₦airaland Forum

darfur:
i don't get you? so we can only highlight america's mistakes? are you pro human or are you simply anti-american

the nuances of sarcasm are wasted on you, my friend!

Anyway, jokes apart, it's nice of you to bring this up.

thirdeye:
@texazzpete
We can see you are very sound in English, but the original poster passed a message across, which is more important.

So proper English should be sacrificed on the altar of 'passing a message across' abi? I hope when you start going to Job interviews you remain true to your words and start passing the message across in pidgin english

@denex
for once we agree on something; Nigeria's millitary needs to upgrade itself to remain relevant. We need hi-tech equipment ASAP, we won't be fighting rag-tag militias in war-torn african countries for ever. But before we start talking about submarines we need to upgrade those glorified gunboats that serve as our 'capital' Naval ships. The NNS Aradu, Nigeria's flagship and largest ship is a mere frigate

Pics of my unlocked iphone running on MTN in Nigeria, with loads of 3rd party apps installed

apologies for the blurry pics. my TyTN may be one of the most powerful PPC fones in the world, but it's camera isnt so hot.

mdsocks:
@texazzpete
and that's a gross ignorance on your side
Is it because they say Alahu Akbar after slautering people you call them muslims
I have said ask questions you don't understand and you will be given the right question
So i must kill someone or throw bombs before i qualify as a muslim
That's it: They are not fighting because of Islam but they are on their own
Its sympathy for fellow brothers and not Religion
You pointed out that Almajiris know the Holy Quran of heart
[i][/i]
My answer is yes and does that mean they understand and use the learnings in it.
we are humans, I might know the contents of a book of hand but does that mean i understand

Its a simple logic

You are in a literature school: you are told to assimlate and quotes all proverbs
Does that mean you understand all

Islam is peace: it is people who seeit has violent
I can give you verses of the Quran which strongly opposes any form of Injustice

If you feel Osama and his bunch are not muslims, why has no front-line islamic cleric come out to denounce them? What are all the imams and other clerics in Saudi Arabia and Qatar doing?
Why do Northern Nigerian muslims carry about posters of Bin Laden during their religious riots, if he and his ilk are 'infidels'?

You people keep mute when these guys act, yet cry foul when people inevitably begin to distrust your religion and what it stands for.

The almajiris understand what's inj the Quran alright, especially when helpful hints are provided by fiery imams during their friday sessions.

Remember the young female teacher that was killed by a mob for alleged desecration of the Quran? That was done by secondary school students. Do they also not understand the contents of the Quran?

1. I'm willing to bet that those were APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers) and not Tanks as reported by the original poster. sadly, many Nigerians do not kno the difference

2. The original poster should make substantial efforts to improve his english

@mdsocks
true, some christians smoke weed, steal, do 419 and are totally corrupt. But in all cases none of them are under the illusion that they are holy, and they are on the right path to salvation.
You don't see Christians boiling out of churches fresh from sunday service with the sole intent of separating muslims from their heads, you don't see 'em burining down mosques in the name of the lord. i mean, you did see some muslims get offed in the south-east, but these guys pretty much did it in the name of good ol' fashioned revenge, and not in God's name. THAT's the difference.

Osama's crew and most of the other terrorist groups in Iraq are known for their extreme piety and adherence to Islam. also they are well known for their guttural cries of 'Allahu Akbar' when gruesomely beheading captives and blowing people up. Is it any wonder that many non-muslims are skeptical of Islam when some of its most pious adherents use it as an excuse for their murderous actions?

And please, don't even get started on the Crusades. In the days of the crusades, not too many christians knew what was in the bible, owned a bible or had read a bible. they knew only what misguided recruiters told them. Since enlightenment has set in, it's obvious to every christian the world over that violence against innocents is not condoned by God. Practically every muslim can either read the Quran, or know its contents by heart. The almajiris in the North can recite the Quran practically word-for-word. There's no logical explanation for continued violence against Christians in the name of Islam, especially when it occurs so soon after friday sermons.

Gamine:
Dakman

oh well i wont argue with u

but u know d reason y we rnt dating now

u cnt provide for me??

theres no need pushin it

thanks.

dakmanzero:
Hmmm.

I thought the reason was I hadn't asked you out yet.

Interesting,

*chortle*
Thees ees better than ze movees, i theenk.

In the words of the immortal Borat Sagdiyev
"Is Nice!"

@Poster
Man Utd were dunmped out of the Carling cup by a lowly team last year, then we went on to win the league  
Arsenal were impressive in the Carling cup last year, reaching the finals. Then they failed to win any silverware last season.
Go Figure  

As to the referee bias, i'm so amused that Chelsea fans keep talking about this. I mean, let's assume the ref was biased towards Man Utd. Does that explain why Chelsea had only one decent shot on goal in 90 minutes?

@dakmanzero
Long story short. . .he needs YOu!
or me

@denex
You make unsubstantiated allegations and yet you want credibility?
Kindly post your sources instead of wild allegations.
Pray, tell us where the insecurity and instability is in Abuja, especially where the Speakers' house is being built. Have millitants moved to Apo quarters now?

If you think the cost is too high, try costing the hi-tech equipment and security features sure to be built in the house. At least i'll bet the Speaker's house doesn't have hardened reinforced roofs to protect it from mortar fire.

Are you even aware of the cost of hi-tech nowadays?
Does the speaker's house have a helipad? Secure, soundproof briefing rooms? Counter-intelligence offices? factored in the power generation plants needed to power 21 buildings at heavy load? Security cameras with surveillance rooms? Sentry posts? marine barracks?


use your head, man!

Ah. I'm not surprised you're the first to reply, or that yo reply with yor usual lack of logic.
How does the username i go by relate to the issues i just brought up? how AFRICAN does 'denex' even sound?
FYI, the 'Cartoon Characters of the USA propaganda machine' you refer to happens to be SuperTed, and that cartoon is of Spanish origin. Don't be a dolt.

I actually said an untruth just now. You see, your reply actually did surprise me. usually i think of you as an enthusiatic but misguided person who perhaps has a personal reason behind the deep-seated animosity towards the western world that you display.
Yeah, normally enthusiastic, misguided and intrinsically biased.
Your reply, however, was just plain silly. My article called for sober reflection and did not target anybody in particular. At least i tried to encapsulate many of the sufferings of the people of Africa in one article. By deliberately sidetracking all these raised issues and choosing to attack my personality with an utterly childish and illogical argument you prove yourself impervious to the issues concerning the black continent.

Keep posting your asinine comments. Someone out there, way smarter than yourself will contribute meaningfully to this topic. If not, i remain vindicated.

Go through this politics thread. while several are focused on Nigeria, only a trickle are focused on the well-being of our own continent. Pro- and Anti- americanism has become the latest fad now, and people now prefer to focus their articles and attention on the US, the Western world and tales of corruption.

An opposition candidate just won the presidential elections in Sierra Leone, beating the incumbent (a feat nearly impossible in Nigeria). Any article on it? No!

Murder and rape continue in Darfur. Any attention to it? Minimal

A famous aid worker cries out that rape in Congo is far worse than the darfur region. Any article on it? No.

fresh outbreak on Ebola Virus in east africa. Western nations scramble to contain the deadly disease. any article on it? No.

Al Qaeda exhorting suicide bombing in Somalia. Any reports? No




We've had articles calling for people to show concern for the numbers of dead in Iraq. How many talk about the estimated 1 million children that die from malaria? The only major article that refers to another african country is one designed to diss South Africa, our 'rival'.

When people feel that analysing the money used to build the US embassy in Iraq is far more interesting than reporting the recent Ebola outbreak in East Africa, then we need to wonder what our priorities are.

I'm willing to bet that most people here think that the most pressing african issue at the moment is who wins Big Brother Africa 2. Unfortunate.

The Somalia case is a clear and pathetic analogy. A Christian Country (USA) invaded a muslim country (Iraq) and now things have degenerated into chaos. THAT gets maximum airplay on Nairaland.
A Christian Country (Ethiopia) invaded a largely muslim country (Somalia). Things are degenerating into chaos (already a few suicide bombers, al qaeda 'troops' on the way for more). No eyebrows raised in nairaland.

Why do people shamelessly display their ignorance? This is why i always advocate that people should read as widely as possible.
The article states

A new U.S. embassy is currently under construction in the Green Zone of Baghdad. The compound will be comprised of 21 buildings across 104 acres. Once completed, the new $592-million U.S. embassy will likely be the biggest, most fortified diplomatic compound in the world

21 freaking buildings in one of the most dangerous spots in the world, each building required to be constructed out of fortified concrete and with bulletproof windows with lots of latest, cutting edge technology and yet you people are shouting anc comparing it to the renovation of one reaking building in Nigeria? This figure also probably factors in the labour, much of which would be brought in from outside Iraq (can't have blueprints falling into terrorist hands)

How can sensible, logical people comment on an article without even reading the source? The first three posters should be really ashamed of their lack of wisdom.
the poster has the most blame for his dumb 'terrorism' comment. The only excuse he has is that maybe he just can't read. Even an anti-american should be honest.
pathetic

naijabelle:
iPhone is a crappy ass phone. Its too expensive for the quality your getting.

I use a HTC TyTN, and there aren't many phones out there that can beat that for sheer power and features, but the iPhone pretty much holds its own for the features you get.
IPhone 4GB = $299 = N38000
iPhone 8GB = $399 = N52000

That's 8GB of storage, with ipod features, durable, sleek design, wifi, safari browser, youtube integration and widescreen video. How much did other lower end phones come on the market? How much was the RAZR when it came out?
Doesn't this beat many of the SE walkman phones floating around for like 50K?

The iPhone may never be a smartphone as powerful as the winMobile and symbian powerhouses. but it's unrivalled as an entertainment device. At least music loves can finally have an all inone device that blend ipod, phone and camera together.

So no, the iphone is no TyTN. But then again, my TytN cost $700+!

MDAs are sold unlocked in Nigeria. Check computer village

@darkie
I'm feeling the halo craze. I downloaded all the halo novels (well, three of 'em and the Graphic Novel) and read 'em all. real nice stuff!

cgift:
We are not discussing personalities, we are talking doctrines. You only muddle things up when you try to dissuade attention from the main issues.

No. I beg to differ. WE are not talking doctrines. This is a Catholic thread, set up by a Catholic for other catholics to discuss here. YOU are clearly trespassing and have done much (along with your misguided cohorts) to distract genuine catholics for the purpose the thread was set up.
FYI, it's is not Catholic doctrine that non-catholics are on a path to hell. That might have been a misguided school of thought in the past, but i can assure you it isn't.
Praying 'through' Mary isn't insinuating we're trying to appease an 'angry Jesus'. Is that the latest slogan you guys have cooked up now? Pity.


The Bible can be open to multiple interpretations, and most of these 'unbiblical' pronouncements by the more fanatical of your ilk actually do not conflict with what's int he Bible. For example, the Jehovahs's Witnesses can quote multiple passages in the Bible to prove that there's no Trinity. Many other christian denominations can prove that the Holy Trinity exists. So who's wrong?
The Bible provides guidelines for us to live our lives. The Catholic church adheres to all the laid down rules in the Bible. Even if we believe we can pray through mary, we do it with the clear idea that it isn't Usurping Jesus' position as our saviour.

Finally, i fnd it curious that you insinuate that Catholics aren't christians and we folow the 'Anti-Christ' etc. Didn't you come across the famous passage "Judge Not, lest ye be judged?"
of course not. you were prolly looking for more ammunition.


Christians believe in decency. Have the decency to stay away from a purely catholic thread. Next you'll be busting into catholic churches during mass. . .

hayo:
Now show me where Mary was equated as the holy spirit or our access to God. Also show me where we were required to worship her. Use biblical facts - run from Heresy and Apostasy.

Man, use your head! Even the title of this thread says 'Honour to Mary'. Where have you seen any Catholic claiming to worship Mary? I'm sorry to be so harsh, but it's pretty dense when people like you keep parroting this untruth.
Even muslims revere Muhammed, but they don't worship him, all worship is saved for Allah. Catholics save ALL worship for Jesus and the Holy Trinity.

We can bicker about things in the Bible all day long, it still doesn't change the fact that we're all christians. Sadly, if most of you Catholic bashers look inwards, your contribution is veering towards the "WE'RE on the right path, all others are astray" than actual meaningful discourse. As long as we all believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God, as long as we Love our Neighbour as ourselves and as long as we keep God's commandments, we're all on the right track.
I have nothing but pity for people who hinge their salvation on their refusal to celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25th or who feel that the holy day should be Saturday and not sunday. Those are peripheral issues.

Whether or not catholics see the need to ask Mary to intercede for them when praying to God, the important thing is prayers are being directed to God. Every catholic realizes that God alone grants our prayers, and that's the bottom line.


Strange how some of the more virulent haters quote scripture copiously to try and defend their words. yet if you read this
“But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except for the cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:32).

and compare it with the casual attitude towards divorce of our new generation churches (from where most of the anti-catholic flak is coming from) you'd be surprised. At least i didnt hear any furore when one major pentecostal pastor in lagos divorced his wife a few years ago . . .

why the heck are you people over-dramatizing the whole issue? how can something that accounts for over 90% of our economy be a 'curse'?
We need the oil money. lest you forget,we have a very large population. how do we feed them all? We'll barely be able tgo feed on our agricultural produce, not to talk of exporting it sef.
unlike Israel, we cannot export hi-technology because we're crippled in that regard. we cannot make money from tourism because of mismanagement. so how can any logical human being call OIl a curse?

Be courageous enough to blame the sheer stupidity, ineptitude and corruption of fellow Nigerians for all the oil related woes we're suffering in this country

Why do non catholics feel they have an obligation to take pot-shots at catholics?
This is supposed to be a Catholic thread. i cannot fathom why trolls come here to start dissing the catholic church. open your own thread!

But then again, i understand it's because we present a sizeable target. i don't see anyone dissing the Jehovah's Witnesses here.

knotty:
i have a pal who owns one those things. they work well no doubt but certainly not the real Nokia phone. they are generic. but if all you want is a phone that catches TV signal, please go for it. i have a nokia N93 that is supposed to be TV receivable, but till tommorrow i have not seen anything close to signal much less picture.

Ignorance is a crime! It's clearly stated in the N93 manual that the phone receives digital TV signals, not the analog types we see in Naija. It'll receive TV in Europe and Asia, no doubt.

@skintom77
The System specs are NOT up-to-date, and it isn't really a good deal for 145k.
Pentium 4s are old news, get a Core 2 Duo processor, Dual core is the thing these days. Also 80GB is shockingly anaemic these days. You should have at least 120 - 160GB. Personally if i was getting a desktop system i will not settle for anything less than 200GB. Dunno how much they are in Naija, but i've seen 200GB HDDs for 89 euros in the Netherlands.
512 MB RAM is worthless. Don't you plan to run Vista on it someday? Or at least run demanding apps and games?

Don't be deceived by the printer, UPS and Gen.
Generator = 10k
600VA UPS = 6500
Printer = 6500

total cost of the 'deal sweeteners' is 23k, meaning you buy this POS system for 122k.

Assemble a vastly more impressive system by yourself!

@IG
I do not know whether or not our youths kill old women now. In fact, i'd say they do now! We've heard stories of old women bein gkilled for rituals.
Our robbers never used to kill Priests and Pastors too, until the Deacon was killed in St. Dominics a couple of years ago.
last 2 weeks or so a Reverend father was kidnapped along with his masserver and his 13 year old female cousin. The robbers asked for N2million ransom. That same day, the 13 year old girl was gang-raped by the robbers.

Now, how does that benchmark? It's a softer crime to assault old ladies who have lived their lives than to kidnap 2 year old children in PH and traumatise them for life. So why we dissin'?

@nana
If the portuguese police release everything they know, then they stand the risk of
1. Prejudicing the trial judge before the trial
2. Givng away their best ammo to the defence lawyers


I believe the British media has done a very silly job of covering this issue. I mean, just because the whole case was publicised doesn't mean the woman may not be guilty.
The part i find terrible and a monumental scam is that the $2million find madeline fund collected by NGOs is being proposed for use in hiring a defence lawyer. people aound the world sent money to find a little girl, not to defend her potential killer. that's scam!

@IG
That's a very shoddy analogy if what you wanted to pinpoint was 'corruption'. at least you can be sure that after the 'Experts' have spoken, a determined attempt will be made to rectify all lapses in maintaining bridges around the country. If that happened in Naija? All experts would be ignored. When three planes crashed in 2 years in Nigeria without any major effort from the Aviation Industry, now that's corruption.

@all
The white part of South Africa used to be a major player in the world of technology. DOn't forget that the South Africans even had nukes once upon a time. They have a vastly superior telecommunications industry (heck, they've been enjoyiong cheap broadband and 3G for years) to ours. Before Soludo's capitalisation, the second largest bank in SA was bigger than all our banks put together.
Yet we wonder the west have a higher opinion of SA? Heck, SA's got a flourishing tourism industry going on.
Besides, is there anyone here who cannot churn out similar horror stories about Nigeria? Kindly ask the parents of the little girl kidnapped in Nigeria to tell their story why they are leaving the country (i know the guy's dead, but use your imagination!)

I'm not trying to diss Naija, but why we dissing these guys when we know we get pissed when people diss Naija for very similar things?

If these guys want control of their Oil, here's the way to do it

1. Go to school. The cowardly way out is to stick to the creeks and pride themselves on outgunning small detachments of the Nigerian Armed forces when they take them by surprise. These guys should join up with the rest of Nigeria that are swotting their brains out in school.

2. Confront their state Government: Many other parts of the country that are well developed are that way because their state governments took time out ofd their chopping to actualy do something. Alams stole N50 billion and these guys welcomed him with open arms. DO any of you millitant supporters have any idea how many schools and clinics N50 billion can build? The N631 billion given to Rivers State in 7 years, what was the outcome? Couldn't that have electrified all the communities in Rivers State?


The Multinational Oil companies make a modest profit from oil exploration and Production in Nigeria and still pay gargantuan taxes to the state goovernment (billions of Naira yearly) yet they are the main targets for these 'freedom fighters' while the state government goes unscathed.


These Millitants are brigands, pure and simple. their sympathisers on Nairaland try to paint them as Modern day Robin hoods, but we know better. at least, the billions of naira yearly revenue from their crude oil bunkering, what percentage of it filters down to the common people?

let asari tell that to the masses while he cruises past them in his Hummer jeep. Rubbish!

adechuks:
Thanks guys.

Finally decided on one in PH here. Will be picking it up tomorrow.

I can't wait for the looks this will get by the time i'm through with it.

@kaypinchi,
sorry, offer closed.

See you guys later

a 'pimped' beetle will get you some looks, all right, but after a while it finally will dawn on you that that's some childish s**t.

IG:
I'm happy that there are objective people on Nairaland but it seems to me that
they are like the minority. What is really wrong with the rest of us ?

from www.dictionary.com
-Objective
not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased: an objective opinion.

One doesn't have to agree with YOU or this article to be 'objective'. The argument for and against the war on terror has raged on and on for years on nairaland, and many people on both sides of the argument are objective, relying on facts in their arguments. In fact, the people against the war on terror more frequently resort to conspiracy theories and rumors to make their points.

This article is a well-written piece from a clearly intelligent man. Yet not even he is objective, resorting to conspiracy theories ([color=#000099]'And what would they say if I claimed that this war is not really about Lebanon, or even Hezbollah, but part of a wider US. and Israeli campaign to isolate and preemptively attack Iran?[/color]')

the article lacks balance. poignant as it is, it's hopelessly biased. Why quote the bomb blasts in Iraq as 'atrocity done to Arab and muslims' when he knows that the daily explosions are done by Musims and Arabs that bear little friendship for the west?
He talks about people in the west desentisized to deaths so far away, the general apathy to Arab deaths, yet he fails to comment on the infinitely more awful celebrations following the September 11 bombings.

How can i take seriously a fellow who gripes about the 'West's endless wars on the Middle East'? Prior to the Gulf-War, the only recent war fought in the middle east which was not a local conflict was the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan, and i doubt anyone considered the USSR as a 'Western Country'.
Has he forgotten that the tragic circle of 20th century conflict in the middle east began with the Arab invasion of Israel hours after it's creation? Or that had Afghanistan and the Taliban expelled Bin laden and dismantled Al Qaeda's terrorist network, Bush's war on terror would have petered out?
How did he come to the conclusion that Israel were the aggressors in the conflict with Hezbollah when the entire imbroglio started with the kidnap and murder of some Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah?

I cannot argue with the term 'Islamic Fascist'. As long as people use their religion as their umbrella to hide behind when directing attacks aimed at killing innocent women and children, what am i to call them? What am i to say when Bin Laden issues orders calling for the killing of all Americans, no matter the age or sex, as a legal and religious duty of all Muslims? What do i call them when my Muslim friends in nigeria keep insisting to me that their religion means 'peace'. Does that not imply that those that preach violence and bloodshed are an abberation, an anomaly, are fascists?


I am saddened most of my posts on this issue takes the side of the West. It becomes inevitable nowadays with the growing fad of anti-americanism. I do not see EVERYTHING good with the West. However, unlike many here i see SOME good. defending the little good automatically paints you as a 'pro-west slave' from those who see nothing good in the US and the western countries.

All in all, if i was to review this piece by Jonathan Cook, i'd remark on it as an opportunity wasted. The man has lived in the West and the Middle East, and should have been able to provide a full-spectrum unbiased view. Instead, however, he has become one of the biased people he rails against. We've seen this happen when people visit the Niger delta and start railing against the Oil Companies without looking at the big picture. It never seems to end.

I have tried to be as objective as possible. I'd appreciate it if any replies focus on my words and not my person. There's a lot we can learn from each other on Nairaland and flaming me will not help!

@rufaai
Copyright laws exist, but these are dodgy phones, produces from hidden factories in China with illegal slave labour.
Nokia et al will complain, but the chinese police will prolly do nothing.
The only thing for them is to hope that people will use their common sense and stay away from them if they can help it. opf course, being so cheap, these phones have mass-market appeal in third world countries like Nigeria.
besides, their biggest selling point is the ability to use two sim cards simultaneously, but how many people in the western world NEED 2 sim cards? mainly in places like naija u see such things.

I don't think we're being ripped off. Don't forget you get NO warranty or guarantee with a crappily made chinese phone, and which is most likely made with slave labour.

Big companies have to recoup the immense amount of cash poured into R&D for new products. These chinese knockoffs use only the cheapest material to copy anything out there.

@ajani68
which network?! Tell all!

where u able to use any of the 3G features?