INFORMATION IS POWER

Years ago, in preschool, a teacher sent my youngest child, Ainsley, to sit by herself until she was ready to talk about something she’d done wrong. She sat through circle time. She sat through snack time. She sat through recess and story time and music. It wasn’t until lunchtime that she finally decided to talk. The teacher was surprised by her determination. Me? Not so much. Her grandmother, a former school principal, sought to reassure me: “You want a strong-willed child. Those are the ones who don't follow their friends into trouble in high school.” That didn’t make me feel better when I faced off against this fiery little creature, who had strong opinions on everything from clothing to bedtime to whether carrot sticks should ever be on the same plate as apple slices. New research, though, shows that grandma was right. A recently completed  study , which tracked students from their late primary years until well into adulthood, found that kids who frequently break the rules or ...

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The Dell Streak tablet-smartphone crossover goes on pre-sale today, tackling Apple's iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone devices in one go. The Streak, however, sends mixed messages regarding its size, price, and viability as a replacement to any of your Apple devices. So, can it make the cut? The Streak arrives in the U.S. after several delays (it was available two months ago in Europe), and will cost $300 with a two-year AT&T contract, or $550 without. It has a 5-inch touchscreen, works as a phone as well, and comes with Google's Android 1.6 mobile operating system. In a nutshell: too little, too late. Here's why. Most high-end smartphones now come at $200 with a two-year contract. That includes the Apple iPhone 4, the Motorola Droid X and upcoming Droid 2, or the BlackBerry Torch. The Streak, which serves as a smartphone as well, comes in at $300, its 5-inch screen is only 0.7-inch larger that of the Droid X, and the resolution is lower than iPhone 4's 3.5-inch Reti...

For some South African girls, the 2010 World Cup was not a time to catch fun and lose their virginity. In a country where it is no big deal for a girl of 16 to have a baby without being married, one would have thought meeting a virgin would be a mission impossible. But investigation during the tournament revealed that despite the loose nature of the average South African babe, some of the girls have not bowed to the god of immorality. Not even the World Cup could change the few who have yet to taste the forbidden fruit. A South African couple this reporter met at the St. Francis Catholic Church in Richards Bay disclosed that their daughter, Belinda, who is 18, was still a virgin and that their dream was to see her remain one until her day of marriage. Belinda, who was in church on that fateful day with dad and mum, obliged this reporter what could pass for a quick interview. Though the very shy lady, who works in one of the eateries in town, refused to disclose her full name afte...

I understand that the Federal Govt. wants to develop non oil revenue and this is a good thing. However, this will never materialise as long as we refuse to practise true federalism. Which state is going to have the discipline to devote consistent time and money to develop the non oil sector when they know that with or ... without work they will still receive a monthly check from Abuja. We see the same thing in the area of power generation where states that generate power are not allowed to transmit it independently and have to pass through PHCN. Given such conditions why would states want to invest in power? We need to run this country in a business like manner if we want Nigeria to progress and be the pride of the black race. For this to happen, we need to return to the principles that Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello and Obafemi agreed on before independence which led to regionalism which produced a better economic model before the military class of 1966 tr...

A the retreat of Niger State senior civil servants organized by the state government recently for Vision 2020 aspirations, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, revealed that the amount of money being spent to maintain our law-makers and perhaps including national political office holders are hard to quantify. The former president and current chairman BOT of PDP noted that it is difficult to estimate exactly how much a Senator takes home annually in the name of constituency projects. <a href="http://www.burstnet.com/ads/ad6157a-map.cgi/ns/v=2.0S/sz=300x250A/" target="_top"> <img src="http://www.burstnet.com/cgi-bin/ads/ad6157a.cgi/ns/v=2.0S/sz=300x250A/" border="0" alt="Click Here"></a> President Obasanjo further stated, “That the amount being spent to maintain the federal lawmakers is draining the nation’s resources and should be checked immediately. He warned that something...

As part of efforts to guard against the misuse of the Lagos State government seal for fraudulent activities, Governor Babatunde Fashola has signed into law a bill banning the use of the state’s seal of authority without approval. Before signing the bill into law, Fashola emphasized that the purpose of the law was to ensure that the seal is not misused or used in any manner that will tarnish the name of the state. According to him, “This bill is meant to regulate the seal of Lagos State which has become a much-sought-after brand not just locally, but also internationally, and it is important that as we build on the Lagos brand, we must control and ensure that its use is not brought to any disrepute or used in any manner that would embarrass or threaten the common brand and the common patrimony that the seal represents for the people of this state”. Fashola noted that the seal, which according to him contains the symbol of the authority of Lagos State, has been in existence since t...