Category Archives: National Vanguard

By U.S. Naval Research LaboratoryJune 16, 2020

Image of the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module (PRAM) with a 12-inch ruler for scale. The hardware is the first orbital experiment designed to convert sunlight for microwave power transmission for solar power satellites. Credit: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory engineers launched PRAM, the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module, aboard an Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle on May 17 as part of a comprehensive investigation into prospective terrestrial use of solar energy captured in space.

To our knowledge, this experiment is the first test in orbit of hardware designed specifically for solar power satellites, which could play a revolutionary role in our energy future, said Paul Jaffe, PRAM principal investigator.

The 12-inch square tile module will test the ability to harvest power from its solar panel and transform the energy to a radio frequency microwave.

PRAM converts sunlight for microwave power transmission. We couldve also converted for optical power transmission, said Chris Depuma, PRAM program manager. Converting to optical might make more sense for lunar applications because theres no atmosphere on the Moon. The disadvantage of optical is you could lose a lot of energy through clouds and atmosphere.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle sits on the runway during post-landing operations at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Technicians in self-contained atmospheric protective ensemble suits conducted initial checks on the vehicle and to ensure the area was safe. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Michael Stonecypher

The use of solar energy to operate satellites began at the start of the space age with another NRL spacecraft: Vanguard I, the first satellite to have solar cells. This current experiment focuses on the energy conversion process and resulting thermal performance. The hardware will provide researchers with temperature data, along with PRAMs efficiency in energy production. This information will drive the design of future space solar prototypes.

Depending on the results, the team aims ultimately to build a fully-functional system on a dedicated spacecraft to test the transmission of energy back to Earth. The development of a space solar capability could potentially help provide energy to remote installations like forward operating bases and disaster response areas.

This flight experiment enables researchers to test the hardware in actual space conditions. Incoming sunlight travels through the Earths atmosphere, both filtering the spectrum and reducing its brightness. A space solar system traveling above the atmosphere would catch more energy from each of the sunlights color bands.

Theres more blue in the spectrum in space, allowing you to add another layer to solar cells to take advantage of that, Jaffe said. This is one reason why the power per unit area of a solar panel in space is greater than on the ground.

The National Security Space Office recommended in a 2007 feasibility study to investigate solar power satellite technology. NRLs expertise with solar-powered satellites since the late 1950s and long history as a pioneer in space, including in the development of GPS, led researchers to further explore this emergent field.

Contributing and supporting partners for this effort included the Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the Department of Defense Space Test Program, Boeing, TSC Praxis Operations, Gulfview Research, Odin Engineering, and SpaceQuest.

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Solar Power Satellite Hardware That Beams Energy to Earth Tested in Orbit - SciTechDaily

The Black Panther Party was one of the most influential grassroots political forces of the 20th century. Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, the Panthers eschewed civil disobedience in favour of armed shows of force, particularly to confront police violence.

The BPP was controversial from the start: There were shootouts with police, murders, and accusations the Party was a front for drug-dealing, prostitution, and extortion.

But the BPPs belief in Black self-determination fuelled dozens of social programs benefiting tens of thousands, including free-breakfast programs and no-cost medical clinics.

Eventually, the Party opened liberation schools, where children learned Black history and political science. They practiced penmanship by writing letters to incarcerated members.

At its height, the BPP had thousands of members in nearly 70 cities. In-fighting, FBI infiltration, and other factors led to the groups decline, and the Panthers officially dissolved in 1982.

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the call against police brutality has gone out again.Learn more about the untold history of the Black Panther Party

On September 27, 1966, a police officer shot Matthew Johnson, an unarmed 16-year-old, in the back in San Franciscos Hunters Point neighbourhood, sparking violent unrest for several days.

Huey Newton decided the only way to address police brutality was to monitor the authorities. He read up on Californias open-carry laws and, within weeks, had armed men patrolling the streets of Oakland. If they saw an arrest, they would approach with their firearms visible and inform the suspects of their rights. The practice came to be known as copwatching.

In the late 1960s, photographs of visibly armed Black men panicked conservatives.

In April 1967, California State Assemblyman Don Mulford introduced a ban on carrying loaded firearms in public. Weeks later, a group of armed Panthers barged into the State Assembly in Sacramento to protest.

The Mulford Act was soon passed by a large majority and signed into law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan.

There is no reason why, on the street today, a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons, Reagan said at the time. Guns are a ridiculous way to solve problems than have to be solved among people of good will.

According to Stanley Nelson, director of The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale chose the Panthers look because it was something that everybody had in their closet.

They said, You know, every young black man has a black leather jacket or can get one or can borrow one if they cant buy one, he told Fresh Airs Terry Gross.Everybody could get a beret. Everybody could get some sunglasses and get the Panther look.

The uniform was also calculated to be distinct from the suit-and-tie look favoured more traditional civil-rights activists.

In 1969, the Black Panther Party began serving free hot breakfasts to kids in Oakland, soliciting food from local grocers and consulting nutritionists on healthy and filling recipes.

The Free Breakfast for School Children Program eventually expanded to 45 cities and fed tens of thousands of kids, according to History.com.

Schools and parents praised it, but the police and FBI spread rumours the BPP was using the meals to indoctrinate or even poison kids.

In 1975, just as the BPPs breakfast programs were being shut down, the USDA permanently authorised the nationwide School Breakfast Program, which fed more than 14 million children in 2016 alone.

After the success of its free-breakfast programs, the BPP addressed the imbalance in Americas healthcare system by opening no-cost health clinics in 13 cities.

Peoples Free Medical Centres offered vaccinations, checkups, cancer screenings, and more in storefronts and trailers. They were staffed by doctors and trained volunteers.

When a Black teen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, died because an ambulance refused to take him to the hospital, the Panthers converted an old hearse into a free ambulance service.

First identified in 1910, sickle cell anemia attracted little scholarship or funding because it primarily affected people of African descent.

The Panthers established a national screening program, training volunteers to go door-to-door in predominantly Black neighbourhoods and give free fingerstick tests. Followup care for anyone who tested positive was arranged with local hospitals. The Panthers high profile campaign put pressure on President Nixon to sign legislation that funded sickle cell research and clinics in 1972.

Huey Newton was heavily influenced by Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong, and even sold copies of the Little Red Book to buy guns.

Maos philosophy appealed to the BPP because, as Eveline Chao wrote in ChinaFile,, it made Marxism, which otherwise seemed like something for the white New Left, applicable to people of colour.

In 1971, Huey Newton and Elaine Brown flew to Beijing and met with Premier Zhou Enlai and Maos wife, Jiang Qing.

They were met by throngs of cheering young people at the airport, waving copies of the Little Red Book and signs that read We support the Black Panther Party, down with U.S. imperialism.

In the early 1970s, Cesar Chavezs United Farm Workers union boycotted Safeway in California for selling grapes picked by non-union workers.

Safeway, coincidentally, was one of the few markets to refuse to donate to the Panthers free-breakfast program.

Seizing the opportunity, the BPP began ferrying shoppers to competing Luckys supermarkets free of charge.

The boycott was successful enough that at least one Safeway in Oakland was forced to close.

The Black Panthers launched Seniors Against A Fearful Environment (SAFE) after a group of older Oakland residents asked them to teach them self-defence to fend off muggers.

The seniors had originally approached the police for help but were told to just walk close to the curb, according to the Atlanta Black Star.

The SAFE program also provided free transportation so older locals could deposit their social security and pension checks.

Hoover used a special counterintelligence program, COINTELPRO, to discredit party leaders.

Agents sent letters to members wives accusing them of infidelity, according to Historian Thomas J. Reed, to terrorize and divide the Black Panthers into warring factions.

Newton and others alleged the FBI arranged the assassination of BPP member Fred Hampton in December 1968.

Hoover terminated COINTELPRO in 1971 after its undercover activities were exposed by The Washington Post and other outlets.

The singer, born Yvette Stevens, was recruited by the Panthers to sell newspapers in 1969, when she was just 14.

I was totally against all the sock hops and shit my school had to offer to keep the natives quiet. We used to call them slave gatherings,' she told The Guardian in 2019. So, I had my combat boots on, my green khaki pants. I didnt feel in danger it wasnt like that. We were doing the right thing.

She became disillusioned with the party, though, when she was given a gun.

Im telling you, every moment I had that gun it changed me, she said. I felt physically sick. Khan said she didnt feel better until she threw the .38 in a pond.

When reporters asked Huey Newton what white allies could do to support the Black Panthers, he said they could form their own party.

In 1968, former MC5 manager John Sinclair launched the White Panther Party as an anti-racist political collective.

That same year, Sinclair and Pun Plamondon were indicted for conspiracy to destroy a CIA branch office. The case brought to light the governments extensive wiretapping of Black Panther offices, according to the San Francisco Bay View.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that warrantless wiretapping was a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

When Panther leader Huey Newton fled to Cuba after being charged with murder, he appointed Elaine Brown the partys new chair.

It was a revolutionary move, challenging the groups entrenched sexism.

A woman in charge was the violation of some Black Power principle that was left undefined, Brown wrote in her 1992 memoir, A Taste of Power. I knew I would have to muster something mighty to manage the Black Panther Party.

As leader, Brown focused on community service, education, and politics. She managed Lionel Wilsons successful bid to become Oaklands first Black mayor.

After Newtons return in 1977, Browns stepped down and soon broke ties with the Panthers. She alleged Newton authorised the beating of another female member. The vicious attack, she wrote in her memoir, sent a signal denoting an inferiority in the female half of us.

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13 things you probably didn't know about the Black Panther Party - Business Insider Australia

For eight minutes and 46 seconds Yolo County Public Defender Tracie Olson read out the names of victims of police killings. When the time elapsed, she reminded her colleagues and community members who had gathered for a nationwide event that this was how long George Floyd was held down by Officer Derek Chauvin as he fought for his lifebut also reminded them that she had not come close to exhausting the list of names.

The Yolo County Public Defenders office is here because as Public Defenders we bear witness every day to the injustices that happen to our clients, Tracie Olson said. Especially our black clients.

All across the nation public defenders came together on Monday in solidarity to say this has to stop.

Enough is enough, she said. Its enough violence against black people in the name of the law. Its enough mass incarceration of black people in the name of supposed public safety.

Its enough.

Joining the list of recognizable state and national names were some local names.

Juan Nieto died in 1999 in Woodland while police took him into custody. He was chased down by officers attempting to arrest him for allegedly buying alcohol for two underage police decoys at a convenience store.

His family claimed he was clubbed and kicked by officers while he offered no resistance, and that they turned a dog loose on him after he had given up.

Ricardo Abrahams died after police were called to Safe Harbor, where he was hit by Ttasers and died of asphyxiation. Abrahams, 44, a law student and intern at the Yolo County District Attorneys office, was in the midst of a mental breakdown when he walked away from the voluntary treatment center in Woodland. The coroner said Abrahams died of positional asphyxia.

Luis Gutierrez in 2009 was pursued by undercover Yolo Gang Task Force members who claimed he had a knife, and was gunned down in Woodland on the Gum Ave. overpass in the middle the day.

Michael Barrera died in 2017 after police Tasered him and ignored pleas that he could not breathe. Police were cleared in the death, but his family believes that the matter was improperly handled.

Earlier this year, Ernesto Galvan died 15 years after being Tasered and repeatedly beaten by police in an incident late at night in West Sacramento. The beating left him with indentations in his skull and suffering from delusions. He finally succumbed to the injuries years later.

Tracie Olson told the Vanguard, In order to make lasting change, we have to think about how to decrease the presence of police officers in peoples lives, how to hold police officers accountable when they cross the line, and how to increase the safety net services available to our community members.

Tracie Olson in her speech on Monday afternoon noted the history of police violence and its link to civil unrest. In 1965, a traffic stop in Watts let to the Watts Riots.

In 1991, Rodney King was beaten by police officers. We all saw those tapes, she said. We know what those officers did and they were acquitted.

In 2014, she noted Ferguson had violence and looting because unarmed Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer.

In 2018, Stephon Clark was killed by Sacramento police, shot eight times when he was holding a cell phone in his grandparents backyard, for the supposed crime of breaking windows.

She said when the protests are down, we need to make sure there are reforms. She said, Make sure that we arent pretending to make reforms, but were actually making them.

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Yolo Public Defenders Bear Witness to Local and National Victims of Police Violence in BLM March - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

By Ayanna Gandhi

NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina state executive leadershipfrom the state supreme court chief justice to the attorney generalsaid it was in full support here Tuesday of Gov. Roy Coopers Executive Order that demands a task force be set up to abolish racial inequity in criminal justice.

We must acknowledge racial inequities in our systems of law enforcement and criminal justice, and then work to eliminate them. This task force will address policies and procedures that disproportionately burden communities of color. Black adults are 5.9 times as likely to be incarcerated than white adults, and this task force will work to change the injustices that factor into that, said governor.

The group is led by Attorney General Josh Stein and North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls. Other members of the task force range from, but are not limited to, individuals from marginalized populations, representatives of the judicial branch, community policing advocates to state and local law enforcement agencies and justice-involved individuals.

The order would create a Center for the Prevention of Law Enforcement Use of Deadly Force within the State Bureau of Investigation; it would track statistics and improve training related to the use of force.

This task force has been assigned to developing and implementing legislative systems and orders to tackle the issue of racism in the criminal justice system. It will be asked to deliver a viable effective plan before the end of the current year, December 1 of 2020.

Secretary of the Department of Public Safety Erik Hook set new standards into place, to ensure each division has a duty to intervene policy in place. He has directed that divisions conduct policy reviews on use of force, de-escalation techniques, arrest procedures, cultural sensitivity training and internal investigation processes.

Chief Justice Earls supports the changes, noting we can stop the use of excessive force by police and we know what is needed to achieve racial equitynow is the time to put that knowledge to work. I am grateful to the Governor and the Attorney General for recognizing that the Judicial Branch has a crucial role to play in eliminating racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and I am committed to a collaborative process with meaningful community involvement to achieve those goals in short order.

State AG Stein commented that the people that the Task Force will affect will make the change that America has been needing for centuries.

The Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice will consider and implement strategies to bring about real change in the criminal justice system. For way too long, Black people have not been treated equitably in the United States. We have to fix that, said Stein. I look forward to working closely with co-chair Justice Anita Earls and the full Task Force to making North Carolina a safe place for every person, no matter who you are.

Communities of color are disproportionately affected at each stage of the criminal justice system, with national data showing the following:

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North Carolina Promises Big Step Addressing Racial Inequality in the Justice System - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

June 4, 2020

Dear Students and Faculty

As agents of change, researchers, educators, social workers, and people working with children, youth, and families, we stand in solidarity and uplift the calls to action shared by Black Lives Matter and other movements for racial justice, radical healing, and structural change. The systemic violence, police brutality, and, specifically, the murders of Black men, women, trans, and non-binary community members has been happening continuously and across generations through multiple forms of oppression. The violence that we have collectively witnessed over the last several weeks has pushed many of us to our breaking points. In this moment, many of us are questioning how and why and what we can do to disrupt and resist these systems of terror and harm. We believe that all of us have a role to play in dismantling the systems of racialized violence and intersectional oppression whether through redistributing funds, protesting, mutual aid, spiritual work, engaging hard conversations with loved ones, and holding space for self-care, healing, rage, and grief.

We must acknowledge the on-going impacts of anti-Blackness, not only on Black communities, but on all racialized communities, and we must directly say: BLACK LIVES MATTER in Portland, in our SSW community. We must also act.

We call on our community to deepen our commitments and action in the following areas:

Over the past week, we have heard many requests from faculty, staff, and students for ways to be in community with one another. We hope to join you in creating spaces for healing, sharing strategies, and taking collective action in the days, weeks, and years ahead. In the meantime, we call on each of us to consider how we deepen our efforts to support Black healing and liberation, interrupt anti-Blackness, and advance transformative action in our own lives and work.

There are many, many resources available to you online, through the SSW, and in your community, including: places to donate to, calls to action, and educational resources for white folks, non-Black POC, and Black folks. Seek them out!

Even though we are in a particular historical moment, remember that the current violence is steeped in anti-Blackness, and has deep historical and systematic roots. Our work is ongoing and we must continue to center anti-Blackness and social justice efforts for the duration.

Here are a few resources to help get you started.

Support Black healing & liberation

Interrupt anti-Blackness

Take Action

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Letter to the editor: PSU School of Social Work - Vanguard - Psuvanguard.com

Last Friday, Deborah Gordon set foot in The Village Vanguard for the first time in almost 12 weeks.

Like countless other businesses in New York and beyond, the Vanguard an iconic basement club established by Deborahs father, Max Gordon, 85 years ago had been forced to close in response to the coronavirus. Deborah, who took over the club after the death of her mother, Lorraine Gordon, in 2018, had headed to a weekend house in Pennsylvania, weathering the pandemic from about 80 miles west of West 11th Street.

Over the course of her life, Deborah has never been away from the Vanguard this long; she reckons shes never come close. So it was very gratifying to turn the key in the locks and walk down the 15 steps the other day, and come into the place, she says, speaking by phone from the club this week.

I just sat out in the room Im kind of doing it now, just by myself and it really just felt like a little pulse going, she adds. Like a heartbeat. It feels like the city upstairs is hurt, wounded in some ways, and theres a little pulse down here in the Vanguard. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

In one sense, the club will have to wait a while longer: bars and nightclubs belong to the Phase 4 category of reopening, and New York has just entered Phase 1. But in another sense, life is returning to the wedge-shaped room, as The Village Vanguard prepares to stream live performances starting with a set by the Billy Hart Quartet this Saturday at 7 p.m. EDT (followed by a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee).

This week, a survey conducted by the the National Independent Venue Association concluded that a staggering 90 percent of independent venue owners and promoters would be forced to close permanently by the fall, without substantial government funding. The addition of a lightly monetized livestream is unlikely to shift that calculus, though it counts as an encouraging development.

In any case, the Vanguard joins a handful of other prominent jazz clubs welcoming musicians back onstage, to perform for an audience online. As reported recently in The New York Times, Smalls another vital basement room, a couple blocks down Seventh Avenue South began streaming shows on June 1.

Jazz is a social music and not something that works well through Zoom or online interaction, Spike Wilner, Smalls owner, reflected in an email newsletter that day. Jazz is about real people feeling each other, communing in a groove to let a higher force work through us.

Smalls was an early adopter in the livestream game, as I chronicled in The Times in 2013 (back when webcast was the preferred term of art). In its current iteration, the Smalls livestream is free of charge, though donations to the nonprofit SmallsLIVE Foundation are encouraged. This weeks bookings include longtime house favorites like the Johnny ONeal Trio (Thursday), the Mike LeDonne Trio (Friday) and the Akiko Tsuruga Quartet (Saturday); see smallslive.com for details.

Among the other clubs venturing into this new reality is Keystone Korner Baltimore, which will host its first-ever livestream at 3 p.m. on Saturday, featuring vibraphonists Joe Locke and Warren Wolf. (A ticket for that performance, which will be available for 48 hours, is $10, and available here.)

Each livestream from The Village Vanguard will cost $7 roughly a fifth of the typical cover charge. (Jed Eisenman, longtime general manager of the club, has recalled that when he first started working there in 1981, admission on Friday and Saturday nights was $7.50.)

Billy Hart, who played his first New York gig at the Vanguard in 1960 as the drummer for singer Shirley Horn, who was booked opposite Miles Davis sees his livestreams this week as both a sign of change and a bolt of reassurance. Every time I go there, either to perform or just to listen, theres a familiarity, like Im going home, he says, speaking from his actual home, in Montclair, N.J.

The Billy Hart Quartet, with Mark Turner on tenor saxophone, Ethan Iverson on piano and Ben Street on bass, coalesced in part on the Vanguard stage, in the early 2000s; its one of a number of bands that have become synonymous with the room. (WBGO and NPR Music broadcast one of its shows there in 2009.)

Of course, over the last few months as live music in a shared physical space has become one of so many things to remember longingly the Vanguard has stayed in active circulation through its vast catalog of live recordings. In fact, there are two new additions: Esperanza Spalding and Fred Herschs Live at the Village Vanguard - Rough Mix EP, available in June as a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America, and Gerald Claytons Happening: Live at The Village Vanguard,out on Blue NoteJuly 10.

Deborah Gordon suggests that recordings like these will inform perceptions of the Vanguard livestream, which was made possible through the efforts of Mike Larson, one of the clubs more tech-savvy managers. What are we asking an audience to do? she says, philosophically. Were asking an audience to bring their memories of being in the club Youre bringing that sense memory or that wish, because maybe youve never been here.

For his part, Hart will be bringing a sense of alert anticipation. Im trying to think about what its going to be like, he says. But on the other hand, Im going to be doing this with my guys, so well be doing it together. Well be going into this new phase together.

For more information about artist livestreams, see our Livestream Hub.

Original post:

A New Phase For the Phrase "Live at The Village Vanguard," As the Club Joins the Streaming Era - wbgo.org

What started with an employee wearing a Black Lives Matter button and the manager objecting has led to the decision by the corporate headquarters to permanently close Mr. Pickles in Davis.

The complaint by the employee led to a letter from the owner in which he said, I am not going to debate all the reasons for not supporting them, you wouldnt listen anyway. The only dialogue you are interested in is one one-sided.

He then stated, The BLM is the flip side of the KKK. Their tactics are out of the Mafia play book. He later added, You and the BLM are the aggressors here, not I.

An email from corporate on Wednesday afternoon indicated: Mr. Pickles Inc. will be issuing a public statement this afternoon. The Mr. Pickles Davis location is permanently closed.

Later on Wednesday, a brief message was posted on social media.

Mr. Pickles is a franchise network of Independently owned and operated shops. Corporate has been notified of the alarming and painful statements made by the owner of the Davis shop to his staff.

We made the decision to terminate his franchise and is now permanently closed for business. If that location ever re-opens, it will be under new ownership that upholds our corporate standards.

The incident began with an employee who wore Black Lives Matter buttons and was told that they couldnt wear them. The employee was supported by a number of co-workers and they went down to meet the owner in what was described as a non-confrontational manner last week.

The owner initially seemed opened to the discussion and strategies to address both the employees wish to publicly show support and a local call for businesses to show their support for this movement.

Other businesses were positive and supportive about displaying Black Lives Matters banners in their windows.

However, as the exchanges wore on, the owners messages became more contradictory and his letter was pointed.

In the letter, he accused the employees of coming to him with the intention of forcing your beliefs and opinions on me. He claimed, I have only acted and reacted in defense.

Later he said, I have no fear of the repercussions that may come from standing up to you. I have no fear of the BLM. He said, If Mr. Pickles Davis suffers window breakage, vandalism, or theft, I have names of the people I will hold responsible.

He said, By force, I have given in to allowing the pins. If I had this to do over again there would be no pins, no jars, no discussion of BLM in my store, you would not get an inch.

This stops now, he said with bold underline. There is no more debating.

The Davis Chamber sent out a statement this week, not related specifically to this incident, but stating, The senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and far too many others are heartbreaking, and have generated renewed attention on the urgent need to address longstanding inequities and injustices in America toward African Americans and all people of color.

We at the Davis Chamber of Commerce strongly condemn acts of racial injustice and are committed to be part of the fight against racism, the Chamber stated. Furthermore, we recognize the tremendous costs of systemic discrimination and believe that significant actions must be taken by the business community to advocate and work for diversity, equity, and inclusion in our society and in our economy.

Phone calls to the employee on Wednesday were not returned, and efforts to reach the company or the local owner were also unsuccessful.

David M. Greenwald reporting

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Davis Mr. Pickle's Permanently Closed after Owner Calls BLM 'the Flip Side of the KKK' - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

President Muhammadu Buhari

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is alarmed by the reported shooting and security breaches within the precincts of the Presidential villa following a reported degenerated squabble among family members and officials of the Buhari Presidency.

Disclosing this in a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary, the party said it was deeply worried that the protracted spat between the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, and aides of President Muhammadu Buhari has now degenerated into violent combats, raids and free use of firearms within the Presidential villa.

The party described as distressing, the report that a members of Mr. Presidents family were at scene of the assault against one of President Buharis aides, during which the First Ladys security details were alleged to have resorted to the use of firearms.

READ ALSO: AfDB: Adesinas travails betray naivety in the world of realpolitik

Our party is disturbed by such ugly situation in the Buhari Presidency, which has already heightened apprehensions in the public space over the apparent failure of security architecture and central command system in the presidency leading to such reckless and irresponsible breaches.

The chaotic situation in the Presidential villa only points to the failure by President Buhari to provide a leadership that can guarantee orderliness in governance and effectively ensure the security of our nation.

The PDP notes that such leadership failure at the highest level has further exposed why our nation has been bedeviled by myriads of security and economic problems under President Buharis watch in the last five years.

More worrisome is that the Buhari Presidency had failed to speak out on the frightening situation so as to reassure Nigerians and douse the tension in the polity; especially at this critical time when our nation is facing serious security challenges.

The PDP therefore calls on President Buhari to take immediate steps to restore order in his Presidency and shield our security system from the division and power tussle among persons close to him.

Our party also demands for an immediate inquest into the security breaches as well as the alleged violation of COVID-19 ban on inter-state travels by officials and relations of Mr. President, which was reported to be part of the immediate causes of latest disturbances in the Presidential villa.

Furthermore, the PDP urges the National Assembly to save the nation by wading into the persistent infighting in the Buhari Presidency especially as those in charge of the Presidential villa has not demonstrated the required capacity to engender the needed orderliness for productive governance.

Vanguard

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Shooting in the Villa: PDP alarmed, charges Buhari to speak out - Vanguard

Akinwumi Adesina

After rain comes sunshine; after darkness comes the glorious dawn. There is no sorrow without its alloy of joy; there is no joy without its admixture of sorrow. Behind the ugly terrible mask of misfortune lies the beautiful soothing countenance of prosperity. So, tear the mask was one of Obafemi Awolowos memorable, quotations.

Life is full of labyrinths, challenges and exciting moments but however deep the sun shines, there is always a little glimpse of dark spots.

Adesinas chequered life, certainly could not be different fromlifes, alloyed fundamental principles.

There is however, no gain saying the fact, that Akin Adesina has a sweet destiny, and a date with history.

A brief chronicle of his life, tells the story. Akin was born to a Nigerian farmer, in Ibadan, Oyo State on the 6th of February,1960, attended a village primary school, and also attended Baptist High School Ejigbo, Osun State, after which, he attended the great University of Ife. He graduated from the department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, with a first class honours in 1981. In the history of the faculty,established on the 22nd of September,1962, he was the first student of the faculty, to be awarded this distinction.

The University of Ife, established by an Act of Parliament of the Western Region in 1961, under the premiership of Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, admitted its first set of 244 students in September, 1962, with 5 faculties, of which Agriculture faculty, was one.

The University took off at the current site of the North Campus of the Ibadan Polytechnic, that was then known as the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology with Professor Oladele Ajose as its first Vice chancellor.

In 1967, the University moved to its permanent site in Ile Ife on the 130,000 Acres of land donated by the people of Ile-Ife and the Ooni of Ife Oba Titus Martins Tadeniawo Adesoji Aderemi, then Governor of the Western Region.

The Ife Campus, adjudged as the most beautiful campus in Africa, designed by the Israeli Architect Arieh Sharon together with a team of Nigerian Architects, including Lagos based Architect- A. A Egbor, between the 1960s and 1980s, gave Ife the beauty, the elegance and the picturesque sceneries, that made the University a great haven for learning and culture.

This was the University that trained Akin Adesina, from where he graduated at an early age of 21 years.

Interestingly, the vice chancellor of the University that moved the University to the Ile-Ife campus in 1967, Professor Hezekiah Adedumola Oluwafemi Oluwasanmi, and was its Vice Chancellor until 1975, was also a Professor of Agricultural economics and made the faculty of Agriculture, Ile-Ife where he also taught, a great citadel of Agricultural Research and Training. He attracted a lot of resourceful Professors to the Faculty of Agriculture.

Hezekiah Oluwasanmi,was succeeded by another great Development Economist -Prof Ojetunji Aboyade,between 1975 and 1978. Aboyade, who was ViceChancellor, against his personal wish and desire, having heard of his appointment, on the radio, on his way to Ibadan, from Lagos, taught Economics.

Throughout his tenure as Vice Chancellor, he was always seen, moving from one class to the other, teaching, in his impeccable suit and bow tie. He was Adesinas teacher. Akin must have, probably, borrowed his dress sense from Ojetunji Aboyade.

Akin Adesina proceeded to the Purdue University, in Indiana, United States of America for further studies and obtained his Ph. D in Agricultural Economics at the age of 28 years, in 1988.

In 1984, he had returned briefly to Nigeria to get married to Grace and begat, miserly, two children- Rotimi and Segun.

At the age of 24, when he got married, some of his contemporaries, were still enjoying the boisterousness of a youthful age. Back in Indiana, with his wife, he cofounded a Christian Fellowship group with another couple.

In Purdue University, he won the Outstanding PhD thesis for his research work. Between 1990 and 1995, Akin, served as a senior economist at West African Rice DevelopmentAssociation (WARDA) in Bouake, Ivory Coast.

He also worked at the Rockefeller foundation, since winning a fellowship from the foundation, as a senior scientist.

From 1999 to 2003, Akin was the representative for the Southern African Area.He was also between 2003 to 2008 an associate director, for food security.

A golden fish has no hiding place. Adesina became the Nigerian Agricultural Minister, between 2010 and 2015 and was named Forbes African Man of the Year for his reform of Nigerian Agriculture.

He introduced some spectacular innovations that brought transparency to the Agribusiness, and supply chain; and made the Ministry, farmer friendly. He was almost extinguishing his term as the Nigerian Agriculture Minister, when on the 28th of May 2015, he was elected the President of the African development bank (AfDB) and began his tenure in Office on the 1st of September 2015. The tenure would extinguish in August 2020.

In September 2016, Adesina was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General- Ban Ki-moon as a member of the lead group of the scaling up nutrition movement and was also in 2017, awarded the 2017 world food price.

These intimidating credentials are certainly enough to make his life and career, enviable. The African Development Bank was founded in 1964, with a major mandate to fight poverty and to improve living conditions on the African continent, through the promotion of investment in public and private capital projects and programmes, that are beneficial to the African Continent.

Although, originally meant for African countries, but, non African Countries were allowed to join the board.

The largest shareholder of the bank is Nigeria, with 8.2% and following it, is the United States of America with 6.6% .

All member countries have representatives on the Governing Board.

Despite Nigerias strength, Akin Adesina became the first Nigerian, to occupy the position of President of the African Development Bank, and the 8th elected President.

In the share structure of the Board, African Nations control60% while non African Nations, control 40%

Former Nigerian President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari as if a star gazer, fought against the inclusion of non African nations, in the share holding structure of the AfDB and predicted, that the AfDB, may one day, be thrown into the belly of the imperialist nations.

The reality of the prediction in 1982 by President Shehu Shagari, has now dawned on us, following the unopposed bid of Dr. Akin Adesina to be elected as President, for the 2nd term of office, that would commence on the 1st of September 2020 andthe power plays, subterfuges, manipulations, that even bothers, on outright gangsterism, to prevent Adesinas second term bid.

As a build up to the power play and in an attempt to prevent the 2nd term tenure of Adesina; on the 19th of January,2020, a group within the bank,constituted itself as whistle-blowers and petitioned the committee headed by Takum Yano- the institutions Japanese Executive Director, to demand investigations into 16 allegations against Dr.Adesina.

It alleged breaches of the code of conduct of elected officers of the Bank by Dr.Adesina. On February 7, the committee, formally, dispatched a copy of the Petition to Adesina and demanded his response.

On February 10 and March 10 respectively, having responded to these petitions through his legal counsel,the committee refused legal representation, but rather,asked Adesina, to personally respond.

On the 8th of April, Adesina sent a 260 page memorandum, that highlighted his responses to all the allegations.

He said the Petition was nebulous, malicious, and made mala fide.

A splinter group of the petitioners, had said, they were being manipulated by a group of non regional executive directors, especially, Mr.Steven Dowd, the US nominee of the Board,to discredit Adesinas candidacy for re-election.

Mr.Dowd represents the United States at the Bank. Interestingly, Mr.Steven Dowd is also a personal friend of the President of the world bank-Mr.David Malpass, whose views are certainly not in sync with Adesinas African development agenda.

Their allegations, were certainly, a truck load of bunkum, according to Akin Adesinas response.

For example, in the allegations, a Nigerian Mr.Ezeonwa was allegedly found guilty of sexually harassing a colleague, and this sin was visited on Adesina as part of the charges.

The allegations also queried how Victor Oladokun a colleague of Adesina at the University of Ife, found his way to the African Development Bank.

Adesina had said that the purpose for the allegations were not to report fraud or corruption, but an orchestrated ploy by America, to demolish Adesina and prevent his second term in office.

The committee that investigated the allegations, found Adesina, not guilty of all the allegations.

America was not pleased with the outcome of this investigation and instead asked for an independent investigation, as against the Rules of the Bank.The AfDB is the key institution in the continent for trade and investment. To Steven Dowd,China is out pacing the US in investing in Africa, and that this must be curtailed, by the United States.

The U.S President Donald Trump and the U. S Treasury secretary Steven Munchinare ready allies in these operations to demolish Adesina and also prevent Chinas further incursion, into Africas development strides.

To the U. S, China is a relentless adversary, that has captured a vast territory of Africa in cheap loans.But Adesina said-, if China is present in Africa, why is the U.S. absent?

President Olusegun Obasanjo,Nigerias former President and statesman, hasalerted his fellows in the comity of Africas ex presidents, to stand up and defend Adesina against subterranean influences and control of the AfDB. He said- if we do not rise up and defend the AfDB,this might mean the end of the bank as the governance will be high jacked away from Africa.

The allure of Africa, is certainly its natural resources and its 1.3 trillion dollars purchasing power. President Mohammedu Buhari, at a recent meeting with the AFDB President Akinwunmi Adesina at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on the 2nd of June,2020, promised support for Adesina.

The President, in his statement further said-Nigeria stands solidly behind Akinwunmi Adesina in his re-election bid, as the President of the African Development Bank(AfDB). We would work with all the leaders and stakeholders in AfDB to ensure that he is re-elected on the strength of his achievements during his term.

He further said- In 2015, when you were to be elected for the first term,I wrote to all African leaders,recommending you for the position, I didnt say because you were a PDP Minister and I belonged to the APC,so I would withhold my support President Muhammadu Buhari has said it all. Wishing this great man of the world Akinwunmi Adesina a successful re-election.

Hon Femi Kehinde, legal practitioner and former Member, House of Representatives, National Assembly Abuja, represented Ayedire/Iwo/Ola-Oluwa Federal Constituency of Osun State. (1999-2003)

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The Travails of Akinwumi Adesina - Vanguard

tells government to adopt educational technologiesFile photo: Cross session of students in a classroom with a teacher, EmeraldField Schools, Calabar, Cross River [Only used for the purpose of illustration]By Ike Uchechukwu Calabar

The Nigerian Medical Association, Cross River stare Chapter has kicked against plans by government to commence a trial resumption of three public schools in the state

Vanguard learned that each of the three public schools will open in three Senatorial Districts across the state on June 16, 2020.

The association gave the warning in a press release jointly signed by its Chairman, Dr Agam Ayuk and the Secretary, Dr Ezoke Epoke on Saturday in Calabar and made available to Vanguard.

The release stated that to the medical community, there was a lack of evidence to ascertain the actual Covid-19 status and disease burden in the state due to the unacceptable low number of tests carried out.

The Association insists that the quick resumption of schools, despite genuine reasons, has the potential of significant disease outbreak among students.

They however, advocates for the adoption of educational technologies to provide remote learning opportunities and educational programmes for students in public schools in the interim.

According to the release, the technology which is currently being implemented by private schools should be encouraged until a national policy is introduced on the unified resumption of schools by the Federal Government.

The declaration by the Cross River Government on a trial resumption of three public schools in each of the three Senatorial Districts in the state to commence on June 16, 2020, is alarming.

The gross under-testing for COVID-19 in Cross River is a significant public health concern. The COVID-19 tests breakdown by states as at June 10, 2020, released by NCDC revealed that Cross River has carried out only nine tests using the NCDC Molecular Laboratory. The Association continues to advocate for upscaling of COVID-19 testing in the state.

The Association uses this medium to appeal to both the federal and state governments to expedite plans for accreditation of Dr Lawrence Henshaw Memorial Hospital, Calabar, a Bio-Safety Level Three Laboratory and University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, as testing centres for COVID-19, they said.

NMA further explained that the accreditation of these centres will not only upscale testing in the state but will also reduce the turn around time for COVID-19 tests.

The Association insists that the increasing report of flu-like symptoms, respiratory symptoms and loss of smell/taste in various hospitals and the state metropolis is an indication of potential community transmission of an undetected disease fitting the epidemiological pattern of COVID-19.

Recent research published in Nature Medicine in the United Kingdom revealed: loss of smell (anosmia) was a stronger predictor than a fever for COVID-19 prompting recommendations on self-isolation if detected.

We call on the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 through the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, state government and all stakeholders to critically appraise the COVID-19 status of the State.

The COVID-19 infection curve is still on the rise and yet to peak in the country. The lack of adherence to infection prevention strategies like social distancing, use of face mask, hand and respiratory hygiene at this crucial time is worrisome. We, therefore, call on all residents in Cross River to sustain infection prevention measures, the released said.

The Association lauded the state government for the production of Personal Protective Equipment, mask, face shield and gowns by the garment factory, thereby advocating for quality control measures to validate their safety for use in hospital settings.

NMA joined the state government in calling on the Federal Government and the private sector to support the laudable project that has the potential of guaranteeing the availability of personal protective equipment in the country.

The expeditious recruitment of Doctors and other health workers by the Cross River Government through the Civil Service Commission with advert dated April 27, 2020, to meet the potential health challenges is desirable.

The concomitant increase in health needs of the public in line with the lifting of bans on interstate movement and domestic flight shortly makes the recruitment imperative.

We wish to reiterate the urgent implementation of 100 per cent Consolidate Medical Salary Structure and Consolidated Health Salary Structure as the only means of retaining this critical workforce in the state Civil Service.

The Association and her members remain committed to working with the state and the Federal Government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the release said.

Vanguard News Nigeria

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COVID-19: Cross River NMA warns against planned resumption of schools - Vanguard