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ATTLEBORO - Agatha Kolodziejczak was getting a little too plump eating gwumpkie and pierogi. There was a fear within her, because her father once tipped the scales at a nearly fatal 400 pounds.After spending a year abroad in her native Poland, Kolodziejczak had come home to face admonitions from her mother, imploring her to lose weight. But it wasn't until she met her boyfriend Reda Ahlouche - an Albanian native with a sensible, dynamic plan and regime to get people fit - did she reshape her body, mind and attitude into something wondrous to behold.Known as AggiK to clients, the Dedham High and UMass grad is now a champion female bodybuilder. She recently won 1st place in both the 2007 NPC Rhode Island and New Hampshire Championships in the novice division as well as finishing in the Top 5 of the 2007 Miss Hawaiian Tropics Nationals event in Florida and the Top 10 in the 2007 Fitness Atlantic for Sports and Bikini Models.


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Nigeria: Yar'Adua's Health And the Rotten Entrails of Politics

"How many decisions - including ones of great historical significance that impact millions of people-are made by men and women who are driven by personal motives rather than by a desire to do the right thing?

How many of our top government officials are driven by personal greed instead of national loyalty?"-John Perkins in "Confessions of an economic hit man"

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Scepticism over load shedding about-turn

Eskom's suspension of load shedding has been welcomed, but the electricity supply problems had already done damage, analysts say. Many said it was too late to go back for consumers and businesses that lost millions of rands because of the power company's policy. And there was some cynicism about the utility's claims that the reason for the suspension was a reduction in demand. Eskom this week announced the suspension of all planned load shedding, although there could be emergency cuts. The reason given for Eskom's change in attitude is that the country's top 10 municipalities had together reduced demand by up to 8 percent. .


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Call for attitude change towards rape victims

Northern Territory Deputy Chief Minister Marion Scrymgour has backed calls for people in Indigenous communities to change their attitudes towards rape victims.

The NT Chief Justice raised concerns this week after the family of a Hermannsburg man who was found guilty of rape beat his victim over the verdict.

Ms Scrymgour says the NT Government recognises it is a problem.

"It's something that we've talked about, for communities or our men to think differently about how they value their women and their children," she said.

"It's about making sure we get back those value systems that are there, but I don't think it's only Aboriginal communities I think it's across society."

Tags: judges-and-legal-professionals, sexual-offences, nt, hermannsburg-0872

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Sierra Leone: Attitudinal Change Relies More On Change At the Top Than the Bottom

For Sierra Leone to move from being one of the poorest nations on earth to one that is prosperous, its people will need to change their attitude - this is the message President Ernest Bai Koroma hopes Sierra Leoneans, both at home and in the Diaspora, will certainly receive. But what will it take for the president's passionate message to be heard and practised by all?

Last week, government politicians, including civil society organisations, launched a campaign against Sierra Leoneans who hold a negative attitude on Sierra Leone. The campaign is called "Attitudinal Change." This event was held at the Miata Conference Hall in the west of Freetown.

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The rise of snack drama

If you're the kind of person who sends emails while waiting for the bus or if you are reading this article while eating your lunch, you already know that modern life is all about multi-tasking.

Producers of televised drama know it too and they have decided that the days of hour-long "appointment" TV, where you sit on your couch and do nothing but watch your chosen show, are limited. Hence the rise of "snack drama" - shows broken up into episodes of under four minutes intended to be viewed online or on your mobile phone.

The television industry's interest in snack drama is fuelled by the arrival of mobile television. General manager for products and services at 3 Mobile Mira Bashi says the demand for mobile entertainment is growing with customers spending an average of eight minutes accessing mobile TV services on the 3 network.


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In search of a perfect church - make yours caring, loving

A Columbian came to faith in Christ through reading the Bible and soon after his conversion immigrated to America.Here he began searching for a church where he could grow in his newfound faith but became confused by the number of churches from which to choose. Finally he settled on a test for choosing the church he would make his own. He would know he had found the right church, he said, when he sensed the kind of love between the members that he had read about in the Bible.This believing immigrant's test for finding the right church may not satisfy everyone, but I am challenged every time I remember his keen perception of the climate of love among those early believers following the resurrection. A return to that kind of affection for one another would bring new life to any congregation.Still, experience has taught me that there are people who could attend such an awakened, loving church and not be content.


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