Community Property: A marriage property legal term; Should Marriage be In Community of property and Do Women really Benefit?

Community Property: A marriage property legal term; property acquired or owned during a marriage or, where recognized, a marriage-like relationship, and which belongs, notwithstanding title, as in a partnership and as tenants in common (“hence “community”), to each spouse equally and subject to division on that basis in the event of separation or divorce. Related Terms: Matrimonial Asset, Separate Property In the event of a permanent separation or divorce, the law provides for the fair division of property or assets acquired by the spouses during their period of marriage or cohabitation. Traditionally, a wife had few property rights. In the eyes of the law, historically, she was absorbed within the legal person of her husband and thus, upon divorce, had no entitlement to jointly-enjoyed family property. This common law injustice required adjustment to accommodate the inequity of the common law towards childbearing, child-rearing and homemaking mothers who, during those years, were unable to contribute financially towards the acquisition of income, pensions or other assets. Statute law eventually gave women the right to hold separate income or property. This being still insufficient to address the realities of long-term marriages, common law jurisdictions have since adopted one or the other, or permutations of each or both, two basic but distinct marriage property regimes. In a nutshell, community property regimes create a legal presumption that all income or every asset acquired by either spouse during the marriage belongs equally to both. This regime is also called “community of property” or “marital property”. Although subject to statutory distinctions in most jurisdictions, the general rule in community property jurisdictions is that each spouse has an equal entitlement to a half interest as tenant-in-common to any asset or income acquired during the marriage.

In community property regimes, for the purposes of property, marriage is taken to be a partnership and unless there is a contract to the contrary, the partners are presumed to contribute equally to the acquisition of property and entitled to an equal division.

The alternate regime, a separate property regime, the legal presumption is that individual assets or incomes belong to which ever spouse paid for it, earned it, is on title or to whom the asset was gifted.Many community property jurisdictions allow for separate property exemptions especially for assets owned before the marriage or assets acquired during the marriage by gift or using inheritance monies, but never used for family purposes. This allows for adjustments to inequities that may arise from the strict application of a community property regime.

For example, the Louisiana Civil Code, at §2341, states:

“The separate property of a spouse is his exclusively.  It comprises: property acquired by a spouse prior to the establishment of a community property regime; property acquired by a spouse with separate things or with separate and community things when the value of the community things is inconsequential in comparison with the value of the separate things used; property acquired by a spouse by inheritance or donation to him individually; damages awarded to a spouse in an action for breach of contract against the other spouse or for the loss sustained as a result of fraud or bad faith in the management of community property by the other spouse; damages or other indemnity awarded to a spouse in connection with the management of his separate property; and things acquired by a spouse as a result of a voluntary partition of the community during the existence of a community property regime.”

Another variation of the community property regime is the ability of spouses to opt-out by way of a marriage contract or agreement in which they opt-out of the community property regime and institute their own system and process for determining and dividing mixed assets in the event of a separation or divorce or even after separation, by way of a separation agreement.

In law, many jurisdictions recognize a spouse's right to manage separate property during the marriage but once a separation occurs, all property owned by either spouse becomes subject to judicial determination and division based on whether or not each asset is exempt from the "acquired during the marriage" or "used for family purposes" definitions of community property.

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PUBLIC OFFICE A CALL TO NATIONAL STEALING… LOOTING NIGERIA IN THE FULL VIEW OF ALL.

PUBLIC OFFICE A CALL TO NATIONAL STEALING… LOOTING NIGERIA IN THE FULL VIEW OF ALL.

A NIGERIAN SENETOR -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix to Press Release: a Nigerian senator earns more in Salary than Barack Obama and David Cameron

Effective from January 1, 2001, the annual salary of the president of the United States was doubled to $400,000 (N60m) per year, including a $50,000 expense allowance making the president the highest paid public servant. The $400,000 includes everything and $350,000 out of it is taxable. Below is a table of the earnings of some politicians in the US:Public Officers Earning per year  ($)Earning per year Naira (million)

President     400000.00    60.0

V. President 227300.00    34.1

Speaker of the House       223500.00    33.5

Majority Leader (Senate) $193,400      29.1

Minority Leader (Senate) $193,400      29.1

Other Senators      174000.00    26.1

Majority Leader (Representative)        $193,400      29.1

Minority Leader (Representative)        $193,400      29.1

Cabinet Secretary  $193,400      29.1

 * Exchange rate is set at  $1.00 = N150.00*Please note that US Vice President is also the Senate president. Below is a table showing some of the items in the new (reduced) package for the members of the Nigeria National Assembly:  

Items Senator (N)  Representative(N)

Basic salary/Regular allowances 11,145,200   9,926,062

Furniture     3,039,600     2,744,454

Motor Vehicle Loan        5,066,000     4,963,031

Duty Tour Allowance per day    23,000         21,000

Severance Gratuity          6,079,200     5,955,637

Estacodes     $600  $550

Other allowances expressed as percentages of basic salaries are:

Hardship Allowance  @ 50%   

Constituency allowance @ 200%     

Newspaper allowance @  50%    

Wardrobe allowance @ 25%     

Recess Allowance @ 10%   

Accommodation @ 200%    

Utilities @ 30%    

Domestic Staff @ 75%    

Entertainment @ 30%      

Personal Assistance @ 25%      

Vehicle Maintenance Allowance @ 75%   

Leave Allowance @10%

Analysis This analyses translate to the fact that in addition to the regular and legitimate salaries and allowances of N17 million ($113,333) and N14.99 million ($99,933) which senators and reps were collecting yearly and the irregular allowance of estacodes, duty tours etc, they were also collecting N192m ($1.28m)   and N140m ($0.93m) respectively in illicit quarterly allocation which is not provided for by RMAFC. Effectively, a Nigerian senator was taking home at least $1.40m ($1.28m quarterly allocations + $0.113m regular salaries and allowances) as against the $0.174m an American senator takes home hence a Nigeria senator earns at least 8 times as much as an American senator and more than 3 times the American president.

Whereas a Senator in the U.S earns N21, 146,000, the same as a member of the House of Representatives; a UK Member of Parliament earn £64,766 (N14, 896,180)

In other words, a Federal Legislator in Nigeria is paid more than double what a Member of British Parliament earns per annum.

Senate President David Mark alone takes N250 million quarterly or N83.33 million per month. Senate Deputy President Ike Ekweremadu gets N150 million per quarter or N50 million a month. Mark and Ekweremadu earns in 4 months, six times what the UK Prime Minister earns in a year. David Cameron goes home with £190,000 per anum (N43, 700,000) In a Next newspaper news article entitled ‘An Assembly for looting’ written by Musikilu Mojeed with Elor Nkereuwem, the authors rightly claimed that each of the 360 members of the House of Representatives were getting  N35 million in cash money in quarterly allocation while each of the 109 Senators pockets N48 million each.  These allocations have however been slashed by 20% 

to N27 million ($180,000) and N38 million ($253,333) respectively due to the 20% reduction requested by the late president. The cut has been a source of a major controversy in the House of Representatives in the past few days where members are agitating to jerk up the sum to N42m quarterly at a time when the government is lamenting being broke and when the already signed 2010 budget is being cut by as 

much as 40%. What a bunch of greedy inhuman lots! The discordance has caused members of the House to force the speaker, Dimeji Bankole to reduce his quarterly allowance from N140m ($933,333) to N100m ($666,667) or from an annual allowance of N560m ($3.73m) to N400m ($2.67m). According to data obtained from CIA World Factbook, Nigeria has an estimated per capital income (purchasing power parity) of $2,400 in 2009 as against USA’s $46,400. This means that the average earning in the US is 19.33 times as much as in Nigerian. With the reduced salary package, a Nigeria senator still get paid N11 million ($73,333) in regular salaries and allowances annually and N152m ($1.03m)  in four (quarterly) allocation making a total of $1.11m plus irregular allowances like estacodes and duty tour allowances. 

The Senate has allocated N1, 024,000,000 as quarterly allowance to its 10 principal officers, known collectively as the Senate leadership - Each of the eight other principal officers take home N78 million every three months or N26 million per month. Besides, for this year, the Senate has voted N2.6 billion for local travel, N2.45 billion (foreign travel), N1.25 million (security), N2.28 billion (contingency), N750 million (guest houses for Mark and Ekweremadu), and N500 million (establishment of radio and television stations).The Executive Branch of government A Nigerian Minister is paid N31,915,800 (32 million) per year, comprising salary (2,026,400), 

and benefits plus allowances (N29,889,400)...American secretary (N23,488,000); British Secretary (N29,736,000) German Minister (N30,287,667.20)." A Nigeria Minister of State gets N30, 538,248 (salary N1, 957,580; allowances N28, 580,666) 

higher than those of a South African Minister (N7, 704,558);Compare again to American secretary (N23, 488,000); British Secretary (N29, 736,000) German 

Minister (N30, 287,667.20) A local government councillor in Nigeria earn over N1 million per month while a university professor, or a director in a ministry is paid peanuts as take home. The salary review of political office holders till date revealed that 17,474 officials earned N1.12 trillion yearly of the N1.12 trillion about N94, 959,545,401.20 billion is spent on salaries and N1, 031,654,689,033.18 trillion goes to allowances annually. While 16,540 out of the political officeholders, as revealed from the document emanating from the Presidency to the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) are expected to undergo a pay cut in line with former President Yar’adua’s proposal earlier in the year, this is yet to take effect. The officers are: Federal Executive (472); Federal Legislature (1,152); Local Government Executive (3,096) and local government legislature (8,692).According to the document, officers taken this large lump sum evidently, approximately 17,500 

officials only constitute 0.014 per cent (less than a quarter of a percent) of Nigeria’s 

estimated 140 million people. Again, it is common knowledge that the salaries of these officers amount to nothing compared to the juicy fringe benefits that accrue to them. It could be recalled that ministers, advisers, legislators salaries were all jerked up in 2007 and 2008. While the members of National Assembly got 100% pay rise which would cost Nigerian tax payers N52.4 billion every year, and an additional N15.02 billion as multi-purpose allowances given to the lawmakers on quarterly basis, the package accruing to the federal executives had jumped by over 1,000 percent to N98 billion due to their allowances as compared N65.5 billion paid the federal executives during the last regime. The last time Nigerian workers ever had an enhanced salary package was in 2000 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo announced the N5, 500 and N7, 500 minimum wages both for state and federal workers respectively. Comparison of the Salaries of Politicians vis-a-vis other professions in USA and Nigeria The politicians’ salaries listed above might look big to you but if you look at what is obtainable in the society, you’ll surely get the drift. I’d like to compare the earning of these top political positions with those of surgeons in America. According to ehow.com, several factors such as experience, employer, location, gender and degrees may affect the earnings of a heart surgeon. Salaries discussed here are median earnings from 2009. • Degree: A cardiac surgeon with a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree will earn an average yearly salary of $292,774. If he has completed a Ph.D., however, the annual salary may rise to $400,000 on average. It can be inferred from this that a surgeon earn as much as the president or even more. And in nearly all cases a surgeon earns more than the VP and other public office holders. In the US, top attorneys in a top legal firm earn as much as $500,000 annually, a top journalist (like Christiane Amanpour) earns over a $1m, Wall street guys and top business executives earn $ millions in salaries, benefit, stock options etc. Top Sportsmen and Entertainers earn tens of $ million in salaries, endorsements, advertisements, profit sharing etc. Top CEOs also earn tens and in exceptional cases, hundreds of $ million in salaries, benefit, stock options and profit sharing.

If you consider the fact that many top politicians were also top earners before joining 

politics, you’d be able to understand the sacrifice intended. The annual salary of the Surgeon General is about $190,000. It’s a known fact Michelle Obama, the US first lady was earning much more as a hospital administrator in Chicago than her husband, President Barack Obama was earning as a US senator. According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals as Vice President for Community and External Affairs, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. In Nigeria, political offices are often seen as a get-rich-quick avenue because the legitimate salaries and benefits are enormous and are probably unobtainable elsewhere in the system. Another reason is that politicians can also meddle with the public funds with impunity. Candidly, public officers do not differentiate between public and private funds and this is probably the main cause of the do-or-die politics. All arms of government collaborate in the looting causing no checks and balances. After the late former president Umaru Yar’Adua complained about the nation's dwindling revenues and that politicians were being overpaid and causing his government a financial stress, there was an approved reduced remunerative package for the politicians. Based on the this, each of the 107 senators (excluding the Senate President and his deputy) would be collecting N11

million ($73,333) in basic salaries and regular allowances every year while a member of the House of Representatives would get N9.9 million ($66,000). Previously, a senator was getting N17 million ($113,333) while a House member was collecting N14.99 million ($99,933). The regular allowances are accommodation, car maintenance, domestic staff, personal assistant, entertainment, leave, utilities, newspaper/periodicals and constituency. These figures do not include non-regular allowances-- vehicle loan, furniture allowance, estacodes, and duty tour allowance and severance gratuity--which are paid separately to each legislator as they become 

due. From a previous salary of about N10,000, a police constable now earns between N22,000 and N27,000 depending on his length of service and accommodation plan, while a sergeant’s pay has gone up from N15,000 to about N30,000. And from a pay slip of about N22,000, a Police inspector now earns at least N50,000 monthly. Let me give an insight of the monthly salary of Nigerian police officers:

Constable = N22, 000 (£98) - N27, 000 (£120.27)

Corporal = N27, 000 (£120.27) - N28, 000 (£124.73)

Sergeant = N31, 000 (£138.09)

Inspector = N50, 000 (£222.72) - N52, 000 (£231.63)

Assistant Superintendent of Police = N80, 000 (£ 356.36) - N83, 000(£369.72) depending on whether he is a one-star ASP or two-star ASP.

A deputy Superintendent of Police = N90, 000 (£400.90)

A full superintendent = N100, 000 (£445.45) 

In some states, while the state government claims not to have money to pay workers, it finds it convenient to pay politicians hundreds of thousands as monthly salary for doing practically nothing than looting the state blind. How can a state government justify the over N300, 000 salary paid to a ward councilor (and over N60, 000 to a councilor’s wife) while the highest paid teachers collects less than 30 percent and the least paid teacher collects less than 4 percent of a councilor’s pay. The total annual salaries of councilors in a state like Osun State (running to over N1.4 billion) are enough to employ 2240 workers on N50, 000 monthly salaries. This is pure robbery! 

Yet, they reject the payment of N52, 200 minimum wages that the national leadership of NLC and TUC are fighting for.

Other Illegalities Of all these allowances, the most intriguing is the constituency allowance. What is constituency allowance? You may ask. It is an allowance approved by Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). The constituency allowance as approved by RMAFC is supposed to be 200% of the basic salary for politician but in reality, they are paid far more than that. The major flaw of this allowance is that the law does not require the politicians to file reports of how the money is spent. The executives are not left behind, infact, the legislative plunder is like a child’s play compared to what the executives are illegally taking away from the system. In addition to their constituency allowances, It is no longer a news that governors collect billions of naira as security votes which are unaccounted for and which makes everyone wonder which security are they providing with the money. According to Davidson Iriekpen in an article titled, Security Vote - for Whose Security? “Every year, billions of naira is allegedly squandered under the guise of security votes. The funds suspected to be illegal, are purportedly being used to provide security for the president, governors and their domains, whereas they are being transferred into personal bank accounts. In spite of these huge sums of money, killings, kidnappings, cultism and other security threats are on the increase across the states. At the federal level, funds are allocated to the Ministry of Defence for the upkeep and welfare of the armed forces and the police, yet billions are still voted for the President as security votes whose impact is unknown.” Many of the governors appropriate the sum ranging from several hundreds of millions of naira to billions monthly as security vote.  And also according to human rights lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, security vote is an illegality and irresponsibility on the part of the country's leaders. He condemned the governors for appropriating security votes to them even when they know that it is unconstitutional. He also argued that the governors who indulge in security votes rob the society of essential resources.

In a report by RMAFC chairman, Hamman Tukur to the presidency, "He said the Federal, State and Local Governments flout the remuneration provisions made by the commission through frivolous foreign trips, arbitrary appointment of aides and use of excessively large motorcades. He further said “based on the constitution, RMAFC has the final say on the remuneration package of National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly members, while a law need to be enacted based on the commission's proposals regarding the pay packages of executive and judicial office holders.”

Notwithstanding this warning, this illegality thrives from the presidency to the council. As the president takes billions of naira in monthly security vote, he also take several millions in constituency allowance.

Conclusion

Past surveys of salaries and benefits of public office holders from the Baltic to the Bahamas, the Americas and the Far East and everywhere else, has showed that Ministers and Federal Legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid in the world, despite the country being among the poorest in terms of per capita income, security, social provision and living standards. On the other hand, Nigerian workers are one of the lowest paid in the world. The Nigerian Minister earns more than his American, British or German counterpart, and of course enjoys pecks of office those ones cannot even dare dream of - for doing next to NOTHING!!! Likewise a Senator and his House of Representatives counterpart in Nigeria receive much more than their contemporaries elsewhere. Do you know even any local government Chairman in Nigeria who does not own houses and fleet of cars? Nigeria is a relatively poor country and there is no justification for a Nigerian politician earning much more than his American counterpart while others in other callings earn a fraction of what is obtainable in the US.I think it’s about time we work out a ceiling system for the remunerations of public servants and tie them to what is obtainable in certain professions. And until we get this right, our Politics will continue to be a do-or-die affair with the greedy lots dominating the air as their only attractions are the perks of the offices

WHERE DOES OUR PRIORITY LIE? Nigeria Buys Presidential Jets At $150 million, Borrows To Fund Polls

Nigeria Buys Presidential Jets At $150 million, Borrows To Fund Polls, Written By Felix Onuah

11 AUGUST 2010 WRITTEN BY REPUBLIC REPORT NEW YORK 4 VIEWS VIEW COMMENTS

New York [RR] ABUJA— Nigeria’s cabinet approved the purchase of three new presidential jets on Wednesday, a day after Africa’s most populous nation said it would have to raise debt to fund elections in less than six months. President Goodluck Jonathan has not yet said whether he will contest the polls, but most Nigerians expect him to do so, particularly given recent announcements from his administration — ranging from pledges to boost power supply to building more roads — that suggest he has plans beyond next January.

He named two northern politicians from the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) as junior cabinet ministers on Wednesday, in what some analysts said looked like a move to undermine the cohesion of the rival party. The cabinet approved the purchase of two Falcon 7X aircraft from France’s Dassault Aviation and one Gulfstream G550 from the U.S. planemaker for the presidential fleet at a cost of $150 

million. “After consideration, council approved the purchase,” Information Minister Dora Akunyili told reporters after a cabinet meeting in the capital Abuja.The first Falcon would be delivered towards the end of the year, with the second Falcon and the Gulfstream due to arrive by the second quarter of next year, after the elections.

The amount was already provided for in the 2010 budget but the timing of the announcement raised questions about the country’s spending priorities.

The announcement comes a day after lawmakers approved plans to raise 88 billion naira via a bond issue to pay for the electoral commission to overhaul voter lists and buy additional ballot boxes for the elections. The timing of the polls has broadly been known since the end of military rule a decade ago, and it was not immediately clear why enough funds had not been earmarked for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 2010 budget. The Business Day newspaper said the supplementary INEC budget made Nigeria’s voter registration process the most costly in the world. The daily Next newspaper questioned why 3 billion naira was earmarked for new vehicles: “Does INEC not already have vehicles,” it pondered. RISING GOVERNMENT SPENDING ..Government spending was already due to rise sharply this year. Parliament last month approved 445 billion naira in extra spending including pay rises for civil servants, doctors and professors.

That supplementary spending plan comes on top of the main 4.4 trillion naira 2010 budget, meaning Nigeria’s fiscal deficit is expected to increase beyond 5.4 percent of GDP, well above a 3 percent target set just three years ago. The Finance Ministry has warned that government revenues, mostly from oil sales, would not be enough to fund the budget and that the OPEC member would likely have to use up its windfall oil 

savings or borrow more. Parliament last month passed a constitutional amendment bringing elections forward to January, leaving little time for reforms to avoid a repeat of chaotic 2007 polls. An electoral roll riddled with fictitious names and omitting legitimate voters was one of the main problems at the 2007 polls, which were so marred by ballot stuffing and intimidation that observers deemed them not to have been credible. INEC has said its spending plan is largely for the purchase of 120,000 electronic voter registration machines, including laptop computers, finger print scanners, cameras and printers to issue voter cards. TELL US YOUR VIEW

TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT... CAN NE-YO BRING THE MAGIC TO BEYONCE AGAIN

Beyonce and Ne-yo

         

Aceshowbiz :    It seems that Beyonce Knowles is ready to get back to work after taking a break for a while following the completion of her lengthy I Am...Tour. The wife of Hip-Hop Cash King Jay-Z will be hitting the studio with Ne-Yo. 

It was Ne-Yo himself who broke the news. On Twitter, the R&B singer/songwriter wrote that beside having a session with Beyonce, he has also worked with Mary J. Blige. He posted on August 29, "Mornin' NY!!! Studio with Mary J Blige last night, Beyonce tonight. I LOVE MY JOB!!!Shout out Jerry Wonder!!" Other info about the follow-up to 2008 "I Am...Sasha Fierce" remains under wraps. One thing for sure, Beyonce will ditch her alter ego Sasha Fierce in the not-yet-titled album. "Sasha Fierce is done. I killed her," she told Allure magazine earlier this year. "I don't need Sasha Fierce anymore, because I've grown and now I'm able to merge the two." 

In another news, Beyonce Knowles made a surprise performance at the 7th Annual Rock the Bells Festival on Governors Island in New York. She joined Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Chris Rock, John Legend and Lauryn Hill for a rendition of "To Zion" at the August 28 gig. TELL US YOUR VIEW

SHOULD DIVORCE BE CELEBRATED AND WOULD YOU HAVE A DIVORCE PARTY OR CEREMONY TO CELEBRATE THE ENDING OF YOUR MAREAIAGE. KINDLY TELL US YOUR VIEW.

Happy divorce!

Some couples are choosing to celebrate the end of an unhappy marriage by saying "I do" for a final time at a divorce ceremony before friends and family.

Article: Reuters

The divorce fair

 Divorce ceremonies were pioneered about a year ago by a former salesman, Hiroki Terai, who set

up a "divorce mansion" in a small undercover space in Tokyo. Since then about 25 couples have each paid 55,000 yen ($606) to hold a ceremony with all the pomp and grandeur of a wedding that publicly ends their relationship before they officially file for divorce. Terai said he had received more than 900 inquiries. The latest couple, who called themselves Mr. and Mrs. Fujii, met near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo's traditional Asakusa area on Sunday and rode in separate rickshaws to the "divorce mansion.""By putting an end to our marriage, we wanted to give ourselves fresh starts and give our lives

a sense of renewal," Mr. Fujii, a 33-year-old businessman, told Reuters Television. He said he felt responsible for the failure of his marriage as he spent too much time away from home and too much money on his various interests including cars - despite numerous warnings from his wife. Friends and family of the Fujii couple followed closely behind the rickshaws on foot, arriving at the "divorce mansion" for a ceremony where they smashed their wedding ring with a gavel, a gesture signifying the end of their partnership. The gavel has a frog's head as frogs symbolize change in Japanese culture. "When we smashed the ring together, I felt like "oh, this is the end of it, really" and my heart and soul felt renewed. Now I feel I can have a new life and start all over again," said Mr. Fujii. His wife of eight years also expressed her relief. "The moment I saw the smashed ring, I said to myself, "Yes! That feels so good,"" Mrs. Fujii  said. Terai, who is believed to be Japan's first "divorce ceremony planner," came up with the idea of divorce ceremonies to help couples celebrate their decision to separate after one of his friends was going through a bitter divorce. Divorce is on the rise in Japan where it was once taboo with about 251,000 divorces taking place in 2008, partly blamed on the poor economy taking its toll on romance. Next month Terai heads off on his first business venture abroad to Korea to officially divorce a couple in Seoul. "I started this ceremony in April last year thinking that there should be a positive way to end a marriage and move on by making a vow to restart their lives in front of loved ones," Terai said. SHOULD DIVORCE BE CELEBRATED AND WOULD YOU HAVE A DIVORCE PARTY OR CEREMONY TO CELEBRATE THE ENDING OF YOUR MAREAIAGE. KINDLY TELL US YOUR VIEW.

OUR POLITICIANS EARN BIG BUCKS AND RIDED FANCY CARS BUT THEY CANT PAY THE WAGES OF THE AVARAGE TEACHER... ITS ALL OVER AFRICA

OUR POLITICIANS EARN BIG BUCKS AND RIDED FANCY CARS BUT THEY CANT PAY THE WAGES OF THE AVARAGE TEACH... ITS ALL OVER AFRICA

Vavi takes dig at Zuma's salary
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has taken a potshot at President Jacob Zuma's salary as striking civil servants protested outside the gates of Parliament.


Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi took a potshot at President Jacob Zuma's salary as striking civil servants protested outside the gates of Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

"I asked the President a while ago what he is earning," said Vavi, who was speaking to a crowd of thousands through a microphone on the back of a truck.

"If my memory serves me right he is earning more than R2.2 million," he said to a howl of disapproval from the crowd.

"He has blood like we have blood. He has a big family like we do. He has children to feed like we do. Our needs are the same. We want geld [money]. Ons soek geld [we want money]."

DO YOU SUPPORT THE CIVIL SERVICE STRICK IN SOUTH AFRICA

WHICH PAYS MORE, HOLLYWOOD OR PORNY WOOD.. LAWRENCE FISHBORNES BABY GIRL GOING ON THE DOWN LOW "ACTS PORN"

LAWRENCE FISHBORNES BABY GIRL GOING ON THE DOWN LOW ACTS PORN

The daughter of Hollywood star Laurence Fishburne has moved out of his spacious home as she tries to make a name for herself as a porn star - and insists she doesn't want to hurt to her dad.

Montana Fishburne, 19, is said to have infuriated her famous father when she broke the news of her unconventional career path, and has since packed her bags and left the LA home she was sharing with 49-year-old Laurence, his second wife Gina Torres and her half-sister, baby Delilah.

It’s understood the teenager has put pen to paper on a deal with Vivid Entertainment, who will release the steamy film – titled Montana Fishburne: An A-List Daughter Makes her XXX Debut – later this month.

“I wanted to do my own thing,” she tells TMZ. “I didn’t feel living in my father’s house with his new baby was the best thing.”

Montana, whose porn name is Chippy D, will star alongside the aptly named Brian Pumper in the film – a seasoned porn star who also directs as well as performs.

And despite facing her father’s wrath, Montana is determined to make a name for herself in the controversial industry.

“I can’t help that he’s my dad,” she told the New York Post. “I can’t help that I’m his daughter. I’m just trying to start my own career. This is my goal. When I have my mind set on something, I’m gonna do it.

“(Our) relationship has nothing to do with why I got into porn. I got into porn because I wanted to f**k on camera. I knew it was going to affect him. But I’m not doing this to slander his name. There was no ‘I want to hurt my dad.’ That’s bull. That’s selfish to do that. I’m not going to try to hurt my dad that publicly. That’s ridiculous. I love my dad to death.

"This is not about him. It’s about me.”

And its really about her because as it is.. she is sold out.... Montana Fishburne's porn film has disappeared from shelves across the country.

Porn purveyors, Vivid Entertainment, who produced the DVD, have now offered her a multi-film deal that could keep her productively engaged employed for many more days.

Vivid head honcho Steve Hirsch tells TMZ that the initial lot of 25,000 copies of the DVD have sold out and backorders are now piling up.

According to TMZ, friends of Montana's father, Laurence Fishburne, had pooled in $1 million and offered to purchase the DVD rights from Vivid, but by then copies had already shipped.

In a recent interview with E! Online, Montana said that she is still open to an alternative career choice. We are wondering if the new multiple film offer from Vivid will make her forget the alternative career option.

WHY ARE THE LADIES GOING AFTER MARRIED MEN, ALICIA KEYS AND FANTASIA BARRINO...DO WE HAVE SCACITY OF SINGLE MEN OR SINGLE GOOD MEN?

Fantasia Barrino tried reportedly to commit suicide last night. According to her manager, the American Idol champion overdosed after taking Aspirin pills and a sleeping aid.

Here’s what a rep of Fantasia had to say:

“Overwhelmed by the lawsuit and the media attention surrounding her relationship with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Antwaun Cook…Last night, Fantasia was hospitalized. She took an overdose of a aspirin and a sleep aid. Her injuries are not life threatening. She was dehydrated and exhausted at the time. Fantasia is stable now. She will be released from the hospital soon. Fantasia believed Antwaun Cook when he told her he was not happy in his marriage to Paula Cook and his heart was not in it.”

Fantasia’s cry for help may be stemming from her messing with a married man. Apparently, that married man, Antwaun Cook, lied to Fantasia when he told her that he was separated from his wife, Paula. That’s when Fantasia had the nerve to make a call to Antwaun’s wife, Paula, and told her your “I got your man”…Ouch!!!

Fantasia Barrino was “heartbroken” and “overwhelmed” by Paula Cook’s accusations that the former American Idol winner had an affair with her husband Antwaun Cook, before her hospitalization on Monday night.

Fantasia’s manager Brian Dickens says: “Fantasia read Mrs. Cook’s complaint against Mr. Cook for the first time yesterday,” reports ET Online.

FANTASIA HOSPITALIZED AFTER OVERDOSE

“She knows some of the allegations in Mrs. Cook’s complaint are totally false. There are others she strongly doubts. There is plenty she does not know.

“Fantasia is heartbroken and is sorry for any pain she may have caused. Yesterday, she was totally overwhelmed by the lawsuit and the media attention.

Women tell me do we have scacity of single men or of good single men...

CAN EMEKA IKE REALLY ACT LIKE J J OKOCHA.. WOULD HE PLAY SOCCER IN THE MOVIE?

Since Nollywood has ignored the need to celebrate our living heroes through the medium of the tube, Hollywood has risen to the occasion to do so.

It recently concluded the shooting of a movie in honour of one of the nation's solid ambassadors, skilful player extraordinary and former captain of the Super Eagles, Austin Jay Jay Okocha.

The movie titled "Feet of Destiny" according to our source star Emeka Ike as Jay-Jay . It centres on the life of the ex-international footballer and his exploits in the field of play.

Emeka while confirming this revelation said, the movie is receiving finishing touches as it features some Hollywood stars. Also featuring in the movie are Jimmy Jean Luis, Nigerian born Hollywood Hakeem Kae Kazim, Kira Obyron and many others. Kudos to Hollywood for this initiative. He has made a name for himself so many times over in Nollywood but do you think Emeka Ike can play Okocha?

DO YOU THINK INTER RACIA MARRAGE IS HERE TO STAY

South Africa

by Cardell K. Jacobson , Acheampong Yaw Amoateng , Tim B. Heaton

Scholars have examined the rising rate of inter-ethnic and inter-racial marriage from several different theoretical perspectives.  we examine the intergroup marriage patterns in a highly segregated and racially conscious society, the
country of South Africa. We then examine the relationship between socioeconomic status and inter-group marriage. We also examine inter-group marriages between linguistic groups. Finally, we examine the socioeconomic status of children born to multiracial couples in South Africa, thus projecting the implications of these marriages for the next generation.

A Brief History of Race in South Africa
Although patterns of power and dominance in South African society were always evident, the relationships between people of different races in South Africa were more relaxed throughout the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries than they were in the last half of the twentieth century (Thompson 1990). Several commentators have noted that hundreds of the most prominent Afrikaner white families either intermarried with nonwhites in the early history of South Africa or they have mixed racial ancestry. These relationships were often the result of white bachelors living on frontier farms and

seeking the company of nonwhite women. Although such interracial sexual encounters and mixed marriages were confined to a minority, these practices were by no means uncommon in early South Africa (Attwell, 1986).The incidence of interracial marriages gradually became less common, and in the mid-twentieth century, after the victory of the National party and the subsequent consolidation of white political power in 1948, it became strikingly less common. To eliminate every vestige of black African participation in the central political system and to fulfill Afrikaner ethnic goals as well as white racial goals, the National party passed a series of legislative acts between 1948 and 1960 that had a profound impact on
race relations in the country (Thompson 1990). Among the myriad laws which gave expression to apartheid, the policy of separating the different race groups, were the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 and the Immorality Act of 1950. These two pieces of legislation had the effect of creating legal boundaries between the races and by making marriage and sexual relations across the color lines illegal.

Two related pieces of legislation, the Population Registration and Group Areas Acts, passed in 1950, also had serious implications for the incidence of marriages across the color line. The Population Registration Act provided the machinery to designate the racial category of every person, but its application sometimes led to the breaking up of homes. Within one family one person could be classified white while another was classified coloured. Under the Group Areas Act, the government divided urban areas into zones where members of only one race could live and work. In many cases areas that had previously been occupied by African blacks were zoned for exclusive white occupation (Thompson 1990). Under these laws, mixed-race couples suffered humiliation, lack of privacy, and degradation by the police (Du Pre, 1994). Police commonly followed individuals, particularly Africans and coloureds, to see whether they were sleeping with members of other designated races. Couples were awakened in the early hours of the morning for police to examine their identity documents to ensure that sleeping partners were of the same race. Moreover, policemen were rude and uncouth and made insulting remarks. Even whites and nonwhites of the opposite sex who traveled in the same car faced the danger of being followed by the police and being arrested on suspicion of contravening the Immorality Act (Du Pre, 1994). Besides the formal penalties of harsh jail terms, police intimidation and harassment for contravening the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages and Immorality Acts, mixed couples faced rejection by their families, friends, and community. For instance, Alibhai-Brown and Montague (1992) report the personal experience of Ethal, a former prostitute who married an African man. She recalled that her white friends could accept her when she was a woman of the street, but not when she was married to a nice, educated African man. She said, "I
hated the way the family was treated" (Alibhai-Brown & Montague 1992:69). With the repeal of the apartheid-era racial laws beginning in the late ...

USA

Melting pot or racial divide? The growth of interracial marriages is slowing among  U.S-born Hispanics and Asians. Still, blacks are substantially more likely than before to  marry whites. The number of interracial marriages in the U.S. has risen 20 percent since 2000 to about  4.5 million, according to the latest census figures. While still growing, that number is  a marked drop-off from the 65 percent increase between 1990 and 2000. About 8 percent of U.S. marriages are mixed race, up from 7 percent in 2000. The latest trend belies notions of the U.S. as a post-racial, assimilated society.  Demographers cite a steady flow of recent immigration that has given Hispanics and Asians  more ethnically similar partners to choose while creating some social distance from  whites due to cultural differences and foreign language. White wariness toward a rapidly growing U.S. minority population also may be contributing  to racial divisions, experts said.
"Racial boundaries are not going to disappear anytime soon," said Daniel Lichter, a  professor of sociology and public policy at Cornell University. He noted the increase in  anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as well as  current tensions in Arizona over its new immigration law.
"With a white backlash toward immigrant groups, some immigrants are more likely to turn
inward to each other for support," Lichter said.

In contrast, blacks are now three times more likely to marry whites than in 1980. About  14.4 percent of black men and 6.5 percent of black women are currently in such mixed  marriages, due to higher educational attainment, a more racially integrated military and  a rising black middle class that provides more interaction with other races.
• Mixed marriages jumped from 2.25 million to 3.7 million, or 65 percent, from 1990-2000,  as such unions became more broadly accepted in Southern states.
• Among U.S.-born whites, about 0.3 percent married blacks in 1980; that figure rose to  about 1 percent in 2008. About 0.3 percent of whites married Asians in 1980 and about 1  percent in 2008. About 2 percent of whites married Hispanics in 1980, rising to about 3.6  percent in 2008.

For children that didn’t witness the apartheid era in South Africa and those kids who didn’t witness the atrocities of racial segregation in America it is easier to inter marry and to accept the mate as human and with that comes phrases like "I see nothing wrong with them as long as 2 people love each other then there's nothing wrong"

NOW HAVING SAID THIS... DO YOU THINK INTER RACIA MARRAGE IS HERE TO STAY, DO YOU THINK SUCH MARRAGES AND UNIONS ARE FREE FROM COMMUNITY ISOLATION? TELL ME YOUR VIEW.