Chxta's World

Micro$oft has finally read the handwriting on the wall. According to Uche, the spectre of extinction was just too unbearable.

Today, Micro$oft and Novell signed a pact on that would allow Window$ and $use work together. I always knew there was something fishy about Novell's taking over Suse. Yuck.

But let's look at the silver lining on this very dark cloud: If Window$ had the kernell of Linux, Windows would become more stable. We all want an OS with Linux's stability, and the GUI of Window$ wouldn't be all that bad. Problem is that KDE has already achieved that, so what's new? Nothing.

What I'd love to see, but I know won't happen is Micro$oft to consider letting the Vista Kernel guys talk openly (with code) with Linux guys. Here's why,

I don't think Linux guys come across as arrogant enough to think that there isn't anything they could learn from access to the Vista kernel, and I think the reverse might also be true. I'd like to see Micro$oft working together on the kernel with the open source community and being able to expend more effort on the desktop environment and less on the kernel level stuff - although paying people to work on an open source kernel would be good.

At some point I believe (and have no proof) that Micro$oft may have to give up any pretension of full back compatibility - supporting Windows 3.1 code in the version after Vista makes little sense (at least to me).

You don't see the OSX community complaining that they can no longer run classic apps. Which is what Micro$oft destroyed when they discontinued support for OSes as recent as Win98.

Micro$oft collaborating, or paying M$ employees to work on the Linux kernel benefits Micro$oft and it may benefits the end user (where the differentiator is the desktop environment - an area where Microsoft is likely to win).

But would it benefit the open source community? That is what we'd have to wait and see. . .

An excellent tribute to an excellent man on The Independent.

The links in this story are many, so to read them you'd have to sashay to Chxta's World,

First we have to pray for the souls of those who lost their lives in the plane crash back home a few days ago. V's dad was sitting on the runway in a plane that had just landed from Lagos when it happened. And he says that the weather was not what even a madman would fly in. Which lends a bit of credence to Borisade's claim that it was the pilot's fault. But this is no time to blame the dead. We have to pray for the man, and the others who have gone. May they rest in peace.

Now for Borisade,

Since he became Minster of Aviation, there have been at least five plane crashes in Nigeria, each one has claimed lives. If the man had some decency he should accept responsibility and resign. Instead, he keeps shifting the blame each time, this time blaming the dead pilot for ignoring weather warnings.

And this is not all about the decay in the aviation sector. Borisade is a terrible manager. This same man sat doing nothing as Minister of Education during a monster ASUU strike back in 2003 which affected a generation of Naija students including yours sincerely.

Below is the history of Nigeria's recent aircraft disasters:

*October 22, 2005: Lisa Village: a Boeing 737-200 aircraft belonging to Bellview Airlines crashed barely three minutes after take-off from Lagos en route for Abuja. All 117 passengers and crew members on board died in the crash.
*November 4, 2005: Lagos: On landing a KLM aircraft received damage when it ran into a pothole.
*November 28, 2005: Kaduna: an executive jet crashed, killing the two occupants.
*December 10, 2005: Port Harcourt: a Sosolilso Airlines plane crash left 107 dead, including a good cross section of our future.
*October 29, 2006: Abuja: ADC Airlines plane crashes killing all but seven on board, including three generations of the descendants of Uthman dan Fodio!

, and I have even neglected to mention the plane which ran into a herd of cattle in Port Harcourt!

Babalola Borisade must go. Either by sack or by resignation. But GO he must. NOW. Obj, over to you once again.

Ngozi's Interview.

The interview is still available on the BBC's website, but I don't know for how long, so I tried uploading it on YouTube, but it was rejected on account of its being longer than 10 minutes, so I guess that YouSendIt would do. The file is available in the Real Media format, which means you need RealPlayer to play it. It is available for the next seven days or the first one hundred downloads, which ever comes first, so I would encourage whoever downloads it to spread the love.

Now, some of the people whom I tend to visit more often (Fred, Jeremy and Nkem especially) are of the opinion that she put up a mediocre performance in that interview. I couldn't agree less. And I would give my reasons.

First, you have to realize that the tactic adopted by the HardTalk people has always been one of ambushing the 'victim', kind of like a hunter. And IMHO, Ngozi didn't fall for that.

Stephen Sackur's intro to the whole thing was kind of surreal, and he said that Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world (which we all know anyway). We are (potentially) very rich, what with $45 billion in oil earnings last year, so why are we still mired in poverty? Valid question. What I didn't find funny however, was his almost imperceptible implication that all Nigerians are corrupt, and that a clean up would be impossible without chaos.

No sir. And I love the way she responded to that.

"People tend to think of us as very rich. But we have to put it in context. There are 150 millions in Nigeria, we have 374 languages, and the country is the size of Western Europe. If we take that $45 billion and take it through all that it has to go through in today's economic terrain, it would still end up as slightly less than $1 per head (to the uninformed, especially on Nairaland who are reading this, it is impossible to take the entire production and share for everybody. Sorry, I couldn't resist that jibe)."

That is very true in my opinion, although she got her facts wrong about our geographical size and number of languages, (we are more like Britain, France and the low countries in terms of geographical size, and 250 languages last time I checked), but what she said about the money is true. I wonder why Sackur kept harping on the fact that there is still corruption three years after her economic team came on board. For crying out loud, we have seen cases of corruption even in God's own country, so we have to accept that corruption is a basic part of human nature. This systematic corruption in Naija has been going on since the first republic, so we can't just wish it away. And it will definitely take more than a decade for it to be reduced to an acceptable level. At this juncture I want to point out that the desire to achieve quick results without necessarily working for such results has been part of our problem as a people. To bring corruption down to an acceptable level in Naija requires a lot of patience, perseverance and toil. Not wishful thinking.

On to the next exchange, and Sackur brought up the fact that 75% of Nigerians (it is higher IMO) are living in poverty. He also brought up the fact that $300 billion has disappeared from the public treasury since 1960.

Her response: "True, inefficiency exists. Corruption exists. We admit. We recognize (a problem recognized and admitted is a problem half solved). But what I want to point out is what we have done. We have set the country on the right path. We are now on that path."

My opinion: A little too optimistic, based on the fact that touts like Lucky Igbinedion are still on the prowl, but following the EFCC indictments of September 27, I can assure you that she is dead right. You see, the major thing we have to acknowledge is the fact that Nigerians are now aware. From what people back home tell me, the economic reform and fight against corruption has become a real campaign issue for the first time in living memory, and that is where the victory lies. The fact that like it or not, Atiku Abubakar for example cannot conceivably run for president next year is a small victory in itself. That the PDP (or any other party for that matter) has not yet openly come out to endorse IBB's ambition is another small victory like it or not. What remains to be seen is whether we would have the will to follow up on these 'minor' gains. On a more personal note, I'd love to see the travel arrangements that have been made by Igbinedion, Kalu and Yerima for 28 May 2007,

The problem isn't overwhelming, and like NOI said, no economy on the planet can tackle all its problems in three short years talkless of when the problems are on a colossal scale like in the case of Naija. I have to agree with her on the result sheet. The economy has stabilized, and debt has been wiped off. We hope not to choke ourselves with debt ever again.

Sackur's next ambush was to bring up EFCC. He said: "Even the chairman of the EFCC has said that so many are corrupt." Like I said earlier, he discreetly implied that all Nigerians are corrupt. For me, that was mildly offensive. You see, earlier in this tirade, I brought up the fact that not one, not two, but at least three former governors of the US state of Illinois have been convicted of corruption. You would notice that those convictions were never while they were in office. My point is this: it is human nature to be corrupt. The onus is on society to provide the requisite checks and balances. That is where Nigeria failed. We failed to provide checks and balances. As a matter of fact, I daresay we encourage corruption in Nigeria. That is not to contradict what I earlier said about my annoyance with Sackur implying that we are all corrupt, I am taking it a step further to say (not imply) that all humans are corrupt.

NOI's response to that was excellent: "Not everyone is corrupt. There are some corrupt people, there are some who are not corrupt. But to turn the tables, the money which is siphoned away in corrupt deals where is it kept? It is definitely not banked in Nigeria. Why don't you people in the West keep records of corruption. Instead you encourage them to keep bringing the money to your economy."

His defense to that one made me laugh: "Didn't the UK do enough to recover the Abacha loot?"
Her answer: "One of our success stories. $500 million recovered from Switzerland, same from the UK, but not as much as could be recovered. It would be nice if you (the Western media) remember that this whole game is supply and demand. If your banks aren't willing to bank the loot (which your governments use to fund your projects), then the money would stop flowing."

My take: Responsio superba. Do I need to add more?

He didn't follow up that line of questioning again, but instead kept reverting to Uncle Nuhu. See, it would be foolish to say that suddenly Nigeria has no corruption again (this is the last time I would flog that horse in this article), we have to remember, most people in Naija are honest people looking for their daily bread. We mustn't let a minute minority (government officials, and gee-men) tarnish the image of the collective. And this one should serve as a call to all Nigerians. Stand up, don't let them do us in again next year.

He then brought up Fayose. Now, I believe Oria's post did all the justice that needed to be done on that issue. You see, the truth is this: Fayose's removal rings of some greed. Why was the speaker so bent on removing both governor and deputy? Why the haste in appointing a new Chief Justice when it is not the job of the state assembly? We have to ask those questions.

Like NOI, I don't accept that the anti-corruption drive would lead to instability as Mr. Sackur kept saying. There is no free lunch. Having more of one thing requires giving up something else. We have to be willing to give up something to create a better country. It is either one of the following: either we accept some upheavals and get this monster out of the way, or leave things the way they've been running since 1960, and watch Nigeria go with the wind.

She also refused to comment on the third term thing. Great! On Atiku, she refused to comment since it is an ongoing fight. But she said one thing: "Nigeria has turned a corner. The Obj-Turaki fiasco wouldn't stop the reforms. Anyone who is coming into office next would have no choice but to continue the reforms."

Now, the part of the whole thing that I liked, and which is what conferred her the extra respect she has gotten in my eyes, was her refusal to do what most (including me probably) would do. And that is to get bitter with Obasanjo over the humiliation he meted out to her by that removal. The truth (even though she took the path of the bigger man and refused to accept it) is that that action was humiliating. And she first proved her credentials by refusing to do what the likes of Borisade would do. She resigned.

Let's hear her: "No, I was moved to the foreign affairs ministry as is the president's prerogative. Yes, there's a lot to be accomplished, but this is not about the individual. I have moved on. I resigned. It was not a humiliation. I felt that there are other ways of going about things which didn't agree with what was on the ground, so I left. Yes, it would have been nice to know before the redeployment. But the important thing is that we have created something that can be carried on. Systems have been established that would go on."

On that last statement about systems being created that would go on, I can bear her witness. The internet can bear her witness. The Ministry of Finance can bear her witness. Months after she left office, no one has dared to remove the page that bears the Federation Account. We should monitor that page and make sure it remains. That is the legacy of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to Nigeria. Transparency. That we must not let die. That we must not forget. Ngozi, I salute you.

I thought I checked dumb websites before, but this website is really so creative :

http://www.funbureau.com/

If you have any competing sites please post it and let the others decide!!!

My first computer was an abacus.

Paro's good, but he's not the key. . .

Use Regseeker to edit the registry.

Some kind threads for dis Nairaland wey no dey gree die ebe wa wome o!!!

Otigba? The place could be a bleeding disappointment sometimes. Whether you could get VMware for Window$ there is an issue, not to talk of VMware for Linux. . .

Yes, provided your host system is powerful enough, VMware's guest system would run anything.

Got this pic from a Madrid forum. Don't know if it is really him, but they claimed that that was were they fell in love with him. . .

[img]http://www.poliejido.com/images/ultimopartido(1).jpg[/img]

No. The idea behind VMware is to run another operating system within your current one to save you the hassle of dual booting. I was actually liberated from Window$ by running Linux in VMware within a Window$ system, and being realistic guys we acknowledge that there're still some things that we can't do in Linux, like FM for example, so we are turning the tables. Window$ in VMware, within Linux. . .

Doesn't have to be XP. I chose XP because I want to keep abreast with what is happening in Micro$haft's world. If Vista comes out I will upgrade it (and that is because my system would allow me to).

Personally, I think Win2k is the best OS M$ ever made. . .

I never had problems playing mp3s out of the box with Rhythm Box, but since you insist. . .

$ sudo apt-get akode-mpeg
$ sudo apt-get gstreamer0.8-mad

Hope you have all repositories enabled. .

Read for yourself, an impartial review from perhaps the best computer software repository in the world, CNET.com. . .

Dominus vobiscum means The Lord be with you, before una start to dey scatter yarn for here. Olex and Carlosein thanks jo. But I must commend you guys, you have patience. Jaizuz!!!

NO one said Opera or Firefox are perfect. But we all agree that they are miles ahead of that crap Micro$haft forces down people's throats. . .

I find it absolutely ridiculous that someone with gray matter can even begin to contemplate supporting Yerima's candidature, much less publicly supporting it on the net. For reasons of practicality, I'll assume that it is because this place (like most internet fora), is virtually anonymous, so some people can swagger in, write crap and sashay out.

Fact 5 (Buchi forgot to add this one): Take a trip to Gusau and see with your eyes that the man has done absolutely nothing in seven years. . .

You haven't touched on the security leaks. Last I checked they are over a hundred, and counting. . .

One more thing (I know I promised not to post here again):

The original Arhamaic word was Ywh. Because the Europeans couldn't pronounce that, they corrupted it to Yaweh, then Jehovah came about some 150 years ago. Nowadays we have Jah. So while we are at it, we could also call Him J. . .

Sheeeesh!

How come I didn't notice this thread before

Too true Nosa, I once said something for which I got a lot of insult, but I will repeat it again because this thread has only proved me dead right:

No matter what people call Him, whether it is God, Allah, Jah or Chukwu, it is the same Person that created all of us. And I'm damned fucking sure that He is just as confused as I am about how come there are now so many factions of us claiming to have sole knowledge of Him. Bleep this!

It is said (by Christians) that the Bible is God's ultimate truth, and (by Muslims) that it is His own word, dictated by none other than Jibril to the Prophet Muhammed (SAW). In both publications, it is said that man is created in the image and likeness of God. I beg to differ with that statement. It is a big lie. The God I know is perfect, and while man may be a copy of Him, man is neither His image nor likeness.

Simple and short, if man is in God's image and likeness, then God must be completely messed up. Because man is completely messed up.

It is made of electronic parts, which means it can be repaired just fine. The question should have been: is it worth repairing?

Let's put it like this Buluti, where I the one who made that statement you just made, I'd be crucified here. Let the man talk properly and let's hear him out okay?

O brother!

No Muslims to attack, so 'Christians' do what they do best. Turn on each other. . .

Who said Ubuntu doesn't support mp3s when Rhythm Box is part of the package. I'm tired of all these rumors flying about!

is it not?

Then my friend, you have a serious problem.

Go into safe mode (I assume you know how to get there) and do the shyte again from there. Just finished a particularly tough test, so I don't think I'll be online until tomorrrow. But leave a feed back here. . .

jammin:

@cactus explain to me WHY IE 7 does not match up to firefox or Opera.
once you know how to use IE 7, the experience is Fantabulous!!!

http://slashdot.org/articles/06/10/19/1326247.shtml

Is that good enough explanation? That link was the day after the official release of the malware. . .

My feelings about Window$ are well documented. . .

Anyways, download this file, and double click it. Should fix your problem. Then when you're through, do yourself a favour and switch to Linux.

The above is a screenshot of my system which of course is running Ubuntu 6.10, and an added bonus: I have also installed Window$ XP using VMware so that I am still in touch with my Football Manager and a lot of other stuff (like Flash MX) that are still not fully developed yet in Linux. . .