Here we go again

power cuts. Tax breaks for people to adopt solar briefly mentioned it here and here Check out this cool cool solar backpack from voltaic systems, its available in NY and UK, though u can also buy it online.

Is Jeff Koinange a hack?

CNN headline news approx 12:25CST
The story is led by 2 anchors asking the question of whether your race...something something...i wish there were transcripts of live broadcasts, better yet, i wish i had tivo. Anyhoo, Jeff is walking with two farmers (they happen to be white zimbabweans) through a mango farm. The farmers were angry about the prospect of having to leave their farms. Jeff's narration continues for a couple of minutes, statistics of how many white farmers have had to leave etc. Cut to a girl walking through (it is not clear if it is the same farm) Ms Nakamuro i think was her name. She says something to the effect of 'let us share, because we do not have anywhere to go'. Narration continues, cut to Robert(Bob)Mugabe in the yellow shirt saying something to the effect of 'this is our land'.
MY BEEF
There was little in the piece in the way of background, such as (subset)
- Why was the land issue not settled after independence? Who is to blame for this?
- Mugabe's race baiting since its election time, and he is of the mesozoic period of dictators not willing to let go of power, stomping on dissent on their way out?
BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT
The piece may have been longer and more nuanced but was edited to fit the headline news format. It came out slant. (As in ooh damn this is unfair to these 2 white dudes iam talking to!- IMO it may well be, though everything is relative.)I asked a colleague their opinion of the piece. He said "well, CNN is largely geared towards a white audience, what did you expect?" hmmmm.I dont know how valid that statement is. What i know for sure, is that I expected better reporting, this story just didnt come out right. He told the story, but what i saw on cnn was told slant.

Unrelated, but i felt compelled to share. Book to check out if you havent read it already: The Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley

SpongeBob

SpongeBob 
Note:The mugabe pic is from reuters,when i saw the yellow on his shirt, it reminded of spongebob...silliness ensues.

Guide to Bush and Republican speak from kos

I was responding to a comment on this and found that it was in itself a post! so here goes.
Bush and his party have basically overused many words and redefined them to suit their agenda. From Kossary , Words
they often spew when talking about emerging countries.
PRIVATIZE, v. To steal the resources of the national community and give them to private business.
DEMOCRACY, n. My way or the highway.
DEMOCRATIC ALLY, n. Any democracy, monarchy, plutocracy, oligarchy or
dictatorship--no matter how ruthless--that verbally supports American diplomatic
and economic goals.
FREEDOM, n. What Arabs want but can't achieve on their own without Western military intervention. It bears a striking resemblance to chaos.
HUMBLE FOREIGN POLICY, n. The invasion of any sovereign nation whose leadership Republicans don't like.
MODERNIZE, v. To do away with, as in modernizing Social Security, labor laws,etc.
CLEAN, adj. The word used to modify any aspect of the environment Republican
legislation allows corporations to pollute, poison, or destroy.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES, n. New locations to drill for oil and gas.
BALANCED, adj. 1. favoring corporations (a more balanced approach to the
environment.); 2. favoring conservatives (fair and balanced reporting).
CLIMATE CHANGE, n. Global warming, without that annoying suggestion that
something is wrong.
VERY CLEAR, adj. Modifier used immediately before any preposterous
explanation or rationale.
check out bankelele's post on the banking rule not being changed coz the "market needs to set the rates"
They are soo many...and growing. Freedom is on the march sounds more like...post your suggested interpretation...others from foreign affairs.

Captions amok on MSNBC.

Freedom is on the march...
MSNBC Today ~ 12:47CST. A commercial is interrupted to show a live Bush appearance. The banner at the bottom of the screen proclaimed "President Bush talks about the Schiavo case" What I hear from the president is the following:
- Something about spreading freedom
- Elections in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine. (I don't know if he implies that Ukraine had elections because W intervened...)
(some of the lines sounded like verbatim reproductions from his other speeches..Major Deja Vu moment here)
- the first voter was a woman
- Freedom is on the march here...(hand extended over the podium as is his tradition)
- People are willing to be free given the chance, and they voted despite the terrorists. (He repeated "despite the terrorists" for good measure)
If you want more info, check out the press release on the WH website. I don't know why I'm kinda scared of providing the link... yeah I chickened out.
The caption finally changed to "President bush talks about freedom in Iraq"
Note to MSNBC: Wait to see what he is going to say before putting a caption! Those captions are so in your face, you'd expect them to at least be accurate.
I had something to attend to...Exit.

"Freedom is on the march" Its like burned in my brain, i need another slogan to dislodge this one ...or i might have to go see a shrink.

Oh i know just the cure! Check out billmon better!

Sometimes in April - a movie about the Rwandan genocide

Sometimes in April will be showing on HBO(US)at 8:00EST, 7:00CST tomorrow March 19th. Please check your local listings... It is a movie about the Rwandan genocide that premiered last month at the Berlin Film Festival.

Kenyan Rapper Jal's story on USA Today

Thanks JJR for sending me this link about Jal, a former child soldier turned rapper. He sings about PEACE. Profound.
"Earlier this month, his debut album —Gua, which means peace in his native Nuer language — had hit No. 4 on the Kenyan charts. The songs mix messages of peace, delivered in staccato English, Arabic and Nuer, with Jal's personal tale."

I will be away for a week, Check back... blog you later!

The power of blogs

..Dailykos is perhaps one of the most influential blogs in America right now, they broke the GannonGuckert mess by researching collectively. For that saga, please see JJR's blog
More relevant to the kenyan blogosphere is this entry by jandsm on march 7th, about stories that he thought the dkos community should also be shining light on. Kenyan corruption made the list: A subset of what he has on his diary entry
"This diary is about the periphery of world news: events hidden in the back of newspapers and seldom noticed on blogs - even here. Yet they effect many people. 24 hour news coverage accompanied by the internet sometimes create the illusions of total access to information.
The old filters are still in place: Too many issues remain out of sight. There are more houses in the global village then the ones on main street.
Here are four topics, I didn't find a diary about, yet are newsworthy in itself:
End of the beginning: The developments in Eastern Congo
No democracy in sight: The Elections in Kyrgystan
Government still for sale: Corruption in Kenya
Crisis in the North: The Danish minority in Germany
Forgotten: The African Pygmies"

For this kindred soul's great diary, you can check out his blog here. Its in German though he has some sections in english, if you want to thank him you can email him at trench13_at_gmx.net
Dailykos has made some significant contributions to democratic party, support for Dean amongst other achievements. Their influence is quite astounding.
The events that transpired between nation media group and Thinker in the Clay court affair remind me just how powerful the blogosphere is, and can continue to be... Its amazing what can be achieved by sharing information and getting people to act in the face of different adversities. Check out Mshairi and mental acrobatic's idea of an online portal for Kenya's heroes. Not to risk sounding too mushy, but i am inspired by the kenyan blogosphere and thankful for the comments and notes of welcome from everyone...that's my 2 cents for today!

Try the African challenge..

courtesy of PBS take the quiz, its rather fun.My score was 75
:( on first try. Score yako ni?

I have been using wikipedia for awhile, they could use some help with more information on Kenya. You can contribute by editing information contained therein, anonymously or you can join other wikipedians. The idea of a free encyclopaedia is totally cool. Visit wikipedia. search for kenya and you can fill in the articles that are missing.

possible regulation of political blogs?

From CNET News link
"Bradley Smith says that the freewheeling days of political blogging and online punditry are over.
In just a few months, he warns, bloggers and news organizations could risk the wrath of the federal government if they improperly link to a campaign's Web site. Even forwarding a political candidate's press release to a mailing list, depending on the details, could be punished by fines."

Haiya! Well, can bloggers claim the right to 'political speech'. I may be wrong on this but i recall an argument i heard awhile ago about the corporations' right to political speech. i.e corporations should be able to contribute to any political party as a form of expression. JJR, please elucidate if you would? I rather doubt that regulation will happen, but hey, who knew we'd be reading about extraordinary rendition

nuclear waste dumping update?

Article on allfrica, NEMA basically says there was no nuclear waste dumped there. I am skeptical, very skeptical. Were any of the officials taken on a rendezvous in the coast?

solar. China is expanding its use,Pres. kibaki niaje?

There is no mention of a solar component to 'The new plan to revive the energy sector, announced by Kibaki March 2nd. Allafrica link here . what i could gather is that there is major rural electrification program, which is a very good thing. Caveat: How will the rural people who do not have much cash flow pay for the service every month? Solar: Set it up once, maintain...done.
China is majorly waking up to the potential, check out link. The important thing they are doing is including it as part of their infrastructure.
Thanks Bankelele, for letting me know about www.kenital.com for more information and to purchase solar for folks. Please check back, there will be a separate section on this blog about solar energy and other ideas.

"Anxious Masculinity"

As undermining American political culture, an interview of Stephen Ducat on buzzflash . An interesting look at the 'right'.
Snip**Buzzflash: Briefly, how would you define "anxious masculinity?"
Stephen J. Ducat: It's a culture based on male domination and a culture in which most things feminine tend to be devalued, even if they are secretly envied.

Femininity is seen as a contaminant, and there is an attempt to repudiate those aspects of one’s self that seem feminine. This is something that fundamentalists around the world share.

I would be curious to hear his psychoanalysis of Kiraitu Murungi. A man who said "What the donors are doing is like raping a woman who is already willing," then laugh at that...I am getting a headache just considering the psychoanalytic assessment of the leaders in Kenya. Just to be clear, i am not insinuating that they are wingnuts. Do they realise that its a no win situation when they steal money from the kenyan people? The classic "shooting yourself in the foot" situation only this time you not only shoot yourself, but your extended family too, then blame other people for pointing that you about to shoot your heart!