Actress Cossy Orjiakor that flaunts her massive boobs in public for cheap popularity, now remembers it's time for her to settle down as a house wife.Her funny attitude of flaunting her boobs publicly, labels her a scape goat of Nollywood, the famous & respected Nigerian movie industry.

If she is ready to pick her pieces from now on, definitely a decent husband will come her way.The first thing she needs now is deliverance from the power of darkness.Lol!

President Barack Obama Says Several Vietnamese Activists Prevented From Meeting Him

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA DELIVERS A SPEECH AT THE NATIONAL CONVENTION CENTER IN HANOI, VIETNAM May 24, 2016.


U.S. President Barack Obama said several Vietnamese civil society members were prevented from meeting him on Tuesday and that, despite great strides made by the country, Washington had concerns about the limits it puts on political freedom.

Obama was due to lay out more of his plan for stronger ties with Vietnam on the second day of his visit, after scrapping an arms ban, the last big hurdle between two countries drawn together by concern over China's military buildup

The removal of the arms embargo, a vestige of the Vietnam War, suggests U.S. worries about Beijing's building of man-made island in the South China Sea and deployment of advanced radars and missile batteries in the disputed region trumped concern about Vietnam's human rights record.

Washington had for years said a lifting of the ban would require concrete steps by Vietnam in allowing freedom of speech, worship and assembly and releasing political prisoners.

Obama met about six activists and said there were "significant areas of concern" about political freedom. He praised those Vietnamese who were "willing to make their voices heard".

Two activists who spoke to Reuters said an intellectual, Nguyen Quang A, had been taken away by unknown men before he had hoped to met Obama, citing his relatives.

Reuters could not verify the information and Vietnam's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Monday, in a joint news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Obama said "modest" human rights improvements had been made and the decision to end the arms embargo was about the changing dynamic in ties and "not based on China".

But China's Global Times tabloid, run by the Chinese Communist Party's official People's Daily, said that was a lie and made a point of what it said was a U.S. willingness to relax standards on human rights for the sake of containing China.

Obama Confirms Leader Dead As Taliban Meet On His Successor

U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday that the leader of the Afghan Taliban had been killed in an American air strike, an attack likely to trigger another leadership tussle in a militant movement already riven by internal divisions.

Obama, who started a three-day visit to Vietnam on Monday, reiterated support for the government in Kabul and Afghan security forces, and called on the Taliban to join peace talks.

The president authorized the drone strike that killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a remote region just within the Pakistan side of the border with Afghanistan on Saturday, and Afghan authorities have said the mission was successful.

But U.S. officials had held back from confirming that the Taliban leader had been killed in the attack until intelligence had been fully assessed.

Obama said in a statement that Mansour had rejected peace talks and had "continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces"

Austrian Election Could Produce EU's First Far-right Head Of State

Austria could elect the European Union's first far-right head of state on Sunday, with support for Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer buoyed by a migration crisis that has heightened fears about employment and security.

Opinion polls suggest the presidential run-off between Hofer and former Greens leader Alexander van der Bellen will be close. A far-right victory would resonate across the 28-member EU, where migration driven by conflict and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere has become a major political issue.

Support for groups like the eurosceptic, anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) has been rising in various countries, whether they have taken in many migrants in the recent influx, like Germany and Sweden, or not, like France and Britain.

Most are still far from achieving majority support. The FPO has been in government before, serving as a coalition partner in the early 2000s when it was led by the late Joerg Haider

But whoever wins the presidential election, it is likely to be a new high-water mark for Austria's and Europe's far right, all the more significant for being in a prosperous country with comparatively low, albeit rising, unemployment.

If Hofer wins, mainstream parties will also come under scrutiny for not recommending an anti-FPO vote. Many feel that would only have bolstered the FPO's argument that it is taking on Austria's deeply entrenched political establishment.

CEREMONIAL ROLE

In Austria, the president traditionally plays a largely ceremonial role but swears in the chancellor and can dismiss the cabinet.

"I have to work for one or two years and then everybody will see that I am OK, I am not a dangerous person," Hofer, 45, told reporters after voting in his eastern hometown of Pinkafeld.

Hofer, deputy leader of the FPO, is known as the gentler face of the party but has only recently become a household name.

Austria took in 90,000 asylum seekers last year, more than 1 percent of its population, many of them shortly after it and neighbouring Germany opened their borders last autumn to a wave of migrants including refugees from Syria's civil war.

The government has since clamped down on immigration and asylum, but that failed to slow rising support for the FPO, which was already capitalising on widespread frustration with Austria's two traditional parties of government.

Sunday's run-off election comes four weeks after Hofer, 45, won the first round with 35 percent of the vote. Opinion polls had suggested his support was much lower, though they regularly show his party ahead of its rivals on more than 30 percent.

Van der Bellen, 72, who scored 21 percent in the first round, said after voting in Vienna that he was "cautiously optimistic".

A projection will be published when the last polling stations close at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT), and the result is due to be announced after 7 p.m. A high number of postal ballots has raised the prospect of the result being unclear until Monday.

Tabloid reports of immigrants availing themselves of Austria's generous benefits and of crimes in which immigrants have been suspects, have played into the FPO's hands.

A Gallup poll for the Oesterreich newspaper last weekend found Hofer ahead by a 53-47 margin based on 600 people surveyed. But it was a dead heat among those who said they were certain to vote, a key factor after nearly a third of eligible voters failed to cast ballots in the first round

Egyptian Submarine Joins Hunt For EgyptAir Black Box Recorders

Egypt deployed a submarine on Sunday to hunt for the black box flight recorders of the EgyptAir plane that crashed in some of the deepest waters of the Mediterranean Sea with 66 people on board, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.

Ships scouring the sea north of Alexandria for three days have found body parts, personal belongings and wreckage from the Airbus 320, but are still trying to locate the recorders which could shed light on the cause of Thursday's crash.

Sisi said that underwater equipment from Egypt's offshore oil industry was being brought in to help the search.

"They have a submarine that can reach 3,000 meters under water," he said in a televised speech. "It moved today in the direction of the plane crash site because we are working hard to salvage the black boxes."

French investigators said on Saturday that the plane sent a series of warnings indicating that smoke had been detected on board shortly before it disappeared off radar screens.

The signals did not indicate what caused the smoke or fire, and aviation experts have not ruled out either deliberate sabotage or a technical fault, but they offered early clues as to what unfolded in the moments before the crash.

"Until now all scenarios are possible," Sisi said in his first public remarks on the crash. "So please, it is very important that we do not talk and say there is a specific scenario."

The crash was the third blow since October to hit Egypt's travel industry, still reeling from political unrest following the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

A suspected Islamic State bombing brought down a Russian airliner after it took off from Sharm al-Sheikh airport in late October, killing all 224 people on board, and an EgyptAir plane was hijacked in March by a man wearing a fake suicide belt.

Obama Pushes For More Zika Funding In US

President Barack Obama has criticised the US Congress for failing to back his request for a $1.9bn (£1.25bn) fund to combat the spreading Zika virus.

He warned that the country could face "bigger problems" in the future.
His comments come as the latest figures showed that there were nearly 300 pregnant women in the US who had tested positive for Zika.

The virus is thought to cause serious birth defects. It is spread through mosquitoes and sexual contact.
The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency.
It can cause microcephaly, a birth defect, marked by a small head size and can lead to developmental problems in infants.

There have been around 1,300 confirmed cases of microcephaly in Brazil, with thousands more under investigation.
Symptoms of Zika virus include mild fever, conjunctivitis, headache, joint pain and rashes.

Obama's warning

On Friday, President Obama said the Senate had agreed to only half of the required funding, and the House of Representatives only a third.
He said that even this money ($589m) had been diverted from funds earmarked to tackle the threat of Ebola .
"This is not something where we can build a wall to prevent (the spreading of Zika), mosquitoes don't go through customs, to the extent that we're not handling this thing on the front end, we're going to have bigger problems on the back end," Mr Obama said.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that 157 pregnant women had tested positive for Zika and another 122 in US territories.
Until now, the agency had not reported the number of women infected by the diseases in the US and its territories.
A Zika-related case has been reported on the French Caribbean island of Martinique.
A regional health agency said on Friday an 84-year-old patient with Guillain Barre Syndrome who had been in the hospital for 10 days died.

More on the Zika crisis:

Microcephaly: Why it is not the end of the world
What you need to know Key questions answered about the virus and its spread
Travel advice Countries affected and what you should do
The mosquito behind spread of virus What we know about the insect
Abortion dilemma Laws and practices in Catholic Latin America

Death from the disease is rare and there is no vaccine or drug treatment available.
In Los Angeles, officials are taking prevention measures against Zika after health officials warned that outbreaks could be expected in southern California.
The outbreak began nearly a year ago in Brazil.
The World Health Organization has said Zika virus could spread to Europe this summer.
"Everything we know about this virus seems to be scarier than we initially thought," Dr Anne Schuchat of the CDC said in April.

Michelle Obama Says Parents Will Be The Beneficiaries.

A new look is coming to Nutrition Facts labels on food packages, with more attention to calorie counts and added sugars. And no longer will a small bag of chips count as two or three servings.

Michelle Obama said parents will be the beneficiaries.

"You will no longer need a microscope, a calculator, or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food you're buying is actually good for our kids," the first lady said Friday, announcing the new rules.

The changes were first proposed by the Food and Drug Administration two years ago and are the first major update to the labels since their introduction in 1994. They are now on more than 800,000 foods.

The overhaul comes amid scientific advances. While fat was the focus when the labels were created, calories are of greater concern these days. The calorie listing will now be much larger than anything else on the label, making it hard to overlook.

Nutrition advocates have long sought an added sugars line on the label so consumers can understand how much sugar in an item is naturally occurring, like that in fruit and dairy products, and how much is put in by the manufacturer. Think an apple vs. sweetened apple sauce.

The labels will also include a new "percent daily value" for sugars, telling people how much of their recommended daily intake they will get from each item. This year's guidelines recommend no more than 10 percent of calories from added sugar, a limit of around 200 calories or 50 grams.

"The new labels should also spur food manufacturers to add less sugar to their products," Michael Jacobson, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. He said it's currently impossible for consumers studying the labels to know how much sugar fits into a reasonable diet.

Serving sizes will be clearer, listed at the top of the graphic. And they will be less misleading, making it easier to figure out how many servings are in a container.

That means revised calculations for about a fifth of foods.

The idea behind listing a whole package of food, or an entire drink, as one serving isn't to motivate people to eat more. It is to help them understand how many calories they are consuming. By law, serving sizes should be based on actual consumption and not ideal consumption.

A serving size of ice cream will now be based on average consumption of 2/3 of a cup. Previously it was a half-cup. Products between one and two servings, such as a 20-ounce soda or a 15-ounce soup can, will be labeled as a single serving because that's how much people typically eat in one sitting.

Larger packages, like a pint of ice cream, will have labels with two columns. One will show serving information; the other is for the whole container.

Labels also must now list levels of potassium and Vitamin D, nutrients Americans don't get enough of. Vitamins A and C are no longer required but can be included. Iron and calcium stay.

Most food companies have until July 2018 to comply. Smaller companies have an extra year.

Industry reaction has been mixed. The Sugar Association said the emphasis on added sugar distracts attention from calories, potentially causing confusion. They have fought the new rules alongside some companies, including beverage makers who say they are already putting calorie labels on the front of cans and bottles.

Consumers may notice the added sugars information most when buying sugary drinks. A 20-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola, for example, has 65 grams of sugar, or 130 percent of the recommended daily value.

Other food producers have been supportive. Mars Inc., maker of Snickers and M&Ms, said sugar can be part of a balanced diet and "making nutrition guidance clear to consumers is the right thing to do."

Leon Bruner of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents the food industry's largest companies, said "this update is timely as diets, eating patterns and consumer preferences have changed dramatically since the Nutrition Facts panel was first introduced."

Obama announced the final rules for labels at a conference organized by the Partnership for a Healthier America. She has promoted label updates as part of her "Let's Move!" campaign against childhood obesity.

How Luis Suarez moved Lionel Messi onto Barcelona's wing and became the best centre-forward on the planet

First things first: if you’re looking to nudge Lionel Messi out of his position at the spearhead of Barcelona’s attack, you’re going to have to be pretty special.

For years the front three at the Nou Camp has been built around the Argentine. Natural centre-forwards have come and gone, unable to make the ‘number nine’ spot their own. For manager after manager, Messi’s ‘false nine’ was better than a real one.


David Villa, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o all arrived strikers but left wingers. Zlatan Ibrahimovic failed in the Catalan capital because he was unable to play out wide.

While Henry was beyond the peak years of his career, Villa and Eto’o were at something approaching their best at Barcelona, yet neither was deemed worthy of the main gig at one of the biggest clubs on the planet.

Luis Suarez went to Spain with every chance of enduring a similar fate; he is a quick striker who drifts wide anyway and would not have been totally out of his depth on the flank.


Then, while he served a suspension for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, Barcelona more than coped, winning seven games out of eight in the league, drawing once and losing none, so uprooting Messi made little sense.

When Suarez finally returned he played on the right of a three-pronged attack, but Barcelona lost his first two games and it was soon clear that something needed changing to accommodate their record signing.

There was no panic that they had wasted their money on him. Luis Enrique was brave enough to risk upsetting Barca’s prized asset and their fans by shifting Messi out wide, and Suarez has been so exceptional through the middle in the number nine slot his shirt prescribes that Barcelona have revamped the way they play.

The reason it works is that those two, also flanked by the irrepressible Neymar, are so flexible and fluid in their shape that each is constantly finding pockets of space all over the pitch. At the same time, however, Suarez remains the centre-forward, most often found on the shoulder of the last defender. He was caught offside 59 times this season, nine more than any other player in La Liga.

His goal-scoring has gone into another stratosphere. With 40 goals (in just 35 appearances) he was the top scorer in Europe’s big five leagues. All on his own he scored more goals than 26 of the 98 teams in those leagues managed overall. He ended the season with 14 goals in five games that Barcelona had to win to secure the title.

He shoots an awful lot, attempting an average of around four shots per game, the ninth most in Europe, and hits the target with slightly more than half – 56 per cent to be precise – meaning there are quite a few efforts that go to waste.

However, when he does hit the target he is rarely stopped, with 57 per cent of his shots on target beating the keeper. In comparison, Karim Benzema scores 47 per cent of his shots on target, Neymar 39 per cent, Ronaldo 36 per cent and Messi 35 per cent. There is no better finisher in Spain – or on the planet for that matter – at this moment in time.

And yet the incredible thing about Suarez is how far that is from the extent of his talents. He has vision and passing to match his movement and shooting. Of every player in the top tiers of Spanish, French, German, English and Italian football, only Messi, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria can match his 16 assists for the 2015/16 campaign. Only the latter two did better, and between them they scored 24 goals fewer than Suarez. Both of his tallies represent career-highs.

Of course, much of his success owes to the team he has around him. Any half decent striker would score goals with Messi and Neymar laying on chances from the wings; anyone who can pass a ball could set up a Messi goal, too.


But it is the fact that Suarez is no second fiddle to a player many believe is the greatest footballer ever to have lived that makes him so special. He is the first number nine to remain a number nine at the Nou Camp and Messi even seems to enjoy his company; something that seemed unthinkable when Ibrahimovic was driven out of the club in 2011.

Suarez will lead the line once again as Barcelona aim to complete a domestic double for the season by adding the Copa del Rey final to their trophy cabinet on Sunday night against Sevilla. Watching eyes should be concentrated on Messi and where he can do the damage, but the reality of the situation these days is that Barcelona have another man at the heart of their plans.

Man-eating Nile Crocodiles Discovered In Florida

Scientists are trying to discover how aggressive “man-eating” crocodiles turned up in Florida.

Even though the first of the crocodiles, a hatchling found on a householder’s porch near Miami, was captured in 2009, the results of DNA testing have only just been revealed.

It was the first of three to be found. The second, a small female, was discovered two years later at a Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead, Florida and the third, a male, was caught swimming in a canal in 2014.

Although the crocodiles were clearly not a local species, scientists were baffled over what type of crocodile they had encountered.

Now after genetic testing, they have been confirmed as being Nile crocodiles, the second largest species in the world, which can grow to over 16 feet in length.

Also, alarmingly, they are man eaters with researchers estimating that they kill up to 200 people a year.

But how they arrived remains a mystery as their DNA did not match that of Nile crocodiles at a number of attractions across Florida including Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

“They didn’t swim from Africa,” said Kenneth Krysko, herpetology collections manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida.

One theory is that they were imported illegally and that there could be more in Florida.

“My hope as a biologist is that the introduction of Nile crocodiles in Florida opens everyone’s eyes to the problem of invasive species that we have here in our state,” Mr Krysko added.

 “Now here’s another one, but this time it isn’t just a tiny house gecko from Africa.”

There are fears that if the Nile crocodile establishes itself in the Everglades it will not only pose a threat to humans but also native alligators and crocodiles.

However the the crocodiles are not prolific breeders, but scientists warned it would just take one couple to mate for a population to be established.

Lagos Strip Clubs Return

A visit to the club last week revealed this much. Despite the seeming changes that have taken place at the club in terms of identity and structure, the fact remains that business has not kicked off properly at the club, more than a year after it was reopened. The club, situated along Ogundana street, just off the high brow Allen Avenue, in Ikeja, consists of a single hall and bars which were clustered nearly everyday in the past by dozens of guests.

 Its present predicament stems from the fact that many of the patrons of the night club are skeptical, in respect of the possible raiding of the place again by the special Lagos State Task Force on environment. Saturday Vanguard observed while at the night club that skimpily dressed go-go dancers, whose regular performances are the major attraction of the night club, were entertaining few a audience, as against what it used to be in the recent past, when prominent Nigerians thronged the popular club to feed their eyes on the tender bodies of these young dancers. Before the closure, the daily shows usually would start around 8 p m and would get to its crescendo around 11 p.m when the hall would be filled to the brim. The belly dancers covered their bodies with only panties and would gradually undress as they danced around a pole. But this is no longer obtainable as the club is presently witnessing a dull moment. Mr Tony Ojo, owner of the club, has every reason to blame the recent challenges facing the club on the unmitigated closure. The club, according to Ojo, was recently duped over N28 million following a property it purchased within the neighbourood and which later, turned out to be a property in dispute. “It is not an easy task to convince our customers to come back. We need to create a lot of awareness and to convince them that all is well. That’s why it has become necessary that we engage the services of the media to reach out to our numerous customers. For now, business has been very slow,” Ojo narrated. Lamenting that since the club was reopened early last year, business has been very slow, the Edo State born club owner said, “we have been trying as much as possible to enure that we win back our customers. We are still struggling to get back to our feet.”


Ojo said he has taken the initiative to show their customers a letter of authority issued to the club owners by the Lagos State House of Assembly, where they have promised never to clampdown on the clubs. Also, the management of these clubs are doing everything possible to make their customers feel at home each time they come to the night clubs. Narrating some of the ordeals they went through while the closure lasted, Ojo said that most of the nude dancers were terribly affected by the closure because “they have no other means of livelihood. “When the club was shut down, most of the nude girls felt it terrible because this is what they do for a living. Some of them were students who raise money through this means to pay their school fees and take care of their own needs. We also have single mothers who feed their families based on what they make from here and the less-privileged girls. It was really bad for them during that period,” he further narrated.

However, contrary to the belief that these girls are inducted into the unholy practice, Ojo hinted that some of them come to the club to signal their interest to be part of the dancers. “When you are coming here for the first time, we have to first and foremost confirm that you are of age.We don’t allow under-aged girls to be part of the dancers. It’s a voluntary thing, nobody compels anybody to be a dancer here. Besides, they apply to us that they want to be part of the dancers. We have their personal information.” Describing the strippers as “professional dancers”, he added that they come from far and near places to carry out their trade at the club on daily basis. Also, explaining why he decided to set up the club, the Edo State born club owner said it was as a result of the need to prevent well-placed Nigerians from travelling abroad to patronise strip clubs over there.

 Refusing to see anything wrong with the club, he said “strip clubs are everywhere around the world. Well-to-do Nigerians travel out of this country to patronise strip clubs. They feel the only way they can reduce stress after toiling day and night in Nigeria is by patronising strip clubs abroad. I have seen them in other countries. “I just felt that instead of them to take our money out of the country, it would be better for us to set up a similar club in the country. That’s what motivated me to to set up the club. I have run the club for five years and most of my members are well-meaning Nigerians. “Most of our members are highly placed men and women in society. Highly placed women in society do come to the club on a regular basis . Some of them would come here with their husbands. There is nothing wrong with it. I have seen so many couples who patronise the club and at the end of the day, the wife would compliment us for doing a great job here.”

Saturday Vanguard gathered that apart from being regulated, strip clubs owners at the moment are paying taxes to the Lagos State government, meaning that they are doing a genuine business. Meanwhile, one of the strippers who spoke to Saturday Vanguard admitted that poverty drove her into participating in the trade. Claiming that she is a student of Federal Polytchnic, Nekede, Owerri, the young nude dancer said she came from a poor background, adding that the only way she could see herself through her education was by getting involved in nude dance. Other nude clubs that were shut down in 2009, alongside Club Unique are also struggling to remain in business. They are Wallstreet, Magic City and Cazzbah. Wall Street is also located on Allen Avenue while Solid Gold formerly Ocean Blue, is located at Opebi while Cazzbah is also at Opebi .

The clubs were closed by the Lagos State Task Force for operating strip clubs in residential areas without permit. Two managers and 33 dancers were arrested and paraded. But the dancers were released after the state lawmakers said that there was nothing illegal about the business.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/

Desperate things Nigerian artistes do for fame

You don’t need a prophet or soothsayer to tell you that Nigeria’s music industry is very lucrative. The industry has made millionaires out of several ‘studio rats’, and there are millions of others out there waiting to get their own break “The bad news is that not all dreams come true.

 Forget that saying of the sky being wide enough for all birds to fly, the Nigerian music industry is a dog-eat-dog world. *Female fans with their music idol at a concert File: Female fans with their music idol at a concert It is very savage, demanding, bitchy, unforgiving and unappreciative. Folks really go hell to breathe easy.

This is more so because there is an inherent lack of structure which makes it difficult for record labels to thrive. “EME’s DJ Xclusive put it most succinctly with his post on Instagram during the week when he wrote, ‘No matter how talented you are, it’s hard for most people to understand how hard it is to make it in music. The pains, the hard sacrifices, the let-downs are endless…You can’t give up on you!’ “In this piece, we’ll get you acquainted with some of the desperate things Nigerian artistes have to do to get to the pinnacle of their careers…

Paying Pirates to Pirate their Work: Does the above make any sense to you? If you’re from a ‘developed country’ reading this, it wouldn’t, but we in ‘Naija’ know better.“Nigerian artistes actually pay bootleggers to proliferate their works, just to make them popular.“They do this by way of Alaba Mix, where the DJ includes their songs in a mix of selected trending club bangers. The Alaba ‘mixtapes’ are usually played at parties, street corners, bus stops, and places with high concentration of people.“However, this only pertains to the rookies in the industry; or those out of relevance. The established acts who are toasts of the town don’t need to do this.

 Their own songs are rather used to ‘sell’ the others. Another angle to this is the fact that even established artistes sell the rights to their CD sales to these Alaba kingpins, who pay them a certain sum of money, and pocket the rest of the profit. Performing for Free: It is a fact that there is no artiste in this country that has never performed at an event for free. In fact, it is the order of the day, especially in the early part of their careers.“Even the biggest shows in the land are guilty in this regard of not paying upcoming artistes for their services.

 However, it is a win-win situation because the artistes also gain a lot from this arrangement. They aren’t paid in physical cash, but they get mileage, brand awareness, and opportunity to interface with their fans, which invariably translate to much more than cash. Romancing the ‘Power Brokers’“ There are several power-brokers behind the scenes, who are the big names that everyone knows. They are usually big-time show promoters who organise popular and successful annual sold-out concerts. These fat cats also run consultancy services, where they help entertainers secure juicy brand endorsement deals. They can turn you to a star at the tap of a finger.

They wine and dine with high-ranking government functionaries, business executives with the fat cheques, and they have a large following of hungry youths. It is these power brokers that artistes always do all sorts to win their attention so they can call them for free shows and help them secure endorsement deals.“Nowadays, every artiste knows better than to depend on album sales.

The major part of their money comes from shows, concerts, endorsements etc, so anybody who can make it happen for them will be courted ferociously. Even though the power brokers are also in it to make money, as it is not charity, they have been a ‘blessing’ to the industry. Attaching to an established act: One way Nigerian artistes make their way to the top of the music industry is by attaching like leeches to already established acts.“It is common to see artistes working as Personal Assistants (PA), Secretary, Manager, etc. for other stars.“That way, they’re always with the superstar whenever he meets the power brokers and people that matter in the game.

They use this opportunity to network and establish their own careers.“Examples of people that have this as part of their story are Terry G, who was formerly a back-up singer for Faze, and Ubi Franklin, who is the co-owner of MMMG Record label, was PA to Julius Agwu“ Becoming close friends to OAPs and. DJs: In the music industry food chain, OAPs and DJs occupy prime poitions They are more like gatekeepers, who have the power to keep intruders at bay.

These OAPs and DJs often have their own legion of fans too who hold whatever they say sacrosanct. They can do so much for an artiste’s career just by talking about him or her on their shows, or playing a particular artiste’s songs on air. Paying to be on record labels: This is another puzzling and desperate act perpetrated by Nigerian artistes on their race to the top. In an ideal situation, a record label is supposed to pay artistes a hefty amount of money, and even give them material possessions like cars and houses for signing to them.

However, the extreme opposite is what happens at times in Nigeria. Artistes now pay big record labels to be attached to them and enjoy the benefits that come with being associated with their name. Meanwhile, the record label would put out press releases that it has signed the artiste for a mind-blowing fee with other benefits. In reality, the artiste would have to pay for his own studio time, videos, and other costs of pushing his career. Sugar mummies: In their desperate attempt to embrace the klieg lights and paparazzi, artistes sometimes become boy-toys to wealthy society women.

They hawk their manhood and youth to these fun-loving socialites who, as a form of reward, ply them with dollars, pounds, and other exotic currencies, which they, in turn, use in lubricating the machinery of their careers. Black Magic (Juju): Whenever a new shining star emerges on the scene, it is not unusual to hear side-talks on the streets of how the artiste must have dined with the devil to get to where he is. The truth is that several artistes sell their souls to the devil in the course of trying to find their way to the top. They often have to take blood oaths, and visit shrines to pledge allegiance to strange gods. Many of the artistes become successful this way, but the repercussions are usually very grave, as some of them lose their lives on the cusp of fame. Those who don’t die, live with heavy conscience, and are usually tormented for the rest of their days.

Official John Terence Ononuju's Blog: British 'deserters' will face the consequences, warns EU's Juncker

Official John Terence Ononuju's Blog: British 'deserters' will face the consequences, warns EU's Juncker

British 'deserters' will face the consequences, warns EU's Juncker

The British people will be treated as “deserters” following a vote to leave the European Union, Jean-Claude Juncker has warned.

In his greatest intervention in the referendum contest, the President of the European Commission said that the UK would face “consquences” and be treated as a “third country” following a break with the EU.
"If the British leave Europe, people will have to face the consequences - we will have to, just as they will"Jean-Claude Juncker

The remarks were denounced as “intimidation” by Leave campaigners.

"I'm sure the deserters will not be welcomed with open arms," Mr Juncker, a lifelong European federalist, told Le Monde.

EgyptAir crash: Plane still missing after debris in Mediterranean deemed unrelated - as it happened on May 19

An EgyptAir plane making the following flight from Paris to Cairo, after flight MS804 disappeared from radar, takes off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris



    EgyptAir flight MS804 crashed with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board
    All passengers, including British geologist Richard Osman, feared dead
    Terror attack is the 'most likely cause of the crash' 
    US intelligence says 'no indication of explosion'
    Search for wreckage continues on Friday morning
    EgyptAir flight MS804 disappears: everything we know
    Donald Trump's response to crash prompts backlash


'No known terror names' onboard

The passenger manifest for EgyptAir Flight 804 contained no known names on current terror watch lists, European security officials told Associated Press.

    The lists are often used by both European and American security and law enforcement agencies, said the officials. The passenger manifest was leaked online and has not been officially verified by EgyptAir.

Tell people if bad parenting led to their baby's death, study says

Parents should be told if bad parenting contributed to their child’s sudden death even if the link can’t be proven, new guidance recommends.
A new study by Warwick University says bereaved parents should be given full details about what the risk factors were and what might have caused their child to die in cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Published in the British Medical Journal, the study suggests that doctors being completely frank with parents after a tragedy does not directly cause any additional self-blame and could be crucial in preventing repeat behaviour that could endanger another child.

We need to sensitively share this information about risk factors with bereaved parentsDr Joanna Garstang, Warwick Medical School

The advice turns on its head the current practice of many paediatricians, who do not discuss risk factors for fear of causing devastated mothers and fathers additional upset.
The academics’ advice has been backed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which yesterday said that people as young as school children should be educated to watch against the dangers of SIDS.

The phenomenon is defined as the unexplained death of an infant where no cause is found after a detailed post mortem.
There were 249 unexplained infant deaths in England and Wales in 2013, according to the Lullaby Trust, which provides specialist support for bereaved families.

Factors which increase the likelihood of SIDS are infants not sleeping on their backs, parental smoking, head-covering, use of soft bedding and co-sleeping on a sofa or with parents who have consumed alcohol.
Dr Joanna Garstang, who led the research, said: “Bereaved parents often blame themselves and feel guilty for these deaths due to the lack of explanation for them, but self-blame is also a common feature of grief.
“As professionals, we need to sensitively share this information about risk factors with bereaved parents.
“If these aren’t explained to parents they may be more likely to repeat their behaviour with their next baby and go through the heartache of losing a child again.”

There's Something Different About Michelle Obama's Leather Jacket — and That's Exactly Why We Love It

When we're looking to amp up a simple outfit, there's one layer that'll always do the trick: a somewhat-edgy and blogger-approved leather jacket. Even Michelle Obama is well-versed in this styling hack, as she opted to wear one to Aspen Institute's 2016 Project Play Summit, sliding it over her casual look of a caramel sweater, black pants, and sneakers.

However, Michelle, being the style star and trendsetter she is, didn't go with your everyday moto variation. Instead, she opted for a blazer-like piece, and now, we're dying to add a similar option to our own wardrobes. Read on for a good look at the first lady's versatile topper, then shop what you need to follow her lead — before the rest of the world catches on.

Nigerian Army Confirms Rescue Of One Abducted Chibok School Girl

The Nigerian army has said troops on Operation Lafiya Dole rescued one of the abducted Chibok School Girls in Baale, Borno state. Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman in a short statement on Wednesday said: “This is to confirm that one of the abducted chibok school girls, Falmata Mbalala, was among the rescued persons by our troops at Baale near Damboa.”


The BBC Hausa Service earlier today reported that the girl was rescued after an encounter between members of vigilante group known as Civilian JTF and Boko Haram fighters.


However, the report which quotes an activist, Professor Hauwa Biu identified the girl rescued as Amina Nkek from Mbalal village.


According to the BBC report, Nkek, who was found with a child, was later identified by her parents after she was taken to Chibok.

Man Fends Off Crocodiles With Tools After Friend Drowns

A 72-year-old man has told rescuers how he battled crocodiles with a spanner and spark plugs after watching his friend drown in northern Australia.

The pair were catching mud crabs when one of the reptiles capsized their 3m (10ft) "tinny" boat at Leaders Creek in Darwin on Tuesday morning.

One man drowned after getting trapped trying to get back on to the boat.
The other fisherman managed to smash one of the animals on the skull with a spanner during the three-hour ordeal.

Air ambulance Careflight spokesperson Ian Badham recounted the survivor's experience, saying the crocodiles kept coming back at him during the "terrible tragedy".

Moroccan Women Continue The Fight For Rights

Fouzia Assouli is President of the Federation of the Democratic League for Women’s Rights, a Moroccan NGO.

I have been fighting for women’s rights in Morocco for almost 40 years, and while we don’t yet have a month dedicated to commemorating women’s history as American women do, we have had many victories. And despite setbacks, I continue to have great hope for the future of women in my country.

Growing up in Morocco in the 60s and 70s, I was lucky that my parents always made sure that my brothers and sisters felt equal and entitled to the same opportunities, urging each of us to get an education. But by the time I reached high school, I realized that many Moroccan women were, in fact, living very different lives from men. I saw that while I was pushed to do anything I set my mind to, some of my girlfriends were simply encouraged to find a good husband and marry well. And I learned that there were women in far worse circumstances – who could be easily divorced by their husbands, with no right to any property settlement, with no recourse; or who couldn’t work without their husband’s permission.

I knew that the only way to make change was to take action. By the early 1980s I was working with other women rights activists and human rights defenders to change the Personal Status Code—Morocco’s law governing all things relating to human and women’s rights issues at the time. In 1999, when the new King, His Majesty Mohammed VI, ascended the throne, we saw a new opportunity for reform and created the Democratic Front for the Rights of Women. Despite confronting opposition from conservatives and Islamists, the country succeeded in reforming the family law in 2004.

And we didn’t stop there. We launched awareness campaigns in advance of the 2007 elections, and we built a network of women activists, Femmes Solidaires (Women in Solidarity), involving hundreds of local associations across the country, to combat gender-based violence. When King Mohammed VI made a historic speech in 2011 calling for expanded women’s rights and announcing the drafting of a new Constitution, we worked to ensure that the document guaranteed equality between men and women and prohibited sex discrimination.

As a result, over the past two decades, Moroccan women have fought for and won the right to divorce and the right to be the equals of men under the law. Morocco has women in top positions. They are ministers or Members of Parliament (MPs) and participate in major decisions. We managed to create a lobby of women MPs to support women’s rights, including the revision of discriminatory laws and the proposal of a quota to ensure women’s access to elected offices. Great progress has been made; and today, Morocco is hailed as one of the most progressive Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa on women’s issues.

It is true that obstacles persist, including resistance from people whose mentality has not yet changed. Last month, for example, the women’s and human rights community was deeply disappointed when Morocco’s parliament passed a women’s rights bill that – despite years of demands from NGOs and activists — failed to criminalize marital rape, among other shortcomings. The social, political, and economic rights of Moroccan women still have not been fully realized.

But we cannot give up and say that it’s over. We are and must continue to be vigilant. As an example, we are continuing to lobby parliament to bring amendments to the bill to fight against violence against women. As women, we do not have a day of rest, a moment of relief, in our struggle for equality; our fight for fairness and freedom goes on, day in and day out. Some battles are won, and some are lost, but we continue. I have made the fight for the rights of women my life. Every day, every moment, wherever I am, I fight for women to be free. And when a battered woman wins her case in court; when a woman who has come to you in the past in desperate straits calls to tell you that the judge has sentenced her abusive husband to prison—the rewards are worth the fight.

Filipino children of US sailors, soldiers have mixed feelings on American return

SUBIC BAY, Philippines — There's a taunt that hangs over this former U.S. naval base, looming over kids who look a little different, shadowing single moms: "Left by the ship."

The term is used to shame the offspring of U.S. servicemen and local women, to tell them that they don't belong here. That they were left behind.
Nearly 25 years ago, Philippine lawmakers expelled the U.S. warships that had docked here for almost a century, vowing to "unchain" the country from its colonial past, promising a fresh start. The American flag was lowered. Ships set sail. But the U.S. legacy lived on.

For decades, tens of thousands of children of U.S. military men and Filipinas, known as Filipino Amerasians, have been fighting not to be forgotten.
In 1982, Congress passed the Amerasian Immigration Act allowing the children of U.S. soldiers and Asian women in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and South Korea to immigrate. Filipinos were excluded.

In the 1990s, abandoned children tried to sue the U.S. government, seeking $68 million for 8,600 minors ignored by fathers serving with the Navy and Marines. When that did not work, the community backed a bill extending the Amerasian Act to include the Philippines and Japan — to no avail.

Now China's claims to most of the South China Sea have put the Philippines back at the heart of U.S. strategy in Asia. A new defense pact will see the U.S. military build facilities at five Philippine bases and a growing number of ships will be stopping by Subic Bay.

Their return is renewing questions about what the United States owes Filipino Amerasians — and stoking worries that there will be more neglected children when the ships leave harbor once again.
"Why would we welcome them back?" asked Brenda Moreno, 49, a Filipino Amerasian who was all but abandoned as a child. "They will just create new babies that they will not support."
The fate of Subic Bay has long been tied to ships and sailors far from home.

The Spanish navy built a port here in the late 1800s and the Americans moved in when they annexed the Philippines in 1898.

During the height of the Vietnam War, Subic harbored dozens of U.S. ships, and some 30,000 Filipinos worked at the base. Thousands of others made their living in the sprawling city that surrounds it, Olongapo.
Young women from across the Philippines moved to find work in the wartime boomtown, finding jobs — and sometimes boyfriends — on base, or work in the lines of "girly bars" that served as a gateway to the commercial sex trade.

It was during that era that Moreno's mother, who worked in a bar, became pregnant. Moreno knows very little about her parents except that her Filipina mother gave her up when she was young. She told Moreno that her father was an African-American serviceman.
Raised by another woman, Moreno was mocked for looking different than other children, teased relentlessly for her dark skin and curly hair. "I wanted to change my blood," she said. "I thought if I could change my blood, I might be accepted as Filipino."

In the 1980s and 1990s, as anti-colonial sentiment surged, so did the stigma of being the child of an American.
Enrico Dungca, a photographer based in New York, grew up in Angeles City, outside Clark Air Base, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and remembers the cruel words his Amerasian neighbors endured. They were called "bye, bye, Daddy," "half dollar" or "souvenir."
"I saw the bullying back then," said Dungca, who is now working on a photo project about the lives of Filipino Amerasians. "And I see how it still affects them now."

A disproportionate number of Filipino Amerasians live on the margins of the margins, enduring high rates of poverty and ill health, even by Philippine standards. Often abandoned as infants or raised by young single mothers, many have struggled to find their feet as adults.

After a chaotic childhood in Manila, Moreno returned to Subic at 23 to find work and entered the sex trade, working the same stretch of "girly bars" as her mom had. She found a sense of place and purpose volunteering at a sex-worker-led rights group, Buklod, but never gave up hope of connecting with her father.
That quest is a touchstone for many here who treasure even the smallest fragments of information — a name, military branch or faded picture. Some are simply curious about where they came from. Others are looking for a lifeline or a way out.

Online message boards and Facebook groups such as "Amerasian Children Looking For Their American GI Fathers" are full of young Filipinos seeking information about fathers they never met. Occasionally, a former military man posts requests for information about the woman and child he left behind.
Richfield Jimenez, 40, a welder in Subic, heard about his American father as a boy, but stopped asking his mother about him because the questions always brought tears. Since his mother, Salud Parilla, died in 2013, he has wondered about finding his dad but is not sure where to start. He may have lived in Arkansas, he said — that's all he knows.

Those who locate their fathers don't always get the welcome or recognition they crave. To be eligible for U.S. citizenship, the Philippine-born children of Americans must get paternity certifications by the time they turn 18. Those separated from their fathers when the base closed in 1992 are no longer eligible.
When Washington and Manila started talking about the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that will see more U.S. troops on Philippine soil, many advocates for Filipino Amerasians saw an opportunity. So far, though, there has been no talk of a deal.

Although many people in Subic and Olongapo welcome the cash that comes with visiting ships, some are wary of the U.S. return.
Alma Bulawan, president of Buklod, the rights group, says they are bracing for a rise in abandoned and neglected kids.
In her decades in Subic, she has seen an endless stream of ship and sailors. The one constant: "They leave."
 

UK Priest Wanted Over Sex Abuse Claims Held In Kosovo

A British former Catholic priest wanted over child sex abuse allegations has been arrested in Kosovo, local police sources say.

Lawrence Soper was being hunted over sex offences allegedly committed at St Benedict's School in Ealing where he taught in the 1970s and 80s.
He was arrested in 2010 and bailed, but failed to return to a London police station in March 2011.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for him in 2012.
After teaching at St Benedict's, Mr Soper became abbot of Ealing Abbey, which had founded the school and supplied monks to teach there.

Police in Kosovo's capital Pristina confirmed to the BBC local reports that he had been arrested in Pec, in the west of the country, on Thursday.
A senior official, speaking anonymously, told the BBC that the extradition process was under way to return him to the UK.

'Known as Andrew'

Police in London said: "The Metropolitan Police is aware of an arrest and is currently in liaison with the relevant authorities."

A Foreign Office spokesman told the Press Association: "Our embassy is providing assistance following the arrest of a British national in Peja, Kosovo, on Wednesday 11 May."

In June 2010, a man then in his 40s made an allegation of sexual assault at St Benedict's School in Ealing, west London, that was also attended by actor Andy Serkis and comedian Julian Clary.

Mr Soper was questioned three months later. London's Metropolitan Police obtained a European Arrest Warrant in September 2012 after he failed to answer bail.

Police said at the time that they believed Mr Soper had been living in Italy.
Kosovo's Insajderi newspaper said Mr Soper had been living under the name Andrew, and had lived in Pec for several years. He is believed to be in his mid-70s.

Michelle, Sasha and Malia will join Barack Obama on a historic trip to Cuba where the President plans to encourage change on the communist island.

• The Obama family will arrive in Cuba on Sunday and will begin their trip by touring cultural sites in Old Havana
• In a speech on Tuesday, Obama will lay out a vision of greater freedoms and more economic opportunity in Cuba
• During his three-day trip to Cuba Obama will also meet with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution 
• He will also attend an MLB exhibition game while in the country 
• Obama's visit marks the first to Cuba by a sitting president in 88 years.

Michelle Obama Stuns In Cream Naeem Khan Gown For Nordic State Dinner

Michelle Obama only has a few months left in her reign as first lady, and she’s taking every last opportunity to prove that she’s the most glamorous FLOTUS ever! Once again on May 13, she showed up looking stunning at the Nordic state dinner, and her one-shoulder cream dress is to die for!

What’s Your Weird Dystopian Colin Farrell Movie Spirit Animal?

In the surreal world of Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ long-anticipated English-language feature, The Lobster, if you find yourself single for any reason you will be checked into a stately, if sterile, seaside hotel. There, you have 45 days to find a romantic partner, or you’ll be turned into an animal of your choice and released into the woods.

If your dread of a gruesome-sounding transplant surgery or the slim odds of surviving in the wild aren’t enough to lay on the pressure at a dancehall meet-cute, consider too that guests at this hotel must declare and seek out a partner based on one “defining characteristic.” These range from good, to bad, to arbitrary:

One guest has great hair, one gets chronic nosebleeds, another loves butter cookies. Colin Farrell’s everyman David, the hotel’s newest tenant, is nearsighted. Hotel staff put on crude educational skits that warn against the dangers of living alone ,and they also provide simulated, unfulfilling clothes-on sex to encourage guests to couple off. (A no-masturbation policy is strictly enforced.) Lanthimos’ binary-bound police state is an apt satire of our algorithm-obsessed, swipe-right dating era—where romantic prospects are collapsed, at long last, into a single, compulsory bullet point.

It’s easy to read The Lobster’s animal-transformation premise as a parable for society’s oppressive belief in the civilizing function of marriage. After John C. Reilly’s hapless, lisping character is caught with a picture of a naked woman on a horse, the hotel manager (a hilariously stern Olivia Colman) tells him that he ought to have been ogling not the woman but the horse, who was once “a lonely man” just like him. But I thought of one colleague’s investigation into online identity culture—“spirit animals,” curated listicles, personality quizzes, and the narcissistic escapism we seek (as in romance) when we project ourselves onto some fantastical hypothetical.

Donald Trump's ex-butler calls for Obama to be killed

The US Secret Service has launched an investigation after Donald Trump's former butler called for the death of President Barack Obama.

Anthony Senecal wrote in a Facebook post that Mr Obama "should have been taken out by our military and shot as an enemy agent in his first term".
Mr Senecal worked for Mr Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, for nearly 30 years.

The Trump campaign quickly disavowed Mr Senecal's remarks.
"He is not employed by Mr Trump, and hasn't been since June of 2009," Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement. "We strongly condemn these horrible comments from Mr Senecal."

Mr Senecal's post, which was not public, was first reported by Mother Jones, but he later confirmed its authenticity to several news organisations.
Later on Thursday, Mr Senecal, 84, told CNN that Mr Obama should be "hung" outside the White House.

He also called the White House the "White Mosque".
The New York Times profiled Mr Senecal in March, saying despite retiring in 2009 he has stayed at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as "a kind of unofficial historian".

"He understands Mr Trump's sleeping patterns and how he likes his steak ("It would rock on the plate, it was so well done"), and how Mr Trump insists - despite the hair salon on the premises - on doing his own hair," the profile read.

Our Pretty First Lady

Our Foundation is so proud of Mrs. Michelle Obama.