Oil in the Niger Delta: A Blessing or a Curse?

The idea that natural resources might be more an economic curse than a blessing began to emerge in the 1980s. Richard Auty in 1993 described how countries rich in natural resources were unable to use that wealth to boost their economies and how, counter-intuitively, these countries had lower economic growth than countries without an abundance of natural resources. A rape of our commonwealth and high profile corruption are some of the brainchild crude oil in Nigeria has bequeathed to us. The desperate drive to get into public offices and elective positions clearly pinpoint the depth of corruption and curse crude oil in Nigeria has brought upon us.

Before the commercialization of crude oil in Nigeria, Agriculture and effective taxation were the main sources of our national survival. Agriculture contributed over 60% to our export and national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although the confederating states that constitute Nigeria were at cold war with each other over some political differences, developments in the various regions were remarkable. We had the groundnut pyramid in the North and cocoa pyramid in the West with a bustling coal industry in the East. The various regions initiated different programmes just to ensure that their regions did not lag behind among the comity of states. Well paying jobs were ubiquitous and the standard of living in Nigeria was remarkable. Quality Education was a hallmark of the government particularly in the West. Nigerians were respected at home and abroad. Nigeria gave out loans to other African countries and we played a huge role in the Independence and liberation of most African countries. Nigerians did not need visas to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) or other developed countries of the world. They saw Nigerians as equals.

However, that once glorious entity called Nigeria, has become today a relic of itself. Those who shared in the Nigerian Dream have deserted us to pursue their aspirations in other countries of the world. Countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, China, India, Egypt and several others which shared the same development index with us in the 1960s and ’70s have long outran us becoming some of the biggest economies in the world. Today, Nigerians suffer untold hardship and torture in these countries that once looked up to Nigeria as the Big Brother. Securing a visa to these countries is like a trip to the Promised Land. What is so wrong with Nigeria? Could it be the vast cultural and religious differences? But India and Malaysia have managed to forge ahead in spite of their cultural and religious differences. Maybe it’s the size of our population. How about China? In a matter of 30 years, they have self developed their economy from obscurity to the second largest economy in the world with a possibility of becoming the first in the nearest future.

According to the Niger Delta Congress, it is estimated that over $600 billion worth of crude has been pumped from the Niger Delta states since 1937. Yet high unemployment, environmental degradation, and a lack of basic resources such as fresh water and electricity persist. The persistent neglect of the Niger Delta Region has incited some of the region’s disenfranchised youths to take up arms. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the fiercest and most dangerous militant group is a product of the neglect of a region that has fed Nigeria for the past four decades. Compared to other oil producing regions in other countries, the pathetic environmental and weak infrastructural development in the Niger Delta calls for some soul-searching solutions. Abuja like other capital cities deserves a befitting status. Anything short of its present outlook would point Nigeria in a very negative posture. And more development is still ongoing without any tough political debates. Not once was the development and transformation of Abuja brought to the Nigerian village square for deliberations. If Abuja could be transformed into such a mega city in a matter of years, then what is so wrong with the development of the Niger Delta region that has fed the nation since Independence?

Successive governments since the regime of General Yakubu Gowon, no visible development can be pointed at, yet the region keeps shouldering the survival of the nation. In terms of exploitation, the region has suffered the most. Marginalization? That is the region’s hallmark. Oil companies conduct businesses in this region without recourse to the state of the environment in the region. Oil spillage, gas flaring and oil bunkering are some of the daily hazards threatening the existence of the people of the Niger Delta region. More insulting is the wicked military invasion of the region ordered by Presidents Obasanjo and Goodluck administrations. Innocent civilians in their hundreds lost their lives to the brutal military atrocities. Why this assault that should have been investigated by the United Nations (UN) was ongoing, no concrete development master plan was initiated to calm the nerves of these various agitating communities. Till date, memories of those inhuman invasions and genocide still linger in the minds of indigents of the region that lost their dear ones.

At a time in our political history, we had the Groundnut Pyramid in the North, Cocoa Pyramid in the South and Coal Industry in the East. In the Niger Delta region, what is the proof of our oil reserves? Is it the dysfunctional refineries, gas flaring, exploitation, environmental degradation or the incessant killings of innocent Niger Deltans? Sincerely, there is no historical monument in the Niger Delta region that represents the vast wealth we have been blest with. Many writers and public commentators have proffered solutions and recommendations to the Nigerian Government on how to develop the region. Of all these recommendations, only the amnesty program has been implemented. Why this might be laudable, it is certainly not enough. How about the gas flaring which the Federal Government has refused to address? Oil spillage, environmental degradation and non-existence of modern infrastructure? Recently, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Allison Madueke admitted at a public forum that Nigeria earns over N42b daily from crude oil. Of this distorted figure, how much is being allotted to the development of the Niger Delta Region? Our foreign reserve is being depleted daily by our greedy politicians and yet a region that produces these resources is suffering a total neglect. The high rate of unemployment in the region has given rise to the menace of kidnapping in the Niger Delta which has escalated to other regions. If we begin to enumerate the problems bedeviling the region, it will cover too many pages.

In the final analysis, urgent and concrete steps should be taken to develop this region. Enough of all the fake promises and exploitations the region has suffered from. If the government of President Goodluck Jonathan or anyone that would succeed him does nothing to address the core issues threatening the existence of the region, then Nigeria might as well prepare for the worst from the youths of that region. A threat to the existence of the Niger Delta region is a threat to the survival of the Nigerian nation. The stage is set!

Fred Itua is a writer/contributor for The Politico Magazine and lives in Abuja, Nigeria.

Paint Israel Black: Jews to Lose Jerusalem!

Israel’s rejection of their 1967 miracle will result in their loss of Jerusalem. Let Israel lower its flag and mourn and paint the country BLACK since Orange was crushed under “just following orders” soldiers doing their sworn enemies’ dirty work….

The official Israeli rejection of their God-given Six Day War victory will result in greater loss of life and the end of Jewish Jerusalem. With the abuse and perversion of Jewish troops (sworn to defend Jews and Israelis), engaged in the ethnic cleansing of Jews from biblical territories Providence once empowered them to liberate, their punishment will be a loss of miracles and the loss of Jerusalem and Israeli sovereignty! THE EU JACKBOOT WILL SOON STOMP JERUSALEM AND TRAMPLE ISRAEL!

General Sharon’s illegitimate deployment of the Israeli Defense Forces to illegally force productive Jews from their loving homes and prosperous businesses (having turned that former desert region into a rose now shamefully abandoned to pricks – Numbers 33:55), not to secure Israel’s future (having gambled it away to foreign investors and aliens with their eye on Jerusalem), but to bow before his German-Jesuit masters, has sold out Israel and invited the disaster of international troops to soon flood the Middle East as “peacekeepers.”

Criminal company Sharon and Bush had sufficiently been warned by God and the People not to reward terrorism and get rich off Jewish blood, sweat and tears or waste precious American lives in the war against Nazi-Muslim terrorism (with no serious intentions of WINNING it), treacherously entertaining thoughts of another Arab terrorist state, an accursed “Palestine” (that seeks to erase our father Jacob-Israel’s name off the map – Ps. 83:4), and shaking bloody hands with terrorists in a suit and tie! May God take note and reward them accordingly. Their sins against God, the United States and Israel, stink to High Heaven!

The Word and Will of God is for the Jewish people, pioneer tribe of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (that includes the American and British peoples), to be inheritors of the Promised Land, preparing it for the greater influx of representatives from the other tribes, the so-called “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.” The Hebrew word for “settler” is INHERITOR.

Our Jewish brethren are called to lead holy lives in the Holy Land (Malachi 4:4), setting an example for other nations to follow. Instead, the Jewish homeland has been cursed with the “new” secular Israeli who wants to deny his Hebrew roots as a JEW, and biblical responsibilities, and be just like all the other nations, rather than a “Light to all nations.”

There’s nothing new under the sun. Such “Israelis” in times past were called Hellenists, and we know the unwarranted hatred they had for God and Jews of faith that created a schism, a breach, that enabled foreign intervention by Antiochus Epiphanes (“god in the flesh”) who wreaked havoc and polluted the Temple and slaughtered those who resisted his “advances” (all foreshadowing EU entanglement in Israel and their wannabe divine emperor polluting the imminent Temple).

Today the hypocritical family of nations preaches to Israel about how to allegedly obtain peace with the “Palestinians” (a fictitious people who have brainwashed the world with their BIG LIE) by surrendering “land for peace.” This despite the fact that history cries out that appeasement never works! Now Israel finds itself with a lot less land, but WHERE’S THE PEACE?

Instead of coming to their senses and scrapping such a miserably failed formula, Israel continues to swallow the poisonous concoction and under international influence, drunk on such delusions, listens to further wicked counsel by men and women playing God, some even professing to be Christians and Jews, nations with the chutzpah to mock and reject the LAND COVENANT that God made with Israel alone (Joel 3:2).

Israel is drinking itself to death, and refuses to recover from the bleeding wound the lying and deadly peace process has struck them with (Isa. 28:15-18), and digs themself in deeper (Dan. 9:11), instead of turning back to our Great Creator God (Hos. 6:1-2), the God who promised the Land to Israel (not to Ishmael), and confess that former Israeli Parliament Member and rabbi, Meir Kahane, was right! Israel is suffering the dire consequences for rejecting his prophetic warnings and call for Israel to remove the threat the Arab enemy poses and enforce PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH (Dan. 9:11).

International pressure will be exerted upon Israel to “share” Jerusalem (as called for by UN Resolution 181), divide their eternal capital, with their “peace partners” who daily call for genocide against the Jews and the destruction of Israel! However, biblical prophecy reveals Jerusalem will be seized and taken from the Jews, the whole city captured by the covetous EU, and half of it (undoubtedly East Jerusalem) forcibly evicted, Jewish homes plundered and women brutally raped:

Zechariah 14:1-3

1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,

And your spoil will be divided in your midst.

2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against

Jerusalem;

The city shall be taken,

The houses rifled,

And the women ravished.

Half of the city shall go into captivity,

But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from

the city.

3 Then the LORD will go forth

And fight against those nations,

As He fights in the day of battle.

The proud and stubborn nations, in rank violation against God’s Land Covenant with Israel, want to force themselves on Israel, have their way with Jerusalem and rape Jewish women! And Israel has whored around with foreign ways, submitted to their idolatrous ideas, and refused to submit to God’s Word and remember that the Holy One of Israel is King! The Great God of the Hebrews proved this to the nations when He took on the Egyptian superpower and rescued His damsel in distress.

God says to the foolish nations: “You want a piece of this?” And the nations that forget they are but men, only mortal, will dare defy God’s Word and Will, and come against Jerusalem not realizing our God of war, our Commander-in-Chief and LORD of Hosts, is drawing them into an ambush! He’ll let the fascist EU wreak havoc for awhile, even three and one half years, but then He will put them in their place, plague them for their impudence and drive them away like chaff from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount!

May Jerusalem and the cities of our God, the cities of Judah, hear this GOOD NEWS! And they will: Two witnesses – in the bold spirit of Elijah – will testify to this biblical account before Israel’s captive audience from occupied Jerusalem(Zech. 4:14).

We will not be left without comfort, but will be offered hope to fight despair and given faith to battle fear, encouraged by their announcement our heavenly King will come and save us:

Isaiah 40:1, 9

1 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”

Says your God…

9 O Zion,

You who bring good tidings,

Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Know About The Latest Tech Developments By Following Tech Blogs

Innovations in technology are taking place at a much faster pace these days then they used to earlier. New models of gadgets with interesting features are being launched on a daily basis in the market. But identifying a model with the latest features within your budget is next to impossible if you do not follow tech news on a regular basis. Once you start following technical blog sites, it will be much easier for you to select the best model available in the market. The factors which make technical blogs the best source of information on all technological developments taking place around the world are mentioned below:-

Technical blogs can be accessed for free

Tech blogs can be subscribed without having to pay any money as subscription fees. You can follow as well as take part in these blog sites by commenting on any topic related to technology. People from different walks of life share their views and ideas on how the features and quality of gadgets can be improved. So products of better quality are launched.

Simple language which is easy to understand

These blogs are written in a simple language which is easy to understand for people who do not have a sound idea of technology. Bloggers do not usually use any technical or scientific terms in their blogs as they are well aware that readers may get confused if they come across too much of technical jargon.

Blog sites are updated regularly

Technology related blogs have one thing in common with SEO blogs. They are updated on a daily basis with fresh, informative content and as a result readers as well as search engines make regular visits to them to find out the latest updates on new gadget models which have been launched in the market.

Tech blogs can be navigated easily

Technical blogs have a better navigation as compared to company websites. So you can get all the information you require without having to read the content of too many web pages.

Models with the best features can be identified

These blogs can be used to compare the prices and features of products. You can easily identify the gadget with the best features within an affordable range once you go through these blogs. Often the authors mention the names of retail outlets or websites where gadgets of the best model are available. This in turn helps you to save a substantial sum of your time and money.

Blogs can help you repair gadgets on your own

These blogs can be used to repair and maintain gadgets without anyone’s help as they provide useful tech tips. So you don’t have to depend on anyone for repairing. Neither will you have to buy a new one. You can resolve the issues on your own and increase your gadget’s durability.

Capitalism, Socialism, and the Affordable Housing Market

One of the cornerstones of capitalist economic theory, as taught and practiced in the business, governmental, and academic sectors of the United States of America, is called the “efficient market hypothesis”.

That hypothesis claims that a free market is an “efficient” market, meaning that it perfectly provides for the needs of consumers in a nation, at prices they can afford.

I disagree.

“Efficient market hypothesis” claims that markets are rational, meaning that they will make automatic adjustments in prices, to match supplies of (and demand for) particular commodities (whether they be food, clothing, housing, or gasoline).

However, one of the problems with the efficient market hypothesis, is that markets are not rational, because markets are made by human beings, not computers, and most human beings (from my observation) are not rational.

In fact, from what I’ve witnessed, I would claim that most human beings appear to be famously irrational.

So it would only stand to reason, that markets made by human beings (for things like food, clothing, gasoline, and housing) will not naturally fluctuate with the needs of consumers, but rather, will usually charge prices set as high as the sellers of those various commodities can get away with charging.

But what if thousands of people, in a place like a snow-covered environment, can’t afford to pay what the sellers of housing are demanding to be paid?

Should they merely sleep outside in the snow?

I don’t think so.

Yet many of them do.

Why?

I can’t say definitively, but while visiting the city of Boston, Massachusetts in the Spring of 2012, I had the opportunity to meet a fairly large number of the many, many thousands of homeless people who resided in that city then, and what I found was shocking:

There were what appeared to be, over ten thousand homeless people in that city then, contrasting sharply with the large number of “for rent” signs I saw on various houses and apartment buildings in the city, and it’s various suburbs.

I met former businessmen and women, many of whom had lost their jobs in the mass-company-firings of the recession of the 1990’s and 2000’s, (which apparently caused their companies to permanently downsize their jobs), in what resulted in tens of millions of Americans being put out of work (and in many cases, they and their families being evicted out of their homes).

While learning about the struggles of the homeless in the United States of America, the first thing I noticed is that the formal and informal network set up to help the homeless, in actuality accomplished very little to help in any real, tangible way when it came to housing people whose primary need was just that.

Instead, most of the organizations I contacted, and interacted with, seemed to offer everything but.

Food, clothing, toiletries, (and at a few of the better facilities, phone calls, and occasionally, showers), were often available, but real progress towards attaining permanent housing seemed to be continuously (and maddeningly) elusive, not just for myself, but for almost all of the hundreds of homeless people I met and spoke with.

That lack of the one crucial thing homeless people need the most, appeared to lead to a very high level of despair among many of the dozens of homeless people that I spoke with, and that despair appeared to often led many to engage in self-destructive behaviour, and even angry verbal outbursts.

More depressingly, that despair appeared to be intensified by the self-hatred many homeless people seemed to experience after such (usually-justified, yet often misdirected) outbursts, and many of the people I met seemed to be descending down into a deeper and deeper predicament.

Many began to resort to the habitual use of alcohol or drugs, in an apparent attempt to numb the feelings of resentment and self-hatred that seemed to engulf them.

Then, when those same suffering people went to seek housing, those incidents of self-medication with alcohol or drugs would be included in their “client profile”, and many of them would be shunted off into a “bad client” category, and often be:

1) forced leave the homeless shelters,

2) forced to “meet with the police”,

3) forced to attend burdensome anti-“substance abuse” classes and meetings, (despite the fact that some of them had no place to sleep at night),

or…

4) forced to “leave the immediate vicinity” of the homeless shelter, and go…

where?

As a result, many of the hundreds of homeless people I met in Boston, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, Miami, Florida, San Diego, California, and Los Angeles, California, seemed to find themselves having no choice but to live outside for many months, years (and some, even decades), at a time, sometimes even in the ice and snow.

I met a few men who had spent entire previous, New England winters outside, some in tents in the snow-blanketed woods, and some feebly attempting to sleep on top of heating exhaust vent grates, to escape the bitter (and sometimes deadly), below-freezing, winter night-time temperatures.

It appeared that every few nights in one of the major north-eastern United States cities, someone would die from sleeping outside in the bitter winter cold. In a rare effort to avoid such tragedies, police officers in progressive Cambridge, Massachusetts would drive around, all throughout the night just before, and during, major snow storms, on the lookout for people who had fallen asleep outside.

While exploring the back streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts in the middle of a few of those bitter cold nights, I occasionally saw people bundled up inside cardboard boxes, feebly (and perilously) attempting attempting to survive the night without freezing to death.

Even more shocking, was the fact that most of the major cities I visited (such as Boston, Massachusetts, Miami, Florida, San Diego, California, and Los Angeles, California), all appeared to have their main homeless shelters located in their downtowns, often within close walking distance (and sometimes in sight of) luxury, high-rise, residential condominium towers, many of which had dozens of empty apartments for rent.

So, despite what many of us may have been taught in college economics courses, the fact is, the free market for housing in the United States of America is not at all efficient. In fact, if you explore the intricacies of many major, urban, United States housing markets, you will often find that they are woefully inefficient.

To make matters worse, the extreme contrast between the levels of contentment of the well-heeled, housed urban professionals, and the barely-surviving homeless appeared to lead to levels of hostility that were, not only disheartening, but even dangerous.

As a result of the predictable frustration experienced by those two extremely alienated groups of “have-more-than-enoughs”, and “don’t-have-anythings”, conflicts would often erupt, with the housed scurrying away to hide inside, and the police sometimes arriving to accost and interrogate the homeless, who were usually intimidated back to “wherever they came from”.

As a result, many of the homeless people I met seemed to be developing an increasing level of resentment towards the United States of America, and the wealthy (or those perceived to be).

After 5 months witnessing the social schisms, and other social unrest caused by homelessness and wealth inequality in Boston, Massachusetts, I boarded a bus for Manchester, New Hampshire, where I witnessed the exact same, corrosive social dynamic at work, actively undermining our national unity and sense of connectedness.

Being unable to find sales work in Manchester, New Hampshire, and knowing that the bitter-cold New Hampshire winter was quickly approaching, I boarded a plane on November 3rd, and flew to Miami, Florida.

Upon my arrival in Miami, I hopped onto a bus straight to Miami Beach, where I witnessed the exact same, depressing social inequality, occurring right alongside the winter-long festivities of one of the most lively international tourist hot-spots in the western hemisphere.

While there, I again noticed the same super-luxurious residential high-rise condominiums that I saw in Boston, Massachusetts, many seemingly built in the last decade or so, during the supposed “recession” that saw millions of American workers jobs (and paychecks) offshored to foreign countries, while corporate profits sky-rocketed, sending the Dow-Jones Industrial average, and wealthy peoples bank accounts, to before-unheard of heights.

Even more disturbingly, while in Miami Beach, I noticed that many of the poor homeless women I met seemed to feel compelled to sell their bodies, in order to afford to pay for basic, life’s necessities, such as food, clothing, shelter, or medication.

Many of the homeless people I met there appeared to spend at least half of their time hiding from the police helicopters, cruisers, and all-terrain-vehicles, that appeared to patrol the beaches relentlessly, in an attempt to chase them away from the sight of the well-heeled international visitors who flock to that city all winter long.

When not resting in my tent concealed in the sand dunes adjacent to the awe-inspiring “South Beach”, I spent my days socializing on the seawall running parallel to the beach. While walking by there one day, I met a homeless African-American Iraq war veteran, just returned home from combat.

He appeared to be suffering from a serious case of “Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder”, as a result of having his foot blown off by a suicide-bombers attack on the Humvee caravan he was travelling in, and he appeared to be in terrible daily pain, even though army doctors had somehow surgically re-attached his foot.

He spent his days sitting near the seawall adjacent to the boardwalk, and seemed confused, depressed, and very, very angry at the way he had been used, and apparently abandoned and disposed of, by our countries government and military establishment.

After a few months in Miami Beach, the police presence there persecuting myself, and the other homeless people, became too overwhelming, so I decided to relocate to Hollywood Beach, Florida.

Hollywood, Florida is an interesting city. Most of it isn’t anywhere near the beach, but is inland, being despairingly separated from the beachfront by the “intracoastal waterway”, and so is very humid, though very calm and sociable, inland.

The beach-front itself is almost entirely for tourists. It has a beautiful boardwalk, is very clean and quiet, and is great for:

– families with children,

– those who don’t like (or can’t tolerate) diverse or international crowds,

or

– those who need a break from the faster paced, party beaches, such as Miami Beach.

However, while in the inland part of the city of Hollywood, I met men who revealed to me that one of the homeless shelters there was charging “rent” to people who slept there, even sending disabled people out onto street corners to sell homeless-advocacy newspapers every day, in order to earn the money to pay their rent.

While walking down the street one day, I met a man in a wheelchair with withered legs due to a serious neurological disease. While listening to him speak, he recounted to me that after he had had a disagreement with the manager of the homeless shelter regarding his pain medication, he was unceremoniously evicted out onto the sidewalk a few blocks away, and left there all by himself, even though he couldn’t walk.

Subsequently, the shelter where he formerly resided was seized by the city, and condemned, and the man who operated it was intimidated out of that Florida town for being:

“too nice to criminally-prone homeless people”.

That was the first indication that there is a trend in many warm-weather cities to be hateful and hostile towards homeless people, and the more I investigated the phenomenon, the more disturbed I became.

For example, in both Florida and California, I heard repeated accounts of serious, even murderous violence being repeatedly directed against homeless people, with some cities and towns in Florida appearing to have reached epidemic levels of such repeated outbursts being directed against poor (and sometimes disabled) people living outside, as discussed in this article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/16/florida-homeless_n_4453312.html?temp-new-window-replacement=true

Sadly, such crimes appear to also be on the rise in California as well, as evidenced by this section of the “Huffington Post” news website, which discusses the rising epidemic of violence against the homeless:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/homeless-hate-crimes/?temp-new-window-replacement=true

My belief is, that at least part of the reason for this, is that poor and working-class Americans are so angry and frustrated because of their recent economic difficulties, that they are striking out at convenient, socially-acceptable targets, and in the United States of America, where we worship rich people, poor people within easy reach are becoming the targets of choice.

The worship of rich people, and the resultant demonization and dehumanization of poor people, are just two symptoms of the extreme wage, income, & wealth inequality that exists in the United States of America today.

In fact, from my research, I would estimate that the last time wealth inequality was so unjust in the United States of America, was during the late 1800’s, in an age of income inequality so extreme, that the chief corporation-owning beneficiaries of our collective labors were frequently called “robber barons”.

Because of the refusal of the corporation owners of that time to equitably share the fruits of their corporations (and thus, their workers) efforts, an organized labor movement began to take shape, and by the 1950’s, it managed to secure adequate wages and working conditions for tens of millions of American workers, many of whom still do the bulk of the physical work in this country.

That organized labor movement led to the creation of the often idealized “American Middle-Class”, which many credit for the social stability that came to encapsulate the idea of the “American Dream”.

However, during the 1970’s, a new mentality began to infect the hearts and minds of the collective consciousness of the American intelligentsia, and many economists and business-people began to promote a new world-view, which disturbingly extolled the perverse paradigm that “greed is good”.

In fact, such dangerously infectious slogans were charismatically advocated by the protagonists of movies glorifying such selfish mentalities, as evidenced by Michael Douglas’ “Gordon Gecko”, in the 1987 greed-inspiring movie, “Wall Street”.

From the 1980’s, through the 1990’s, up until the victory of President Barack Obama in the mid-2000’s, this countries “greed-is-good”, and “it’s all about money” paradigms were also advanced by mind-warping, wealth-worshipping television programs, such as:

“Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous”,

and

MTV’s: “Cribs”.

As a result, the level of hyper-materialism in the United States of America reached such epidemic proportions, that people who don’t have enough money are no longer merely viewed as “undesirables”, but increasingly, as an entire underclass who are “good for nothing” but to be exterminated.

I believe that this new form of socio-economic fascism represents a very clear and present danger, not only to the millions of homeless people in our country, but also to the tens of millions of us who are merely a paycheck, illness, or missed mortgage payment away from homelessness ourselves.

So, contrary to the idea promoted by generally accepted “free-market” economic theory, the free market for housing in the United States of America does not appear to be at all adequate when it comes to meeting the shelter needs of the people who reside within our nations borders.

And so I believe that our elected government officials have, not only the right, but also the responsibility to intervene, and insure that all of the people dwelling within our nations borders of authority have their basic, housing needs met.

Unfortunately, when broaching such topics in economic discussions, it isn’t uncommon to see some contentious mass media commentators irresponsibly launch socio-economic extremist labels at their opponents, in an attempt to marginalize and demonize them, usually utilizing one of the following nebulous labels:

“Communist”, “Socialist”, “Redistributionist”, “Collectivist”, et cetera…

Yet, very little thought is often invested into what the exact definitions of those terms are.

With that in mind, I’d like to offer my opinion as to what I perceive to be the correct definition and appropriate usage of such socio-economic labels to be:

First, a “communist” is generally viewed as a person who believes in completely equal ownership of the means, and output, of production, of a nations industry.

(In the past, that goal was frequently attained by government mandate (usually through “nationalization” of a nations private corporations (a form of seizure and redistribution generally regarded as unpleasant by most.)).

On the opposite end of the socio-economic philosophical spectrum, we have what are generally called “capitalists”.

Capitalists are those who believe in allowing vastly unequal ownership of the means, and output, of production of a nations industry.

(In recent American history, that philosophy has been pursued almost to the extreme, by unjust recalibration of of our nations tax policy and codes, and has created many tens of millions of “working poor” in our nation (whose ranks appear to be growing by the day)).

Both of those extremes (of Communism, and Capitalism), have generally proven to be very ineffective forms of economic policy in the past, and sadly, they can occasionally result in widespread violence (as witnessed in the cases of both the French & Russian revolutions).

More intelligently, would be a theoretical balance between those two extremes, called “Socialism”.

Socialism, (provided it is not enforced by violence, or accompanied by racial, religious, or ethnically supremacist theories) is usually the best economic approach for a nations economy, as both the extremes of “capitalism”, and “communism” have historically proven to be ineffective models for meeting the material, and spiritual, needs of a nations populace.

Such deficiencies in meeting the needs of a nations populace can sometimes result in:

Violent internal “civil” wars (a.k.a. “revolutions”), as in the case of pre-revolutionary Russia (where a Tsarist aristocracy attempted to forcibly rule the nations repressively unequal feudalistic peasantry-based agricultural economy,

or

Violent, externally aggressive wars, such as those we are seeing in the modern-day United States of America, the leaders of which appear to be on endless Quixotic quest to (mis)-identify and displace their disenfranchised citizens rage at their increasing economic impoverishment onto convenient, external, foreign targets.

Instead, it might be helpful for our nations leaders to temper our current hyper-capitalist orientation with more socialist economic principles.

The Nigerian Internet Estate – The Myths, Facts and the Reality I (online FOREX Trading)

As a follow up to my previous posts on this blog, I’ll continue to assert the fact that Nigeria is a force to be reckoned with as regards every known endeavor on the face of this planet called Earth, and the internet is no exception, it is left for the rest of the world most especially the United States to fathom this cold hard fact out. Well I would have titled this piece ‘the online conspiracies of the west against Nigeria’ well that would sound cynic and inane. It will look as we are beggars at the rich man’s table waiting for crumbs that falls off his table; when we are kings in the making. However, it has become imperative that we will take on destiny instead of waiting lazily for it to come beckoning at us. But do you know one thing my friend? Your destiny cannot come to you except you shrug off the ashes of defeat, rise to your feet, and then take what rightly belongs to you. Sorry if I have digressed from the main topic of the day, well I was trying to crave your indulgence as is always the case with me. Like I said earlier on, Nigeria remains the biggest internet estate and can compete favorably with India on the third world country category and in the real sense can give the west a run for their money; and as a member of cyber world is not immune to the fistful of online fallacies that pervades the internet daily. But I’ll only deal with this ill wind the as it concerns we Nigerian.

One thing that has remained obvious to we Nigerians especially those who wants to make a decent living doing decent business online is that we are greatly disadvantaged because of some pre-conceived notion of the developed economies against Africa and Nigeria in particular, but I wont dwell much on the bad side as an optimist but will deal on the possible and well established side as a realist. What do I mean by this? The internet has become a real estate and as such many people world wide are reaping the benefits of this innovation and smiling to the bank every other day, so my main concern is to get you acquainted with the common myth that pervades the internet daily and the obvious.

Recently, online FOREX TRADING has become a niche that every person with little or no experience on money matters wants to get involved in within a short period of time (most attend one to two days seminar) and want to start reaping from it, stop! I’ll love to ask, why is it that we still have few people that are rich from trading FOREX with all the hype associated with it? Well have you stooped to think this over? But my friend like I titled this article I’ll love to list the myths, facts and the reality of online FOREX trading. Personally I don’t trade FOREX but I know of an array of people who do; and from the fillers I get daily, it is not as rosy as it sounds. You loose money and you gain money, however the tendency of losing far out weighs that of gaining if you don’t know the fundamentals of the trade. Knowing the fundamentals is not some thing you gain the knowledge in 1, 2, 3 or even 7 days as those who advertise it in dailies will tell you. What the organizers of various FOREX seminars are after is to gain back what they have loosed trading through levying outrageous seminar fees on the participants. At the seminar they don’t take the time to explain the technical and fundamentals of the market, terms like pips, bull traps, Fibonacci analysis etc are not well explained: leaving the participant more confused than ever. But like I said earlier on, trading with no fore knowledge of the aforementioned points makes trading an experience not worth the venture.

Still on online FOREX trading, it will be unfair if I don’t mention the benefits of this online money making venture even if I’m not trading this very lucrative market (yet). Basically FOREX trading exceeds about 1.3 trillion dollars daily, so it will be mediocre of a person to jump into a market as large as this with no formal knowledge of the happenings. However ,it becomes expedient of the person to get fully into the know of this liquid market before getting his hands burnt in the process of wanting to make 100 pips a day as most of the self acclaimed FOREX experts promise you when you trade on their systems. Like I always do when posting any article, I try to make detailed research (even if I know little or not) before coming to press, and when I do it is in the form of a personal experience. While this FOREX rave reached fever pitch, every person wanted to tap into this market to reap bountifully; I decided to make my own in road. Daily, I hit every search engine on the net for a detailed report, I subscribed to every ezine, news letter, and every available publication that deals with the subject. From my findings I observed that the requirements of this market is quite tasking, however if all these requirements are met, the market is worth the venture, what are the requirements I’m talking of: they include a laptop computer connected to the internet; as you need this to enhance the mobility of the market, a domiciliary account, and a form of identity which could come in form of an international passport or national identity card and a plat form to trade on.

One day I saw an advert on a daily on a FOREX seminar that’ll last for about two days, and within these two days you will be taught all the basics required to start making between 30 to 40 pips daily (note: a pip is worth about 10 dollars). I did not attend the seminar as the seminar fee was too much, not that I can’t afford it but because the money was too much for a seminar that will last a couple of days. So I took the address of the FOREX firm and decided to pay them a visit and perhaps make more inquiries. On getting there I met a lady who looked more like a cleaner than a FOREX expert, as I was expecting to see a person who looked like those who work in wall street or if I want to sound modest like some one who works for one of the banks, then how can such a person teach me the basics of the trade for me to start making 50 pips every day!. I thought may be if she really is an expert as she claims, I figure she should be making good money as a FOREX expert and at least look good for her troubles. Is not like I’m saying that there aren’t people here in Nigeria who are doing good trading FOREX, but what I’m saying is that they are very few, this is the fact and the sooner it downs on you the better. I don’t want to sound cynical but in this business is very good for you to be very truthful to your audience, telling them the reality of every situation, instead of leading them falsely by reporting fallacies and stuff.

On the contrary, FOREX trading is a niche and can not be ignored as it has enriched many Nigerians (the few who know the rudiments of the business) as I know of a guy who takes home close to 30 to 40 pips any time he trades, do you know his secret? He sells when others are buying, and sells when others are buying. He knows where to make his stop loss and quit when it really mattered, he understands the basic trends mostly the fundamental, since with it you have a clue as to how the currencies are performing in the market relative to how the various big economies are faring. One other fact in relation to a myth pervading the scenario is that FOREX is not a vocation as the ‘experts’ will tell you. It is not some thing you do on a part time basis; rather I will say it is more of a career, since most traders do it full time. Why this is so is that you can dwell on a chart a whole day waiting for a favorable signal to begin trading, while you are in your office waiting for the required signal, your boss will be telling the secretary to prepare your sack letter and pay-off. But if you learn the ropes you work smart as a FOREX trader, knowing the best times to trade; then you can jolly well make it a vocation, rather than a career as earlier speculated. The secret is that most FOREX traders don’t trade every day. This is another fact, you only trade when there are auspicious signs. Another secret is contentment (avoid being unnecessarily greedy), when you make a good move that gives you 20 to 30 pips, is usually advisable to quit at that juncture even if you see another favorable trend. Usually such trends end with you losing the money you already made. So be careful, as it could be very enticing as well as deceitful

The fact about this market is that you make money if you avoid bull traps and interpret the market trends both fundamental and technical, looking at the charts, knowing when to buy and when to sell, knowing the best currency pair (e.g. euro/dollar), knowing when to enter and when to quit and Fibonacci analysis. If you get your self acquainted with all these, then your venture into this market will be worth the while, on the contrary the myth is that you don’t, make 30-40 pips daily by just taking part in a 2 day seminar or workshop as most will call it, most self acclaimed experts introduce you to robots that trade on your behalf, well the truth about robots is that they only function according to how they are programmed. Most robots are programmed using technical analysis, but this market is very volatile and economic trends in most leading economies especially the US can affect the market negatively or positively, for example the recent recession so experienced in the US resulted into a weak dollar and like a virus it spread to other economy especially the Euro zone and Japan: so if your robot was programmed following the reverse you can figure out what happens. The reality here is that you can only make it in FOREX when you master the ropes of the market as it has been noted that about 90 percent of those who go into FOREX exit after a short period of venturing. The fact then is that FOREX trading can be lucrative as well unprofitable. Which ever side of the divide you belong the choice is yours. But I assure you that you can make a difference if you believe in your self, since many plat forms reject registration from Nigeria (another western conspiracy), for example FXSOL no longer accepts registration from Nigeria. So it is left to you to decide how to take this market by storm as I promise to give frequent updates as regards my online experiences since I’ve decided to join the trend of Nigerians making dollars form FOREX trading.

Feel free to post your comments and views on this topic, you can also get a free FOREX manual by one of the world’s best FOREX experts, contact me by email if you are in need of this manual, it is free of charge and will come as an email attachment sent free of charge to your box. You can also get e-books on how to build your internet empire for a token fee, more so many freebies are also included like the e-book ‘as a man thinketh’ by James Allen and another free e-book by Wallace D Wattles titled ‘the science of getting rich’. Just contact me via email for these rich books that will enrich your online money making experience.

My Tryst With English Language – A Firsthand Narration

During my entire school education, the medium of teaching was the vernacular lingo. The English as a subject came in the 5th Standard. However, I started bunking the class, as I could not comprehend the language & was feeling extremely uncomfortable. One day, my class teacher noticed my absence and discovered me eating ice cream at the shop next to the school. She complained to the Principal who summoned my father the next day. The Principal, in my father’s presence, made me stand in a ‘toe-touch’ posture for about 30 minutes and then left me with a stern warning.

Somehow, on that ‘fateful’ day, I resolved to give my best shot to the English language. As a result, I kept scoring good grades in the subject until my 12th standard. Two good habits that I developed during those years, thanks to my father, were reading English newspapers and using the dictionary. However, since the language used at home or at school or in social circle or in friend circle was vernacular, I did not learn the spoken or written English that effectively.

After clearing my 12th exams, I took the admission in a graduate course in Microbiology at the local college. Again, the Principal who knew my father insisted that since my schooling was in the vernacular language, it would be beneficial for me to get the admission in the class that would have the vernacular language as medium of instruction. As the luck would have it, I then shifted to a new college, where the medium of instruction was English. This college was about 50 miles from my hometown and so I put up in the hostel. Luckily, my batch mates were from other states of India and they spoke & wrote English better than me.

During the first semester, it was not that hard as it was more about the basic sciences, which I had partly learned in the 12th standard. The real problem started from the second semester with the new disciplines. I could not make head or tail of what I was receiving from the Professors. I somehow survived and managed to get through the second semester.

Came the third semester and I was in great difficulty. At one point of time, I even thought of quitting the course. Then friends supported both emotionally and academically. I then decided to tackle the issue head-on. I was fortunate enough to have a batch-mate, who willingly agreed to aid me in my quest of learning English, as a medium of communication. The process that he mandated was simple, but followed rigorously.

I had to read the old English newspapers almost daily, while at the hostel, and take out 10 words or phrases that I did not understand. Then I had to check the dictionary and write down the meaning of each such word or phrase in my notebook. Afterwards, I had to make the sentences using these words or phrases, and my friend would check all that I have done. My habit of consulting the dictionary turned very handy in this process. Having checked my work, my friend would then ask me to speak some of the sentences and help in correcting the pronunciations. To make sure that I learn correct English, he would likewise explain the grammar and the context.

Slowly and steadily, confidence replaced the anxiety. I started reading available English magazines, which further helped me understand the use of English as a medium of communication. This process, backed by my batch-mate, went on for about 18-20 months and I started getting a sense of command over the English terminology. I even began mingling more & better and did not feel shy of speaking English even if it was faulty.

I cleared my graduation with good scores and after about 15 months, joined India’s one of the finest management institutes for post-graduation in management. Here, the environment was far more cosmopolitan as the classmates were from different (educational, social, ethical, and economical) backgrounds and from different parts of the country. Some were from metros, some from cities and some from towns.

The confidence gained in using the English language during graduation years, was a major support during the post-graduation. Whether it was talking, writing, typewriting, or presenting, I was relatively at ease. Overall, the stint at the management institute was comfortable, as I did not have any difficulty in grasping and learning. Still, what I did not realize that learning a language, any language, is a continuous process and I was still in the ‘class room’.

I stepped into the professional world after my post-graduation. In my first company, the verbal communication was generally in the vernacular and national language. Nevertheless, I started appreciating the contextual use of English because I had to correspond within the company as well as with the external parties, including vendors, law officers, and recruitment agencies. I also had to deal with the consultants hired by the company for specific purposes. These consultants spoke predominantly in English and so I learned a bit of ‘professional’ way of speaking and writing English. Interestingly, a British firm acquired the company and hence the emphasis on English became almost absolute.

Subsequent to my first company, I have worked with two more companies and have continued to learn English. One more method that I have used extensively for learning English is regularly catching the English news channels. With the growing appreciation of the language, I have over a period, developed a habit of reading books on varied topics. Books not only teach language, but also help in developing the patience and concentration.

In my last corporate assignment, my immediate superior was too choosy about the correct & the contextual use of English. That was again an interesting learning period, wherein I discovered a few more nuances of the English lingo.

The more I learn about English, there seems more for the discovery. I have fortunately remained loyal to the lexicon & vocab. What was an allergy in the 5th standard has turned a liking over a period. Even today, I make mistakes, but then the online support is available at the arm’s length. My most significant learning has been to practice English based on the context with right words or phrases and correct grammar.

Though I scanned this article two times before submitting for publication, there could be an error. The error could be either incorrect grammar or inappropriate sentence structure or improper punctuation marks or unnecessary use of passive / active voice.

As I write, speak, and listen more in English, I am becoming more curious as well as enlightened about its depth & breadth. Language is the most effective medium through which we all express and connect ourselves. Therefore if the “knowledge is power”, then “knowing English is a super-power”.

Closure:

Some of Gandhi’s most unambiguously expressed views were on English medium education that the British induced in India. He was not against the English language and its noble literature, but he was against education in English in India at the cost of vernaculars. He believed that this form of education was a systematic psychological assault.

Gandhi was contextually right.

Today, while vernaculars have their legitimate importance, not being able to speak or write good English, which is one of the most widely spoken and understood language globally, is surely a weakness, if not a dishonor. This applies especially to those who have a worldview and who dream of developing acquaintances, friendships, relationships, and businesses across the borders & seas.

We are also contextually correct.

Hire iPad Application Developers – Top-Class Apple iPad Application Development Service Provider

Today, the market of iPad is in its boosting era due to the features, capacity and capabilities of it. With the boost of its market, the demand of iPad developer has also increased. Thus, the availability of them has been increasing rapidly. It is good news for its users for getting their device more attractive, professional, advanced and eye-catching than others. For that, you have to hire iPad application developers that are available at bearable cost looking to the skills and creativity of them.

iPad itself contains industry best features and functions that give users more than they know. Today, this device is ruling on the tablet PC market containing highest user of it. It is very useful to fulfill small business as well as enterprise purposes as it works as computer. It has changed the view of the world as far as the mobile technology and computer technology is concerned. Thus, they are needed most in the market.

They can develop tremendous applications that attract the viewer most. As it has been launched by Apple, the brand name itself shows the popularity and demand in this technological market. iPad app programmer has perfect knowledge of Apple SDK and that allow them to produce dynamic and magnetic applications for their clients.

Gaming attracts everyone. Gaming brings us into our childhood. Everyone has played, and is playing games inside or outside, on mobile or on computer. But, its users can play 3D games with the best quality and amazing features and functions in their 9.7 inch multi-touch screen liquid crystal high resolution display tablet PC with eye-catching graphics, and that produce the real gaming to its users. They are also holding the skill of designing marvel games for it. You can also hire them for iPad game development, as they are well-experienced in this service. Thus, you can also hire iPad games developers from the best gaming application services provider company.

Their great skilled and vast experience allows them to provide top iPad software development service for the small business to a large organization. They are at top in rendering its business apps as well as enterprise apps in the market. If you are doing business then you should hire iPad app developer for the best business applications that prove very helpful in your business and save your cost and time, too.

For all the iPad development services, its users can hire them on the following basis:

• Hourly and Daily basis for short term projects

• Weekly and monthly basis for medium term projects and

• Yearly basis for long term projects

Looking to the demand and need, you can get them from the tablet PC and mobile development experts.

So, get the benefit by hiring iPad application developers for top-class Apple iPad application development service.

Serosurvey Vs Herd Immunity Vs Vaccination In India!

The 4th Serosurvey done by the apex medical body ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) in June-July 2021 taking in over 28,000 samples in 21 states has shown that about 70% of the people of India (including children) have antibodies, that is to say, relative immunity against COVID-19 infections-which is a big jump from the 3rd survey done in January-February this year that showed only around 21% of people having antibodies. However, the ICMR study does not distinguish antibodies developed through natural viral infections or through vaccination in terms of numbers. Coming after the disastrously uncontrollable COVID-19 second wave which is yet to subside the result is extremely significant: it definitely shows a light of hope in terms of India coming closer to developing herd immunity, because earlier in 2020 experts said that at least 80% of population of any country must develop immunity to achieve herd immunity; and that around 70% of people of India are hopefully not going to have the serious type of the disease, thus reducing hospitalization and possible fatalities and possibly diminishing the impact of the feared third wave. But the fact remains that at least 400 million of India’s population are still susceptible to infections, dominated by the more infectious Delta variants, which puts the much hyped vaccination drive in India in poor light.

Now, the argument offered against trying to go for herd immunity (including the Government of India) had been the fact that at least 80% of people would have to get infected and in a country like India even with a lower fatality rate of around 1.5% the number of deaths would be huge and immensely unavoidable. We seem to see that the horrid second wave that nobody prepared for has nearly achieved that goal, costing possibly millions of lives. We know the official numbers: about 32 million of Indians have so far got the infections of which around 0.42 million (4.2 Lakh) died; vaccination has been done in more that 410 million people so far in terms of only the first dose, and fully vaccinated people represents only around 8% of the population. Even if we take into account all the people taking at least one dose and adding to that the naturally infected people that would account for only around 440 million people, officially of course, which would leave a huge chunk of population that has developed antibodies apart from the 400 million susceptible people (India’s population is now around 1.35 billion, and it is not known how. We try to offer our arguments on this apparent paradox (may not be for experts) as to why this could have possibly happened.

There was a recent international study that said India’s COVID-19 fatalities have been grossly under-reported, and in actual terms it would be 3.4 million in the best case and 4.9 million in the worst scenario which says in volumes about the possible actual infections that raged across the country. Although, as usual all the way, the Government had stoutly denied this, there had also been disputes regarding death figures in states like Madhya Pradesh where the said difference to the actual figure shown amounts to nearly 0.3 million (3 Lakh), in Uttar Pradesh there were no accounts of the number of dead bodies floating in river Ganga which scenario also applies to the state of Bihar, and in Gujarat the numbers of deaths have been allegedly tampered with several times and in Karnataka. The state-wise data of the 4th Serological Survey present a very interesting picture in this context.

The level of immunity or rather seropositivity rate shown by Madhya Pradesh is to the extent of 79%, the highest in the country, almost achieving herd immunity. Doesn’t this example show the extent of possible unreported infections as well as deaths that would amount to unimaginable figures? Similar scenarios are also seen in Rajasthan (76.2%), Bihar (75.9%), Gujarat (75.3%), Chhattisgarh (74.6%), Uttarakhand (73.1%), Uttar Pradesh (71%), Andhra Pradesh (70.2%), Karnataka (69.8%) and Tamil Nadu (69.2%). However, out of these states there have not been any controversies so far regarding actual numbers in Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh. The states of Odisha that has been seeing continuous and exponential daily infections, Punjab, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Haryana have seropositivity rates in the sixties. These states have been bearing the brunt of infections from the beginning of the pandemic.

Interestingly again, the frontrunners in the pandemic spread, Kerala and Maharashtra have lower immunity rates, in fact, Kerala has the lowest rate of 44.4%, and Maharashtra having the highest number of infections and deaths in the country has 58% immunity. It can be explained this way: Kerala that started the pandemic in India had been handling the situation very well with effective measures and protocols thus protecting a large number of their people, also having the highest rate of vaccination in the country; but, some aberrations later on, in terms of mainly religious appeasement, more and more people are now getting exposed to the virus and at the moment it is accounting for half of daily national infections; in case of Maharashtra the state has been maintaining the highest level of transparency both in terms of daily infections and deaths-always revising the numbers adding the backlogs, and therefore, here the official numbers are not very different from the actual ones. Assam has also a lower seropositivity rate of 50% that can be largely because the state, along with other states of the north eastern region, had been relatively spared in the first wave, but the second wave led by the Delta variant has been ripping them apart.

A bit of personal experience should ideally be added in support of our projected scenario of a possible achievement of herd immunity at least in some of the states in near future. I would like to rate the municipal authorities in Maharashtra as the best, always visible, proactive and visiting or surveying every house in every locality for possible signs of infections and on finding immediately arranging tests, and on someone being found positive sealing the building instantly enforcing strict measures. The state has its own reasons in terms population density, travels, business and congestion for having the worst spread despite its most efficient control. Even then, I have first knowledge of many residents hiding or not testing their infections and if those were mild getting recovered without anyone knowing-with some of them observing strict isolation while Covidiots moving around infecting others, almost knowingly.

This unfortunate syndrome of hiding the symptoms of fever, cough or even loss of sense of smell and not going for RT-PCR tests have been most visible in several other compromised metro cities or towns where the municipal officials are hardly visible and infections being handled behind closed doors across colonies and buildings. I have felt this and witnessed this, and even now it is happening, though to a much lesser extent as the positivity rates in most parts of the country have fallen below 5%. The impact of this syndrome could well be imagined in the vast rural areas where there were no medical facilities even if some wanted to get tested or treated. The case of the asymptomatic carriers is also to be accounted for.

If we are indeed approaching the attainment of herd immunity as we have put forward the reasons for, then this is being done the hardest way-at horrible cost of lives and livelihoods. Had the Government of India taken the vaccination drive, started in January 2021, much more seriously, devoting all the doses for its citizens, and had it heeded the warnings about the second wave and taken strict measures we could have approached the same situation most scientifically and effectively. The risks are not over even now: 400 million people are still exposed to the virus and vaccination has still not picked up despite the promise, the hype, chest-thumping and boasting. We also don’t know if the second wave has ebbed and the third wave started, because the daily numbers are falling or rising daily. Hope good sense prevail among all the governments in view of the fact that the most infectious Delta variant and the still unknown quantity called Delta Plus are still around and can still create havoc, at least in the vulnerable states.

Pune Star Hotels – Luxury in the Cultural Capital

Pune is the second largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and the largest in the Deccan region. It is considered to be the cultural capital of Maharashtra.

Pune Hotels – Star Hotels in Pune

Pune, being an important tourist and business center has many Five Star Hotels. These hotels offer state of the art facilities for both tourist and business travelers.

The Sun N Sand Hotel

The Sun N Sand is a luxurious Five Star Hotel that offers elegant accommodation, a swimming pool, health Spa, business center, and a conference hall, to name just a few of its facilities. The hotel has 115 rooms which are available in four categories – Superior, Deluxe, Presidential and Club Sunbeam. All of these rooms come with the following basic facilities: Direct Dial Telephones facility, High speed Broadband for internet users, Mini Bar for drinking and dancing, Television with International Channels, Tea and Coffee maker, Daily Newspaper, and Weighing Scales. In addition to these facilities, each category of rooms has its own special features.

• Superior Rooms

Elegant rooms with all the basic necessary facilities to make your stay comfortable and memorable.

• Deluxe Rooms

These are spacious rooms divided into two levels: The Living Room level and the Bed Room level.

• Executive Rooms

These suites have a living room and a bedroom with an attached bath.

• Club Sunbeam

This is a separate floor dedicated to corporate executives. It has spacious rooms, a private lounge, a boardroom and a bar.

• Presidential Suite

This suite has a bedroom, a dining room and a living room. It is located on the sixth floor of the building. It is a suite designed for utmost luxury and comfort.

The Hotel has three different conference rooms:

• The Peshwa

This is a theater style room with state of the art equipment that can seat up to 350 people.

• The Senate

This is a room that can accommodate 40 people. It provides audio visual and conferencing facilities.

• The Maratha

This is a multi-purpose meeting and conference room.

Restaurants

The hotel provides a wide choice of in-house restaurants. The Orient specializes in Chinese cuisine; The Kurry Court serves South Indian and Tandoori cuisine, The Boomerang is the in- house bar, The Tea Lounge serves beverages and The Sweet Sin is a bakery. Whether you are on a business trip or a leisure tour, Five Star Hotels can make your stay in Pune a special experience.

Home Base Network Marketing Business For Your Retirement

Sorry that I had to start this article in a very grouchy manner, but my friend someone just come to me last week asking me this questions.

“Jason beside the Online business that you can become rich, is there any other way ?”

“This Internet thing is still not right for me.”

Well, i really hate to say this because it sounds like a old broken record, but sometime it really need to be play for someone, who I think their right brain is still in a coma stage.

There is lots of way to become wealthy of course, the quick, easy or lazy way.

Here are just a few:

1. Inherit Wealth

No work, no sweat, no worries.

The problem? It is hard to get adopted by rich and sickly parents. There are not many of these people around, while this method works.

It only works for a few. If you were one of the blessed, well, you wouldn’t be reading this article or finding ways to get rich. You would be cruising in the Caribbean now.

2. Marry someone who is already incredibly rich.

If you are not married now, hey, there is still time for you to find a wealthy spouse. But that’s not the subject of this article, as again, this is a way to wealth that few can do. Talking about Hollywood maybe you can go there and try your luck.

3. Hit it big in the stock market.

Your shares will double and triple in price. However, there is a problem. You have to already be rich to buy lots of stock and yes, there is always a catch in the stock market.But my friend this is a rich man game, high risk, high return, are you game enough to take the risk?

4. Win the lottery

I seen lot’s of people doing that, some even put 10 to 20% of their wages on that. But the math experts already know the truth: “The lottery is a voluntary tax on people who are really bad at math.” You are about 100 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery. To put that into perspective, the odds are that you had to be struck by lightning 100 times before winning the lottery.My goodness out of a million numbers there is only one and after struck by lightning for a hundred times do you really feel like going out and having a good time spending your lottery money?

Lottery is entertainment, a reason to watch television or news paper to check if your number won a dollar or two. Play the lottery for fun, don’t use it for your primary investment.

5. Write a hit song or sing a hit song

I can’t sing. In fact, I can barely hum. If you are one of those rare individuals with superstar musical talent….go for it! Use that talent. Go for American idol make a million or two and enjoy. However, this article is not about writing hit songs. So if you are like me and can’t hold a tune, relax. There are plenty of other ways to financial independence.

And how About writing that great romance novel ?

Well, that is also a way to financial wealth, but a very rare way. Very few people are able to take this path.

Well, if these well-known ways to wealth won’t work for most of us, then how do average people become wealthy?

How you can leverage on technology and people for your business.

Ok, listen the first way to increase your income and build your investment fund is to have your money work for you. And, as we have seen, there are several ways to accumulate the money you need to get your investment fund started.

The second way to build your investment fast is through the principle of LEVERAGE on other people’s efforts and technology to help you accumulate and build your investment fund faster.

Here’s how to use people leverage in your business.

As the only employee of your business, you are limited to how many projects you can do in one day with only two hands and 8 hours. If you want to earn more money is by increasing the numbers of projects you can do, then you have to hire worker or helper.

Maybe you decide to pay your employee $20 for every project he or she do. Since you charge your customer $30 for every project, you now make an extra of $10 whenever your employee finished a project for you.

The more people you hire, you have more project in hand and the more money you make. This is what we mean by leveraging your time and effort through other people.

Do you have to hire more employees and use this leverage principle?

This is just another method to build your investment fund. Having extra options and choices are always nice.

Whenever you start a business you can use this people leveraging principle to quickly build your investment fund. However, many people won’t use this means of leveraging because:

1. They don’t want employee headaches

2. They want to keep their business small and manageable.

3. They don’t want to be responsible for overseeing other people.

4. They don’t want the paperwork and insurance headaches, etc.

If this method of people leveraging doesn’t appeal to you, there is yet another way to leverage your efforts.

Most people do network marketing every day, but they just don’t get paid for it.

You see, network marketing is nothing more than recommending and promoting what you like. If you are like most people, you recommend and promote:

Like when you watch a nice movie, will you tell your friend? Or sports team, restaurants, funny joke and the list go on…….

Since you recommend and promote daily, why not get paid for it, right?

Or you can continue recommending and promoting for free. Free isn’t bad. Charity work makes the world a better place. But if you are tired of working for free and want to join some smart entrepreneurs who get an extra income in their mailbox every month, you will want to check out internet network marketing.

Theses companies will actually pay you for recommending and promoting their goods or services. Instead of spending money on television advertising or newspaper ads, these companies rely on word of mouth promotion.

Think about it. Which long distance services promoted on television by an actor you didn’t like it? Or the long distance service recommended by your mother or your best friend, you felt it’s no good ?

Thousands of different goods and services are promoted through network marketing. Word of mouth advertising is powerful. Traditional media doesn’t stand a chance against a trusted friend’s recommendation.

So how does the people leverage principle fit into network marketing and technology?

Think of network marketing as a family tree or genealogy. Companies that use network marketing to distribute their goods and services not only pay you telling other people, but also when the people you tell go out and tell other people, etc, etc…… In other words, you could tell A who tells B, who tells C, who tells D and so on, and you could earn a monthly bonus check on all of their usage and sales.

That’s people leveraging at work.

And if you can tell the whole world about your product or services, you will be doing business world wide. Let’s say you have a relative who stay in a different states or your brother who is now living in Canada, maybe in Asia. How can you show him or her about your great opportunity and product? You don’t have to travel to them, use your computer.

The Internet.

In every field, from health insurance to electronics, from education to stock trading to home buying, more than 50 percent of American consumers are already going into the Internet, it’s so convenient now that we can call and see each other on the computer or even sent an instant message and picture by hiting on our enter key on our keyboard. Don’t be a “dinosaur” if you read my last article:

The Home Base Business of W=P x T you will know what I’m talking about.

I know of some people who use their network marketing income to accelerate their investment fund. In some cases, their part time network marketing income exceeded the income from their regular job so they decided to make network marketing their full time profession.

Over five million people are already collecting an extra income from their part time network marketing business in the United States alone, but the internet population is bigger than the population of China and India added together.

Since you are already recommending and promoting what you like, shouldn’t you consider getting paid for too?

Internet network marketing is one of the fastest ways to a quick retirement, this is important especially if you are at 45 to 50 years old and don’t have a lot of time for your money to earn compound interest. So if you are no longer young, don’t panic. Network marketing can help you catch up your investment fund in hurry and if you are in your 30’s get ready to retire young and rich.

That’s why I like network marketing.

To the top.

Exit mobile version