₦airaland Forum

Walahi gas is cheap. But u need to be more careful n be ready to stay in d kitchen all through d time u r cooking. Moreover u need a back-up in case it finishes cos u may not easily find a place to refill

martin92: THANKGOD DAT UNIVERSITIES ARE ON STRIKE, A BLESSING IN DISGUISE. RIP

wht exactly do u mean?

Perpetrators of these dastardly acts cannot be left to go unpunished

Perpetrators of these dastardly acts cannot be left to go unpunished

Welldone. Afterall it's not a political party

Taraba state is peaceful and the people are hospitable and tolerant. Suntai's health issue should not be used to destabilize the serenity right now. We need a healthy n sound leader. Period!

Interesting

Space booked, I'll be right back

This news should be corrected, Mrs. Arume Otteh is the DG-SEC not NSE

Wonderful! what actually causes plague?

There are strong indications that POP for the outgoing NYSC members i.e. 2012 Batch C will be scheduled for Thursday October 10th 2013 contrary to the earlier scheduled date of 17th October.

A Senate panel's deep divide over giving President Barack Obama the authority to use U.S. military force against Syria underscores the commander in chief's challenge in persuading skeptical lawmakers and wary allies to back greater intervention in an intractable civil war.

The administration was pressing ahead Thursday with its full-scale sales job, holding another round of closed-door meetings for members of Congress about its intelligence on Syria. On another continent, Obama was certain to face questions from world leaders when he arrives in St. Petersburg, Russia, for an economic summit.

The event's host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, stands as a reminder of resistance to U.S. pleas for Moscow to intervene with its ally Syria and President Bashar Assad.

Obama has called for military action after the administration blamed Assad for a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that it says killed more than 1,400 civilians, including at least 400 children. Other casualty estimates are lower, and the Syrian government denies responsibility, contending rebels fighting to topple the government were to blame.

Responding to Obama's request, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-7 Wednesday to authorize the "limited and specified use" of the U.S. armed forces against Syria, backing a resolution that restricts military action to 90 days and bars American ground troops from combat.

Obama's deputy national security adviser, Tony Blinken, picked up the sales pitch for the absent president Thursday, appearing on several morning news shows.

In an appearance on MSNBC, Blinken said he believes the American people will be more supportive of Obama's request once they see the Syrian situation as a separate and distinct problem as opposed to viewing it "in the prism of the last decade" of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is not open-ended. This is not boots on the ground. This is not Afghanistan. This is not Iraq. This is not even Libya," Blinken said.

He said that if the United States does not stand up to Assad and against the use of chemical weapons, some world figures will believe "it's OK to use them with impunity."

Secretary of State John Kerry, testifying for the second consecutive day before Congress, insisted that the U.S. military response would be restricted as Americans fatigued by more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan show little inclination to get involved in Syria.

"I don't believe we're going to war, I just don't believe that," Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, citing the ground troops and long-term commitment that he said wars entail. "That's not what we're doing here. The president is asking for permission to take a limited military action, yes, but one that does not put Americans in the middle of the battle."

In the Senate, five Republicans, including potential presidential candidates Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, and two Democrats opposed the resolution, which is expected to reach the Senate floor next week. The timing of a vote is uncertain.

"I believe U.S. military action of the type contemplated here might prove to be counterproductive," Rubio said. "After a few days of missile strikes, it will allow Assad, for example, to emerge and claim that he took on the United States and survived."

Paul, a Kentucky conservative with strong tea party ties, has threatened a filibuster, although he acknowledged that proponents have the votes to prevail in the Senate, and he pinned his hopes on the House.

The notion of a contained operation has failed to sway many Republicans and Democrats in the House, who question why the U.S. should get involved now in a Syrian civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000, displaced millions and is in its third year. While House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., have expressed support for military action, but rank-and-file Republicans remain reluctant or outright opposed.

Republican Rep. Chris Collins said voters in his western New York district are "overwhelmingly against involvement." The freshman congressman is undecided.

"Really, I'm looking for the president to justify limited military strike and establish what are the objectives he's seeking and what is the mission," Collins said in a phone interview.

Kerry told the Foreign Affairs Committee that he believed Obama would address the nation on Syria in the next few days. The president returns home from overseas Friday night.

Speaking in Sweden on Wednesday, Obama left open the possibility he would order retaliation for the deadly chemical weapons attack even if Congress withheld its approval.

"I always preserve the right and responsibility to act on behalf of America's national security," he told a news conference. In a challenge to lawmakers back home, he said Congress' credibility was on the line, not his own, despite saying a year ago that the use of chemical weapons would cross a "red line."

The Senate panel's vote marked the first formal response in Congress, four days after Obama unexpectedly put off an anticipated cruise missile strike against Syria and instead asked lawmakers to unite behind such a plan.

The vote capped a hectic few days in which lawmakers first narrowed the scope of Obama's request and then widened it.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a proponent of aggressive U.S. military action in Syria, joined forces with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware to add a provision calling for "decisive changes to the present military balance of power on the ground in Syria."

At their urging, the measure was also changed to state that the policy of the United States was "to change the momentum on the battlefield in Syria so as to create favorable conditions for a negotiated settlement that ends the conflict and leads to a democratic government in Syria." McCain, who long has accused Obama of timidity in Syria, argued that Assad will be willing to participate in diplomatic negotiations only if he believes he is going to lose the civil war he has been fighting for more than two years.

THIS summer, like previous ones, affluent Nigerians will be trooping out of the country to visit tourist destinations in Europe and America, in complete disregard for lots of destinations in the country they do not even know about.One of such tourist destinations is the Mambilla Plateau.

The Mambilla Plateau is one attraction in Nigeria that the magnificence leaves one in search adequate words to capture. Having experience the beauty of the place, there is always the desire for a second visit. Where does one start in capturing the place? Is it the sheer immensity of the rock formation or the twists and turns as one drives to the top the plateau.

The Mambilla Plateau is a plateau found in Taraba State of Nigeria. This plateau, is Nigeria's northern continuation of the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon.

The Mambilla Plateau has an average elevation of about 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) above sealevel,leaving it as the highest plateau in Nigeria since no other plateau in Nigeria rivals it in elevation. Some of its villages are situated on hills that must be at least 1,828 metres (5,997 ft) high above sea level.

Some mountains on the plateau and around it are over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) high, like the Chappal Waddi(more appropriate name: Gang) mountain which has an average height of about 2,419 metres (7,936 ft) above sealevel. It is the highest mountain in Nigeria and the highest mountain in West Africa if the Republic of Cameroon's higher mountains like the Mount Cameroon are excluded as mountains in west Africa, even though they are sometimes included among mountains found in the west African region.

The plateau developed on basement complex rocks.Tertiary basalts also occur on the Mambilla plateau and are mostly formed by trachytic lavas and extensive basalts, occurring around Nguroje. The Mambilla Plateau measures about 96 km (60 mi) along its curved length; it is 40 km (25 mi) wide and is bounded by an escarpment that is about 900 m (2,953 ft) high in some places. The plateau covers an area of over 9,389 square kilometres (3,625 sq mi). Gang ('Chappal Waddi') Mountain is found at the northeastern flank of the Plateau.

The Mambilla Plateau, cradle of the Bantu-speaking peoples (Zeitlyn & Connell, 2003; Griffith, 2007; Martin, 2009),and inhabited for over four millennia, is found in the southeastern part of Taraba State of Nigeria under Sardauna local government area (the former 'Mambilla Local Authority' and 'Mambilla Local Government Area') . The plateau has its south and eastern escarpments standing along the Cameroonian border, while the remainder of its giant northern escarpment and its western slope are in Nigeria.

The climate of the plateau is comparatively cold. Daytime temperatures hardly exceeds 25 °C (77.0 °F) making it the coldest plateau in Nigeria. Strong winds prevail during the daytime, and the rainy season lasts from mid-March until the end of November.[2] As a result of its high elevation, the plateau experiences temperate weather conditions but on a smaller scale due to its location in a tropical environment.

The rainy season on the Mambilla Plateau is associated with frequent and heavy rainfall due to orographic activities on the plateau involving moist winds from the south Atlantic Ocean in southern Nigeria and the steep edges and escarpments of the plateau.The Mambilla Plateau receives over 1850 millimetres of rainfall annually.

The Mambilla Plateau is hilly with deep gorges and travellers are constantly passing from one panoramic view to the other. The plateau is entirely covered by soil with occasional occurrence of granite.

The plateau is dissected by many streams and rivers; notably among them are the Donga River and Taraba River, with both having their sources on/from the Mambilla Plateau.

Vegetation on the plateau comprises low grasses with trees being noticeably absent except for man made forest planted by German colonialist during the period of German administration of the cameroons and other Nigerian government tree planting programs.


The eucalyptus tree is the dominant tree is these man made forest as a result of the easily adaptability of the eucalyptus tree to the harsh climatic conditions on the plateau.

The abundance of low lush green grasses on the plateau has attracted a large number of cattle, this has resulted in overgrazing of the plateau and has created problems between the cattle herders, referred to as the fulanis, and the indigenous people, the Mambila.

The Mambilla Plateau constitutes one of Taraba State's largest local government areas. There are numerous towns on the plateau with populations ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 people except for Bommi (Gembu), which is a sprawling ancient Mambilla city with a much higher population. The latter contains the headquarters of new-christened "Sardauna" (formerly Mambilla) Local Government Area which is synonymous with the Mambilla Plateau. Other important towns on the plateau are Ndik (Kabri), Ndim ('Mbamnga'), Saan, Bang, Mvurr ('Warwar'), Gam ('Wakude'), Ndarip, Mbugo (Tapnyia), Kara, Mang, Kuma, Barip, Kerke (Titong), Ngumbun(Bandin and Tem), Tin ('Kilatin'), Mbar, Mbunip ('Kakara'), Durafi, Old Mbungnu 'Nguroje', New Ndaga 'Mayo Ndaga', Benene ('Maisamari'), and Mamala ('Hainare'), beside Bommi itself, the Capital of the Mambilla Plateau. [Note that several place names on the Plateau have often been corrupted by non-native speakers and the foregoing is a correction of some of these misnomers].

The highland is home to Nigeria and West Africa's only highland tea plantations.
Nigeria's largest game reserves, the Gashaka/Gumpti Game Reserve is found north of the Gang ('Chappal Waddi') Mountain area just on the northern border of the Mambilla Plateau. The Gang Peak is West Africa's highest peak (excluding Cameroon's peaks)and has a rich historical and tourist importance steeped in enthralling Mambilla mythologies and legends. 'Chappal Wadi' is a misnomer for the ancient Gang Peak, whose tradition and historical phenomena have spanned several centuries to date (see Bami-Yuno: Jumboni - History of the Mambilla Chiefdom, ms).
A hydroelectric power dam is planned to be constructed on the plateau.

Skype has confirmed it has developed 3D video calls.

The news was revealed by a senior executive in an exclusive interview with the BBC to mark Skype's 10th anniversary.

There had been speculation about the possibility after the firm posted an advert in April saying it wanted to find a way to create "body-doubles" for workers unable to travel to meetings.

However, the executive warned it could be many years before the tech launched.

"We've done work in the labs looking at the capability of 3D-screens and 3D-capture," said Microsoft's corporate vice-president for Skype, Mark Gillett.

"We've seen a lot of progress in screens and a lot of people now buy TVs and computer monitors that are capable of delivering a 3D image.
Mark Gillett Mark Gillett joined Skype in 2010 ahead of its takeover by Microsoft

"But the capture devices are not yet there. As we work with that kind of technology you have to add multiple cameras to your computer, precisely calibrate them and point them at the right angle.

"We have it in the lab, we know how to make it work and we're looking at the ecosystem of devices and their capability to support it in order to make a decision when we might think about bringing something like that to market."
3D indifference

A decision by Skype to support 3D could provide a boost to device-makers at a time the format has shown signs of flagging.

Disney's ESPN division recently announced it was dropping a 3D channel and the BBC has said it would end a two-year experiment with the extra dimension after the broadcast of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode in November.

In addition, retailer John Lewis has said it has seen dwindling consumer interest in the technology, despite the fact that 3D had become a standard feature on many higher-end displays.

However, there are those who champion the standard. They include James Cameron - the movie director behind Avatar - who recently told the BBC it was "inevitable" that all entertainment content would eventually be made in 3D once special glasses had stopped being needed "because that's how we see the world".

Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version

Hollywood director James Cameron says all forms of entertainment will eventually be 3D

Mr Gillett said he agreed with Mr Cameron's claim, but warned 3D video chats would take longer to catch on than other uses.

"I can imagine a day when you have a 3D-cellphone screen that doesn't need 3D-glasses to use it," he said.

"It's less clear to me that we're close to having 3D cameras on cellphones.

"We're in the first year of your TV at home potentially having a camera attached to it, but we're several years away from the cameras capturing 3D in that context.

"You'll see much more penetration of 3D on TVs, on computers and ultimately in smartphones, probably, ahead of seeing it for sending a video call."
PS4 support?

In the meantime Mr Gillett said Skype was exploring how to offer 1080p "super-high definition" video call resolution to other devices apart from the forthcoming Xbox One video games console.

Since the standard would require extra processing power, he added that tablets and laptops were set to gain the facility ahead of smartphones.
PlayStation Vita running Skype Skype runs on the PlayStation Portable and Vita handheld consoles, but has not been announced for the PS4

And he would not rule out the software coming to Sony's PlayStation 4 which will compete with Microsoft's machine.

"We've worked with Sony for a long time," he said. "Skype ships today on the PlayStation Portable amongst other cross-platform devices that we deliver to, and for the last few years we've also been shipping versions of Skype that run on Sony TVs.

"We're obviously not party to their pre-release [PlayStation] hardware road map [but] we're committed to cross-platform."

Mr Gillett would not comment on leaked documents suggesting the US National Security Agency had been able to spy on Skype video calls since July 2012.

The Guardian quoted one memo as saying: "The audio portions of these sessions have been processed correctly all along, but without the accompanying video. Now, analysts will have the complete 'picture'."

Microsoft previously declared that any changes it has made to Skype's systems since acquiring the business in 2011 "were not made to facilitate greater government access".
'Fight hard'

Mr Gillett did say that the takeover had resulted in several advances including the integration of Skype into Microsoft's Outlook email service and its forthcoming Windows 8.1 operating system.

However, Taavet Hinrikus, Skype's first employee and its former marketing director, told the BBC he was not convinced.
Family uses Skype Skype says it is working to boost the video resolution available on laptops and other devices

"It's unfortunate, but the company has lost focus on product and delighting its users and instead has been busy with corporate restructuring and being bought and sold," he said.

"Skype should refocus itself on providing the best communication tools and fight hard for mobile.

"Today companies like Whatsapp, Viber and others are leaders in the mobile communication space - that's something that Skype has to fight hard to get back."

Too much suspension rocking the ruling party. Suspension in the North, suspension in the South, suspension in the East, suspension in the West.... But wait.o, does it mean that the NWC of the party has nothing else to offer it members except suspension? This is one too many

Lovely.
Congrats to our amiable, dedicated and hardworking IG.