Saturday, 9 January 2010
Music: Jay Ghartey
“We shot the video in Ghana in October with Gerald OG Gyimah. It took a while to finish, but it was worth the wait. We shot the video in 2 days. The first shots were in Jamestown, Accra. The lighthouse is a landmark, the oldest in Ghana. The kids were great! You can’t script those smiles. We shot the second scene at Tawala Beach, it turned into a crazy party quickly as soon as the music started.” Jay Ghartey
One minute I think I have Jay Ghartey’s music sassed. Sexy R&B with, ‘I Don’t Give a Damn’ – then he gets all Sade-like with, ‘Can I Make You Love Me’ –and I’m blown away. Talented and easy-on–the-eye, -this NYC based producer/singer/songwriter is about to go Stellar. Check out his website and download his music,–my very favorite is, ‘Black Star’ –I think its going to be the Anthem of mylife.....www.jayghartey.com
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Art: Stanley Lumax ...
As many of you will know [by now] –I’m always on the look out for the ‘Next Big Thing’ or other ‘Yummy Happenings’ in the Ghanaian community –and I’m very pleased to introduce you to photographer, Stanley Lumax. As a fashion stylist, –I’m always on the look out for good photographers –and I love Lumax’s work. With an impressive portfolio, -that includes Nike and Converse campaigns, exhibitions [in Ghana and in the States] and various publications - Stanley Lumax is ‘Hot Right Now’. But his talents don’t stop with photography –no sirree, Stanley Lumax is also an Advertising Executive [and I’m hoping he can contribute to my next project]! For more information please visit: www.stonefacephotography.com
Monday, 4 January 2010
Crime: Kwaku Ananse? No…..John Ackah Blay Miezah is the ‘Biggest’ African Hustler of all Times……
Americans have a saying that there is a sucker born everyday. The statement speaks to the gullibility of some people to fall for schemes that are patently fraudulent, and should be avoided the same way one would avoid the plague. There is an ongoing attempt to scam the government and people of Ghana unless sensible people rise up to say no to con-men peddling falsehoods and lies. The damage will be done not only in terms of huge monetary loss, but our national prestige and international credibility will forever be tarnished, if Ghana were to fall for a scam currently being sold by remnants of John Ackah Blay Miezah’s hustlers. Of late, a group calling itself Friends of Oman Ghana Trust Fund (FOGTF) has embarked on a media blitz aimed at gaining the support of the government and people of Ghana to what is essentially a scam akin to what the villain in our folklore, Kwaku Ananse would endeavour to visit on his family. One cannot begin to understand this fraudulent scheme without reference to the name and fraudulent practices of the ‘master con-man’ Blay-Miezah. Indeed, FOGTF claims to be continuing the efforts ‘made’ by Blay-Miezah to gain access to some so-called money. The mere mention of Blay-Miezah should have rang bells, and alerted officials and the public to the scam, but so far, like Blay-Miezah, the perpetrators are doing their job in a fashion that sounds credible to the gullible. According to Blay-Miezah, Ghana’s first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah named him the sole beneficiary of millions of dollars that Nkrumah had stashed in banks in Switzerland under a scheme described by Blay-Miezah as the Oman Ghana Trust Fund (OGTF). After Nkrumah’s death in 1972, Blay-Miezah managed to sell his OGTF story to investors in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Blay-Miezah had lived in the city, and had spent time in a state prison for writing bad cheques, and failing to settle a huge bill at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia.After the con game was brought to the attention of authorities, Time magazine (April 21, 1986 edition), did a story on investors who had contributed at least $18 million (and possibly $100 million) to the scheme, and quotes Robert Ellis extensively on the modalities of the criminal enterprise. Robert Ellis had posted bond for Blay-Miezah in a previous criminal case in Philadelphia, and in return Blay-Miezah appointed Ellis, his American ‘agent’. The main role for Ellis was to solicit American investors whose money would then be used to facilitate retrieval of alleged millions of dollars bequeathed to Blay-Miezah under the OGTF by the late president Nkrumah of Ghana. …….Please read the rest at: www.bankruptbanker.blogspot.com
Title: Out of Africa: Stung by a Ghanaian smoothy
By: Jacob V. Lamar Jr;Joseph N. Boyce/New York Dated: 21st April 1986
Meet John Ackah Blay-Miezah, native of Ghana, man of the world, a portly, elegant, globe-trotting charmer who seems to awe those who encounter him. "A very intelligent, cultured man," gushed one American admirer. "He knows every opera and can recognize a symphony from just a couple of notes. He is a nationally ranked chess player. He speaks nine languages." He is also, say authorities, a world-class swindler.
Philadelphia's newly elected district attorney, Ronald Castille, asserts that since 1972, Blay-Miezah and his American "agent," Robert Ellis, have swindled at least $18 million from about 300 investors in the Philadelphia area for a nonexistent Ghanaian trust fund. Says Castille: "It's the biggest scam in the history of Philadelphia." Adds Assistant D.A. William Wolf: "What you had were some of the most successful and intelligent men and women in Philadelphia who bought a treasure map from con men." Some sources say that Philadelphians were not the only suckers: the bogus trust may have taken in as much as $100 million from a nationwide network of investors.
As the D.A. tells it, Blay-Miezah passed himself off as the sole beneficiary of a trust set up by deposed Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, who died in Rumania in 1972. Gullible investors were told that the Oman Ghana Trust Fund, to be used for economic development in Ghana, had shadowy origins and was funded with billions of dollars in banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein; the story was backed up with an account number and a vaguely worded letter from the Union Bank of Switzerland.
There was one, er, problem, Blay-Miezah told his investors. To gain access to the money, he had to fulfill a number of complicated conditions that included presenting a specially numbered diplomatic passport to the banks and cutting deals with certain tribal chiefs. Outside funds were necessary to pay expenses incurred as Blay-Miezah wheeled and dealed to get to the mother lode.
Most of the Philadelphia-area investors were allegedly lured into the scheme by Blay-Miezah's partner Ellis, whom Castille describes as "a good talker, a hustler." They were assured of a return of as much as 50 to 1 on their investments. Attorney Barry Ginsberg and a group of friends ended up dumping a total of $1.5 million into the trust, and according to investigators, an elderly widow invested $70,000, which amounted to her life savings. Most investors did, however, realize that they were getting into a rather risky venture. "Don't feel sorry for these people," says Richard Butera, a businessman who first dropped money in the Oman Ghana Trust Fund in 1972. "They knew what they were doing."
While Ellis was seeking out investors, Blay-Miezah was living overseas, having fled the U.S. in 1974 after he was charged with trying to cash $250,000 worth of stolen cashier's checks. But the Ghanaian was always willing to greet his American benefactors at the posh offices or hotel suites he had set up with their money in London, Amsterdam and Accra. "I can't live like a pauper," he told one investor. "I have to impress my people." Read the rest at: www.time.com
Title: Out of Africa: Stung by a Ghanaian smoothy
By: Jacob V. Lamar Jr;Joseph N. Boyce/New York Dated: 21st April 1986
Meet John Ackah Blay-Miezah, native of Ghana, man of the world, a portly, elegant, globe-trotting charmer who seems to awe those who encounter him. "A very intelligent, cultured man," gushed one American admirer. "He knows every opera and can recognize a symphony from just a couple of notes. He is a nationally ranked chess player. He speaks nine languages." He is also, say authorities, a world-class swindler.
Philadelphia's newly elected district attorney, Ronald Castille, asserts that since 1972, Blay-Miezah and his American "agent," Robert Ellis, have swindled at least $18 million from about 300 investors in the Philadelphia area for a nonexistent Ghanaian trust fund. Says Castille: "It's the biggest scam in the history of Philadelphia." Adds Assistant D.A. William Wolf: "What you had were some of the most successful and intelligent men and women in Philadelphia who bought a treasure map from con men." Some sources say that Philadelphians were not the only suckers: the bogus trust may have taken in as much as $100 million from a nationwide network of investors.
As the D.A. tells it, Blay-Miezah passed himself off as the sole beneficiary of a trust set up by deposed Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, who died in Rumania in 1972. Gullible investors were told that the Oman Ghana Trust Fund, to be used for economic development in Ghana, had shadowy origins and was funded with billions of dollars in banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein; the story was backed up with an account number and a vaguely worded letter from the Union Bank of Switzerland.
There was one, er, problem, Blay-Miezah told his investors. To gain access to the money, he had to fulfill a number of complicated conditions that included presenting a specially numbered diplomatic passport to the banks and cutting deals with certain tribal chiefs. Outside funds were necessary to pay expenses incurred as Blay-Miezah wheeled and dealed to get to the mother lode.
Most of the Philadelphia-area investors were allegedly lured into the scheme by Blay-Miezah's partner Ellis, whom Castille describes as "a good talker, a hustler." They were assured of a return of as much as 50 to 1 on their investments. Attorney Barry Ginsberg and a group of friends ended up dumping a total of $1.5 million into the trust, and according to investigators, an elderly widow invested $70,000, which amounted to her life savings. Most investors did, however, realize that they were getting into a rather risky venture. "Don't feel sorry for these people," says Richard Butera, a businessman who first dropped money in the Oman Ghana Trust Fund in 1972. "They knew what they were doing."
While Ellis was seeking out investors, Blay-Miezah was living overseas, having fled the U.S. in 1974 after he was charged with trying to cash $250,000 worth of stolen cashier's checks. But the Ghanaian was always willing to greet his American benefactors at the posh offices or hotel suites he had set up with their money in London, Amsterdam and Accra. "I can't live like a pauper," he told one investor. "I have to impress my people." Read the rest at: www.time.com
Politics: Mrs Sabah Zita Okaikoi’s "Meet the Press," ...giving journalists easier access.....
Title: Minister For Information-Designate Rolls Out Blue Print
The Minister for Information-designate, Mrs Sabah Zita Okaikoi yesterday rolled out an information transformation blue print to enhance communication between the government and the people.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra the Minister-designate noted that her priority, when she is given the mandate by Parliament, will be to create a conducive information dissemination environment among stakeholders to ensure responsive governance to augment the President's call for accountability.
"I will immediately institute Editors', Public Relations Officers' and Ministers' forums which would serve as a platform for dialoguing, sharing of ideas and the bridge for constructive criticisms," she said.
"It would also be used to reduce the incidence of mis-information. I believe that journalists in their quest for information should not be hindered and endangered," Mrs Okaikoi explained.
Mrs Okaikoi who is a legal practitioner, said the "Meet the Press" series will be maintained but decentralised from the national through the regional to the district levels for greater accountability.
Together with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development we will ensure that each district organises bi-annual "Meet the Press," at the District capitals which may be attended by some ministers of state.
The Minister for Information-designate acknowledged the role of the Information Services Department noting that it will be empowered to perform their statutory duties effectively to liaise between the government and the people.
"I will initiate moves to revamp and build the capacity of state media houses - Ghana News Agency (GNA); Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC); Ghanaian Times and the Daily Graphic to international standard," she said. [Credit: www.mofep.gov]
Words of Wisdom: Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu
Title: Otumfuo: Committed Ghanaians needed to solve national problems
By Saeed Yaqub Date: 2nd January 2010
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II says the enormous challenges facing Ghana will remain insurmountable until the citizenry resolve to work together towards addressing them.
He observed nations which have made significant progress in development have done so through strong commitment and determination of their citizens to build their countries.
In a New Year massage signed by Chief of Staff at the Manhyia Palace, Fosuaba Mensah Banahene, Otumfuo emphasized “ a nation that cannot count on her citizens to contribute their quota cannot expect to realize her goals’’.
He said it is therefore important for Ghanaians to work diligently in their various fields of engagement in the years ahead.
The Asante King urged Ghanaians to ensure improvement in the country’s democratic development to enhance the country’s image as the torchbearer of good governance and democratic culture in Africa.
On child development he reminded parents of what he describes as ‘unshirkable duty before God to ensure proper upbringing of their children.
He says beyond sending children to school parents must pay serious attention to their moral education which he said should never be left to teachers alone.
He pointed out that if the country fails to mould her children in the right manner they will grow to become irresponsible individuals whose actions will derail national development.
Otumfuo urged chiefs to show true leadership by utilizing resources entrusted to them for the good of their people.
He called for greater collaboration between government and traditional authorities as natural partners for development. [Credit: www.news.myjoyonline.com]
Film: Bronx Princess
“BRONX PRINCESS follows headstrong 17-year-old Rocky's journey as she leaves behind her mother in New York City to reunite with her father, a chief in Ghana, West Africa. Filmed during the tumultuous summer between high-school and college, BRONX PRINCESS tells Rocky's coming-of-age story. By confronting her immigrant parents' ideas of adulthood, Rocky reconciles her African heritage with her dream of independence.” www.shoppbs.org
I’m left wondering, –how comes I am only finding out about this documentary-film now? I Have just seen a preview and it looks great. Available for home or educational use, - Bronx Princess costs $24.99 and can be purchased from: www.shoppbs.org Get a copy and enjoy –it makes for great family viewing...
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