Jawati Friday Ame

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Nikki Haley says U.S. can't trust Russia, must be cautious

On Israel, Haley said it was "a terrible mistake" last month when the U.S. abstained on a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements. However, Haley said she supports a two-state solution and calls for Israel not to expand settlements in the West Bank on land Palestinians seek for a future state. “I do understand how they (Palestinians) think they will hinder peace,” she said. But “we need to let the two parties decide those issues among themselves.” “For the U.N. to insert itself I believe is wrong,” she added. Haley vowed her support for Trump's pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a controversial position against long-time U.S. policy. When asked about comments made by Trump that NATO had become obsolete, Haley said, “Any comments the president-elect has made are his comments.” Haley disagreed with Trump on several issues during the hearing. She said she was against a blanket ban on Muslim immigration, saying, “the president-elect corrected his position on that.” Haley also said she disagrees with a proposed U.S. Muslim registry, calling it unconstitutional. Corker said after the hearing that Haley showed her independence by expressing views that departed from some of Trump’s public statements. “I would rather see a group of people that have strong views on the president’s cabinet, rather than people who are in lockstep,” Corker said. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., asked Haley if she expects Trump’s views to shift on foreign policy. “You surround yourself with people who don’t just say ‘yes.’ And what I know about the president-elect is he will listen,” she answered. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., asked about the Iran nuclear deal and whether Haley agrees with Trump in wanting to back out of the deal negotiated by the Obama administration with Iran and five other world powers. Haley said no. “More beneficial at this point is to look at all the aspects of the Iran deal, are they in compliance?” she said. “We need to hold them accountable.” The United States currently contributes 22% of the U.N.'s general budget, and Haley questioned whether such a large investment is worthwhile. “We are a generous nation,” she said. “But we must ask ourselves what good is being accomplished by this disproportionate contribution. Are we getting what we pay for?” When pressed further about cutting U.S. spending to the U.N., Haley admitted she did not believe in a "slash and burn" technique but instead would report on whether certain U.N. programs are working. Cardin earlier said he was concerned about Haley's lack of foreign policy experience but is impressed by her actions as governor. He pointed to her "call for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse." Haley, 44, described her upbringing in her opening statement as an "American story" — born to a middle-class Indian family and growing up in South Carolina, where the color of her skin was "too dark to be considered white and too light to be considered black." Haley, backed by the Tea Party, made history in 2011 when she took office as South Carolina's first female governor. She has served two terms. During the campaign for the Republican nomination, Haley criticized Trump and endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. After Rubio dropped out of the race, Haley backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. In October, she said she would vote for Trump, but was “not a fan.”

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Kris Bryant receives Hank Aaron Award as NL's top offensive player

Jawati 5:16 PM 0

Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was moved Wednesday as he accepted the Hank Aaron Award with the Hall of Fame slugger sitting next to him.

"It's so surreal to me," said Bryant, honored as the National League's top offensive performer. "I've been through some pretty cool things recently, but I'm going to have to pinch myself for this."

Bryant, 24, batted .292 with 39 home runs, 102 RBIs and a league-leading 121 runs, and his 8.2 wins against replacement marked the highest by a Cub since Sammy Sosa in 2001 (9.2).

Recently retired Red Sox slugger David Ortiz won the American League honor. Aaron and a panel of fellow Hall of Famers choose the winners with input from fan voting.

Bryant became only the second Cub to hit at least 35 homers at age 24, joining Ernie Banks in 1955.

"To be a young player in K.B.'s shoes and win that award, and then have that particular man present it to you, it's impressive," manager Joe Maddon said. "It's very impressive at a young age to be considered and win it. There's a lot of great competition out there."

Maddon said the award could "absolutely galvanize" Bryant's thoughts about himself as a top player.

"It's a great achievement for him," Maddon said. "I'm happy for him and know he'll accept it in the right way."

World Series 2016: Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Indians LIVE score updates Game 2 (10/26/16)

Jawati 5:09 PM 0

The National League-champion Chicago Cubs, who haven't won a World Series since 1908 and haven't appeared in the Fall Classic since 1945, take on the American League-champion Cleveland Indians in Game 2 of the 2016 World Series on Oct. 26, 2016, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Indians won the opener, 6-0.

Apple delays its AirPods launch

Jawati 4:35 PM 0

The news comes just one day before Apple's MacBook event in San Francisco, where it was widely believed the AirPods would get a launch date.

"The early response to AirPods has been incredible," a spokeswoman for Apple said in a statement to CNNMoney. "We don't believe in shipping a product before it's ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers."

Microsoft announces a super sleek and powerful all-in-one PC

Jawati 4:20 PM 0

The computer is made of aluminum and has a 28-inch PixelSense Display touchscreen that measures 12.5mm thick, the thinnest LCD screen on an all-in-one PC ever created, according to Microsoft.

The optically-bonded screen is made of Gorilla Glass and has a 3:2 aspect ratio and has up to 13.5 million pixels with a 192 ppi. Microsoft's Panos Panay spent a good few minutes talking up the screen's True Scale capabilities; he showed how a single sheet of paper is exactly the same size as in real life.

"An inch on the screen is an inch in real life," he said.

In addition to gorgeous looks, the Surface Studio is crazy powerful. It comes with a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 2TB of storage, NVIDIA GeForce 980M graphics, and stereo 2.1 speakers with Dolby audio tuning. It also includes a mic array so users can activate the Cortana digital assistant from afar.

A new accessory that comes with the Surface Studio along with the included keyboard and mouse is the Microsoft Dial:

My era witnessed unprecedented economic growth, says Jonathan

Jawati 8:52 AM 0

Immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan has said his era witnessed unprecedented economic growth for Nigeria.

Jonathan, who spoke yesterday to students of Oxford University on youth entrepreneurship, said the country experienced a growth that proved the truism that a nation’s wealth is not underneath the ground but between the ears of her people.

According to the former president, “Nigeria was rated as the largest economy in Africa and the 23rd in the world by the World Bank and the IMF, with a GDP above $570 billion.

He stated further: “We identified Nollywood as a sector that can employ many young people and provided a grant of $200 million to boost the industry. As a result, Nollywood became a major contributor to our GDP and in 2014, the industry contributed 1.4 per cent to our GDP.

You “Why do individuals that grow up in similar circumstances end up differently, with some as successes and others as failures? Why are some nations rich and some poor? Is the wealth of nations a result of geography, weather, culture, and destiny? What could a leader do to effectively lift a people out of the depths of poverty and enable them to achieve prosperity?

“After much soul searching, I concluded that: wealth is a creation of the human mind properly prepared by education. Any nation that does not spend its wealth and resources to develop the capacity of its youths will be forced to use them to fight insecurity.”

He challenged “contemporary African leaders to see youth entrepreneurship as a collective project transcending national boundaries, adding “despite incredible challenges, Nigerian youths are achieving great things and placing Nigeria positively in the world map. They inspire us.”

Jonathan also declared that he “worked for the next generation of Nigerians and not for the next elections.”

Defending his administration’s Transformation Agenda, he stressed that it was designed to engage the latent potential in the entire nation, as well as stimulate and enable higher productivity.

He said further: “I am excited to be in the midst of some of the World’s future leaders to discuss issues relating to youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. The issue of youth entrepreneurship in Africa is very critical, as Africa is the only continent in which we will witness a population boom. Most violent crises in Africa can be traced to a lack of education and opportunities among its teeming youth population. Studies have revealed that there is a symbiotic relationship between youth unemployment and youth restiveness.”

“As a leader, you can decide through your policies to educate the youths, or face the consequences of failing to do so. The transformation agenda was conceived to engage the latent potential in the entire nation, and to stimulate and enable higher productivity.