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Donations flowed freely from passersby into the coffers of a destitute with six children begging for alms at Ikeja area of Lagos State Southwest Nigeria.
The woman with her six children
The woman, Mrs. Aisha Ibrahim, 30, from Kano State, it was gathered, gave birth to quadruplets in 2008 and a set of twins in June 2010 in her village in Kano and came to Lagos to beg for alms when she and her husband could not cope with the feeding of the children.
The woman was seen on Awolowo Way, Ikeja where a crowd gathered around her and six children (three boys and three girls).
Many passersby pitied her and gave her money freely. They called on the Lagos State Government to come to her aid by providing for the children.
Speaking , Aisha said she left Kano for Lagos when the suffering became unbearable and there was nobody to run to.
She gave the age of the quadruplets as two years old while the twins are six months old.
She described her husband, Ibrahim, as a peasant farmer who cannot cope with the upkeep of the children...
Aisha was accompanied by a woman and her sister, who help to carry some of the children while she begs for alms.
She received money ranging from N10 to N500 and even more from passersby.
Aisha who stays at the Lagos Central Mosque, Lagos Island, appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola to come to her aid by providing her accommodation and job to take care of her children.
She also appealed to Nigerians to assist her take care of her malnourished children who are living on the benevolence of the public.
Residents of more than 74 estates and 18 villages under the umbrella of Lekki-Etiosa-Epe Estates Indigenes and Stakeholders Association (LEEEISA), yesterday in Lagos, vowed to do anything possible to stop the Lagos State government and Lekki Concession Company (LCC) from going ahead to collect toll at the controversial toll plazas on Lekki-Epe Road.
The group, at a rally held yesterday in Lekki first roundabout, called for an outright cancellation of the toll plazas, saying that the indefinite suspension of the tolling announced last week by the state governor, Raji Fashola, was for political reasons and would re-introduce the tolling after the election.
As early as 6.30a.m, the leaders of the residents associations,Ausbeth Ajagu,Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Ayobami Biobaku, and members of the Heritage Group and leader of the Ajah IlajeAssociation, A. Ikuesan, had all converged on the Lekki Phase 1 roundabout for the rally. They were all wearing T-shirts with the inscription; ‘No to fencing, no to toll gate’.
The police, led by the DPO of Maroko Police Station, Mr. Ukoh, were on hand to offer protection to the group and to stop hoodlums from hijacking the event.
Shady project
The group said that Lagos State government has not been able to give reasons why it would toll the only major road constructed for a local government that generates one of the highest income for the government; and yet, there are no government hospitals and only two secondary schools.
“Putting a toll on this road is restricting our movement,” said Lawal Alalekan, the group’s spokesperson.
“Come to think of it, Lagos State government is deeply involved in the financing of this project. Which money are they using? It is the tax payer’s money! Lagos State government gave a 42 million US dollar loan or grant for the take-off of this project. That is over 6 billion naira. Where are the monies got into? Lagos State government guaranteed the loan that was used in financing the project: over 240 million dollars. They have not done the road to ten kilometres, they want to start tolling. Our question is why preferential treatment to LCC? Why has the government committed so much of the tax payers money; and they are still asking us to pay?”said Mr. Alalekan.
‘We are ready for dialogue’
The chairman of LEEEISA, Ausbeth Ajagu, however, thanked Mr. Fashola for the indefinite suspension of the tolling, calling on the governor to carry the people and the stakeholders along, for mutual and better understanding.
He said the group would like to dialogue with the state government on the toll issue, as well as on some other issues pertaining to the smooth and conducive living environment in Lekki-Etiosa-Epe axis.
Secretary of the Lekki resident association, and chairman, Nicon Town Residence Association, Tayo Adebowale, said that it was socially irresponsible for a government to place an additional burden of tolling on people.
“Whether there is godfather behind it or not, I care less! All I know is that, I am not going to put any extra burden on my economic life,” Mr. Adebowale said.
The undertones
Solomon Onyibe, a real estate consultant, said the Lagos State government and LCC have not been very transparent in the execution of the contract since inception. He added that it was obvious “there are a lot of undertones in the contract arrangement.”
“Let them come out and make the contract agreement public! Let’s see how the money was raised. Let’s check the books,” Mr. Onyinbe said.
“Our stand here is that you cannot toll an existing road. We can’t pay. What is special about Lekki? The facility they provided in Lekki Peninsular, is it more than what they provided in: Ikoyi, Yaba, Surulere, and Festac? All the roads in these places I have mentioned are tarred. If you are going from here to Festac and Yaba, you will not go on an untarred road until you get to your house! Why not toll there? The only road they seem to be doing here, they want to toll it. This is oppression,” Mr. Oyinbe added.
In his remarks, the president of Ilasan Housing Estate, and the deputy leader of Maroko Evictee, Tajudeen Jegede, stated that what they want is a total cancellation of the purported toll, saying that a larger percentage of the people staying in the axis are poor people.
“If you look at the people staying at Ilasan Housing Estate, for instance, they are people who were evicted from Maroko in 1990. Now, we have not been able to balance presently as am talking to you now. From Obalende to Ajah is 200 naira. If they should add the toll fee, we would be paying up to 500 naira,” he said.
Mr. Jegede, who also is the chairman of the technical committee, Lekki Free Trade Zone, pointed out that even the Lagos State civil servants on that axis would not be spared, as all their earnings would go into transportation should the government go ahead and imposed the toll on the people.
The protest spilled on to the Lekki-Epe expressway, bringing vehicular movement to a total standstill, with the police and LASTMA officers assisting to control the traffic.
‘PDP government will scrap Lekki toll’
Olatokunbo Kamson, a gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State over the weekend said a PDP government in the state will scrap the planned tolling of the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway...
Mr. Kamson described the proposed payment of N200 on the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway by every motorist as criminal.
“They propose to charge N200 for one toll and there are three tollgates for people living around VGC, Ajah, and the environs. That means anybody working in Victoria Island and living in Ajah will have to be paying N600 toll per trip. That is N1,200 per day. That is criminal, having in mind that the road was constructed with tax payers’money,” he said in a statement.
He promised that the opposition party(PDP) will scrap the tariff if it wins this year’s election in the state.
Too expensive
Mr. Kamson added that the proposed toll rates is among the highest anywhere in the world.
“Again, if you look all over the world, where have you paid more than 25 percent? I have plied lots of roads in the US that are tolled. Minimum is 25 cent. And how much is 25 cent? Is it up to N100? Why are they proposing to charge N200? That is more than a dollar,” he said.
An alternative route
He also berated the Lagos State government for not providing alternatives for people who may not have the huge amount required to ply the road on a daily basis, adding that lots of Lagosians live below the $1 a day.
“It is the standard internationally that people must be given alternatives. If you want to build a road that you are going to toll, then you must provide an alternative for people to ply so that people who are incapable financially can also have access to the amenity. It is wrong for government to insist on toll fees without the provision of alternatives.
“Besides, the road is not even completed; that means the government is trying to use people’s money to complete the road and also tax them. It is not fair,” Mr. Kamson said.
On December 29, 2010, the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, ordered the suspension of the planned toll collection on the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway by the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) until further notice.
By Henry Umoru
A Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Wednesday warned that if the leadership of the Party and that of the country jettison the already existing zoning arrangement, it would amount to making violence change inevitable.
Speaking Wednesday at National Stakeholders’ Conference, 2010 at the Thisday Dome, Abuja, the former Vice President who noted that he was not praying that the political situation of the party and that of the country should get to the level of applying violent means to address the nation’s problems, also stressed that if the PDP fails to embrace reforms, it stands the risk of making itself irrelevant.
Meanwhile, Former Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu has called on Nigerians especially those from the South to put behind them those eras in the 1960s which produced coups and counter coups in the country, just as northerners became Heads of State during the periods.
According to Ayu, “North is not set out to dominate anybody. I want you to ignore the Nigerian history of 60’s that produced coups and counter coups with its leaders as northerners. It was not conspiratorial on the part of the Northern political leaders, it was accidental..
“When we had opportunity we, not only brought out President Obasanjo who was in prison for treason out, but the north made him President even when his immediate community rejected him. It was the highest show of solidarity by the North. The least our brothers from the south can do is to demonstrate and reciprocate the goodwill.”
Ayu who admitted that the task ahead them is ensuring that the Consensus Candidate for the north, Atiku Abubakar gets the party’s ticket as well as become the President of the country come next year, said, “we are trying to tell you that we have difficult task ahead of us. If you are not present here today, the consensus effort would have been a failure. But with your presence here today, Atiku ceases to be the Northern Consensus Candidate but the Consensus Candidate of Nigeria.”
The Conference which had as its theme, “Building Consensus for National Unity”, was convened by the Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, the Igbo Political Forum, the Yoruba Redemption group and the South South Unity Forum.
Speaking further, Atiku said, “Our coming here is not about Atiku, it is about the peace, the unity and stability of Nigeria as exemplified by all the speakers who spoke to this audience today. Today is about building consensus for national unity. We have some elder statesmen on consensus building. It is about the rule of law, due process and standing for what is right.
“I am an instrument for realizing these value. I promise that by the grace of almighty God, we shall bring this country back to the part of honour. Before I end this short address let me send a message to our great party the PDP: if the PDP does not reform, it stands the risk of making itself irrelevant. Let me again send another message to the leadership of PDP that those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable.”
Also in his remarks, former Senate President Ken Nnamani who warned that some leaders of the country were planning to put national unity to the burner, stressed that rotation and zoning which has become part of the nation’s history, was beyond the north, the PDP, adding that it has become a national challenge.
Nnamani who noted that Nigeria has a lot to learn from the process that brought out Atiku Abubakar, stressed that it showed high sense of humility and patriotism, just as he said that if the choice was from some parts of the country, there would have been series of court litigations now, adding that zoning must be adhered to against the backdrop that all political office holders were beneficiary of same process.
The former Senate President who called for the externalization of the Consensus candidate process, also called on Nigerians to disregard comments by the President General of Ohanenze Ndigbo, Ralph Uwachue, adding that as a country, we lack political will to implement agreements, adding that some politicians were over heating the polity for their gains, even as he said that there was tension in PDP because of plans to circumvent the rules.
Roll call
General Ibrahim Babangida, General Mohammed Aliyu Gusua, Atiku Abubakar, Former Chairman, Police Affairs Commission, Chief Simon Okeke, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu; Lawal Kaita; AVM Hamza Abdullahi; Deputy Governor of Kwara State, Ajia Chinyere Ogugua Agagbo; Funke Adedoyin; Professor Babalola Borishade; Alhaji Isa Ozi Salami, Professor A.T. Abubakar, Professor Sam Oyovbaire; Lawal Batagarawa; Saleh Hassan; Haruna Adamu and Saleh Hassan.
Others were former Deputy governor of Kogi, Patrick Adaba, Air Commodore Ibrahim Alkali, Farouk Bibi Farouk; Udenta Udenta; Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Professor Osita Ogbu; Mrs Titi Ajanaku, Chief Peter Biakpana; Oyewale Fashawe; Hassan Mohammed; Aboki Shuluwa; Saleh Jambo; Dr. Sam Egwu, Professor Chinwe Obaje, Professor A.B.C Nwosu; Kalu Idika Kalu; Ibrahim Kazuare; Senator Yushua Anka, Senator Hamman Bello, Dubem Onyia, Representative of Israeli Ambassador, among others.
If you know me personally, or even digitally , then you know that I am a physical fitness and athletic enthusiast. I find that there is a certain level of determination that is built up by being physically fit and sticking to a regimen. Athletics and exercise are the purest physical expression of true mental discipline that one can find. As an entrepreneur, I don't think I would be able to do what I do without the mental preparedness a daily workout routine brings. 
With so many parallels between athletics and entrepreneurship, I asked myself "Who is the Steve Jobs of athletics?" This question can certainly be debated, but at the end of the day I arrived with an answer of Michael Jordan. A recent ad campaign by Nike with Michael Jordan is focused on the phrase "Be Legendary." and the quotes that come from them are absolutely golden. In truth, some of the best entrepreneurial advice I have ever received has come from Michael Jordan and this campaign. Here are 23 insights that I've learned from Michael Jordan:..
It's About Knowing Where You're Going
You have to have a clear path as to where you want to go. As a startup, things change along the way. Your execution might make you pivot or implement a different solution. At the end of the day, you need to stick to a clear vision and problem that you're trying to solve. If you're lucky enough to succeed, the road to where you're going may look a lot different than it did when you first started. Take a look at Google- make the world's information freely available. That has been the goal from day one, and despite solutions consisting of email, maps, video, operating systems, and more, that is still their goal at the end of the day. Never forget where you are going as an entrepreneur with your company.
Don't Forget Where You Started/Came From
This holds true for you as a person as much as it holds true for the company itself. Though we do it for more than the money, money can often change people to forget their humble beginnings. Many great entrepreneurs came from absolutely nothing - just an idea that might change the world one day. Don't ever forget that child like desire you had the first day you started. If you harness that essence, no money or fame can ever change you. Never forget your family and your close friends that were there before you started upon this journey. The best thing a company can do is keep a list/wiki of company lore that will remind them of their adventures. The long flights, the growth in employees, the launches, the failures, and more from the early days. Andres and I have been traveling the country with PadPressed. We've encountered some victories and many failures along the way, but we're keeping a record of it through writing, tweets, and pictures.
Have the courage to fail
Failure is a part of anything in life, but having the courage to face it head on is what makes you stronger. We hear so much talk about "it's okay to fail", but I don't think there's enough clarification. You shouldn't let your startup as a whole fail, that's not something you should easily let happen. Startups are really a compilation of many small instances of victories and failures. It's embracing those small instances of failures that will let you learn and adapt better. Think of embracing failure as the entrepreneurial equivalent of an immune system. By embracing failure, you learn what went wrong, what's bad, and how to prevent it from happening again. You build up a resistance to that specific instance of failure.
Don't break when broken
What goes up, must come down. Starting a company is a roller-coaster ride like none other. YCombinator actually has a graph here about this exact subject . You will feel broken inside and figure it's time to give it all up. That might be quitting yourself, selling the company, taking a weak deal, or even calling it quits on a smaller scale. DON'T. Emotions are fleeting and cloud your judgment. For the most part, something that makes you feel broken, should not break you. The true also holds same for the opposite.
Take everything given to you and make something better
Society is all about evolution, especially in technology and software. The greatest technologies take the fundamentals of what already exists in some form, but improves them with the new pieces that have evolved. I wrote about this earlier in a piece called "Build What Was Previously Not Possible." As an entrepreneur you will continually find new tools and innovations brought forth by other entrepreneurs. Take every single relevant thing you can find and bake it in to your product to make something better. For some that might be mobile, social, local,etc. Always ask yourself: "Am I using all the resources that are available and making something better?" We literally get nowhere with complacency, but get everywhere with advancement. Don't change the game, evolve the game.
Work Before Glory
The best entrepreneurs are humble and don't really care about the glory. One of the things that Dharmesh has taught me over the past few months is to keep a level head and be humble. Don't worry about the next press article that comes out about your company. Eventually there will be too many of them that it won't matter. It should be about the work you produce instead of the side benefit of glory. Your work will live on forever, but the glory will fade away when the next acquisition or rumor pops up. Legends are products of their work, NOT their glory.
Do what they say you can't
The competitive nature of entrepreneurship is a fun one. Many people will tell you that it can't be done or that it is too crazy. They will tell you that a better X can't be built or you won't be able to accomplish a small goal like fundraising or hiring. The people telling you this might not even be strangers, but close friends and family members. The only way to prove them wrong is to do it.
It's not about the tech, it's about what you do with it.
The tools and technology that is available to entrepeneurs just keeps on growing. Whether it's social, HTML5, geolocation, node.js, cloud services, or whatever else, that's not what this is about. Those tools by themselves are cool, but not that useful. The technology tools are like an artist's paint brush or a baseball players bat. It's about what you decide to create with those tools.
Be Scared Of What you won't become.
As an entrepreneur, you probably have a very big long term vision that you want to accomplish. It can't happen right now, but over time it eventually will. I always point out that Facebook started at one college, with one photo, no wall, and a mediocre design. Look at decisions as if they might compromise what you could become. If you take the easy route and make the wrong decision, you will not become what you should be. That should absolutely scare you. What if Zuck sold to Yahoo! many years ago? That has to be a scary thought as Facebook would not have become what it is today.
Make Others Scared Of What You Could Become
Entrepreneurs are often asked "So what if Google enters your market?" That's a worthy question, but at the end of the day, your vision should be so mind numbingly amitious and huge, that it scares Google or someone else. Today you might be something small, but if you play your cards right, what you end up becoming is scary. The really smart entrepreneurs aren't scared of the bigger guys as much as they are of the smaller, more nimble startups that COULD BECOME who they are now. At some point, everyone was no one.
Don't finish where you began
Startups are all about momentum and forward moving progress. Every task, project, or new feature should be able to take you forward. It might even be okay if it took you backwards, as the journey backwards is still a journey. Spending a ton of time on something and just ending up where you began is something you should avoid as an entrepreneur.
Know what is within you, even if others can't see it
Sadly, too many people in our industry disregard others that aren't in the in crowd or very visible. They look at who an entrepreneur is now, but not at the true future potential of who that person will become. The same way a smart person knew that Facebook would be something big in 2004, is the same way a smart person knew that a 19 year old unknown kid from Harvard would change the world. Some people ask me why I put my phone number and other contact information out there publicly (fyi- it's 201-305-0552). It's simple- You never know who you might meet. They might not be somebody now, but over time they might become somebody legendary. If you can help them get there, it benefits everyone involved. By helping others, you eventually start to develop pattern recognition for finding great talent, which is a key component of being a leader.
Patience is more important than courage
We always want success now or even yesterday. It's hard for us to realize that things won't happen as fast as we want them to. Courage is certainly a very important trait, but more important is having the patience to see things through. When we look at the success of others, we only see the end result. Even if we see the journey along the way, it is still a small snapshot. Take in the whole picture and realize that there are no overnight successes.
Fulfill your destiny.
It takes a while to get to this point, but you eventually realize what your destiny is in life. You clearly know what you were meant to do with your life and what the end result will be. It takes a lot of trial by fire to get there, but once you do, you will become unstoppable. The real key to fulfilling your destiny is figuring out exactly what it is. Once you figure out what that specific destiny is, it's a long journey, but the fire it generates inside, will put you on auto-pilot.
The press leads us to believe it is easier than it is
The press' job is to write about stories that generate pageviews, since pageviews generate more advertising dollars. Failure and the grueling times don't really get too many pageviews. Success, money, glory, and the end result of hard work certainly does get pageviews. This skews us to think that raising money, selling your company, or launching is just so easy. I'd wager a fair amount of money that you will almost never hear a story titled:"Startup X Fails To Raise $2,500,000 Dollars" unless there is some juicy gossip backstory attached to it. Get back to work and close the RSS reader.
The real work starts at the keyboard and with customers.
If you're in a startup you're either making something or selling something. If you haven't made anything or sold anything, then I sincerely have no clue what you're doing at a startup. Sure there are operational tasks that need to be handled, but all founders can bear that burden. As a whole, founders + early employees need to make sure their actions have a direct impact on something be made and/or something be sold.
Not every product or feature launch is a winner
Remember Beacon? Remember Google Buzz? Remember Yahoo! Live? Remember AppleTV V1? Well, you might, but not for good reasons. Not every feature or product launch is going to be a slam dunk. Even the giants in our industry like Apple can have products launch that don't perform well. It's impossible to shoot 100%, but what matters is that you take 100% of the shots that you should be taking.
Fire over flash
Pretty interface and nifty features are not the path to success. They are certainly a great advantage to have, but the product also has to have fire behind it. If you have a pretty application that provides no real "fire" aka utility to the user, then it won't be used for long. Make sure you have fire before you have flash in your product.
Find Strength In Your Weaknesses
More and more, I'm finding out that my weaknesses are my strength. Weaknesses can be identified and attacked. If your company has a hole in its team, business model, or customer acquisition model, you can attack it head on. Find your weaknesses and figure out how to attack them in order to make your company stronger. It's simple: the less weaknesses you have, the stronger your startup becomes.
Be motivated by your pain
Some athletes hit their high points when they reach the area of most pain. The pureness of facing the most difficult parts of your journey should be the most rewarding as they allow you to level up. When Facebook first started in the college market, they didn't go after the schools where they could gain market share the easiest. Instead, Facebook actually went after universities where they would experience the most resistance and have the most pain ie- schools with existing social networks. If they could conquer this pain, they could easily conquer everything else.
Treat entrepreneurship like a privilege, not a right
I'm lucky to live in a country where entrepreneurship is something that anyone can get into. Many people often forget that other countries are not as lucky and have oppressive governments. We often talk about entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty, but this isn't even possible in some countries. Don't treat this as a lackadaisical experience. Many people would literally kill to be an entrepreneur, because it meant their survival. Be grateful for the opportunities you have and never take it for granted.
You must work for it every single of your day
Work/life balance is important, but there is no off switch for being an entrepreneur. You can't just turn it off and come back to it 3 weeks from now. If you really want to do this. If this is your destiny, which for many many people it just isn't, then it is something you have to keep at every single day of your life. Some are lucky enough that their first thing takes off. Your first, second, or even third thing might not take off. Stick with it and keep working at it every single day of your life.
Do not make excuses
Accomplishing something is a binary outcome. You either accomplished it or you did not. A lot of the times the end result will be the former, but don't sugercoat it. It happened for a reason and don't make excuses that act as scapegoats. Face success or failure head on. We often associate excuses with failure, but I think they can also be present in success as well. Though it's good to be humble, you shouldn't also make excuses for your success. Realize your what you did right and the hard work associated with it. Excuses are exactly just that- excuses. What other athletes and sports references have helped you become a better entrepreneurship? Instead of Michael Jordan, who might you pick and what has been their advice?
You Should Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jasonlbaptiste, Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jasonlbaptiste, Email Me: jbaptiste@onstartups.com, or even call: 201.305.0552
One More Thing...A FREE Special Event And Gift To The OnStartups Community
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OnStartups is helping put on a free "virtual event" in conjunction with the PlusConf crew on December 7. It starts at 12 pm EST, is 100% free, and all you need is a computer with an internet connection. Speakers include some awesome Boston natives such as David Cancel of Performable and Todd Garland of BuySellAds.
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When: 12/7/2010 12:00 PM EST
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The church is ground and pillar of truth. Folks attend church services for different reasons; but a unique feature among all church goers is that they go there to meet a need. Nevertheless need vary from one individual to another, while some go to church
to fellowship with God and satisfy their spiritual needs; others attend church services with the prospect of landing a husband or wife. For some others, church is place to network and display their latest wares.
Among these aforementioned, none, attend church services in disguise, which begs the question, why Nigeria`s first lady, Patience Goodluck Jonathan has to conceal her identity each time she visits T.B. Joshua`s Synagogue Church of All Nations.
We can say that the President's wife, Patience, has met with T.B. Joshua three times, since she became first lady of the federal republic of Nigeria.
A highly placed source within the church who preferred to remain anonymous, said,
“Though the president had not met with Joshua for any reason since he became the first citizen of the country, his wife had visited the church three times”.
According to the source, the first lady's interest in the man of God began when he accurately predicted the death of the former President, Umar Musa Yar'Adua, the week he was rushed from Nigeria to a hospital in Saudi Arabia.Prophet Joshua in his usual prayer session that afternoon told the congregation and Nigerians to pray for the soul of the President.
He also told them that the country needed prayers because he was saw darkness enveloping her as he was looking at a basket covered with the colours of the Nigeria flag.
Before the former President fell ill and when he was persuading the militants of the Niger Delta region of the country to accept his amnesty offer, TB Joshua had stated that the militants were only fighting because they were oblivious of God's plan for them. According to him, somebody from the region would emerge on the seat of power unexpectedly.
"So as someone who was favored by the prophesy, the woman decided to sometimes visit the church whenever the need arose.
The source also confided that the second time the first lady visited the church was when her husband became the substantive president and the Prophet was said to have declared that Jonathan would later be interested in the presidency and that his decision to contest might pitch the southern part of the country against the north.
He therefore warned the president not to declare any intention till the after August this year.
"If you remember, the president was lukewarm to the issue of his ambition and he left Nigerians guessing his future moves.
"It was because of the prophesy that he delayed. And you could see what has been happening in the political environment even before he declared his willingness to contest for presidency," the source said.
She visited not too long ago and has been in communicating with the Prophet. But is it a crime for a person to be religious in Nigeria?" The source asked.
However we learnt that the first lady's visit had always been shrouded by her.It was learnt that she always visited the church with only two security operatives and this had been giving the Lagos state secret security service, SSS some concern.
The operatives, the source are concerned of her safety and as a result, they had asked the church to compile the list of both local and foreign politicians and political office holders who visit the church.
However, the list is still being prepared.
culled & adapted from huhuonline
I remember sitting in Mr. Kayode’s geography class in secondary school, an atlas in hand looking at political boundaries; countries way beyond my reach. “I will reach the North Pole,” I often said to friends and family, oblivious to the fact that I was sitting in tropical sub-Saharan Africa and had never seen snow at that time.
Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined realizing my specific childhood dream was a few votes and judges away.
Reaching the Arctic Circle seemed a precursor; this imaginary line I’d only traced fingers across on a map. Over the summer, I took a road trip along Sweden’s eastern coast towards the Arctic Circle with my parents.
We finally arrived unceremoniously at the “sign”. Getting out of the car, Mom casually tossed her black scarf over her shoulders, sunglasses resting on her face.
“Where is it?” she asked.
“This is it,” I responded.
“The Arctic Circle?” She wasn’t sure..
“Yes!”
“But where is the thing?” She prodded.
“There is no ‘thing’. It’s an imaginary line.” I tried to explain.
“Hmm…Ok then, let’s get back in quickly before a moose gets us…”
--
As an experienced travel writer, blogger, and photographer, documenting our polar expedition exceptionally through engaging narrative reports and vivid photography will be an absolute honor and once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and Quark Expeditions.
The wind will bellow in an eerie yet welcoming fashion. Frigid waves will trash against the ice breaker, intimidating yet slowly guiding us north. We will sail past dramatic towers of icebergs, awe struck. Whales will surface to observe us visitors, ensuring we proceed reverently. Voyeuristically taking in fluffy white polar bears and corduroy brown walruses through my lens, a glimpse into the wonders of our world will be offered up.
I will blog, tweet, photograph, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Facebook like crazy too...sharing our incredible expedition through social and traditional media outlets with everyone who dares to dream beyond the status quo.
I will scribble "epiphanies" into a spanking new journal, filling pages with dreams and experiences leading up to this grand moment.
Finally landing on centuries-old ice at the top of the world, I will scream at the top of my lungs… “I’m a loooong way from Africa!”
Please cast your fair and honest vote to fulfill this once unreachable dream.
Former
president, Olusegun Obasanjo, for the second time in 2010, yesterday called journalists to his Abeokuta home to fault rumours that he was dead. The rumour had gripped Abeokuta and its environs most of Friday.
Photo: Looking Good in Kaftan on New Year's Eve
Speaking with journalists at his Hilltop Private residence in Abeokuta, Obasanjo who jumped up to show journalists that he is hale and hearty, said, “obviously if I am dead, you won’t see me in flesh and blood. I think people take delight in speculation and rumouring.”
He said it was the seventh time since he became the nation’s president in 1999 and even after he left office in 2007 that he would be confronted with such reports.
Mr. Obasanjo, who said it is only God that determines the right time a person dies, recalled how a friend of his called him Friday morning, breaking to him the news of his rumoured death.
“He said he was trying to confirm and that he had counted seven times that l have been rumoured dead since the eve of my inauguration in 1999 as a democratically elected President of Nigeria till today,” Mr. Obasanjo said.
The former president said those who indulge in this will not give up “and those who are superstitious believe that when there are rumours and speculation like this means longevity. Whether longevity or not, what I know is that until the Good Lord who has created me decide to say yes, I have reached my take off point to return to him, people may speculate, people may rumour and that will be their own handicap.
“My words to Nigerians are that wishes are not horses. People’s wishes do not make it to happen. But I know that anybody created is bound to die sometimes. When my time comes, it will not be man that will decide. It is in the hands of God,” he added.
On the controversy over whether he slumped at a ceremony in Ondo State, he said:
“I did not slump, but when I was choked in the church because of lack of air conditioner and fan, I went to my car which had an AC and after staying there for about three minutes, I felt okay and I decided to go to my host house because I have not taken my breakfast. There, I was given two pieces of banana which I ate and I returned to the church. I was shocked three days after reading that I slumped. It is part of the gimmick of selling newspapers.”
Mr. Obasanjo said Nigerians should be thankful for the year ending 2010, adding that the new year promises to be a year of high expectations and divine year for sustenance of unity for all Nigerians
“We all Nigerians should be thankful for the year ending, 2010. I wish all Nigerians, young and old, male and female, every good fortune the year 2011 offers and promise to be a year of high expectations for all Nigerians,” he said.
Finally after about 4 years plus of dating, the first son of billionaire business man (CHIEF HARRY AKANDE)-Olumide Akande and notable thespian and dreadlock wearing Dakore Egbuson have decided to cement their relationship, and the D-day is January 16,2011,and the way its been planned, without an invitation card, it would be impossible to get in, most of the plans are been kept to heart. Olumide who is described as a romantic had sometime back proposed to his beau at a restaurant in the States,he had told Dakore about a party they had been invited to, but that before going to the said party, that they should have dinner, everything was like one of those scripts in a movie that Dakore is used to, after their main meal, Olumide called for the dessert, which was broght in on a ..trolley and when it was opened VOILA!!!!!!!!! inside was a little red box and Olumide on one knee, in the presence of other diners asked for Dakore's hand, and after that their was another suprise, the party they had been invited to was a suprise celebration party for the couple. Olumide's dad-Chief Harry Akande is the the billionaire business man, politician who is a top chieftain of the ANPP,he was at a point a presidential aspirant under the ANPP. Dakore the bride to be, is one of the best in Nollywood and has acted in a lot of fantastic home videos-Shattered Illusion,Annabel,Games men play,Dangerous sisters,More than gold,Ultimate risk and several others.
Ladies PLEASE your Lives are literally in your HANDS ! USE Them, BREAST CANCER IS NOT A RESPECTER OF PERSONS !
The Comrade Governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomole has reportedly lost his wife of many years, Mrs. Clara Oshiomole to breast Cancer. the woman
who was last seen in public
some months back, died of the disease according to a source.
.Mrs. Clara Oshiomole, the wife of GovernorAdams Oshiomhole of Edo State has passed on. Vanguard uncovered that the deceased died after a battle with breast cancer.
Further inquest divulged that she died this morning, in Abuja with only about some days to her daughter’s wedding.
The 54 year old Edo First Lady had abstained from public functions because she was receiving treatment overseas and only returned to Nigeria some days ago for the daughter’s wedding slated for 19th of December .
Sadly as Liz Edwards below there are rumours of separation with the Comrade Governor before her passing.May her Soul Rest in Peace .
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate, succumbs to cancer at 61
Elizabeth Edwards, who as the wife of former Sen. John Edwards gave America an intimate look at a candidate's marriage by sharing his quest for the 2008 presidential nomination as she struggled with incurable cancer and, secretly, with his infidelity, died Tuesday. She was 61.
Her family confirmed the death, saying Mrs. Edwards was surrounded by relatives when she died at her Chapel Hill, N.C., home. A family friend said John Edwards was present. Two family friends said Monday that Mrs. Edwards' cancer had spread to her liver and that doctors had advised against further medical treatment.
She posted a Facebook message to friends the same day, saying, "I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces — my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope."
"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that," she added.
Mrs. Edwards spent much of her life as a little-known lawyer and mother. That changed when her husband became a U.S. senator, presidential candidate and Democratic nominee for vice president, propelling her into the spotlight as a smart, plain-spoken wife and key adviser to her husband.
She later became a figure of sympathy as she battled breast cancer and dealt with her husband's infidelity. Her public image shifted again in recent years: the scorned woman whose husband fathered a child with another woman.
She and John Edwards separated early this year but remained close.
The scandals unveiled by London’s Sunday Times and the Panorama, broadcast on BBC on Monday, cost England as it was beaten to the 2018 World Cup bid by Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Photo: FIFA President Sepp Blatter hands over the World Cup trophy to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov (R) after the official announcement that Russia will host the 2018 World Cup on December 2 Photo: REUTERS
It was supposed to be a return to the “motherland of football” as Joseph Blatter, FIFA President, said on the podium moments before the envelope of the winning bid was passed to him. When the winning bid was announced, there were about eight Russians in the hall with the others in apparent shock. Russia won against all expectations but it could have been swung in their favour by the words of Putin, Russia’s President, who on Wednesday criticised England over the FIFA exposes. “I would like to note that recently we have watched with disappointment as an obvious campaign was being unleashed against members of the FIFA executive committee,” he said. “They are being smeared in dirt and compromised. I consider it as part of unscrupulous bit of competition in preparations for the selection of the host-country for the World Cup.”..
The politics of the 2018 bid
England was said to have had the best technical bid but Russia trumped all the stats by promising to inject over $10 billion to host the world. Russia will also be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Spain/Portugal bid President, Angel Villar Llona, in his presentation on Thursday said: “I love FIFA dearly but those I love the most are my colleagues in the Exco. Recently we have been criticised by many media outlets. Unfortunately for them, FIFA is a clean institution.” The defeat will be made more unpalatable as the England bid had been described by Blatter as being both excellent and remarkable. But it was not remarkable enough to be chosen. In revelations after FIFA’s members had voted in a secret ballot, it emerged that England did not make it to the second ballot.
Last minute attempts by Prime Minister, David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham to persuade the football’s world governing body executive members came too late to douse the embarrassments suffered by these members by the revelations of the BBC and London Times. Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, the two FIFA executive members named in cash-for vote scandal, had been suspended and fined some sums of money following the revelations by the London Times that both members were ready to sell their bidding votes to the highest bidders. There will be recriminations from the British press but many observers feel that England shot itself in the foot by being “undiplomatic.”
Qatar trumps the USA
Qatar became the smallest country to be awarded the hosting rights of a FIFA World Cup by snagging the 2022 World Cup. The Qatar bid committee used French football legend, Zinedine Zidane, as a goodwill ambassador and said in their presentation that the World Cup project of hosting the world in 2022 could help unify the region. There was also the promise to overcome overwhelming heat by air conditioning the stadia it will build. Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s bid chairman, sounding all exultant after the pronouncement said: “Thank you for believing in change, thank you for believing in expanding the game, thank you for giving Qatar a chance. We will not let you down. You will be proud of us, you will be proud of the Middle East and I promise you this.”
And in what could be a final word to the backlash that will definitely come forth after the England snub, Llona had this to say, “You have already heard enough slander in the media, the bidding process is clean regardless of what they say.” The world will converge in Russia in 2018. And as the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, was handed the World Cup by Blatter, he celebrated by saying: “You have entrusted us with the FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will never regret it. Let us make history together.”
History will definitely be in the making as the Eastern European giants host the greatest single sport fiesta in the world while Qatar’s 1.7 million people prepare to welcome the world in 2022.
According to him, “I don’t believe the EFCC is an institution meant to harass, intimidate and embarrass opponent. Till date I am not worried about the shenanigans of these people, I don’t believe the releases of the EFCC and whoever is making them.“They might be under political pressure to do what is untold, but they ought to be careful. And if the President is true to his commitment to this country about the rule of law, definitely EFCC is not even the final court if you ask them to manufacture a case, which I believe not.“But a threat to my life as was published; I am not worried about that. This is not the first time I am facing such a threat. I have been on it since 1991, 1993 and 1994 during the military dictatorship and our crusade to bring democracy to the country was worst”, he added. He also explained that the threat level then was worse than as it is now noting that if the fear is eliminated now, “you cannot achieve a progressive democracy that will last longer in our country.
“Therefore, if our institution building, the right to justice, the crusade for our right is dictated by the amount of weapon and intimidation in possession of anybody, that one cannot determine myself and colleagues from pursuing the crusade for a just society in this country.“So God Almighty is the security for every one of us, I will never be afraid; I will continue my struggle in pursuit for liberty; a right to life; right to justice; right to what is the right of all of us in a democratic dispensation. “If those so-called opponents are becoming a danger and we all become afraid to lead the crusade for full democratization; for true federalism; for justice in our society, then we are finished as a nation. I am not afraid about that, let that be clear to all of you and whoever is contemplating whether it is a rumour or real, I don’t even pay attention to it,” Tinubu said...
The former governor also denied the claim that he has anointed who is to be the next governor of the state. He said “I am not into that, I am not a pastor. I don’t have the anointing oil or the spiritual power. I am just a party leader and leadership is about collective decision process.“We will take our time and you will know through the democratic process. You have the right for endorsement; you have the right to be in position of influence, I am just one of the people who will look at all aspects of governance and if you want to provoke a hint, you can’t get that one from me,” he said.
The National Association of Nigeria Female Students (NANFS) has given a seven-day ultimatum to the governors of the South-east geo-political zone to re-open the state universities or face the wrath of female students in the area. ..
In a statement in Owerri yesterday, the students warned that they would be forced to mobilize all Nigerian female undergraduates to demonstrate naked on the streets of Abakiliki, Awka, Enugu, Owerri and Umuahia should the governors fail to comply with their ultimatum which commenced yesterday.
The statement jointly signed by the Secretary-General, Mr. Jemila Audu, the PRO, Pauline Onyegbule, the ex-officio (I), Anita Igbandu, the students expressed regret that the protracted industrial action forced many of them to go into prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery and other social vices.
The students berated the governors for allowing the strike to linger without addressing the problems that gave birth to it, stressing that all that was required of them was to properly fund the universities and make them attain the required standard.
“But, the South-east governors were unconcerned because none of their female children are students in the universities in the South-east zone.”
The statement read by Mr. Anita Igbandu explained that the entire membership of NANFS had taken a deeper view of the collapse of education in the South east zone and had come to the conclusion that the governors in the zone had no reason to seek for second term because their first outings had proved a monumental disaster for university education.
The students also noted that the Governors had shown that they have nothing to offer Nigerian students who incidentally were the future of the zone and the entire country pointing out that, their only interest is to seek ways to manipulate the system and fraudulently secure their second tenures and continue to deceive their people.
Sunday Sermon: "Thank" you Devil Thank YOU Jesus ! Letter to Jesus
What shall I render to the Lord ?
Who is like the Lord who really is like him glorious in Holiness FEARFUL in praise doing wonders ! Alleleuia !
My God is good ! wow ! he is a God of mercy and love ! knowing him has been my greatest pleasure, being with him forever will be much more amazing than the amazing spiderman !(excuse my comparison I was and still am a comic book freak)photo:an actor's depiction of what Christ could have looked like
I have not seen on this earth neither in the heavens have I found such absolute perfection that makes the imperfections of this world laughable. Greater Love can no man have than the Love that the saviour of our souls has for us. I GIVE HIM THANKS for who he is that not only is he The God but he is a GOOD God (Good God ! )
Many Lovers and gods have we had but NO Love can compare with that of his highness the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. For this I give him thanks for his majesty within my words within the deepest emptiness of my soul that only he can FILL. Jehovah,EL ELyon the most high and perfect and only God .....
Frankly, Frank loves you Lord.
As the season of Joy and giving comes with all its presents etc .There are so many thanks that I want to give to this special person in my Life that if I never breathe any words, from this moment (which is impossible, but we writers just like to type anyway ! ) and if I never even know how to say I love you to anyone again for ever and ever(another writers jibe) .
One way I want to express my thanks is to say .”Jesus I THANK you Lord “
“I will sing onto the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously The Horse and its Rider have been thrown in! to the SEA ! “
Is it possible to not know how wonderful you or someone else is ? O yes ! just take look around you and you will understand what the Bible means about “how the WHOLE of creation groaneth and travailleth in pains Rom 8:19-20
9 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
2
KJV The truth about our breath is manifested in this single word “PRAISE & WORSHIP” that is what we were made fearfully and wonderfully for to show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous LIGHT !
When Moslems call or mention the name of Mohammed they always accompany it with some kind of arabic epitaph akin to extreme reverence or like in the Harry Potter books when they talk about lord voldermorth and say “you know who “ and God who lives for ever and ever, he who upholds everything by the power of his word we hold his name in contempt with damnable heresies like “God damn ! ” how I cringe when I remember all the times I have used the name of God in vain, when all my lips should do continually is to give him thanksgiving always!
I have written many articles in my short life and I daresay I will write even more.I have seen the excellence of confusion within my own horizons and yet been allowed to see the Final solution for all of mankind , I have been graced with his special breath and saved with special blood.
The blood of Christ that cleanses of all sin and the baptism into priesthood and Spiritual enlightment into the holy of holies , able to stand up in his presence and SHOUT his name DADDY ! like any four year old without fear or favour . immersion into the holy Ghost not born of the flesh but born of God ! my o my.
This article has been written with God and the words Thanksgiving as the sole inspiration What has Mohammed done for me ? Nothing I am not a Moslem.
What has Buddha done for me ? Nothing. I am not a Buddhist.
What has Krishna done or me ? Nothing. I am unconscious of this .
What has Christian Science or psychics or New or old agers or dead or living people done for me lately ?
NOTHING !
Janet Jackson sings it “What have you done for me lately ?”
The bible says neither death nor life nor principalities nor powers ,nor things present nor things to come CAN separate us from the Love of God which is resident in Christ within our crib (body)
But what has God done for me lately that I should give him thanks.
Down in the dumps of denial , denial of whom my source for ALL ! is, whom makes my heart to give its beat , Who loves me and gave himself for me and then and then and then …. I knew I had to write this article of Thanksgiving.
Giving thanks shows appreciation, shows understanding, shows revererence and confirms humility. Humility out of strength and this then yields JOY .Joy unspeakable !
Let us give thanks to God our maker and lover ,our Father and mother our brother and sister our ALL in ALL.
Let us give him thanks, let us thank him for his special gift his son Jesus Christ the first born amongst many sons of whom I am proud and happy to say I am one of his brothers
For I have declared his name within the congregation and the gates of hell shall never prevail. He who has called us and now still hollers out ! and calls us into a special relationship of thanksgiving with him for he has finished his works since the beginning of creation and has been resting for ever more .The Alpha and the Omega, The beginning the middle and the End .
He signifies his Lordship by giving us the ability to say “thanks O Lord Thank you mighty and glorious one for thine works are great and marvelous in our sight.You have redeemed us from our failure with what the enemy thought was failure. For if he had known what he was doing he would not have allowed the people to crucify your precious son.
This same enemy if he had known that what he was putting us through was a kinda Xzibit pimp my ride show to show forth your praises from his “afflictions” which have proved forth to be a blessing and an honour as the blessed dude Paul said “of whose chains I am glad to be in !
“I therefor! e say these words to the enemy .Thanks for deceiving Eve, thanks for all your deceits , Thanks for your diseases, for all the broken marriages/relationships, For the murders,drugs,Alcohol,Pornography, envyings, tears, fornications, adultery ,idols, lies, Wars, genocide, witchcrafts, etecetera and a very special Thanks for being God’s Devil !
Because if it had not been for your wickedness O evil one Satan ! I might not have known the Love of God that passess my understanding !
So go on being the devil because that is your purpose, it is to let us have a very clear reminder for all eternity of whom we should never ever not be amen.
So I thank the Lord God of Heaven and Earth for his understanding and his complete wisdom .I will end with this song
“Thanks, Thanks, I give you thanks for all you have done ,You are so blessed because my soul has found rest. OGod, I give you thanks ! Amen”
Happy belatedThanksgiving
Frank
Chris Crum | Staff Writer
Facebook Has a Lot of Pieces of the Puzzle in Place
Facebook and Google don't much acknowledge that they're direct competitors, though there's no question that in many ways they are. Eric Schmidt recently said Bing was it's main competitor, and Mark Zuckerberg said its new messaging system isn't an email killer and that "Gmail is a really good product."
It's true that Bing poses a significant threat to Google's search market share if Microsoft's stars align the right way (Windows Phone is a huge success, people search from within Facebook more, etc.), but it is Facebook that is practically omnipresent throughout the majority of the web. You'd be hard pressed to find many authoritative sites that don't have some kind of Facebook integration, even if it's just "like" buttons. It is all of these many, many integrations together that make Facebook a very dangerous opponent to Google.
More to Google Than Search
First off, it's worth noting that Google has its tentacles planted in many different spaces from search, to business productivity apps, advertising, social media, online video, email, and much more. But Facebook is growing into a monster that could potentially embody many of these same things, and do some of them better. Facebook is not there yet, but it hasn't been around that long yet either, and look how far it's already come. Out of all of Google's products, it's search and advertising that are the company's real bread and butter. Google has sat safely atop the search market for quite some time now, but the search landscape is shifting, largely in part to social media: people are connecting at levels never before possible, and these personal connections (new and existing) can be one of the most helpful indicators of search relevance - not necessarily for all types of queries, but for many of them.
Facebook as a Search Engine
Facebook, while not generally thought of as a search engine these days (with good reason), has the strongest collection of person-to-person interactions on the entire web. Google covets that, and is still trying to find its strategy to match or better Facebook's. According to Mashable, the "social layer" Google keeps talking about (aka: the "Google Me" initiative) has been pushed back to a possible Spring 2011 launch. On this fast-paced real-time web we have today, that's a long time, though we do see examples of Google tweaking products in this direction on a fairly regular basis already. Meanwhile, Facebook's head start in building this data with over half a billion people around the globe continues to grow. Ask yourself this: What if Facebook started putting the kind of emphasis on search that Google is currently putting on social? How much easier would it be for Facebook to develop a really useful search engine than it would be for Google to develop a really useful social network?
Consider that the relevancy of Google's results are often criticized as it is (with a recent New York Times story not helping their case), not to mention investigated for being anti-competitive.
One key point in the Google vs. Facebook conversation that often goes overlooked is that Facebook recently acquired search company Chai Labs, which was founded by a former Google exec. "Our semantic search platform uses proprietary crawling, artificial intelligence and data mining technologies to analyze and extract insights from millions of real-time data points across the web," the company explains. "Our goal is to give consumers the most comprehensive, unbiased, up-to-date information they need to make informed and confident purchase decisions. We are laser-focused on simplifying complexity due to over abundance of online sources about a specific topic, leading to information overload." So that's what they're about, and Facebook is ordinarily more focused on talent than products, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that this kind of thing might be integrated into Facebook itself.
So what if Facebook one day decides to make a big search announcement, promote its search feature as a "new and improved" alternative? Remember it still has Bing web results that can fill in the gaps left by its own offerings. Bing and Facebook have already cozied up to each other, and there's no telling just how deep their relationship will get. Bing will no doubt take any shot it can to crack into Google's market share.
Facebook has also been encouraging the addition of different types of information into its network with things like Facebook Questions and Wikipedia-like community pages. Answer site results and Wikipedia entries are incredibly common among the top results for Google queries. With Facebook search, Facebook would likely point you to its similar offerings directly in Facebook.
But would people use Facebook for search? They just might if Facebook promotes it right. They're already trying to get people to set their home pages as Facebook. What if they made the search box a little more prominent? It seems to have worked for Twitter to get people using Twitter search, which has proven to be quite useful for news-related queries.
Advertising
Former Google AdSense product manager Gokul Rajaram, who Facebook acquired with Chai Labs, is now in charge of the company's ad technology, according to Liz Gannes at All Things Digital. This is very interesting in itself and adds fuel to the fire of speculation that one day Facebook will unleash an AdSense-like network, which could be even more powerful than Google's own in terms of ad relevancy (being how targeting would be based on what users have already told Facebook they like). Facebook has made no indication that it will do this, but it's getting harder and harder to believe that they won't, with so many pieces of such a major puzzle seemingly falling into place, from the acquisition of Rajaram to the saturation of Facebook into the very fabric of the web (Facebook Connect and the Open Graph). Other Ways Facebook Competes with Google
Right now, Facebook isn't competing much with Google Search or with AdSense. This is all speculative. It's about the potential that is there. Very strong potential.
But there are other ways that Facebook is directly competing with Google already. For one, you have the whole Facebook as a center of communication thing. A couple weeks ago, Facebook announced its new messaging system and email addresses, while Zuckerberg may have downplayed it, this is clearly a competitor to Gmail. Some think Google should be worried about this. Beyond just email, Google has already been trying to transform Gmail into a broader communication center, adding things like chat, voice chat, etc.
Facebook competes with Google's YouTube and Picasa. People can upload videos and photos to Facebook just as easily as they can to YouTube or Picasa, and there's a better chance that their friends will see them if they post to Facebook because they'll go right to their news feeds. Facebook has a long way to go to get to YouTube's status in terms of video, but it's been moving up the charts in this category, and if Facebook were to place the emphasis on search I'm talking about, it could help video views tremendously. YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine. Google has the browser and the mobile OS. Facebook doesn't need them. Facebook's already everywhere you go when you're using these devices. It's on Android (not to mention every other mobile OS). It's on practically the entire web (as mentioned). Newer browsers that may or may not catch on in the future are even heavily integrating Facebook into their functionality, and on the others, users can opt to do so themselves via add-ons.
Then you have Facebook's Notes to Googles' Blogger. Facebook's Payments to Google's Checkout. Facebook's Applications to Google's Chrome Web Apps. Facebook's Pages and Lists (and news feed) to Google's News. Facebook's News Feed to Google's Reader and Buzz. The list goes on. ....
Thoughts?
Update: Liz Gannes reports that Facebook Engineering Director Aditya Agarwal, whose projects included Facebook's newsfeed, search, and ads, is leaving the company. This could be significant in the company's approach to search and advertising.
This week the North waged war for the second time this year with South Korea when it shelled a South Korean island near the disputed maritime boundary, killing two soldiers and two civilians, injuring others and burning a score of houses. In March, when one of its torpedoes sank the Cheonan, a naval vessel, killing 46, North Korea could, albeit implausibly, deny culpability. This time, though the North describes its aggression as retaliation (for a harmless South Korean military exercise), there is no gainsaying its responsibility for one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean war in 1953. To add to this dismal catalogue, the latest onslaught came just three days after the revelation that, in defiance of international efforts to curb its nuclear programme, North Korea has developed a sophisticated facility for enriching uranium. That gives it a further potential source of material for bombmaking.
The starting-point for answering the North’s aggression has to be that, in the most basic sense, the Kims will almost certainly get away with only a symbolic return of fire. It is entirely wrong for North Korea to act as it does. But punitive military reprisals against the North risk a spiral of escalation and catastrophic war. Deterrence works badly against a dictator who blithely imposes famine and gulags on his people during peacetime. Even if there are doubts about the efficacy of its tiny nuclear arsenal, North Korea has enough men under arms, and enough conventional ammunition within range of Seoul—just 35 miles (60km) from the frontier—to make war seem very much a last resort.
China cannot be blind to the Kims’ bungling and bellicosity, nor welcome their nuclear ambitions. But it has had two worse fears. One is of a rekindled war on the peninsula, which would damage China. The other is of North Korean collapse, with millions of desperate refugees pouring into China and South Korea or even American troops on China’s border. It is as a bulwark against this “instability” that China cossets the Kims. It refused to condemn them even for the sinking of the Cheonan, and this week issued blandly even-handed calls for restraint. It apparently believes that if their only ally abandons them, the Kims might do something really rash..
But they already have. Whatever it says publicly, China must surely see that this regime flirts with war as an instrument of diplomacy and that its desire to shock the world into negotiating with it requires ever greater outrages. Ultimately, this pattern of behaviour threatens the very stability China craves. China’s alliance with North Korea thus undermines not just its image as a global power but also its own interests.
So how to nudge China in the right direction? One possibility is the revival of the six-party forum, chaired by China and involving Japan and Russia. Talks stalled after North Korea forged ahead with its nuclear programme. The Kims would regard a revival as a victory. But talks will eventually have to resume if North Korea’s nuclear ambitions are to be negotiated down. If they also help persuade China to rein in North Korea, that would be a double benefit.
