₦airaland Forum

Pope Benedict, white-haired, 85, and a neophyte to social media site Twitter, has beaten out 18-year old heartthrob Justin Bieber to set a percentage record for re-tweeting by his followers, the Vatican said on Thursday.

The Vatican newspaper said that as of noon Italian time on Thursday the pope had 2.1 million followers on Twitter, eight days after his first tweet was sent.

While Canadian singer-songwriter Bieber has roughly 15 times as many followers – 31.7 million – the Vatican newspaper said Benedict had beaten Bieber on re-tweets.

It said about 50 percent of the pope’s followers had re-tweeted his first tweet on December 12 while only 0.7 percent of Bieber’s followers had re-tweeted one of the singer’s most popular tweets on September 26, when he commented on the death by cancer of a six-year-old fan.

Middleman: dollars or pounds?

Zeus I: Your acting like Jesus Christ makes you a christian.

GenBuhari: Odima Nwannem

not many people know that the money returned to Nigeria had nothing to do with Abacha. Obj and IBB probably simply got the swiss to return their own personal loot to make it look like it was Abacha's. Have you notice that the loot that was returned has never been traced?

The Swiss court case records state that Nigeria did not have to prove Abacha stole the money before they can allow the money to be repatriated, the court puts the onus on Abacha to prove he did not loot the money.

L brasi: 3. GEJ. ONFOLD OIL CABALS.

NASA, the agency that epitomized the “Right Stuff,” looks lost in space and doesn’t have a clear sense of where it is going, an independent panel of science and engineering experts said in a stinging report Wednesday.

The report by a panel of the distinguished National Academy of Sciences doesn’t blame the space agency; it faults the president, Congress and the nation for not giving NASA better direction. At the same time, it said NASA is doing little to further the White House’s goal of sending astronauts to an asteroid.

In one withering passage, the panel said NASA’s mission and vision statements are so vague and “generic” that they “could apply to almost any government research and development agency, omitting even the words ‘aeronautics’ or ‘space.’”

The space shuttles were retired in 2011 and are now museum pieces. Few people are paying attention to the International Space Station, and American astronauts have to rely on Russian spaceships to get there and back. Meanwhile, rocket-building is being outsourced to private companies, and a commercial venture plans to send people to the moon by the end of the decade...

Some physicists and university researchers say it’s possible to test the theory that our entire universe exists inside a computer simulation, like in the 1999 film “The Matrix.”

Space 300x198 Physicists Testing To See If Universe Is A Computer SimulationIn 2003, University of Oxford philosophy professor Nick Bostrom published a paper, “The Simulation Argument,” which argued that, “we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.” Now, a team at Cornell University says it has come up with a viable method for testing whether we’re all just a series of numbers in some ancient civilization’s computer game.

Researchers at the University of Washington agree with the testing method, saying it can be done. A similar proposal was put forth by German physicists in November.

So how, precisely, can we test whether we exist? Put simply, researchers are building their own simulated models, using a technique called lattice quantum chromodynamics. And while those models are currently able to produce models only slightly larger than the nucleus of an atom, University of Washington physics professor Martin Savage says the same principles used in creating those simulations can be applied on a larger scale...

Kemy11: He didnt say anytn about compensation. i forgot no b naija

An emotional President Barack Obama vowed on Friday to “take meaningful action, regardless of the politics,” to prevent future tragedies like the shooting massacre Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
sandy hook newtown 225x300 Emotional Obama Vows Action To Prevent Shootings ‘Regardless Of The Politics’

President Barack Obama wipes a tear as he speaks about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

“Our hearts are broken today,” Obama said in a brief statement at the White House briefing room, frequently pausing to wipe tears from his eyes. “The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them: birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams.”

Obama expressed sorrow for the victims’ loved ones and sympathy for the parents of the children who survived but who know that “their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early.”

“As a country we have been through this too many times,” Obama said, listing a series of mass shootings over the past few years in places like Aurora, Colo.

“These neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics,” he stressed.

Earlier, White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that ”today’s not the day” to talk about possible new gun control steps meant to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Obama ordered flags over government facilities to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Dec. 18. Shortly after he spoke, Connecticut State Police said the death toll included 20 children, six adults and the shooter.

Obama learned of the rampage at 10:30 a.m. from Homeland Security adviser John Brennan. He later discussed it by telephone with FBI Director Robert Mueller and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Obama’s reference to acting “regardless of the politics” seemed likely to be a reference to deep opposition in Congress to new gun control legislation.

“Today’s not … a day to engage in the usual Washington policy debates,” Carney told reporters. “That day will come, but today’s not that day.” Carney said renewing a federal assault weapons ban “does remain a commitment” of the president. The ban expired in 2004, and Obama has taken no serious steps to renew it on Capitol Hill.

Carney declined to answer repeated questions on when would be an appropriate time for lawmakers in Washington to discuss possible actions to prevent future tragedies. ”Our minds and our focus need to be on what’s happening there and providing assistance where we can to those who need it,” he said, urging “enormous sympathy for the families that are affected.”

One reporter pointed to Obama’s remarks in July just days after a shooting spree that left 12 dead and about 60 injured at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

“I hope that over the next several days, next several weeks and next several months, we all reflect on how we can do something about some of the senseless violence that ends up marring this country,” Obama said at the time.

Obama has made similar comments before, including at a January 2011 memorial for the victims of a mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., in which then-Rep. Gabby Giffords was grievously wounded.

“We have to examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of such violence in the future,” Obama said. ”But what we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other. That we cannot do.”

Republican House Speaker John Boehner likewise ordered the Stars and Stripes lowered over the Capitol.

“The horror of this day seems so unbearable, but we will lock arms and unite as citizens, for that is how Americans rise above unspeakable evil,” Boehner said in a written statement. “Let us all come together in God’s grace to pray for the families of the victims, that they may find some comfort and peace amid such suffering.

“Let us give thanks for all those who helped get people to safety, and take heart from their example. The House of Representatives—like every American—stands ready to assist the people of Newtown, Connecticut,” Boehner said.

k2039: He is serving me well, I'm his master.

If I call him once, he responds twice.

malele: Guy free the president u fool,go and tell the likes of atiku to control his boys.

Demdem: These are serious questions yet unanswered by the Retardeen unlike the foolish ones asked during his chat.