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22:45
Start-up Roller Coaster
» For Love and Money Start-up Roller Coaster -
Still Buying..............
» For Love and Money Still Buying..............
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21:50
A Yearning for Freedom
» Words Much Like Poetry the air is slightly stale, and I am surprised I do not grimace to it. at least the floor is not very cold and I wonder at its rough comfort. the smell of leather will be my companion tonight for it is from the one solid thing I own here.
the yearning has not subsided, in fact, it is more intense now. I choke at the consequent emotion, and anger rises up my throat and I wonder if tears would help. I know they will not come to me, they have not for a long while. I blink at the darkness, willing my eyes to glue shut and for a second I muse at the curiosity of a certain mystery.... at which point my mind screams for light, but in a hushed voice, barely audible from even within me. the thirst for it is a contradictory need, as I yearn for this stifling darkness to swallow me.
the leg jerks at a touch, just as virtual grace steals me away into the summer heat, into square pavements bustling, breathing and alive... they will not come to me, and I shut my eyes so tight it hurts. a different breeze wafts in, carrying with it evidence of a basic human nature. I welcome its stinging distraction from my chainless shackles. my mind slowly lets go of its cyclic thoughts, a frustrating prison of tight unyielding polythene skin. I claw at it as it chokes me, tightens all around me, denying me air.
they will not come to me, I must be strong, the thread holding me is unraveling. is this the road to insanity? it cannot be...
they will not come to me. there is no shame to it. but still, they deny me momentary solace. should I turn to look? the glitter might be my window to mental freedom, it is light within darkness. but what is a drop of water upon perched lips, if the whole draught will not be mine.
they will not come to me, and another light steals me from within the darkness, though only for a short long while.
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15:23
Kibaki and His Wives: Blame Lies Squarely with Himself and Not Muite or Media
» You Missed This Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}By Guest writer
Dear Kenyans. Forgive me for being in this foul mood. I can’t hold back when our president and his wife are crying at a Press conference. A responsible child should show concern when his parents are crying loudly in public. Am in this foul mood because this article is not meant for Kibaki’s loyal diehards and those whose reasoning faculty equates to Lucy’s or is even worse.
It is a big shame to the First Family and Kenya as a nation when President Kibaki repeatedly appears on national TVs to “clarify” he had only one wife and four kids. So what? Who cares how many wives he has?
Kenyans are not fools. Kibaki’s antics, edged on by Lucy’s crocodile tears and loose temper and slapping public officials in public, will not wash away the truth or fool anyone. Instead, they will aggravate the already volatile situation.
Majority of Kenyans are today faced with serious problems and are spending sleepless nights cracking their heads on how to put a meal on the table and pay school fees and meet the rising cost of living. They care less about their president’s domestic woes and how many wives he has.
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Be careful because if your hard drive crashes you reduce the chances of successful data recovery by trying to revive the hard drive on your own. It is always a better idea to call in the experts right away.
--------------------------------Former Kabate MP Paul Muite was just re-stating what the then minister for Internal Security, John Muchiki, had told the parliamentary committee investigating the Standard raid and the Artur bothers’ saga. Mr Muite was chairing the committee and he on Monday disclosed what Michuki gave as the motive to dispatch a police squad to raid the Standard. The Standard was raided by state agents when Kibaki was in power. Kibaki should have used his Press conference with his burly wife to explain who ordered the raid, why and what was achieved instead of whining and shedding crocodile tears while TV cameras rolled.
Rather than Kibaki try to fools Kenyans who already know the truth, he should have been kind enough to shed more light on who is Mary Wambui and who is the father of her daughter, Winnie Mwai, why the two enjoyed Presidential security, and why Kibaki remained silent as the two brought to Kenya the Artur brothers and housed the criminals as they went around defecating and defiling our motherland with impunity. And they returned to their country scot-free! Kibaki did not appear on TV or utter a word, yet he was president of the Republic of Kenya and he had sworn to protect our country!
Every married man will tell you he has domestic crisis in his home. But the wise ones solve their domez under the confines of their bedroom or within their home boundaries and not in public. They wouldn’t even want neighbours to know there was a fall out. Kenya currently or during the Kibaki rule has had many pressing needs which Kibaki has turned a deaf ear to. His domestic woes are not a matter of public or national concern. And the best he could do is to quietly seek help from elders from Othaya to resolve his marital status.
It is in bad faith for Kibaki to misuse public resources and officials to help him clean up his domestic filth. He appeared at Tuesday’s Press conference in the company of head of Civil Service, Francis Muthaura, and Commissioner of Police, Maj Gen Mohammed Hussein Ali. Why misuse such senior public officials? Maj Gen Ali should be explaining why he is so blood-thirsty going to the extent of executing youths at will under the guise of fighting crime and Mungiki. Kenyans pay the Commissioner of Police a salary to make their country safer and not sort out their president’s domestic woes. Next time I suffer a domestic problem, I’ll summon Maj Gen Ali to my house and the media to re-state my position.
In fact, Maj Gen Ali should have been sacked on the spot on Tuesday because he watched and did nothing as Lucy committed a crime by threatening to raid the Standard. She even owned up raiding the Nation. Maj Gen Ali should have arrested her and locked her up pending court appearance today morning.
Kibaki, like any other married man, should put his house in order and not wail and look for scapegoats while he was solely responsible for his domestic mess. By engaging in endless public dramas, Kibaki and his wife only end up looking more foolish and open themselves to public ridicule. Kibaki must stand up like a real man and not act stupidly and foolishly under pressure from his “dear wife”.
Picture the following and Kibaki remained silent:
Ø The Grand Coalition Government he heads is dogged by serious political problems which he has turned a blind eye to.
Ø Prof Alston released a report exposing grisly police executions and the existence of police death squads in Kenya which had executed thousands of youths under the guise of fighting Mungiki/crime. The UN investigators called for sacking of Maj Gen Ali and AG Amos Wako. Kibaki thinks Prof Alston’s report was about another country no Kenya.
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Kumekucha titbits: Avoid sitting for hours in a traffic jam on your way to the city centre from the airport. Simply book into a nice brand new budget hotel in the outskirts of Nairobi 5 minutes from the airport.============================
Ø On the other hand, Mungiki and other criminal gangs have been killing Kenyans at will. Instead of reforming the Kenya Police to make it responsive to the needs of Kenyans, Kibaki allows Maj Gen Ali to round up anyone he wishes and executes them in the name of fighting Mungiki. For every one Mungiki executed by police, they (police) end up killing at least five innocent Kenyans. Surely, this is not the way modern police fight crime.
Ø Poor Kenyans have been going hungry, party due to theft of maize, but largely due weak Government food policies. Some Kenyans have since died and Kibaki cares less.
Ø The oil scandal in the Ministry of Energy and other corruption scandals. Kibaki had promised his regime would make Kenya a corruption-free nation. That remains a pipe dream.
Ø The Anglo Leasing scandal, masterminded by Kibaki’s close aides, went on unabated despite Kibaki being made aware of it. Despite the huge sums of public money involved, the matter was swept under the carpet and trashed into history without any action.
Ø Kibaki spent huge public resources in the Goldenberg inquiry only to end up with a report being tossed in Government shelves to gather dust.
Ø The Artur brothers’ saga went on right in Kibaki’s eyes. We ended up in another fake commission of inquiry.
Ø Kibaki traded the Grand Regency Hotel with Libyan President Gadhafi for campaign funds in 2007 and purported it was sold last year. If the hotel was sold where did the money go? Another fake commission was formed.
Ø Kibaki promised us a constitution within 100 days after re rose to power in Dec 2002. The matter was forgotten when he attained what he wanted.
Ø Does Kibaki know there was a State House-sponsored raid on the offices of the Standard Group in March 2006 because we have never heard his voice?
It’s a pity that Kibaki remains silent where Kenyans are faced with serious challenges and only appear on TV to growl about his dear wife! Kibaki, please do better than this. You are a man. A man does not go crying and whining in public because his wife has put him under pressure to denounce a parallel affair.
I wish Kibaki and Lucy make good their threat to take Hon Muite to court. What a juicy drama will that be? Under pressure from his wife, MP Mwangi Kiunjuri took the media to court when it was reported he had been seized in a police swoop on prostitutes on Koinange Street. He thought it was a mere walk over and he paraded witnesses in court to prove he was nowhere near Koinange Street on the dreaded night. The media dug in deep into his past and unearthed past filthy affairs and the MP lost the case miserably. I wonder how he faces his wife in the bedroom today.
See other recent posts:
Alfred Mutua looked so ashamed and the ADC was crying in shame behind Kibaki (see photo)
Taabu on how Kibaki outsmarted the Kenyan media
Kumekucha
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15:20 Three Men & A Mistress…
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com Who are the three men in this new family saga? Lucy Kibaki, Paul Muite and Wambui “Kibaki”. Who is the mistress? Mwai Kibaki I watched this video of Lucy at the press conference with a combination of shock and sadness. Here is the first lady of a country, threatening once again to go to a television studio [...]
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15:03
Grey's Anatomy Vs. House M.D
» Couch Potato 
Should one really compare the two? Would it be an injustice, considering that the only thing they have in common is that they are medical dramas? Obviously they are not alike and do not add Scrubs into this equation.
Back in 1994, yes that far back, we were introduced to E.R and Chicago Hope... if I remember well both debuted at the same time. It was clear one was superior but the other was just as entertaining and managed to stand its own ground. We can say E.R overshadowed Chicago Hope, but the latter was a fine masterpiece that would have held its own hadn't it been for E.R and the compare and contrast game.
So a decade later, then comes the Grey's Anatomy and House M.D. Just when medical drama were too cliche...when everyone was running away from medical and legal drama's...producers came up with something new and different.
Personally, I prefer Grey's...but it's not that House M.D isn't damn good. Sometime I prefer the show I'm watching...but season 5 has ascertained where my loyalties lie.
But what people should realise the two are completely different offering separate dishes in the same buffet.
COMPARISONS and CONTRASTS
1. Medicine vs Surgery
House M.D is about the medical mysteries as opposed to surgical mysteries.
2. Ends vs Means
House is about the step by step deductions in solving the mysteries...like C.S.I...they go through differential diagnosis until a bulb lights up and voila mystery solved. And in that case it gets a little monotonous as they go thorough the medical sieve each time, from infections, to autoimmune to cancer... sarcoidosis (it always gets mentioned...)
Grey's is about doing the inevitable to to solve the mystery...they are interested in the end and not the means. Sometimes the mystery is somethin outlandishly bizzare.
3. Branches of specialities
Whilst Grey's only has surgical specialities, House is more well-rounded with all specialities both medical and surgical on board.
4. Characters.
Grey's has more emphasis on the characters than House M.D and I think thats why I enjoy Grey's more. From the additons of Sloane, Addison. Han, Torres...and even the new interns...their development of characters old and new is fascinating and entertaining.
House on the other hand for almost 2 seasons did not develop any character. Such that it did not matter the order in which you watched the season's nothing was missed since emphasis was on the cases. However, later on they realised their folly and characters started being developed. I particularly enjoyed the Sela Ward story line. Even when House was being bullied by the cop brilliantly played by David Morse..and in season 4 they brought in a new cast of doctors to try out for jobs after House fired his entire staff. In fact this season was the best ever!
No one would care if Wilson left the show...it didn't even matter in season 4 when the main characters became temporarily recurring. Which shows that we feel nothing for the other charcaters apart from House...then again that's why the show is aptly called House M.D.
In Grey's new characters are added all the time and they blend in with the viewers. Each character has their own story line intertwined with the main story line for the episode.
5. Romance
-Season 5 has seen both shows have regular lesbian characters. Clearly a ratinngs thing, that ended badly in Grey's when Han was unceremoniously fired. Torres is still pursuing her orientation discovery whilst House has a character that may be a serial lesbian hell-bound on destroying her life.
-Cuddy and House...I was scared to see what would happen if that story was pursued luckily the writers knew best to just dangle that carrot but not pursue it further.
-Grey's: everyone is sleeping with everyone which makes it too soapy for a medical drama and hence the seriousness can be lost on it. However, their love lives are interesting from George contracting syphillis..to Sloane breaking his bone in the on-call room. Yeah, Grey and Shephard and Addison feels like a scene from Days of our lives...but Yang gets interesting love story arcs...like her and Burke and now the guy from Rome. YES, HBO return ROME please!
6. Cliffhangers.
Grey's has had better and more clifhangers than House.
7. Adroable Characters.
Apart from House himself who is certifiably an S.O.B...there is no other endearing character in House M.D. We love him, we hate him, we love to hate him.
However in Grey's the list is endless
-The Nazi is sarcastically hot!
-Yang is an absolute gem. Ms Smarty pants and smarty mouth.
-Addison...loved her
-George-his quirkiness was outstanding..though he is no longer being featured much in season 5
-Torres: grew on me like a nail...I think she is the character that has evolved the most in this show
-Sloane:who could hate him?
-Izzy...that girl has problems...and looks like she could be dying... (How's that for complaining that you were not being written for emmy award winning material...see if that's Emmy for you when you have been written out of the show!) Season 5 had a return of her old flame as a hallucination which could be a sign of something else...
-Burke was a legend with an ego?
-new interns...funnily they are entertaining providing comic relief within comic relief
-The chief too is entertaining.
-Even Meredith has her days and the jury is still out on whether her voice is better in the dialogues or that chick from Desperate housewives.
8. Guest Stars.
A show is as good as it's guest stars. And each mainatins to attract a bevy of celebrities but clearly Grey's has had a better run with celebrities.
9. Stories with substance.
House has deeper stories within its genre. As a medic you would be more amazed and surprised with House. But Grey's gives you an inside on the behind the scene of interns and residents. House is more serious, but Grey's shows you the other side behind the serious curtain.
So there is a non-biased review of the two. Great shows. Great actors. Great Drama.
Pick your favorite provided you are watching both!
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10:47
Picture This
» tHiNkEr'S rOoM 
Presidential Media analysis follows:
If one could lip read…
© M for tHiNkEr'S rOoM, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:
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9:30
Urban Inflation Index: March 2009
» bankelele Changes in the three months ago since my last review in December 2008 and also compared to February 2008, which was just over a year ago.
In 2009, oil prices and maize prices have become the national talk as scandals, shortages, and price hikes have plague these industries causing grave concern that the country could be destabilized.
With maize, a shortage of maize flour on supermarkets coupled with shady deals were highlighted in the media all leading to a motion of no confidence in Parliament against the Agriculture Minister in February 2009. it was shot down
In oil/petrol, the collapse of Triton petrol, a small politically-connected oil marketer had ripples across the industry. The firm appears to have made a big gamble and purchased and stored excessive stocks in the expectation that oil prices would remain high, but when they dropped, the firm imploded and the chief executive fled to India. It has become a monster scandal with staff losing their jobs, banks suing the government (through the oil storage and pipeline companies) and calls for another no confidence vote in Parliament, this time against the Energy Minister.
changes in the last three months
Gotten cheaper
Fuel: A Litre of petrol fuel (at local petrol station) is now Kshs. 75 (~$4.2 per gallon) which is about 20% cheaper than it was 92.7 in December 2008. Shell Petroleum led the price drop, forcing other oil marketers to follow suit and probably did in Triton with their price cut in December 2008. Petrol was Kshs. 88 a year ago
Unchanged
Staple Food: Maize flour which is used to make Ugali that is eaten by a majority of Kenyans daily. A 2 kg. Unga pack at Uchumi today costs Kshs. 96, compared to Kshs. 97 in December 2008. However it cost just Kshs. 52 a year ago
Communications: Despite the presence of two additional phone companies, the mobile price war has cooled and calls cost about Kshs. 8 (~$0.10) per minute. With Zain, the price applies across all networks, but for Safaricom it's within their network only. New companies are offering gimmicks like Yu's Kshs. 0.50 per minute (after making calls for two minuets at Kshs.7.50). However other prices, notably in data and equipment (handset prices) have dropped. Safaricom modem’s cost less than ½ their introduction price, and features like Picture messaging (SMS) now costs Kshs 3.50 ($0.04) (it was introduced at 20) a year ago Safaricom calls were also about 8 shillings per minute
More Expensive
Electricity: my bill last month is Kshs 1,800 - slightly less than the bill a year ago. However by looking at the components that make up the bill - fixed charge is Kshs. 240 (was 175 a year ago), fuel cost adjustment is 427c per kwh (was 199c a year ago), forex adjustment was 63c per kwh (was 31c per kwh) - all causing my bill to cost about 70% higher than my approximate consumption a year ago. This is also a sore point with Kenyan manufacturers and industries who have complained (PDF) about the high tariffs even as Kenya power & lighting company announced improved profits for 2008.
Foreign Exchange: 1 US$ equals Kshs. 80.07, it was 79.08 in December 2008. Remittances to Kenya which have dropped every month since October 2008, are partly to blame. US$1 was 70.7 shillings a year ago
Entertainment: A bottle of Tusker beer (at local pub) is Kshs. 130 ($1.60) up from Kshs. 120 in December 2008. East African Breweries, Kenya's leading brewer, has complained about high input costs and new taxation, and for once their share price is almost as cheap as the recommended retail price of their main seller - a bottle of Tusker beer was 120 a year ago
Other food item: Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) is at 165, it was Kshs. 160 last December. 150 a year ago
EDIT: Also, more expensive is Housing - the rent was hiked 40% in January 2009; however that’s still about ½ what I’d be comfortable paying for a mortgage in the neighborhood.
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Kibaki Outsmarts Kenya’s Timid Media
» You Missed This 
Also published a few hours ago: Chris on Kibaki's embarassing press conference
Give it to President Kibaki. In one smart TEARFUL move he masked the joy of KCSE candidates and most importantly deflected attention from quarrelsome ODM demanding reinstatement of political conjugal rights without any marriage in the first place.
But the real LOSERS were the Kenyan press who failed to strike the iron when it was red hot. They failed pierce the soft under belly with KILLER QUESTIONS. The first question asking Kibaki the basis of his clarification that he had only one wife was smart but the reporter failed to nail it with a follow up that would have smoked the visibly agitated Kibaki.
Kibaki's press conference was about one Mary Wambui whose name was not even mentioned in passing. The Kenyan media failed to in an empty goal. They allowed Lucy to chaperon and goad them while silently smarting from her visible threats. Even after inadvertently accepting raiding Nation Media House the press fell for her plastic tears instead of asking her to confirm if she would actually re-enact another attack on KTN.
Our so-called journalists refused to think outside the box. They went to Kibaki’s press conference with a prepared script and shamelessly stuck to thinking in one direction. The killer question would have been asking the president point blank WHO IS MARY WAMBUI. Asking Kibaki if as a head of state he knew Mary Wambui and the state security she enjoys would have left him and his handlers exposed.
Predictably Kibaki would have ducked that question just like he feigned ignorance of the genesis of his artificial foul mood. But an array of smart journalists would have outfoxed him with follow-up questions on whether Winnie wa Mwai was her daughter. That would have now worked up both Kibaki and Lucy to force them into releasing some unpleasant truths albeit unknowingly.
Unimaginative press
The media failed to expand the agenda of the rare press conference. Having denied knowledge of the genesis of his anger, this was the golden opportunity to speak for the masses and exorcist the Grand Regency, Oil and Maize ghosts. But alas the myopic cameras could only flash the familiar faces and missed watering the most fertile ground for a SCOOP in an unrehearsed honest answer.
The media simply played into Kibaki’s hands when he showed emotions to mask the facts. Politics is not meant for the faint hearted and if you cannot stand the heat you vacate the kitchen. Seasoned journalists would have disabused Lucy of her crocodile tears.
We have surely perfected the art of living national lies and made it our pastime. A lie repeated several times must mutate to truth according Kibaki. Otherwise why would a whole president call three press conferences in as many years to deny his own blood and wife?Kumekucha -
President Calls Press Conference To Say He Only Has One Wife
» You Missed This The president hardly ever calls a press conference... but today he did.
So you would have naturally expected that what he had to say was of great national importance. Something really, really important.
Something to do with him finally addressing the rampant corruption in the grand coalition government (that we are told by John Michuki he is in full control of). Somebody would have probably speculated that he wants to announce the dissolving of the entire cabinet or some other equally significant decision.
Instead, flanked by a tearful first lady, the President of the republic of Kenya and the commander in chief of the armed forces called a press conference to tell Kenyans that he only has one wife. He then allowed his wife to threaten the press with another of her “raids” for daring to suggest that she has a co-wife.
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Honestly I did not know whether to laugh or cry. This was totally and utterly unbelievable. Will somebody please wake me up from this nightmare, there is no way it can be happening. Not now.... How?
When the country is grappling with some serious problems including Kenyans dying of starvation, the president calls a press conference to discuss domestics? I really have no words this time.
Of course the whole storm seemed to have been triggered off by the comments of former Kabete MP Paul Muite yesterday over the raid on the Standard newspaper where property confiscated from the Media house is yet to be returned. Muite claimed that the raid had nothing to do with national security issues but had something to do with “the president and his two wives.” That last bit must have been what stirred the hornet’s nest. So much so that the first lady threatened to take people to court.
Interestingly I have never seen the government spokesman look so embarrassed. I mean even after the man releases his highly fictional accounts to the press he always keeps a straight face and never butts an eye lid. This time Dr Alfred Mutua and other State House staff looked visibly embarrassed and very uncomfortable as the president of the republic of Kenya embarrassed himself in full glare of TV cameras.
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Kumekucha titbits: Avoid sitting for hours in a traffic jam on your way to the city centre from the airport. Simply book into a nice brand new budget hotel in the outskirts of Nairobi 5 minutes from the airport.
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Everybody in Kenya is aware of the fact that Mwai Kibaki has paid dowry for one Mary Wambui. Indeed even as you read this her house is still being guarded by GSU personnel at the taxpayer’s expense. So who is this Wambui woman and why does she still cost the taxpayer money when the president has denied her and the children they had together?
If what the president is saying is true (and we presume it must be true because if a president can tell the nation lies in full glare of press cameras, then he has no business continuing to serve the public in any capacity even as the member of a board running a cattle dip in the village) then Mary Wambui should be immediately arrested for being an impostor and claiming to be the president’s wife. Surely if this is not done right away we will soon have hoardes of women swarming from the wood work claiming to be the president’s wife.
P.S. 87% of Kenyans in an NTV survey completed minutes ago, say that they do NOT believe the president when he says that he only has one wife. Jijazie……
Read this commentary in another Kenyan site and see the photograph. Is the ADC behind Kibaki actually crying in shame?
Kumekucha
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3:23
Pictures of WAPI at the Kenyan British High Commissioner's residence on 28th, Feb 09
» Kenyanpoet On 28th February 09, the WAPI family was at the British High Commissioner's residence in Muthaiga following an invite by the BC(British Council) which has been supporting WAPI since its inception.
Hip Hop artists like the Ukoo Flani Fraternity(Wakamba Wawili, Wenyeji), Mistarii, Morokko, Big Mike, poets like yours truly, Octopizzle, Nuru Bahati, Tim Mwaura, graffiti artists(Uhuru, Bankslave) and fashion models were among the invited guests. The mainstream media houses and journalists were also present as were other invited friends of WAPI.
The event which started at exactly 1pm was aimed at bringing WAPIans together to celebrate the achievements of WAPI as a platform for artists.
It was a typical barbeque( nyamachoma) laid back sunny afternoon with lots of food, drink, and great music.
There was an entertainment program which featured poets, hip hop artists, Fashion show as well as jazz music with Chris Bitok.
Graffiti artists had a ball spraying the BHC's house with images of Kimathi, burning flames and all manner of inspiring artworks.
Click here to view the photos. Enjoy!
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3:00
The beesness of honey
» AfriGadget
You know it’s a great jua kali project when you see the logo
Honey is one of the most valuable products of the drylands of Africa. It can be obtained by following a little bird called a honey guide to a bees nest in a tree, whereupon one raids the hive. Or bees can be farmed…in most places a bee keeper simply hollows out logs to make perfectly acceptable hives for local consumption. for commercial purposes however, Langstroth hives are universally thought to be superior to the traditional log hives found in Africa – the box shape make them easy to stack and move around, and the movable frames guide bees to build combs in an organized manner making comb extraction easy. These hives also have a queen excluder, a mesh grid, usually made of wire or plastic, sized such that worker bees can pass through but the bigger queens cant. This keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey combs called supers leading to cleaner honey. There are so many NGO’s, GOs and religious Orgs introducing these bright yellow langstroth hives across the Kenyan landscape.They don’t always catch on though - in rural areas people still prefer the logs…
Traditional hive
Traditional log hives are hollowed out logs usually cut from specific tree species with the permission of the local chief. They are hung high in trees and the inside is rubbed with leaves of plants that attract bees – a practice that has been going on for eons. The bees enter the hives through a tiny hole and build their combs willy nilly throughout the space, it’s inefficient and the honey is of a lower quality as the larvae are all mixed up with the honey combs. Not very good for a business approach… or should I say Beesness?.
Langstroth hive in Baringo Kenya
Logic would suggest that the Langstroth hives which produce cleaner honey and they save trees should be favoured right? Wrong! These modern hives are produced by experts in cities and cost a good $100 – far beyond the reach of anyone living in rural Kenya. It’s also rumoured that these hives are easily broken into by honey badgers, over heat in the dry climate of north Kenya driving bees away, and are expensive to maintain. On a personal note, I for one, find them extremely ugly too.
Modified traditional hive
One bee keeping cooperative in Bogoria has figured out a cunning way of modifying traditional log hives to produce more honey. A bee excluder is made using coffee mesh.
Symon demonstrated how beeswax tracks are laid down to guide the bees where to build their combs in neat lines. Cost? One third of the Langstroth hive.
Bucket of raw honey
The honey is collected at night by naked men (yes totally naked …) they say that this prevents one from getting bees stuck in your clothing… I asked about the possibility of getting stung in sensitive places, they said the bees were far too civilized for that…but yes, people had fallen from the trees and been found comatose and butt naked at the tree base…
Honey extractor
Raw honey with comb is sold to the local cooperative where wax is separated from honey. The machine is another jua kali item bought in a workshop in Nairobi.
Home made bee smoker
Bees are smoked out of the hive using a home made smoker.
Production by 40 bee keepers was 8 tons last year, each Kg of raw honey was bought by the cooperative for Ksh 80 ($1), and sold on raw at Ksh 100, or processed and honey sold at Ksh 600 per kg ($8).
8 tons of raw honey were collected in 2008 – this is valued at Ksh640,000 for the 40 bee keepers in the business.
The wax is not wasted but converted into candles which sell for Ksh 10 each ($ 0.12).
Candle making gadget
Using a jua kali gadget for making candles, comprising a string, a piece of conduit pipe and two beer caps….ingenious!
Bees wax candle
Producing the sweetest smelling cheapest candles I’ve ever used. They claim they burn much longer than paraffin candles. Besides they smell delicious
Some sweet facts
· The dry lands of Kenya are the important honey producing districts in Kenya – the semi arid climate, diversity of flowering plants and easy access to fresh water makes it perfect for bees. Kenya is the fourth largest producer of honey in Africa 22,000 tons, China is the worlds largest producer at 299,000 tons (USA produces 70,000 tons) (figures for 2005).
· The group in Baringo produced 8 tons of honey last year.
I love their motto for hard work - "never expect magic from no where".
· Kenya is a world center of bee diversity with over 3,000 species (about 10% of the worlds total number of species)
· Only 150 species or thereabouts produce honey in Kenya.
· Contrary to popular belief, most bee species are harmless… they have no stings
· The Kalenjin people immunize themselves to bees by purposely stinging babies with bees
· In many pats of Africa, honey is an important component of dowry or bride price – a kilogram being made as part payment for the bride – symbolic of the sweetness of sex - or so I’m told
· Bees pollinate most of the crops that we eat
· Bee keeping is most productive in natural habitats, and is a one of the few forms of resource extraction that does not destroy the environment.
The sour facts
· Bees in USA and Europe are disappearing fast – a condition described as colony collapse disorder (ie. Nobody knows why it’s happening). Africa is unaffected so far making honey production a very sweet deal.
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2:24
Kenya Pipeline Company - Bankrupt?
» Rants, Raves & Reviews KPC has (or will) have lawsuits amounting to a minimum of Kes 7,000,000,000 filed against them in the next 3 months and all related to the triton case. And this does not include Kenol-Kobil's Kes 3,000,000,000 claim against KPC. Indications are that Kenol (very smart folks) will probably win at least Kes 1,000,000,000 against KPC as KPC's inefficiencies & goofs are revealed in the first group of cases.
All said and done, the Government of Kenya will have to either bail out KPC by:- Providing payment guarantees to the banks & other financiers (taxpayers' cost if funds not recovered from Triton/Devani/Cronies).
- Special bonds to KCB (& other firms) similar to bonds given to NBK.
- Sale of KPC & proceeds used to pay-off the financiers.
- Sale of shares in KPC to the Libyans or Chinese or Iranians.
Solution
Mine is simple & elegant (IMHO) based Information as I understand it.
1) Negotiate an out-of-court settlement as to who owes who what. KPC - under the Collateral Management Agreement - is liable to the financiers & Oil Marketers to store, safeguard & deliver the fuel products. A negotiated settlement is cheaper & faster than a protracted court case. It is also less distracting for KCB & KPC so they can concentrate on the business not lawsuits. This settlement shows good faith to foreign financiers as to the will to sort out the problem.
IMMEDIATE ACTION: Sack all 'decision-makers' at KPC & Ministry of Energy (yes, including kiraitu murungi). Then arrest them, assemble evidence & take them to court. (This is under the ideal situation but corruption runs rife in the Kenyan government & unlikely to happen).
IMMEDIATE ACTION: KCB (& GoK) should go after yagnesh devani & his cohorts. All of triton's (& devani's) assets in Kenya should be sold asap (TRANSPARENTLY) to recover as much as possible. Of course, if GoK pays KCB as shown above then the stations/properties belong to GoK.
2a) KPC should be fairly valued without the Triton liabilities.
2b) KCB's Kes 2bn loan should be converted into a long-term loan to KPC secured by KPC's assets.
2c) KCB should undertake to pay off the other financiers but get KPC shares in exchange for the undertaking. A Repurchase Agreement (repo agreement) would allow GoK to buy the shares back. This would be an asset (unlisted shares) for KCB. GoK may remain a shareholder depending on the extent of the assets/liabilities & intrinsic value of KPC.
2d) CBK might be involved since the above actions will require a few 'exception' for KCB considering asset ownership & lending to a single entity. These are trying times & require out of the box solutions.
2e) KCB can either pay off the other financiers - of course, this would be negotiated - or negotiate the payables as a 'loan from other finance institutions'. It is a liability for KCB but 'safer' for the financiers.
2f) KCB & the other financers would drop the lawsuits against KPC.
3) KCB should be allowed to package & sell the income+assets from KPC to other banks or investors but under the repo agreement. Essentially, it is a syndicated loan.
4a) KCB would hire competent managers to run KPC as a private firm.
4b) In the meantime, GoK (in conjunction with KCB) should 'prep' KPC for eventual privatisation. This means clean out the rot. Fire inefficient or unqualified staff. Enact better policies, regulations & laws. Complete the expansion plans. Complete the pipeline capacity enhancement.
5) Once KPC is stabilised, GoK should arrange for the sale of shares KCB 'owns' in KPC (at least 75%) to the Kenyan public through the NSE, to enable KCB recover its cash. After KCB has been repaid all its dues (under the repo agreement) by GoK, the balance of shares, if any, would revert to GoK.
6a) I think Kenol has a good case against KPC. Therefore, KPC/GoK should settle with Kenol to prevent any disruption in the oil market as well as provide confidence to foreign financiers.
6b) Sell triton's assets (TRANSPARENTLY) to pay off Kenol. Any outstanding balance owned to Kenol above & beyond that should be provided as 'tax credits' i.e. Kenol can use the tax credit to offset duties/taxes owed to GoK.
6c) Other firms that will accept tax credits include KCB, Total Oil & Shell Kenya. Of course, this all means lower (net) tax receipts for the GoK in the short-run but creates certainty to drive more business activity. - Providing payment guarantees to the banks & other financiers (taxpayers' cost if funds not recovered from Triton/Devani/Cronies).
