₦airaland Forum

Hi mod, I highly recommend this post for front page
https://www.nairaland.com/1419024/11-year-old-boy-admitted-university-study

I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this picture. I wonder if people did actually attend this "Festival of fire." The theme of the conference is a no-brainer! There's also a special session for single and married folks about Suitors.

What do you think? Naija I hail o!

babyosisi: Tell me about it

Do most Nigerians share the same sentiments?

babyosisi: This will render our local market men And women jobless
Walmart has killed off smaller retailers in places and will close down markets and any competitors
They are a mega corporation and can afford to buy in enormous quantities ,lower prices and edge off mama Chibuike and mama Funke selling ugu in the market making small change

But don't we already have walmart-like stores in Nigeria? Well, maybe not as aggressive as Walmart.

babyosisi: This will render our local market men Ad women jobless
Walmart has killed off smaller retailers and will close down markets
This is not a good move

One of the effects of capitalism.

Hello Nigeria, Angola...Hello Africa! Wal-Mart is coming to a city near you!

According to the Wall Street Journal, Massmart, the local arm of Wal-Mart in South Africa aims for 90 new outlets across sub-Saharan Africa over the next three years, as the group targets growing markets like Nigeria and Angola.

With focus on fresh food growth, the group plan on opening a stand-alone food store in West Africa as a trial by the end of the year with hopes of expanding to East Africa. The group is also adding more brands from Wal-Mart stores in other parts of the world to its African operations, including a clothing line from the U.K. in November.

Wal-Mart last year closed a deal worth roughly $2.4 billion to buy 51% of Massmart, a move many saw as a springboard for Wal-Mart to grow across the continent.

Wal-mart isn't the only company eyeing a possible expansion in Africa. There's been an increased focus on the African market by companies from the U.S., China and India have been pouring billions of dollars into the continent to tap new consumers and infrastructure deals.

Driving the interest are forecasts for strong growth. By 2018, five of the world's fastest-growing economies will be in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Last month, General Electric (GE) signed an agreement to build a 400-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Tanzania. Ford Motor said it's formulating a new strategy to target consumers in the rest of the continent with tailor made products. And this week Kenya said it had signed agreements worth $5 billion with China for projects including railway and energy development.

Massmart currently operates in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with 359 stores.

What's in it for Africans?

With business leaders (especially retailers of fast-moving consumer goods) excited about the potentially huge African market, can Africa (especially Nigeria) cease this moment to turn a growing population into a richer society with higher living standards? These are some of the questions InfoNubia would like you to ponder upon and respond in the comment section.

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/wal-mart-plans-to-open-90-more-stores.html

infonubia: Now, I can't think the same about vending machines.

Mynd_44: This is impressive

It amazing what can be achieved when the MIND is right.

Who thinks about something like this? When you hear the words vending machine, what comes to mind are things like Snickers, M&Ms, drinks, and other snacks. Thanks to Shibuya in Japan, you can now add bra to the mix. So when next somebody tells you they are going to get two cups at the vending machine, don't just assuming they are referring to cups of coffee. They might be referring a a new bra.

According to Huffington Post, Japanese lingerie company Wacoal has just started shilling bras straight out of a vending machine. That's right, the same receptacle with which you mull over the decision between Snickers and M&M's is now where you can buy your undergarments. The debut machine is now at Wacoal's Une NaNa Cool specialty shop in Shibuya, Japan, and it's stocked with various sizes of the brand's $30 Fun Fun Week bras in clear plastic bags.

Worried about finding the right size? There's apparently a bust-sizing chart on the vending machine itself to make sure that the dispensed bra will (most likely) fit. With bra sizes continuously increasing and women becoming more and more aware of proper fit, we wonder if something like this can take off. Sure, it's quick and easy, but this may prove to be quite the challenge for women navigating the Wild Wild West of bra shopping -- one day we hear that the whole cup system is being thrown out the window and the next we hear bras are a "false necessity."

For me, I'd stick to my M&Ms and Snickers!

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/a-bra-vending-machine-grab-bra-to-go.html

Dean Zimmer is a rock drummer who's been playing for 30 years. He's opened for numerous popular band. He also happens to need a wheelchair to get around. But, as Gregg Bissonette (a professional drummer who's played for David Lee Roth and Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band) says, "Anybody can play fast, but … he's really a musical drummer."

Zimmer said he's never had a music class and that all he's ever known is how to "play from the heart." And watching him play, you'll believe that.

The next time you catch yourself griping about, well, anything really, remember (as it says at the end of this clip): "Dean Zimmer lives in Southern California and is available for musical projects. But you have to rock."

Get inspired!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiwSlbdpk5w

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/meet-this-amazing-drummer-who-is.html

Round up of games and goals of the past week...

EPL

Liverpool 1-0 Stoke
Arsenal 1-3 AVFC
Norwich 2-2 Everton
Sunderland 0-1 Fulham
Westbrom 0-1 Southampton
Swansea 1-4 MUFC
Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham
Chelsea 2-0 Hullcity
Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle Utd

MLS

Montreal Impact 2-1 DC United
Columbus 2-0 Toronto
New England 2-0 Chicago
NY Red Bulls 0-0 Philadelphia Union
Colorado 2-0 Vancouver
Houston 3-1 Seattle Sounders
Los Angeles 4-2 Real Salt Lake
Portland Timber 2-1 FC Dallas
San Jose 1-0 Kansas City

BBVA

Barcelona 7-0 Levante
Osasuna 1-2 Granada
Real Madrid 2-1 Real Betis
Sevilla FC 1-3 A Madrid
Sociedad 2-0 Getafe
Valladoid 1-2 Bilbao
Valencia 1-0 Malaga

Bundesliga

Eintracht 0-1 Bayern Munich
Hamburg 1-5 Hoffenheim
Freiburg 1-2 Mainz
Stuttgart 0-1 Leverkusen
Wolfburg 4-0 Schalke
Bremen 1-0 Augsburg
Nurnberg 2-2 Herthaberlin
Dortmund 2-1 Braunschweig

NPFL

Shooting stars 2-0 Bayelsa
ABS 2-2 Wikki
Sunshine stars 2-1 Kano Pillars
Sharks 1-0 Lobi
Heartland 1-0 Dolphins
Rangers 1-0 Gombe
Nassarawa 2-1 Kwara
Enyimba 1-0 Kaduna
Nembe City 1-0 Warri wolves
Akwa United 1-1 El Kanemi

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/soccer-weekly-updates.html

This is one of the songs off Sakordie's much anticipated SARKOLOGY album.

The video for Illuminati was shot on location in Dubai by Phamous Philms and directed by the multiple award winning Ghanaian director @GYOGYIMAH


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLTnt_-Mr3U

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/new-video-sarkodie-illuminati.html

A friend sent me this video of Michael Essien's friends in Accra for the Game of Hope, having a great time dancing at the pre game party.

Check out Adebayor and Cisse's dance steps. They were on some Azonto things!

This is a vimeo video and I can get it to work on NL.

Watch it here:

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/essien-adebayor-ballack-cisse-dance-for.html

An award-winning innovation by two students in Burkina Faso could help reduce the devastating impact of the life-threatening disease, which is caused by parasites that are spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

Moctar Dembele, who is from Burkina Faso, and Gerard Niyondiko, from Burundi, have used locally sourced herbs and natural ingredients to create a soap they say repels mosquitoes, in order to prevent malaria

The Soap called (Fasoap) was awarded the $25,000 Grand prize in the GLobal Social Venture Competition (GSVC) in April. The award itself was launched yo encourage young entrepreneurs transform ideas into businesses that will add value to the society. The soap is made of Shea butter, essential lemongrass oil and other ingredients that are remain a secret.

Like water to a thirsty soul, news like this gladdens ones heart....young men putting on their thinking cap and adding value to the society. Someone once said ..... the easiest way to make wealth is to look for a problem in the society to solve; and the "good" thing is that we have lots of problems in Africa, Malaria is just one of it.....

Our soap will fulfill the desire of the population to be clean and at the same time protect them from malaria, without any additional cost to them

Congratulations Moctar and Gerrard!!

Watch the video here:

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/students-invent-award-winning-soap-to.html

In his work, Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh records the sounds of Lagos, particularly focusing on the noise of Danfo and Molue buses , and installs his soundscapes in the milieu of other cities. One analyst said Emeka doesn’t just celebrate the vibrant urban sounds of Lagos but foregrounds the medium of sound to reflect on the African city as a space historically shaped by and entangled in economic, social, and cultural interrelationships with the rest of the world.

Emeka’s sound installations focus on Lagos—the city in which he lives–exploring what the artist describes as its “history and aural infrastructure.” In galleries, he usually installs the work in booths where audiences listen to the recordings through earphones. Sometimes he places speakers and megaphones blaring with Lagos sounds in the streets of cities such as Cologne or Helsinki in order to initiate dialogue on globalization, migration, and multi-culturalism.

Danfo and molue comprise Lagos’s major mode of transportation. Danfo, which means “hurry” in Yoruba, is the local name given to the yellow Volkswagen minibuses of Lagos. Molue, which has its roots in the English word “maul,” are the locally fabricated 44-seat buses that ply the roads of the city. Danfo andmolue are ubiquitous on the streets of Lagos and therefore contribute to the city’s perpetual traffic jams locally referred to as “go slows.” The noise from danfo andmolue horns and the verbal “maps” from their call boys pollute the overcrowded streets of the city. Referring to the verbal route maps chanted by bus conductors as a unique feature of the Lagos sound that particularly drew his attention An eight minute and ten second clip entitled Lagos by Bus offers the listener a detailed audio landscape of Lagos. In the clip the Pidgin chatter of travelers intermingles with the clinking of beverage bottles, music from a radio, and above all the pervasive and cacophonous hooting from danfo and molue buses.

The picture above shows what the soundbooth at the Rautenstrauch-Joset Museum in Cologne looks like; people can come in and listen to this soundscape. In more recent exhibitions, Emeka installed a corporeal presentation of the Danfo which he says shifts viewer's experience from the sonic to a more physical interaction with Lagos through its most ironic symbol to create a more realistic experience of the city.

Listen to one of the sounds of a typical Lagos bus. Listening to this with my headphone makes me feel like I'm riding in the bus.

Listen here:
http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/can-you-imagine-danfo-noises-as-form-of.html

You can also watch the video here:
http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/can-you-imagine-danfo-noises-as-form-of.html

profjustine: ANUMA CHIOMA! THE FIRST FEMALE GOVERNOR OF IMO STATE.......

The role of women in the progressive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Africa cannot be overstated. Today, more women are taking up central leadership roles and imparting their knowledge and experience daily in order to strengthen and sustain endeavors within these critical areas of the economy.

Here is a list of fifteen of the continent’s most powerful women (in no particular order) making a difference in ICT. Read about them and be inspired!

1. Ory Okolloh -- Kenya

A Harvard-trained lawyer, activist and blogger, Kenyan-born Ory Okolloh spearheaded the founding of Ushahidi (the Swahili word for ‘patriot’), a revolutionary crowd souring utility which enables citizen journalists and eyewitnesses all over the world to report incidences of violence through the web, mobile E-mail, SMS, and Twitter.

Okolloh this year joined Omidyar Network as a director overseeing investments. Prior to this appointment she held the position of Policy Maker for Africa within Google and has been accredited with the promotion of Internet access for African users, encouraging content creation. She is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential women in global technology.

2. Professor Tebello Nyokong -- Lesotho

Professor Tebello Nyokong is the director of the Nanotechnology Innovation Center at Rhodes University. She achieved international acclaim when she won the Africa-Arab State 2009 L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for her groundbreaking research into photo-dynamic therapy, which looks at harnessing light for cancer therapy and environmental clean-up.

Born in 1951 in Lesotho, Prof. Nyokong spent most of her first eight years outside her country of birth. In 1977 she graduated from the National University of Lesotho, having spent her spare time doing research on the role of chemistry in everyday African life, and obtained a Canadian International Development Agency Scholarship to undertake post-graduate studies after which she

In 2010, Prof. Nyokong was awarded honorary doctorates from the Walter Sisulu University and the University of South Africa (UNISA). Prof Nyokong has been inducted into the Lesotho Hall of Fame.

3. Dorothy Gordon -- Ghana

Dorothy K. Gordon is the first Director-General of Ghana’s first Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI), the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. She is a specialist in international development with over 20 years experience working throughout Africa, the US, Europe and Asia in Executive and Consulting positions – principally with the United Nations but also working with private sector and civil society organizations.

Ms Gordon’s work includes support to the drafting of key policy documents and providing systems design and implementation support to the launch of Ghana’s first Community Information Centers. She also supports training and research initiatives in India and Africa.

Ms Gordon, who has degrees from Ghana and the United Kingdom, serves on a number of international and national boards and also works with a range of NGOs and community-based organizations to support economic empowerment and good governance.

4. Eve Dmochowska -- South Africa

Eve Dmochowska is a web strategist, educator and entrepreneur focused on strategy, advice and education for corporate companies. Eve assists these businesses to better understand the potential of the Internet for business success.

She works with the science park, based at the Innovation Hub, Pretoria, South Africa.

Eve runs a personal blog, ‘Of Relevance’, and is a regular contributor to various leading online media platforms in Africa.

Her online projects include New Media Journal, a publication aimed at marketing professionals keen to learn about the power of new media, Twojumpsahead.com, a hub of new media writing and analysis and click.co.za – a rating and review site based on user comments about South Africa’s e-commerce market.

Eve also manages the Internet Guide, an online magazine aimed at keeping readers up to date with Internet news.

Eve is a graduate of Boston University, where she studied economics and international relations. She’s the founder of Crowdfunding, a social project that helps to find investors for local start-ups. Crowdfunding won second prize at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s global entrepreneur pitching contest.

A recent project has been the launch of LegalZone.co.za, an online hub presenting South African lawyer profiles, in June 2013.

5. Emma Kaye -- South Africa

Emma Kaye is the co vice-chair of the MEF EMEA Board, a body that represents the regions interest within the global trade association. She is also the founder and CEO of a full funded startup venture called Bozza. Bozza is a mobile application which enables communities to tell their stories from the inside out. Focused on contextually relevant made-for-mobile content, Bozza is rooted in townships across Africa, allowing friends and communities to see and share life through local music, videos, photos, a market place and more.

Before setting out to giving sustainable business direction to an African brand in new media for the mobile screen, Emma Kaye did much the same for African animation and entertainment. In animation, her credentials as co-founder of Triggerfish Animation (one of the top animation companies producing award winning Sesame Street globally) and AnimationSA.org (the voice of the animation industry), and as founder of the animation festival for Sithengi (Africa’s largest film market), stand out.

Emma was nominated as one of the top 50 women globally in the world of mobile entertainment for two years running and was selected as one of the top five most influential Women in Africa within the field of Science and Technology for 2011.

6. Heather Ford -- South Africa

Heather Ford is a South African researcher, blogger, journalist, technology social entrepreneur and open source activist who has worked in the field of Internet policy, law and management in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

She is the founder of Creative Commons South Africa.

Ford graduated from Rhodes University, with a Bachelors degree in Journalism in 1999, her major was cyber publishing. In 2003 she went to Stanford University as a fellow in the Reuters Digital Vision fellowship program and volunteered for Creative Commons, a non-profit organization that strives to increase the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share.

Heather launched Creative Commons South Africa, was project director of the Commons-Sense program at Wits University’s Link Center and co-founded the African Commons Project.

She was also appointed executive director of iCommons, a UK based corporation that seeks to improve the global commons by promoting collaboration amongst supporters of open education, access to knowledge, open access publishing and free software communities.

Her research and work in developing the commons led her to Wikipedia, where she serves as a member of the Wikimedia Foundation Advisory Board.

7. Florence Seriki -- Nigeria

Florence Seriki is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Omatek Computers.

Omatek Computers Limited was one of the first companies to locally assemble desktops and notebooks in Africa.

Florence is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, Nigerian Computers Society (NCS) and the Institute of Directors.

She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and an MBA from the Lagos Business School.


8. Uche Eze -- Nigeria

Uche Eze is a media entrepreneur and owner of the popular web property, BellaNaija.com. She aspires to make the site Africa’s number one fashion, music, style, movie, TV and beauty website.

Uche graduated from the Richard Ivy School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada.

She relocated back to Nigeria, established Bainstone, the parent company of BellaNaija.com, and in July 2009, quit her full-time job to focus her energies on building BellaNaija.com.

Eze was featured on CNN i-List on the 28th of September 2010. During the interview, Uche discussed the genesis and inspiration for the BellaNaija brand, social media and social media activism in Africa and future plans for BellaNaija.com.

The website, often referred to as a pioneer in the field of entertainment content in Nigeria, has won numerous awards including the Outstanding Contribution to Fashion Communication Award at the 2010 Africa Fashion Week held by Africa Fashion International (AFI) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

9. Nnenna Nwakanma -- Nigeria

Nnenna Nwakanma is a Free and Open-source Software activist, community organizer, development adviser and consultant originally from Nigeria.

She is represented on a number of industry-focused organisations, including The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), and heads up the Africa Network of Information Society Actors (ANISA) and the Africa Civil Society for the Information Society (ACSIS).

Nwakanma is one of the major Civil Society Actors in the World Summit on the Information Society; she represents the African Civil Society on the Digital Solidarity Fund, and advises on the Africa Information Society Initiative.

Nnenna is also Council Chair of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa, and also runs her own Platform of Development Consultants.

10. Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe -- South Africa

Thoko is the CEO of Kutana Investment Group. She has vast experience in South Africa’s telecommunication industry, (including Managing Executive: Consumer Sales and Marketing at Telkom.

Mokgosi-Mwantembe has held several senior positions including divisional MD for Siemens, CEO of Alcatel SA and CEO of Hewlett-Packard South Africa.

She serves as an independent non-executive director on the boards of Vodacom, Absa, Paracon Holdings and Knorr-Bremse SA. Thoko holds an MSc in Medicinal Chemistry from Loughborough University and a BSc from the University of Swaziland. Thoko is a recipient of several awards including the 2007 BWA Businesswoman of the Year Award in the corporate category, ICT Achiever of the Year Award, Top ICT Businesswoman in Africa Award and ICT Personality of the Year.

11. Doreen Ramphaleng-Motlaleng -- Botswana

Doreen Ramphaleng-Motlaleng is a Director at Informatix Industry Services, a software technology company based in Gaborone, Botswana.

Doreen was presented with the ‘Top ICT Businesswoman, 2009’ award by the African ICT Achievers Awards Board.

The Top ICT Business Woman award is conferred by the African ICT Achievers Awards Board to a recipient within the ICT sector in recognition of their significant contribution to their organisation as well as society at all levels. It recognises any deserving woman for achievement and excellence in the field of ICT in the private sector.

She is currently President of Citizen Owned Businesses in Information Technology (COSBIT) in Botswana.

12. Betty Mwangi-Thuo -- Kenya

Betty Mwangi-Thuo joined Safaricom in December 2007 and is charged with managing the New Products Division comprising the globally acclaimed M-PESA business and Safaricom’s Value Added Service roadmap for product innovation and GSMA projects. In June 2010 she was featured by MCI (Mobile Communications International) as one of the top women in mobile.

Mwangi has over 10 years experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to joining Safaricom she was Chief Marketing Officer at Afsat Communications Ltd, responsible for developing and managing the distributor network for the iWay business in 26 African countries. She also worked with GlaxoSmithKline for a number of years in various senior management positions.

Mwangi is a Kenyan citizen and has a B. Eng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Victoria University of Manchester and also has an MBA from the University of Leicester – both in the UK. She is also a Chartered Marketer and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Kenya Institute of Management.

13. Funke Opeke -- Nigeria

Funke Opeke leads Main One Cable Company in Nigeria. She is an experienced telecommunications executive who founded Main Street Technologies.

Opeke returned to Nigeria in 2005 as the Chief Technical Officer of MTN Nigeria Communications (MTN) after a twenty-year career in the United States.

Prior to her return, she was the Executive Director of Verizon Communications Wholesale Division. Subsequent to MTN, Ms. Opeke advised Transcorp on the acquisition of NITEL and briefly served as the interim Chief Operating Officer, post acquisition of NITEL.

She obtained a first degree in Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Nigeria and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, New York.

14. Isis Nyong’o -- Kenya

Isis Nyong’o is the Vice President and the Managing Director of the African Operations of InMobi, which is the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. She is currently managing InMobi’s African business strategy and facilitating the expansion of the company’s continental base.

Nyongo’o previously led Google’s business development initiatives in Africa, where she specialized in mobile partnerships and was responsible for the development of Google’s Africa content strategy.

Isis Nyong’o attended the Hillcrest School in Nairobi. She has degrees from Harvard Business School, where she was the president of the Africa Business club, and Stanford university. She has previously worked in the senior management positions at MyJobsEye — Kenya’s leading job site — MTV, and most recently Google. While working there in business development, she specialized in mobile partnerships and developed the company’s content strategy for Africa.

She has been named as one of the top 40 women under 40 in Kenya for several years as well as short listed on the Forbes Top 20 Youngest Power women in Africa. She serves on the boards of the Africa Cancer Foundation and Mango Tree. She was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

15. Dr. Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane -- South Africa

Dr. Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane has 25 years experience in the broadcasting, film and telecommunications sectors in the US and in South Africa. She is currently a member of the Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development. In 2007 she won the South Africa Most Influential Business Women in Business and Government Award in the ICT category.

Mokone-Matabane is the former CEO of Sentech and Co- Chair of Independent Broadcast Authority (IBA). Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts and an MS from the University of Syracuse, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Texas.

Mokone-Matabane was a South African delegate to International Telecommunications Union Plenipotentiary, USA. She has served in various media related positions including the Texas Education Committee to review & develop new curriculum for radio, TV and related fields.

We salute all these women and many others that weren't mentioned in this post. You efforts are really appreciated!

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/15-powerful-women-in-africas-tech.html

Daily mail columnist, Michael Burleigh puts out a thought provoking write up about the level of corruption currently ravaging Nigeria.

Excerpts...

Nigeria is sitting on crude oil reserves estimated at 35 billion barrels (enough to fuel the entire world for more than a year), not to mention 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. it also manages to pay its legislators the highest salaries in the world, with a basic wage of 122,000 Pounds, nearly double what British MPs earn and many hundred of times that of the country's ordinary citizens.

The ruling elite can afford luxury homes in London or Paris, with top-end cars; yet 70% of Nigerians live below the poverty line of 1.29 Pounds a day, struggling with a failing infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages because of lack of petrol refining capacity, even though their country produces more crude oil than Texas.

Even with all this facts; by the end of its term, the British government would have handed over 1 Billion pounds in aid to Nigeria.

This is mind disturbing, and even though we are aware of all these; it seems Nigerians have become helpless and we have accepted these realities as our lot and there is nothing we can do about it. There are cries of revolution from all corners but history has shown that most of the people that make this cries only need to get a piece of this "National Cake" before their cries fade away. (we have examples currently in power, they once criticized the government but as soon as they were made special advisers; they have become allies).........

Democracy in Nigeria is defined as the government of "some" people; when it becomes the government of "the" people again....maybe a revolution can then be born.

Read more on the article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2387359/Nigeria-country-corrupt-better-burn-aid-money.html

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/nigeria-country-so-corrupt-it-would-be.html

Fhemmmy: Smartest move by Blackberry since they started losing market share of the smartphone sales

I agree. The African market still very receptive to Blackberry. Samsung is making a real push for market share. Hence, a collaboration with Samsung will benefit both companies. And users can have the best of both worlds.

Smartphone manufacturers Samsung and BlackBerry have teamed up to announce a new marketing partnership across Africa. As part of the arrangement, Samsung has said that it will include the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for Android app in its curated app store for Galaxy handsets, alongside its own ChatOn service.

BBM will form part of the Samsung Messaging Hub that comes preinstalled on all of the South Korean firm's Android smartphones. The BBM for Android app is still in a closed beta testing stage, but BlackBerry says that it will be available in the Samsung Apps store on launch day.

"We believe that BBM has the potential to become the number one messaging client around the globe," BlackBerry's managing director for South and Southern Africa, Alexandra Zagury, told ZDNet, "and Samsung is the leading Android manufacturer in Africa. We think we've found a great partner to grow the BBM family.

"Android is absolutely a key platform for us to grow BBM in the future."

Zagury said that she expects this initial arrangement to grow to cover other areas of collaboration between the two firms.

She also confirmed that the deal is not an exclusive arrangement and that BBM for Android will also be available through Google's Play store at the same time.

The instant messaging landscape is changing rapidly across Africa, and according to a recent report by analysts at Strategy Worx there are an estimated 10 million WhatsApp subscribers in South Africa alone. The continent is also being heavily targetted by Tencent's WeChat, which is already more popular as a mobile app than Skype in China and has around 400m users worldwide.

South African media group Naspers has a sizeable stake in Tencent, and also operates South Africa's most popular website, News 24. Since officially launching WeChat in South Africa in March, Naspers claims that it has grown the service's users threefold. In addition, local social media services such as Mxit and Binu retain a dedicated user base.

BlackBerry, meanwhile, remains the most popular smartphone brand in South Africa, but faces the challenge of user migration as data bundles with the new BB10 handsets aren't as competitively priced as the BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS) that were provided with previous phones.

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/blackberry-and-samsungteam-up-to.html

In an operation carried out with military-like precision, Taliban fighters disguised as police and armed with bombs broke 250 prisoners out of a Pakistan jail on Tuesday with the help of what appeared to be insider informants.

The attack in the city of Dera Ismail Khan showed the ability of the al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban to strike at the heart of Pakistan's heavily guarded prison system and walk away with dozens of senior Taliban fighters and commanders.

The overnight assault on the Central Prison took place despite reports that regional officials had received intelligence days, if not weeks, ago suggesting such an attack was imminent.

Officials blamed a combination of negligence and lack of communication among Pakistan's many security agencies, but some suggested there may have been a degree of insider help.

Just hours before the attack, army and police units had met at the jail to discuss security, one source said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

"It is very difficult to attack such a place without proper information or contacts," said the police source, adding that some prisoners were suspected to have been in touch with the Taliban by mobile phones provided by sympathetic wardens.

"They are corrupt, lazy and unprofessional. And the militants may have supporters in the city."

Another senior official in the provincial capital of Peshawar said only about 70 of the 200 prison guards who were meant to be on duty were present that night.

"Most policemen ran for their lives once the attack started, leaving their weapons behind," the official told Reuters. "They could have easily killed some of the attackers but they even gave up their own guns, providing the attackers with more ammo."

The attack came a year after a similar mass jailbreak in the northern town of Bannu which Taliban militants said was carried out with inside help from prison guards. An inquiry later found there were far fewer guards on duty than there should have been.

A senior Taliban official told Reuters separately the latest attack was masterminded by Adnan Rashid, a Taliban commander who was himself freed in last year's prison break.

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/07/taliban-storm-pakistan-prison-250.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/30/us-pakistan-prison-attack-idUSBRE96S0WG20130730

South Africa’s iconic retired archbishop, Desmond Tutu, said on Friday that if he had his pick, he’d go to hell before heading to a heaven that condemned homosexuality as sin.

“I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this,” he said, by way of denouncing religions that discriminate against gays.

He added: “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place.”

He made the remarks during the United Nations‘ launch of its gay-rights campaign in Cape Town.

Mr. Tutu also likened equal rights for gays to the fight for equal rights for blacks.
“I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid,” he said. “For me, it is at the same level.”

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/07/desmond-tutu-id-pick-hell-over.html

"Don't get it twisted, love is a beautiful thing" - D'banj

Childhood sweetheart Bob Humphries, 89, and Bernie Bluett, 88, reunited in 2011 after losing touch during the World War II. At the time He was 18 and she was 17.

Life happened to both of them as Bernie's disapproving parents refused to pass on Bob's letters. The two lovebirds went on to marry other people.

Thanks to Ms Bluett's daughter, the couple reunited and after 70 years of being apart, they are set to tie the knot on Saturday.

Mr Humphries said Mrs Bluett had left an impression on him when they first met all those years ago.

He said: "When circumstances brought us closer together we finally got married after all these years. It has been quite stressful but I am looking forward to it."

Mrs Bluett added: "When I saw him again I didn't see an old man – I saw that young soldier. We both feel young at heart."

~ Such a beautiful story...

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/07/childhood-sweethearts-separated-by-wwii.html

Talia Joy Castellano, the young YouTube star who delighted and inspired millions with her make up tutorials as well as her experience fighting two forms of aggressive cancer: neuroblastoma and preleukemia, has died after a long, bravely fought battle with cancer. She died at the age of 13.

On Tuesday afternoon, a message on the Angels For Talia Facebook page announced the tragic loss.

#‎prayfortalia‬ It is with a heavy heart that we share with all of you that Talia has earned her wings at 11:22am. Please lift her beautiful soul, her beautiful light to heaven and please send your love and prayers to her family during this most difficult time. God speed little one, may you be free from pain and suffering, may your soul feel the light and love that you brought to so many of us on this Earth during the short time you were her with us. We will miss you more than you will ever know baby girl.

Such a lovely, courageous and strong young girl! May her family and all who knew her, find inspiration in her short life!

Rest in Peace Talia

http://www.infonubia.com/2013/07/13-year-old-talia-joy-castellano-dies.html

Twelve people have died in Alexandria and three in Cairo in clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted President Mohammed Morsi, reports say.

The violence came after three pro-Morsi demonstrators were killed by security forces in another part of the capital.

Troops later restored calm in Cairo, but nationwide violence left some 26 dead and 318 injured, officials said.

The army removed Mr Morsi from power on Wednesday after millions of people protested over his leadership.

Mr Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, is in detention, as are some senior figures in the Brotherhood: early on Saturday, state media reported the Brotherhood's deputy leader Khairat el-Shater had been arrested at his Cairo home on suspicion of incitement to violence.

The Tamarod [Rebel] movement - which organised recent anti-Morsi protests - accused the ousted president of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes most Egyptians, and of failing to tackle economic problems.

The US State Department issued a condemnation of Friday's violence and called for all leaders to put a stop to any further aggression.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also expressed alarm at the violence, saying that it was for the people of Egypt to determine the way forward - and all people, including women, needed to be part of that process.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23201770
http://www.infonubia.com/2013/07/pandemonium-in-egypt-after-army-fire.html

You are probably wondering why ask such a question? I posted a story about the latest craze for human breast milk among the wealthiest in China and a reader commented that the only breast milk he can take will be from his wife.

Though I read that the immunological properties of breast milk benefits humans at any age, I just can't get myself to drink my wife's breast milk.

Ladies, will you allow your husbands drink your breast milk?

Fellas, for those of you guilty as charged (lol), Will you do it again?

http://www.infonubia.com/