WikiLeaks articles were referenced a few times as the source of the contents posted above by the OP. Can we get the links to the articles so that we can read it ourselves and not your own summary? I know OP copied the text from another website but since he’s posting it, I’ll direct the questions to him.

A cursory search on WikiLeaks website have not turned up anything.
http://search.wikileaks.org/plusd/

macjive01:
sorry about the "your type " usage , USA is never a good metric for nigeria, USA is a union of different states , states = countries.
Now take UK, which is about same size as Nigeria.
every tax except council tax goes to the Her Royal Majesty Revenue and customs - HMRC , from there is it then shared to every council as agreed in the sharing formula.
London generates about 30% of the revenue in the country, she only get about 10% , it is governed by a sharing formula based on population and revenue.

Actually, the US is a better metric because Nigeria's constitution was modeled after theirs; same 3 tiers of government at the Federal and state levels (executive, legislative, and judicial branches). We have to look towards them to see what works and what doesn't after all they've had over 200 years to perfect the system. Also, very much like Nigeria, they are made up of states that want to be autonomous.

Where we screwed up is in the sharing of oil money made from one section of the country with other sections. It made most states complacent and lazy. Whether or not they work or make a dime, they’re getting paid. Niger Delta should keep their money but pay taxes to the federal government. Although, the federal government should also be in charge of granting drilling licenses if federal lands are involved.

Income is supposed to flow from the bottom (local government and states) to the top (federal government) through taxation.

However, in times of extraordinary need and for projects that benefit the collective whole, the federal government should finance or contribute to such endeavor.

If states are made to earn their keep, those who cannot survive will starve and/or merge with other states; however, for most states, their survival instinct will kick in and they’ll find a way to generate income.

Every state can’t be prosperous much like how some states in the US are poorer and rely more on the federal government for subsidy, e.g. Maryland vs. Mississippi or West Virginia.

If this happens, states will be forced to go back to whatever they did before the advent of easy oil money.

macjive01:

my brother i dont know what the revenue sharing formular is, but i believe there is one, and the revenue is meant to be shared.

in UK, for instance, every councils revenue goes to the Queen , from where is it distributed as per agreed sharing formula.

same in the US.

same in Nigeria too.

where do you think the money that built FESTAC, Apapa, 1001, Third mainland bridge , Apapa wharf, Victoria island, bar beach- both claiming and reclaiming the land came from ? from Niiger delta oil right ?

yeah when it went to Lagos, your type won't complain and ask for a reasonable share to be given to the residents of the land the oil comes out from.

My type? What's my type? Keep your ego and ignorance in-check and you might learn a thing or two.

What exactly happens in the US that bears any similarity to anything you said? Are you referring to the federal tax structure whereby entities pay a federal tax? Isn’t the same done in Nigeria? Do you even know what IGR is? Isn't IGR mostly generated from taxation (and fees)?

Do you know that personal Income Tax, Corporate income tax, Social Security Contributions, Tertiary education trust fund contribution, Training Tax, Capital gains tax, Tax on money market interest, Tenement Tax, Stamp duty on checks, Road license, State business levy, Infrastructure Development Tax, and Value added tax (VAT) are currently being collected in Nigeria?

macjive01: 1) With the recent surge of support for APC among the most corrupt in our society , now is time for PDP to reform itself , GEJ/PDP should create a body within PDP ( elder's body) to be charged with nomination of credible electoral candidates, from Councillors to state governors.
with the recent de-campees from PDP to APC, GEJ should work with the various PDP local body to get their various representative areas to recall their legislators, thereby ensuring an election. then this time PDP should field a committee chosen credible, educated, principled and upright citizens to contest the election on behalf of the party.
2) change the IRC inland revenue commission head, put a young, strong-minded , diligent, non-Yoruba personnel- Yorubas are never tough on corruption or diligent tough operation due to their nature of "easily swayed by pleads and begs" , there could be exceptions though.
Now, this new IRC is to enforce the IRC mandate, the IRC is charge to collect the revenues accrued from all state and to share it accordingly to the constituted sharing formula.
this singular action will break TINUBU - chief financier of the opposition . ( this would reduce the opposition financial strength to rig the election and buy poor Yoruba voter as they are planning.
3) GEJ should support AKwaibom in speedy completion of the IBAKA deep seaport and access road to Aba: this is posed to decapitate the economic strength of the largest opposition governed state-Lagos.
40% of activities in lagos is owed to the only functioning wharf in the country. This singular act would decrease the tax earning of lagos state by 20% within the first year and 40% by the second year.
4) Designate portharcourt - Nigerians oil city, with allocation of FTZ at onne , and mandate oil companies to base their HQ in their operation areas. This would within the first year, take away 30% of corporate taxes Lagos state gets. and drastically reduce the economic powers of teh state.
inorder to facilitate the speedy relocation of these companies, the government should acquire land, and build a new finacial city in Okirika by the River front, ( dame patience would be gladdened.) the chinese could accomplish this with 12 month period, then the oil companies would simply have to rent and lease the building and spaces.
5) close to 2015, say march of next year- 2 months to election, sponsor a Lawyer , probably a minority - definitely a non-igbo,even a midbeltern to sue Fashola for deportation of Igbos from Lagos, make the papers and TV carry the news, give it minute reporting. this would remind the Igbos and at large the wider minority population of lagos of the evils and potential evils of APC .
Find the deportees, to narrate their accounts on sunday live, with indepth , Hollywood style narration with sorrowful heart-breaking sound bites.
6) create a website to document all the administrative's achievement, use a foreign tv media, maybe someone who has worked at national geography channel, to produced a hd , detailed documentation of your achievement. post it on youtube and facebook. and have updates weekly posted to the website. the market the website aggressively on google, such that it comes first on everybody's search result.
7)
(
9)
10)

Most of what you wrote is for the wrong reasons and also shortsighted akin to throwing out the baby with the bathwater!

You actually want to give IGR from one state to another just to make another state weaker? Lol Think about this for a second; what you’re saying is akin to sharing your salary, after years of hard work and labor, with everyone including conductors, bricklayers, welders, hairdressers, bankers, engineers, doctors, brats, etc. Then what motivation is there to work hard and/or excel? Why not just party one’s life away since one’s reward will be the same as those that worked hard?

You actually want a strong opposition because they will always keep the party in power on their toes. No one party should have monopoly to the presidency; otherwise, nonchalance will set in. If my lofty position today is credibly threatened based on my performance, you better believe that I'll do everything possible to improve my performance.

If GEJ and PDP want to remain in power, their co-existing path is relatively easier to traverse than that of the opposition because all they need to do is give you reasons why the status quo should remain. If the country is better most people would rather have GEJ complete a second term than replace him with someone largely unknown. Why change what is not broken?

@Francis

References are not always checked and most of the time you can just give the names of your family members if you have no other references. Even when they call, the questions they ask are very mundane like how long have you known X and would you hire X. Anyway, you're slowly making your way to become an HENRY (High Earners, Not Rich Yet). Good luck with your new job!

The issue with Nigeria is that the government appears to lack sincerity in their purpose. The ratio of recurrent expenditure to capital expenditure is unsustainable and NOI have said the same for a while now. For the recurrent expenditure to reduce certain unpopular steps need to be taken, which most reasonable people will agree with. However, the issue is that when we take one step in the right direction, we end up taking 5 more in the wrong direction.

I wholeheartedly supported the removal of the fuel subsidy initially and even advocated for the same, only to find out later on that “fuel subsidy” is more like cabal/sacred cow subsidy. Nothing is ever what it seems in Nigeria when money is involved! I retracted my stance on the fuel subsidy when it became clear to me that if the “subsidy” were to be removed, Nigerians will end up suffering more as a result because the “subsidy” will disappear into an abyss. Every kobo saved by the government will end up unaccounted for!

As such, I no longer believe in anything done by the Nigerian government that will result in immediate harm to the populace until those deemed corrupt are made to face justice.

cramjones: When this present government boasts and say - we are doing YOUWIN and it employed 15,000 people...Is that sustainable for a country with over 100 million unemployed? The best way to create job, is to make sure we have bank that lend capital without bogus demands of collateral, stabilize electricity and infrastructure deficit. This will definitely drive the private sector and stimulate the much needed growth in jobs that we desperately need.

If I may, APC has to understand, and I’m sure they do, that kick starting Nigeria’s economy is a multi-pronged approach and simply focusing on one sector won’t yield major dividends in the overall economy past that immediate sector.

Nigeria is like a sick patient that’s afflicted with cancer, diabetes, coronary disease, and HIV. How can such patient be treated? The only way to treat such a person will be through a multi-prong approach while prioritizing what to treat first. It’s of no use worrying too much about HIV that takes 5-10 years to turn deadly when the person will die in a month of cancer.

Everything that I’m about to list has been done in one form or another; however, for the strategy to work, the following will need to be tackled concurrently:

1. Trade – create local demand for manufacturing by specifically imposing punitive tariffs on products from a particular sector. A surgical approach is needed. We cannot just impose punitive tariff on everything without making life more difficult for people especially since we do not have the capacity to fill the void locally.

2. Incentives – incentivize foreign manufacturers to set up assembly plants in Nigeria. They will troop down if they know that they will recoup their investments because the demand is there.

3. Local content – put laws in place that will guarantee Nigerians fill about 40% of the technical staff positions that perform skilled labor. Or require joint ventures with local companies. The only way for technology transfer to occur, thus guaranteeing our future to add to the world economy, is for us to acquire the skills needed to manufacture one way or another. Nobody or company is going to willingly transfer technology to us but with our market potential, they’ll have no choice! The developed economies are already saturated and will see very little growth.

4. Laws – enforce the laws in the books especially contract and intellectual property laws. Foreign companies will be more willing to invest in Nigeria if they know that their rights will be protected.

5. Infrastructure – electricity, financial facilities, (like you said) etc.

6. Education – preparing the youths for the jobs of tomorrow.

cramjones:

Not at all. I only referenced the government, because as you know our Judiciary is still a mess and takes orders from the presidency. Therefore, you would expect that Femi's balls will be smoked, however, despite this fact, I am confident that the court will be unable to prove the allegations. I am not holding brief for Femi. Ofcourse, if he is found guilty he would face the consequences. All over the world, there is no party of saints, rather, there are parties of ideologies, if members of a party are found guilty of corruption, the right thing to do is to follow due process and bring them to justice.

The reason corruption is going on with impunity in Nigeria is because nothing is done. Bring Americans to Nigeria, and in no time they will become corrupt if nothing is done to them. Once laws are not enforced in a country...it becomes a free for all. This must stop!

[quote author=cramjones][/quote]

100% true! You don't have to even look too far to see how an advanced society like the US can descend into chaos when the police cannot respond during rioting, flooding, etc.

Do you believe that for Nigeria to get better we need to be forward thinking and see past our immediate needs? If so, what is APC doing to bring about fundamental changes to the country? For example:

1. How will APC tackle youth unemployment?
2. How will APC attract the right non-politician talents spread across the world (technocrats)?
3. How will APC diversify the Nigerian economy?
4. How will APC revive the manufacturing sector?
5. What’s APC’s view on Nigeria’s trade deficit and how do you intend to correct the imbalance?
6. What will APC do about justice being sold to the highest bidder, i.e., sanitizing the judiciary branch?
7. What will APC do about rejuvenating the EFCC?
8. What will APC do about the immunity clause? Will politicians be stripped of the immunity when charged with felonious crimes?
9. What will APC do differently about developing the Niger Delta region?

If Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala did not disclose her relationship with the company that brokered the deal to the government beforehand, then she’s guilty of corruption and she knows it!

Whenever you’re facilitating a deal on behalf of the government or a company and you’re in a position to influence the deal, you have to disclose your relationship upfront to management. How does one know after the fact that she didn’t broker and stack the deal in her favor? I’m highly disappointed if true because she should have known better! Nigeria is a country where nothing is ever what it seems!

This is nothing but power play between two very powerful people! You can see how everybody else just sat quietly watching both of them. While the lawmaker is the most powerful person in that chamber, I think he should have acted with a little more deference towards the minister even if he was still going to insist that she comes back.

One can be the most soft-spoken person with great deference towards another but yet, extremely strong willed once one's mind is made up. He should have heard the Minister out and then make his ruling.

Pukkah:

According to Section 81 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, “the President shall cause to be prepared and laid before each House of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year”.

Do you have something else to say to this?

According to what's quoted above, the President is not required to present the budget in person. All he's required to do is to delegate someone or himself to prepare and present the budget to each house of the National Assembly. He could have even sent "my oga at the top" to do the presentation and the requirement above would have been met.

However, is sending Okonjo-Iweala the smart thing to do considering the state of the nation and what's customary? Maybe.

Monday evening musings…

We've been made to believe that Santa Claus and Jesus are white (and Northern European) but are we being mislead?

Santa Claus is a fictional character based on Saint Nicholas who was the Greek Bishop of Myra (part of modern-day Turkey). Jesus is said to be Jew of first-century Palestine.

Would we be wrong in accepting a more dark-skinned (or is it brown-skinned) version of Jesus and Santa Claus or should we just accept them the way they're presented to us?

If you think that we should accept them the way they're presented to us, do you think such acceptance contributes (unconsciously) to our thinking that "white" is more beautiful than "black" or that "white" is good and "black" is bad?

There must be a reason that most blacks, especially in Africa, think being light-skinned is more beautiful or that “black” represents the devil. If you say “black” represents bad and/or the devil, and you’re black, what does that make you?

Common sense says the US does not have a hand in Abiola's death.

1. How many times have you heard the person paying a hired killer following the hired killer to kill an associate? Common sense dictates that you'll be busy setting up an alibi far away from where the killing will take place.

2. Why will the US poison Abiola's tea with a fast-acting poison? Wouldn't common sense dictate using a slow-acting poison so that they won't be around when he dies?

3. Lastly, the US no longer kills to effect a regime change. Here's a list of CIA's activities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions

Sincere 9gerian: The propaganda continues. So NNPC admits owing federation account now vindicates the claim by Sanusi that N8 trillion is missing? A claim that NNPC had SPECIFICALLY responded to? How does this sort of logic add up? This sort of logic can only make sense to those using what is now called Tinubu Sense to analyse these issues.

For those of us using normal human sense, it does not add up. These are ENTIRELY DIFFERENT matters. NNPC can be owing federation N1, N10 billion or N20 billion or whatever but the amount being owed was not stated in the report. There is absolutely no CONNECTION, except they now tell us that NNPC is owing the federation account N8 trillion.

By Sanusi stating only exactly what he knew should have been ideally remitted, it is up to NNPC to either dispute the amount or claim that no amount was owed; either way, NNPC would have to account for all the money in broad day light.

I’m pretty certain Sanusi knew money was stolen, an amount far less than $49 billion, which will come to light if NNPC had to audit their account.

This is akin to a record company owing you $1 for every CD sold but only remitting $100 to your account. However, based on the number of times your song gets played on the radio and your CDs that you see for sale in the market, you believe the record company must have sold over 100 copies of your CD. Normally, if written into your contract, you can ask to audit their records but what happens if you can't get an audit? You can sue them and allege that they owe you $1 million, which they will probably deny but to prove their case, they will need to calculate the exact money owed through an audit of their records.

As you can see, NNPC is now claiming that they owe the federation account but only because they know an audit is coming. What they’ll owe the federation account is whatever they can’t cover for.

Sanusi wins.

I’m starting this thread to see how we can kick-start the process of large scale technology transfer to Nigeria either through joint venture or licensing. Does such a profession exist in Nigeria?

Technology transfer is the process of transferring skills – such as knowledge, technologies and methods of manufacturing – from universities, governments, businesses to other businesses. The goal is to make the technology available to businesses that can put the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials or services.

For local manufacturing capability to develop, technology needs to be transferred from those that own it to local companies willing to make use of it for a fee.

The type of technology transferred falls under intellectual property (IP) - an intangible asset. Intellectual property comes in four generally accepted forms: (i) patents, (ii) trademarks, (iii) copyrights, and (iv) trade secrets and know-how.

Nigeria will be going through a rapid development phase and technology transfer needs to occur for businesses and entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the development. For example,

1. There’s an article recently about Nissan coming to Nigeria to assemble cars. This is a prime opportunity for technology transfer if there are local companies in place that can take advantage of it and in the process, make millions of dollars.
2. Opportunity to manufacture quality spare parts.
3. Power sector – a lot of equipment will be needed to keep the sector going. If local businesses form the right alliance, they could be in a position to provide certain equipment locally.

Successful technology transfers to Nigeria probably include Dangote Cement, Innoson Manufacturing, Zion computers, telecom sector, oil sector, etc.

With a population of 160 million, we have the local demand for a lot of products and services, why are local companies not trying to fulfill the demand? Is it lack of exposure to available technologies, inability to match licensors and licensees, disinterest from technology owners, inability to enforce contracts, or lack of infrastructure? Why exactly are deals not being made?

The issue is not our libido, which may or may not be higher than Caucasians, but the fact that we carry on carelessly. Our people are ignorant or choose to remain ignorant to the fact that precautions need to be taken when engaging in an activity that can become destructive. The solution is simple: if you're going to engage in extramarital or premarital affair use a rubber. Simple!

If you’re getting married, get tested before going raw.

What's yet to be told is the number of females infected with HIV. Unfortunately, due to the anatomy of females and those that take it from the back, they are more likely to get infected from sleeping with an HIV infected male than a male sleeping with an HIV infected female.

About a week ago, I heard an alarming statistics over the radio that 92% of new HIV cases in the Washington DC area are black females, which makes me wonder what that number will be for females in Nigeria.

It is obvious that Nigeria took a turn for the worse when compared to other countries, which is what the rankings show. However, when looking at the raw scores, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and a 100 means that a country is perceived as very clean, in a 6-year time span we've mostly stayed flat and we had our highest score of 27 in 2008 and 2012.

Can anybody guess the major changes that occurred during 2007 and 2011?

2013 Rank 144/177 Score 25
2012 Rank 139/174 Score 27
2011 Rank 143/182 Score 2.4 (24)
2010 Rank 134/178 Score 2.4 (24)
2009 Rank 130/180 Score 2.5 (25)
2008 Rank 121/180 Score 2.7 (27)

I tried to get the data through 2000 but it will require a lot more digging. Here's the link below for anyone interested in getting the data
http://www.transparency.org/cpi2013/results

Yahoo1: What word in the ENGLISH LANGUAGE has THREE different consecutive repeated letters?
Note- i mean a word without hyphen! ....
lets go smarties!

How about “ambiguous” because that’s what your direction is! What are you asking?

1. abcabc OR
2. aghagh OR
3. aagghh

A Nigerian actually thinks that fairer skinned Nigerians are superior to darker skinned Nigerians? If fairer skinned Nigerians are superior, how do they compare to Europeans, Asians, Americans, mixed races, Hispanics, or anybody that's not African? Highly unfortunate that some people did not evolve past their primitive beings! So much for Darwin's theory but hey, there's always the war coming....

2legit2qwt: Good topic.

I hardly find suits that fits me right off the shelf or even online. My biceps makes it hard that when it fits my arms, the sides become too loose. I guess that's the cross i have to bear for my unconventional body shape

You need to find athletic cut suits if you have a muscular build. The suit will allow for a bigger chest and biceps. However, even if you buy your correct suit size, you'll still need to find a tailor because the waist of the pants will probably be too big and you might need to tailor the sides of the jacket.

OP, nice post and I wish my Nigerian brethren will pay attention to it and stop wearing suits meant for toddlers!

I do not understand why people’s feelings are getting hurt! Facts are facts and whether or not you like them, they’ll remain facts.

Innoson only assembles of parts for now except for the frame. They must have paid millions of dollars in licensing fees for the technology and blue prints, and will continue to do so for each vehicle sold. The only thing that I can guarantee that they manufacture is the frame the car is built on because there’s a photo of a welder spot-welding it. There’s nothing in that warehouse that prove they manufacture actual parts.

However, their accomplishments should not be trivialized. They are onto great things and assembling car parts is the very first step needed to develop in-house (or Nigerian) know-how to build their own parts. Apart from money, you need technical knowledge that can only be gained through experience – experience which they’re gaining right now.

There are books out there that will teach you the basics of building your own car from scratch. All you need to do is source the engine, transmission and ancillary components. You can buy brand new crate engines and transmissions from manufacturers or pull them from used cars.

A couple of years ago, when I still had more free time on my hands, I was going to build a Caterham 7 replica based on kits (maybe I’ll still do someday):

http://www.windingroad.com/articles/lists/ten-lotus-7-replica-kit-cars/?utm_campaign=Weekly+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email-83#1

Here’s the forum that tells you pretty much everything that you need to know: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/index.php

Do you want to live long?
Practice safe intimacy.
Know your HIV status and if positive, start taking your medication because that’s the only card left to play.

You want to die quickly?
Practice unsafe intimacy.
Do not find out about your HIV status if you practice unsafe intimacy. People younger and older than you have dropped dead out of ignorance; you might as well add one more to the count.

HIV, like diabetes, can be managed but only if you take your medication. If you do not control the disease, you might as well start counting down. It is better not to put yourself in such a predicament in the first place but if you find yourself in such a situation, regardless of how you got there, the next best thing is to manage the disease.

Education is key and remember that HIV no dey show for face! I wonder what doctors are doing in general to ensure more people get tested. Over here, doctors will ask to test you for STDs including HIV even when going for a yearly checkup. I usually just say "sure" just so my doctor won't think that I have something to hide plus my insurance is paying for the tests. Maybe the key is for the government to offer free testing?

Anyway, you can learn more from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/transmission.html

Hendrixtzee: I remember so well after an integrated science class in my JSS 3 when we were taught that a combination of hydrogen and oxygen ( ratio 2:1) wlld yield water, I just thought that yeah so water bottling companies get 2 'big" chambers of hydrogen and oxygen gases to mix and then Boooooooooommm!!!!!! We've gt water H2O.
Did y'all av any as eager science students??

You're actually not that far off! All you need is energy to combine the hydrogen atoms to the oxygen atoms but the end result will be an explosion and water as hydrogen is highly flammable and oxygen supports combustion.

Bottom line: if you can control the resulting explosion from combining hydrogen and oxygen, you’ll end up with water.

I think the fundamental issue is supply far out-stripping demand. When you only have 2 positions open and you get 1000 applications, you need an objective way of disqualifying a large majority of the applicants before looking at subjective qualifications. Certifications/degrees are used as the "gateman." For you to see oga, you must have the necessary degree because oga is too busy to see everybody that walks in.

However, the smart applicants will have the requisite minimum degree and/or respond directly to the skills sought.

With regard to MBAs, most reputable schools in the US won’t admit an MBA applicant without real world experience because most companies won’t be interested in your after graduation.

Conundrum – Who should God listen to?

Homeowner at Night – God, please watch over my house and my family, and protect us from evil.

Armed robber – Baba God, please let this operation be successful and I promise this will be my last operation even though I said the same last time! Goes ahead and rob home owner at night and in the process, kills homeowner.

Student – Please God, after graduation, let me find a very good job that will afford me the better things in life.

Politician – God, this is an opportunity of a lifetime, let me acquire enough wealth to build the biggest Mosque/Church in this country to worship your name. Goes ahead and steals money meant for developing the country and in the process, robs student of a future.

Pastor/Imam/Voodoo priest – Almighty one, watch over the homeowner, armed robber, politician, and student so that they may become successful. The politician and armed robber made a sizable donation to the pastor/imam/voodoo priest as a token of their successful operation.

A French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), puts forth an argument using Decision Theory as to why it is beneficial to believe in God’s existence.

Pascal's Wager (my explanation)
Assume you have to take part in a coin toss with two sides, heads and tails. One side represents “God exist” and the other side “God does not exist”. Choose a side.

If you choose “God does not exist” as an atheist and you’re wrong, you lose everything for all eternity. If you choose “God exist” and you lose, you simple cease to exist after death. The only thing that could be considered a lose is the time spent worshiping.


Here’s the actual wager

The philosophy uses the following logic (excerpts from Pensées, part III, §233):
1. "God is, or He is not"
2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
3. According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions.
4. You must wager. (It's not optional.)
5. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
6. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_Wager#The_wager


However, some people have challenged Pascal’s wager arguing that the outcome depends on whether God is malevolent or benevolent. Their arguments can be summarized as follows:

If God is malevolent (spiteful and vicious):

You’re doomed if you’re an atheist.
You’re doomed or saved if you worship a false god.
You’re doomed or saved if you worship true God.


If God is benevolent (kind and generous):
You’re saved if you’re an atheist.
You’re saved if you worship a false god.
You’re saved if you worship true God.
Thus, time spent worshiping God is either unnecessary or wasted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_Wager#Argument_of_Assumptions


DISCLAIMER:
I do believe in God and do not believe in any of the crap above. I only find the use of logic in trying to determine whether or not to worship God interesting.

Abali1:
Please just stop it. I am didn't see it as an insult. If you have been close to any Warrior you will understand the message I am trying to pass across.
Believe me the last thing the OP needs is pity party. In the States many people apply for all sorts of benefits, but I believe only a few Warriors will be applying for disability benefits.
You can check out Sickle Cell Warriors page on Facebook, it's US based group (Naija Sickle Cell Warriors got its name from there).
NB
Yeah I misunderstood him, but please lets mind our choice of words. The OP is still not in a right frame of mind for all this bickering on his thread.

You need to refocus your energy, or is it anger? The message in my post is simple and has nothing to do with labels!

Let me spell it out for you – we all have difficulties or issues in our lives, albeit some more serious than others, but with the right frame of mind and/or support, we can overcome anything including chronic pain from SS, death of a loved one, cancer, organ failure, getting fired from work, having no source of income, breaking up with a life partner, serious debt burden, being born with certain defective characteristics, etc.

If you can check your emotions at the door, you will see that the underlying thread in all the issues and ailments I listed is pain and lack of hope to carry on. Having a positive attitude goes a long way in overcoming anything in front of us.

By the way, there’s nothing wrong in being different and it is left to us to determine how we let the difference affect us (emotionally or physically). Being labeled disabled or handicapped is not derogatory similar to saying someone is light or dark skinned; it is just a fact that relates to the person in question. In certain activities (like driving), the fact that I wear glasses makes me handicapped when performing the activity without my glasses.

Anyway, the initial post was meant for OP and not you. I’m done wasting my time responding to you; do what you want with what I've said thus far!

Abali1:
I know you mean well, but Sickle Cell is not a disability. The OP is whole..... He has two hands and two legs just like you.
Thank you.

I know you mean well also but maybe you should look up the meaning of disability before trying to correct someone. Being disabled is not only about visible physical impairment but could also be emotional, sensory and mental. In his case, SS could be classified as a form of non-visible disability which includes chronic pain, diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, etc. Thank you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_disability

dis·abil·i·ty noun \ˌdis-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē\
: a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities

: the condition of being unable to do things in the normal way : the condition of being disabled

: a program that provides financial support to a disabled person

Slim curtis: am 17yrs old boy..i hail from one of the eastern states and i've been kinda regular here.
Life ain't worth the pains,if you have ever felt the urge to die every second,minute of the day.then you feel me.i struggle emotionally,finacially,mentally and health wise.
Am ss, to live with such disorder from childhood is quiet painful.am in total pains all the time,if not hand then definitely must be leg..being in crisis makes it worst. I commend my mum,she lost her job last year buh still struggle to make sure am little fit,my parents divourced long time ago and dad think am a burden,so he doesn't care...
Definitely,life is void to be in constant pains..am about to lose my admission cause of fees,it doesn't even bother me.
All i want is to be painfree,and feel loved...help me plz

Hey Curtis,

How's it going? I'm not going to pretend like I understand what you’re going through because I don’t but what's certain is that you can choose how you deal with your situation. There are a lot of people that go through their daily lives in pain or overcome insurmountable odds just to do what feels ordinary to most. Giving up is the difference between people with disabilities that inspire us and those we don’t know about.

At 17, you have your whole life ahead of you, albeit in more pain than most people experience on average. Here are some people that overcame what seemed insurmountable at some point:

A guy with no arms that drives and works as an engineer
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/07/23/inspiring-story-of-how-an-engineer-with-no-arms-designs-nascar-vehicles/

Woman with no arms shows how she bath, dress, up on makeup and drive
http://focusghana.com/woman-with-no-arms-shows-how-she-bath-dress-up-on-makeup-and-drive/

Stephen William Hawking theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking

A video game player
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57604641-1/disabled-gamer-the-inspirational-story-of-keith-aieron-knight/

Wrestler with no arms and legs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmicID3JwsE
https://www.google.com/search?q=wrestler+with+no+arms+and+legs&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=rFV5UtfeGO_lsAS0z4GwBg&sqi=2&ved=0CD8QsAQ&biw=1163&bih=810

People fail to realize the extent the youths are been pushed into extreme situations like this! I’m pretty sure the guy knew the penalty of him being caught with that much drug; however, he also knew the reward! Is he a privileged spoiled kid or a kid at the end of his rope?

To what extent will each one of us go to provide a better life for our family or to keep food on our table? Never underestimate the innate instinct we have for self preservation.

The youths need and deserve a brighter future and our leaders seem at a loss!