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https://www.blackenterprise.com/tinubu-is-nigerias-president-elect-after-disputed-election/
Nigeria’s ruling party candidate, Bola Tinubu, was declared president-elect of Africa’s most populous nation in the early hours of Wednesday after a weekend election that the main opposition parties have disputed.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state, will take over leadership of a country grappling with Islamist insurgencies in the northeast, armed attacks, killings and kidnappings, conflict between livestock herders and farmers, cash, fuel and power shortages, and perennial corruption that opponents say Buhari’s party has failed to stamp out, despite promises to do so.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Tinubu garnered 8.79 million votes, ahead of main opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar’s 6.98 million votes. Peter Obi, an outsider popular with younger voters, garnered 6.1 million votes.
Nigerian electoral law says a candidate can win by getting more votes than their rivals, provided they get 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of the 36 states and the federal capital Abuja, which Tinubu did.
Opposition parties rejected the results as the product of a flawed process, which suffered multiple technical difficulties owing to the introduction of new technology by INEC, and on Tuesday called on its chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to resign.
Tinubu asked voters to elect him on his track record during his two terms as Lagos state governor at the turn of the century, during which he reduced violent crime, improved the city’s traffic jams and cleaned up rubbish.
The 70-year-old has, however, sometimes appeared frail in public, slurring his speech and answering questions with platitudes, and skipping several campaign events, leaving some to doubt how effective he would be.
Obi’s campaign attracted young people and urban, more educated voters fed up with corrupt politics of the past, the two parties that have represented it since the end of military rule in 1999 and old men who have tended to dominate them.
OPPOSITION CRIES FOUL
The opposition People’s Democratic Party, Labour Party and a smaller party rejected the results.
“The results being declared at the National Collation centre have been heavily doctored and manipulated and do not reflect the wishes of Nigerians expressed at the polls,” they said in a joint statement.
INEC rejected the charge.
“There are laid down procedures for aggrieved parties or candidates to follow when they are dissatisfied about the outcome of an election,” it said in a statement.
The election was also marred by violence in places, although not yet on the scale of previous ones.
The INEC had promised to upload results from each polling unit to its website but most units were unable to do so immediately, and thousands of results had yet to be uploaded.
That meant results had to be collated manually inside ward and local government counting centres as in previous polls, which observer missions also criticised as the result of poor planning.
Larsa Pippen wasn’t expecting the grill session she endured while appearing on The Tamron Hall Show and called out the host’s “negative” interview style.
The Real Housewives of Miami star, 48, appeared on Hall’s show on Tuesday where she was forced to open up about her budding relationship with Marcus Jordan, 32. With 16 years between them, Hall couldn’t help but ask Larsa the obvious when it came to her romance with someone nearly 20 years her junior.
“I’ve dated guys that were a lot older than me. Scottie is 10 years older than me,” she said. “So, I don’t really view age as you’re mature or immature.”
“I don’t feel like that determines if you’re mature or not. I feel like if you can drink at 21, then you can go to war at 18,” Larsa continued. “I feel like there are different circumstances that I feel like age doesn’t really determine your level of maturity.”
In addition to the 16-year age gap between Larsa and Marcus, the two have close ties to two former teammates who do not get along. Larsa is the ex-wife of Scottie Pippen and Marcus is the son of Michael Jordan.
2020’s The Last Dance documentary shared the story of the Chicago Bulls’ success in the 90s. It also highlighted where things started to go wrong between Scottie and Michael. Years after playing as teammates, Scottie and Michael still aren’t on good terms, and Tamron wanted to know why Larsa would date the offspring of someone her ex-husband doesn’t like.
“I can’t basically explain how someone else feels. That’s how Scottie feels and he has a right to feel the way,” Larsa explained.
“I personally don’t really care about other people out here. I feel like I live my truth. I’m happy. I feel like we get along. He’s my best friend. And so as your best friend, I feel like we have a lot in common.”
But the Bravo star was visibly bothered by Hall’s probing and waited until the commercial break to call her out. Once they returned, Hall let the audience know that Larsa confronted her for being “negative.”
When Hall told Larsa she only based her questions on what’s been made public in the media and on the show, Larsa defended herself claiming “There’s a lot that goes into these shows that you don’t really see.”
Hall’s response wasn’t exactly the sympathy Larsa might’ve been hoping for.
“What you’re saying is that y’all are equally mean? I don’t know,” Hall responded.
“No, we’re not mean to each other. I feel like you don’t have it right,” Larsa told her.
Hall told Larsa that she didn’t want the reality star to think “Tamron Hall judges you for anything.” But it’s clear that damage had already been done.
Fans have been praising Hall for “eating Larsa Pippen up,” as one viewer put it.
Not Tamron Hall eating Larsa Pippen up, chile. pic.twitter.com/M6IZUQzy2B
— n a t a l i e (@nataliethehero) February 28, 2023
Why did Larsa Pippen go on Tamron Hall thinking it would be a soft ball interview?
— Tone Bee (@TeeliciousB) February 28, 2023
Why are so many ppl upset about Tamron Hall’s interview w Larsa? Tamron asked good questions & didn’t allow Larsa to skirt around the answers. That is what a true journalism is. Y’all have let podcasters & bloggers corrupt your brain. Journalists should be truth seekers. #RHOM
— Yasmine
(@yas_realitea) March 1, 2023
The Mandalorian kicked off its third season on Wednesday, bringing Din Djarin and Grogu back to audiences. The premiere picked up on events from the season two finale and from The Mandalorian episodes shoved into The Book of Boba Fett. Among other things, the show addressed Cara Dune’s absence from Nevarro.
The end of season two of The Mandalorian set Cara Dune, played by Gina Carano, up for a seemingly big role. The New Republic recruited her and made her a marshal. Fans speculated Dune would be part of the Rangers of the New Republic spinoff TV series. However, Lucasfilm parted ways with Gina Carano in February 2021. This came after Carano made a number of posts on social media. In one instance, Carano compared political differences in that moment to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.
Some wondered what it meant for Cara Dune. The Mandalorian season three premiere has that answer: basically, she’s busy elsewhere. Din Djarin visits Nevarro to attempt an IG-11 resurrection. High Magistrate Greef Karga explains he could use Din’s help as a marshal. When Din inquires about Marshal Dune, Karga says Special Forces recruited her. Star Wars novels, including the Aftermath trilogy and Alphabet Squadron, have mentioned the New Republic’s Special Forces. The unit is part of the overall New Republic Defense Force.
Din, of course, declines the position. He has his own priorities and they don’t include staying on Nevarro. And it doesn’t sound like Karga plans to get a replacement marshal from the New Republic.
Either way, it seems like that is that for Cara Dune and Star Wars.
New episodes of The Mandalorian premiere on Wednesdays on Disney+.
The post THE MANDALORIAN Briefly Addresses Cara Dune’s Absence appeared first on Nerdist.
There are more The Lord of the Rings movies in the works courtesy of Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, and the Embracer Group, which currently holds the rights to some of Middle-earth’s greatest adventures. So, of course, the next logical question is, what will these new The Lord of the Rings movies be about? And, naturally, we don’t yet have any clear answers. Details about the deal are slim, and, in fact, we don’t yet know the full scope of the rights handed over to Warner Bros. for future movies.
Right now, the Third Age of Middle-earth seems like the most likely setting for any new movies, though, as that’s when The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies take place. And Embracer has before name-dropped “Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, and Eowyn,” primarily Third Age figures, as characters to potentially further explore in film. But, before we get any official confirmations about the contents of the new The Lord of the Rings movies, let’s take a closer look at Middle-earth’s rich world. Here are some of Tolkien’s tales and characters that deserve their time to shine.
The Adventures of Legolas and Gimli After The Fellowship Ends
Legolas and Gimli won hearts and minds with their unlikely friendship in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies. But the truth is that they were barely on-screen throughout the trilogy, and their characters didn’t receive that much fleshing out. Fans of the characters and of Tolkien’s books will know that after the matter of the One Ring concluded, Gimli and Legolas became life partners and traveled together for the rest of their days… Even after Gimli became the Lord of the Glittering Caves.
Eventually, Gimli made the greatest journey of all with Legolas. He went west with him, across the ocean, and became the only dwarf to ever travel to the elven realm of Valinor. (Of course, even though Valinor also holds the name of “The Undying Lands,” traveling to them does not grant immortality. And Gimli would eventually die.)
As they say, the tired version of this movie would be a buddy-cop-style outing with lots of snark and orc-killing. But the wired version would be an intricate and passionate romance that spans lifetimes and ends in tragedy, something that feels more like Frank and Bill’s episode of The Last of Us. Neither Gimli nor Legolas, The Hobbit‘s weird interludes aside, even have canonical relationships that would need accounting for. And their relationship is definitely queer in the eyes of Middle-earth. Our eye is fixed on you, Warner Bros.
Tom Bombadil’s Middle-earth Tales (In Song)
Is this an original suggestion? Maybe not. But it certainly bears noting. Tom Bombadil was excised from the original The Lord of the Rings movies, which makes sense because there are many side-quests and meandering tales in Tolkien’s books that couldn’t make it into a more streamlined narrative. But fans have always hoped to see him on the screen. Tom Bombadil has a penchant for singing and telling tales and lives in the company of his beloved Goldberry, who is suspected to be a river spirit of sorts. And why not a The Lord of the Rings musical movie in our new slate?
Of course, there’s more to it than that. Although he appears a jovial sort, Tom Bombadil has great power. He’s implied to be the first living being in Middle-earth, and even the One Ring holds no sway over him. Tom Bombadil is also an other-worldly creature; he’ll step in to assist at times but does not have a full understanding of humanity, even less so than the elves. Definitely the kind of character that would be fun to bring to the screen. And we’d love to see the adventures he has in his Brandywine River Valley home play out, complete with appearances from the nefarious Old-Man Willow, the Badger-folk, and even Frodo Baggins himself.
Galadriel, Celeborn, and the Forest of Lothlórien
Fans of Peter Jackson’s films will know that Celeborn much desires to speak with Gandalf… But little else about the elf. In a new The Lord of the Rings movie, maybe we can actually see them get to have a conversation. But in all seriousness, Galadirel and her paramour are subjects of great interest. As is the mysterious forest realm of Lothlórien.
Galadriel is getting her day in the sun in The Rings of Power. And that will surely leave fans feeling hungry to know more about her Third Age pursuits, after her Second Age existence and before we meet her as the lady/witch of the wood. Tolkien’s books, as is their way, are not completely clear about Galadriel and Celeborn’s Third Age activities, but their paths do cross with evil. The Necromancer, a.k.a Sauron, builds Dol Guldur across the river from Lothlórien, drawing them to the land. And a Balrog of Khazad-dûm plays into their eventually assuming of its command.
Galadriel, of course, is also active in the fight against The Necromancer during this time. And she has ties with Gandalf, Saruman, Elrond, and other notable figures, making her the perfect center of a movie, with Celeborn to taste. We’d also love to finally know the mysterious origins of her all-seeing mirror.
Give Glorfindel His Moment in the New Lord of the Rings Movies
Glorfindel’s book role in helping the Fellowship transferred to Arwen in the movies, which was a necessary change to the story. But this elf lives quite a cinematic life in Tolkien’s writings, one that would suit new The Lord of the Rings movies well. Of course, what we can see on the screen depends on the rights available. But throughout his life, Glorfindel is a mighty warrior with immense power. He dies fighting a Balrog, gets resurrected by Manwë, and returns to fight again. He does not fear Sauron’s ringwraiths, and, in fact, sets up Eowyn’s iconic felling of the Witch-King of Angmar. Glorfindel prophecizes that the Witch-King cannot be killed by a man, which, in fact, holds.
Glorfindel also has divine powers and strength in both the seen and the unseen worlds. We see glimpses of the wraiths’ world when Frodo puts on the ring, but it would be interesting to visit there more fully.
Saruman’s Descent Into Darkness
Just how does Saruman’s pristine white blur into many colors? It always feels a little sudden, although we can see the consequences of it creep into the narrative before Frodo ever sets off on his journey. Still, there’s nothing like a tale of corruption. At some point, Saruman must have truly been a figure worthy of Gandalf’s admiration and trust, but pride and ambition clouded his mind. And then Sauron whispered in his ear, as Sauron always does. At points, Saruman seems to wish to use Sauron as a tool for his own supremacy, and, at others, he yields to the dark lord. This complicated tangle of evil, all mixed up in Saruman’s noble origins, would be an interesting one to watch.
Bonus: Anything Queer in the New The Lord of the Rings Movies, We Beg of You
The time for queerness in Middle-earth is now. Actually, the time was a few ages ago, but if we are getting new The Lord of the Rings movies, then there had better be a queer story front and center. Let’s be honest—Middle-earth elves have always been queer icons. You know it, I know it, I bet even Tolkien knew it. So the fact that there isn’t even one canonically queer The Lord of the Rings character is a travesty. Even The Rings of Power has yet to introduce a queer character, although it flirts with the relationship between Durin and Elrond quite a bit. And, of course, the show has made many important and welcome changes to the world.
Sam and Frodo, Gimli and Legolas, as mentioned above, that’s some true love stuff. And Galadriel. Well, Gimli’s quote, “They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods, an Elf-Witch of terrible power,” basically says it all. Not to mention, fans have thought these thoughts for literal decades. But even if we can’t go all the way there with known characters… Please, let’s just find a queer story to tell in these new The Lord of the Rings adventures.
The post 5 Middle-earth Stories the New LORD OF THE RINGS Movies Should Tell appeared first on Nerdist.