shooze: With all due respect zeefa I think you are suffering from diarreha of the mouth.
You have given out way to much information about your wife and family generally and if you are this loose with your tongue I can imagine all the shyte you tell dayo about your wife. I think you should take the advice of real men like siena , chamotex , lord reed and matured ladies like cc and sis kill just to mention a few. Cut down on your phone time with your friend and spend more time with your wife. If you friend is truly a friend he should not even be told to reduce the time he spends with you. I have friends that are married and the minute they got married I cut down on how much time and activity I spent and did with them . That's what a sensible friend does

mr skincare: Kindly view the picture.

ocelot2006:

God bless you my brother. And don't mind these ignorant buffoons on this thread who rain insults on the president without getting their damn facts straight. And I'm pretty sure most of them haven't gone past the boundary of Lagos, yet they run their mouths like a chronic case of dysentery.

I live the so-called restive North-East and the South-South, and I'm always on the road at least once a month. So I can categorically tell you that there has been lots of improvements under GEJ's watch. On a normal day, I enjoy 22+ hrs of light in Jalingo, some days 24hrs straight. And I pay way less for utilities, thanks to the prepaid meters introduced. Down in PHC (Ada George area) it's not so good because my house is connected to the State's distribution line, but EVERYONE connected to the Federal lines enjoys way more hours of light. That's why I'm trying so hard to cut over to the later.

Wrt to our once delapidated road network, you only have to travel out to see the work actively going on now. FERMA's actively repairing tge Jalingo-YOLA road, the dreaded Okigwe-Umuahia road, while CCEC have done a splendid job fixing the roa that connects Abakiliki to Ogoja, and work is still ongoing. In Benue, the roads through Otukpo now has a brand new look, unlike its previous state a few years ago. And a drive through Ikom-Ugep to Calabar (Cross River) will convince you that GEJ's administration is truly working as PW construction coy has done a splendid work. Overall, GEJ scores high on transportation.

Rossikk:

India has not ''caught up with the west'' in any way, shape or form. In fact a recent study showed that India is ''far poorer than Africa''.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/india-far-poorer-than-africa-new-measure-shows/story-e6frg6so-1225891801078

As for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, the major reason they became tiger economies between 1950 and 1990 was massive foreign investment in their economies by western nations led by the US, Western Europe and Japan in the 1950s. The victorious allies were desperate to create capitalist bulwarks against rampaging communism, so they opened their markets to finished goods from Asia, and offered massive incentives to their companies willing to invest in Asia. The rest is history. See, this is why you people need to READ and STUDY, otherwise you will never understand what's going on on this earth. A full grown man like you SHOULD KNOW the reason behind the rise of the Asian tigers. Instead you have in your head the simplistic and ignorant notion that they are somehow superior beings who developed rapidly merely because they ''put their house in order'' when in fact the reasons are a lot more complex.

aurenflani:

I make it that you're a Christian. But in the new testament, Paul told your women to cover their hair but why does your mothers, pastor's wife and women pastors reject this instruction and even fight others over it? Can you tell us why?

beautiful Onyi:
Wrong! Religion and politics Do mix!! Especially when the political leader goes to the religious leader for blessing. This shows the president has high regard for that particular religious leader and thus will most likely heed his advice. The religious leaders have a duty to publicly denounce any inhumane wrong doings in the political sector. Remember when the late pope john paul 2 came to nigeria in 1998. The late president abacha brought his family to receive blessings from the holy man. The pope did bless them, but he publicly admonished abacha and advised him to release the political prisoners he held. Abacha released obasanjo and co shortly after the pope left. I was a young girl then but I can never forget this. Religious leaders have a HUGE role to play, but most are swayed by money. Too sad!!!

Unknown Member:


[b]Not all genres of music must carry a message;

- Classical music; Ludwig Van Beethoven, Wolfgang Mozart, Johann Bach e.t.c. All they did was compose music that had no lyrical content. If you can tell me the message in Frederik Chopins Sonata in B-flat minor, then I will call you a witch, because all I hear are instruments.

- Rock Music: Still considered Devil music by some. This I also love. However, not all rock music is meant to carry a 'Love thy neighbour as you love yourself' message. Punk Rock, heavy Metal, alternative all appeal to those who have the ear for it.

- Gospel Music: To someone like me, its just noise, to a born again christian, its the best thing since sliced bread.

- Nigerian Music: 9ice sold a shitload of copies of his first album. I personally have purchased over 5 of those albums. I dont hear a word of Yoruba, but when I bump his CD, I enjoy it like I am an indegene of Oshogbo. Same thing with the Late Dagrins Album.


Some music are informative, some educative, some to lighten your mood, some to whip you into an energetic frenzy, some just for entertainment and so on..


One mans bad music is another man's classic music.[/b]

[size=14pt]Subsidies and the China Price[/size]

by Usha C.V. Haley and George T. Haley


Many assume that China’s cost advantage in manufacturing comes from cheap labor. But in China’s burgeoning steel industry, our research suggests, massive government energy subsidies, not other factors, keep prices down. These subsidies have broad implications for how companies compete and collaborate with Chinese businesses.

In 2005, Beijing designated steel as a pillar industry for the Chinese economy. China was the world’s largest producer of steel, with 27% of global production, but until then it had imported 29 million tons of steel annually. That year, China suddenly transformed itself from a net steel importer to a net steel exporter. In 2006, the country became the world’s largest steel exporter by volume, up from the fifth largest in 2005. Today it remains the world’s largest consumer and producer of steel, with 40% of global production. How did China make these astonishing gains so quickly and manage to sell steel for about 19% less than steel from U.S. and European companies? Labor accounts for less than 10% of the costs of producing Chinese steel, and Chinese steel doesn’t appear to rely on scale economies, supply-chain proximities, or technological efficiencies to lower its costs.

Let’s look in detail at the probable source of this cost advantage. In research conducted with funding from the Alliance for American Manufacturing—work that draws heavily on our decade-long previous study of Chinese industry—we found that total energy subsidies to Chinese steel (from 2000 to midyear 2007) reached $27 billion. (See the exhibit “Energy, Subsidies, and Steel.”) About 95% of that amount was for coal. (These numbers are conservative best estimates, based on data from Chinese, U.S., and international agencies, industry associations, individual Chinese companies, and other sources.) Our analysis of the relationship between the increase in energy subsidies and the growth of Chinese steel production and steel exports showed a powerful statistical correlation; this is not a chance association.

Our research revealed that energy subsidies to the steel industry were paid to the energy sector and passed on through lower energy prices, which suggests that the energy supplied to China’s other manufacturing industries is subsidized as well. The steel industry may benefit disproportionately from energy subsidies because of its voracious appetite for coal, but the energy subsidies obviously help other industries too.

Foreign companies doing business in or with China or competing against Chinese rivals need to recognize a few things about subsidies. First, they can be abruptly affected by political forces. For example, the November 2007 World Trade Organization subsidy-reduction agreement between the U.S. and China cut export subsidies to foreign companies located in China but maintained subsidies to Chinese companies. This shows how subsidy-based cost advantages of foreign companies located in China can suddenly evaporate.

Second, companies that offshore to, or source or import from, China may suffer price shocks if they don’t discount fluctuating, subsidy-based cost advantages. Our research showed that under scrutiny, subsidies from Beijing often dry up, only to be replaced to varying degrees by subsidies from provincial and local governments, which use them to support employment, build self-sufficiency, and promote import substitution locally. Companies should establish relationships with industry and government officials in China so that they know the source of subsidies and can gauge the risk of reduction and subsequent price increases.

Before foreign companies cut other suppliers loose in favor of lower-priced Chinese sources, they should be mindful that Chinese firms’ prices may fluctuate abruptly as subsidies shift. Foreign firms should therefore retain some original supply relationships until Chinese suppliers prove reliable over the medium term.
,

Usha C.V. Haley (uhaley@asia-pacific.com) is a professor of international business and the director of the Global Business Center, and George T. Haley (gthaley@asia-pacific.com) is a professor of industrial marketing and the director of the Center for International Industry Competitiveness, at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. The full report is available at www.americanmanufacturing.org.

Singapore to slash leaders' million-dollar pay

Singapore will slash its leaders' unpopular multi-million-dollar salaries by at least a third, new guidelines showed Wednesday, but they will remain the world's best-paid politicians.

04 January 2012 by Martin Abbugao

Singapore will slash its leaders' unpopular multi-million-dollar salaries by at least a third, new guidelines showed Wednesday, but they will remain the world's best-paid politicians.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who promised the salary review to ease public anger that surfaced in landmark 2011 elections, will take a 36 percent reduction in basic pay to Sg$2.2 million ($1.69 million).

That is still the highest salary of any elected head of government in the world -- more than four times as much as Barack Obama who earns $400,000 a year as president of the United States.

The wealthy city-state's largely ceremonial president will see his salary reduced by 51 percent to Sg$1.54 million, while entry-level cabinet members will receive half the premier's pay.

The cuts will be retroactive to the start of the current government's five-year term on May 21, 2011.

The People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965, has been on the defensive since its share of votes in the 2011 election fell to 60 percent, an all-time low.

Among the hottest issues facing the PAP was ministers' high pay, which the government has justified as necessary to attract talent from the private sector and to deter the corruption that afflicts other Asian countries.

Despite the salary cuts, all cabinet members will be entitled to a "National Bonus" of up to three months' pay if targets are met on economic growth, employment and improvement in Singaporeans' incomes.

Bonuses were already part of the previous pay scheme, which permitted a maximum of eight months' extra pay if economic growth exceeded 10 percent but none if growth dipped below 2.0 percent.

Critics immediately swamped online forums to slam the new salary scheme, which was recommended by an independent committee whose proposals Lee has agreed to implement.

"Ordinary minister's salary still higher than US President! Still too high! Pure Nonsense!" wrote a reader who signed off as Lim Lao Pe on the Yahoo! Singapore portal.

Singapore has the world's highest concentration of millionaire households, with 15.5 percent boasting at least $1 million in investable assets according to the Boston Consulting Group, but it also has one of the widest income gaps among developed economies.

Gerard Ee, a charity leader who headed the seven-month salary review, said the cuts showed political service should involve "sacrifice" but that pay should remain attractive enough to attract quality candidates.

Cabinet salaries had previously been pegged to two-thirds of the income of the top four earners in six fields: banking, accountancy, engineering, law, manufacturing and multinational corporations.

That meant ministers' pay could still rise despite economic recessions.

Under the benchmarks unveiled Wednesday, the salary of an entry-level cabinet minister is set at 60 percent of the median income of the 1,000 highest-earning Singaporean citizens, which amounts to Sg$1.1 million.

Popular local satirist Mr Brown wrote on Twitter: "Why must ministerial salaries be pegged to the Top 1000 earners of Singapore? Why not the lowest 1000? You help the poorest, you make more."

Political analyst Seah Chiang Nee said the salary cuts indicate a "serious effort to address people's concerns" but that the government should be more transparent about bonuses, allowances and other perks.

A more transparent system would be to publish how much the ministers earned before in total -- including all the perks -- and how much they will receive under the new guidelines, he told AFP.

Despite the cuts, Singapore's top officials are still among the best paid in the world.

Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang earns roughly $543,500 annually and the Japanese prime minister gets about $513,000 a year.

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard currently earns about Aus$367,000 ($379,000) a year but is in line for a 31 percent rise

Rail passengers threaten fare protests

Angry commuters are threatening to jam the Treasury switchboard in protest at soaring fare rises.

By David Millward and Christopher Hope

7:00AM GMT 02 Jan 2012

A day of action has been planned by the Campaign for Better Transport, as it moves to step up pressure on the Government over above inflation increases which come into force this week.

The environmental lobby group is turning to social media and urging supporters to use Twitter to deluge George Osborne with tweets.

Some passengers will see their fares rise by almost ten per cent as a result of the Government’s decision to allow season tickets to increase by an average of six per cent.

Their plight could have been far worse but for Justine Greening, the new Transport Secretary, winning concessions from the Treasury shortly after taking office.

Fares such as season tickets, which are controlled by the Government, were due to increase by three per cent above the Retail Price Index - or eight per cent - this week. However Ms Greening persuaded the Chancellor to hold the rise down to one per cent above RPI.

But under current Government spending plans, fares will rise by three per cent above inflation in both 2013 and 2014.

Last week the Campaign produced research which showed that commuters in Britain were paying up to 10 times as much to get to work than some of their continental counterparts.

"We already have the most expensive fares in Europe,” said Sophie Allan from the Campaign.

“An affordable rail network helps to keep congestion down, reduces pollution, and supports the economy."

The Campaign has set up a website, http://www.farefail.org, for supporters to follow if they wish to join in the protest.

Maria Eagle, Labour’s Transport spokesman, threw the party’s weight behind the campaign with a pledge that the party would not raise fares by more than one per cent above inflation if it returned to power.

She said the fare increases showed that the Government had “sided with train operators” against commuters.

“Life is already tough enough for families and commuters struggling with the increasing cost of living.

“But many commuters are in for an unwelcome New Year surprise this week when they discover that the price of their rail ticket has risen by much more than George Osborne promised.

“Instead of price rises being limited to one per cent above inflation, some of the most popular commuter routes will see the cost of a season ticket soar by hundreds of pounds.”

Other measures include a single definition of “peak and off-peak”: to prevent unwitting passengers being paying extra charges for having the ‘wrong’ ticket.

The party also wants to bring in a “right to the cheapest ticket” – which would force train firms to advertise the lowest price for journeys, and for passengers to receive a refund if they do not get it.

But Theresa Villers, the rail minister, attacked what she described as an unfunded spending commitment from the Opposition.

“We have already limited the fare increase this year to help rail passengers. But we also have to clear up Labour's deficit. Labour's proposal to spend more and more is not the answer.

“This latest statement is further evidence that when it comes to dealing with the deficit, Labour just don't get it. The long term sustainable solution to address passengers' concerns is to reduce the high cost of running the railways.

“That is why the Coalition is committed to a major reform programme to improve the value for money offered by the nation's railways."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/8987091/Rail-passengers-threaten-fare-protests.html

Basildon1:

This has to be one of the most popular topics on NL! LOL.

The truth is that Uk is not Nigeria, things work differently (unlike Nigeria where you pay rent for 2 years in one go) It shocks people new to the system that they are suddenly have to adapt. If you cant afford your own place, then be ready to be useful in any house that accomodates u.

The family friend i first stayed with used to complain that i over-ironed my shirts and it would affect her bill (it was that bad). I had to mop the whole house before going to work every morning (OR she picks up the fone and complain to everyone back home!). I got used to eating rice and stew without beef to avoid hearing how the price of beef keeps rising.

But i did what i had to do till i could afford my own place cos i APPRECIATED the favour and I still do!!