20 Aug
There was a time when Tiger Woods would never have described a year without a major as “great.” Maybe he knew what was to come at Oak Hill.
Woods is a four-time PGA champion, but never once threatened to make it five in New York at this season’s final major.
When he won so easily in Ohio the previous week, I began to fear for him. As analysts up and down the country declared his 15th major title a formality, I urged caution.
28 Jul
The comedian, who is one of the most traveled Nigerian entertainers, bought a brand new 2013 Honda Crosstour for his wife as her birthday gift. Elsie Uzoma Okpocha was a year older on July 14th.
tundeola.com
28 Jul
Things like this were only seen in movies before now, but it happened on Thursday at Afromedia street in the Okokomaiko area of Lagos. The story behind the bird that changed in this woman is strange:
From what I hear, three (3) birds were flying in the area and suddenly one fell and landed into a water and to the surprise of all around, the bird changed into this woman.
A source told tundeola.com the bird-turned-woman was “arrested” by the police where she confessed to be a native of Ikole, a town in Ekiti State.
How do you think the police will handle this case?
____TUNDEOLA.COM
28 Jul
Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria (2-R) wins the women’s 100m event at the London Anniversary Games on Saturday.
Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare on Saturday broke the African women’s 100m record twice at the ongoing Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games in London.
The rangy Nigerian sprinter coasted home in an impressive 10.86 seconds winning time in the semi-finals of the women’s 100m event to erase compatriot Glory Alozie’s 10.90secs set in 1999.
But Okagbare was not done yet as she put up another heroic performance in the final to break the African record she had set earlier in the heats to win in a time of 10.7secs ahead of second–placed Barbara Pierre of the United States – who clocked a joint personal best time of 10.85sec- and Trinidad’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste (third in 10.93secs).
After running a world leading 10.7 secs in the semi-finals, defending world champion and reigning Olympic 100m gold medalist, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, never recovered from a poor start in the final, finishing fourth in 10.94secs.
Okagbare has been in fantastic form recently, with the London feat her second Diamond League victory.
The 24-year-old Nigerian jumped 7.04m to win the women’s long jump event at the IAAF Diamond League Grand Prix event in Monaco and record her season’s personal best in the event.
She also won the women’s long jump at the IAAF Diamond League Grand Prix in Lausanne in a remarkable 6.98m.
culled from Punch
28 Jul
Barnaby Jack, a celebrated computer hacker who forced bank ATMs to spit out cash and sparked safety improvements in medical devices, died in San Francisco, a week before he was due to make a high-profile presentation at a hacking conference.
The New Zealand-born Jack, 35, was found dead on Thursday evening by “a loved one” at an apartment in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood, according to a police spokesman. He would not say what caused Jack’s death but said police had ruled out foul play.
The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office said it was conducting an autopsy, although it could be a month before the cause of death is determined.
Jack was one of the world’s most prominent “white hat” hackers – those who use their technical skills to find security holes before criminals can exploit them.
His genius was finding bugs in the tiny computers embedded in equipment, such as medical devices and cash machines. He often received standing ovations at conferences for his creativity and showmanship while his research forced equipment makers to fix bugs in their software.
Jack had planned to demonstrate his techniques to hack into pacemakers and implanted defibrillators at the Black Hat hackers convention in Las Vegas next Thursday. He told Reuters last week that he could kill a man from 30 feet away by attacking an implanted heart device.
“He was passionate about finding security bugs before the bad guys,” said longtime security industry executive Stuart McClure, who gave Jack one of his first jobs and also had worked with him at Intel Corp’s McAfee, a computer security company.
“He was one of those people who was put on this earth to find vulnerabilities that can be exploited in a malicious way to hurt people,” McClure said.
Jack became one of the world’s most famous hackers after a 2010 demonstration of “Jackpotting” – getting ATMs to spew out bills. A clip of his presentation has been viewed more than 2.6 million times on YouTube.
Two years ago, Jack turned his attention to medical devices, while working on a team at McAfee that engineered methods for attacking insulin pumps. Their research prompted medical device maker Medtronic Inc to revamp the way it designs its products.
The U.S. government also noticed Jack’s work.
“The work that Barnaby Jack and others have done to highlight some of these vulnerabilities has contributed importantly to progress in the field,” said William Maisel, deputy director for science at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
Jack’s passion for hacking sometimes got him into trouble.
In 2010, he connected his laptop to a gold bullion dispensing machine at a casino in Abu Dhabi, according to fellow hacker Tiffany Strauchs Rad. She said Jack had permission from a hotel manager to hack the machine but security intervened.
It turned out the hotel did not actually own the gold machine and the American Embassy had to be called in to help resolve the misunderstanding, Rad said.
“He would hack everything he touched,” she said.
‘BELOVED PIRATE’
Jack’s most recent employer, the cybersecurity consulting firm IOActive Inc, said on its Twitter account: “Lost but never forgotten our beloved pirate, Barnaby Jack has passed.”
Jack, who was known as Barnes to his friends, had been scheduled to present his research on heart devices at Black Hat on August 1. Last week, Jack told Reuters he had devised a way to hack into a wireless communications system that linked implanted pacemakers and defibrillators with bedside monitors that gather information about their operations.
“I’m sure there could be lethal consequences,” Jack said in a phone interview.
He declined to name the manufacturer of the device but said he was working with that company to figure out how to prevent malicious attacks on heart patients.
Jack’s sudden death drew responses from the hacking community reminiscent of those that followed the suicide of hacker activist Aaron Swartz in January.
Dan Kaminsky, a well-known hacker, described the death as a tragedy. “Barnaby was one of the most creative, energetic, diverse researchers in our field,” he said.
“You’ll be missed, bro,” tweeted another well-known hacker Dino Dai Zovi.
Jack’s sister, Amberleigh Jack, who lives in New Zealand, told Reuters her brother was 35 years old. She declined to comment further, saying she needed time to grieve.
Some of his friends pitched in to help the family with expenses. They collected $4,345 from 37 people over 13 hours through a crowdfunding website: here
Black Hat said that it will not replace Jack’s session at the conference, saying the hour would be left vacant for conference attendees to commemorate his life and work.
culled from (Reuters) –
28 Jul
I love driving. My caddie had better have a very good reason for handing me a 3-wood or hybrid on the tee box, because unless it makes zero sense to hit driver, I’m hitting driver. It’s my favorite club — the one I can count on in the clutch and lean on when other parts of my game are a little off.
This love affair is no accident. I’ve worked hard to not only improve my driver swing but also to understand it. I’ve gotten to the point where I instantly know why I’m driving well on good days and, more importantly, why I’m not driving it well on bad days. It boils down to hitting six key positions that almost automatically deliver speed and accuracy. Use my position-by-position checklist and you’ll realize — maybe for the first time — that driving is fun and easy.
START YOUR SWING SLOW MOTION
Your swing is equal parts backswing and downswing, but the two parts couldn’t be more different. The first one is about creating energy and the second is about expending it. My goal on every swing is to marry the two, but to create enough separation between them so that they don’t blur together. I make my backswing, pause, and then start down. I can’t do this if I whip the club back at 100 mph like a lot of players do.
I’m a big baseball guy. I love the way batters point the bat toward center field as they settle into their stance, slowly bring the bat back as the pitcher starts his windup, and then wait for the pitch. That’s the perfect image of the smoothness you need in your backswing. To get it, swing the club back with your arms and hands in near-slow motion during the first three feet of your swing, and then slowly add your shoulder and hip turn. Try to get your club, arms, shoulders and hips to stop at the same time at the top. This lets you start them at the same time on the way back down so your body doesn’t get too far in front or lag too far behind the clubhead.
COIL INTO YOUR RIGHT THIGH
The only tangible feeling I want at the top is my right thigh bearing all the pressure of my motion. If I make the ideal slow-and-solid backswing, my right thigh will feel so tight at the top that I could literally jump several feet to the left just by pushing off my right foot. The more intense the feeling in your right thigh, the better. That pressure is swing power!
As you move the club to the top, picture your right leg as a wet rag. Turn into your right side while keeping flex in your right knee and “wring” the water out of the rag. Do it right and you’ll notice that you instinctively crouch down with your hips, increasing the number of wrinkles above your right front pants pocket.
You don’t have to move six inches to the right of the ball, like some instructors teach, to attain this loaded power. Just make a solid, deliberate turn. This is the most important of the six moves, because if your weight isn’t in your right leg, then it’s in your left, and that’s a bad position to be in at the top — you’ll fall back during your downswing and drain all the power out of your motion.
USE YOUR NEW DOWNSWING TRIGGER
The most frequently asked question I hear from amateurs is, “How do I start my downswing?” I appreciate their confusion, because I see how out of control they can be at the top of the backswing, and you can’t start a downswing if you don’t know where your backswing ends. The moves on the previous two pages should take care of your backswing-control issues. As far as finding a trigger to jumpstart your motion back to the ball, try turning your right shoulder down instead of across.
Because your upper body is tilted at address, your shoulders turn at an angle, so much so that, at the top, your right shoulder is noticeably higher than your left. Your downswing is nothing more than reversing the arrangement and getting your left shoulder higher than your right at impact. I like the feeling of turning my right shoulder down toward the ball because it helps me stay in the shot. The more you stay down on the ball, the less you’ll rise up, a common error that produces too much of an outside-in swing path — the move that puts your tee shots in the right rough.
Don’t worry about moving your hips or unfolding your right elbow or dropping the club in the “slot.” These things take care of themselves when you swing your right shoulder down.
GO TOE-TO-TOE FOR A PERFECT WEIGHT SHIFT
At the top of your swing you should have at least 60 percent of your weight over your right leg. Since you can’t have this much weight on your right leg at impact [unless you like pushed shots or carrying the out-of-bounds stakes on the right], use your right foot to push your weight to your left side. The feeling I like in my downswing is that I’m getting my weight to move from my right leg at the top to my left big toe at impact, sort of diagonally through the ball.
If you practice this move and still can’t hit it straight or far, you’re probably making the subtle mistake of shifting your weight on your downswing to your left heel. I see this all the time in pro-ams, an error that comes from overturning the hips at the start of the downswing. As I mentioned in Move 3, don’t worry about what your hips are doing. Hip turn is vastly overrated — your hips have nothing to do with power.
If you can make this move while keeping your right shoulder low to the ground, you’re on to something. Plus, you’ll feel yourself deliver the clubhead to the ball from slightly inside the target line, the most powerful swing path you can follow.
LINE UP YOUR LEFT HIP AND LEFT FOOT
I constantly monitor my swing to make sure it’s ready to compete at the highest level. I tend to spray it and lose speed when I overturn my hips or shift my weight to my left heel instead of to my left big toe on my downswing. To fix this, I’ll swing in front of a mirror and stop in my release position. Although I believe your release is something that “happens,” not something you make happen, this test reveals the quality of the moves that preceded it.
BAD SWING
If my left hip is ahead of the instep of my left foot, I’ve swung out of sync and have shifted too much weight to my left heel instead of my left big toe.
GOOD SWING
If my left hip is in line with my left foot, then I’ve matched the movement of my upper body with my lower body and transferred the maximum amount of energy to the ball. It’s also a sign that I’ve correctly shifted my weight to my left big toe.
The old “swing in a barrel” theory has merit. Never feel like you’re sliding or swaying in your swing. If you sync your upper and lower body and shift your weight correctly, you’ll feel like your hips are turning directly over your feet.
PRACTICE IN SLOW-MO AND HOLD YOUR FINISH
Watch me on the practice tee and you’ll notice that I hit balls using a very slow driver swing to start my warmup. This lets me feel every part of my backswing and every part of my downswing so I can make sure everything is moving correctly. It also allows me to finish my swing in perfect balance, which is something that’s missing from the weekend player’s game. Not only do most amateurs lack balance, many have a hard time just standing up! That’s no way to finish a swing.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, I know, but you must learn how to swing in balance before setting any expectations for your game. Hit balls with a slow-mo swing like I do the next time you visit the range. Don’t swing faster than, say, 50 percent. You’ll be surprised at what you can feel — and fix — compared with when you go full throttle. As soon as you can stand still while holding your finish position, add more speed and keep adding speed until you reach your maximum. A balanced, Tour-style finish will come more quickly than you think, I promise. So will the yards and accuracy that have been missing from your driving game.
Culled from Golf.com
28 Jul
By Matt Haldane
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War, President Barack Obama said on Saturday that U.S. troops and their allies achieved victory in that conflict despite a lukewarm reception when they returned home.
The war ended in a stalemate in 1953, with the absence of a peace treaty resulting in a demilitarized zone that now separates North and South Korea. Pyongyang commemorated the day with a massive military parade and declared victory as well.
“Here, today, we can say with confidence that this war was no tie. Korea was a victory,” Obama said to cheers from an outdoor crowd populated by war veterans from the United States and South Korea.
“When 50 million South Koreans live in freedom … in stark contrast to the repression and poverty of the North, that’s a victory; that’s your legacy,” he said.
The Korean War started in 1950 when the United States rallied the United Nations to send troops to counter the North’s invasion of the South.
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James Winnefeld and representatives from the South Korean government attended the event, which included a wreath-laying ceremony conducted to “Taps” before the 19 steel statues of Korean War soldiers at the memorial on Washington’s National Mall.
The chairman of South Korea’s National Policy Committee, Kim Jung-hoon, who represented the country’s president, Park Geun-hye, acknowledged the ambiguous end to a long-fought war.
“This armistice was not the result of mere negotiations at the table,” Kim said. “It was signed after endless battles, countless sacrifices and pain endured by our veterans and their grieved families.”
When U.S. troops returned home, Obama said they went right back to work, with their sacrifices seemingly unacknowledged in what would become known as “The Forgotten War.”
“Unlike the Second World War, Korea did not galvanize our country. These veterans did not return to parades. Unlike Vietnam, Korea did not tear at our country. These veterans did not return to protests,” Obama said.
“Here in America, no war should ever be forgotten, and no veteran should ever be overlooked.”
About 5,000 people attended the event, according to the commemoration committee. The crowd was filled with South Koreans and Americans alike, with spectators singing the South Korean national anthem nearly as loudly as the U.S. anthem.
Obama also acknowledged the strong military ties Washington has with South Korea, where more than 28,000 U.S. troops are now stationed. For some younger Koreans, the continued presence of troops is controversial, but the crowd erupted in applause when Obama mentioned his commitment to U.S. military supremacy.
“Our allies and adversaries must know the United States of America will maintain the strongest military the world has ever known, bar none, always,” Obama said. “That is what we do.”
culled from(Reuters) –
28 Jul
CAIRO | Sun Jul 28, 2013 4:26am EDT
(Reuters) – The United States urged Egypt to pull “back from the brink” after security forces killed dozens of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi and opened a dangerous new phase in the army’s confrontation with his Muslim Brotherhood.
Thousands of Brotherhood activists were hunkered down in a vigil at a Cairo mosque on Sunday, promising to stand their ground despite Saturday’s bloodshed when at least 65 pro-Mursi supporters were shot dead.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said the killings suggested a “shocking willingness” by police and some politicians to ratchet up violence against their foes.
Backers and opponents of the ousted Islamist president clashed before dawn on Sunday in the Suez Canal city of Port Said, firing birdshot at each other before soldiers intervened, security sources said. Fifteen people were hurt in the violence.
The trouble started late on Saturday night, when gunmen fired on a church in Port Said during funeral prayers for one of the victims of the Cairo killings, the sources said.
Saturday’s carnage, following huge rival rallies, plunged the Arab world’s most populous country deeper into turmoil following more than two turbulent years of transition to democracy after the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Egypt’s Health Ministry said 65 people had died in the shootings, with the Brotherhood reporting that a further 61 were on life support after what it described as a ferocious assault by men in helmets and black fatigues.
The ambulance service put the death toll at 72.
Washington, treading a fine line with an important Middle East ally and recipient of more than $1 billion in annual military aid, urged the Egyptian security forces to respect the right to peaceful protest.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by telephone with Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the July 3 military overthrow of Mursi and whose face has since appeared on posters across the capital Cairo.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to two senior members of Egypt’s army-installed interim cabinet, expressing his deep concern.
“This is a pivotal moment for Egypt,” he said in a statement. “The United States…calls on all of Egypt’s leaders across the political spectrum to act immediately to help their country take a step back from the brink.”
“COVER-UP”
Saturday’s violence, and the threat of more, has deepened alarm in the West over events in the country of 84 million people, a vital bridge between the Middle East and North Africa.
Well over 200 people have died in violence since Sisi deposed Mursi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, on the back of huge popular protests against his rule, ending a one-year experiment in government by the Muslim Brotherhood after decades spent in the shadows under successive Egyptian strongmen.
Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood’s leader, denounced Egypt’s political establishment, saying they had failed to speak out against Saturday’s killings.
“Unfortunately and shamefully, the responsibility falls on those who participated in the cover-up,” he said in a statement.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim denied on Saturday that police had fired on the crowds, saying they had only used tear gas to try to break up clashes between the Brotherhood supporters and residents angry about the pro-Mursi camp.
He added that he hoped the vigil outside the Rabaa al-Adaweya mosque in northern Cairo would “God willing, soon be dealt with.”
A public prosecutor is reviewing complaints from residents unhappy with the huge encampment on their doorstep.
Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said the protesters would remain by the mosque until their demands are met and Mursi was reinstated. He accused Sisi of issuing a “clear, pre-determined order to kill.”
Saturday’s killings followed a day of rival mass rallies, triggered by a call from Sisi for a popular mandate to confront what he called “violence and terrorism”.
Human Rights Watch deputy Middle East and North Africa director said he thought the deaths might have been deliberate.
“It is almost impossible to imagine that so many killings would take place without an intention to kill, or at least a criminal disregard for people’s lives,” Nadim Houry said.
Mursi has been held in army detention at an undisclosed location since he was deposed. Ibrahim said he would likely be transferred shortly to the same Cairo prison where Mubarak is now held, after authorities launched an investigation of him on charges including murder stemming from his 2011 escape from jail during Egypt’s Arab Spring uprising.
(Additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla, Yasmine Saleh, Tom Finn, Omar Fahmy, Michael Georgy, Noah Browning and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Arshad Mohammed and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
: Reuters
28 Jul
After having rejected invitations to play for Spain and Romania at junior and senior levels, France-bound Nigerian youngster, Anthony Ozoh, is ready to contribute his quota to coach Stephen Keshi’s rebuilding process, reports ’TANA AIYEJINA
Barely four years ago, then Real Madrid B team striker, Anthony Ozoh, looked set to turn his back on Nigeria after he was offered invitation by Spanish officials to play for the European giants’ youth national team.
The invitation was coming after another Nigerian-born striker, Sunday Stephen, had represented Spain at the Canada 2007 U-20 World Cup.
The offer was “irresistible and tempting” admitted the player born on May 6, 1990.
But Ozoh, who just joined French Ligue 2 side, Le Havre, on a two-year deal, was not one to let down his fatherland. He would rather bide his time with the Nigerian national teams than ditch them for another country. And so he “politely turned down the offer” and instead, resolved to fight his way into Nigeria’s teams.
Then Flying Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, spotted the tricky youngster and immediately handed him an invite to the national U-20 team.
He didn’t disappoint.
“Siasia invited me to camp in 2009 during the preparation for the Egypt 2009 U-20 World Cup. Actually I came late but I was the highest goal scorer in camp in the friendly matches we played,” Ozoh said.
Although left out of the final squad for the World Cup, the 23-year-old had already created a positive impression.
“I don’t know why I was dropped from the U-20 World Cup squad because I performed very well and coach Siasia gave me a good recommendation.”
He would soon be faced with another ‘tempting offer’ after he moved from Spain to top Romanian club side, FC Brasov.
He became an instant fans favourite after he scored in each game he played for Brasov and ended the season with 18 goals in 15 matches.
The fans nicknamed him (Didier) Drogba because of a similar style of play to the deadly Ivoirian striker. Impressed Romanian officials extended an invite to him in 2011 to play for their senior national team.
However, Ozoh turned down the invitation once more. “Yes they did invite me but I can’t play for them; I want to play for my country, Nigeria,” he says.
He adds that he is not under pressure to perform despite being likened to a big player like Drogba.
He says, “I feel great being compared with such a great player but I don’t let it get into my head.
“I have learnt a lot from him (Drogba) and will like to follow his footsteps. But I am Anthony Ozoh and I always try to be myself and play my own game.”
In the 2010/11 season, Brasov loaned Ozoh to CFR Cluj to garner UEFA Champions League experience and he now hopes to get a chance to stake a claim in coach Stephen Keshi’s forward line.
“I believe my Champions League experience as well as my transfer to France will help me in breaking into the Super Eagles. It has always been my dream to play and score goals for Nigeria.
“Nigerians follow French football unlike in Eastern Europe. I am hoping to score goals as usual in France and help Le Havre gain promotion to Ligue 1.
“I also hope to play my way into the heart of coach Stephen Keshi but first of all, I know I must prove my worth in Ligue 2,” he admits.
culled from Punch
28 Jul
The Chairman of AGN, FCT, Abuja chapter, Mr. Onwurah Agility, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH said some marriages were not meant to be.
He said, “Because I am an actor does not mean I have to die in my marriage if it is not working out. We are humans like others, blood runs in our veins like other people.
“Marriage in Nollywood is not different from other marriages. But because we are the mirror of the society, the face of the screen and role models to many, if there is a problem in our marriage, it makes noise more than any other. There are many people in the industry that have been married for many years without separating.
“What happened to Funke (Akindele) is unfortunate but like she said, may be they were not to be husband and wife and she has learnt her lessons. It could have been anybody.
“The theory and stories that actors’ marriages don’t last are very wrong. I have been married for five years and still counting, likewise so many other actors in the industry.”
Akindele, had while confirming the crash of her marriage, said she had learnt from her mistakes and had no grudge against her former husband.
culled from punch
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