lundi 31 mai 2010

Amazing Grace

"It is in the quiet crucible of your personal private sufferings that your noblest dreams are born and God's greatest gifts are given in compensation for what you've been through" - Wintley Phipps

dimanche 23 mai 2010

Archbishop B.A. Idahosa



for more info visit on link => http://idahosa.com/



mercredi 19 mai 2010

Facebook | Grace Obaigbona

Facebook | Grace Obaigbona

Queen opens British Parliament amid pomp and ceremony







By Melissa Gray CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* State Opening of Parliament usually takes place in November or December
* It is happening in May this year because of Britain's recent elections
* Speech set out new Conservative-Liberal Democrat government's legislative agenda
* Queen announced plans for government to reduce the country's deficit

London, England (CNN) -- Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the new session of Britain's parliament Tuesday, using her annual speech to set out the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat government's legislative agenda.

The State Opening of Parliament, as it is called, usually takes place in November or December. It is happening in May this year because of Britain's recent elections, which ushered in the country's first coalition government for 70 years and give the event added significance.

Even though the queen delivers the speech, it is actually written by the government and approved by the Cabinet, symbolizing the right of lawmakers to debate without interference from the monarch. As a result, the queen "confirms" key bills and measures, rather than announcing them.

On Tuesday the queen announced plans for the government to reduce the country's burgeoning deficit, restore economic growth, and create a new Office for Budget Responsibility to provide "confidence in the management of the public finances."

There are also plans to modernize the Royal Mail, the queen said, which hints at the partial privatization of the UK's main postal service. There will also be limits on the number of workers coming to the United Kingdom from countries outside the European Union, she said.

Special: Britain's general election

"My government will propose parliamentary and political reform to restore trust in democratic institutions and rebalance the relationship between the citizen and the state," the queen announced.

Some of those reforms include a referendum on a new voting system for members of the House of Commons; fewer and more "equal-sized constituencies;" and the right of voters to recall elected lawmakers who are found guilty of serious wrongdoing.

There will also be proposals to make the House of Lords "wholly or mainly elected," the queen said.

Profile: Britain's new Prime Minister

Efforts to protect civil liberties include abolishing plans for a national identity card, the queen said. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged last week to do away with the ID cards in addition to second-generation biometric passports and have more regulation over surveillance cameras and the DNA database.

Parliament and the British people will also be able to have a say in the proposed transfer of any more powers to the European Union, the queen said.

Traditional symbols of parliamentary privilege at the state opening include Black Rod, the name given to a senior officer in the House of Lords, the unelected chamber of Parliament. Before the queen makes her speech, Black Rod is always sent from the Lords' chamber to the Commons to summon those members to hear the speech.

By tradition, the door of the Commons is slammed in Black Rod's face to symbolize the Commons' independence. Black Rod then uses his staff to knock on the door three times, at which point the door to the Commons Chamber is opened, and members follow him back to the House of Lords.

Take a tour of Britain's political heart

The queen delivers the speech from the throne in the House of Lords. When it's over, both houses of Parliament debate the contents of the speech for four or five days.

Traditions surrounding the state opening and delivery of a speech by the monarch can be traced to at least the 16th century, according to the parliament's web site. The current ceremony dates from 1852, when the Palace of Westminster reopened after the fire of 1834.

From Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster -- the seat of government -- the queen traveled in a black and gold horse-drawn carriage, escorted by members of the Household Cavalry wearing their distinctive gold-colored helmets with tall red plumes.

On the queen's arrival at Westminster, the Union Jack is lowered and the royal standard raised on the flagpole outside. The queen puts on the white parliamentary robe and purple Imperial State Crown, set with more than 3,000 precious stones, including the 317-carat Cullinan II diamond, and weighing two pounds (0.91 kilograms).

The houses of Parliament are still searched by the Yeomen of the Guard, the Queen's ceremonial bodyguards, just before the state opening. The tradition dates back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when plotter Guy Fawkes was arrested in the cellar while preparing to blow up the parliament.

The checks are considered "picturesque," according to Parliament, with more serious searches done by police.

Another tradition is that of the "hostage" lawmaker. When the queen leaves Buckingham Palace to travel to Parliament, a member of the government is held at the palace to guarantee the monarch's safe return, according to the palace.

The "hostage" is released once the queen returns.


Links referenced within this article

Special: Britain's general election
http://ukelection.blogs.cnn.com/
Profile: Britain's new Prime Minister
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/05/11/uk.cameron.profile/index.html
Take a tour of Britain's political heart
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/uk.election/panorama/

dimanche 9 mai 2010

Happy Mother's Day!!! Bonne Fête des Mères!!!




Thank GOD for great MOTHERS who dared to train their children in the way of the LORD!!! - Grace Obaigbona

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.
- Inspirational sayings by Washington Irving


Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love.
- saying by Mildred B. Vermont

Life is nothing but a series of crosses for us mothers.
- Colette

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.
- Oprah Winfrey sayings

Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.
- Stevie Wonder

Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.
- Cute saying by Zora Neale Hurston

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
- Famous Tenneva Jordan

This heart, my own dear mother, bends, with love's true instinct, back to thee!
- Thomas Moore

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.
- Honore de Balzac sayings

********************************************************************************

Grace,
Happy mother's day!
Below is a poem which I composed some time ago and I'm sending it to you now;
Mother
So gentle, yet so strong
A dependable source of comfort
A blessing from above.
Love is a mother's gift
You show it in many ways
The fruit of the Spirit is displayed in you everyday
Indeed,your children shall arise and call you blessed!
Authored by Maryam Tar and dedicated to Grace Obaigbona.



jeudi 6 mai 2010





Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as president 6th MAY 2010.
Nigeria's acting President Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as head of state following the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua after a long illness.
The ceremony took place in the presidential villa in Abuja





Mr Jonathan, in charge since February, will appoint a deputy and serve out the rest of the current presidential term until elections due next year.

Mr Yar'Adua died late on Wednesday in the capital Abuja. TV broadcasts were interrupted with the news.

Seven days of national mourning have been announced.

Mr Jonathan took the oath of office in front of government ministers and other officials at the presidential villa in Abuja almost 12 hours after Mr Yar'Adua died. The ceremony was performed by Chief Justice of Nigeria Alloysius Katsina-Alu.

Mr Yar'Adua, who was 58, will be buried in a Muslim ceremony later on Thursday in his northern home state of Katsina, officials said.

US President Barack Obama has led tributes from world leaders, praising Mr Yar'Adua's profound personal decency and integrity" and his "passionate belief in the vast potential and bright future of Nigeria's 150 million people".

Mr Yar'Adua had been absent from the political scene since November, when he went to a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for several months.

During that time he was not heard from, apart from a BBC interview. He returned to Nigeria in February but remained too sick to govern.