Reaction from Mexico's 0-0 draw with Nigeria in Atlanta.....

Keshi's team again lacked bite in front of goal against Mexico

By Andrea Canales - Futbol Mexico

"Mexico's Euro stars trying to adapt; Keshi's Uche reluctance hurts Nigeria"

What we learned: 

Mexico: Mexico had a dangerously slow start in this match, allowing Nigeria a number of chances in the first 15 minutes. Coach Miguel Herrera is probably aware that doesn’t bode well in the World Cup. 

However, he will no doubt be encouraged at how El Tri adjusted and worked back into the game with improved team play. The lack of cohesion in the squad could be due to the unfamiliarity of the European-based players with both his system and other domestic-based squad members. The time to fix this problem is limited, though, and this could affect his decisions on the final roster for Brazil 2014.

Nigeria: Nigeria’s coach, Stephen Keshi, will probably shake his head with regret over the early chances that the Super Eagles couldn’t quite convert. Still, Nigeria acquitted itself quite well, especially given the number of uncapped players involved in this match. Both goalkeepers were solid, and even if captain Vincent Enyeama isn’t going to lose his starting spot, Austin Ejide looks like an excellent backup. Nigeria also has to beware of their tendency to foul hard. If the World Cup is called tightly, they might rack up cards easily. 

What needs to change: 

Mexico: Herrera will change his preferred 5-3-2 formation when they pry it from his cold, dead hands. It’s up to the players to adjust, and some did so better than others. The approach doesn’t suit Andres Guardado’s darting play and short passes. That style needs a versatile striker who can create, rather than a pure poacher like Javier “Chicharito\" Hernandez. 

Herrera may have also painted himself into a corner by naming Rafael Marquez his World Cup captain so early. For a back line that at times must flex into only three players, Marquez is now prohibitively slow. This was exposed by an athletic and speedy team time and again. If Marquez doesn’t have a partner who can compensate for his lack of quickness, Mexico is very vulnerable in the back. 

Nigeria: Some will say that Keshi needs to be removed as coach for his refusal to bring in Villarreal striker Ikechukwu Uche. Uche's absence was starkly evident in a match that was crying out for an effective striker, one who gets the job done, even if the style isn’t always pretty. Keshi’s argument that Uche isn’t tactical enough is starting to ring very hollow. Nigeria needs a natural-born attacking threat up front. 

It’s also clear that Nigeria didn’t seem to adjust well to Mexico’s goalkeeper, Guillermo Ochoa, who was having a standout match. He stopped a number of chances, and instead of devising a team play tactic to get past the goalkeeper altogether with an extra pass or a trailing player into the box, the front line of Nigeria tried going for unstoppable shots. This led to them missing the goal altogether more often than not. Thus, in the end, Ochoa’s job was easier, even as his defenders kept allowing chances. 

Raising Their Hand: 

Mexico: Ochoa certainly did everything he could to make Herrera question whether Jesus Corona should stay as the starter in the goalkeeping position. His timing and willingness to sacrifice himself to stop an attacking play were remarkable. 

Hector Herrera also acquitted himself well with solid play, good passes and even a few shots toward the goal. Of all the European-based players on the field, he seemed to integrate the most seamlessly into the squad. 

Oribe Peralta didn’t score, but the savvy veteran did come close with some chances, so he probably did his starting spot no damage. In his limited time on the field, Alan Pulido showed an initiative and nose for goal that indicated his earlier hat-trick was not a fluke. 

Nigeria: No Nigerian player looked more active on the field than Liverpool’s Victor Moses. He created chances, hustled after the ball, took shots, stole the ball back and generally made himself a nonstop nuisance for Mexico. He did everything but score, leading Nigeria’s attack in the early going. 

Enyeama set the tone as well with his impressive stops. It’s easy for a large crowd to rattle some players, but he kept his cool and will likely keep his post as captain for the World Cup. Ejide picked up right where Enyeama left off, making sure that the quality of the goalkeeping didn’t drop in the second half. 

X factor: 

Mexico: Many Mexico fans hold Hernandez as a sentimental favorite for his past heroics with Mexico, but even these loyal supporters had to be frustrated watching the player fling himself at the ball in the box so ineffectively. He’s still trying, but his lack of playing time at Manchester United has taken a brutal toll on his scoring skills. The spirit is willing, but he’s lost confidence in his own ability to execute. Strikers live and die on their self-belief. Hernandez is probably going to watch a lot of the World Cup from the bench, which would have been unthinkable a year ago. 

Andres Guardado is another player who had to impress Herrera. He played like he was desperate to do so, but this resulted in him often losing the ball and killing attacking plays. His unfamiliarity with his teammates was obvious. Guardado has never been a winger who can fire in long, looping crosses to the box like Miguel Layun, and without a partner to recognize well his give-and-go approach to attacks, he floundered. 

Nigeria: John Obi Mikel has matured into Nigeria’s solid veteran in the midfield. He is able to generally control the run of play and reset the squad as needed. Yet a clock with only one hand can’t tell time effectively, and this match revealed that Mikel could use another good scoring option up top to whom he can deliver passes. 

Once again, Uche is conspicuous by his absence. Yet it’s better to realize how badly he is needed now than it would be for that realization to come at the World Cup. For Nigeria’s sake, one would hope Keshi reaches this conclusion. 

Well deserved and probably long overdue: Matthew McConaughey wins Oscar for Best Actor

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As the carnage in Northern Nigeria continues, Northern leaders remain complicitly silent

CC Nigerian Insider

Suspected Islamist militants have torched a village in north-eastern Nigeria's Borno state, killing at least 11 people, CC has gathered. 

They raided Jakana overnight, destroying about a third of homes, a Nigerian Senator said. 

It is believed that as many as 40 people had been killed but this could not be immediately confirmed. 

The Islamist group Boko Haram intensified its insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria in recent weeks.

It has been blamed for about 130 killings in Borno alone since Friday, February 28, 2014.

The group has not commented on the attacks.

As these senseless attacks continue, one can't help but wonder exactly why prominent leaders in Northern Nigeria remain almost complicitly silent.

Except for the usual off-handed comment here and there, it is shocking (but probably not surprising) that these men (and they know who they are) have preferred to stand pat while innocent women and children in particular, continue to be murdered in cold-blood by an organization (Boko Haram) most believe is in fact a brain-child of the Northern ruling class.

It however seems that these so-called leaders may have miscalculated as what they created has obviously blown up in their faces.

As Nigeria continues to tinker on the precipice of a full-blown civil war, the authorities must flush out the traitors in their midst as it is clear as day that Boko Haram has access to weapons and intelligence that could only come from within the corridors of power within the Nigerian military and the Intelligence Community.

Obama's 2015 budget blueprint hints at higher taxes for the 'rich'.....

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President Barack Obama has called for expanded tax credits for the poor and for a reduction in tax breaks for the rich in his annual budget proposal. 

The $3.9 trillion budget calls for a rise in the minimum wage and for new spending on infrastructure. 

It would reduce the budget deficit by $651 billion over the next decade. 

It is not expected to become law, but is seen rather as a declaration of the Democratic Party's priorities ahead of the November midterm elections. 

"Our budget is about choices, it's about our values," Mr Obama said at a news conference at a Washington primary school on Tuesday. 

"As a country, we've got to make a decision if we've going to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans or we're going to make smart investments necessary to create jobs and grow our economy and expand opportunities for every American." 

In the budget, the U.S. president, a Democrat, proposes expanding a tax credit that benefits low-income working Americans to cover workers as young as 21 and as old as 67, as well as making it available to more workers without children.

The expansion would lower taxes for 13.5 million low-income workers, the White House said.

The programme, the earned income tax credit, was established in the 1970s and is popular with most Democrats and some Republicans.

To pay for the expansion, expected to cost $60 billion over 10 years, Mr Obama has proposed ending two tax breaks often used by wealthy Americans. One, known as the "carried interest" deduction, limits taxes paid by ultra-wealthy hedge fund and private-equity fund managers. The other lowers taxes for some self-employed workers.

The budget proposal also rehashes policies previously pushed by Mr Obama.

It calls for more than $300 billion in infrastructure improvements funded through changes to business taxes, and increased funding for early education paid for through higher tobacco taxes.

The White House is also repeating its call for a rise in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from $7.25 and for an extension of unemployment benefits for people who have been out of work for a long time. Those benefits expired in December, and their renewal has been blocked by Republicans who demand offsets in other spending.

Mr Obama also proposes $56 billion in new spending, including $28 billion for defense research and weapons modernization, and $28 billion split among education technology, research, job training and other projects.

The budget aims to reduce the annual U.S. budget deficit to 1.6% of the economy by 2024, down from an estimated 3% this year.

Among the other proposal expected in Mr Obama's budget would:

• Expand tax credits for full-time childcare costs
• Exclude existing student loan forgiveness programmes from taxable income
• Call on Congress to pass wide-reaching immigration reform
• Raise taxes on the top 3% of Americans and force taxpayers who make more than $1m a year to pay at least 30% of their income in taxes after charitable contributions

It will be interesting to see the GOP reaction to the president's proposals.

Today Marks the 118th Anniversary of Ethiopia’s Victory at Adwa

Prof. Ayele Bekerie

By Ayele Bekerie, PhD

"After the victory over Italy in 1896, Ethiopia acquired a special importance in the eyes of Africans as the only surviving African State. After Adowa, Ethiopia became emblematic of African valor and resistance, the bastion of prestige and hope to thousands of Africans who were experiencing the full shock of European conquest and were beginning to search for an answer to the myth of African inferiority."

Adwa, Ethiopia (TADIAS) — When historians recorded major world events of 1896 they included several headlines about the Battle of Adwa such as ‘Abyssinia (Ethiopia) Defeats Invading Italians’; ’80,000 Ethiopians Destroy 20,000 Italians at the Battle of Adwa’; ‘Italian Premier Crispi Resigns’; and ‘Abyssinia and Italy Sign Peace Treaty.’ In other words, Adwa was placed on the world map and remained a historic story because of Ethiopia’s decisive victory against the Italian army on March 1st 1896 (Yekatit 23, 1888 according to the Ethiopian calendar).

Adwa has generated a significant amount of discourse and prose from writers across the globe. To Raymond Jonas, Adwa is “the story of a world turned upside down.” As he further aptly puts it, “Ethiopia stunned the world.” Many writers made note of the fact that an African army defeated a European army. Donald Levine, the great Ethiopian scholar, marked the historical event by highlighting its racial implications in reverse order: “a non-white nation has defeated a European power.” Levine’s perspective makes a whole lot of sense when one notices that it was also in 1896 that the US Supreme Court by seven-to-one majority vote affirmed racial segregation. And it took 58 years to overturn racial segregation in the United States.

Encyclopedia Britannica narrated the following about the event of Adwa for posterity: “ The decisive Ethiopian victory checked Italy’s attempt to build an empire in Africa.” British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill penned the event in these words: “On the 1st of March 1896, the Battle of Adwa was fought and Italy, at the hands of Abyssinia, sustained a crushing defeat. Two results followed which affected other nations. First, a great blow had been struck at European prestige in North [East] Africa. Second, the value of Italy as a factor in European politics was depreciated.”

In the context of world history, “the Battle of Adwa marked the largest military triumph of an African state over a European army in the nineteenth century and helped Ethiopia retain its independence during Europe’s Scramble for Africa,” writes Stanford University Historical Education Group. Ethiopia’s retention of its independence paved the way for global anti-colonial movements. Paul Henze describes it best when he states “the defeat at the Battle of Adwa as the beginning of the decline of Europe at the center of world politics.”

Film Director and Producer Haile Gerima, framed the event as follows: “The victory ignited a lasting flame of hope, of freedom and of independence in the hearts of Africans throughout the world.” Bahru Zewde, a distinguished historian, understood Adwa’s global historical significance, for it “brought Ethiopia to the attention of the world.” The leading Afro-centrist, Molefi Kete Asante, further reiterates: “After the victory over Italy in 1896, Ethiopia acquired a special importance in the eyes of Africans as the only surviving African state. After Adwa, Ethiopia became emblematic of African valor and resistance, the bastion of prestige and hope to thousands of Africans who were experiencing the full shock of European conquest and were beginning to search for an answer to the myth of African inferiority.”

In fact, in 1896, outside of Adwa, there was no good news from the continent of Africa. European colonizers were almost on the verge completing their colonial agenda everywhere. In 1896, France dismissed Queen Ranvalona and later annexed Madagascar to its vast colonial empire. British troops defeated Zanzibar in a 38-minute war — A battle that started at 9:02 am and ended at 9:40 am, the record shows. It is equally important to note the resistance against colonialism in 1896 as evidenced by the uprising of the Matebeles in what is now the nation of Zimbabwe.

When Adwa is studied and understood in the context of world history, we find Adwa as one of the most significant beacons of hope for all oppressed and colonized people of the world. It is a victory that shattered the myth of European supremacy. It is a global historic moment that should be remembered and its bigger story should be shared by young and old in the world. Adwa, we call again, for its inclusion in the World Heritage List.

Stephen Colbert Takes On Fox News’ Hillary Clinton ‘Bombshell’ (Video).....

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The hypocrisy of the NFL: Reward racism while avoiding real and meaningful change.....

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

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Last off-season, Philadelphia Eagles wide-out, Riley Cooper was at a Kenny Chesney concert and infamously uttered the word "nigger" at some black bouncers that had denied him backstage access at the concert.

The incident was caught on video (see the video below) and if that imagery had never been brought to the attention and consciousness of the American people, there is no question we would never have heard about it.

As a result of the incident, the Philadelphia Eagles "excused" (not suspended by the way) Cooper for two days from team activities and also required him to undergo counseling (please don't laugh). The video surfaced in July 2013 and by August 6, 2013, Cooper was back with the Eagles as the counseling session had obviously done its work (please don't laugh still).

Cooper went on to have a great season and was rewarded today with a five-year contract reportedly worth $25 million. Wow! Guess it pays to be a racist!

It is quite revealing what the NFL and its owners do put their emphasis on, obviously. If Cooper had done what he did in a business or other professional setting, he would have been fired and would probably have a hard time getting a job somewhere else.

That the NFL continues to reward wife beaters, drunk drivers, gun-runners, racists and other social deviants with fat contracts, while denying a homosexual (who just wants to play football) the right to earn a living, is indeed mind-boggling.

It should not matter how "good" Riley Cooper is, what should matter is his character and ability to relate both on and off-the-field with a diverse group of players and other professionals in his chosen field of work.

That video (that surfaced in July 2013) told us enough about his character or lack thereof.

What is even more insulting is the NFL now seeking to play grammar police by trying to penalize the use of the so-called "N" word on the field of play, by black players. Are you kidding me? A white person using the word "nigger" does NOT and will NEVER carry the same meaning as when it is used by a black person.

The word "nigger" has been used and still continues to be used by some whites as a term of degradation and denigration. When used by some whites, particularly in the United States, it suggests that its target is extremely unsophisticated, with the usage becoming unambiguously pejorative, as a common ethnic slur usually directed at blacks of Sub-Saharan African descent.

What blacks have however done is take away the negative and demeaning power of that word and use it as a term of endearment among themselves.

That the NFL would even attempt to do this while one of its professional teams still goes by a racial slur to native Americans, is at best "laughable".

The NFL has become a joke, particularly under Roger Goodell. Rather than focus on the continued under-representation of blacks and other minorities in the front office of its teams, as well as the general welfare of its players by guaranteeing a greater percentage of the players' contracts and their health care (during and after football), Roger Goodell and his band of marauders continually resort to incendiary diversions, aimed at taking the focus away from what actually ails the league.

The Philadelphia Eagles should be ashamed of themselves for rewarding a racist with a long-term contract and it does not matter that he (Riley Cooper) "apologized" for the incident.

What is sad is that he never paid a price for his actions and the wrong message has been sent both across the NFL and the entire nation.

As I Lay Dying singer Lambesis pleads guilty to murder charge

Tim Lambesis

CC Legal Brief   

Tim Lambesis, the singer for the metal band As I Lay Dying has pleaded guilty to attempting to hire an undercover agent to murder his estranged wife.   

The singer, who initially denied the charge, could face nine years in prison for the attempted contract killing.  

Lambesis, who formed As I Lay Dying in San Diego in 2000, has sold more than a million albums. 

He remains free on $2 million bail until he is sentenced 2 May in Vista Superior Court, California. 

Lambesis had asked a personal trainer at his gym to help him get rid of his wife Meggan, claiming she had restricted his visits with their three adopted children after they separated in September 2012. 

He was arrested in May 2013 after prosecutors said he met with a sheriff's deputy posing as a hit man, dubbed "Red", and handed over $1,000 along with his wife's address and front door security code.

The undercover agent, San Diego County Sheriff's Officer Howard Bradley, testified last year that Lambesis met him at an Oceanside bookstore in May and said he wanted his wife "gone".

Bradley said he asked Lambesis directly if he wanted his wife killed, and the singer replied, "Yes, I do."

As I Lay Dying have released six albums, including 2007's An Ocean Between Us, which reached number eight on the Billboard charts.

This is obviously an unfortunate insight into the troubled life of an extremely talented singer, who must now face the music, one that could mean the end of life as he has always known it.

Hezbollah vows to respond to "Israeli air strike"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

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Hezbollah has said it will respond to an alleged air strike by Israel warplanes on one of its bases on the Lebanese border with Syria on Monday.  

The militant Shia Islamist movement described the attack as a "blatant assault on Lebanon, and its sovereignty and territory", al-Manar TV reported.  

It would "choose the time and place and the proper way to respond", it warned. 

Israel has not officially confirmed that it carried out the air strike, near the Bekaa Valley village of Janta. 

But on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that his government would "do whatever is needed to protect Israel's security".

"We will not say what we're doing or what we're not doing," he added.

One senior Israeli security official told Time magazine that the warplanes had targeted a convoy carrying surface-to-surface missiles from Syria.

The missiles could carry warheads heavier and more dangerous than almost all of the tens of thousands of missiles and rockets Hezbollah had in its arsenal, the official added.

Hezbollah's statement said the air strike caused material damage, but denied that it targeted any artillery or rocket positions or caused any casualties. Local reports had said four members of its military wing, the Islamic Resistance, were killed.

"The attack confirms the nature of the Zionist hostility and requires frank and clear position from all," Hezbollah added. "The Resistance will choose the time and place and the proper way to respond to it."

Israeli jets have bombed areas on the Syrian side of the border several times since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad three years ago, but if confirmed this would be the first Israeli air strike inside Lebanese territory in that time.

Eyal Ben-Reuven, a former deputy head of the Israeli military's Northern Command, said he doubted Hezbollah would retaliate since it was too busy fighting alongside government forces against the rebels in Syria.

But he warned that it was imperative that Israel maintain its ability to operate freely in the skies and in the seas, and block more sophisticated weapons from reaching Hezbollah.

"Israel has always stayed as the main objective for Hezbollah and Iran,'' he told the Associated Press. "A terror organisation gets these kinds of capabilities not for deterrence, but for acts."

Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006, during which Israeli warplanes bombed Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon and in Beirut, while Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel.

More than 1,125 Lebanese, most of them civilians, died during the 34-day conflict, as well as 119 Israeli soldiers and 45 civilians.

Playing god: Keshi rules Villarreal and Super Eagles stalwart Ike Uche out of Brazil 2014

Ikechukwu Uche

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Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has opened up on why in form Spain-based attacker, Ike Uche wouldn't make his Brazil 2014 World Cup squad.

Keshi, who only last week dubbed the Villarreal hit man an undisciplined player said he can't call up a player who would refuse to play to instruction.

He noted that Ike Uche almost stopped Nigeria from breaking her 19-year old Nations Cup jinx in South Africa with his "big boy" approach to the game.

Keshi told Mtnfootball.com that Ike Uche simply refused to play to instruction in the final match against Burkina Faso, a situation which almost cost Nigeria the trophy.

Keshi's words: "Ike Uche's problem is that he wants to dictate how we play in Super Eagles, he wants to tell us the systemwe're playing is not good. Uche has a very bad habit, that if you put him in the game he is not playing to instructions and he did that in the final of AFCON against Burkina Faso, he almost cost us.

"Again he did that against Zambia, in the second match when (Efe)Ambrose was given a red card. What we told him to do, he was doing the opposite. And if you don't respect your team mates and you don't respect the team, then there is no point. I know he cannot do that in his club, then why do it in the national team?I don't think I need a player like that in the team."

Uche has been one of Nigeria's reliable goal scorers and had scored 12 goals this season for Villarreal.

On Monday night, the striker returned to action after he was sidelined by injury for two weeks.

He last featured for Nigeria in the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Burkina Faso and it was in-fact a rebound from his goal-bound effort that ultimately led to the game winning goal for Nigeria.

It is rather sad but not suprising that Keshi is once going down this path of always squabbling with professionally established players in a national team set-up.

He did the same thing with Togo as he and Emmanuel Adebayor literally almost came to blows over what was said to be the latter's refusal to allow Keshi "be his agent".

The same thing happened with Mali as he again clashed with Mali's established stars, including former Barcelona star Seydou Keita.

Having been unceremoniously fired from those two jobs, Keshi has fought with just about every established player in the Super Eagles set-up (never even mind Osaze Odemwingie who on his part has a history with coaches); including the likes of Joseph Yobo, Mikel Obi, the Uche brothers (Kalu and Ike), Victor Anichebe. 

The players he has not fought with, he has chosen to play god with their international career and essentially froze them out of the national team while parading average players that were thoroughly exposed at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

The truth is that Keshi views the Nigerian national team as his "personal property" much like he did when he was a player.

Keshi must remember that if the legendary Clemence Westerhoff had also chosen to play god with his (Keshi's) international career, he would not have had the opportunity to play at the soccer global showpiece in 1994. 

Nigeria must do well in Brazil 2014. For that to happen, we need our best players both at home and abroad and this should not be an opportunity for a coach or other members of the technical crew (including the NFF itself) to be complicit in a process where unproven players are being chosen based on parochial, ethnic, business or other sentiments.

If Keshi can't manage the complexity of personalities within the national team, then he needs to find another line of work and not expose Nigeria to ridicule (as he did at the Confederations Cup in 2013) on the world stage.