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22:53
From: Words Much Like Poetry
Read This Entry & More At Words Much Like Poetry
passion is no more than a bygone sentiment,
our ardor long extinguished itself,
and i've only vague impressions
of being as a fiercely lit conflagration within your arms.
i sift constantly through the ashes of that emotion,
in desperate search of an ember that might spark
and reignite the flame,
only to come away with nothing, fingers gray.
no, instead i have become as a black hole,
once the epitome of supernal magnificence
turned nova, then super,
o cataclysm, o crux,
o nervous breakdown, and insanity won,
becomes the epitome of nothingness,
an inky void which begins to draw
from everything that surrounds it.
laughter, the elixir of ages,
drained.
memories, of what sweet, small splendor there was,
lost.
tears, the outcome of heartache,
siphoned dry.
nothing is spared the inexorable pull,
the irresistible dark force, not even the light.
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21:28
From: Rants, Raves & Reviews
Read This Entry & More At Rants, Raves & Reviews
mugabe lost the election in spite of his attempts to rig them, so he hits back at the White farmers to deflect attention from the 'delayed' announcement of the election results. Apparently, most White farmers bought the land post-independence so were not complicit in the land grabbing by the Brits but they make convenient scapegoats. Reminds me of dan 'thieving' moi who blamed the Asians/Indians for all the ills the country faced while it was him & his cronies who were really behind the scams & violence that rocked Kenya. BTW, Zimbabwe now imports maize since the idiotic cronies of mugabe who got/stole the land can't farm it! All major scams in Kenya have political support from kenyatta's land grabbing to goldenberg & now anglo-fleecing. How could such scams take place without kenyatta, moi & kibz knowing of them?
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18:37
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
It was bound to happen sooner than later. The frenzy of the political gongs all beckoned the present deadlock. You cannot beat Kibaki at his own game. He started it by duping assaulting all Kenyan voters so trashing deals with a party is no big deal that only demands a negligible trace of deception.
Election theft is an irreversible vice and you only sustain it with equally fraudulent antics. Damn the national consequences. Well, it is not that easy as pedestrian analysis may imply. The law only becomes an ass when selectively applied to further sectarian interests. The same law being abused not will be reverted to when the boot switches to the other foot.
The present Kenyan constitution only recognizes a coalition government with SPECIFIC composition. You can twist that all the mush you fancy but no running away from that unpleasant truth. The accord clearly spells it out that ODM and PNU are to FORM and NOT JOIN a coalition government. The simple four-lettered word FORM cannot be replaced with join. The Janjaweed president can ride on deception but the destination is guaranteed not to be anywhere near being pleasant.
JANJAWEED president
There is no monopoly of dirty tricks. Kibaki stole the elections and couldn’t run away with it. Nothing has changed to have him defraud Kenyans of peace while subjecting them to permanent tension thanks to his incompetence and failure to reign on his own ministers who have seen a weak link they are gleefully exploiting at the peril of all Kenyans.
Annan and his team of mediators are not fools to have chosen the word portfolio to beautify the accord signed on February 28. They meant every letter of the word and rapping it to its irrelevant derivatives including fortyfolio and forty thieves won’t wash. No amount of bravado and ego messaging with state resources can sustain an illegitimate regime given an electorate that is singularly determined to reclaim their right.
You CANNOT rule an unwilling population. Raw force may temporarily subdue their physique but that only succeeds in firing their spirit. The THIEF-IN-CHIEF cannot fool Kenyans and the whole world. His apologists can continue harping and yapping all the much they wish in sanitizing his evil deeds but it all boils down to enjoying the pleasures of political auto-eroticism.
Only in Kenya do subordinates have the balls to dare hold the president hostage. And only here do you find a president serially lying to his people with a straight face bereft of any rumour of remorse. Well, lying is a vice that Kibaki has effortlessly turned into his middle name. Kenya is not for sale and Kibaki will never sell it neither her citizens. Time of reckoning is nigh. Whatever goes round eventually comes around. Kibaki is running on political empty.
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
To see the checklist that will assist you in immigrating over to Australia within a week please refer to the Introduction post in this series.
Awareness
Three stories, hopefully you’ll see the moral of the tale as we go along.
From Doctors to the Lowest Place in the Totem Pole: For the Skilled Migrants
The family business is an aged and disability care agency. Recently a man, his wife, his brother and his 2 kids came to pay our agency a visit. The man and his wife had been practicing doctors in Sri Lanka for more than a decade but now they were looking for minimum wage work as aged and disability nurses….WHY? They said that they applied to come over as doctors and their application was successful. Upon arrival however, they were informed that in order to practice as doctors in Australia they had to do a course in order to be fully accredited.
Now the problem with this scenario is that:
a) They weren’t informed about this prior to flying over.
b) Had they known, they could easily have flown over to Singapore to do the brief course. However, they were now in Australia with dwindling savings and having to make ends meet while also trying to do the course and take care of their two young children.
The Moral of the Story
Before you come over as a skilled migrant go to painstaking lengths to find out all the qualifications you need to get a job in your field.
My personal recommendations on how to go about this:
a) If you have any contacts in Australia who are in your industry of choice then ask them what qualifications you need to come in and slot into the workforce. If you don’t know anyone in the industry, but you know some people in Australia, get in contact with them and ask them if they know people in the industry and whether they can investigate on your behalf.
b) Speak to the organization that is bringing you over and ask them about any qualifications or immunizations or any prerequisites necessary to get a job once you land in Australia.
c) Go to the Australian yellow pages, get the phone number of and contact a number of firms in your industry of choice, explain to them your situation and ask them what qualifications you would need to work in Australia.
d) Go to Seek (last time I checked Seek, an online job search website, had somewhere between 40-60% of the job search market in Australia) and search for companies advertising for workers in your industry. Get their contact details and explain your current situation. Ask them what qualifications and prerequisites you would need to work in their firm. Contact a number of firms.
Ideally, I would recommend that you do all the above so that you can get a clearer picture from numerous perspectives. Please contact me and let me know of your experiences applying any of the above advice.
I Am a Visual Person But Not a Visual Artist: For the Students
One of the newest arrivals in Australia loves film. She thinks in pictures and has a deep appreciation for visual stimulus, color, contrast etc etc. With that in mind, she decided against becoming a PR professional, which is what she initially intended to do. Instead, she will become a film maker ( a woman after my own heart). So far so good.
She chose all of her subjects and among them was one known as visual arts. Visual arts is basically the skill of drawing things well. This woman couldn’t draw a stick man to light a fire (at least that’s the impression I get from the way she describes herself). She deeply regrets having ever chosen visual arts without fully knowing what the subject is about. Now she is stuck with it when she could have easily chosen something more in line with her film making ambitions, such as photography or cinematography.
The Moral of the Story
If you have flexibility and choice over what subjects you can do per semester then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you know what course, and subjects, you are signing up for. Look over the course syllabus for everything you are studying. All major universities have the course syllabuses on their website. Go online, check out what your course is about.
Now for 95% of you, what is in that course syllabus will probably be a mix of English and Klingon i.e. barely understandable. To get a deeper understanding of the syllabus, contact the faculty or department that teaches the course, maybe even the lecturers, and ask them what the course, and its subjects, are all about and what type of job the course equips you to take on. I highly recommend you do this via phone because it’s harder for lecturers and University officials to blow you off when all they have to do is give you a two minute course description over the phone.
In addition to that, I will repeat this tip a lot, if you know someone doing your course in Australia, call them and ask them what the course is like, what subjects teach you what and which majors lead to which jobs. If not, then dig through your social network to find out if a friend of a friend of a friend knows someone doing your course and find out more about your course.
As a student here, you have 30 days after the beginning of a semester to test out each subject and change subjects until you find the subject combination that best suits you (a typical semester has four subjects). Take advantage of this time once you arrive to attend as many classes as you can, especially in your first week, and find out what course is most in line with your goals and with your purpose behind coming here. Speaking of purpose…………
Purpose
I don’t think I need to go into too much detail over this one. Let me say it one more time: have a purpose behind coming here. Have some idea of what you want to accomplish here. Financial freedom; building your constituency a hospital; understanding the cultures and the religions of the world so as to become a better person; a nice peaceful life with a stable income. Whatever it is, hold it tight when you get here and keep your eye on the prize.
I have already spoken about how it’s so easy to get distracted here. The lives of a lot of the people who have been here for a long time speak of people who have basically lived a life where they have moved from one distraction to another. Keep an eye on your definition of success and ignore the rest (Please don’t ignore people though). Then when you succeed, contact me so that I can interview you  and have you on the website as a shining example of possibility (seriously!)
Accommodation
Surprisingly not all students know this: every University here has student accommodation which you can book yourself into and prepay for before you land here. If means allow, pay for at least a semester of student accommodation. A lot of students usually end up leaving student accommodation when they find people that they can share a house with but student accommodation is a great place to get started.
Your Guide
Should that not be feasible, then I strongly recommend you speak to your guide so that they can house you for at least the first two weeks after you land. Within these two weeks you and your guide should search for and find you a home that you can move into.
Some Things to be Aware of Once You Arrive
Whereas you may not necessarily need to know these things before you leave, they are important to keep in mind once you are in Australia.
Room Mates
Almost all students coming over here will have room mates. This is mainly because of the reduced costs of sharing expenses. It is also because of the social aspect. This social aspect will result in a lot of students sharing accommodation with people from the same country or a lot of Africans sharing with Africans etc
My main piece of advice is choose your room-mates very carefully. A lot of young people over here think the art of paying rent is something best left to other people. In addition to that, be prepared for the anxiety that comes from living with someone who doesn’t always live according to your rules. For an example of how this may play out please check out this post by Nyarshady regarding bathing.
If You are Here on Your Own
If you end up being here on your own without any guide or any prepaid accommodation then I recommend that you move yourself into a backpacker hostel to begin with. Unlike homes, backpacker hostels have very few barriers to moving in and you can pretty much get accommodation in one within about five minutes.If you stay in a shared room, a lot of hostels are also cheaper than housing.
The main things to look out for are crime: you are living with poor young people from all over the world. Lock up all your belongings at all time ,including your food and electronics. In addition to that backpacker hostels have a huge party, alcohol and drug culture. Be smart in this regards and continue looking for a home because I can guarantee you the student lifestyle isn’t very compatible with a backpacker’s hostel.
Some Resources for People Looking for Homes
First of all, speak to your University. I was recently informed that Deakin University in Melbourne’s student union has a service where they search for a house for you. Speak to your University and ask them to guide you as to how you can best find a home.
In addition to that you can also check out the real estate websites below. You can sign up via email to receive an email any time a home that fulfills your criteria becomes available. When using these websites, as soon as a home becomes available, GO SEE IT. The competition for housing in a lot of places here in Australia is intense and you want to be the early bird that catches the worm.
Anyone with any more tips and resources in terms of accommodation please send them to me and I will gladly share.
Websites for People Seeking Accomodation
1) Real Estate: [www.realestate.com.au]
2) Domain:[www.domain.com.au]
Additional Resources to Help You Find a Home
Taken from Timothy Ferriss bestselling book: The Four Hour Workweek. The pdf file below lists a number of additional online resources you can utilize to assist you in finding a home.
Choices in terms of accommodation (This file is a pdf file that needs Adobe Reader to be read)
Please make sure you look over the novel approaches to the accommodation problem employed by Timothy Ferriss in the above document. In addition to that, let me highly recommend that you purchase Mr. Ferriss book: the Four Hour Workweek
You are Ready To Fly Out
By this point in the checklist you are pretty much ahead of most people who show up. So if you have some spare time enjoy being with your family and friends and saying goodbye to everyone. See you on the other side of the ocean when you land in Australia.
Live a Purpose Driven Life,
Mwangi
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12:00
From: Mshairi
Read This Entry & More At Mshairi
 I am extremely pleased, proud and honoured to present the International Carnival of Pozitivities (2.10).
The Carnival consists of interesting, moving and sometimes funny articles, poems and vidoes by people affected by HIV/AIDs. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I did.
Forward to the Carnival,
We begin in Africa. Nata, in Botswana, is a village of 5000 people located on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS is having a devastating effect on the people of this small village. Botswana has the second highest HIV infection rate in Africa. Melody and Martha write entertainingly, and with lots of pictures, about the day the AIDS Fair came to Nata! posted at The Nata village blog. Melody and Martha also celebrate their blog’s 2nd anniversary. The Nata village blog is dedicated to the people of Nata who despite enormous losses and challenges still have the courage and determination to fight the ravages of this pandemic.
Giles Crouch, Slimconomy, writes about the many wild and weird claims made by people (unscrupulous and/or misguided) regarding the cure for HIV/AIDs and highlights the fact that the Internet has become the place where people can make declarations that have yet to be officially approved and especially with regard to herbal cures. “The Web means anything can be published. Any claims made. When people are suffering from a fatal disease, certainly any option will be investigated, herbs included”, he writes.
Steve Schalchlin is a songwriter, singer, pianist, actor, proto-blogger and internet legend amongst his many accomplishments. He writes about his recent performance in Chicago and writes that the group he performed for were “from the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, and I always love singing for medical students to remind them that patients are real people”. He hopes the students will remember ”we are vulnerable and we are scared and we usually feel helpless when caught up in the system. It’s hard enough to survive when you’re healthy in this world”.
Yerom presents a very funny video on Safer Sex. Rather risqué (be careful where you watch it) but hilarious, YouTube - AIDS/SIDA | L’avion (The Plane). In English, the text basically reads: “At least they had safe sex…”
“A recent study revealed that more than 30 percent of people living with HIV in New York City are 50 years old or older. Most have been infected for decades. But what’s worrying is the older adults who’re getting new infections”. Supermansaga presents a news report which highlights the worrying rise of HIV/AIDs among older people.
Deb Serani, Dr. Deb, presents a beautiful video - Love is Love is Love which shows us that there is no difference when it comes to love.
I love reading about road trips i.e. something going wrong with the car, the pit stops, the traveling companions etc and Shawn Decker in his blog entitled My Pet Virus does not disappoint. Shawn, who lives positively, writes about traveling with his wife Gwenn to “Milford, PA, to speak for the Pike County AIDS Awareness Day, and the 6-hour trek took close to 10 hours, delayed by traffic, rain and fog”. Despite the ups and down and the minor irritations, the trip is a success. Shawn writes “Gwenn and I spend a lot of time educating about HIV/AIDS and explaining that, by and large, we lead a pretty normal life with my pet virus”.
“I can honestly say that after 24 years of living with HIV I have been angry at it more than once. I have been angry for many reasons and I have been angry because HIV didn’t take me like it did so many others”, writes Mike in a very moving post. There is some hope, however. ”I know that some of my anger will diminish once the first signs of spring appear but some of them just don’t go away at the changing of the season. I can only hope that on most days the anger is balanced out with hope and dreams of what tomorrow may bring”.
Moffie tells it like it is in a post entitled: The HIV Closet. “If you are HIV + and not comfortable with your new state of health, you need to read this and absorb its content to your life…I don’t care if you are a Gay person, a Straight woman or Straight man: it is a part of you and a part of who you are. You might deny it, but to do so is not only futile, but is also very damaging to your own psyche. In the same way, HIV is now part of who you are. It will be with you until you die, and that is just the way it is.”
Brian Diggs of BlackAIDS.org writes about a presentation by Julian Bond, the NAACP Chairman speaking out on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS. “A veteran civil rights advocate and former Georgia state representative and senator, Bond, 68, said he’s motivated to advocate on behalf of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS because many of them are rendered silent by the stigma attached to the disease and “suffer alone” as a result.”
And on cue, the British Columbia People with AIDS Society write on HIV/AIDs stigma and calls for its end. ”Stigmatization is a social practice that brands an individual or group as disgraceful and devalues them because of some actual or perceived characteristic. It is a powerful force that negatively influences not only the way an individual or group is viewed, but also often the individual or group’s self-perception and self-image”.
The Alliance of AIDS Services, Carolina, is organising an AIDSWalk + Ride, Raleigh, NC, USA on Saturday May 8 to raise funds to support programs and services for persons living with HIV/AIDS in the region. Further information can be found on Ron’s blog, 2sides2ron.
Paul Kidd presents a video, We are the world posted at buggery.org.
Wille J. Phillips, talented author, artist and rap artist, debuts and guest writes over at 2sides2ron in a post which is the first in a series of chapters of Willie’s science-fiction martial arts novel, Godfist Legend: Zero7. Willie’s work is not HIV-related and offers a brief respite from the norm.
Bill Mann, poet also debuts and guests and presents a lovely poem at 2sides2ron. The poem is entitled “Resurrection of Renewal” and includes the following lines:
Coming of Spring
Revels a new call
Of awakening
A powerful resurrection.
The wonderfully named, Shadowstar ex Machina, aka, Willie J. Phillips guests also at 2sides2ron and presents a poem “Sometimes Forget”.
On his blog, dropdeadhappy, Mark Kokocki presents an article on shame written by guest writer, M. Dewayne Benson, comedian, poet, writer and POZ speaker. “What echoes in my ear is that everyone seems to feel shame on some level. Why is this? Certainly shame devalues us and our self esteem…As adults we should learn to accept and love who we are and what we have done! Otherwise we only hold ourselves back from change and/or progress in this life”.
Last but not least, Gug, GayUganda, writes about the complexity and strengths of the extended family in Africa. In the story of his uncle, who is terminally ill, Gug shows how differently people deal with death. Of his uncle he writes, “He is sick, and dying, and knows it. He has fallen back to his extended family, and they surround him. Reconciled to death’s appointment, he can even afford to crack morbid jokes, alarming and embarrassing the relatives who are distraught and fearful. But he is ready, and I hope when mine comes, I am as ready!”.
Gug also writes about Lesbians and HIV in Africa and the problems ‘of a hidden, closeted society…A society of the shadows”, where HIV prevention campaigns fail to address gay people because of “official inertia and homophobia”.
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11:59
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
The talks over the grand coalition cabinet have collapsed.
A short while ago the two principals held separate press conferences accusing each other.
To cut to the chase it was obvious who was lying. Extremely obvious.
Raila Odinga read a lengthy statement complete with dates and details of how the negotiations have proceeded thus far up to the current deadlock. What he said rang true. After his statement he then answered questions from the press. This was in sharp contrast to President Kibaki's shifty eyes as he read his statement. He almost looked embarrassed. He then refused to answer any questions from the press. nstead he consulted briefly with Internal security minister George Saitoti and Vice prsident Kalonzo Musyoka before getting into his limousine and leaving. Although Saitoti has been the emissary between Raila and Kibaki in negotiations over the last few days, I believe that President Kibaki thinks he is ready this time for any eventuality. In fact the president has been planning a long time for such an eventuality as this when tensions rise in the country and violence threatens once again. As you read this, that is exactly where Kenya is tonight.
Raila says that one of the main stumbling blocks towards progress is the fact that PNU believe that the constitution gives the president sweeping powers that supersede anything that may have been legislated from the Anan talks.
Another obvious pointer to who is to blame for the collapse of the negotiations between PNU and ODM over the cabinet appointments can clearly be seen from the proposed PNU list. The party, in contravention of the new law (yes, that list breaks the law) want to keep all the powerful ministries and give ODM the meaningless portfolios like Nairobi affairs. Can you imagine PNU hanging on even to the nely proposed ministry of cabinet affairs?
I will be giving you updates on this post as I continue to gather information from various insider sources on both sides of the political divide. Please stay with me for the next 3 hours or so.
Final Update
This circus is getting very interesting. ODM declined an invitation by KTN to be interviewed live during their 9 pm news. PNU accepted and sent in Local government minister Uhuru Kenyatta who cleverly dodged all questions by repeating the mantra that the appointment of the cabinet is the sole prerogative of the president. He then introduced the point that ODM wanted the entire civil service split along party lines. Actually if truth be told he sounded quite hallow and did not add any value to the news item for KTN viewers. Little wonder that in the SMS comments at the end of the news, one viewer reminded the president that he serves at the pleasure of the Kenyan people.
The truth is that the PNU argument is thin and there is too much "evidence" all over the place pointing to where the problem really is, including the PNU list that attempts to distribute the ministries. It is actually laughable because PNU retains all the powerful key ministries. Some portfolio balance.
ODM on the other hand has all the documentation to prove their case including correspondence and documentary evidence of the reversal of PNU's position between Thursday and Saturday morning when their letter with brand new cabinet positions arrived at ODM headquarters.
PNU have nothing but allegations to prove their side of the story. Seems like ODM were a little ahead of the game here.
Sadly, calling this a game is really insensitive and off the mark because there are valuable Kenyan lives at stake here. I just have received a report from one of my sources on the ground that tensions were very high over the weekend in Naivasha. You can imagine what the situation is now after the collapse of the cabinet talks.
But the really scary thing here is that the government side seems to be a little too pleased for comfort. What this latest development means is that it will be business as usual for the Kibaki administration. They are already running government and will continue to do so with or without ODM. This is classic example of where the law is being broken with impunity when it suits the government. And yet when it favors them they will always fall back on the same law. In other words the law in Kenya is toilet paper to those in power. Valuable when you go into that small room but you quickly use, dumb and flash down the toilet.
I would love at this point to read some a comment from those who have already applied for Safaricom shares like Proud Kikuyu Woman (PKW) and others. This is because the current situation does not augur well for the stability of the nation over the next few weeks and months.
The big question Kenyans across the political divide need to ask themselves now is what next?
According to me we have 3 simple options;
1. Fresh general elections as soon as possible.
2. Secession. Republic of Kenya and Republic of Mount Kenya.
3. Chaos.
I leave you dear readers to chew on that.
God have mercy on Kenya.
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11:25
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
Folks, today I have some pertinent questions. Pertinent questions my brothers and sisters, pertinent questions.
When Raila meets Kibaki for one of those one-on-one closed door affairs, are both men thoroughly checked for firearms and other assorted miniature weaponry or cutting edge poisons (the kind that can be transmitted via a handshake)? Is the element of trust between these two men stronger than their obvious devious desires to see each other six feet under?
What would happen if lets say, one of these fellows suffered a big-bang version of a heart attack behind those closed doors? Will the other scream for help or offer CPR....or will he wait for a few 'important minutes' to pass by before alerting emergency authorities? Based on the deep political, tribal, economic and social divisions in Kenya today, is anyone prepared for that pricey state funeral? You know, the type where the casket is pulled by well groomed horses. What happens to Kenya in that aftermath?
The funny thing with death is that it has been known to sometimes unite broken families. In grief and robbed of a clear future, orphans have been known to burry the hatchet in preparation to facing the world in formidable unity. Are Kenyans ready for such an eventuality?...just in case i.e. Have we invested so much in these two people that we cannot see a future without them? How many of you still believe that Kenya will never be the same again? Some of us cannot wait to see Ruto receive a delivery of hot lead in the head while some are literarily having wet dreams on thoughts of Kibaki burning at the fiery stake. Are we honestly this intolerant? So Martha Karua cannot attend the burial of Ruto's dad? Yaani this thing is personal, eh!
Back to death and its delivery of constant surprises. Now that Mellitus Mugabe Were's death has, at the moment, lost political significance......just wait until the by-election date is announced, are we to take it that going forward, we should judge one's political power by the manner which news of his/her death is received? When Oyugi died, mourners were performing acrobatic somersaults while in tears within his palatial compound. Was he a great leader? When Ouko was killed, many lives followed him to the grave. Was that the weight of his clout? When JM went into perpetual hiatus, where was the public outrage? Was his death 'understandable'? What of Dedan Kimathi and the mystery of the truly nondescript headstone. If his bones are truly important to the history of this country, can the 'Kenya DNA office' do some justice? The reality is that there's a bunch of Kenyans who are ready to voluntarily perform the old Egyptian death ritual. You do remember that Pharaohs were typically buried alongside their entire living household.....including the sheep and camels.
What I'm trying to say is simply this; hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Some of us are anxiously awaiting an opportunity to publicly display our deranged capabilities/personalities. Yes folks, to some of you, the worst headline news of the century will be the one that announces a cabinet line up where either PNU or ODM is seen as having conceded too much. Well, there's exactly two possible 'worser' headlines.
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9:54
From: Black Looks
Read This Entry & More At Black Looks
Kubatana.net is the second Zimbabwean human rights group to use Web 2.0 technology to monitor and report on the elections and the third in Africa following the Ushahidi project on the Kenyan elections started in January.
Sokwanele [Enough is Enough] created a google map for mapping election breaches using data they collected from their Zimbabwean [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Human rights groups use technology to map and monitor Zimbabwe elections", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/04/human_rights_groups_use_technology_to_map_and_monitor_zimbabwe_elections.html" });
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9:26
From: You Missed This
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 P.S. I agree with Sam Okello when he says (in his post: Horror That Was Planned For Kenya), " What I've realised, by reading this twenty five-page dossier, is that we are where we are purely by divine intervention. The Lord used..." I agree with you Bro with the whole of my being. Rarely do you see countries rising up so fast from the mire of near-genocide. It has taken the Lord's hand for us to be where we are. But, it seems, some of the people in the powers-that-be are taking this for granted. This country needs people of integrity and not people who will pay lip service to matters of national import. Jameni (please) spare us the pain of reliving the past. Get this thing over and done with...
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8:49
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
 Despite a joint statement issued by PPS yesterday to the effect that discussions between Raila Odinga as leader of ODM and Mwai Kibaki of PNU and possibly conclude successfully and name a grand coalition, it is now past 16h00 heading towards the end of the day and the two have not met. During the day, a PNU parliamentary group meeting was called off without notice. Initially Kibaki was to chair this meeting at KICC, then PNU MPs received text messages saying the Vice President would chair the meeting then another text came in announcing the meeting had been called off indefinitely. The party is reportedly experiencing vicious power struggle that has resulted in deep divisions to the point that the mediations talks have had to be called off for lack of quorum. Meanwhile at Pentagon House, ODM top brass met early today and sent unequivocal letter in which ODM said it would make no further concessions and that Kibaki should accept what was already agreed between him and Raila on Thursday last week. At the time of posting this, ODM leaders are still holed up at their Pentagon House, in anticipation of that important phone call that will announce PNU’s decision on cabinet portfolio . As the president and his part cabinet continue to wait for Raila Odinga, the anxiety building countrywide. The current cabinet is also running the risk of being challenged in court because it is unconstitutional. In reality, any official business conducted by this government now and in the recent past is legally null and void. Meanwhile state house continues to embarrass itself when issuing public promises on the issue of cabinet when it knows the cabinet will only be formed upon the approval of Raila Odinga. It is no longer business as usual, Sir! The same table and VIP seats that were used by Raila and Kibaki while signing the Annan Peace Accord on 28th February 2008 were yesterday carried towards the entrance steps at Harambee House in the hope that ODM would accept whatever portfolios Kibaki would throw at them. The same furniture has been seen being brought forward today and it remains to be seen whether Raila and Kibaki will use them. It could only mean one thing: Raila will only come to Harambee House when Kibaki is ready to accept ODM preconditions for the cabinet portfolio balance. And my early prediction is that cabinet will be announced later today and that will be the beginning of a big fall-out in that party calling itself PNU.
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8:32
From: Kenya Imagine
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Robert Mugabe, not guilty. William Ruto, not guilty. One of the basic tenets that just and democratic governments are founded on is the rule of law. Justice we hold to be, amongst other things, the right of the individual to a fair trial. The presumption must always remain that prior to and all through the trial, the individual is innocent until, due process followed to its logical conclusion, proven guilty. When the trial is done, the verdict returned, justice, we hold, must be done and seen to have been done. Read more from Njoroge Matathia here.
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8:29
From: Kenya Imagine
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Many Kenyans did not watch the football this weekend, they were at home waiting on the announcement of the Cabinet results, looking for relief after three months of almost fictional horror. But it was real enough, and as elements of the political class keep reminding us, a sequel is on the cards should their angry spirits not be mollified. The major reason for their grief, are captured in words that have now come into the shrine of our political lexicon for all time, Portfolio Balance. The trouble is, what seems important to some, seems less important to others.
Which ministries do you think are crucial to the running of the state and under whose control do they fall? Is the very idea of a Grand Coalition under such circumstances not anathema to national progress, after all the vigorous arguments betray a desire in the politicians not to serve all Kenyans but to serve specific narrow passions of their own.
Discuss here.
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6:40
From: KA-INVESTOR
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Another week has opened for the Safaricom IPO with more investors rushing to apply for the shares. I hope the number of applications will increase this week as most investors have read the prospectus and sourced for enough funds. Last week was a little bit slow, with most applications coming from non-Kenyans. There are several conflicting analysis on the expected peak for the shares once they hit the trading floor on May 9th. But my prediction is the price will settle some where between Ksh.10 and Ksh.15. Applicants who have been going for loans being hawked by banks for the IPO have learned the tricks of the banks to reap them off. Apart from the interest being charged on the loans, loan applicants have to incur several hidden charges before the loan is awarded. Some of the banks claiming to finance 100% of the IPO application are forcing applicants to open new CDS accounts with them, hence cashing in on the transaction charges too. In Uganda, investors are wary of the Safaricom IPO citing the political uncertainness of Kenya. For a country like Uganda that is quite used to violence than Kenya, it’s really ironical. Most Ugandans are in favour of alternative investments on the Uganda Securities Exchange such as the Uganda Clays rights issue that ended just before Easter and the upcoming New Vision rights issue. In other developments:
- Gold production at Lolgorien, Kenya, by Goldplat Plc. (a UK firm that specialize in producing precious metals like gold, silver and platinum group metals, on the African continent) may commence in the second half of 2008.
-The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) is planning to immobilize their listed companies share certificates so as to increase on the bourse liquidity. Similarly several firms are set to have rights issues and stock splits to increase on the share supply at the USE.
- ZTE Corporation, China's largest listed telecommunications manufacturer and wireless solutions provider, has signed a deal with the Kenya government to construct an optical network covering the western part of Kenya.
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5:52
From: You Missed This
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...And why we must retreat Guest Post By Sam Okello Wananchi Watukufu, Last week I said there comes a time when a weary nation must say enough is enough. I was wrong. I was because last night someone dropped off a dossier at my door that has given me pause. The roadmap to what the enemies of Kenya planned to do immediately after the elections reads like a horror novel. There are men and women around President Kibaki who were not going to let the Hon. Odinga became president at any cost. For these peolpe, if Kenya was going to burn, to be wiped off the face of this earth, that was a small price to pay. Since that darkest month in Kenya, when over a thousand of our fellow countrymen lost their lives, you've seen these same people huggle and hold the nation at ransom till they can get certain ministries. For them politics is about enriching themselves and amassing power, never about developing the nation. They see politics as a zero-sum game where evil is rewarded and self-control is a weakness. A time is coming when these people must be made to pay for their sins. But that time is not now. After reading this dossier over and over, it is easy for me to despair. Indeed, it makes me fearful for the future. But a time like this calls for wisdom and temperance. We are dealing with men and women who have decided that they have nothing to lose. Men and women who fear a change of guard because of the crimes they committed in the past. Men and women who see their only chance of escaping trial at the Hague or in Kenya only if they hang on to power at any cost. What we must realise is that people of this ilk don't think rationally. In fact, that's why they sign off on agreements in the morning and gladly walk away in the evening. Now, there is a good reason why the Hon. Odinga has chosen engage these people. I didn't know it until I read this dossier last night, and several times today. What I want to tell my fellow countrymen is this: Whatever and wherever the Hon. Odinga goes at this hour, let's follow him. The man is walking with us through a very dark tunnel. In the fullness of time I will personally reveal the devilish schemes and the murderous plans these bloodthirsty hounds had for Kenyans, and why you literally saw the Hon. Odinga look like a man on the verge of tears back in January. The weight of an entire nation was on his shoulders. When the story of January and February 2008 is written, we will all look back and see in the Hon Odinga and the Pentagon a people who stayed awake at night so we could sleep, people who cried in their bedrooms so that the rest of us didn't have to wipe our tears, men and a brave woman who left their homes in the morning knowing full well it might be the last time they kissed their spouse goodbye, heroes who knew that by looking weak they were keeping the nation from walking into the jaws of callous bloodsuckers. Yes, the number of ministries is high. And yes, the PNU people have plotted to grab the prime ones. But this is not the time to fight these people. That would be the wrong fight. It would be a fight that leads our people straight into a trap. What I've realised, by reading this twenty five-page dossier, is that we are where we are purely by divine intervention. The Lord used the Hon Odinga and the Hon Kofi Annan to save our nation. So, fellow Kenyans, whatever the Hon. Odinga finds neccesary to do to steer the nation through the stormy seas at this dark hour, I call on his supporters to back him to the hilt. The wise know when to retreat. The time for a knockout punch is just months away! For Love of Country. Who is listening in to your cell phone conversations, Kenyans?Naomi Campbell allegedly spat at policeman and could get 6 months in jail if found guiltyPaper Bag (juala) causes young girl a serious infection, guess how it got inside her...
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