BC HISTORY

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Defense News Nigeria
@DefenseNigeria 4 years, 4 months ago 1271 views

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We all thought the 1980s was the Golden Age of the NAF. It had an active duty force of : 7,000.

Makurdi was the home to the Nigerian Air Force's MiG 21 and SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft squadrons. The NAF operated a fleet of 18 Sepecat Jaguar fighter jets and 22 MiG-21 Fishbeds.

This fleet was augmented by 24 Aero L-39 Albatros armed jet trainers and a similar number of Alpha jets. This was by far the largest and most modern AF in Sub Saharan Africa excluding the South African Air Force. Apparently the West concluded the NAF was getting too powerfull

..for comfort. The NAF tried to obtain 27 more Aero L-39s but the IMF vetoed the purchase. Nigeria tried to aquire more A-jet but was stone walled. Nigeria tried to aquire smart munitions with standoff capability to maximize the deep strike capability of the Jaguars. DENIED.

When Nigeria requested for in flight refuelling tankers. Paris prevailed on BAE Systems to deny such request, stating Nigeria was seeking deep strike and aerial refuelling capabilities because it was planning an invasion of its neighbours.

So NAF spends millions aquiring advanced fighter jets but have yo make do with dumb free-fall iron bombs. How evil is that? This period

marked a steep decline in NAF capability that lasted decades. A shell of its former self......until recently. Today we are witnessing a resurgent, much more powerful and sophisticated Air Force. Reclaiming its lost position as the most capable in Sub Saharan Africa.

This period we are today is indeed the Golden Age of the Nigerian Air Force. Its the largest in SSA in terms of personnel with an active duty force of 18,000.

Fixed wing fighters:

JF-17 Thunder Multirole fighter and Chengdu F-7Ni Airguard interceptor.

Light attack aircraft. Dassault Donnier Alpha jets and Aero L-39ZA

Unmanned aerial vehicles:

CH-3A/B Rainbow armed attack drone. Wing Loong II attack drone. CH-4 attack drone

Rotary Wing :

Mi-35M helicopter gunship. MI-24, Eurocopter Super Puma, Bell 412, AW109 power attack helicopter, Mi-17Sh/Mi-17E

ISR/ISTAR/ELINT :

ATR-42 Maritime Patrol Plane.

King Air 350i ISR aircraft.

Diamond Sensor aircaft.

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Defense News Nigeria
@DefenseNigeria

The people can always be brought to the bidding...tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the naysayers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.

Hermann Goring

We've seen reports of Yoruba leaders asking President Buhari to stop the war and sack service chiefs immediately as a way of beginning restructuring.Our country is sitting on a keg of gunpowder they claim. Once again partisan hacks want to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

You see, when you are fighting small limited wars there is a natural inclination , on the part of politicians not directly impacted by the war to want to blow things out of proportion. There is a basic disconnection now in this country between the population and the war

....and i find it quite frankly. Frightening. Compared to what was obtainable 2015, the security situation in Nigeria has vastly improved yet the media ..and partisan hacks portray a much more pessimistic narrative.

Consider that in 2015 over 21 Local government areas and 2.6 million Nigerians were cut off from the rest of the country, under the administration of a caliphate in Nigeria for 16 months. A huge chunk of the northeast was no mans country.

Defense News Nigeria
@DefenseNigeria

So some dude who clearly knows nothing about the military in the comment section claims i am dancing to the drum of my paymaster. The Nigerian army uses T-34 tanks made during World war two he claims. I wont bother replying comments like of this natur, but after seeing nearly

ten lines of replies of which nobody challenges or corrects such a ridiculous claim its only fair i point out his falacy. As of December 23 2020 these are the main battle tanks fielded by the Nigerian army.

VT-4 Main Battle Tank (Frontline tank of the Nigerian army). Arguably the most sophisticated Main Battle Tank in Africa today.

T-72 M Main Battle Tank.

Vickers Mk.3 Eagle Main Battle Tank

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Defense News Nigeria
@DefenseNigeria

The Christmas Day Truce.

On Christmas Eve 1914 soldiers hunkered down in trenches no further than 150 meters away from the enemy in a network of channels and human trough lines stretching across the north of France all the way to Switzerland.

Separating the warring sides was No Man’s Land, and it doesn’t matter what side initiated the ceasefire, what matters is it happened. The fighting stopped. The 1914 Christmas truce was not the first unofficial truce of this great conflict, but certainly one of the last.

The sound of the other side’s conversations, laughter, groaning and singing replaced the falling of shells and the rain of steel.

Most accounts say it was the Germans that started the Christmas celebration as their clocks would have indicated it was Christmas back home

one hour earlier than the British and French again, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter, at least for this writing, is soldiers looking across No Man’s Land and not seeing carnage, but rather seeing tiny Christmas trees with candles pop up on the German side

or Allied soldiers holding up cigarettes and waving their caps. The sound of music and laughter filled the lifeless void their world had become. Initially, both sides planned to deploy their burial and body retrieval squads before the next day’s fighting took place as that

Defense News Nigeria
@DefenseNigeria

So just saw a clip with CNN pundits claiming Nigeria investing in rail transport with Chinese funding is nothing but a white elephant project. It would have been better spent to build schools. Since when did the media decide what Nigeria should and shouldn't do with its money?

Ive seen a Focus on Kenya Exclusive on CNN. They spent 4 minutes talking about Kenya's mobile banking system, which is the most sophisticated in the world, and spent an hour on Kenya's Kibera slums. When terrorist struck Nairobi mall CNN was unabash in showing images of blood

and gore of dead victims repeatedly all through the day. This will never happen in a similar style terror attack anywhere in the West. It’s time to take a hard look at the role of the liberal media in perpetuating a horribly simplistic and stereotypical portrayal of Africa

At what point do we stop being dormant?. At what point do we fight back to salvage our self esteem and integrity as Africans? They did not condemn the U.S invasion of Iraq that has forever changed the middle east.

Defense News Nigeria
@DefenseNigeria

Nigeria's burgeoning defence industry is zooming ahead.

DICON has secured a contract to produce 152 MRAPs for the army. As well as six million rounds of small arms ammunition.

EZEGWU MRAP

DICONs R&D has been up and going. The army plans to test several technology demonstrators in the field. If they pass the field testing DICON will go into mass production of the equipments.

Anti drone jamming system made by DEMFAS aerospace systems Nigeria....Made in Nigeria Proudly Nigeria.
The mobile gun is an ideal anti-drone rifle that can be used when UAVs and drones are visually detected

The drone can be tracked even at long distances through a special binocular. When the UAV is located, the rifle and antennas with horizontal and vertical polarization are pointed towards the approaching drone and immediately block it....zap !! No this is not science fiction

PROFOCE ARA MRAP 2

Profoce Ara ''Thunder'' Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle.

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Jason Hickel
@jasonhickel

This week, 33 years ago, Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso, was assassinated in a French-backed coup. He aspired to an egalitarian, feminist society, and an economy built on self-sufficiency, ecological regeneration, and independence from Western powers.

As debt crises mount across Africa, his ideas are more vital now than ever. I wrote about Sankara's legacy in these two pages from The Divide:

Today, Sankara's legacy is inspiring a new generation of revolutionary thinkers and activists across the continent and beyond. As Sankara himself put it, with uncanny prescience, “You can assassinate revolutionaries, but you cannot kill ideas”.

Sankara knew his assassination was coming. Speaking to African leaders at the OAU, he said "I would like this conference to clearly declare that we will not repay the debt; we must do it together, to avoid being assassinated individually..."

"...If Burkina Faso is the only one to refuse, I will not be here at the next conference."

Pulp Librarian
@PulpLibrarian

On 23 September 1984 the BBC broadcast the apocalypse: the story of nuclear war and its effects on the people of Sheffield. Filmed on a shoestring budget it still causes nightmares to this day.

This thread is not for the squeamish.

This the story of Threads...

In 1965 the BBC had filmed The War Game, a fictional docu-drama about a nuclear attack on Britain. However under pressure from the government the BBC withdrew it from screening. It was finally released in 1966 as a film in selected theatres.

For many years the withdrawal of The War Game had rankled many at the BBC. Surely it was a public broadcaster's duty to show the public what the reality of nuclear war would mean. Finally in 1982 they did so.

A Guide To Armageddon was a documentary for the BBC's peak-time science series Q.E.D. Produced by Mick Jackson it graphically depicted the effect of a one megaton explosion on London. It also explored how well people could survive such a blast if they were in a fallout shelter.

Jackson had carefully researched his subject and knew how under-prepared the UK was for nuclear war. The physical and psychological effects of atomic attack would catapult what was left of Britain back to a 14th century mode of living, a time when bubonic plague killed millions.

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Marina Amaral
@marinamaral2

(Thread)

To My Old Master: this letter was written in August 1865 by former slave Jourdan Anderson to his old master, Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee, who had the audacity to send him a letter asking that he return to work on the plantation.

See next tweets.

"Dayton, Ohio,
August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdan, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me... 1/

... than anybody else can.

I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. 2/

I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable.

Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. 3/

It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. 4/

Cory Doctorow #BLM
@doctorow

If you think "It's not censorship unless the government does it," I want to change your mind.

It's absolutely true that the First Amendment only prohibits government action to suppress speech based on its content, but the First Amendment is not the last word on censorship.

1/

Here are some kinds of private speech-suppression that I think most of us can agree are censorship: when the John Birch Society burned mountains of rock records and novels - or when Tipper Gore's PMRC pressured record stores to drop punk, metal and rap albums.

2/

Or the Comics Code Authority, which signed up all comics publishers and retailers to block comics if they contained anything unfit for small children, which stunted American comics for generations while their European counterparts created entire sophisticated genres.

3/

Or MPAA ratings, in which a secret group of censors (falsely described as frequently rotated, randomly selected parents - really they're long-serving studio insiders) decides whether movies get NC-17 ratings and thus be blocked from nearly every screen in the country.

4/

(You can learn more about this from Kirby Dick's unmissable doc, "This Film Is Not Yet Rated," which documents both how the MPAA misleads the public about ratings, and uses them to block LGBTQ

Vagina Museum
@vagina_museum

On this day in 1878, Pamela Colman Smith was born. Although you may not have heard this artist's name, you will have almost definitely seen her work: among many other achievements, Smith illustrated the famous Waite-Smith tarot deck.

Smith's most famous illustrations in the tarot deck appear everywhere, and are synonymous with tarot. But there was much more to this artist, illustrator, writer and occultist than her tarot deck.

Early in her career, Smith illustrated works of WB Yeats, and travelled with the Lyceum theatre group. She also wrote and illustrated her own books, including books about Jamaican folklore.

While juggling all this, Smith also found the time to hold open houses for artists, and be active in the Suffrage Atelier, a collective of illustrators contributing work to further the cause of women's suffrage - this is an illustration she made for the cause.

In 1907, Smith became the first painter to exhibit at Alfred Stieglitz's Gallery 291, becoming the first painter to show at a gallery which had previously been devoted to photography. Her show was successful, and she showed twice more.

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@Jayalko1

HORANADU ANNAPOORNESHWARI, CHIKMAGALUR (KAR)
#bharatmandir

Annapoorneshwari is the Devi of nutrition and food. The literal meaning of Annapoorneshwari is “Feeding one and all”. Anyone who comes here is offered meals and shelter within the premises.
@LostTemple7

Maharshi Agastya is believed to have done pratishtha here.

Once, Shiva and Parvati had an argument. Shiva declared everything in the world including food to be Maya or illusion. To prove him wrong, Devi Parvati disappeared resulting in entire Earth becoming still.

Taking pity, Devi appeared as Annapoorna and relieved everyone.
Another belief is that once Shiva beheaded Brahma and his skull got stuck in Shiva’s hand. He was cursed that till the skull is not full of food or grains, it will remain stuck to his hands.

Shiva went everywhere and asked for food but the skull was never full. He finally came here and Maa Annapoorna filled the skull with grains and reversed Shiva’s curse.

It is believed that who ever visits Devi Annapoorna here will never be without food in their lives.

Nicolas Cole
@Nicolascole77

🚢 Atomic Essays Republishing Framework 🚢

1. Write Atomic Essay
2. Post image on Twitter
3. (Bonus) Copy/paste text as thread
4. Find relevant Question on Quora. Copy/paste Atomic Essay + image.
5. Copy/paste again on Medium.
6. Again on LinkedIn
7. Win

Guide below ✍️🚢👇

Step 1: Write Atomic Essay

I really enjoy writing right inside the Figma template. It helps give me a good sense of exactly how much "real estate" I have/have left before my time us up and I'm out of space.

Once finished, I export the image and send to my phone on Slack.

Step 2: Post image on Twitter

Before I publish my Atomic Essay on Twitter, I use the Edit/Photo Markup function on the iPhone to highlight standout sentences.

These are usually power-phrases: things the reader skims and thinks, "That's interesting," prompting them to read more.

Step 3: For the Ship 30 for 30 challenge, I only turn Atomic Essays into threads if...

1. The piece is SUPER actionable and lends itself well to the thread format (lots of bullets, quick points, lists, etc.)

or...

2. I'm referencing research and want to link to the pieces.

Step 4: Find relevant Question on Quora. Copy/paste Atomic Essay + image.

Search on Quora around the topic you wrote about. Find a related Question. Copy/paste the whole Atomic Essay as your "answer" (& fix formatting). Then include image so it appears in the thumbnail.

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Marina Amaral
@marinamaral2

Rio de Janeiro, 1920. 🇧🇷

São Paulo, 1910. 🇧🇷

“Arpoador”, Rio de Janeiro, 1900. 🇧🇷

“Avenida Paulista”, São Paulo, 1902. 🇧🇷

Recife, 1885. 🇧🇷

Jaya_Upadhyaya
@Jayalko1

SRI VARAHA NARSIMHA, SIMHACHALAM, VIZAG (AP)
#bharatmandir

One of the 32 Narsimha Kshetram of Andhra. It has a unique form of Narsimha, appearing like a shivlingam

It is said that Narsimha’s fierce nature is soothed by worshipping him with Varaha, considered a peaceful deity

The shrine is believed to have been constructed by Prahlada. With time, it crumbled.
In Treta yuga, King Pururava was passing from here in his vimana. The vimana was attracted to this place by a mystic power.
When the place was unearthed, the deity was found.
@GunduHuDuGa

Pururava’s wife, Urvashi, had a dream that the deity should remain covered in sandalwood paste for the whole year except on Akshaya Tritiya.
This practice has continued till date.
The mukhya mandap here, has a pillar kappam stambham believed to possess curative powers.

Chandanotsava/ Chandan Yatra is the most important festival celebrated on Akshaya Tritiya. The sandalwood paste is removed from the moolavar deity and nijarupa darshan (original form of deity) for twelve hours of the day are done by devotees.

UN Watch
@UNWatch

The UN just voted to condemn Israel 9 times, and the rest of the world 0.

View the resolutions and voting results here:

The resolution titled "The occupied Syrian Golan," which condemns Israel for "repressive measures" against Syrian citizens in the Golan Heights, was adopted by a vote of 151 - 2 - 14.

Israel and the U.S. voted 'No' https://t.co/HoO7oz0dwr

The resolution titled "Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people..." was adopted by a vote of 153 - 6 - 9.

Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No' https://t.co/1Ntpi7Vqab

The resolution titled "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan" was adopted by a vote of 153 – 5 – 10.

Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No'
https://t.co/REumYgyRuF

The resolution titled "Applicability of the Geneva Convention... to the
Occupied Palestinian Territory..." was adopted by a vote of 154 - 5 - 8.

Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No'
https://t.co/xDAeS9K1kW