What is corruption and/or misappropriation? Textbook definitions only set the boundaries and do not purport to define every instance of corruption and/or misappropriation.

Congratulations on your house!

It is amazing how different the building experience is in the US compared to Nigeria. Over here, if you’re using established builders, they have the cost down almost to the kobo for every addition or upgrade to the house. However, they do nickel and dime you to death because they charge for every single upgrade, e.g., an additional socket or light switch in your bedroom will cost about $200-$250 for one.

But I still wish there are builders like that in Nigeria so that one can know beforehand exactly how much a particular building will cost.

For example, here's a website that will estimate the cost of a house depending on your specification for different cities in the US. http://www.costtobuild.net/index.html

I bet someone can charge a pretty penny if the same is available for Nigeria. (Hint to the entrepreneurs)


EDIT**************

Found a website that has excel spreadsheets that will help estimate or guide the cost to build a house.

http://buildingadvisor.com/welcome-to-the-building-advisor/project-management/estimating-overview-2/estimating-budgeting-worksheet/

Option 1 – Going back to school
If you're here legally, go back to school and try to get another degree or certificate. Doing so will not only get you your next interview but will help you better assimilate into the new environment. Once in school, you must do all you can to get very good grades because your gpa will be asked by most employers for the first ~10 years of your career out of school. Actually, some employers won't even look at you if you're not at the top of your class academically.

Also, doing very well in school will open doors to scholarships that you could use to defray your cost of living and/or tuition.

Be confident in your abilities and have "never say die" attitude. You will be surprised how far you can go by just pushing yourself a little past your comfort zone.


Option 2 – Working crazy hours for a few years
If you're not the schooling type and you have your papers, then I would advise you to get a job that will allow you to work unlimited hours of overtime but you have to keep your eyes on your goal which is to save an ungodly amount of money to open your own business. Since you’re not highly skilled, you won’t be making a lot of money per hour.

Jobs in Nursing can allow you to work about 72 hrs per week with a day off (12 hours per day, 6 days a week). If you’re paid about $12 per hour, working 72 hours per week can net you about $55k per year before taxes. If you’re smart and save about $25k into your 401k (retirement savings account), you won’t be taxed on a significant portion until you take the money out but only if you’re less than 59 years old.

Anyway, once you have enough to start a business, just get a loan from the 401k instead of making a withdrawal and it will be tax free plus the interest you’ll be paying on the loan will be paid to you (since it’s your money in the 401k account). What you gain from this transaction is the ability to save money tax-free while using the same to finance your business.


Option 3 – Technically minded but hates school
Get certificates in all that CISCO stuff and if you know your beans, you’ll easily get job offers that will make people question the need to go to school. Earning over $100k as a contractor is common place but you really have to know the subject matter.

You also have the option of coding but you’ll probably have to own your own business and bid for contracts.


Option 4 - Lazy and wants to make money
If you’re lucky you might make “some” money for a few years but be rest assured that your days are numbered. The criminal justice system in the US is very effective. Enough said.

The development is great but more roads should be built leading out of that area! All those living after Lekki Phase 1 only have one exit out of that area, Lekki Epe express way. After Lekki Phase 1, you have the option of Lekki/Ikoyi link bridge or Osborne St bridge but taking the Osborne bridge means that you have to contend with everybody from VI.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but do we have contingencies in place for mass evacuation if a natural disaster occurs? Failure to plan is planning to fail.

ckkris: Team GEJ is succeeding in attracting increasing Foreign Direct Investments, FDIs. Dangote alone has over $3 billions.
NEPA is privatised to attract more FDIs, and enhance more power productions. Government actions in Agriculture is already yielding fruits. And more are manifesting. Only that the existing structure of Consumption, based on petro-dollar, must be TRANSFORMED methodically, in order to manage inevitable political resistance, just as Obama is facing in the US. But the progress is noticeable.

Which FDI exactly? Dangote invested his own money in spite of the government not because of it or does Nigeria guarantee Dangote's loans?

Late 2010/early 2011, it seemed the power sector was going to get privatized in the twinkle of an eye but 3 years later we are still holding our breadth. Hopefully it happens.

olu_kenzo :


I still strongly believe agriculture is the way to go for Nigeria. The government has to start by identifying farm clusters in various parts of the country -- Let's have clusters of cocoa farms, groundnut farms etc etc

Give help to farmers with funds for the procurement of farm implements and materials. It could also import these implements and hand them out to the farmers as a loan repayable over a long term, with minimal or no interest.

To cap it all up, there should be an agency saddled with locating and buying the products from farms and selling them at the international markets. They can share profits. The issue of transportation is important here, we produce a lot as it stands but most of it goes to waste. Collect the products, say oranges, pile them up at a storage and if possible airlift them to customers immediately. Like the hacienda system in the Americas.

Rich farmers == more production == more robust economy and foreign trade.

The only thing farming does is to guarantee food security, which is not a bad thing but I doubt agriculture alone can sustain a country as big as Nigeria.

Show me a country that thrives exporting agricultural product and I’ll show you x10 that are highly subsidized by the government just to stay afloat! Have you ever imagined what happens to farmers in times of drought spanning a couple of years? How about when some random disease spreads like bird flu?

Manufacturing of things we currently consume in large quantities is the solution.

ckkris:

1. Stop importing rice as President Jonathan is working on.
2. Stop importing generators, by increasing power production
3. Channel all those monies to increasing production of cotton, cocoa, etc.
4.Revive textiles, the way Obama revived US auto industry
Then imports will be for enhancing productivity, and not consumption, as it has been since 1970s
Then the Central Bank can work with any currency, or gold, as required by Nigerians.

The problem is that we implement our policies haphazardly with no strategic goal in mind!

On one hand we stop the importation of rice but fail to put measures in place to grow local production and the end result is consumers being faced with scarcity that will not abate.

Also, we are signing free trade agreements left and right even though we do not produce/manufacture a damn thing (at least on a scale large enough to make the agreement worthwhile)!

Solution – if you’re going to stop importation of anything, make sure that you encourage growth in that sector and you give manufacturers time to take up the slack. You can easily encourage growth by inviting the manufacturers of the product you import into your country and providing them with low interest rate loans. HOWEVER, you absolutely have to encourage/demand minimum local participation because the end goal is for technology/know-how to transfer to your citizens.

This is the only way for Nigeria to improve.

olu_kenzo :


What alternative do you then propose? We stay with america that'd never live within its means, pick up another of the world currencies with its attendant risk of dashing "world (mis)ruler ship" to its country or what?

Your earlier post covers all these alternatives, but fails to provide any solution. I wager you're asking we stick with the USD, no?

Nah...Nigeria will do what's best for Nigeria but if I were in charge of Nigeria, in the long run I'll systematically (1) increase the value of Naira or (2) close Nigerian boarders to foreign goods.

Increasing the value of Naira should be done if we’ve given up hope on the manufacturing sector. Some will be quick to point out that our major export is oil which will result in less Naira earned if the value of Naira goes up but I will counter with the fact that we import more goods than we export oil.

However, closing Nigerian boarders systematically is the best long term response because we will still make enough from oil and the shortfall will be made up from the taxes to newly-created Nigerian manufacturers.

Simply put, if there’s a shortage of ANY product for a long period of time and will continue for the foreseeable future, Nigerians and foreigners will set up manufacturing facilities within Nigeria to make up for the shortfall, which will mean more local employment.

The problem with Nigeria is that successive governments do not understand or fail to follow long term policy initiatives implemented by their predecessor. We tend to only see the issues right before our eyes and never seem to think long term.

olu_kenzo :
Simply put, America is the problem of the world. As another poster posited earlier, the solution to this imbroglio is for world leaders to create a new trade currency managed by a "world bank" or another financial body exclusive of the united states and/or China. Unfortunately, this will never see the light of day, as the Americans and their European allies are ready to kill as many people as that mouth this "taboo".

Sticking with the USD is disaster waiting to occur, conversely, the world is not balled enough to say it wants out. If you ask me...

How EXACTLY is this to occur? How can you get countries with different constitutions and parliaments to agree on the same set of rules that may benefit individual countries differently? Why do you think the European Union currently does not have a fiscal union?

Do you think Nigeria will agree to the same set of laws (punishments) proposed by western countries for treasury looters? Which legislature will vote for the laws? Here’s a former Mayor of Detroit city being convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison for something Nigerian politicians won’t even spend a night in jail!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwame_Kilpatrick

Glad to see the thread finally coming to a sane conclusion!

Funny how people are quick to point out how much US treasury China holds but fail to realize the extent of the symbiotic relationship!

US trade deficit with China is $315 billion (US bought $425 billion worth of goods from China but only sold $110 billion worth of goods to them). This is important because it means that more US cash is following to Chinese companies and workers. http://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2013/08/03/what-can-be-done-about-the-big-u-s-trade-deficit-with-china/

Also, what is China to do with all the dollars it gets from goods sold to the US? Save it or invest it? If they were to save it, under which currency? If they were to invest it, where and what should they buy? Gold, perhaps? Last year alone, the price of gold has fallen 26.66%!
http://goldprice.org/
http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/gold/all/

China pumps more cash into US because they want to keep fueling the spending spree! The relationship is similar to oil importers in Nigeria extending credit to Nigeria to import oil and getting paid at a later date. The importers know fully well that if they do not extend the credit to Nigeria they will not make a sale.

If US crashes or close its boarders, who will buy the Chinese goods meant for the US market? There will be internal strife and unrest in China because manufacturers will close up shop since they cannot sell their goods.

Take a look at the major trading partners with China and tell if any has the capacity with absorb China’s goods meant for the US –

1. EU (27 countries) 13.3%
2. US 11.7%
3. Hong Kong 8.3%
4. Japan 8%
5. South Korea 6.2%
…
15. South Africa 1.5%
…
19. Angola 0.9%
…
44. Algeria 0.2%

Only 3 African countries made the top 50 list, Nigeria did not even make the list, so I guess they can always expand into Africa except Africa is largely poor and the countries will probably close their boarders if they get swamped with Chinese goods because it will kill off whatever local manufacturing capability they have.

http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113366.pdf

Also, to those suggesting a single currency, do you mean like currently done in the European Union that is being held together by Germany? Do you realize that the Union is not currently working and some countries might be kicked off? See Eurozone crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone_crisis

Common thread that runs through the naysayers in this thread? Failure and the lack of owning up to it! The naysayers are quick to blame a country or the white man for their own personal failures instead of looking within.

Them say make you go school and get good grades but na club and strip club you dey go Monday through Sunday. Dey come kick you out of school or you come graduate with subpar GPA and no fit get job, and you wan blame the country or white man?

The only people that should complain about hardship are those that came into the US and Europe illegally for they’re the ones that even the most routine activity becomes problematic.

ozo_emeka: Read, if you don't see the point. How can I cure daftness?

A college dropout that can barely string a sentence together calling someone daft? You better run back to Nigeria before you get kicked off welfare! Just so you know, there's no welfare in Nigeria.

babyosisi:

Where in Maryland
I lived in Maryland
Rockville Maryland to be precise and I lived well and most Nigerians I knew did same
Stop the scares
If you lived in a ghetto and couldn't get out ,it doesn't mean others will
...

This is what the OP failed to realize! Some Nigerians are doing extremely well and some are not that great but on average, a Nigerian in the US legally will have a better quality of life than the average Nigerian in Nigeria.

ozo_emeka: SMH

Read the ENTIRE thread before you talk out an empty head.

THings are not difficult for me, I am stating facts.

Since you want to copy and paste numbers did you know that:
1. Most Americans (58.5%) will spend at least one year below the poverty line at some point between ages 25 and 75. ( Hacker, J. S. (2006). The great risk shift: The new insecurity and the decline of the American dream. New York: Oxford University Press (USA).)

2. Around 44% of homeless people are employed ( http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/employment.html )

3. In 2013, child poverty reached record high levels in the U.S., with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households. 47 million Americans depend on food banks, more than 30% above 2007 levels. Households headed by single mothers are most likely to be affected. Worst affected are the District of Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida.

4. Income levels vary along racial/ethnic lines: 21% of all children in the United States live in poverty, about 46% of black children and 40% of Latino children live in poverty. (Center for the Future of Children, The Future of Children. Vol. 7, No 2.)

5. According to the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity : Factors such as the desire to be with relatives or to enjoy political freedoms and lower levels of official corruption play a significant role in immigrants’ decisions to come to the United States. The generosity of America’s public benefits and the quality of public services can also make this country an attractive place to settle. These things do not change during a recession, even a steep one. In 2000 1.57 immigrants came to the US and 4.9% were unemployed. In 2009 1.14million came to America and about 10% of them were unemployed. Fast-forward to 2013 and tell me if you plan to see that better.

5. California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Georgia, Virginia, Washington, Arizona, and Maryland have the largest immigrant populations. Each of these states had more than 800,000 foreign-born residents in 2010. California has the largest immigrant population, accounting for more than one-fourth of the national total. New York and Texas are next with about 10 percent of the nation’s immigrants. With 9 percent of the nation’s immigrants, Florida’s foreign-born population is similar in size. New Jersey and Illinois are next with 5 and 4 percent of the nation’s immigrants respectively. Of the states mentioned, 90% of them have the highest rate of poorest places in them

This empty head has forgotten more than you will ever come across in your miserable life! Can you respond to a post without having to curse or is that your defense mechanism for not having anything meaningful to say? No wonder why you’ve failed thus far!

Now to the point you’re trying to make…

1. Relevance?
2. Relevance?
3. Relevance?
4. OK
5. OK

WTF is your point?

AjanleKoko: Hello Music Peeps,
I will be taking some time in the coming weeks, to provide some education about rock music, to the house.
I'll try to differentiate between genres (Indie, Album Rock, Alternative, Death Metal, Classic, grunge), and also provide some details of interesting work done across these genres. YouTube videos, mostly.

Even though it's generally regarded as music for white people, you'd be surprised to learn about how rock has influenced virtually all aspects of modern music. From R&B to reggae, New Age to Pop.
Also, despite being identified with mostly by caucasians, you would be surprised to learn that two black musicians (Chuck Berry, Little Richard) are regarded as the founders of rock music. Haley in fact released the very first official rock album, Rock Around The Clock, in 1955.

So sit back and enjoy the delivery, and I will be back with the first contribution

Rock music ke? You skipped R&B, rap, jazz and landed on rock? Soft rock I hope! I guess it's like me and rap music.

biafranqueen: I agree the opportunities are in abundance when you go for it if you complain about tribalism you will come here and complain about racism. I grew up with white jewish people and have mostly worked with them my whole career. California is very liberal compared to the South where I went to the University, I have experienced racists remarks, but I have experienced more s*xism then racism, in the corporate world. I have a very open personality and I see good in everybody, if somebody is miserable I feel sorry for them and keep away. My worst experiences have been with my own people, hater-ism

I laugh when I her Nigerians complain about racism in the US because the level of tribalism in Nigeria (especially NL) is just as bad, if not worse! I never truly appreciated the level of hate between Yorubas and Igbos until I started spending more time on Nairaland. It got to the point where people I felt were above the fray were knee deep in the mud slinging hate left and right. The entire atmosphere felt so vile that I just stayed away.

Personally, I’ve not experienced a racist remark to my face and I’ve always worked in a predominately white profession. The only blacks that I do see around me are the office cleaners.

mikeansy: IBB is the the most misconstrued leader

I would have guess people knew him for exactly what he is - Maradona. Why IBB?

REALITY101:
...
I've met a man in his early 40's who claimed to be a former bank manager in Nigeria "I know bankers ain't that here" but I believe they make more than bankers here, he was applying for a job which pays a little over minimum wage of Californian state. I don't know if they are lying or they're just desperate of living in Yanks

Exactly what type of job do you expect a Nigerian banker to get over here?

Nigerians in diaspora and their anecdotes! Just because things are difficult or easy for you does not make it a fact that’s true for everybody else!

Fact
1. The population of US is ~316,000,000 million.

2. The US has the world’s highest GDP (purchasing power parity).

3. The U.S. median household income was $50,502 in 2011.

4. Those living on less than $2 per day before government benefits include 2.8 million children. However, the total federal and state spending on welfare programs was $434 billion in FY 2000. Of that total, $313 billion (72 percent) came from federal funding and $121 billion (28 percent) came from state or local funds.

5. Analysis by 2000 Federal Population Census (1). German 42,841,569 15.2%; (2) Irish 30,524,799 10.8%; (3) African 24,903,412 8.8%; (4). English 24,509,692 8.7%;(5). American 20,188,305 7.2%; (6). Mexican 18,382,291 6.5%; (7). Italian 15,638,348 5.6%; (. Polish 8,977,235 3.2%; (9). French 8,309,666 3.0%; (10). American Indian 7,876,568 2.8%; (11). Scottish 4,890,581 1.7%; (12). Dutch 4,541,770 1.6%; (13). Norwegian 4,477,725 1.6%; (14). Scotch-Irish 4,319,232 1.5%; (15). Swedish 3,998,310 1.4%.


Bottom line, as it is in most first world countries, competition to become rich i.e. standout from the crowd, is very tough because you are competing with well educated people, with inherent advantages, that are trying to get rich or become richer. It is a lot easier to become an average person with enough money or support to live an average lifestyle.

However, if you’re good at what you do, the sky is the limit!

mbulela:

I wish there was even something to understand.

Here's one policy decision that he made that sounded good on paper: removal of oil subsidy. Unfortunately, that whole industry is fraught with so much theft by political heavyweights and “friends” that I think the status quo should remain because the populace is still reaping minute benefits of a liter of fuel being fixed. What’s clear is that whether or not the subsidy is removed, politicians and their friends are still going to get richer.

AjanleKoko: Wallie, I disagree on all three.
First off, OBJ was arrogant and profligiate, constantly trying to pass himself off as some kind of Kemal Ataturk of Nigeria. There was way more posturing, dirty politicking, and hypocritical pontificating, than there was actually any doing. For some reason, he thinks he's the ish where Nigeria is concerned. Death will probably need to save him from a well-deserved comeuppance, same for IBB.
In fact, by the time Jonathan leaves office, he'll probably have as much bragging rights as OBJ, for all the huffing and puffing of the latter.

Secondly, Yar'Adua: He had no business being in office in the first place. If he had any integrity, he should have not put himself forward for the job. Then what do we have to say about all that drama leading up to his death?

GEJ: Oh please . I have no quarrels with him being there, as a SS president is prolly what we need at this time. But the dude doesn't have any special qualities. He just looks sheepish, and seems overwhelmed by the atmosphere. Add some naive petulance to the mix, and that just about sums up GEJ.

Tinubu: Intelligent hoodlum if ever there was any. For a people that produced talent like Obafemi Awolowo, Tinubu ain't no hero. He's just a necessary evil we have to bear for now.

AJ, one cannot deny the positive impact of some of what OBJ did during his tenure and I’ll rank the creation of the now ridiculed EFCC, repayment of our debt, and the revamping of the telecom sector among his greatest achievements.

I vividly remember the state of the telecom sector back in the 90s! Back then I stopped trying to call home because it would take hours, literally, just to get through and when you do, the conversation was filled with a lot of “hello!” “hello… hello o”! Even when the call was made from Nitel!

Also, when the EFCC started out, they instilled fear in even the most hardened politician because Ribadu was fearless and took everybody (or was it just political enemies?) to task. He was ruthless when he had anyone in his crosshairs! Now, EFCC appears to be only interested in 419ers that swindle oyinbos!

With regards to GEJ, he’s like most African presidents that find themselves in a position of power. I fault him, not for his knowledge or lack thereof, but for not having the foresight to choose the right advisors. The truth is that even the most brilliant president cannot know it all but they appear more eloquent than their intelligence because they’re surrounded by brilliant minds.

GEJ has to be able to listen to the experts with different view points, get the facts on issues, and take a decisive stand once he has all the info needed. Unfortunately, I don’t believe he has the right people surrounding him or the people surrounding him are only just presenting him with one side of an issue.

I’m sure Yar'Adua thought he could survive the duration of his tenure or he got fostered into a position he couldn’t refuse. It sounded like OBJ wasn’t ready to hand over power to any other Northerner. Imagine asking the only surviving son of a monarchy to take reigns from his dead father, the king, except the prince has no interest whatsoever in the throne. Kinda like asking Kim Jong Nam to be North Korea’s leader if Kim Jong Un never existed. I also would not blame him for what his handlers did when he became incapacitated.

Oya, your turn…abi you do not believe any politician is misconstrued?

1. OBJ – I truly believe he means well for Nigeria but he suffers from “my way or the highway”, which is not always a bad thing in a country like Nigeria especially when one understands/appreciates his own infallibility. Unfortunately, OBJ always have to have his way.

2. Umaru Yar'adua – I feel he was a sincere leader but his health held him back from being a great performer.

3. GEJ – I think he’s sincere but lacks the skills needed to be a great administrator. He’s also too close to shady characters and lack the advisers/handlers needed to govern a country like Nigeria. He’s the opposite of OBJ. If only he could surround himself with true reformers like OBJ did during his tenure his shortcomings can be easily overlooked. So far, I can’t think of any significant reform under his tenure…

4. Tinubu – a visionary but his willingness to scrap in the mud with opponents makes it hard for neutral parties to see his vision or appreciate his quest. His saving grace is that when it’s all said and done, the result of his work speaks for itself and can be seen with people associated with him, e.g. Fashola.

Did anybody see the dude trying to pull the chute 3 times and the instructor pushing his had away? That's the scary stuff! I would rather have the chute tethered or some sort of automatic deployment based on altitude so that it takes user error out of the equation!

Who is Tinie Tempah? Who is Taio Cruz? I have honestly never heard of either of them.

There's no way Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz are more popular than Sade, Seal, Wale, or Chamillionaire! Here's an anecdote on popularity: P Square is very popular among francophone Africans for some reason! They are very popular among Canadian Africans.

Also, most people do not know TuFace by name but when you say "You’re My African Queen," most blacks will know which song you're talking about.

Lastly, where's Fela and Femi Kuti? I've heard Fela's instrumental being used over here in the States. I’ve even heard it a few times on National Public Radio (NPR) being used as a sound track to a News story outro. Also, check the link below to see artists that have sampled Fela's songs:

http://www.whosampled.com/Fela-Kuti/sampled/?sp=1


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLF39513uwM

Sincere 9gerian:
You guys are just shameless hypocrites. How many of you cried foul when Amaechi and his gang of northern governors cloned the PDP and called it newPDP and sacked the PDP leadership? Is it constitutional to clone an already existing body? It seems what determines what is wrong or right depends on whose on the receiving end. If the president is on the receiving end (like the newPDP) you celebrate but when those on the other end are at the receiving (eg NGF election, Rivers crisis) you scream illegality.

I insist that the police has every right to stop the governor if what he's about to do will lead to break down of law and order. You guys forgot that president can declare state of emergency all over nation or any part of the country. When it comes to law and order or enforcing the law, extra-ordinary measures can be taken. I deal with FACTS, not sentiments. I also stated that if the reason for stopping the governor was not because of law and order or enforcing the law, then the police is wrong and those involved in the act should be sanctioned. That is my position

1. If the president or any other person feels aggrieved, they should seek redress in court especially when it concerns "illegality".
2. Where did the police get the "authority" to stop a sitting governor? The police are meant to enforce the judgment as passed by the judiciary.

1. The CP is now the judge, jury and executioner? The police should be enforcing the judgment of a competent court and should never be interpreting the law!
2. I can honestly now see why having a State police will cause more havoc than good!

What shortsighted people fail to realize is that precedence is being set for future politicians in power to follow. Politicizing the police and/or military is just a step below executing a coup because people in power can just use those with guns to do their bidding at any time of their choosing.

If all it takes for our institutions to be bastardized is the act of a CP, then the whole system needs revamping starting with the judicial system.

What if the populace, assuming armed (MEND, OPC, militants, etc), now wants to protect their governor? Wouldn’t that lead to a confrontation with the police with both sides thinking they’re right? What role will the military play and who would be in charge?

Make una thread softly softly o!

@Pakingzzz

What size heli do you have (450, 500 or 600 class) and which parts are your major stumbling block? Take a look at the sites below to give you a better idea:

http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/radio-controlled-helicopters.html
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__340__59__Electric_Motors-Heli_Motors.html

How bad is someone that robs the ultra rich to give to the poor? Robin Hood comes to mind here. Robin Hood probably belongs in jail but I’m sure when it comes time for his sentencing, his jail sentence will be mitigated by his “good”.

However, will you commit a moral sin to give hope to your family and friends? Can your "good" ever outweigh your "bad"?

Lastly, is selling adult toys "always" a bad thing? There are a lot of marriages that could be saved and a lot of promiscuity that could be avoided if people find a way of pleasuring themselves without the help of the next door neighbor.

It depends - that's the answer to the original question.

Sidajili:

Yep... he is pro... won a couple of medals in RC Jet competition in the past. Those Jets' turbines are Kero thirsty and 3 liters usually burn out in about in about 10 minutes of flight. The Jets aren't designed for payloads of reasonable interests. They can hit top speeds of 250-300km/h and are just for sports, leisure, airshows and demos. The speeds are just exhilarating and adrenalin pumping.

Wow!! With EPO foam, one would need reinforcements to get above 110km/h and even then, the wings will flutter like crazy!

onila: ARE U IVORIAN

At times I feel like it based on the amount of French spoken around me. I am Nigerian or what Ivorians refer to as anango.

Nayah:
Told you her father too... Lebanese Senegalese I know someone who is a good friend of her

Ahhh...so you're getting second hand information? Well, they (her family minus the dad) actually stay with me at times when they come to the US but not Aissata. I met her in Abidjan about a decade ago when she was much younger. I was actually with two of her siblings this past weekend in Montreal.

Sybellah: Her father is mixed Ivorian-Senegalese(Fulani) and her mother Ivorian-Lebanese, her father aint mixed he is black

Correct.