Wow. So interesting.
Three sets of boneheads identified in this post:

1. The silly lady (and anyone like her) that likes to insult Nigerians online just for clout. It's time to give these people zero attention so they can find more productive things to focus on.

2. Any Nigerian man that thinks insulting and denigrating Nigerian women makes him better. Word of advice: You don't look as enlightened as you think you do. If you think that a big @ss or b00bs is all a woman can offer you then you're definitely not a catch and I hope women of ALL nationalities save themselves and run far away from you. Improve the quality of your thinking and I guarantee your life will change for the better. Same applies to any Nigerian woman that insults Nigerian men.

3. Anyone that posts or promotes content that insults women. The constant misogyny on nairaland really is confusing. Anyway, whatever draws in the comments right? SMH

For what it's worth, the overwhelming majority of Nigerian men marry, date, love, have children with, and grow old with Nigerian women. I don't know if that says anything good or bad about Nigerian men or women, but it's a fact.

Last thing: South Africa is a hotbed of gender-based violence and murder. It's a fact. Let's add in the xenophobia and IMHO laziness of certain groups of people (I've been to SA I know what I'm talking about). The women are looking for a ticket to a better life and the men just want someone to attack since they have low self esteem or something. I'm not sure what's so great about all that. Beautiful country though. Great place to explore nature.

Question: If god doesn't accept the tithe, does the tither get their money back? I think that would be the right thing to do.

No offense to OP, but this is such an unbearably stupid post. I'm winding down my time spent on NL because everytime I see stuff like this, I just know my brain cells are packing their bags and waving me goodbye. I mean really? Thankfully there are a few people with some sense to balance out this non-sense.

Besides, how does some random guy's pseudo prophesying prove the existence/non existence of god(s)? @ OP: Can you make some sense please?

Goodness. May level heads prevail on NL, and in Nigeria.

trent9002: @hubby, You say the guy's Rich and famous? Well I have not heard of him. And clearly no body here on NL has, Except you. That doesnt sound like famous to me. He's probably a local champion foolin his village members. There are many useful and valuable things he could do with his "powers" than telling random guys things about their lives. Eg: Identify Boko Haram and other terrorist groups, Working For UN and predicting earthquakes, hurricanes etc for them (sure they will pay him a LOT for that), Even working for betting companies . He can even work for oil companies and help them predict where there's oil and save unnecessary soil testings.
Why would he still be in Calabar playing with random blokes' minds? Believe me, Somebody with this kind of power would solve A LOT of man's problem. Besides, Applyin Occam's razor, Its more rational he just got facts about you, why do you prefer the more complex one? To cut this short, what is his...Um, Name? Lemme see what I can find about him.

Bravo!!!

Baby Boy

After I die I'd like to be cremated. Hopefully I'll have lived a happy and long enough life that I won't be mourned for too long.

THE END.

1stCitizen:

Refusing to c.u.m inside your spouse's pushee when phocking her is a sin. That is what Onan did.

Oga, using the "pull out method" is not masturbation oh!!! Onan's withrawal from his wife during intercourse is irrelevant to this discussion.

SMH. Other than misplaced piety and misquoted scripture, can someone please use the bible to adequately debunk Oyakhilome's statements?

kez007:


@Haribo, Thanks for the compliments my man!! The buildiing envelope will be a combination of curtainwall and masonry. More of the former. We will be completing both the core/shell and the fit out of the building. No work in Naija my broda!! abi you get business for me? lol

The major drivers in naija for material selection are cost, weather and security. It may not be realistic to adopt construction means and methods used here in nigeria without initially improving the socioeconomic environment

Eh, I'm not a dude. But it's OK. There is a certain stereotype for people in the construction industry, so I understand the assumption. Just thought I'd make a quick correction

Regarding your point about cost, weather & security, I always thought cost and schedule could be reduced if lighter materials like drywall, etc were used on the interior, while maintaining the usual standards for exterior walls for security reasons. I don't have any work back home, but as someone that wants to return to Naija at some point, I like to discuss these things to see what changes or improvements can be made. Naija is a construction boom waiting to happen, and I'd love to jump in at some point.

Keep up with the good work! I'll be checking into see how you're progressing

deadie:

Thou shall not comfort thy rod with thy hand  - Zacchaeus Chapter 12 verse 5.

LMAO!! You're awesome for that one
__________

On a serious note, for the bible reading folks, the bible doesn't specifically list out masturbation as a sin, so Pastor C does have a point here. Based on this, I agree with him when he suggests that the real problem for a christian is when you become addicted to masturbation. Abi isn't self control one of the 'fruits of the spirit?' Anyone that disagrees should back up their argument with RELEVANT scripture, and quit using this false sense of holiness and modesty to attack the man.

*Singing* Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of ALLLL ,

LOL! Whitney Houston (RIP) said it best!!

This is fantastic! Well done sir

Always meant to come back to this thread but I always seemed to forget. Two questions which you may have already answered previously (my apologies)
- What is your building envelope made of? Are you going for curtainwall or masonry?
- I believe you mentioned earlier that the building is for a hospital. Are you doing core/shell only or are you also fitting this out as a hospital?

Oh, one more question:
- Do you have any work going on in Naija as well? Would like to discuss more with you on stuff like using alternative building materials in construction back in Naija. Seems like we can't get away from CMU walls and such.

Looking forward to your response. Thanks for the awesome thread!

mazaje:

Are you truly a female?. . .

Wow, color me flabbergasted. I guess there's a first time for everything. Was my post dripping with so much testosterone that you had to ask this? Would like to know what prompted such a question. WOW.

Don't mean to derail this thread, but its not often one's gender gets questioned via the interwebs. *eagerly awaits response*

P.S. The answer to your question is yes.

harakiri:

The non-religious ladies have the same cold shoulder treatment meted out to them (even worse). There are lots of them but most remain in the closet (unless they leave the shores of Africa to a more tolerant/saner society). A non-religious person in this part of the world is regarded as being worse than a kidnapper or armed robber. People just can't understand how it's possible not to believe in a god or gods. In Nigeria for instance, you MUST be either christian,moslem or "juju worshiper". If you don't fill into any category, they will assume the worst about you and make up delusional stories e.g A neighbor of mine once spread rumors that i was a ritualist. . .imagine that! ! ! This is someone i have never talked to for once but from neighborhood gossip, she got to know i didn't attend any church or mosque and so. . .in that crayfish brain of hers, she believes i do all those terrible things she sees in those senseless and predictable Nigeria home videos.

Wow, this is pretty sad. Since I hope to return to Naija sometime in the future, stories like this scare the bejesus (ha!) out of me. My beliefs are more in line with agnosticism, but I'm not based in Naija, and to be honest when it comes to family and Naija people in general, I'm 'in the closet' with regards to my beliefs. Only one member of my family is aware. It's a sad sad situation. From comments above I guess a Naija guy is out of the question. Oh well time will tell.

iykak47:

What happens to GENDER EQUALITY,women should not shout equal right only when it suits them, they should also open doors for men.

We're Nigerians OK!!! Remember?? Gender equality does not exist in Nigeria!!! Instead of opening the door for a woman, most Naija men will expect a woman to open the door for them!! Afterall, they're men!! Am I right or am I right??

The term 'chivalry is dead' does not apply to Naija people. To us, chivalry never existed in the first place.

The correct Naija response to the OP's question is N/A - Not applicable

Anyhoo, I politely thank anyone that opens a door for me. If I get to the door !st I'll open it myself. No biggie.

yemmy_ma:

my personal opinion.

The Nigerian culture of over respecting elders should be looked into. In a lot of cases these elders have always taken us for a ride and that is why the youths have not been able to raise their voice in contributing to the country. Although things are changing, with the likes of Omoyele Sowore of Sahara reporters any Nigerian youth that feel cheated by an elder should seek justice immediately.

GBAM!!! This is the #1 thing that must go. Question authority or prepare to be cheated!!

- Another thing that must go is our overly supersitious beliefs. "Oh, my chest hurts. My enemies must be trying to kill me, BLOOD OF JESUS!!"  Please go see a doctor instead of wailing about imaginary haters. Nigerians are perishing for lack of knowledge.

- Don't wait till you're almost dead before you see the doctor. I know someone that got hiv, then disappeared and went from babalawo to priest to pastor looking for cure. After she was found and forced to go to the hospital for diagnosis & treatment, she refused to take her ARVs cos whe was waiting on divine healing. She died not long after. I believe it developed to full blown aids (which could have been avoided if she just took the medicine). Nigerians are perishing for lack of knowledge.

- Also, being overweight is not a sign of being wealthy. It's a sign of lack of control of eating habits. Let fitness become a thing of beauty instead of pregnant men and circular women.

- Also, we need to admit that addiction, mental illness, depression, etc affect Nigerians too. Don't wait until that man that always talks funny goes and hurts himself or even worse, hurts others before sending him to get medical attention. Although we'd like to act like we're different, mental issues affect us just like everyone. It's not right to tell someone who's having a hard time to 'get over it.' It's OK to seek help for these issues.

- While we're doing all of the above, why don't we spare the lady that gave birth to only daughters. It's not her fault OK! It's biology, and she will only get pregnant with what the man gives her. Oversabi husbands, mother/father in-laws and relatives, please take note and let a woman enjoy her marriage!

- BTW, what's so bad about having many daughters? As a woman, this one personally offends me. Are you saying I'm not good enough?

- Calling a child a witch is never OK.

- It's OK for your child to be left handed. Please don't beat the poor kid.

- It's not cool for your children to not know how to speak their native language, and to not know the way around their own village. It's a shame.

- Stop treating oyibo people like they're gods. They have one brain and two hands just like us. Nigeria would have been a totally different place (would we even exist?) if our ancestors had not been so awestruck by foreigners.

I could go on forever.

A few things:

We need to understand the reason why our ancestors practiced polygamy, before having these discussions. Here are my thoughts:

- Back in the day when we lived mostly on subsistence farming, the more children a family had, the more hands to work the land. More wives = more kids (at least if the guy knows what he's doing). The number of wives & kids also tied into the amout of wealth the family had, so there was added incentive to procreate & keep multiple wives.

- Back in the day, when we hadn't yet obtained medical advancements like vaccination, improved healthcare, etc, kids (and people in general) died from common illnesses and women died in childbirth. One had to have more kids in order to increase the odds for survival to carry the family name and work the land. More wives = more kids. Life expectancy has increased a lot with medical advancement, so anyone carrying wife #2,3, etc on his back should be ready to care for them for a LOOONG time. LOL.

- Back in the day, women were not considered as able candidates to lead in the community, contribute in the breadwinning duties, and take care of their old parents, so when one had a female child, the best solution to guarantee their wellbeing was to get them married off to a wealthy man asap, regardless of how many wives he already had.

These are my thoughts. They may be a bit oversimplified, but I think they are correct for the most part.

Now, in the 21st century, the three conditions I listed above have severely diminished at the very least. As such, any person that wishes to practice polygamy must be blind to the economic realities of our time, or really parochial in mindset. Just my opinion. I'm not against polygamy, I just don't think the polygamy practiced by our predecessors is sustainable in the times we live in.

Side note: Polygamy will not stop a man from cheating. A man will cheat because he wants to, not because he didn't have enough wives. Let's get real.

Oh, and for scholarships, I'd recommend becoming an active member of organizations like NSBE, SWE, ASCE, IEEE, etc. These organizations often have scholarships for members. Plus, for NSBE especially, they have a yearly conference where you can attend and meet your fellow 'black' engineers, network and also get potential job/internship offers. Pretty cool.

Keep in mind that a sizable portion of the members of NSBE are Naija people (we're just smart like that) so it's always nice to attend these conferences and meet old friends/make new ones

Sorry my examples are more from an engineering perspective. that's my background so I'm more knowledgeable in this area. I'm sure other professions have their own organizations. The point is to encourage you to be active in those organizations.

Some of these may have been mentioned already, but I'll reiterate just in case.

- Apply for a research assistantship position if you're looking for a job, instead of your regular resident assistant or other forms of campus employment. This will help you get to know your faculty better (recommendation letters will be a breeze). If you're good enough, you might get published (good for resume & future opportunites). The pay is usually WAAAYYY better than the minimum wage you'll earn on other jobs (at least in my experience), and if you're good you may get a free ride for your masters/PhD.

- Participate in extracurricular activities. Volunteer, participate in your international student group, pick up a sport, DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN STUDY. The memories and connections you'll gain from these activities will last you way past graduation. Also, try to be a leader in an organization. The exposure you'll get from this will be awesome for your resume & future opportunities.

- Participate in a study abroad or exchange program. This is my one and only 'regret' in my whole college experience. It can only do you good, plus it's your opportunity to meet people and study in a different area

- Don't forget to date!! Guys & gals, college will be the one time in your life where you are exposed to a huge pool of potential partners. I'm not saying you must find a husband/wife or something, but don't be too focused on studies to ignore your romantic education You may not get married to someone you meet in college, but at least you'll have some knowledge of what you want/don't want in a relationship. This is very important. I know some folks that were too 'serious' for dating back in college, and  to tell you that they regret it now would be an understatement.

- Get at least ONE summer internship. This is very important. Don't waste your summer doing nothing, or going home to sit in your parents house and eat eba all summer long. Get a JOB! When you graduate and start your job search, this experience will set you apart from your peers.

- Live off campus after your 1st semester. It's cheaper and your home cooked food will always taste better than the crap they feed you on campus. If you don't know how to cook then I don't know what to say, it must suck to be you though

- Take one or both of these classes (in whatever form your school offers them): (1) Religions of the World and (2) Human S*xuality. Trust me ignorance is NOT bliss. You need to educate yourself on the reality of life, acting like certain things don't exist won't make them go away.  Free your mind and the rest will follow! Shebi they sent you to school to learn,

- Live within your means. I know some Naija people like to spend $$ like there's no tomorrow, so they can post their nice pics on fb and make everyone see how they're living it up in the US. Don't get caught up with trying to impress people. No. one. cares. And if you need to spend money you don't have in order to make friends, then maybe you should just be by yourself. Commonsense I know, but I've seen to many people mess up big time trying to impress others. Its not worth it.

- Oh and one very important thing, make sure you stay on the good side of the staff of the international office. Don't mess with them. They are the ones that will tell you how to go about getting your SSN, OPT, CPT, and whatever other acronymns the govt. decides to throw your way. They are also good for tips on scholarships if needed.

I could say a lot more, but I think this is a good addition to what's already been said. Good luck!

Good question.

My take: People worship god for two main reasons:
1. Because they want something from him - No offeinse but didn't Kanye West have a hit song addressing this phenomenon? I'm sorry that's a bad joke.

2. Because they are afraid of the consequences of not worshipping him

As an ex-worshipper, and as someone that knows A TON of devout worshippers, these are my observations.

Peace out.

Whatever.


What about the citizens that are getting screwed due to a greedy and incompetent government that can't put a coherent plan together talkless of execute said plan? What about the victims of trigger happy policemen? Do they get your (very useful) prayers? I hope so!!

The behaviour of religious leaders during this crisis has been most insensitive. If there's any single time where I would have openly welcomed more of a helping hand from them, this would have been it, but they have managed to disappoint once more. SMH.

I'm not a proponent of prayer, but if you're going to pray in support of someone,  please pray for the powerless ones who have no voice, not the million dollar making, jet flying, convoy driving, beer bellied, multiple mansion owning, parasitic, myopic and disgraceful group we have as leaders. SMH.

I think that if we look at the bigger picture, Nigeria can use the ongoing strike to teach our leaders who the country really belongs to (It belongs to you and me, for those that are unaware). Fuel subsidy is one thing, but government accountability & transparency is something we have never seen in our country.

The wealth of the nation benefits only a choice few - This fact is the underlying reason that started the Biafran war. ALL Nigerians should be able to enjoy the benefits of citizenry.

It would do us well to keep this in mind as we all debate whether or not the SE/SS or whoever people should support the strike. Bad governance is still scr*ewing Nigerians over daily, subsidy or no subsidy. And yes, Igboland is affected. We should sieze this opportunity to make our leaders do their jobs as our employees.

Anyway, RIP to the late General. He was someone that actually tried to do something to benefit his people. I'm not pro-war, but in a dog-eat-dog place like Naija, a person that can stand up and speak out like that is truly commendable. Let's not let his efforts go to waste.

Just my 2kobo.

frosbel:

As if to say I am in ecstasy over the death of these people , so that their families can live happily ever after. Take a pause before coming to erratic conclusions.

Death happens to everyone, I personally came in close encounter with death 4 times in my life, twice in Kano when I was almost butchered by your religion of peace siblings , and twice in my teens when I was severely ill.

Nowhere is safe in this temporary life , but be rest assured that if it comes to a point where I have to stand up for my faith or die, I sincerely will choose the later.

Try not to sound so condescending next time.


Ask him , I thought you said there is no GOD

You might want to give that advice to yourself.

Comfort of our homes

How do you know I am comfortable in my home

Listen to me young woman , go and buy a bible , read the entire new testament and wisen up , know Jesus and be saved from your sins.

The alternative is too horrendous to contemplate.

@ Frosbel,
Listen to me old man, I never said there is no god. Quote me saying that so I can correct myself. Also, who are you to suggest that I have not read the bible? You don't know me.

Also, I don't care if you cheated death 4 million times, it still doesn't make it OK for you to try to explain away the fact that people's lives have been ruined, and that men of god are taking style to encourage actions that will inevitably lead to further loss of life.

Also, derailing threads is not a game I play. I stay on topic, so if you want to trade semantics and off topic statements, you can do so, but alas I won't be able to join you. There is a lot of truth to the OP's statement. Religious and non religious people will benefit from reading it, that's all I have to say.

frosbel:

^^^

I will provide you with 2 spiritually discerned bible verses, hoping that God may open your eyes to understand.

Anyway here goes :

1. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.- Matthew 10:28

In other words, Christians are subject to the same dangers as all men,  but have this thing going for them, eternal salvation of their souls should death come.  Let us revisit an incident in the new testament where beloved brother Stephen was stoned to death by atheists and murderous men. Consider his reaction carefully.

Acts 7:

That's all well and good, if you want to pretend that those that were murdered were people without friends, families or dependents. So, now that they have been killed in cold blood and their souls have 'travelled to the great beyond', what becomes of the families that lost lost breadwinners, the parents that lost children? It's OK to quote scriptures when you are all nice and safe in your own life. Please don't be so crass and dismissive of the sufferings of others. Also, what the heck does 'eternal salvation' do for you anyways? Have you met anyone that's enjoying their 'eternal salvation' right now?

frosbel:


Here we see that it is God who allowed the devil to gain Power over the saints, just like Christ did not resist his killers but is now seated at the right hand of God , till the cup of sinners is FULL.

God is exercising patience with the world while they hate, kill and ridicule his children.

Again, if god is loving, powerful, and omnipotent, why is this necessary? Please apply wisdom in your thinking.

You can quote all the scripture you want, but the fact of the matter is that religion (and christianity in particular, IMHO) encourages a 'wait for jesus', damsel in distress kind of attitude in it's practitioners. There is no knight in shining armor coming to save you. Please believe it and wisen up!

I think the OP directed his posts to people like you who preach from the comforts of their homes and smugly say it's OK for people to loose their lives and ruin their families for 'eternal salvation', or the 'pastors' like Mr. Oritsejafor who covertly promote violence while hiding behind their pulpits and legions of body guards. What a bunch of hypocrites! Quit spreading ignorance and put yourself on the front lines so you can get bombed for god and accelerate your arrival at the pearly gates!

Albert708:

The reputation of Nigeria in the US received a serious boost yesterday with the news that a Nigerian church  donated thousands of dollars to a ranch for homeless men in Newport, Washington, USA. It was a surprise experience according to one of the beneficiary of the charity donation because they thought it was a scam from Nigeria. but later found out  that it was real, but then. with the way almost all our billionaire’s pastors without sympathy for the poor buy private jets and ride on the most expensive cars, who could really be behind this charitable deed in the united states… continue reading: /p1TCRk-aE

If this is indeed true, then the leaders of that Nigerian church are a misguided lot. Sorry, I just can't have respect for such a 'charitable' act. A Nigerian church donating to an American church? Haven't they heard that charity begins at home? They haven't looked around their local area and seen the millions of deprived people, but they have time to send their hard earned money to America where medicare, social security, and overall standard of living is a million times better than Nigeria's? I hope this is a hoax.

Martian:

F#ck God! Fear me. At least I exist.

D*mn!! 

Martian:

Sky daddy either loves to see you people suffer or he doesn't exist. Which one? We are not angry, we are watching a real life comedy drama featuring idiotic black people and their middle eastern fairy tales.
And since the government is headed by people of below average intelligence, the bombings are likely to continue. Wonder how long they get to the mega churches. I really want to see adeboye oyedepo hop in their jets and flee. Lol
You made it real!! Lol man bless you.
Man2god.

Even if he exists, I guarantee that he doesn't care either way about the fate of his so called worshippers. The day religious people stop leaving their fate in the hands of mythical creatures is the day human beings will finally start making progress. You'd think that this bitter experience would teach Nigerians some common sense, but no. We will fold our hands and pray until we're all bombed to smithereens. Madness.

frosbel:

I had an atheist  English friend many years ago, funny enough he also mentioned that blacks had a smaller brain ( typical darwinian ) , we were close buddies, he with the big brain and me with the 'small'  .

Anyway to cut a long story short, we were working in the office one day and a small earthquake hit on richter scale of say about 4.0. The whole building swayed back and forth and there was tremendous ground movement with the associated noise. This guy with all his bravado talk and yapping at God crawled under the table like a worm , with a fear on his face that I will only ever see again in a horror movie.

What I am trying to say is that many atheists I have met are loud mouths, but beneath the veneer of their bravadosim is a fear of the unknown. A nagging thought that they just might be wrong.


Reminds me of a verse in the bible that goes :

"Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth." -  Isaiah 2:19

And so? You still haven't explained why god folded his hands and watched his people get murdered while they were worshipping him. Stay on topic sir.

When I was a kid I remember some of my father's estranged relatives travelled all the way to our house to accuse my mother of being a witch. According to them I and my siblings were successful in school because my mother was feeding us the brains of her students. Imagine that.

So yeah, I guess I'm the spawn of a witch (I'm a witch by association?). Fear me!!!

Thankfully my parents were enlightened enough to laugh at the whole thing and keep it moving, but there are many people who are being harrassed by so called family, friends and 'men of god' because of silly superstitions and overall ignorance. I weep for my people.

@ OP (or OP's friend) it seems like you're putting the cart before the horse,

Before you start thinking about whether or not to spend your 40mil on HBS or 'do business' with it, how about a few questions?

Have you applied to HBS? Have you been accepted? If you have been accepted then were you offered any financial aid?
Have you done research on scholarships offered by your state of origin or organizations like the NDDC? What about international grants/fellowships? What about financial aid from your current employer? Have you looked into these funding options?

Why do you want an MBA? Why HBS? What do you want to do with your MBA? If you're just looking for a brand name diploma to brag about or you think that a Harvard MBA will open up bank vaults for you then you're better off keeping your 40mil cos you will probably be unable to put an MBA to good use,

These are the questions you should ask yourself. If you know the answers to these questions your choice will be crystal clear and you won't need NL to advise you.

Also, please don't listen to anyone that tells you an ivy league MBA is useless for Nigerians. Do they know what your plans are? No they don't. Be the best you can be. No one knows what the future holds.

Just my 2 kobo. Good luck!!  

Inked_Nerd:


Yeah, we do. What part of the US are you from?

New England. MA to be specific

Hi Iglu!
I don't classify myself as an atheist, but as I am more aligned with the atheists and other irreligious folks on the forum, can I can help with your study? Lets see,

1) What part of the world do you live?
I live in the U.S. for now.

2) when did you become an atheist and what led you to it?
I don't identify as atheist. I am agnostic (apathetic). 

I come from a very religious family. Though I grew up in church I've always been skeptical and pragmatic (characteristics which don't tie in very well with religion, if you think about it). Nevertheless as a good daughter I went to church. As I grew up and gained independence from my family, I started studying the bible and researching other religions on my own. As I confirmed my own beliefs my observance of religious practices declined, leading me to my current state of equilibrium. I'd say I was about 20 when I left organized religion.

3) Are you parents,friends,family aware?
   a)  if yes, what happened when they found out?
   b) if no, why?
My parents are not aware but they know something's up. I've made some pretty 'controversial' comments lol!
Right now my younger sister is the only one in my family with whom I have honest discussions on religion. She knows everything. I know that telling my family about my beliefs (or lack thereof) will cause some stress, so I'm still deliberating how to inform them. But then again, do I owe them an explanation? I'm conflicted.

@ Inked_Nerd it seems like we have much in common in this area!

People pray when they feel powerless. Empowered people have no need for prayer. Our beloved country is a classic example of why this is true. Our leaders do not care, our hospitals do not care, our law enforcement officers are only interested in their pockets, and your own best friend will betray you for a quick buck. When no one in your world gives a damn about you, your next step is to reach out to 'higher powers' that can supposedly effect change.

So, people pray because they are powerless. That's my answer to the OP.

Is prayer effective? Other than the sense of relief it must bring to know that some greater being is working on your case, I don't think prayer accomplishes anything. But that's another topic altogether.

I haven't had a TV since 2008. I don't miss it. I watch some shows online every now and then, go to the movies about once a month, and try to check out whats new on TV whenever I visit friends, but that's about it. I'm TV free and loving it 

Mr President HOW will you plan to achieve this? Every Tom, Dick or Harry knows how he should be treated but how are you going to change the situation?

I'm tired of useless phrases like "should be", "in the next 10 years", "we hope to" and other crap politicians spout. How about a plan detailing how you plan to achieve your goals, how about a schedule, milestones to let us know how you are progressing with said plans?

As much as I don't agree with the 'wait for god' advice everyone seems to be giving, since you're religious I guess that makes sense for you.

I would suggest that you adopt a child. There are many children out there that need good homes, and I'm sure you can love an adopted child just as much as one you gave birth to, seeing as you take your religion very seriously.

BoOOosHBoy:

Ichigo kurusaki(bleach)

Mehh, I don't know, Ichigo seems like one of those kids that has to study for 500million hours to come first in class. They come out tops, but it takes to much darn effort. That's a huuge flaw,

My choices are:
Yagami Light (Deathnote) - He's super smart AND has a deathnote
Lelouch (Code Geass)

I'd rather be able to control people than to have to struggle and fight them