Read the rest here.A compromise candidate. No one currently in ODM-K fit that tab better than Musalia. Raila and Kalonzo (and others) trust Musalia to hold to whatever pact they concert on after the election more than they trust each other. They would also control the ODM-K base of MPs effectively checking Musalia’s power as the executive. What’s more, Musalia this time round would garner the support of the coveted Luhya community as a legitimate presidential candidate and is a much less polarizing figure to the rest of country than most of the other candidates. ODM-K would be able to hold its coalition, with Kalonzo and Raila appearing to have sacrificed their aspirations for the ‘good’ of the nation. Musalia may have the last laugh after all!
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22:53
Mudavadi Tosha?
» Kenya Imagine Dave Nyambati assesses Musalia Mudavadi's political career. Can he be the next president of Kenya?
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22:16 This Picture says it all….
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com Street children in Mathare being forced to look for beheaded body parts by policemen (the police know better than to wade through that bacteria infected water) I got into an argument last weekend with a bunch of kenyans about poverty and corruption in Africa. I said there was a clear connection between the two. They [...]
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All in a Dreadlock
» Kenya Imagine L. Akitelek Papakemus has dreadlocks, and they might just get her into trouble. However, she would like to maintain her identity. One of the men shot allegedly belonging to the Mungiki clan had dreadlocks. Was his shooting wholly based on his hairstyle?
Read the rest here.It’s not about conforming. It’s about surviving. Why they shot that man was not because he had done any harm, yet. It was because he simply didn’t “look right”. They shot him because he looked like a sane young man, of the age of majority, who happened to be “dressed like a Rasta”. And a Rasta might be Mungiki. And Mungiki might shoot at the police. If they had a gun that is.
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turning into Mungiki
» Kenya Imagine Wanjiku Micui through Kamaa narrates the birth of a Mungiki gang member.
"So it was that Kamaa found employment with Mungiki, and after that a wife and children. From his fraction of the proceeds the group had gained from the matatu routes and other businesses, he was able to gain the life his previous job had denied him. But it was not all easy on his conscience, one day they raided one big shop in the town at about 7 pm. His group raped the owner's wife and his two daughters as he watched. The town was silenced, not even the police could do anything. Then was when the rain started beating down on us."
Read more here.
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15:24
Oprah Winfrey has helped fund 28 schools in five African countries.
» My Africa Today OPRAH WINFREY
Through her Angel Network, the public charity she founded in 1998, talk-show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey has helped fund 28 schools in five African countries as well as personally creating the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, in South Africa, in 2007. She says, "Education is freedom; it's the only way out. Despite the poverty and despair many of these young African children face every day, they have a fierce determination to get an education. I want to help give them the chance they deserve."
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BARACK OBAMA : I can still remember my first trip to Africa
» My Africa Today BARACK OBAMA "I can still remember my first trip to Africa, two decades ago, when my sister's Volkswagen Beetle broke down," says Senator Barack Obama. "When I went back recently we had better transportation. But there was another difference. While that first trip was about discovering my past, my recent trip was about Africa's future. And it filled me with hope—because while significant obstacles remain, I believe we have the chance to build more equitable and just societies so that all people have the chance to control their own destinies."
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World Famous Photos.
» My Africa Today On July 22, 1975, photograph Stanley J. Forman working for the Boston Herald American newspaper when a police scanner picked up an emergency: “Fire on Marlborough Street!”
Climbed atop the fire truck, Forman shot the picture of a young woman, Diana Bryant, and a very young girl, Tiare Jones when they fell helplessly. Diana Bryant was pronounced dead at the scene. The young girl lived. Despite a heroic effort, O’Neil knew he had been just seconds away from saving the lives of both.Photo coverage from the tragic event garnered Stanley Forman a Pulitzer Prize. But more important, his work paved the way for Boston and other states to mandate tougher fire safety codes.
An experimental – and controversial – procedure for treating a crippling birth defect in the womb offered Trish and Mike Switzer the only chance that their daughter would walk like other children. But the fetal surgery posed a fatal dilemma: Their baby could die before she was born.
Photographer Max Aguilera saiud about this photo: “During a spina bifida corrective procedure at twenty-one weeks in utero, Samuel thrusts his tiny hand out of the surgical opening of his mother’s uterus. As the doctor lifts his hand, Samuel reacts to the touch and squeezes the doctor’s finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shakes the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. At that moment, I took this “Fetal Hand Grasp” photo.
As a photojournalist, my job is to tell stories through pictures. The experience of taking this photograph has had a profound effect on me, and I’m proud to share this moment with you”
I’m not really sure about this but from what i remember, after this picture abortions were banned in UK. Please correct me if i’m wrong.
![Born Twice [1999]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/aguilera-hellweg1999.jpg)
The girl in the picture is Phan Thị Kim Phúc also known as Kim Phuc (born in 1963), a nine-year old running naked and severely burned on her back by a napalm atack.
Photographer Huynh Cong Ut, known by his colleagues as Nick, was working there as a photo journalist for Associated Press at the time and took a number of photographs of the villagers trying to escape the napalm. This one, epitomising the savagery and tragedy of the conflict, won him the coveted Pulitzer Prize and became one of the most published photos of the Vietnam war.
The boy is her older brother Tam who survived the attack but lost an eye. Ut (the photographer) poured water onto the young girl and took her and some of the other children to a hospital near Saigon where she spent fourteen months recovering from the horrific burns to her skin.
Later, the girl studied medicine and now she; a UNESCO member living in Canada.
The photo is the “Pulitzer Prize‿ winning photo taken in 1994 during the Sudan Famine.
The picture depicts stricken child crawling towards an United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away.The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat him. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child, including the photographer Kevin Carter who
left the place as soon as the photograph was taken.Three months later he committed suicide due to depression.
It is said this picture killed an industry. On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg dirigible exploded killing 35 of the 97 people aboard. The incident killed the zeppelin travel industry, which was, at the time, considered the safest mode of air travel available. The funny thing is that it wasn’t the worst zeppelin accident but the only one cought on a picture…
![Hindenburg dirigible disaster [1937]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/hindenburg-murray-becker.jpg)
Omayra Sánchez was one of the 25,000 victims of the Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) volcano which erupted on November 14, 1985. The 13-year old had been trapped in water and concrete for 3 days. The picture was taken shortly before she died and it caused controversy due to the photographer’s work and the Colombian government’s inaction in the midst of the tragedy, when it was published worldwide after the young girl’s death.
![Omayra Sánchez [1985]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/omayra_sanchez.jpg)
June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk from Vietnam, burned himself to death at a busy intersection in downtown Saigon to bring attention to the repressive policies of the Catholic Diem regime that controlled the South Vietnamese government at the time. Buddhist monks asked the regime to lift its ban on flying the traditional Buddhist flag, to grant Buddhism the same rights as Catholicism, to stop detaining Buddhists and to give Buddhist monks and nuns the right to practice and spread their religion.
While burning Thich Quang Duc never moved a muscle.
![Burning Monk - The Self-Immolation [1963]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/budist_monk_on_fire.jpg)
This picture won the Pulitzer Breaking News Photography 2007 award. Photo’s citation reads, “Awarded to Oded Balilty of The Associated Press for his powerful photograph of a lone Jewish woman defying Israeli security forces as they remove illegal settlers in the West Bank.
![The Power of One [2007]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/spot_news_-1.jpg)
This picture is one of the most famous moments in sporting history! It shows Cassius Clay knocking out Sonny Liston (former heavy weight champion) in the first minute of the first round, in a rematch (Muhammad won the match the year before after Sonny resigned to defeat complaining of a shoulder injury).
Speculations circulated about Liston’s fall, many spectators considered the bout fixed, even the FBI investigated the case. Some say while preparing for the fight, Liston was visited by Black Muslims who threatened to kill his daughter Eleanor if he should win the rematch, others say Liston lied down for money.
![Muhammad Ali versus Sonny Liston [1965]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/muhammad_ali_versus_sonny_liston.jpg)
Picture was taken April 18, 1906. It is the most famous photo of the destruction of San Francisco by earthquake and fire on April 18, 1906. After his camera was damaged during the earthquake, Arnold Genthe borrowed a hand-held camera from George Kahn, his dealer, and started taking pictures of the disaster. The most memorable is this one, showing enormous clouds of smoke ominously approach, buildings’ facades collapsed from the quake, and residents standing and sitting in the street…
After capturing and executing Che in 1967, before bury him in a secret tomb, the executioners made a group photo with the body, to demonstrate the people that In Grande Che is dead. The picture actually made him a legend, his admirers said he had a forgiving look on his face and compared him with Jesus.
The tourist guy, is an Internet phenomenon consisting of a photograph of a touristPhotoshopped pictures after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The tourist was identified as Péter Guzli.
Soon after 9/11 an image showing a tourist while an airliner was about to hit the building beneath him circulated on the Internet. It was claimed that the picture came from a camera found in the debris at Ground Zero. The picture won a best 9/11 Photoshopped picture contest.
A Great Day in Harlem is a black and white group portrait of 57 jazz musicians.
Art Kane, a photographer working for Esquire magazine, took the picture at around 10 a.m. in the summer of 1958. The musicians had gathered on 126th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues in Harlem, New York City.
Jean Bach, recounted the story behind it in her 1994 documentary film, A Great Day in Harlem. The film was nominated in 1995 for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature.
The photo was also a key object in Steven Spielberg’s film, The Terminal.
Star forming pillars in the Eagle Nebula, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope’s FPC2. These eerie, dark pillar-like structures are actually columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that are also incubators for new stars. The pillars protrude from the interior wall of a dark molecular cloud like stalagmites from the floor of a cavern.
Soviet Union soldiers Raqymzhan Qoshqarbaev and Georgij Bulatov raising the flag on the roof of Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany in May, 1945.
The ‘Second Great Fire of London is commemorated in a famous photograph taken from the roof of the Daily Mail building by Herbert Mason, in which the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral rises above clouds of black smoke.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. It was the first human footprint on the Moon. They had taken TV cameras with them. The first footprints on the Moon will be there for a million years. There is no wind to blow them away.
Famous photograph of Che Guevara was taken on March 5, 1960 by Alberto Korda at a funeral service for victims of the La Coubre explosion, it was published seven years later. Che Guevara was 31 at the time of the photo.
Adolf Hitler visits Paris with architect Albert Speer (left) June 23, 1940
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications. Later, it became the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all times.
Actually this is the earliest surviving photograph, c. 1826. It required an eight-hour exposure, which resulted in sunlight on both sides of the buildings.
In 1901 Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics, and he truly deserves his place in history because his discovery revolutionized the medical world. A series of experiments helped him notice that barium platinocyanide emits a fluorescent glow. Combining his observation with a photographic plate and his wife’s hand, he made the first X-ray photo, and thus, made it possible to look inside the human body without surgical intervention.
![First X-ray [1896]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/first-human-x-ray-1896.jpg)
December 17, 1903 was the day humanity spread its wings and rose above the ground - for 12 seconds at first and by the end of the day for almost a minute – but it was a major breakthrough. Orville and Wilbur Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio, are the pioneers of aviations, and although this first flight occurred so late in history, the ulterior development was exponential.
![First Flight [1903]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/first-flight-1903.gif)
Albert Einstein is probably one of the most popular figures of all times. He is considered a genius because he created the Theory of Relativity, and so, challenged Newton’s laws, that were the basis of everything known in physics until the beginning of the 20th century. But, as a person, he was considered a beatnik, and this picture, taken on March 14, 1951 proves that.
![Albert Einstein [1951]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/albert-einstein-1951.jpg)
A first for the general public, the picture of the “mushroom cloud is a very accurate approximation of the enormous quantity of energy spread below. The first atomic bomb, released on August 6 in Hiroshima (Japan) killed about 80,000 people, but it didn’t seem enough because the Japanese didn’t surrender right away. Therefore, on August 9 another bomb was released above Nagasaki. The effects of the second bomb were even more devastating - 150,000 people were killed or injured. But the powerful wind, the extremely high temperature and radiation caused enormous long term damage.
![Nagasaki [1945]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/nagasaki-1945.jpg)
World War II was a harsh time for everyone, and of course, the most affected were those involved in combat. Taken away from their families and home lands, the American men were eager to hear from home, but, unfortunately, mail didn’t come very often, and when it did, it may have contained a Dear John letter.
Their salvation appeared in 1942 with Betty Grable – her beauty, charm and sexy legs reminded the boys what they were fighting for, and so, the war became a little less unbearable.
![Betty Grable [1942]](http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/betty-grable-1942.jpg)
This is probably the most famous picture you know. This is the picture of a student who tries to stop the tanks in Tiananmen Square standing in front of them. The tank driver didn’t crush the man with the bags but shortly after, the square filled with blood. The photo showed the Chinese that there is hope. However, China is still controlled by a communist regime.
This is a famous picture, taken in 1930, showing tho young black men accused of raping a white girl, hanged by a mob of 10,000 white men. The mob took them by force from the county jailhouse. Another black man was saved from lynching by the girl’s uncle who said he was innocent. Even if lynching photos were designed to boost white supremacy, the tortured bodies and grotesquely happy crowds ended up revolting many.
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14:32
@Bono
» Kikuyumoja's realm Dude,
pls, since you’re already at it anyways:
Did you bring a copy of Ayittey’s “Africa Unchained” for Merkel’s staff along?
Coz that’s exactly what my bros from GTZ, KfW, BMZ and the WB will need to focus on if they are really serious about this Bubudiu sometimes also referred to as dev aid.
After you & Bob have finished reading it, of course.
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13:25
What Is The Suddenly Evasive Uhuru Up To?
» You Missed This archive
Leader of the official opposition Uhuru Kenyatta jetted back into the country this morning brimming with confidence and told his supporters at the airport that he was still in the running for the presidency. He was however very evasive with reporters, more so when they asked him about his future within ODM-Kenya.
Speculation is rife over the reason why the oldest political party in the country, Kanu and it's current chairman, Uhuru have called a delegates conference for next week. All we are being told is that there is a big announcement coming.
However it is rather obvious that one of the issues that will be discussed will be Kanu's future participation of any in ODM-Kenya. However insiders have been giving hints that the announcement to be made at the delegates conference is even bigger than leaving ODM-Kenya. It is not clear what sort of announcement this one can be although Kanu politicians have always been known for exaggerations.
But another question, I would like to ask; what has Uhuru been doing abroad for the last 2 weeks? And why is it so hash hash? The last time the official leader of the opposition was out of the country, he had taken his children to school in the United Kingdom and he made no secret of it, although he had the right to because it was a personal trip. This time round all indications are that it was an official trip and yet he does not want to talk about it? Could his trip be linked to the forthcoming Kanu national delegate's conference of next week? Could this be a major step in the formation of the third force out to steal these elections?
One thing is however very clear. Whoever is backing Uhuru and the other politicians in his camp has seen something that the rest of us mortals have not seen. It could be that they have realized that both ODM and Narc-Kenya are bound to spit out disgruntled elements and Kanu is positioning itself to receive them back into the "mama na baba" fold.
But there is one more thing that keeps on disturbing me. What have the Mungiki killings got to do with all this? Nobody wants to talk because it appears that Mungiki "ears" are everywhere and nobody wants the weight of their heads taken off them. But something keeps on nagging me about the timing. The terrible timing of the killings and the emergence of the so called third force. Keep your eyes very closely focused on the major players of the so-called third force.
Internet Home Based Business: All You Ever Wanted To Know, As told to you by an expert who makes a good living online
Mystery of sleeping arrangements in a polygamous home -
Government Should Declare A State Of Emergency Over Mungiki
» You Missed This archive
Yet another headless body was discovered this morning in the sprawling Mathare slums. This is too much. It seems that it is only a matter of time before the beheadings spread into people's homes in Nairobi, just like it happened in 1952.
The President needs to do two things pronto. Firstly, declare a state of emergency and secondly look for a new internal security minister. Somebody who will inject some new ideas into this, the biggest crisis in independent Kenyan history.
Incidentally the last time we saw so many beheadings (1952), it was being done by the Mau mau for reasons very similar to the alleged Mungiki ones. But the colonial government then took swift action and made it clear that my collaborators with Mau mau (that included people who failed to turn them in) would be considered part of the terror group. The mau mau rebellion was then viciously and decisively put down. The Kibaki administration needs to borrow a leaf from the colonial administration. We can't keep on having innocent Kenyans losing their heads. For what?
Internet Home Based Business: All You Ever Wanted To Know, As told to you by an expert who makes a good living online
Mystery of sleeping arrangements in a polygamous home
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2007 TEDGlobal Conference in Arusha .
» My Africa Today Over the past few years, a growing number of people in the TED community have become passionate about Africa, a continent that appears to be at an important tipping point. Its problems and challenges are well known. Less well known is that across the continent, change is afoot. Instead of relying only on development aid, Africans across the continent are beginning to take matters into their own hands. Ingenious solutions are being applied to tackle some of the toughest health and infrastructure problems. Businesses are being launched that are capable of transforming the lives of millions. New communication technologies are allowing ideas and information to spread, enabling markets — and governments — to be more efficient. And the numbers suggest that incomes are starting to nudge up in some countries and real growth is on the way. A new Africa beckons.
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East African Community back then.
» My Africa Today This was the east africa back in 1950's , a beautiful place be. comments are wellcome.
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Tanzania: In US Dollars “We trust”
» My Africa Today The Arusha region, mainly its urban outlets, has been described as an extremely ‘dollar-ized’ precinct, where major and minor transaction are carried out using the American currency. The tendency is said to further weaken the Tanzanian shilling against the US dollar.
This was remarked this week, by the Head of sales, Structured Solution and Global Markets for the Standard Chattered Bank, Lawrence Mafuru, during a one day workshop which was organized by the Bank for its corporate customers an event which took place at The Arusha Hotel conference room, last Tuesday.
According to Mafuru, Arusha leads in the country for being a precinct where the dollar rules the economy and most of the local transactions. “In Arusha practically everything is done in US dollars, people pay their house rents in dollars, hotel rooms are charged in dollars and all retails outlets accept dollars some even insisting the foreign medium of exchange over the local currency.
Mafuru was presenting a paper on ‘Global Markets’ when the issue of local currency fluctuations became inevitable. The Tanzanian Shilling apparently is badly falling against the dollars and for the last two months, this has been a major concern among local people, especially those with a foothold in the country’s economic circles.
“It is all speculation, there is no need for fear, among the major fundamentals of economy is that it does not thrive on speculations.” Assured Mafuru adding that, while the local shilling was far from being stable due to the country’s high import bill, compared to its measly exports, Tanzania still had an edge in the economy, due to its political stability, which as far as he was concerned, it was the most important economic factor.
“Currency fluctuation is a normal thing, not only in Tanzania, but in other countries worldwide.” Pointed out Mafuru, explaining that the 8-10 percent trend has been a regular figure, until recently when due to some contributing factors, the fluctuation shot up to 14 percent. He named the unavoidable factors as being prolonged drought spells and the current electricity power problems.
“But on the other hand, we are also contributing in creating the high but unnecessary demand of the US dollar through entertaining mass usage of the currency, even in trivial matters such as shopping and settling bills, a negative trend which is becoming a ‘popular’ habit, but in reality we are actually shooting ourselves in the foot.” He warned, adding that, “This trend was mostly becoming rampant in Arusha.”
The current exchange rate in Arusha Municipality, by the time we went to press, was around Tsh.1335 against a single dollar. Six months ago in January 2006, the average exchange rate here was around Tsh. 1200 per dollar. As a result most business outlets and landlords here are now insisting to transact in the dollar medium.
Standard Chattered Bank hosted the workshop purposely to educate its Arusha customers on the various products that the Institution was offering, to the customers who were running companies and large businesses. More than 50 such customers attended the occasion.
The workshop was opened by the Bank’s Arusha based, Business Development Manager Mrs Lilian Bulengo, who also presented a paper on corporate Visa cards being issued by SCB. Later that evening, the Bank’s head of sales for Clients Relationships Department, Mr. Anthony Angelo, officially winded up the event.
Standard Chattered, according to the Bank’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Juanita Mramba, has a history of over 150 years, with an extensive global network of 1200 branches, in over 50 countries, employing more than 50,000 people, representing over 90 nationalities in Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East and Americas.Customize your mobile with your Complimentary Ringtone! -
Doing Business in Africa
» My Africa Today Doing Business in Africa
According to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the UN trade agency, UNCTAD, Africa offers the highest return on direct foreign investment in the world, far exceeding all other regions. While petroleum products are the driving force behind those returns, other sectors offer impressive growth.
One of the fastest growth areas is telecommunications. From 1999 to 2004, cell phone use in Africa grew at an annual rate of 58%, whereas in Asia, the region with the next highest growth, cell phone use grew at a relatively paltry 35%.
Africa is of increasing strategic interest to the global economy. The continent is expected to soon provide the US with more petroleum than the Middle East. The top supplier of oil to China is Angola. China and India are rapidly increasing their business dealings with Africa. These new power-houses are often beating out American and European firms.
Africa offers a consumer base of more than 900 million people. While more than half of Africa is estimated to live on a dollar or less a day, the other half does not, and they are hungry for products and services. Even among the poor, there are surprising opportunities. The rapid expansion of telecommunications is a prime example of the premise of C. K. Prahalad’s groundbreaking book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Incremental profits may be low, but vast numbers of potential consumers can result in high overall profits.
The risks of investing in Africa remain high, just as they are for most emerging markets, but as noted by Kim Jaycox, CEO of Emerging Markets Partnership’s Africa Fund, the largest fund investing in Africa, the perceived risk is much greater than the real risk. And once the risk goes down, the returns won’t be as good.
For more information on investing in Africa, contact:
International Trade Administration (ITA)
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230
1-800 USA TRAD(E)
[trade.gov]
The Corporate Council on Africa
1100 17th Street, N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 835-1115
Fax: (202) 835-1117
http://www.africacncl.org/
The Whitaker Group
1725 I Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006
Tel. 202-349-3781
[thewhitakergroup.us]
AGOA – Africa Growth and Opportunities Act – US Government site with trade information and a very helpful resource page.
[www.agoa.gov]
Mbendi – online information service on business in Africa.
www.mbendi.co.za
Databank Financial Services Ltd. - investment house and mutual fund managers in Ghana.
www.databankgroup.com
Liquid Africa Holding Ltd. – investment and information service for all African markets.
[www.liquidafrica.com]
Allafrica.com – news service with financial information on African markets.
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10:45
TEDGlobal Day 3: Inspiring!
» White African Today’s been a little hectic, as I gave a talk today about AfriGadget and so couldn’t really concentrate at first… It seemed to go over well, so it was probably worth the lack of sleep.
Many of the African bloggers here had lunch together, and that was enjoyable, just to see so many faces that I had only known virtually, sitting down all in one place together.
The “Tales of Invention” session, which I did my talk in, was really outstanding. The speakers were engaging and really reminded everyone of the great opportunities and innovation seen around Africa. Bola Olabisi, started off with a stirring talk of her work showcasing women inventors in Africa and around the world.
I was fortunate to be sitting next to the final speaker of the innovation session, Dr. Seyi Oyesola. Talk about a dynamic and talented individual! His talk about reaching back into Nigeria to do open heart surgery in abysmal conditions moved everyone. He then finished, showcasing CompactOR - which, by it’s name, you can tell is a very compact and complete operating room in a small trolley.
Though tales of invention was my favorite due to its focus on technology, the last session of the day was much more moving. “The Campfire” showcased story tellers. Franco Saachi gave a great overview of “Nollywood”, Nigeria’s movie empire, the third largest in the world with over 2000 films released each year. Look for the documentary soon.
Writers Chris Abani and Binyavanga Wainaina were the final speaker. Wow! These guys are storytellers for good reason. Chris Abani gave a soul stirring talk about
African Blogger, Harinjaka talks about Madagascar
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9:55
Vanity Fair Africa
» bankelele From Crunk & Disorderly
In his talk, Bono had mentioned that he had persuaded Graydon Carter to have Vanity Fair do an issue highlighting Africa. Here's one of the 20 different covers.
What's inside? See the table of contents
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ignorance
» Kikuyumoja's realm It already started with my arrival in the office as late as 10 am - being deeply in thoughts about which CMS may be adequate enough for this little project I am currently working on, I missed the right train and ended up taking another one which dropped me at the airport. Wrong direction!
Then, at 11 am, a meeting with smart ppl left me a bit frustrated, as these dudes & dudettes once again celebrated and elaborated on e.g. how to define an expression like “capacity building” on their sector for the interested public.
Well - working in this dev aid environment sure is an interesting opportunity and I really love what I am currently doing (because of the sustainability background & involvment of IT & environmental engineering), but a lot of these things - these things that involve the production of unimportant papers and justifications for various actions taken - are just as obsolete as the thousands of other bureaucratic barriers the world doesn’t really need. Because there’s no positive impact. It doesn’t make a difference. Those targeted don’t need papers with explanations.Anyways.
Bill of “Jewels in the Jungle” actually sumarized it pretty nicely - on one hand the G8 meeting in Hooligendamn, and on the other the ongoing TEDGlobal2007 conference in Arusha. Two worlds?
Interestingly, the very same smart ppl as mentioned above from my meeting here this morning - those who are making plans for developing countries nations - never even heard about TEDGlobal. Ignorance, as mentioned before?
I just told my one Israeli colleague “uka haha”, which is Gikuyu for “pls just come here”. After realizing that he didn’t understand a single word, I decided to blog this frustrating day - hoping it would have a therapeutic effect on me. *sigh*
But then,I still can’t lose the feeling that the Eurosphere has (at least) a slight ignorance for the Afrosphere - which would be a big mistake, I think.
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8:10
Google trends - Africa
» Afromusing As the conversations and african myth busting continue at TED Global Arusha today, i would like to take a moment and point out a great tool by Google Labs (One of the sponsors of TED Global 2007 - making it possible for fellows like me to be here - Thank you!).
Google Trends is an interesting tool for looking at the most popular search terms on the net, relative to other search terms. For example, searching for Africa in google trends yields some interesting information.
Regions and cities associated with the search term africa.The first 5 cities are in South Africa, which has high internet connectivity, followed closely by Nairobi Kenya.
Its also a great tool for bloggers to see the related search terms similar to those that bring them lots of traffic.
*Many thanks to Anetto from google for telling me about google trends, its an awesome tool.
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5:16
TED Global 2007 - Tales of Invention
» Afromusing Bola Olabisi:
Founder of GWIIN - Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network: An organization that spotlights and supports women inventors.
In 1998, Bola decided to go for a free international inventors fair since she was expecting her 4th child and was not working at the time. Where she noticed that there was diversity in terms of the attendees and people at the booths; in talking to the people there, she found that though the inventors were male, the women were either wives, sisters or partners. Seeing this chasm, she set out to find the one woman inventor. She never found one on that day in the UK. She went to the organizers and asked if they could point one out. They had never had one as part of the inventors fair and told here that if she found one, she should contact them. She then did a program on BBC, seeking out women inventors. She got an overwhelming response to her appeal.
On Africa:-She did not begin here first, she started in Asia PAC,finding, supporting and recognizing the women inventors there. For Africa she started with visiting universities. Whenever she asked, people could barely name 3 women inventors. She discovered that there was a dearth of information on African women inventors in current textbooks. The African inventors who were featured were written about by Americans. She also found that it wasn’t just African women inventors, it was about women inventors as a whole not being acknowledged.
She faced lots of naysayers, wondering if she had this right when she wanted to have a conference for women innovators. In 2005 the first Pan African conference for women innovators was held - it was clear she was on to something because every seat was taken. Her work continues since, with a centre for innovation in Africa being opened in December. She noted something that we all know in Africa, women are very active participants in the marketplace, they are traders and sellers.She also gave examples of people honored by her organization: - Simi Bola who made a new wig that had braids, it is now on sale around the world. To see more of the women honored by her org, please click here.
Hers was a very inspiring talk because she exemplifies action. She saw something that wasn’t being done and just got on with making change happen.
Next, there was an excellent 3 minute presentation by Erik Hersman of Afrigadget the slides showcased some of the stories covered by afrigadget team, demonstrating how Africans solve problems every day by making tools and using local materials. The main idea he shared is that - Ingenuity born of necessity. The quotable from him is that **Where others see trash, africa recycles** He presented a soccer ball made of twine and paper bags to Emeka Okafor one of the organizers of TED Global. A wonderful gesture, because as most people may not know, Emeka is the pre-eminent online chronicler of African innovation and business. His blog is Timbuktu Chronicles.
The Next speaker was Dr. Moses Makayoto - Chemical Engineer from Kenya: Africa has stopped talking, its now about action.
Innovations he has been working on :Bacillus thuringiensis -filth flies control using bio pesticides made out of 100% local materials such as cowdung, molasses and other ingredients.
Artemisinin - Drug for malaria, there is a $10 million plant in Nairobi processing artemisinin. It is possible that he is referring to the plant mentioned in TED global day 1.
“sungrupot”- Nutritive immune booster (for AIDS patients) -current research is still going on though it has been patented in Kenya. He pointed out that there are other diseases such as cholera and typhoid that are still killing people and solutions to these issues are still needed.
Quotable - There isn’t the notion of African science, science is science - Look at it in the context of science being needed to solve Africa’s problems.Challenges: Lack of prototype development, lack of intellectual property policy. There is a question of what belongs to who - some herbs are part of tribal heritage. Not much R&D is done locally. There is also a lack of marketing skills for new products. There is also a myth that innovations are too complex and thus cannot be tackled.
The choices for kenyan scientists are often to publish or perish, patent or perish , produce or perish. In the African context the last option of producing or perishing is even more pronounce because the diseases mentioned above do cost lives every day.
The way forward
- R&D must go on but include prototype dev and reverse engineering to see if the product can be made locally.
- Patent filing for existing science
- Incubation systems for innovative ideas Market driven tech should be emphasized in order to realise the real market ROI that is more empowering than AID.
- Africa must industrialize in whole not in part.
Q:Any clinical trials [for Arteminisin based drugs]?
A: Yes the work will be published soon.
Short Break: Video of making of CAN TV - Keita Moussa of Zirasun. Check out mali.geekcorps.org
Joe FOSS for dev of software for use in hospitals and as a mode of secure communication between patient and doctor. Dr. Seyi Olesola: Healthcare in Africa: Beyond malaria and Aids. He left from the diaspora and moved to the Nigeria to work there. For many common ailments like trauma, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, people go to hospitals or dispensaries that are are ill equipped. A simple thing like an x ray can be a challenge. He showed pictures of an earthen floor and old equipment like a very old anesthisiology machine. It really does look like a relic.Dr. Oyesola pointed out that the machines are still in use currently. Its a real challenge to do open heart surgery in Nigeria. From the pics, it doesnt seem like this is possible at all because of old equipment. He showed slides of an open heart surgery where they had to ship in everything, and he had to be inventive to prop up a patient by sliding a plastic chair under the matress, buttressing the top part of the mattress to create a makeshift reclined hospital bed. The invention: Hospital in a box. Its is a wheeled piece of equipment that looks like a steel cupboard with sliding cabinets. It has a defibrillator a light and can be charged using a truck battery or a solar panel. He didnt spend too much time on the invention itself, but pointed out that there is more to be done in Healthcare in Africa.
William Kamkwamba, previously featured on afrigadget - Home made wind mill. Download his powerpoint presentation here.
Mohammed Bah Abba - Sahel region south of sahara: Preserving fruit using evaporation of water from sand that creates a cooling effect.
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5:10
honesty
» stranded in me to be really honest my b/f is good to me. money issues aside. he's there thru my worst momets moments when i just want to curl up and die. he brings a great deal of positivity. most times im mourning n consumed with self pity but somehow he'll get me out of that. he has good plans too. i dont believe he'll just abandon me he's not that kind of guy. how he copes with me i dont know n somehow he sees a part of me that i over look. nobody's perfect he aint n neither im i. id hate to lose him which makes my moving too hard to bear.
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5:05
Am an aunt
» Farmgal At 10.08am today, my bro and his girlfriend delivered a baby boy. That makes me a proper aunt and my mum is officially a gran!
Our last born is a parent!
Woo hoo!!!!!!
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rants
» stranded in me i really need a holiday from the shit that has become everyday. i want to get away from it all. all i want is to be happy. i cant remember feeling total joy. its been a long time since i laughed from deep within. nothing seems to give me joy. my life sucks!! im homeless, jobless and broke.
i always took pride in self reliance which im not anymore.av been reduced to begging for all the shit that i need like moisturiser, cleanser, deo which most times i dont even get. is it too much to ask for some help when im in shit? take the b/f for instance last month we enjoyed stuff from a shop on credit n when he was making his budget he didnt include that bill. he has a job n he knows how im struggling surely he can help me out with that? im truly wasting my time with this man. what would happen if i got pg this attitude of my probs r mine to deal with he's only here for the good times will get me into single parenthood really fast. this is another part of my life that neds refurbishing. i feel let down by him i thot that if u love someone then u want whats best for them. i thot he had my best interests at heart but i guess i was fooling myself because i wanted him to love me back since i love him. i thank God for Mom n Maggie who's love and friendship i know i can rely on thru thick and thin. -
end of an era
» stranded in me im going back home and believe if i wasnt such coward id have opted for other measures. going back home is equivalent to death, my whole life as i know it is about to end. if you happen to see a girl walking around with brooding shoulders it might be me, give her reassurance she needs it.
I have been dating this guy for awhile now n my mom has decided she doesnt like him, without even meeting him. She's convinced i can find a man who will treat me like a princess n provide for me. this one doesnt and according to my mom it makes him not worth my time, the problem with my mom is that she's usually a prophetess of doom. believe when she's against someone that relationship wont last. maybe its because after she says it i get extra cautious. but anyways this time the relationship will have to end because im moving out. # Kenyan Blogs ? >>
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4:14
Is Someone Hacking into Kenyan Websites?
» KA-INVESTOR 
First it was Business Daily with all the stories of sijui web hosting. Now the Safaricom website is permanently down for days now and while I was still wondering why they don’t have a back up hot site, someone hits the Jackpot and hacks into Equity bank's website and online accounts, exposing clients to so much risk. I’m the most risk averse person I know (if not plain paranoid) and I have had to stop anything involving internet n money. From M-pesa to mobile banking, even checking electricity bills via the phone is on hold now. Until I’m assured that some thing has been done to keep out this hacker from my money. I have heard stories of guys loosing whole or nearly whole of their earthly belongings to internet hackers n I’m not taking any chances. Are you?
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4:03
TEDGlobal - Day 2 in quotes
» Mentalacrobatics No place in the world has ever grown a market sector on the type of risk that Africa’s farmers face.
Eleni Gabre-Madhin creator of Ethiopia’s first commodities marketForget making poverty history. I want to make Africans rich.
Idris Mohammed believes that we should be talking about increasing wealth not reducing poverty.I call it the African shuffle.
Idris Mohammed describes yet another graph that shows stagnant economic growth in parts of Africa where instead of rising the graph remains a flat line.Dignity is more important that wealth.
Jacqueline NovogratzUnderstand the power of patient capital.
Jacqueline Novogratz explains that taking time to engage with the communities you invest in helps the money do more.The blind leading the clueless.
George Ayittey does not think much of Africa’s political leadership.The Cheetah generation.
George Ayittey term for the progressive, active, integrity, entrepreneurial African youth.The problem with computers is that they do not have enough Africa in them.
Kwabena Boahen quotes Brian EnoLet us redefine poverty
P for possibilities
O for opportunity
V for validation of our ideas
E for enthusiasm to do things
R for resilience
T for trust
Y for yes
Ted KidaneIndigenous communities used to make decisions after considering what effect the decision they take would have on the next seven generations.
Jane GoodallTo the guy who insisted on taking a photo with me because his wife wanted a picture of him with Larry from Google, well now you know the truth.
Dr. Larry Brilliant, Executive Director of Google.org, after introducing Larry Page, Google Co-Founder & President of Products© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. | Permalink | 4 comments
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TEDGlobal2007
TEDGlobal-
Meeting the Inventors
» White African There are two individuals here at TEDGlobal that it has been a great honor to meet. They are inventors, on the ground in Africa, creating solutions that will work in their area. These are great success stories that need to be celebrated, encouraged and supported.
William Kamkwamba was 14 when he found a tattered old book that taught how to build a windmill. This was a big deal, seeing as his small village in Malawi had no electricity. The generator, made from old bicycle parts and PVC piping powers his families lights and radios. (original coverage on AfriGadget with images)
Moussa Keita is staying at my hotel, so I’ve had the pleasure of spending a good deal of time with him. Moussa worked with Geekcorps on a project building a CanTV in Mali. (see original coverage on Geekcorps, and watch the video)
(more images of TEDGlobal on Flickr)
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TED 2.0
» Mentalacrobatics The presentations from the TED stage yesterday were fantastic. Thought provoking, opinion shaping, informing, and interesting. After day 1 it would take something special to blow us away again and to raise expectations again, they managed to do that.
The whole premise of TED is based around the principle of “Ideas Worth Spreading”. This sharing is an essential part of the TED experience. Our programme guide urges us to sit next to someone different at every session and at every meal. The same guide urges us to switch of our phones and leave our laptops behind in our hotel rooms. This is all in order to encourage us to build social networks, brain storm together, learn about each other, learn from each other. TED is to be a fluid and interactive process. What happens on stage is important yes, but what happens between us is even more important. Yesterday brought this home for me.
I was invited to the Google.org private lunch yesterday where the people at Google told us about the philanthropic side of the Google organisation. At the lunch we heard from Joe Tackie an entrepreneur from Ghana who was the first winner of Believe, Begin, Become Ghana’s national business plan competition sponsored by google.org. During the afternoon tea break a couple of us spent time talking with Joe about the programme and the challenges he faced, how he over came them, the business he started and how it is growing. A fantastic story.
During dinner I was lucky enough to share a table with Esther a Community Development Facilitator working for a NGO in Cameroon, Megan a director at Google, William a secondary school student from Malawi who built a windmill to provide power to his family home from old bicycle parts and the renowned primatologist Jane Goodall. The conversation around that table was full of world changing ideas and this was being replicated on different tables around the room. There are no seating plans here, you just go out there and network.
After dinner I ended up on table full of Kenyan entrepreneurs, the people changing the nature of their business sectors in our country. We covered everything, politics, economy, redistribution of wealth, the politicisation of the youth, the power of blogs and the internet, investments, humour. Network at it is most energetic within our own. We only stopped because the last buses to our various hotels were threatening to leave us.
Back at the hotel is when TED came home. I sat down to write my thoughts on the day when Harinjaka shared with us the crazy deforestation that is taking place in his country of Madagascar. That was the beginning of all night thinking, sharing, debating session. Two Kenyans, one Madagascan, one Nigerian, one Italian, one American. We had never met before TED, all but one of us are at our first TED conference and we had our own TED session then and there. We talked about HIV/AIDS, about social disempowerment, about colonial legacy, about Nollywood, Bollywood and the Chinese film industry, about music, about deforestation in Madagascar, about the creation of Israel, about sports, about whiskey, about family, about the world economic market, about our experience in the formal job market, about starting businesses and creating jobs, and on and on and on. That is TED, TED 2.0 maybe but that is what all this is about, people from all around the continent and the world sharing and debating, engaging each others brains from a position of mutual respect.
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3:18
TED Global 2007 - African bloggers to visit.
» Afromusing Other African bloggers covering TED Global: Mulumba Lwatula - Mweshi, MwenyeMacho by Philemon Msangi, he blogs in Swahili as does Ndesanjo.
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TED: CDF
» bankelele Had a breakfast chat with the Member of Parliament for Laisamis (in Northern Kenya), Joseph Lekuton who's here at TED to give a brief talk this morning and we discussed the constituency development fund in program in Kenya.
CDF was established in 2003 and is a program that directs 2.5% of the Kenya government revenue (from taxes) to be directly apportioned to the 210 constituencies depending on their population and other demographics. Local committees administer the fund and pick the programs which are to be financed e.g schools, dispensaries. The Laisamis CDF has disbursed its full allocation of about $600,000 for the year which he has committed to deliver services to his constituents who are largely nomadic.
More stories about the MP and Marsabit district, where Laisamis is located, which has a dedicated website.
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1:41
Purity
» Farmgal Purity
David Langerfeld
Jun 4, 2007Purity
In the Word of God, gold was at its height, at its premium, when it was beaten into shape by the craftsmanship of Bezaleel and Aholiab. They were the makers of the Ark of the Covenant.
Beaten gold is far superior to molded gold. The reason: For gold to be molded and melted in ancient times it had to be mixed with lesser metals. The flames created by wood could not reach a high enough temperature to mold and melt the gold which led to lesser metals being introduced. A lesser metal than gold will melt at a lower temperature because of the mixture, but it drastically lowers its value.
It was beaten gold that formed an Ark but it was molten gold that formed a golden calf.
The choice is clearly mine. I can add all sorts of alloys to my calling, to my purpose in the Kingdom, to the anointing that rests on my life, but in the process I rob the power and ability of God to work with a pure vessel.
Purity
David Langerfeld
Jun 4, 2007
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NN
» bankelele I am newsless newswise (NN). TED has been great so far but I also want to know more about Tanzania on my first trip here (wandering around Lunga Lunga does not count)
One of the ways to appreciate what's happening in a country (political, financial, investment, government, arts, developmentetc.) is to read as many local newspapers as possible - because while there are billions of things found online that a newspaper will not contain, there are also thousands of things in a daily newspaper that cannot be adequately captured online. However here at TED i have had a very hard time getting a newspaper to read.
I woke up on Day 1 (Monday morning) expecting to find newspapers available (free or tot buy) in the hotel lobby or gift shop. But I was told that daily newspapers would only arrive in the afternoon – which I found strange. And unlike in Nairobi or Kampala, there are no vendors milling around hotels selling newspapers. Have i found stumbled upon something here? Is the reading culture different from Uganda or Kenya and does that mean anything for the East African Community? Or is it just that guests at this premier hotel are usually not interested in the Tanzanian daily papers?
On Day 2 (Tuesday) I even got up at 5:30 a.m. and went in search of any shuttle driver (who transports delegates across town to conference) to buy and bring me a papers in the morning and I even left money at the reception.
So, after two days, I have got three newspapers. Day 1: Citizen, and Mtanzania (Swahili), that I that I bought at 1 PM from a vendor at the hotel. Day 2: the African that I believe was brought by a shuttle driver at about 12 PM. I have also had a change to read the Tuesday daily nation (Kenya) - a copy which belongs to the hotel.
I have become something of a newsless nuisance (NN) to the hotel staff who seem bemused at my desire to locate a newspaper in the morning (fresh with news for the day) – as if I am awaiting an important fedex package which I can't trace.
It seems I may have to go to town myself to buy more papers like the business times, Arusha Times as well as other newspapers.
We'll see what Day 3 brings....
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