Maishinski

2011-01-17T14:37:00.004+03:00

DROUGHT: LET'S ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES
=========================================

Rain making is now possible and realistic using a relatively simple and inexpensive technology called cloud seeding. This has been the case for more than a decade now - so its nothing new.

Science has reached a point where we are no longer 100% at the mercy of weather. Many countries, china being a good example, make rain on a regular basis to preempt and prevent drought (among other reasons).

I am surprised that the Kenya Metereologcal department does not proactively keep abreast with technological developments. If these people were on performance contracts, they should all have beeen fired by now!

How does the same problem occur each and every season and still catches us by surprise? Metereological "experts" are not journalists. Sitting pretty and writing weather reports is not going to help anyone. "Er.. the clouds say El Nina is coming.." ok fine... but what do we do about it?! How do we prepare / mitigate?

How ironic that when the rains were plenty last season, there was not enough capacity to absorb the surge in food production. Prices plummeted and large amounts of food were wasted. Less than 18 months ago, and now there is a food shortage? How???

I believe a small clique of individuals in Government and many foreign NGO officials personally benefit from such perennial crises. They see it as a an opportunity for embezzlement of AID money. Such embezzlement may be direct misappropriation (Gov officials) or indirect (foreign NGOs) via high salaries/overheads for foreign "drought experts". Easy come Easy go.

Drought is a political tool for the thugs in parliament and a funding source for foreign NGOs. They cannot all be that dumb. Would suspected drug dealers / murderers care that people are dying from hunger - if they can somehow profit from it?

We, the people, can end the cycle of perennial begging by changing the way we think and the things we hold our leaders accountable for.

We have had enough of the hoodwinking nyef nyef. We have had enough of symptom driven initiatives. Let us insist that the ROOT CAUSES be addressed. Let us insist that any crisis must lead to solid measures to mitigate effects of or prevent future reoccurence. If the thugs can't do it, let us elect people who can in 2012.

(Disclaimer: Personal observation & Opinion)

2010-12-24T01:01:00.003+03:00

KENYANS SUPPORT RANNERBERGER

US ambassador Michael Rannerberger was right. Kenya needs a complete regime overhaul. The old guard must be retired by 2012 if the country is to ever deal with impunity and corruption.

Parliament as it currently stands appears to be controlled by gangsters, drug dealers and bloodthristy murderers. These my dear Kenyans are the people you fought for in 2008. It would appear that our "coalition government" has sunk to the lowest of all lows and, yet again for rather obvious reasons (beneficiaries of impunity?), Raila and Kibaki have failed to show leadership and integrity at a moment when Kenyans need them most.

What a lousy "Christmas gift" from our government. With these kind of people in power, we shall always be dependent on and subservient to foreigners. Today I am ashamed to be a Kenyan.

The new constitution requires all kenyans to protect it and its integrity. We must all rise up and do whatever is necessary (and lawful) to defend the constitution from the backdoor mutilation being attempted by these gangsters.

Like Martha Karua said, we cannot entrust these gangs with our future, the people must act urgently and soon to reclaim their stolen country!

(opinion)

2010-11-29T18:01:00.010+03:00

- THE ART OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE -

I could be wrong, but the possibility does exist that:

1. The latest wiki-"leaks" are not really leaks at all, but mere US propaganda...

The setting is perfect: who wouldn't want to read "classified" / "top secret" documents - especially from an over-secretive source like the US? It is human nature to be inquisitive - more so when faced with a pandora's box...

If I was the US and wanted to influence perceptions/political dynamics, I would simply create fake classified documents whose contents surreriptiously promote my overt/covert agenda and then have somebody (preferably unwittingly) leak them out to the world.

Most people would be inclined to believe the contents without questioning their authenticity/veracity - simply because the source is perceived as anti-establishment. Thus vigilantes like the wikileak founder run the risk of being converted to tools of imperialist propaganda a.k.a useful idiots.

2. The recent visibility of wikileaks founder.. including the timely arrest warrants in Europe.. US "appeal" for the docs not to be released.. etc was all stage-managed to build up global media interest in readiness for the "big leak".

3. What we are witnessing is a change in US tactics from direct action to Psychological Warfare, with the aim of radically altering the global political landscape.

4. Obama is not aware of the "psychological operation" and has not have given authorization for it. Most likely a rogue US agency is behind it (CIA?)

5. Radical pro-war, anti-Obama and pro-imperialism elements in the "rogue agency" planned to use the leaks to sabotage Obama's policies and minimize likelihood of his reelection.

6.The "damaging leaks" give the US an opportunity to overtly pursue and silence a high-risk whisleblower (what happened to media freedom rhetoric?) - whilst sending a strong warning message to potential whistleblowers.

7. Rogue government agencies in the US have very dirty secrets that they don't want revealed to the world. Hence the strategy of silencing connected whisteblowers - sacrifice minor damage in order to prevent major damage in future.

8. US will dismiss the libellious dossiers as mere personal opinions (or abrasive writing style) of its envoys and delink the documents from official foreign policy. They can then "apologise" to their allies - despite having set the scene to use them as unwitting pawns in the next wave of global powerplay games.

9. US now has an opportunity to justify censorship of the Internet in the interests of national security.

Things may not be as they seem... actually the US may stand to gain (strategically) from these so called "leaks"!

Grab your pop corn, kick back, and enjoy the show!

(Disclaimer: Personal Opinion)

2010-11-17T12:08:00.003+03:00

THE "NEW" MICHAEL RANNEBERGER:- TRANSFORMATION OR PR?

Initially perceived by many Kenyans as a pompous arrogant snob (thanks to a Bush-ism worldview?), US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger has undergone a radical transformation since around 2009. I think the new Rannerberger is more down to earth and more in touch with Kenyans...

No longer dishing out imperialist rhetoric from "gods" of "western heaven", the new Ranneberger engages Kenyans on local/international issues in a constructive, respectful, non-condescending, - yet action oriented way. For once he is talking TO Kenyans rather than talking AT kenyans(UK/EU please take note)... and, for once (hehehe), Kenyans are actually listening to his words.

Is this guy human after all? Or is he just a skilled PR chameleon, merely carrying out orders from his CEO? Time will tell... The next US Presidential elections are not far off.

The US ban of Kenya's politically connected Drug Lords, for example, goes a long way in fueling the fight against impunity. I believe these drug lords were, for many years, well known within international law enforcement circles - but nothing could be done as it is "normal" (worldwide) for crooked politicians to fund CAMPAIGNS with dirty money. The thugs were also perceived as too powerful / well connected to confront - even for the "mighty world police" and "world democracy enforcers" like the US.

India (especially!), China, UK? (haha- right!), EU and other countries should follow suit with copycat bans since their countries are transit points/markets.

Next should be for US to lead western countries in a campaign to freeze assets linked to corruption / criminal activities in Kenya and Africa in general. That would be much better than political chest-thumping or non-effective sanctions against countries/individuals.

For now, I can only say so far so goood. Well done Ranneberger! Well done USA!

(Disclaimer: Personal Opinion)

2010-11-03T10:22:00.003+03:00

KENYA "TJRC": WHO IS FOOLING WHO?

Why are colonial settlers exempt from TRUTH and JUSTICE?

They stole our land and resources and they have not given it back. They displaced Africans from their ancestral homes whilst stirring up ethnic hatred (divide and rule tactics) - leading to friction between different communities and planting the seeds of corruption and ehnic violence. They killed, tortured and maimed HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS of Africans - trying to wipe them out in a manner similar to HITLER's NAZI regime. They systematically damaged the reputation of Africans all over the world (and continue to do so). They psychologically abused Africans leading to Psychological Trauma that would trasverse generations.

They destroyed most of the damning evidence of their crimes just before independence and covered up their Nazi-like artrocities by rewriting history in a manner that "absolves" them from any responsibility - painting Africans as primitive people who needed to be conquered/wiped out for their own good. Who controls the History of Kenya? Why does Kenya's history read like European history of African conquest written by Europeans FOR Europeans?

Even 47 years after independence, the Colonialists and their descendants continue to hoarde national resources. They are somehow exempt from the Kenyan law and Kenyan constitution. Their coprrupt / thieving activities (e.g. FORCEFULLY ACQUIRED land leases) are "recognized" as legitimate despite glaring evidence of INJUSTICE.

The colonial settler is the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. No one in power seems willing to confront this historical evil yet it is the ROOT CAUSE of poverty and political instability in post-colonial Africa. Kenyan leaders don't seem to have the courage to confront the root cause head-on (perhaps because of colonial trauma?). Mugabe tried and he was "dealt with" by global opinion shapers. To the West, "African Democracy" means let our colonial cousins continue to steal, plunder and commit crimes while you wallow in poverty. We shall give you AID and allow you to work for us as laborers in the farms we stole.

Britain refused to apologise and compensate Kenyans for colonial plunder and crimes against humanity - saying that the issue of compensation belongs to Kenya Government. It is only logical therefore that our Government extends TJRC mandate to cover pre-independence injustices!

We need to know how many people were displaced, murdered, tortured by the colonialists between 1900-1963. We need to know the cascading impact of colonial activities over time: how it condemned millions of Kenyan families and their descendants into poverty; how it planted seeds of ethnic hatred; how it set the stage for grand corruption, impunity and post-"independence" elitist rule.

I urge the Government of Kenya to widen the scope of TJRC mandate so that Kenyans can resolve the issue of "untouchable elephants". Burying our heads in the sand and pretending colonial activities ended after "independence" is not only stupid, it abuses the intelligence of Kenyan Citizens.

THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE!

(Personal Opinion)

2010-11-02T17:54:00.003+03:00

- ART OF IMPUNITY: STEPPING ASIDE vs RESIGNATION -

What is the meaning of "stepping aside"? Is this concept of "stepping aside" a new labor practice? Is it defined anywhere in Kenyan law that an employee can "voluntarily step aside without resigning" such that he/she continues to earn a salary without having to work for it?

How does an employee "step aside" if not through a suspension (forced by the employer) or resignation (voluntary)?

How does one continue to enjoy the salary and benefits associated with an office they have stepped "aside from" if not through CORRUPTION and IMPUNITY?

Isn't "stepping aside" the same as ABSCONDING from work?

Isn't "stepping aside" the same as WILFULLY NEGLECTING DUTIES?

I believe that the action of "stepping aside" by a public servant, without any formal resignation or suspension, is a breach of employment contract and provides sufficient grounds to the appointing authority to dismiss the employee.

Corruption includes cheeky methods of interpreting the "letter" of the law in order to circumvent it's spirit and purpose. Those "stepping aside" unprocedurary whilst expecting to enjoy a salary for NO SERVICES RENDERED are revealing the truth about their character and integrity.

The only way an employee can lawfully step aside is by either resigning or being suspended/fired as provided for in law. Anything else is corruption and KACC should look into this matter.

By appearing to condone such mischief for political gain, President Kibaki could be setting a trap for himself. Same case for Raila Odinga (through to a lesser extent as he is not the appointing authority!).

The Attorney General, once again, is silent on the matter and as such has reinforced, yet again that the perceptions that our current AG is the embodiment of impunity: more loyal to the ruling elites than to the people to whom the country truly belongs.

Corruption fights back. Are Kenyans so gullible as to be hoodwinked by this new charade? Patriotic Kenyans must reject mischievious forms of impunity.

(personal opinion)

2010-07-27T13:05:00.003+03:00

- AFRIKA MUST WIPE OUT AL-SHABAAB -

Al shabaab must not get away with what they did to Uganda.

Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan show the benefit of Numbers when it comes to anti-terror operations. From Sri-lanka, we learn the value of DECISIVE military action.

Terrorists can and will strike anywhere. It's a global society. Your country will sooner or later be attacked by these madmen. All African states must be aware of this fact and take measures. No one helps you until you help yourself. If Africa makes a serious move, the WORLD will support it.

Each state should contribute just 1000 of their most hardened and most elite commando troops. They should organize precision operations (hopefully with support from interested stakeholders like the USA) to disrupt and destroy the entire command, funding and logistical structure of these terrorists and to return stability and rule of law back to somalia.

The contributing countries will benefit from the experience their soldiers will gain in anti-terror operations and modern warfare. Technology (e.g. unmanned drones supported by ground intelligence and satellite surveillance etc can be used). Somali government agents can (if not already done so) be trained to infiltrate Al Shabaab and send back intel on the terrorists plans and movements.

I believe the best solution against Somalia's terrorists is precise pre-emptive strikes against the terror leadership PLUS restoration of the Somali government's control over the entire country.

Interested governments should consider hiring somali pirates into the SOMALI POLICE FORCE and ARMY to fight Al Shabaab and uphold rule of law. So far pirates have proved to be relatively sober in their dealings and they don't seem to have extremist agendas.

Just thinking loud.. what's your view?

2010-05-22T12:20:00.006+03:00

- POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT: HOW AFRICA IS CONNED BY THE WEST (PART1) -

Most discussions about "development" assume that the western definition of what "development" entails is the absolute and only yardstick for measuring human progress. But is it really?

Hmmmm.... The west has been known for psychological mischief since time immemorial. Could this be yet another pink evil that we take for granted in our day to day lives? Could it be that the world has been hoodwinked to believe that "western yardstick for development" is the sole and most accuraste yardstick for measuring "development" across the globe? Could this be another naughty extension of the "pink is white and white is best so pink is best" brainwash?

Hungry for facts, I set out on a quest to discover the truth.

The first thing I discovered is that I am not the first person to question the logic, accuracy, applicability and even the motives behind the current "development" yardstick. According to former South African President, the great and wise Thambo Mbeki:

“For some time Africa has been referred to as a "developing continent", and Britain and America as "developed countries." This is, of course, reducing the term "development" to a purely financial or economic meaning, a form of reductionism that implies that only the material things of life matter.

If Britain is a "developed" country, and Africa aspires to be like Britain, does this mean that Africa wishes to mimic Britain on issues like child abuse, divorce rates and treatment of the elderly?

The great arrogance of the West is exemplified and explicit in its reference to low-income countries as "less-developed countries." A much more satisfying terminology would be a reference to "low-income" countries and "high-income" countries", omitting a reference to development altogether."

Given Thambo Mbeki's support for the African Renaissance agenda, which aims at healing Africa from the evil virus of colonial brainwash and neo-colonial rape, it is not surpriising that neo-colonial imperialists quickly launched a global demonization campaign that ultimately lead to his political downfall - and(the real objective) the muzzlement of prominent African rennaisance leaders.

What the west doesn't want the world to know is that Africans see the concept of economy and development differently! In the west, it is about accumulating wealth (purely material driven). In Africa "development" is mostly about uplifting the community and improving community well being (social-values driven).

It is like comparing apples to tomatoes using the same yardstick simply because they are fruits – then, using the number of seeds as the sole yardstick, declaring the tomato a “more developed fruit” because it has more seeds.

What if the yardstick was Number of Calories? The Apple would win.

How about Vitamin A? The Tomato would win.

The outcome changes depending on the measurement criteria and/or methodology!

Thus the great pink con is revealed: The terms “developed countries” or “developing countries” are merely Eurocentric political terms. One party simply promotes yardstick that favors its own culture, much like the Tomato defining the yardstick as number of seeds.

If you use the Western "tomato style" economic measurement criteria, Africa appears to be the least developed continent. The politics behind it suggests that to attain "development" Africans must do as the west does (policies, infrastructure etc). By controlling the yardstick, the west mischievously positions itself as a global leader - reinforcing the "Pink is White and White is Best so Pink is Best" brainwash.

REALITY: From an African perspective, the African economy is the most advanced in the world because it goes beyond simple “accumulation arithmetics-ism” and gadget-ism, into genuinely and holistically uplifting the quality human lives.

Value systems such as Ethics / Morality / Kindness / Arts / Family values / Integrity and so on, while separate from the Economy in Eurocentric cultures, are very much integrated into African Economy.

Western economic ideas fail in Africa because CULTURE and VALUE SYSTEMS are different! We are unique and we must define our own measurement yardsticks to counter prejudicial, politically motivated bias that is inherent in foreign yardsticks.

Copyright 2010. Opinion.

2010-05-07T14:42:00.012+03:00

- PINK PEOPLE: WHO GAVE THEM THE AUTHORITY TO COLOR CODE HUMANS? -

Why do Africans (and people of African Origin) accept, be it actively or passively, to be labelled as BLACK - yet history proves that the label "black" was designed for an evil purpose and continues, to this very day, to serve an evil purpose in plain sight?

Leaders of African Union, why do we allow this? Fellow Africans, do we ever question the global implications and repercussions of being labelled as "Black"? What keeps us from asserting our right to dignity and respect on this planet? Why should we use evil yardsticks designed by other cultures to determine our value and/or completeness as human beings?

PINK PEOPLE
============
Why do pink people call themselves "white people" - yet it is clear and even scientifically proven that people of European descent are all of PINK complexion (Reddish when suntanned / sunburned) ?

There is NO human being on this planet who is truly white. Even Albinos are NOT 100% white. So why is the caucasian color-code mismatched with reality?

SELF CODING BIAS
================
Deeply ingrained in European culture is the strange notion that light-pink untanned skin is a reliable indicator of social status.

In early Europe, wealthy or high status individuals (the Elite, a.k.a. the "Bourgeois" ) considered manual labor to be beneath them. Such work was relegated to European peasants, typically illiterate farmers and laborers who had no assets of their own - thus had to work for the Burgeois in order to survive.

In those days, European peasants could be easily identified by their tanned/sunburned (reddish) skin - a result of over-exposure to the sun while working. Similarly, the absence of tan was perceived to be a sign of high status, wealth and/or nobility.

The European peasants were considered of inferior status, inferior genetic lineage and inferior intellect. They were condemned to poverty from birth till death and were heavily exploited / mistreated by the Bourgeois.

The use of color-coding for stratification on the basis of "RACE" gained prominence in the early days of slavery... The opposite of Black is white. Europeans had to find a way to position themselves as a distinct "race", more human than the slaves and, thus, to justify the inhumane treatment of slaves, and later on, crimes against "natives" of invaded colonies. Thus the evil concept of color coded "races" was born.

For centuries, under their own self imposed unilateral "authority", Europeans have used all manner of means at their disposal, to promote and perfect the idea of a color-based social stratification of human beings - mischieviously designed, of course, to place Europeans at the top of the global food chain.

Now, let us examine a few western "racial codes" that we take for granted in our day-to-day lives.

THE "RACIAL" CODES:
===============
1. Africans = BLACK
What about people of mixed ethnicity? (Weeeell, mixed children of African & European parents are to be labelled as black because Black+White = Black. Laws of Physics...).

2. Pink People of European descent = WHITE
(Yeah, that's right! There are many different shades of white... light-white, dark-white - oops! no! no! there's no dark white! ...erm.. umm... pink-white, orange-white.. etc.. true science... Darwin said so.. so don't call us pink - it's racist... because we say so... Next!)

3. Suntanned Pink people of European Descent (Reddish skin) = WHITE
(Hehehe... Shut up. Next!)

4. Pink people of Jewish descent = JEWS
(Sorry "white" is already taken. Finders keepers. If you want "pink", up to you but we call you Jews until you decide. capische? Anyway old famous jews in the Bible - like Jesus - can be white... Happy? See? we like you... Next!)

5. Albinos (who are the ultimate in "Whiteness") = ALBINO
(and..ahem... they are not white because.. cough!... WHITE IS PINK. anyway albinoism is a genetic malfunction.... and no, pink is not. so shut up. Neeeeeeeext!)

6. People of Asian descent = YELLOW
(Why yellow yet the Japanese have lighter skin pigment than Europeans? GRRRR they are yellow because they are Asian. All asians are yellow. Stop asking stupid questions.. Next!)

7. Indigenous Americans = RED
(They are not Americans - they are.. cough!... American Indians. No we are not European Americans we are just Americans. Did someone say bullshit? Look... am talking here... We don't know what Indians were doing in America. Yeah I know we found them here but they were probably explorers who got lost just like Colombus. America is not easy to find you know... Or maybe they migrated from India or Africa... thats why the land is not theirs - they migrated... see? just like everyone else we colonized..... hehehe... What?... Next!).

4. Dark skinned Indians = BROWN
Hey, but many indians are darker than Africans? (.. what? ..damnit... erm... umm... look, they all have straight hair so they cannot be BLACK because their hair is between European and African. European is WHITE, African is BLACK therefore anything inbetween is BROWN ok? next question? And dont ask me about GREY!)

etc.. etc.. etc...

Obviously there were, and still are, many military and economic benefits of color-based stratification of human beings - provided you are associated with the favored "color code" of the dominant culture.

Being warlike in nature, Europeans sought global dominance and had little ethical or moral scruples when it came to non-europeans (this is true even to this day). Thus a double-pronged strategy was adopted by the community.. the objective: Physical & Mental Dominance of all non-European communities on Earth.

Let us examine the "innocent day-to-day meanings" and resultant subliminal association of the two dominant color codes within European language and culture:

SUBLIMINAL ASSOCIATION: COLOR WHITE
====================================
Here are a few Words associated with color "white" in Western and European-Influenced cultures:

1. White List (Official list of nice people / acceptable things)
2. Perfection (fugurative). Purity of body, mind, heart and soul.
3. Bright Light / Cheerfulness
4. Cleanliness
5. Chastity (e.g. Wedding dress symbol)
6. Goodness / Godliness / Angels of heaven
7. Gates of Heaven... always portrayed as white flashes of lights
8. Heaven.. Europeans believe angels in heaven wear white, have white wings and light skin tone with just a hint of pink...

This is taught to ALL PINK PEOPLE FROM BIRTH TILL DEATH: "color white is the color of all good things and you are white so you are better than everyone else". Positive brainwash.. and it works! Westerners are constantly seeking to demonstrate their superiority to the world (e.g. Anglo European "Experts" are the best Experts - hence should be better paid... etc).

The concept is also exported to other cultures though neo-colonialism which promotes western dominance. If color "white" represents perfection, then our brains will automatically and unconsciously infer that people labelled as "white" are perfect and at the top of the human "race". The logic suggests that by looking white humans become better humans. Hence popularity of whitening cream and fake anglo-like hair in some communities.

If you just take a moment to observe people/cultures/speech/mannerisms, will see covert racism reinforced overwhelmingly in everyday speech, books, music movies etc.

SUBLIMINAL ASSOCIATION: COLOR BLACK
====================================
OK. How about Words typically associated with color black in WESTERN and WESTERNIZED CULTURES:

1. Black List (Official list of bad people / banned things)
2. Black is associated with Death / Funeral
3. Evil (evil spirits portrayed as dark... in coversations.. "he hatched a dark, evil plot"...)
4. Illegal Activities (e.g. CIA Black Ops)
5. Gross Lies/Deception (Black Propaganda)
6. Witches (European witches are depicted wearing black)
7. Dirty / Poor / Tainted / Corrupt
8. Doom / Gloom.. Satan.. People in hell wear black and have dark skin tones...

Similarly, this negative association is repeated over and over again,FROM BIRTH till DEATH, TO ALL PINK PEOPLE and people whose culture has been WESTERNIZED. The negative connotation of "Black" is vigorously circulated using various "channels" to westernized communities over the world.

If color black represents evil and imperfection, then human brains will automatically and unconsciously infer that people labelled as "black" are evil, defective and at the bottom of the human race. The coding logic suggests that, those categorized as "black" are "lesser" humans compared to those categorized as white. Negative brainwash. Sadly, some Africans believe it. This prevents many Africans from seeking greatness - creating a vicious cycle that reinforces the prejudices.

MODERN RACISTS USE PSYCHOLOGICAL DECEPTION
=====================================
Racism has evolved. While most people are distracted by historical forms of racism, a new modern form continues to thrive. Oldschool racists used guns and violence. The modern racist uses psychological deception.

Modern racists do not spit at you. They hug you instead. They don't snarl at you. They smile at you instead. They don't abuse you. They talk sweetly instead. COVERT RACISM. It is cheaper and easier to exploit willing slaves (aka peasants) than rebellious ones.

Covert Racism aims at establishing global "worker-class" structures which depend on Western Powers for "foreign investment" in exchange for cheap labor and cheap raw material. Thus the poor remain poor because the ECONOMIC SYSTEM is DESIGNED to keep them poor.

Looking at the big-picture, it becomes clear that Racism is merely a TINY part of a much bigger system. A system whose core principle is social stratification for economic exploitation: CAPITALISM.

Now you know the real reason why the west is pissed off at CHINA. :-)

Millions of people in Africa have suffered or died because of manufactured poverty. When applied on a global scale, CAPITALISM becomes a terrible bloodthirsty exploitative monster. They tell you people are dying because of hunger, disease, war, instability... corruption... pollution... they even give you AID Money and create NGOs to "help" you(..."because we Europeans are kind people and we love you so much".) Right.

I ask you dear Africans, when all is said and done... Who ends up richer? Who end up poorer? Why does the gap remain? Do the math.

RACISM IS EMBEDDED IN WESTERN SYSTEMS - BY DESIGN
================================================
Most European and Western style systems (Laws, Goverments / Education / Social Services / Police / Corporations etc) were designed to perform optimally when overt racism was at its peak. Combine such systems with psychological conditioning of Pink People plus a change of tactics by the Bourgeois (as described above) and you have the perfect recipe for modern institutionalized racism.

To this day, Pink people continue to make signicant efforts to export racism globally using the Internet, News Media (yes, the biased coverage is not accidental), Movies (pink guy saves the world), Books (especially children's books), religion (European "Jesus"/Missionaries), Economy (Capitalism, mega corporations, IMF/World bank), Politics (Western proxy wars in Africa - possibly even genocides) and so on... etc. etc.

Racism continues to thrive because we allow it to continue. Poverty engulfs us because we allow ourselves to be the modern Peasant working class exploited for cheap labor and resources by wealthy nations. Racism has taught us the ultimate lesson in mediocrity: AIM LOW.

TIME FOR AFRICA TO CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO
===================================
We are living in a global society.

It is unfair, unjust and immoral for one culture to systematically and unilaterally categorize all other cultures on earth in a derogatory manner.

We need a GLOBAL CONSENSUS ON COLOR CODING OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS. African Union, Brazil, India, China must raise this issue at the UN as a matter of outmost importance. We must challenge and confront ideas that perpetuate unbalanced privileges and advantages to only one community.

How can one community monopolize the definition of stereotypical associations applicable to ALL the world's races? Just because it happened many years ago doesn't mean that the "race" matter cannot be revisited and errors corrected in modern times. Surely, recognizing and fixing historical blunders would be a solid proof of progress in human civilization - wouldn't it?

From now henceforth, ALL Afrians, Indians, Asians, Arabs and any other non-caucasians must REJECT the notion of "White people" or "White Race" simply because it is incorrect, baseless, preposterous and blatantly unscientific. Europeans are pink people. Pink People are PINK in color.

Non-caucasians must make all effort to correctly color-code all people of European descent / Caucasians as PINK. This must happen daily, in conversations, in literature, in the news, in debates, in schoolbooks, in movies etc... whenever racial classification is to be made.

In the meantime, Afrians must disassociate themseleves with the color "BLACK". We must refuse to be color coded by foreign strangers. We must be alert for psychological deception and vigorously object to it - especially if it happens in our motherland Africa. We must expose and reject evil western cultural practices.

The African Union can determine what color code we shall use to code ourselves internally within Africa (and whether to use a color code at all because color coding is European culture). We must also come up with a coding classification for all other human beings, in a manner that serves our own long term interests.

The African view of the classification of human beings and other aspects of science must be taught in schools as the REAL TRUTH and the European view must be ridiculed and totally discredited as evil propaganda - which is true anyway.

If the europeans decide not to drop the "BLACK" color-coding of Africans or if they choose to label us with another "type" that still has negative connotations, we should do the same to THE COLOR PINK (e.g. pigs are pink and pigs are the most filthy creatures on earth. Pink is also closely associated with homosexuality.. etc etc). We can also devise other stereotypes using their methods in order to fully balance the equation. The chinese did this very well - calling europeans "Foreign Devils" and rejecting the color codes. Now Europeans respect them more and more - bacause they saw through the "white brainwash" and resisted it.

Taking charge of our own identity and our image to the world will ensure that our children grow up with a strong sense of dignity and patriotism. Humility is no longer a virtue. Europeans see humility as a WEAKNESS to be DOMINATED and EXPLOITED. If you are humble or meek, they will try to exploit you somehow. Thus we must strive always to be one step ahead of these evil cultures. We must master the global mind game, define our own rules and play like the pros.

You can't ask someone to stop being racist. The idea itself is racist as it means you have to adopt the victim/subservient role first in order to make such a request to a purportedly benevolent agressor. That is why we must address the issue of racism using OUR OWN RULES AND OUR OWN TERMS.

Modern Racism is a mind game and must be countered using the very same PSYCHOLOGICAL techniques that perpetuate it. Africans are dominant in Africa. We can put in place a similar bias towards indigenous Africans in our systems, norms and practices - just as the west does towards Anglo-Europeans where they are dominant.

We can popularise our views using political and media machinery and all manner of politically-correct justifications. We can position our "end all forms of racism" agenda as the one with higher moral, political and intellectual ground, by focusing on STRATEGIC but NON-VIOLENT POLITICS to bring about change.

Other tactics include inter-marriage with pink people (especially the ones who have attained high social status within the pink community itself) in order to make the "pink supremacy" cause irrelevant (plus, inter-marriage increases the likelihood that covert prejudices will be questioned in the pink family network because a relative is involved).

Dear Pink people, call me a racist if you like. As long as you teach your children to classify me as "black", and then associate black with dirt, evil and everything bad, then the question of who is truly the racist - the agressor or the defender - will always beg an answer.

Copyright 2010. Personal opinion based on observations, research and experiences to date...

2010-05-01T14:05:00.014+03:00

- HERE'S A WIN/WIN STRATEGY FOR KENYAN CHURCH LEADERS -

Dear Church leaders, I would like to help you formulate a strategy that results in win/win for all Kenyans. You will be able to resolve the pre-referendum consensus deadlock (by eliminating the need for it) - while significantly increasing the likelihood of achieving your primary objectives.

========================
Benefits of the proposed strategy:
========================
1. Having a strategy formulated around your CORE objectives will reduce the risk of your resources running out or confusing the public on what you really want to achieve.

2. Enemies of Kenya will not be able to use the Church's stand to spread hate speech via pretext that it is from the church. You will outsmart the hatemongers.

3. Church will have demonstrated nationalistic leadership. Creating new options that build /enhance relationships. This will be a blow to the "win at all costs" mindset of some selfish and backward Kenyans.

4. Church will be seen as more progressive and well aligned to wishes of the Kenya citizens and the state.

5. Continued harmony between Christians and Muslims. Going for Win/Win - instead of Win/Lose or Lose / Lose.

==========================
Here are the suggested steps:
==========================
1. First review your objectives. What do you want to achieve? Please it is important to be very clear and specific. Examples:

a. Guaranteed right to life in Bill of Rights?

b. Removal of Khadhi courts clause? OR alternatively, Making the clause generic to provide for state funded, equal status, religious institutions?

c. Re-wording of the abortion clause to your satisfaction. You need to state your specific intent (what do you want exactly?) so that legal practitioners can draft appropriately.

2. Of the objectives above, which is MOST important? You should limit your objectives to only KEY ones.This calls for honest, unemotional and realistic analysis.

You want to commit adequate resources on your most important objectives. You want to have clear focus in order to minimize likelihood of diluting efforts or diluting the message to Kenyans. For example:

a. Guaranteeing right to life. This goal is achievable and, in my view, a worthy goal.

I take it you want to abolish death penalty and constitutionally ban extrajudicial police killings of unarmed suspects together with innocent bystanders?

I assume also that you want all murder cases to be above AG's powers to issue a "Nulle Prosequi" so that Justice is served uniformly irrespective of social status or race - e.g. Cholmondeley's first murder case, that was terminated by AG.. The Nulle Prosequi verdict, which many Kenyans regard as RACIST, resulted in a second killing. The AG set a killer loose and someone died because of it. If Cholmondeley had been in prison, his second victim would have been alive to this date.

b. Kadhi Courts: I take it you want an amicable resolution to this matter that does not needlessly antagonize our Muslim brothers/sisters.

Thus I propose, Instead of removing Kadhi courts (Win/Lose approach), consider amendments that introduce a more generalized wording of the clause such that it allows for state funded religious administrative institutions (not necessarily courts... whether muslims / christians or hindi etc). All the institutions shall have equal funding and status irrespective of their role/function.

The fact is, removing Kadhi courts from the constitution would be very difficult because Muslims can also easily muster their 1 million signatures to block such a move - Resulting in a deadlock that polarizes the country (Lose / Lose scenario). Furthermore Kenyan Christians have never had any issue with Kadhi courts over the last fourty years thus a lose/lose proposal will antagonize the flock causing divisions within the church itself.

Polarization will plant the seeds of fundamentalism/extremism and this will give enemies of Kenya a chance to destabilize the country violently.

Citizens don't benefit from instability. The innocent and vulnerable are hurt the most. Look at Somalia. The world simply gave up on them. Look at Israel and Palestine. Revenge/counter-revenge cycles... Same situation in Nigeria... Years of tensions and division... Will it ever end? How? When? Do we want something like that in Kenya? This is what your educated flock is concerned about. Only foreign enemies of Kenya will win if there is a Lose/Lose scenario.

When we take an honest look at the bigger scheme of things, the issue of whether or not to have Kadhi courts in the constitution becomes rather insignificant. What vision do we have for KENYA as a NATION? For EAST AFRICA (what if tensions spread to Tanzania for example)?

Shall our Church leaders be remembered as builders or destroyers? Patriots or self-serving tyrants? Please pray for God's wisdom when making your ultimate choice. Remember the essense of christianity LOVE. God is LOVE. Love thy Neighbor. Love God. Love your (real or perceived) enemies.

c. Abortion: I am not pro-abortion. But please let us be practical and 100% candid about this.

You know that no matter what happens to the constitution, abortions will continue ILLEGALLY. You also know that illegal abortions pose a very high risk of death to pregnant girls - typically desperate and scared little teenage girls who made mistakes and who falsely believe that their life is completely ruined because of pregnancy.

Illegal abortions have many other risks (e.g. HIV infection, destroying the girl's reproduction system.. i.e. barreness etc). Do we just want to make a point - or do we want to protect these young scared, innocent school-girls whose only "crime" is being born in a westernized society that constantly bombards them with immorality and "sex is good for you" messages?

So I ask you candidly... what do you realistically expect to achieve? Perhaps a better solution, in line with your current efforts or perspective of the law, would be a clause in the constitution to criminalize sex before marriage (i.e. address the root cause of abortion)? How about laws that separate unmarried males from unmarried females (with exception of blood relatives only)? Any male person seen alone with a woman who is not his wife can be arrested and fined (or caned if he can't pay). The parents/guardians of the unmarried couples would also be given a warning by the Government - and fined (or caned also) in case of multiple instances involving their children/wards. You can have a specially trained Morality Police to monitor society and enforce such laws. Government can censor all media and internet content to ensure conformance with morality laws. Then society will thus be more careful and there will be no more abortion problems... Your objective will have been achieved!

The challenge with such an approach though, is that it is can be easily abused by the ruling class to suppress freedom of expression, freedom of movement, gender equality and freedom of association... creating repressive regimes and/or dictatorships. Additionally, the concept of "acceptable moral threshold for behavior, words, visual images and manner of dressing" keeps changing with each generation - thus the church would have to decide which period to base its morality laws on - BC or AD? Which year? Why? ...and which culture to use as benchmark (Jewish or European or African or a mix? Why?) and whether the selected culture represents a spiritual viewpoint(God's Laws) or a human viewpoint (Man's Laws)... and how do you determine conclusively?.

Alternatively, if you prefer a "free", secular society, consider teaching the community that pregnancy out of wedlock is NOT the end of the world. Continue preaching abstinence before marriage but also encourage use of condoms for those who are not able to abstain. Make it safe for pregnant girls to keep their babies! Lobby for specialized health care laws for such vulnerable cases. Teach parents that they should not abandon or abuse their pregant girls (I think such backward behavior from parents should be criminalized). Boys who make girls pregnant can be supported and mentored on how to be good and resposnible fathers. They should not be pressured to drop out of school in order to start a family. Give them time to develop and mature - mentally.

Pregnant girls should not drop out of school! Church should lobby for alternate arrangements to be guaranteed in legal statutes - with adequate govenrment funding. The girls should simply continue in a special goverment funded institutions together with other girls with similar circumstances. In addition to preparing them for success in life, they can also be taught about responsible motherhood and childcare there. Many girls abort because of fear and trauma caused by SOCIAL STIGMATIZATION of premarital or teen pregnancy.

Church leaders, if you remove the STIGMA associated with pregnancy out of wedlock, and provide for state-guaranteed temporary support of the mother and child e.g. via Gov financed child-care assistance facilities / institutions, the problem of abortion will be significantly reduced - if not totally eliminated!

Abortion is an imported cultural problem. Due to colonial brainwash, Africans indiscriminately assimilated many backward cultural beliefs and practices from Europe- naively believing that everything western is modern or better. Furthermore missionaries did not distinguish between European Culture and bibilical practices - preferring instead, to mix the two. Whether this was done intentionally or not is debatable, but the fact remains that missionaries became an effective political tool used for transferring European culture to colonized societies. Check your history, indigenous Africans never had the problem of abortions.

Medical reasons: Married people very rarely want to have an abortion. Kids are the fruits of Marriage and blessings from God. Thus Married people who abort are FORCED by emergency circumstances where the mother is in mortal danger. Remember God's will can be manifested in many ways - sometimes in the form of choices which we must make. Thus the concept of Free will... Example:

- When you fall ill, would you be affecting God's will by taking medicine? Maybe the illness was punishment for your sins - thus you would be sinning by "escaping God's will"?

- Should we build dams / irrigate farms to combat drought or will we be interfering with God's ability to punish us with Drought?

- Is the world round or flat? Is Earth the centre of all universe?

Beloved Church leaders, where do we draw the line between reason, faith and madness?

Church leaders, when devising a trategy on this issue, your focus must be on how to smartly overcome obstacles in order to achieve your core objectives. Thus my proposal below...

=======================
Referendum strategy:
=======================
To increase your chances of achieving the core objectives, consider making a tactical fallback.

How? Instead of wasting resources campaigning for "NO" votes, use those same resources to campaign for "YES + signatures". Collect the one Million signatures NOW for the changes you want to make after the referendum.

In parallel, consult with your legal advisors on how to word the changes you propose.

As soon as the new constitution is promulgated, present your change petition and one Million signatures.

Will a tactical shift in position compromise Church leader's credibility? No. It wont. Because you will communiate openly to the citizens that you are doing it for the sake of 95% benefits that you don't want them to lose (which is true).

You will say that you still disagree with the contetious clauses - hence your two-phase approach: "YES + Signature". This makes perfect sense. Kenyan Christians will be relieved that you did not ask them to choose between religion and progress.

Other Gains:
Church should go ahead and capitalize on the publicity garnered so far. Keep Canon. Karanja in the media spotlight; form a political party based on Christian Ideology (nothing wrong with it) and field Mr. Karanja (plus any other politically inclined representatives) for candidature in 2012. This will give you numbers in Parliarment - helping you push future church-based agendas.

==============================
To conclude, how about a reality check?
==============================
The proposed constitution will, in actual fact - as I see it, be easier to change transparently than the current one because it empowers the people to bypass politicians.

Keep in mind, if the NO vote wins, you shall still have to convince politicians and other stakeholders e.g. Muslimsto make changes. Remember, politicians need votes in 2012.

Furthermore, if NO carries the day, your change proposals shall be diluted by a flood of hundreds of other change proposals. The 95% benefits, that kenyans hunger for, shall be be at risk of mutilation by corrupt elites. The subsequent endless debates will further decrease the likelihood of even having a new constitution.

If the NO vote wins, 2012 will find us polarized again and without credible institutions, and we will wonder what went wrong... how come we never learned from 2007/8?

Church leaders, by campaigning for "NO" votes, you set yourself up for failure and you also fail your congegation by denying them the 95% benefits they would have had.

Copyright 2010. Opinion... The Media is free to print/distribute this specific article - provided you give credit to Maishinski and include the url http://maishinski.blogspot.com.

2010-04-28T20:07:00.005+03:00

- WE NEED A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS -

The participation of International Observers in Elections and Referrendums is important and essential for credibility within a global political arena.

However, it would be naive to belive that independent observers are 100% impartial and that they can be trusted to do their job professionally, competently and truthfully. Thus it is imperative to define, well in advance, the internationally acceptable methods and framework within which International observers will play their role.

First we need an umbrella organization for international observers: "Global Organization for Promotion of Democracy (GOPD)". Such an organization would be have representatives from global political organizations such as AU, EU, UN, BRIC etc. The organization would be the sole source of credible, unbiased information on the state of democratization at global and national levels.

Second the organization must define "international standards" for elections and referenda - with consensus from member states. The standards must be specific, measurable, achievable and realistic. They must be published so that everyone is aware of their country's obligations in meeting such standards - especially Election organizers. The organization can publish guidelines to help election bodies to prepare for elections in a manner that increases the likelihood conformance with the international standards. Such guidelines would need to take into account unique factors faced by each region and even each country. Thus the role would be of mentorship (proactive) instead of "watchdog" (reactive).

Third: Having set the ideal target, the next thing would be to have Benchmarking data to give an objective assessment of the democratization of world nations.

In order to factor in culture and relative conditions, there also needs to be sub-benchmarks e.g. regional benchmarking, continental benchmarking, GDP/Poverty linked benchmarking and overall global benchmarking. The observers report would then give a weighted score in each of the areas before arriving at an overall comparative assessment.

Benchmarking data is critical to validate such ideal standards against reality and to help set realistic expectations. Comparing elections against benchmark data in a transparent manner will greatly contribute to reduction of political suspicion and related violence / intimidation / instability during elections.

Fourthly, we need to have a clear Communication Protocol for election/referendum observers - to avoid triggering or fueling chaos. All communication must be grounded on verifiable FACTS.

Even then, communications from obervers should be well timed and cognizant of political temperatures and circumstances on the ground so that their communication is delivered in a responsible manner.

Hence the needs for an umbrella body that acts as a single credible source of information representing consensus from global international obervers . Sensational "rooftop announcements" should be frowned upon as a sign of incompetence / irresponsibility.

I believe that ill-timed utterances by irresponsible or incompetent election observers have been at least partially responsible for many unnecessary deaths and large-scale suffering resulting from massive human displacement. It is rare to see long-term stability emerging from mass action / violent / unconstitutional takeovers - hence such should be discouraged - even if it means giving a temporary air of legitimacy to an illegitimate regime. The point can in many instances be made using non-violent ways.

If human beings are truly evolving into better beings, then we need to see BRAIN WORK taking more prominence in global politics instead of glorified savagery.

Finally we need to have internationally agreed measures in place to reduce the possibility of deliberate ill motives from external observers. The fact is, international observers represent other goverments. These goverments may be our economic/political competitors or enemies (or just global power brokers) and may not have our best interests at heart.

History has shown that the words "...did not meet international standards.." have become a modern political weapon used by influential nations that find it beneficial (economically/politically) to stir up instability and/or create a smokescreen to help effect a regime change by any means necessary.

Case in point: have you noticed that whenever EU gets involved as observers in a non-western country, failure or chaos is almost guaranteed? Look at the history... not to mention that European countries are well known for imperialist / global-domination mindsets.... At some point, disturbing patterns such as these will need to be evaluated for possible causative factors... Many wars in Africa have been western proxy wars... As Africans, we need to always ask ouselves: what is the bigger picture behind all these events?

Each international observer must individually sign a personal declaration agreeing to work competently within the international code of conduct for observers, and within the frameweork and protocol of the international umbrella body (GOPD).

Copyright 2010. Opinion...

2010-04-23T18:58:00.009+03:00

- MIGHTY WHITEY STRIKES AGAIN: COVERT RACISM IN ACTION -

The river gates have opened and money is flowing in torrents from "the west" again. Yeeeeey! Celebration! The helpless Africans have been rescued, yet again, by their beloved super hero... none other than Captain Mighty Whitey himself... Supreme educator of Africans on constitutional matters, expert builder of all roads in Africa, the moon, Space and beyond; designer of global democracy and sole writer of international standards applicable to others.

Mighty Whitey is so mighty, it is widely rumoured, that even God himself chose to have his only beloved son in Mighy whitey's own image. Some suspect that Mughty whitey is behind such blasphemous rumours but no one dares speak lest we unleash the wrath of the heavens on ourselves!

Hail Mighty whitey! Hail! Hail! Long Live mighty whitey!

So...hehehe... Britain (yes! Britain) wants to educate Kenyans about the new constitution.... Is it just me or does anyone see the irony here?

This is none other than the same Britain that deviously engineered Pre and Post Independence Governance Systems to guarantee the continuity of the Elite/Peasant structures that virtually condemned generations of indigenous Africans to decades of economic bondage, poverty, suffering and loss of dignity within the global arena...

The same Britain that set the stage for grand corruption by coercing our transitional Gov of Kenya to buy back it's own stolen land (with interest) as part of the conditions for independence?

I think it would be an understatement to term Britain's actions as the epitome of utterly presumtious audacity of an uprecedented scale.

So... hehehe... The west has money to fund neo-colonialist activities and covert racism but no money to compensate the victims of Britain's colonial crimes against humanity?

In my view, their attempt to get involved in Kenya's constitution is not only ridiculous but an insult to all Africans and should be treated with the contempt and disdain it so rightly deserves.

Look at the news wording over the last few weeks... the EU/US is "assisting" / "helping" (why not partnering? or working with?); Country so and so is *giving* loans (why not disbursing?... West unleashes a package of "goodies" ... goodies???? these "goodies" attract a premium - heloooo! etc...

At the core of it all the is the positioning of the west as benevolent givers of charity to Africa even though the loan will be repayed with interest!); Funders of education / infrastructure builders when in reality all the west did was finance a TINY FRACTION of it without being asked - making sure the money of course went to their citizens pockets or to put it more candidly "technical assistance con jobs"); ...

Read the news and ask yourself...

1. What is the pattern? What is the unspoken message to the world about Africans?

Who is playing the the master/boss role? Who is playing the servant/subordinate role? Who is playing the Richman/Beggarman role? And we wonder why the image of Africa has for so long been in Shambles?

2. When a project succeeds, the west will shout to the world that the project succeeded because it was a western project - Africans cannot accomplish anything by themselves... if the project fails they will shout that it failed despite western involvement (i.e. Africans cannot accomplish anything). So we must ask ourselves what is the true price we are paying for this "assistancé"?

3. Could it be that the "assistance" is a smokescreen to enable the west to bring in dangerous saboteurs to secretly coordinate illegal activities within the country in a deniable manner under a cover of legitimacy? This one is highly speculative but such things can and do happen in global politics...

Hence if Kenya Goverment chooses to accept western cash, it would probably be safer for Kenya to take it as a purely financing deal - and to insert a "NO MEDDLING" clause in the agreement- and to reserve the rights to source GOODS AND EXPERTISE from elsewhere - e.g. CHINA.

African Embassies and diplomats in western countries must start getting more involved in domestic issues of their host countries. We must also start "assisting" them in all manner of ways to solve their problems. If it works, take the credit LOUDLY. If it doesn't, distance yourself from it quickly and LOUDLY. Diplomats must be very vocal to the western media, feeding them "juicy stories" or theoretical "solutions" to their problems and exaggerating if necessary to get sensation or media attention.

It is dissapointing that Africans / African Media did not loudly criticize Europe for the incompetent and disastrous handling of the volcanoo ash crisis. What if the ash was in Africa? ... and what about the waste dumping scandals - what is being done about that?

Africa, with the help of its media network (and possibly partnering with non-western media), must also play the "patronize them" game at each and every opportunity. In strategy, if you are always in defense, merely responding reactively to your competitor's moves, then you have given your competitors incredible power to control your moves. Africa should be more involved in shaping and influencing global politics - not merely participating.

The world knows that the west is now officially poor , that their so called "wealth" was an illusion founded on exploitation and lies... and they could now better use their "aid" money to help their own failing industries and increasingly jobless citizens; to fight corruption in their own countries and to deal with organized criminal gangs operating with impunity in their countries (e.g. the Mafia gangs that allegedly dump nuclear waste in the sea)...

It is a shame that the western nations have abandoned their own needy citizens in a "dying horse attempt" to rescue their crumbling neo-colonial/racist influence over the fate of developing nations.

Copyright 2010. Opinion...

2010-04-17T22:46:00.004+03:00

KENYA CONSTITUTION:- WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

Kenya is a democracy. Our church leaders are entitled to free and safe expression their personal opinions. They have a right to be heard and for their points to be debated.

By virtue of their role in the community, religious leaders enjoy a special kind of influencing power over their "flock" in the community. If this power is left unchecked by the voice of reason, there will definitely be temptation to pursue unholy agendas. Human beings are flawed and Church leaders are human. History bears me witness.

The main issue of concern for many kenyans is not really the church's position - but the manner in which the church leaders have chosen to exercise their democratic rights:

1. They have taken a hardline radical position. Going for the extreme when less confrontational and viable options for instilling change are available. This puts their followers in a difficult position. In other words... religious blackmail.

2. They are using fear, exaggeration and blatant lies to argue their position. This is very sad and dissapointing. It casts serious doubts, not only on their credibility as religious leaders, but also on the validity and sincerity of their case.

3. They have chosen a one-sided view of the document focusing on less than 5% and only the perceived negatives.Why not teach Wananchi about both the pro's and cons honestly and objectively? Is the value of the entire document nullified by the perceived flaws?

4. They have shown a serious defficiency in foresight. Suppose the people vote "No". Then what? Suppose the Muslims then take hardline positions. Then what? What is the strategy that will ensure that the interests of the weak and vulnerable Kenyans are addressed in a peaceful non-divisive manner? What is their plan for the 95% of benefits that Kenyans lose if status quo is maintained?

5. Seems like they have not learned anything from 2008 PEV. They are busy dividing the nation on religious grounds. Do we want to be like Nigeria? Who will put out that fire once it starts burning? The irresponsibility and short-sightedness shown by the church leaders is appaling.

6. Strange that Politicians are preaching peace and tolerance while the church is (again) preaching hate and division.

So who is fooling who? Here is the test: What would Jesus do?

1. Jesus understood the law and followed it.
2. Jesus never exaggerated things to get his point accross. He stuck to the truth.
3. Jesus preached love and not hate.
4. Jesus said turn the other cheek. He never took an extremist position even when being persecuted.
5. Jesus won his arguments by being factual, sincere, truthful and logical.
6. He quoted the law and quoted the scriptures in context.
7. He had a balanced viewpoint. He won followers through LOVE not fear or hate.

Jesus summarized his teaching as follows:

1. Love God with all your heard, with all your mind and with all your soul.
2. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Kenyans have waited too long for this constitution. Kenyans have waited too long for JUSTICE. This is the moment for change.

Please read the document, know the facts, research the truth and decide on your own.

Copyright 2010. Opinion...

2010-04-14T21:25:00.013+03:00

- KENYAN CHURCHES: UNPATRIOTIC HYPOCRITES? -

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their deeds..."
- Jesus.(Mathew 7:15-20)

Are Kenyan Preachers genuine in their call for a "NO" vote?

I leave it to you to decide.. but my case against them is as follows:

1. Credibility:
What a show of unity by our church leaders! Isn't it amazing? But wait a minute... this deep and loud advocacy for the sanctity of human life from the church...where was it in early 2008? where was the church during the 2008 PEV when Kenya needed them most? Even the church leaders themselves admitted that they took sides, fanned hate speech and supported marauding criminals.

2. Deception & Vested Interests:
Here's the truth as I see it: The "No" campaign is NOT about Kadhi courts or abortion. The Church has never made any attempts to change these things. Plus they can easily get 1 million signatures if there was really something in the document that is repugnant to the public interest.

It seems perhaps that the real hidden objective behind the "NO" campaign is to block the entire document by hook or crook for the sake of vested interests in LAND OWNERSHIP.

Think about it...

a. Some Kenyan Church organizations are allegedly linked to the rich colonial settler communities who stole large tracts of the most productive African land in Kenya. These powerful foreign settlers are against the proposed constitutionand have been intensely lobbying for status quo. Colonial settlers were the primary source and promoters of corruption, tribalism, racism, neocolonialism and instability in Kenya.

Who owns over 75% of Kenya's most productive Land? Kenya was given "independence" on condition that foreign settlers are protected and retain massive tracts of stolen land. Settler owned Agricultural Companies were formed to hoodwink Kenyans that individual settlers no longer control resources.

Whenever I see a poor or starving Kenyan I think of the colonial settlers with millions of stolen Acres of my ancestor's land. For how long shall we keep quiet and let our people suffer and die in poverty, exploitation and shattered dignity, while shameless thieves enjoy a priviledged lifestyle in our midst?

History suggests that colonial settlers have their own parallel laws... e.g. isn't it true that a colonial settler can even murder an African and get away with it - not once, but multiple times?

Independence my foot! The systems put in place ensured that we remained colonized. It's just that the colonial governors are now Africans.

My dear Kenyans, this new constitution is the only DECENT chance Kenyans have at gaining real independence. Other than that, we probably need leaders who are as brave as Mugabe to confront Britain's historical injustices head on.

Colonial settlers must be asked to prove that they (or their forefathers)acquired "their land" fairly, legally, without any trickery or deception. All pre-independence land ownership by foreign settlers must be examined for compliance with traditional African laws and customs applicable to land transfer and land ownership matters at the time.

Colonial settlers must prove that the original indigenous African owners were fully compensated in a fair, willing buyer/willing seller transaction within the context of proper jurisdiction.

Colonial settlers who cannot prove genuine ownership must be ordered, lawfully, to relinquish the stolen land to the Goverment and refund all the profits obtained from the land as damages for denying rightful indigenous African owners the chance to benefit from the land and for the resultant poverty and suffering. They should also apologise publicly to all indigenous Kenyans and to the world for their colonial crimes and post-independence deception.

Britain was clear that colonial injustices are now Kenyá goverment's problem to fix - hence the refusal to compensate Mau Mau heroes and other indigenous communities oppressed by colonialism. The ball is thus on Kenya Goverment to end the indirect post-colonial oppression and to give long-overdue Justice to its people.

b. Churches still receive funding from foreign "stakeholders"?

Apparently, most of our churches are externally funded... and no one tracks their income sources... with such arrangements, there is a possibility for turning religious organizations into propaganda/political advocacy machinery - reaching millions of people with minimal resistance.

Africans are highly receptive to spiritual leaders (a cultural weakness) and therefore, most vulnerable to deception and psychological manipulation. We see preachers as unquestionable "authorities" on virtually all matters affecting the society. It is unthinkable to challenge or disagree with them... how do you question the "messengers of GOD"?

Finally, there is another threat that Kenyans should be wary about. Right now Kenya is extremely vulnerable to clandestine activities by external parties (e.g. other governments /or even criminal syndicates) who may want to destabilise Kenya in order to gain political and economic influence. All the evil party has to do, for example, is create passions, hatred and strong divisions on religious grounds... plant the seeds of extremism and simply step back. Look at what is happening in Nigeria...

Patriotic Kenyans must be vigilant for such foreign deception and we must reject any divisive ideas. Let us judge our leaders by their deeds and let us strive to think Independently within the context of a global political landscape.

Read the document and make your choice. My view is that if you desire true independence for indigenous Africans in Kenya, vote "YES". Let us heal the nation together with a new constitution for Africans by Africans.

Copyright 2010. Opinion...

2010-04-08T09:07:00.013+03:00

- EU APPROVES DUMPING OF NUCLEAR WASTE IN AFRICA -

While writing the "west hugging" piece, I bumped into an article on Somali Piracy and figured, hey maybe anti-piracy is another positive aspect of the west. So I did a lot more research on the Piracy problem than usual... little did I know that I was in for a huge shock!!

Switzerland and Italy have been dumping TONNES OF DANGEROUS TOXIC WASTE (including ATOMIC WASTE) in East African waters for MORE THAN 20 YEARS! All this has been going on with the full knowledge and tacit approval of the western Governments.

Like many people, I always dismissed the Somali Pirates allegations of dumping and illegal trawling as mere gibberish to rationalize criminal activities... surely there would be a massive international outrage if it were real - right? WRONG!

The western Governments responsible for these crimes have been trying to distance themselves from the actions of the corporate entities involved - but the fact remains that TONNES OF NUCLEAR WASTE don't just move around without Governments being aware.

Somali people are getting symptoms that are consistent with radiation sickness. According to the UN, the entire Eastern African region is at risk. Kenyan Coastal people, for example, are particularly at risk due to their proximity to dump sites. It wont be long before we start hearing of birth deformities and unexplained increase in cancer etc.

Just thinking about it is sickening. What kind of human being would do such a thing to innocent people? Taking advantage of a crisis to commit the worst evils imaginable. What other evils have been meted on Africans without their knowledge?

1. Isn't this wilful illegal dumping of dangerous toxic material equivalent to crimes against humanity? One day the containers will leak (seems like some have started already) and there will be a catastrophe in East Africa.

2. What if terrorists get hold of the nuclear waste in Somalia for dirty bombs? Switzerland and Italy should be branded as state sponsors of terror and global Sanctions imposed against them.

3. What about the risks to ecosystems and people who depend on marine life?

4. What about the KENYAN COASTAL PEOPLE?

5. Somalis may be in the middle of civil war but they are still HUMAN BEINGS!!!!

6. Where is the noise making organ of the west? These dangerous inhumane activities have been highlighted by humanitarian agencies since the 1990s! Have you noticed that the west is always quiet whenever the issue of Peace/Stability in Somalia comes up? They say that Somalia is used to train terrorists - yet they do nothing about it... Like there is some big secret in Somalia that is a lot more risky to the west than terrorism? I was always puzzled by the paradox of it all...

Somali Pirates, it seems,are in fact innocent victims of organized criminal gangs that enjoy tacit EU support. The Pirates are the "good guys" - protecting East African coast from illegal and inhumane foreign criminal activities.

APPEAL TO EU, specifically Italy and Switzerland:
Please, if you abhore this evil committed by your citizens, please take action to arrest and jail those responsible, then clean up the toxic waste, apologise to the world and compensate the Somali and Kenyan coastal people. It's the least you can do to make genuine amends.

African Union must assert itself in the global arena by taking measures against these evil countries. At the very least there should be demands for cleanup and restitutions. Alternatively the costs for fixing the mess ourselves can be deducted from any debts owed to the guilty countries (or owed to the EU).

The African Union must shed its naivety and come to terms with the reality that some evil western governments see Africans as sub-humans. Such evil governments will not hesitate to commit mass murders or atrocitries against Africans - especially if they can do it in secret using biological (HIV / Ebola for example?) and chemical agents.

Believe me, if the dumping was done to a western country, like the USA, it would be seen as an act of terror or act of war and there would definitely be consequences.

GOD BLESS AFRICA!

Copyright 2010. Personal opinion...

2010-04-06T23:52:00.008+03:00

- TOP 5 POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT "THE WEST"? -

I have been a bit criticial of "the west" in my recent posts so, in the interest of fairness and balanced viewpoints (yes, African virtues), I want to dedicate this one to discussing positive things in general about "the west".

There is inherent goodness in most human beings. No one is 100% perfect - except God Himself, and no one is 100% evil - except the Devil. So here's what I think are the Top Five Positive things about "the west":

5. Contribution to Globalization. Foreign Students / Immigrant Workers / Asylum seekers etc. Result is increased awareness and acceptance of human diversity at a global scale.

4. They are acknowledging their responsibility for Global Warming as the Earth's worst polluters (it's a start... Next we need to see action e.g. destruction of nuclear stockpiles and other WMDs)

3. Technical contributions to knowledge - the ones that were done ETHICALLY for the benefit of Earth's inhabitants.

2. Their participation in establishing the UN and promoting global structures for Humanitarian Assistance.

1. President Obama - because of his moderate views about global issues; his nuclear disamarment aspirations; his mixed heritage (hence no one can "claim" him) etc etc.

Actually I think the new (young) generations of westerners are more exposed, open-minded, inclusive and independent in their thinking/behavior than the older, generally ignorant and rigid populations.

What's your top 5?

Copyright 2010. Personal opinion...

2010-04-02T10:46:00.007+03:00

- WAKE UP CALL FOR AFRICANS -

Here's an axercise that will open your eyes to a big problem in Africa.

Let us take a moment and visualise Jesus in our minds. close your eyes for 30 second and see Jesus. See his face clearly in your mind. See him on the cross. See him after resurrection. Visualise him showing his hands to doubting Thomas.

Did you "see" Jesus in your mind? Yes? Good. Now... Go to the comments section of this post for an eye opening revelation.

:-)

Copyright 2010. Note: This are my personal views and opinions to date based on my observations, experiences and a bit of research.

2010-03-29T11:56:00.014+03:00

- TODAY'S MENU: CHINA v/s "THE WEST" -

1. History:
===================
CHINA: Was colonised by the west - just like Africa. Also historically oppressed by the Japanese. They understand colonial injustices from the viewpoint of THE OPPRESSED.
v/s
WEST: Expert Colonisers / exterminators. They understand colonial history from viewpoint of THE OPPRESSOR.

2. Prejudice:
==================
CHINA: They have experienced racism (e.g. from West & Japanese)
v/s
WEST: Invented, developed, perfected, marketed and distributed racism.

3. Scorecard:
==================
CHINA: Result orientation: Africa's first 5 years of overt relationship with China has resulted in solid tangible results and economic empowerment.
v/s
WEST: Rhetoric orientation (mostly Cunning Lies and deceit)... Over 100 years "relationship" with the West entrenched africans deeper into poverty, dispair and hopelessness.

4. Poverty:
===================
CHINA: Understand first hand the challenges and evils associated with poverty (many of their citizens are poor).
v/s
WEST: Views poverty as a tool for global influence, manipulation and control (dependency/neo-colonialism).

5. Relationship:
=====================
CHINA: China works with Africa as a partner. So far we have seen mutual respect and dignified approach to relations.
v/s
WEST: The west see Africa as a hopless victim in need of nurturing, guidance and babysitting. Look around you... Africa is treated like a pet by the west (apparently the view is that it cannot live without its master's aid). Self-proclaimed "Africa Experts".

6. Culture & values:
====================
CHINA: Similarities in cultural / moral values and economic principles(socio-capitalist viewpoints and cultural norms e.g. regarding morality)
v/s
WEST: Freedom of speech and expression is more important than moral and societal values. Individual wealth is more important than societal wealth.

7. Credibility:
===================
CHINA: Consistent language. High Credibility. Walks the talk.
v/s
WEST: Douplespeak. Propaganda. Double standards (e.g. latest meaning of "democracy"...anyone?). Low credibility.

8. Dependability:
==================
CHINA: Non-interference principle. Slow to act even when terrible things happen (like genocide). This is very bad. However this is changing after Dafur pressure. Credit goes to the west here though the real intention of the west was to embarass china & put doubt about china/africa relations.
v/s
WEST: "Interference for own benefit" principle. Self appointed "Supreme Moral Judges of Earth". Have been known to secretly cause or encourage violent coups / instability, genocides and human suffering in order to come in and rescue as "moral and riteous heroes". Sometimes they do help those in need (e.g. Haiti) but, given their cunning nature, there's almost always a catch to it.

9. Proof of benefits:
======================
CHINA: Evidence of impact in Kenya: Thika Road, Mombasa Road, JKIA, Kasarani Stadium, Nyayo stadium etc among others. Common trait in these developments? No forced labor. No oppression. No bloodshed. Relationship has higher benefits to africa in fraction of the time.
v/s
WEST: Evidence of impact in Kenya...? Errm... Ummmm... Wait, let me think... Ummm... Nyayo monument? (built by Aid money I think)... Otherwise we go back to pre 1963 for anything visible... Colonial structures build via forced African labor & African blood. Kenya uganda Railway built by forced African labor and African blood. etc etc. Credit should go to Africans for the work (and the land) anyway...

10. Approach:
==================
CHINA: Down to earth. Balances external appearances with internal values and realities. A quiet and modest winner in many aspects.
v/s
WEST: Bling Bling! Razzle dazzle! Superhero terren terren! Oteroo! Self proclaimed Leader and Savior of entire world and uber-protector of extra terrestial planets. The external appearances are more important than the internal values or realities. Loud about achievements (real and/or imagined). Will fabricate achievements and erase/rewrite history for convenience.

11. Motives:
====================
CHINA: Markets itself as an alternative to the west, with alternative ideologies and principles. Neutral about Africa/West relations.
v/s
WEST: Visibly upset by Africa/China relationship and what it means to them in terms of loss of influence /control. They claim, without any credible evidence, that china is out to exploit Africa Resources and that China has hidden evil intentions about Africa (e.g. recolonization / exploitation / control etc). The purported notion that Africa cannot engage wisely with the rest of the world is insulting, prejudicial and condescending at the very least.

Makes you wonder huh...? Words are "windows" to the soul... Is "the west" confessing to the world about their deceptive tactics & true motives? You be the judge.

12. Kung Fu
==============
CHINA: Invented and perfected Kung Fu
WEST: tries to copy and rebrand but can't even come close.

China v/s West? Who do you perefer to deal with? For me, it's a no brainer.

copyright 2010. Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion as an African based on my observations and experiences with both China and the West to date.

2010-03-28T19:05:00.008+03:00

- FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE: AS A NATIONAL GOAL-

Poverty is the root of all evil. It divides people, breeds deviant behavior, results in sheep/herd mentality and blocks independent thinking. It limits vision (how can you have vision for the community when you don't even know where food is coming from? It stunts development - healthwise, academicwise, socialwise etc. It denies the poor dignity as human beings. It destroys families; It promotes tribalism and racism; It spreads diseases; kills people, breeds corruption, creates hopelessness, encourages exploitation (e.g. by politicians) etc etc.

Poverty is like a curse - passed on from generation to generation - seldom releasing those trapped by its chains. Those who escape are a lucky few - possibly due to extraordinary effort, luck or some divine intervention.

Poverty... Poverty is the embodiment of Satan.

If there's only one enemy on this planet that Kenyans should UNITE against, then POVERTY is it.

Let us fight this evil called poverty and destroy it PERMANENTLY. A few things you can do immediately:

1. Buy Kenyan products as a matter of policy/principle.
2. Don't bargain too much with hawkers / mama mbogas or other small scale traders etc.
3. Always tip - even if the service is lousy
4. Hire Kenyans & pay them fairly (don't exploit just because you can!)
5. Promote the hiring and fair treatment of Kenyans abroad (even those you dont personally know).
6. Educate yourself daily about wealth and wealth creation
7. Share information and opportunities
8. Seek financial independence> Make a plan and live it through.
9. Don't fear loans! Loans can be tamed. Just understand them, Learn to manage them & leverage with them. (read a lot and be well informed about how to do this though!)
10. Establish brands and mass distribution for Jua Kali products - including international exports(there are fantastic things in Jua Kali that only need marketing & distribution... remember "Kiondo" & "Kikoi"? It took foreigners to wake people up on commercial prospects)

Nutshell: Do whatever you can in 2010 to boost the livelihood of your fellow citizens. Even if it's just by blogging bout wealth creation strategies... Anything!

Further reading (exteral link):Early Retirement Information (interesting!)..

Copyright 2010

2010-03-23T16:16:00.018+03:00

- AFRICAN CULTURE OFFERS SOLUTION TO GLOBAL CHALLENGES -

1. Strategic Inter-marriages:
Historical context: Inter-Marriage between two warring tribes (e.g. Kikuyu & Masai in Kenya) was a key strategy in peace making. It forced both tribes to learn about each other's culture, build trust and be more tolerant. Result was almost always peaceful coexistence, trade and economic prosperity.

Modern context: Suppose the sons/daughters of American/British/Jewish leaders got married to sons/daughters of Arab leaders and by extension encouraged the intermingling of their citizens? Supppose All tribes in Africa intermarried? Suppose most people on earth had mixed ethnicity relationships?

Contrast with current strategy for conflict resolution which is aggression-isolation oriented ("we v/s them" paranoia / violence / threats / sanctions etc) - but how sustainable is it? Think about it...

2. Polygamy:
HIstorical: In many African cultures, men were allowed to have as many wives as they pleased - provided the wives were well taken care of. Hierarchy of roles gave the first wife a leadership status within the household and she was a key partner in decision making. The wives could provide each other with Emotional stability and companionship while the man was away in Battle or hunting. Infidelity was unnecessary and generally unheard of - hence virtues like Honesty in relationships were seldom compromised.

Interestingly, most famous Bibilical personalities were polygamous.

Modern: Monogamous marriages profess an everlasting bond to only one spouse. "Only you darling... Till death do us part". Right! To make it worse this difficult oath is made in the name of God - setting the couple up for double sin (i.e. breaking the promise is a sin against BOTH God and the affected spouse).

Let's face it, conservative statistics show conclusively that in monogamous cultures, at least 60% of men and at least 40% of women have secret extra marital affairs. Reality shows that the odds are skewed towards cheating. Why? Simple - because Monogamy goes against the laws of nature! Hence Tiger Woods was just being NORMAL... Same case for Bill Clinton... :-)

Am I advocating for extra marital affairs? Not at all. Extramarital affairs are damaging and unnaceptable because they are based on deception. DECEPTION is what makes extra marital affairs painful. Breach and abuse of trust causes damage to relationships (i.e. in context of healthy human interaction - not just love/infatuation). Cheating is risky (more to the unsuspecting partner e.g. STD/HIV risk) and causes serious and long term psychological damage to those affected.

In contrast, polygamy is open and honest. There is no need for lies and deception. The husband communicates his intentions to the existing wife(wives) and they can demand STD testing of every new wife.

The concept of divorce is glaringly hypocritical as it provides an exit from a solemn oath made to God, during the wedding day, that only DEATH shall separate the couple. Perhaps it should be "I swear to marry you till death - subject to provisions in Annex1 of our Marriage agreement that provide for the contrary including but not limited to divorce and legal separation." And each spouse would engage a lawyer to scrutinize marriage vows and insert disclaimers / exit clauses / warranties etc etc. Truth be told: divorce concept is nothing but a patchwork implementation of back-door polygamy.

Think about it... How many husbands/wives do famous western celebrities have on average over their lifetime? A good number average 4 husbands/wives by age 70 (not counting a long string of infidelities and affairs).

Here's another eye opener: Marriage vows are inherently sinful. Jesus commanded us not to swear in the name of God (or in the name of earthly or spiritual beings for that matter... not forgettin that we should not use the name of God in vain). I believe Jesus was teaching about Integrity & trust. Core African values. Your word must be as strong as a written contract (actually stronger because you adhere to it on basis of your own integrity). Then there is no need for a contract.

Thus western cultures should stop hallucinating about "monogamy till death" and accept that Polygamous marriages are safer and more natural.

A word about Celibacy: According to the Bible, human beings were commanded by God to procreate and fill the earth. Science recognizes that all living creatures have an instinct to procreate. Hence I believe celibacy is not natural and is hypocritical as it suggests that the union of man and woman is wrong or sinful.

3. Being content with what we have:
Historical accounts show that greed and corruption are very new phenomenons in Africa. The concept of Land Scarcity never existed in many communities. Natural resources were generally accepted as communal. Sharing (Even with strangers) was the norm - rather than the exception.

In western cultures, Innovation was initially driven by the need to survive harsh winters. Storage and protection of supplies was natural - initially just for survival during long winters - but then at some point (possibly due to some traumatic survival experiences), this evolved into hoarding, greed and individualism. Winter cultures have a heightened sense of scarcity of resources.

Currently greed seems to be a key motivator in global affairs. Everyone seems to want profit at the expense of someone else. In the process, human beings losing other valuable traits that make us better all-rounded humans (selflessness, generousity, kindness, tolerance, patience etc).

4. Verbal records and live Music instead of written records & iPods/CDs:
I believe there is deep wisdom in not having books or written language.

Human factor: Written words store and convey precise meaning but there is one core defficiency: Books lack a "human essence". They can simulate it - but the relationship bond between author/story-teller and audience is nonexistent. This leads to breakup of ethical barriers and as a result all sorts of potentially damaging trash ends up in books. Yes, the readers acquire the knowledge - but in a cold distanced manner - restricting their development as all-round humans.

The success of the Movie and Music industry is not accidental. Human beings are naturally wired to verbal, visual and musical interaction.

Integrity: In most (if not all) of traditional Africa, a man's word was his bond. There was no need to write contracts because honesty and integrity were highly valued traits.

Futility of Science: I believe the is a limit beyond which science should not advance. Especially weapons research. Although science claims benevolence to mankind, the reality is that Science significantly increases the threat of self-annihilation.

What would it take to destroy earth? Not much: Another Hitler or some suicidal terrorist group perhaps, this time with atomic bombs. The quest for new vaccines creates new dangerous viruses. Quest for massive wealth, power and dominance can lead to dangerous practices (e.g. Pharmaceuticals creating a virus in order to sell a vaccine). Exloration disturbs and damages ecsystems. etc. Look around you... Science and technology has turned humans into "viruses/parasites" infecting PLANET EARTH. Science does bring convenience to daytoday living - but reduced physical effort is not natural - hence consequences like obesity.

Conclusion (way forward?): Reality does place a limit on what is preactical. Techies currently have a strong global influence - it would be extremely difficult to get them to change before its too late. Hence we must pursue a hybrid mitigative approach like China did (i.e. Adopt modern technology BUT retain our own culture and identity). By building our own technological and innovation capacity, within an African cultural context, we shall at some point be able to influence the direction that science is heading. Hopefully, this paradoxical "know your enemy" approach will result in overall benefit of Planet Earth.

As Africans, we can choose to be picky about what we adopt from other cultures because not everything foreign is good.

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved...Disclaimer: As always this is just an expression of my personal views and opinions as at this moment in time. Shaped by my experiences and observations to date.

2010-03-14T23:36:00.019+03:00

- STOCKS TO WATCH IN 2010 -

Disclaimer: This is just personal opinion. Do your own research and make your own investment decisions.

1. KENGEN:
===============
Fundamental: Drought seems to be over and Rains have come on schedule. Interconnection with neighbors (Ethiopia, Tanzania etc) is cheaper and faster than constructing power plants. Discovery of Natural Gas (reflects a major change in fundamentals); Japan loan for geothermal... plus a single digit P/E.

Technical: Kengen has been consolidating at the bottom end of the 4 year graph for almost a year now... Only last week did it break resistance levels so there's still potential. Prior to the 2008 bear run value was in the 25-30 range...

2. KENYA AIRWAYS:
=================
Fundamental: An attractive P/E, recovering tourim, world cup opportunities and improved efficiencies. Oil prices stayed at decent ranges. Intra africa focus will likely pay off this year.

Technical: Still at the lower end of the graph and the trend is bullish. The consolidation at KSH50 seems to have been temporary (psychological) and given the investor interest in this stock, we shall probably see prices at KSH80-100 by May.

3. SAFARICOM:
================
Fundamental: The competition has faltered. Telkom (Orange) could be in trouble from the "disclosure losses" it's claiming from GoK. Zain... zain.. zainn.. we all know that story. The other small players are too tiny at the moment. On the other hand it apppears that 3G leverage is no longer strategic. ARPUs could be higher than last year due to the variable tarrif. Strong signs of rejuvenated economic activity in Kenya suggest increased disposable income (e.g. Supermarkets expanding). MPESA patnership with KREP.

Update: Michael Joseph to exit by end of 2010. How important this is depends on your view of Safcom. Was it a one-man-show or was he just the "face" of a great team? Biggest question right now is: Has he groomed a successor and will the successor follow his footsteps? The timing for MJ's exit could indicate some good news for the FY09 results. Most likely he wants to leave a strong legacy.

Technical: We've seen a consolidation at around the KSH 5.40/5.45 level. I see the price going up before full year results announcement. We might hit KSH6.00-8.00 pre/post-announcement (revised downwards from 8.00-10.00)depending on how nice the numbers look. Possibly followed by a rapid decline to below 5.00. Significant profit-taking can be expected in June/July 2010. This one needs steel nerves and a long-term view.

4. SASINI: - wow!
===============
Fundamental / Technical: Rain...? Am not too keen on Agriculture - but technically this stock just ZOOMED up last week. I should have hopped on for a free ride - but the bus moved too fast! Hovering at 10% gains all week (over 40% in one week! I think). P/E is still low so those who understand agri stocks can think it over... Looks a bit too volatile for me though...

5. UCHUMI:
==============
Seems like we have to wait a little more... Listing could happen around Nov-dec. There's a chance of getting in cheap as traumatized retail investors cut their losses at first opportunity.

Happy hunting...

2010-03-08T23:59:00.037+03:00

- THE ART OF THE WHITE SUPREMACIST -

Disclaimer: This is my opinion as at March 2010 - shaped by my experiences to date. There is a difference between opinion and core beliefs. I believe that opinions can (and should) change to accomodate new facts, new evidence or new experiences.

Having travelled immensely around the globe, and having interacted with people of different cultures and color (both in person and online) over many years, I can confidently say that I have acquired decent level of expertise on Racism and associated Prejudice (both overt and covert), thanks to numerous encounters with racists and bigots.

In an effort to understand the motivations and driving factors behind racism, I have conducted numerous studies and social experiments on unwitting bigots as "willing subjects". An enlightening experience to say the least.

Knowledge is power - but power easily corrupts. Now that I understand racist cultures, I have to be careful not to succumb to the rather strong temptation of perpetuating black supremacy . Two wrongs don't make a right. When conquering a monster, we have to take care that we do not become the very same monsters ourselves!

Racism can be loosely defined as a collection of antisocial beliefs and practices aimed at promoting the supremacy of a certain group of people by portraying them as genetically superior compared to other human beings - hence the idea of different races among humans. Racism is grounded on narrow minded perspective with respect to physical and cultural differences i.e. "If you are not like me, then somethings is wrong with you". Humans are the only creatures that exhibit racism purely on the basis of color.

There are two types of racism. Overt and covert.

Overt racism is "in your face" blatant hatred. It is easy to recognise and also quite dangerous due to mostly violent manifestation (in some places, you can be attacked savagely and killed just for being a non-white). Other examples include spitting, nasty remarks, physically aggressive or verbally aggressive behavior etc. Very obvious. Best way to diffuse is to play it safe and get out of the situation once you sense it. Once the racist savages gang up, it's big trouble (i.e. criminal behavior is inevitable). Nazis, KKK and Neo-Nazis promote overt and violent racism. The Indian caste system promotes overt but generally non-violent racism.

At the heart of overt Racism is the belief that commiting barbaric crimes can trigger a so called "RAcial HOly WAr (RAHOWA)" i.e. another Holocaust. Really dumb logic now that people are so interconnected, more educated and more independent in thought. Nevertheless a dangerous strategy because it motivates violent criminal acts. An effective counter to RAHOWA ideology is to encourage and support black-white marriages. Mixed kids have a special role on Earth as global peacemakers and only they hold "the key" to breaking the barriers of racism and bigotry.

Covert racism is also dagerous as it's shrouded in deception and deviousness. The covert racist pretends to be the good guy / benefactor. However the cumulative pattern of covert racist's behavior and their results expose the malicious intent. A covert racist relies on the principle of deniability.

Examples of covert racism are IMF / World Bank press statements perpetuating the concept that Black Africa is hopeless and in need of a white knight to save it. We see it in projects that are meant to benefit the poor - but most of the funds benefit the western countries (so called "experts" and consultants). Another example is the typically western foreign policy of "destabilize them, impoverish them, then influence and control them as 'the hero'" (Neo-colonialism).

At micro level, you see multicultural environments (e.g. the UN) where skilled Africans are denied seniority while less qualified peers ascend the corporate ladder purely on the basis of color/origin... or race/origin motivated salary discrepancies (despite having exactly the same responsibilities)... or being denied challenging assignments at work because of cultural differences or skin colour. Very hard to prove malice as only the victim sees it / feels it and the system is manipulated to justify the racist act. Covert racism is a core component of Institutional racism and has potential for serious long-term damage.

Interestingly, a white supremacist does not have to be white. We have all seen non-white white supremacists (who have been completely brainwashed to the point of no return that they judge people on basis of the lightness of skin pigment - with lighter colors receiving better service/opportunities/recognition etc than darker colors). Example would be the African journalists who blindly copy western media style to degrade the global image of their own people (self deprecation). Indians generally are another good example - perhaps as a legacy of the caste system.

It is encouraging to note that majority of white Americans support cultural diversity and tolerance. Hence I believe USA has the potential of becoming the world's first non-racist multi-ethnic community.

Let us deconstruct the white supremacist culture - the core foundation of predominantly western (and western shaped) cultures, beliefs and practices:

1. Scientific evidence shows that white supremacists have extremely low levels of Emotional, social and cultural intelligence. These people, with their insane aspirations for global dominance, are currently the biggest threat to global peace.

2. White supremacists show a disturbing tendency to use fallacious logic and narrow minded arguments to demean other cultures. In their perception, "if it's not western, something is wrong with it".

3. Centuries of data shows evidence of unhealthy levels of Sadism and Psychopathy in white supremacists. Example - perpetuating beliefs that non-whites are non-human or sub-human who need to be dominated/destroyed and then acting on such beliefs to cause pain and suffering (emotional or physical) among those who look different.

4. White supremacists consider Material wealth and technological feats as the only measurement of human value. Thus any white supremacist will claim superiority on the basis of technological achievement and material wealth - ignoring all other aspects of humanity and intelligence.

5. One Million white supremacists of average (or below average) I.Q. will claim credit (!) for an invention made by a ONE OR TWO really technically competent and smart individuals on the basis of common skin color. (Quite amusing actually)i.e. The dumb majority actually believe they are equally smart - despite glaring evidence and factual historical accounts proving the contrary!

6 Widespread ignorance among the white supremacist majority. Too many examples to list here.

7. White supremacists have a strong sense of greed and material possesiveness (from their winter driven hoarding culture) and they have an intense fear of any form of competition.

8. Like parasites, white supremacists thrive on human suffering. It is the core foundation of their illusion of "success". Hence the well documented historical accounts of their evils (slavery / colonial atrocities etc) and more modern accounts such as covert operations to destabilise countries and install puppet leaders.

9. White supremacists see non-white territories as "their land in waiting". They have no respect for property ownership of other cultures. If they have a good excuse for wiping out other cultures to expand their territory, they will do so without hesitation.

10. White supremacists take wild theories and perpetuate them as scientific fact. We all remember reading about Darwin's evolution theory. What many don't realise is that Darwin's theory is, in fact, NOT SCIENTIFIC but merely racist propaganda which was actually coined to justify slavery and other racism driven evils. For centuries Racists have engaged quacks to conduct "scientific studies" in search for the "missing links" (intermediary species in the purported evolutionary chain of species).

11. White supremacists cannot engage in rational debate simply because their beliefs are not rational in the first place. They have a win/lose perspective to life. Their view of "truth", "fact", "right" and "wrong" changes depending on "who wins" and "who loses".

One historical mistake made by non-westerners(Perhaps after being impressed by fascinating gadgets and gizmos) was to entrust "big picture thinking" to the techies (westerners) who, naturally proceeded to place too much emphasis on technology oblivious that their actions were (and still are) putting the entire PLANET at risk (Nuclear pollution, Global warming, Extinction of species, chemical/biological weapons, nanobots as weapons etc). The assumption that technical competence represents all-round development and competence continues to be proven as FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED.

Each ethicity on this planet has a gift that other ethicities depend on (or will one day depend on) for their survival. These special gifts must be discovered, nurtured and harnessed for the good of all mankind. Africans have a powerful gift of being able to live in harmony with Nature (for example) - hence the west can learn from us if they open their minds to flexible ways of thinking.

Black africa must take advantage of its soft skills gift to heal inter-cultural wounds and to build healthy relations with both white and non-white communities in order to conquer the white supremacist threat.

Black Africa must take a conscious decision to measure itself against its own standard. When did we agree to be measured against white supremacist standards? We are not white. We are not western. We have our own cultures. Our own priorities. Our own values. Our own beliefs. Our own backgrounds. Our own history. So why should we measure ourselves against standards set by foreign techies? The concept of "International standards" needs to be evaluated. Such standards must be the result of culturally sensitive multinational treaties - and well documented, with clear compliance criteria, measurement standards and governance structures.

Black Africans must take charge of their affairs and reshape their global image. We deserve more respect and credit on this planet than we are getting. Only we can set the limits of how other people treat us. It is not in black Africans culture (generally - as per history) to be greedy or overt - but we must change some aspects and demand our dues - else we shall be stepped upon.

We must decolonise our educational system and books taught in schools to customize them for a more African friendly orientation. There is so much brainwashing nonsense being taught to our children - which they grow up believing as facts.

We must build/enhance our research and innovation capability in Health Sciences and related technology. History has shown that social programs (e.g Health research) cannot be entrusted to western cultures as they are most likely to do something unethical and dangerous to the entire planet.

Same case for legal system. Our current laws are inherited from a racist and imperiarist systems designed to conquer and suppress the majority. What stops us from updating and Africanizing all our laws?

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

2010-03-08T10:03:00.011+03:00

- IT'S TIME TO TAKE CHARGE OF OUR DESTINY -

King Solomon once said "It is not wise to ask someone for advice about his/her rival". Or something to that effect. The point here being "CONFLICT OF INTEREST".

Kenyans have to be aware that our politicians are not interested in national stability. It does not serve their selfish purposes. Suffering people are more easy to deceive and control (just offer them "hope" and they will do anything for you).

Only those who stand to lose from chaos / instability can have the true motivation to bring about real change to our country.

Kenyans have been brainwashed to believe that there's no Kenya without ODM / PNU / KADU / KANU / PDM / Kibaki / Raila /Ruto / Kalonzo, Coalition, 40thieves etc. We need to counter this by educating the masses.

1. Yote yawezekana bila ukabila.

2. Yote yawezekana bila fujo.

3. Yote yawezekana bila uongo.

It's time to start looking at things from an empowered perspective.

As independent thinkers, we must stop being merely helpless spectators or pawns and commit to being players and shapers in all matters pertaining to our nation.

I commend the Private sector alliance and NCBDA for taking a more empowered stance and becoming more active in national affairs (e.g. by shaping policies and pressuring the politicians to adopt progressive approach to leading). I hope this continues. More can and should be done.

Kenyan investors should unite to form KENYA NATIONAL INVESTORS ALLIANCE. A semi-political movement bridging the gap between politics and business. A movement that will command local and international suppport to lobby for progressive laws, servant leadership, nationwide stability and strong institutions. The movement shall field competent and proven corporate leaders as political candidates from the private sector - including presidential candidates and/or running mates.

Yote yawezekana. Spread the word!

2010-02-02T19:43:00.007+03:00

==============================
- Kenya: Real Estate Doubts -
==============================

I believe that Real Estate is not for everyone. Especially in Kenya. The perception of property as secure investment is but a mere fantasy in your mind.

1. Location now includes other factors as the tribal demographics around your plot. Reality boss.

2. You wake up one day and someone else has a Title deed to your land. Genuine. Issued by the Lands office. You then go to court for 10 years to try and fight for your property.

3. You wake up one day and realize that your lawyer, the seller of your plot, and land offcials all conspired sell you an illegal parcel of land. Could be road reserve. Could be water catchment area. The mansion you put up now has to be demolished.

4. You wake up one day and realise the land you own was actually grabbed by a politician who sold it to someone who subdivided it and obtained legal titles which were then sold to you. Now gava wants to reclaim grabbed land and you are number 23 on the list.

5. Pastoralists declare the entire country belongs for them and is for grazing cattle and henceforth they chase you from their land.

6. Thugs invade your house every week and tell you they will continue until you move out. Each visit gets more violent. No one wants the property and you have to dispose in distress (if still alive).

7. As you finish constructing your dream mansion, some clever person who bought a plot next to yours, builds one hundred shanties (on 0.25 acre) creating a ghetto right outside your door. Others see this business idea and follow suit. Suddenly, you are in the middle of a ghetto with worthless property. The persons could be colluding to make you sell at a loss (or for peanuts) so they can convert the entire area into a ghetto.

8. Approx 3 years after you settle, a smooth talking politician starts campaign and engages idle/illiterate youth, criminals and envious losers as suporters. They then declare that all outsiders (anyone whose forefathers cannot be traced to the land they currently live on) must leave. By force. What? Title deed? Nonsense. Leave!

Other factors:

9. Real estate ties up your cash if you are an average investor. Flipping property wil ltypically take you about 1 year (or more) per transaction. In some cases there willbe no buyers for many (5+) years. Unless you invested in multiple for rentals. In which case its a different ballgame.

10. Getting a loan against real estate is darned expensive. Benefits are minimal - if any (what is the interest rate on equity release loans?). Basically the bank eats you alive.

11. You wait for years for gains that could take months in business / stock exchange (which are higher risk but more liquid). Have you done your NPV/IIR comparisons?

======================
Real Estate is good if...
======================
1. You want to diversify your security assets. This means you have investments in other asset classes (stocks, bonds, businesses etc).

2. You are doing it for rental income. However will the yield be sufficient to cover your costs or are you just making money for your bank / motgage provider?

3. You can afford to pay a huge chunk of the costs upfront - or can get a super low interest loan whcih you are able to repay in 3-5 years (diaspora?) - hence saving millions in interest costs. You then have a choice of buying as "security asset" or as "investment asset".

4. You can afford to lose the investment.

Copyright 2010.

2010-02-01T17:02:00.020+03:00

==================================
- An investor's bedtime story... -
==================================

Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Enesee, there was a bus which came to a stop at an unmarked bus station. The bus was almost empty. Some people boarded. Others didn't. They all had good reasons for their decision. Those who didn't board were managing risk, those who did were embracing risk. It turned out eventually though, that those who boarded had picked the right bus.

...and so the bus left with the risk takers, leaving behind the over-cautious. "Does it have enough fuel?" The over cautious kept asking each other. "Lets wait a little bit more. Until we are sure."

..and they waited.. and waited.. until the bus was so far away that they would have to take an expensive taxi just to catch up. A few quickly hopped onto taxis and caught up with the bus. Most didn't.

The ride was bumpy, but the bus kept going. Until one day, the engine suddenly spluttered and appeared to lose power.. "seems like we are slowing down" said a worried passenger..

"Yeah" said another, "but should we alight here? Are we there yet?"

Just then, an old man, seated at the back of the bus, peered through the top of his glasses and said..

"My friends, what is, may not be, but can be, though it is quite possible, that what it is not is what is."

There was a deep silence as the thoroughly baffled passengers tried to extract some ancient wisdom from the old man's gibberish.

"yup... it is what it is." concluded the wise old man.

"does he speak english?" asked a small boy. "Hush! mind your manners!" whispered his mother.

The old man, unperturbed, continued... "Let me break it down for you my homies. If this is the final stop and the bus chooses to return, those who got left behind will be lucky to have a second chance to get on board. However fear will prevail since no one knows how far back the bus will go. Therefore, it is likely that very few new passengers will come on board.

On the other hand, those who are already on board could be looking at a chance to alight, catch a train back to point A, and board the bus again to gain more mileage. However they don't know if this is the right stop and where exactly point A is because the bus stop was unmarked. The fear that the current stop is only a temporary pitstop, and the greed for a taste of paradise will keep most passengers in the bus (unless of course someone panics and there's a stampede...)."

The moral of the story. Before you board a bus or alight from it, there are several factors to consider:

1. The bus navigator and conductor: Where do they want the driver to go?

2. The road: Is it bumpy going forward? Have the potholes been fixed? So far we have conflicting views from the experts:

Davos, a powerful soothsayer recently looked into his computerized crystal ball and saw "potholes everywhere...".

However another powerful magician called Aeyemeff swore that he had chatted online with the road construction spirits and they told him "yeah baby! we're good to go.."

3. The tourists: will they get in at current discount or do they want even more discounts?

4. The bus station announcers: will they communicate the true state of the road repairs and conditions ahead? And will that lead to euphoria, indifference or panic?

This stocks game is like a roulette. More luck than skills. The only thing we can do is try to improve our odds. Primarily via Charts and study of Sentiments, but also taking care to be insured by Fundamentals. Still, the questions remain... When do you get in? When do you get out?

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

2010-01-21T20:19:00.014+03:00

====================
STRATEGIC SCENARIO 1: Safaricom
====================
- Safaricom Partners with Equity Bank to extend M-PESA features
- Equity Bank is a mass market commercial bank with an extensive network targeting the lower end of the pyramid.
- Equity has 129 branches virtually across the entire country (of which 23 are in Nairobi) supported by 500 VISA branded ATMs and 2,500 Point of Sale (POS).
- M-PESA has been targeted at the unbanked market - though it has been adoped at the mid to top toers of the "pyramid".
- This move is significant as it positions M-PESA to rake in some serious revenue in 2010 and beyond.

PROS:
-----
- M-PESA + Equity bring affordable banking services (e.g. ATM) to the unbanked - a huge market.
- Win-win deal for both. Complimentary strategies hence reinforces their business thrust.
- Both comanies have a strong nationwide footprint.

CONS:
-----
- The bottom-of-pryamid target market is vulnerable and sensitive to economic fluctuations
- Equity could be struggling with some bad/doubtful debts due to 2008 pev and global crisis.
- Poor international coverage outside East Africa.

====================
STRATEGIC SCENARIO 2: Zain
====================
- Zain Partners with Housing Finance to extend Zap
- Housing Finance is a Mortgage Lender with virtually minimal footprint in the country. It's account holders are generally at the mid to high end of the pyramid.
- Housing Finance has 10 branches in Kenya (of which only 4 are in Nairobi - East africa's financial capital)
- Zap has been targeted at... (who again?) if i remember correctly it's targeted at the the youth, businesspeople, ME&A travellers, ME&A diaspora...

PROS:
-----
- Higher amounts can be transferred. Perhaps more cheaper than RTGS.
- Zap has wide international coverage (Africa and Middle East)

CONS:
-----
- Half baked product (again!): Seems like Safaricom announcement forced a rushed announcement from Zain. Currently you have to personally visit the HF BRANCH (and QUEUE?) to use ZAP because the systems are not integrated (Zain press release 19th Jan 2010).

- Yet again, Zain has done a good job of diluting their previous branding / positioning efforts (are the youth buying houses?) and creating confusion about their products and who exactly they are targeting.

- Housing Finance is a Mortgage Lender... Someone help me find a connection here (please)? Is Zain enetering the mortgage market or is Housing Finance switching to general banking? I am thoroughly baffled.

I think this example illustrates why Zain is no longer perceived as a threat and people have been increasingly bullish about Safaricom (me included).

(Disclaimer: The possibility that I could be biased cannot be ruled out. Do your own research. Make your own decisions)

2010-01-19T09:47:00.001+03:00

- MY 2010 RESOLUTIONS -
========================

1. Show more goodwill to strangers.

2. Be more tolerant of other cultures and encourage those i know to do the same.

3. be more independent and critical in thought and opinion

4. Take leadership role in diffusing tensions / conflicts in the community.

5. stop saying "someone should..." and start saying, "hmmm.. what can i do to change/fix this?"

6. Give balanced feedback. Not just focusing on negatives.

7. Forgive.

8. Give people a second chance if they genuinely ask for it.

You are welcome to monitor my behavior and give me a report card by end of year. Cheers!

2009-12-09T18:06:00.007+03:00

- DEC 2009 WATCH LIST -

1. Kenya Airways: The underdog makes a comeback... Shift in fundamentals? This stock looks promising!
- World cup sentiments
- Rebound of tourism (recent increase in positive news)
- Good supply/demand (contrast with safaricom)
- Low P/E. Could be undervalued.
- A low profile rally has been going on over the last few weeks...
- High upside potential. Has touched Ksh 120/- before (over 300% of current price).

2. Safaricom: The fallen Hero... Could the hype be returning?
- I bought 1,000/- safcom credit (thinking it will last a week) - and it got finished within 1 day! Are we back to the good old profitable days of expensive calls? Voice ARPU will probably be up in 2009 financial report.
- Data/IT related services may not contribute much this year - but huge potential exists over the next 5-10 years.
- Foreign investors interest in driving it up past 5.50/- (probably ahead of a major exit)
- Possible Exit of short term speculators (unlikely!)
- Exit of impatient local investors (possible but many seem like they got in for the long term)
- Zain - the biggest threat - lost momentum in 2009 (oil wells dried up?).
- Safaricom's 2009 results will be decisive for those with short term horizon. They better be impressive or else!

3. Uchumi!!
I did a spot check in Westlands, Ngong Road and Capital centre.. then compared with Nakumatt Nyayo stadium (straight from Capital Centre); Nakumatt Prestige (straight from Ngong Rd) and Nakumatt (lifestyle?) near Kstreet (straight from Westlands)...

Verdict: Uchumi is back! In all instances Uchumi was so packed I thought they were giving away free sodas or something. Yet Nakumatt was nearly always EMPTY! There's something good that Mr. Jonathan Ciano is doing. Looking forward to the NSE comeback.

What's on your watchlist?

2009-11-24T15:23:00.007+03:00

- Wealth v/s Spirituality -

(Article inspired by fellow blogger MainaT who asked: "Is money-making and Godliness compatible?" )

I believe money making is compatible with Godliness. Case in Point: Job... an extremely wealthy person who loved God with all his heart.

One quality that Job had is that he knew his priorities and trusted God no matter what. He was not obsessed about money and he did everything in the Glory of God. Because of that, he got blessed with more than he ever needed.

Job used his material wealth to uplift and strengthen his spiritual relationship with God instead of the typical "rich man" approach of using wealth to impress and/or dominate fellow human beings.

Jesus himself was not jobless; he was a carpenter by profession. In those days carpentry was a respected and cosmopolitan profession (contrast with Tax collection and herding sheep for example).

Jesus however did not accumulate wealth but rather disposed of his income as it came in. Hence he adopted a “subsistence lifestyle”. Living for the day and having faith for tomorrow.

However Jesus had immense powers and could bypass the "normal laws of nature" to mobilize resources in times of need. For example, when he fed 5,000 people till they could not eat any more. Or when he replenished wine at a famous bash. Without special powers, such endeavors would require some strong financial resources for an ordinary man/woman.

Money/wealth is valued because it gives ordinary people some (albeit limited) power to acquire and/or mobilize resources. It can be argued therefore, that Jesus was technically rich since the power to perform fantastic miracles precludes the need for wealth.

Interestingly, Jesus but did not use his powers to benefit himself (e.g. 40 days of temptation in the desert). Contrast with the typical rich people who hoard huge sums of money, vast stretches of land and other assets - only to realise that other people are going to enjoy it (most likely squander it) after they die.

So what did Jesus mean when he said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven? There are several hints in the bible; take for example when Jesus started recruiting his disciples...

His requirements were simple:

1. Stop your wealth pursuits
2. Sell everything you have
3. Give everything to the poor
4. Follow me.

How would Bill Gates / Warren Buffet / Donald Trump respond to this command?

I don't know.

How would you respond?

What I do believe (from the anecdotal evidence in the Bible) is that Job would have done it because his relationship with God was his top priority.

The core lessons in my view are:

1. Wealth is not bad. It's what you do with it, and your thoughts and motivation that determine its spiritual value.

2. Someone who parts with all his/her wealth for the benefit of the poor has an extremely rare quality. It gets harder the more wealth someone has (thus the "camel going through the eye of a needle" analogy).

3. We should not focus our lives and all our energies on chasing wealth. Neither should we measure our worth by it because we can lose it all in an instant. Know your priorities in life - the highest of which should be to make the lives of those in need much better, even at the sacrifice of your own comfort and security.

4. Material wealth can enhance our spiritual wealth. However this is a delicate balance because of the concept of what I term as "spiritual motive".

If you help the needy in a loud and public manner then you get paid on earth (materially) by getting your ego boost. People will praise you in public but despise you in private as an selfish-minded show off. Your good act will expire and be forgotten permanently. Ted Turner gave 1 billion once. Warren and Bill Gates did something similar (I think). Naturally, it was all over the news. But who talks about it now? Who will remember their “Good deeds” 10 years after they die? Contrast with Mother Teresa ...

On the other hand if you help quietly, with genuine goodness in your heart, and primarily out of love and care for your fellow human being, then you get paid in heaven (spiritually). Your act will touch other people's hearts and make them want to replicate your kindness to others.

Examples from a "behavioral perspective": Job, Daniel and Jesus from the Bible (my personal role models); Mahatma Ghandhi; Mother Teresa; Buddha etc. Jesus of course would be the ultimate example but - I mention the others because they had no "special powers".

:-)

- END –

© 2009

2009-11-04T17:45:00.011+03:00

- WELFARE COMES TO KENYA -

A good idea is a good idea, and this one is long overdue!

I don't care about the intentions or who takes credit for it with respect to 2012 elections. The fact remains that Welfare DOES help fight poverty and gives the poor an opportunity to live reasonably dignified lives. If the new Welfare system succeeds, there will be no excuse for beggars in the streets.

====================
HOW TO SUSTAIN IT:
====================

1. National Lottery - managed / run by the Gov. Proceeds fund welfare and community activities, in addition to boosting livelihoods of lucky winners.

2. Voluntary contributions from Diaspora & well-to-do locals. Rather than give cash to beggars in the streets, donate it to the Welfare funds.

3. Mandatory tax deduction of Ksh 100 for everyone earning more than 30k (takes care of misers). Treated just like NHIF/NSSF deductions for tax purposes.

4. MPigs Taxation... The "fake-mini-gods" need to come back to earth and care for the people who gave them their fat salaries. :-)

5. Gov. savings from community service activities performed by the beneficiaries of the fund! These people can provide labor to build roads etc with the Chinese.

6. Gov Savings in Healthcare (among other areas) arising from improved quality of life. A malnourished person is far more susceptible to illness.

7. Hunger can drive people to desperation hence there's element of crime reduction.

===============
ADMINISTRATION:
===============

1. Dont pay out in cash! Use the foodstam concept whcih has been shown to work elsewhere.

2. Dont employ foreigners to manage the fund. If world bank or other donors are involved, let them not use the fund for big cars and salaries of their citizens.

3. Mandatory annual wealth declaration for anyone involved in administering the fund.

4. Full disclosureof payouts & accounts. Any member of public must have opportunity to inspect the welfare accounts and payout data on payment of a small fee e.g. 20/-. Parliament to have authority to commission an Audit on the welfare activities.

5. Stiff penalties including mandatory Jail Term for anyone who tries to steal or missapropriate from the fund (i.e. stealing from the poor / starving / needy)

6. Link the Fund's database to an Employment Assistamce & Community Service Office. For any able bodied person continue qualifying for the handout, the person should demonstrate effort to make a decent living (any kind of job).

7. Those who cant find a job must be required to put in X hours in community Service (any kind of community work depending on the person's circumstance e.g. a blind person can teach braille to poor kids etc) EVERY MONTH to start/keep qualifying for the welfare handout. It should not be freebie manna from heaven.

Measures must be in place to ensure that welfare DOES NOT encourage LAZINESS - resulting in a negative impact to society, polarizing the "haves" / "have nots", and essentially "masking" the poverty gap without solving it!

Well done KENYA!

:-)

Further Readings (Links to Wikipedia):
===============
1. Welfare Trap:
2. Means Test:
3. Poverty Trap:
4. US Welfare Reforms 19996:

2009-11-03T21:48:00.004+03:00

- TOURIST FRIENDLY NAIROBI -

City Council needs to upgrade Nairobi for Tourism & Improved lifestyle of local Kenyans...

1. Putting "You are here" maps at every major corner / intersection.

2. Bigger road "signs" indicating where the road leads to... on major highways.

3. Introducing mandatory tourism and cross-cultural awareness training in Primary schools.

4. Making Tourism Commerce and ICT Outsourcing subjects in secondary school (in addition to Physics/Chemistry/Biology).

5. Distributing promotional material and maps from Hotels.

6. Allowing street performers to display their talent on Saturday Afternoons and Sundays & to collect cash from the public(tips).

7. Make the entire CBD a pedestrian district. Convert the areas from Tom Mboya to River Road into a modern market place (organized stalls - not hawkers).

8. The other end of town upt o upper hill to be a high end shopping and business district. Bars / clubs to be given noise limits. 24 x 7 (or late night) restaurants & malls.

9. Museum hill to Westlands to be an entertainemt district. Noise allowed.

10. All Taxis to have one easily identifiable color (yellow/red/blue?). Meters to be in taxis by law.

11. Taxis only allowed to reach special taxi ranks in CBD. 24x7 Buses also at designated and well lit bus stations.

12. Mass parking zones outside CBD - like the one at Belle Vue (still there?).. with reliable shuttle to CBD.

13. Anti Pollution spot fines. Kill the smell and the smog. Nairobi air is filthy! Attributable to pollution from Matatu / Buses diesel fumes. Pollution from diesel/petrol has been shown to impede the development of children's brain (retardation). Do we want to do this to our innocent children?

Nairobi Town Clerk, where art thou?

(inspired by Bankelele... http://bankelele.blogspot.com)

:-)

2009-11-02T19:29:00.007+03:00

- SHARES: A FEW LESSONS LEARNED -

Principle: " A bird in hand is worth two in the bushes..."

Fundamentals don't work at NSE. Better to use as long term buffer for capital presevation.

A combinatsion of Fundamental and Technical can net in some decent gains (more quickly perhaps).

e.g. Company may be strong but if price is on downward trend - why buy? Checking the charts gives you a clue on when to get in.

A share can consolidate for years on end (price remains stagnant e.g. KQ for 10 years) in which case your capital is tied up with a non performer.

1000% profit in TEN years time may not be as sweet when you factor inflation & uncertainties. Better perhaps to have 200% average annual return that you can reinvest for compounded returns.

It's all subjective opinion but I no longer believe in long term buy & hold. Most of the time, that's a strategy reserved for suckers (think Madoff).

Lessons from Madoff: A statement is just numbers on paper. Make a point to "See, touch and smell" the cash once in a while (i.e. verify it really exists e.g. by transferring funds between two different brokerages, and your bank /CBK for bonds every once in a while. If it takes too long to transfer from the broker, and no plausible reason, then you bail out real quick!).

I would call this my two cents - but it's probably worth more than that.

:-)

Disclaimer: This is personal view and opinion. Not advice.

2009-10-22T09:49:00.004+03:00

- The Art of OPM (Other People's Money) -
To accelerate your investments you must use other people's money - and there are many clean, legal and ethical ways of using other people's money to TURBO CHARGE your investments!

========
Example:
========

There are rumours that USD will lose quite a bit of value in the near future (having lost it's reputation as a stable global currency).

If this results in higher valuation of KES against the dollar perhaps it would be wise to consider taking a USD denominated loan right now (while KES is relatively weak) & buy stocks at NSE.

Having done your own research, you decide to place a double bet:

1. For Forex gains when KES gets stronger

2. Medium term captital appreciation at NSE in a well selected stock as the economy recovers.

It's quite possible that Forex gains alone in the next 6-12 months will cover the interest for the entire loan term.

Have a clear plan on when to exit (e.g. "I will exit when two conditions are met: KES/USD reaches 69 (8%gain) AND the stock appreciates more than 20%"). Stick to it. Don't let GREED cloud your judgement.

If you take a reasonable amount of leverage, even 25% gain over 6 months can translate to very handsome profits.

Repatriate 85% of the USD loan (cuts down your interest bill- so don't get greedy!). Reinvest the balance as you pay off the remaining loan from your salary.

(Disclaimer: This is purely an opinion piece for entertainment, debate and knowledge sharing. Remember, it's very risky to base your investment decisions on unverified rumors.)

2009-08-27T22:54:00.005+03:00

- KQ CEO Scorecard: F -

The recent KQ strike could have been a test of how quickly the KQ CEO can think on his feet. Granted Titus is well proven and highly respected as a business turnaround expert - it appears he may not have what it takes when there's nothing to turn around.

Turnaround experts thrive in chaos. They shake up a dying organization and inject new life to bring it back to stardom. This is what the KQ CEO did - and we all loved him for it. However, after the turnaround... what happens next???

I think a different strategic/tactical philosophy is called for when the organization is healthy and it is my view that Titus could have remained in "Crisis mode" for longer than was really necessary - still fighting fires that had long been extinguished... trying to be a hero long after the need for one ceased to exist.

I think the strike was the ultimate CEO litmus test (workers demanding payrise in the midst of a global economic downturn... tough call).

In my view, Titus and his advisors failed miserably.

Here's why:
===========
1. Apparently, the 2 day strike cost the airline between KSH 0.5 Billion and KSH 0.9 Billion. Hmmm... In trying to save 0.7 Billion (Annual) Titus lost more in a matter of days - and still incurred a portion of the wage bill he was trying to avoid.. and still hasn't solved the underlying problem. Hmmm... was he really out of options?

2. Since the dispute was not resolved amicably, it can be expected that even the little that the workers received was not appeciated. It is in my view more than likely that staff morale (and performance) is still where it was prior to the strike - and will stay there for a while - if it doesn't deteriorate.

3. The underlying issue was swept under the carpet - rather than addressed. Glaring disparity between workers and management Salaries. The workers showed us who REALLY runs the airline - giving credence to their argument of perceived injustice.

4. Given the apparent "strong arm" win/lose dispute resolution tactics we saw from KQ management via the media, it can be reasonable to assume that there is still some latent resentment between management and workers - and going by various speculative rumours on the internet and elsewhere, the workers are just going through the routine with no genuine enjoyment of their job.

This does not paint a good picture of the company. Shareholders seem to have similar sentiments as the share price is taking quite a hit.

============
Conclusion:
============
1. As investors, we need some clear signs of radical change in managemebt culture within KQ.

2. Underlying leadership issues must be addressed before the company gets into real problems (consider the super-narrow margins of today's markets, stifled cashflows and cutthroat competition - it is very easy for an airline to collapse).

3. Future business performance is not too bright - unless something significant happens to mitigate the current risks hence it would appear that the KQ stock at NSE has a bleak future.

Opinion: If you got into the KQ counter at 16/= round Feb you might consider booking your gains while you still have something.

Conspiracy theories (wild conjecture and most likely untrue in my view - but rather interesting): That KQ management colluded with union to set up the strike in order to cover up for poor performance or unexplained losses or embezzlement...

Disclaimer: Like all my posts - this is just an expression of my personal thoughts and opinion. Most comments here are mere speculations (like thinking aloud).

2009-08-27T21:54:00.002+03:00

- Safaricom Reverse Split -

Some thoughts...

Normally the price of a share goes up because investors perceive that business is good and will stay good for the foreseeable future.

A reverse split is nothing but cosmetic change in a stock's price. There are no business drivers that support it. Statistically (other markets) the odds state that the likelihood of the price going down after a reverse split exceed the likelihood of it going up.

The unspoken message from Safaricom management is: "the fundamentals don't look good. Actually its so bad that we dont see the stock going up in the near future due to business performance or growth prospects."

In view of the above hypothesis, I have major doubts on the upward sustainability of the consolidated SCOM share price.

Worse still is that it will make it harder for the average retail investor to track their gains and losses (which leads me to speculate on the real motive behind the Consolidation...

- with less chares, the next dividend announcement will be in Shillings - and not cents... hence management benefits from perception of improved performance?

- is it to get the ordinary uninformed mwananchi to sell at a loss and still feel good about the deal?

- Speaking of intentions... What are the ethical questions that come into play when we analyze the tactics for "improving the share's liquidity" allegedly promoted by Safaricom Management to foreign investors (e.g. find ways to get the ordinary shareholders to sell-off their shares...)?

- considering the manner in which the Gov. had nationalized this IPO (pricing for the bottom of the pyramid). Hopefully the outcome will not be tantamount to a Gov exploiting it's poor citizens?

Regarding the foreign hype:
The so called foreign investors are trading in flimsy volumes (too low to make any sense). I think it's a pump/dump setup for a major offload. The ridiculous volatility reaffirms it in my view.

============
Conclusions:
============
1. "Go Short" on Safcom. The consolidated price is more likely to go down than up.
2. As much as they would like us to believe, there is NO TREND on this stock yet.
3. If you bought at 2.80. Book your profits now.

(PLEASE NOTE: Just like all my other posts, I write here about my personal thoughts and opinion. This is not advice. Some of the material above is pure conjecture and there are no facts to support it - I could be WRONG. Pls do your own research & make your own choices!)

2009-06-17T19:10:00.007+03:00

GET RICH - THE MAISHINSKI WAY

Many people think that to get 1Million shillings you need to deny yourself luch/tv/beer/nyama etc, and save x amount for y number of miserable years.

As a wealth seeker, I have done quite a bit of research and experimenting on this topic, one thing I noted is that there seems to be a general consensus on certain key matters among wealthy people:

FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW
1. Frugality and cutbacks don't make you rich. Whether you are rich or poor IS NOT determined by how much you spend - but rather:

- what you spend your money on.
- what you do to get more money to spend

2. Keeping money idle in the bank/matress/sim card etc is not very smart.

3. Living many years of self-denial - just to accumulate cash is probably very unwise. Sounds smart on paper when pitched by theorists but suppose you plan to save for 35 years...:

- you'll be too old to really enjoy the funds (58+).
- your health/body would be fragile (age related) limiting what you can do for fun
- you have 35 years worth of regret - thinking of what you could have done to enjoy life
- you earned a "decent" return of 5%pa but inflation ate your funds at the rate of 10-20% pa. Actual reduction in purchasing power.
- No guarantee you will live till 58+ years
- No guarantee you wont lose all your savings on the 29th year (bank collapses, matress thrown away by daughter hahaha -google it, war, disaster etc)...

Read Eccclestiastes for a dose of reality.

YOU WANT TO BE RICH?
Stop living within your means and seek to create the means. Another academic theroy? Not quite. Here's a down to earth sample strategy (take the lesson and make yours):

SAMPLE STRATEGY:
Save in short bouts with targeted short term wins: e.g. save for 2 years and finish your MBA. This will increase your earning power (if you use what you learned + the credential to get a better position etc). Better salary enables you to save more (hence instead of saving 20k, you start saving 40k).

Set your next target e.g. to buy a plot of land worth 400k and achieve it within 1 year.

In parallel work on other methods of improving your means. A job abroad (for example) can boost your means by 50-100% or even more. Try get paid in USD/EURO/GBP/Arab currencies. Learn targeted languages (e.g. French or Arabic). Buy a laptop and connect to the internet to help your job search. Be mentally ready to relocate.

If you succeed, celebrate! Take a deliberate break from all investment for 6 months and just enjoy life in your host country.

Then set your next target.. e.g. a well researched portfolio valued at 1 Million in the NSE within 12 months. Do it.

After that set the next target: Buy a house in 5 years (main target). Mitigate future costs by earning income on your home ownership savings: Purchase gov bonds with your home ownership savings & use interest earned to pay for stamp duty / legal fees on you first home etc.

How many years of your life so far?
* 2+2=4 years to get MBA (jumpstart)
* 1 year to buy 400k plot
* 1 year to get a job abroad
* 0.5 year Party Break
* 1 year to build NSE portfolio of 1M
* 5 Years to get rid of Landlord - get your own house (save $1,000 monthly and invest in Gov Bonds Securities)

Total time: 12 Years + 6 months of pure fun.

If you started at 23 yrs, you would be 35 at this point and Financially SECURE.

Next plan is to build financial FREEDOM (not having to work in order to enjoy life) by generating passive income.

Set your target: e.g. a second house within 3 Years (Pay 75%, take an unsecured TERM LOAN for the balance over 3 years and use the RENT pay the loan+interest).

Retire at 40, spend time with your kids/family and (God willing) enjoy a financially secure and free lifestyle.

RECAP & TAKEAWAY:
Strive to increase your means. Do it in stages. Have a plan and execute it. Don't be afraid of taking loans to accelerate your plans. See what works and learn from what doesnt. Read as much as you can about getting rich. ENJOY YOUR LIFE in the process.

Copyright 2009.

2009-05-28T07:57:00.008+03:00

COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!

Interesting Traditional stories that have similar stories in the bible...

1. Heroes:
- Legend of Lwanda Magegere: Famous Warrior, Superpowers, betrayed by wifey
- Legend of samsom: Famous Warrior, Superpowers, betrayed by wifey

2. Creation
- Adam & Eve: Created by God: Formed Clans
- Gikuyu and Mumbi: Created by God: Formed clans

3. Holy Mountains
- Mount Kenya: Kikuyus traditionally believed that God resided at the top.
- Mount Sinai: Jews believed that God could be met at the top.

Am sure there are many other similarities (but would need some digging to find since the British did a thorough job of erasing our history. What made them feel so threatened by it?).

For a long time, I wondered whether Christianity was an ingenious political tool designed by Colonialists to brainwash and control colonized societies...

Then I visited the earliest christian kingdom in the world... ETHIOPIA. I am always surprised by how little Kenyans know about our neighbor Ethiopia and it's amazing history. More so since Ethiopia is one of the very few known african communities whose history has not been doctored by the west!

Could it be that the similarities between the Bible and African tradition are not by coincidence? We need to recover accurate accounts of our lost history URGENTLY before it dissapears permanently.

Copyright 2009

2009-05-18T17:04:00.014+03:00

- SAFARICOM SPECULATION -

(This is just my opinion and sould not be mistaken for investment advise. Do your own research & draw your own conclusions)

Safaricom is expected to announce it's end year results on 21st May. Hmmm... some observations:

1. There seems to be some positive expectation (not much though) given the recent demand/supply patterns.

2. MJ mentioned that the company will be seeking additional funds sooner rather than later (within approx 3 months). Does this suggest riding on some optimism e.g. a positive earnings surprise? If the annual results were going to be lousy, wouldnt Safcom have gone for the aditional funding late last year (or Jan/feb)? Or was the Global crisis a factor? If it was - wont it still be in 3 months?

3. 21st May is Thursday. If it were Friday, I would be convinced of bad news. If Monday/Tuesday, I would be expecting positive results. But Thursday? Unless of course they anticipate the stock price to rise because of good news - and the weekend is to taper off any selling spree (people cashing in on quick gains).

Am bullish on this stock because:
1. Zain, previously perceived as the biggest threat, has shown that it didn't really have a strategy for Kenya. Instead of consolidating their Number 2 position, they went all out against Number 1 with an unsustainable price war. Now the Zain Kenya operation sticks out like a sore thumb in their books as the least profitable venture with highest losses. Further more it is only a matter of time before Orange goes for "No. 2" a prestigious position in its own right.

I wonder how long zain Head Office management / investors can tolerate this before pulling the plug considering that:

1. Kuwait was impacted (to a certain extent) by the credit crunch
2. Zain is a public listed company in Kuwait - how long can its sharehodlers tolerate lousy financial performance? Recent layoffs in Nairobi are the biggest indicator of the mood in Kuwait.
3. Zain 3-step overall strategy is not working in Kenya.
4. Zain's Kenya operation is holding it back from achieving it's Vision
5. Zain has a strong West African position and can use it's resources more effectively by channeling them to it's profitable and most promising operations - like Nigeria for example. Looks to me like a no-brainer.

The fibre optic cable will be another interesting development to watch.

All in all an interesting 2 weeks weeks can be expected at the bourse. Good luck!

:-)

2009-05-18T14:37:00.011+03:00

- MAISHINSKI'S GUIDE: SECRETS OF CAPITALISM -

Q: Why are many africans so rich - yet so poor? How come many westerners are so poor yet so rich?

Q: How come there's no consistent correlation between total Net Worth and Standards of Living?

Q: Why do African governements adopt different economic models compared to the rest of the world?

I have been thinking about the three questions above and I believe the answer lies in the perceptions about capitalism / economics (that influence macroeconomic policies) and recognition of the critical role of credit as a stimulus for economic growth.

The biggest lesson that African States can learn from the global recession / credit crunch is that:
1. Direct impact was directly proportional to perceived wealth of a nation (or its inhabitants). The hardest hit nations had the highest standards of living for their people. This tells us something important about credit!

2. The poorest countries shall be among the last to be affected (if at all). This is NOT a good thing. It means we have been managing our economies in a different way compared to the rest of the world. Being immune from the crunch is not something to celebrate about - it's a WAKE UP CALL!

I believe that African governments that want to gain economic independence and eradicate poverty must do two things:

1. Make it easy for their citizens to access credit
2. Boost local consumption of locally manufactured products

One way of achieving this, for example, would be for a government to guarantee say 50% of all consumer debt - provided the spending is on products manufactured locally. This is the stimulus package that Africa needs! Such guarantees should be accompanied by legislation that encourage small repayment amounts spread over long-terms to enable people to juggle multiple lines of credit. Educational content should be updated to reflect modern times. Credit is an excellent and necessary financial tool. CASH IS BAD. CREDIT IS GOOD!

Lets go back to basics:
1. In any market we must have a Product/Service, Willing Buyers, Willing Sellers and a price agreeable to both.

2. Buyers are the most important part of the chain because they have higher influence over demand and supply compared to sellers. It follows therefore, that the biggest impact to the economy can be made by addressing barriers that limit buyers ability (hence influencing willingness) to buy.

3. When buyers have limited purchasing power, it imposes a limit on demand which translates to low supply as producers limit capacity try to match the demand, which in turn limits the growth and profitability of the companies involved. It's a vicious cycle!

4. Therefore if you want to boost production, you must increase the number of willing buyers OR, the ablility of willing buyers to buy more - OR both.

5. Lenders / Creditors have a critical role to play. Contrary to popular sentiment, CONSUMER LOANS ARE NOT BAD LOANS!

6. Consumer loans (credit cards, personal unsecured loans etc) are the LIFEBLOOD of a capitalist economy. Loans increase the buyer's purchasing power leading to high sales, higher production, fast growth, higher profits, higher tax revenue for the government.

7. increased tax revenues reduces government dependence on external financing (Aid / Grants etc). More cash is available for infrastructure and welfare projects improving the well being of people and creating condusive environment for business to thrive. A positive feedback loop!

8. People living on credit have better standards of living. Compare the lowest income person in Kibera slums who has no loans (all spending limited to cash - which NATURALLY locks the $1/day person into a wretched lifestyle) vs an average Westerner with much lower net worth compared to the kibera slum dweller - but who enjoys better standards of living ANYWHERE he/she goes. Each person has a diffrent quality of life either because of their own perception of CREDIT or other people's perception of their creditworthiness!

Wrong investment policies / incentives: Encouraging industries which exploit local resources to manufacture products - which are mainly exported and consumed ABROAD. This is just stupid from a bigger picture perspective. Export business should be about getting rid of SURPLUS - after satisfying the local demand.

To really stimulate the economy, we must have an macro environment that encourage high levels of LOCAL CONSUMPTION for most of our manufactured products. This is not advocating for some form of protectionism - rather, we need to empower our buying population. The key here is CREDIT. Let all Africans have free access to credit to boost their purchasing power - then sit back and watch the takeoff.

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

2009-03-31T20:58:00.007+03:00

- GLOBAL RECESSION: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR KENYA -

Kenya. Politics aside. Our banks just posted massive profits - defying all global trends and forecasts. Am sure IMF's and World Bank's elite "preach-doom-about-Africa" Negativity Squads are scratching their little clueless heads right now...

This is an opportunity like no other:
===========================
1. Global deflation: Imports to Kenya are cheaper than they ever will be. While the shilling has devalued at 25%, the cost of imports has dropped by OVER 40%. Hence even if you buy dollars at 80/- you still get 15% savings!

2. Credit: Tightening credit to businesses for publicity sake will only bite back at Kenyan Banks. Why create bad-debts when there are none? Why apply negative feedback to a positive loop? Forget these "copy/paste PR policies" suggested by the losers themselves and look at your market's unique features. Smart approach for Kenyan Banks is long term: Loosen credit so that businesses can weather the PEV related economic slowdown!

3. For businesses, scaling down on projects is stupid and counteproductive. This is the time to capitalize on the global recession! Imports are cheap in general. Look for deals NOW! everyone is ready to negotiate. If you can hedge against exchange volatility somehow, you can procure quality factory machinery, fittings, equipment and other materials unbelievable prices - possibly less than 25% of your budgeted cost 18 months ago. So, what is holding you back - really - what is it?

4. Understand the essense of capitalism. Expanding smartly during a downturn positions you strongly for the inevitable boom cycle.

5. For those in Diaspora. Realize that your dollar can now get 25% more shillings.

6. Diaspora currency hedge: Suppose a group of Kenyans in Diaspora partnered with reputable Kenyan businesses get them cheap "dollar denominated imports" in exchange for a piece of the action (stake in business)? Perhaps a company can issue a "diaspora bond" in USD?... Ideas are unlimited... Win-Win for both parties...

No doubt 2009 will separate the men from the boys.

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

2009-03-31T17:29:00.005+03:00

- THE ART OF INTELLECTUAL STUPIDITY -

..and this year's International Moron Award goes to...

That's it! I have had it with "campus-erians". Totally. There are some things any self respecting, graduate-level educated human being with an iota of foresight cannot do - and KU's recent rampage tops the list for 2009.

News that UoN students actually joined in - apparently for no reason at all - is just depressing to say the least.

=================
SO MANY QUESTIONS
=================
Was that the smartest approach our "learned" children (so called future "leaders") could take to solving a "crisis"? Whatever happened to brains over brawn Where is the intellectual debate? Where are the creative problem solving skills? Where is the evidence of actual learning?

Why is violence, the laziest, most primitive option with far reaching consequences, always the "undergraduate's option of first resort"?

Why is it getting harder to differentiate learned students from semi-literate thugs? What happened to intelligently though-out solutions within institutional frameworks?

=========================
ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
=========================
This is the stuff that hits the global news... "third world sudents, in a public learning institution, burning a lecture hall to avoid exams... meanwhile, the leaders begged for aid to feed starving people when seasonal drought caught them by surprise - AGAIN..." And you wonder why racists categorize East Africans as morons...

Fast forward 2010: You hear graduates complaining about:

1. Job shortage... there is no such thing. Our graduates just don't think hard enough.
2. Degrees not recognized.. yes because REPUTATION determines your paper's value.
3. Non-graduates getting better jobs/pay: yes because their early exposure to life gave them more discipline, creativity and reliability.
4. Economic slowdown / inflation / crime etc... yes because you choose animal instincts over brain power.
5. Bad reputation internationally... yes. you acted for short term gain - without thinking of long term consequences.

Brothers and sisters, yet again we have outdone ourselves. Another Big Shame for our country.

This is a CLEAR WARNING about the direction Kenya is heading - given current levels of general impunity and increasing lawlessness. We need a miracle for 2012 God help us!

:-(

2009-03-24T20:40:00.002+03:00

- THE ART OF TRIBAL POLITICS -

Tribalism is both a blessing (identity, diversity and culture) and a curse (easy prey to divisive and destructive politics). Tribalism is not just limited to Africa - it is a global phenomenon. US gangs up with Britain more easily due to cultural similarities.. similarly, Kikuyus and Merus/Kambas; Luos and (to some extent) Luhyas have cultural similarities that enable them to gang up against other tribes. Historically, all wars have had a tribal aspect - only the scale has differed e.g. Germans vs Jews, Russian vs Serbs, China vs Japan...etc

Skilled demagogues thrive on demonization aspects of tribal politics - practically any social evil can be blamed on "outsiders". Objectifying and demonizing the "outsiders" (e.g. by calling Kikuyus "Mount Kenya Mafia") is a common technique politicans (and tribal media) use to get society to commit unthinkable acts. The person murdering innocent children in the 2008 PEV probably believed he/she was fighting for "democracy" and "freedom" by destroying "the Mafia who stole elections". The brainwashing technique is so powerful that even an innocent child is seen as the manifestation of the social evil itself.

Looking back in history, how different from Nazis, are the persons involved in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs - whose radiation still affects innocent people's genetics to the present day? How different is that from Rwandan Genocide? In all cases the politicians objectified entire societies - thus giving their "foot soldiers" the moral "excuse" to commit serious human rights atrocities. Much closer to home... the generally accepted practice of Mob Justice relies on objectifying the "suspect"... all one has to do is point, shout "Mwizi!" and "instant justice" is handed over (questions - if any - can be asked later).

The solution? I believe a combination of education & technology. Our children should be taught how to identify and question fallacious arguments (the pillars on which propaganda is based). For the brainwashed adults (probably too late to change ingrained values), technology can be used.

We have talent in Kenya that can develop such software - possibly funded by Civil Society / Private Sector (who are likely to have more transparent objectives). The software can be donated to the Gov to implement - of course with the usual international and political pressure for change in legislation.

This is my challenge to my brothers and sisters in Kenya. Let's outsmart the politicians and save our country - before they burn it down for their personal benefit!

Copyright 2009

2009-03-02T13:18:00.008+03:00

- 2012 ELECTIONS: HOW ICT CAN HELP -

The current electoral system in Kenya stinks.

A fundamental flaw lies in the colonial system of grouping people based on their physical location. While this may work in England - where people generally belong to one tribe - it falls flat on its face when applied to Kenya and many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sidenote:
This is a classic case of "copy / paste" approaches perpetrated by colonial regimes and popular with their current successors. If it works in the west, surely it MUST work in Africa? Unless of course the Africans themselves are the problem - right? Luckily, african leaders are growing more assertive and rejecting/questioning copy/paste policy prescriptions from World Bank, IMF and other similar "benevolent" entities.

It is becoming clear now that the missing element in Western copy/paste "solutions" for Africa is:

Factoring Tribal and Cultural Diversity.

Tribalism: Is it a weakness or a strength? On one hand it promotes a sense of identity and culture; a sense of pride; shared communal values; humor; diversity etc.

On the other hand - there is a strong divisive aspect. Language for example. Cultural acceptance too: we tend to view other tribes through the "telescope" of our own tribal values. Thus we find other tribes to be primitive/backward/weird etc simply because they don't do what we do the way we do it. How to unite people who don't understand each other?

Unless there is a major physical mixup of people nationwide, the issue of tribal voting patterns, tribal demagogues, ethnic campaigns and the associated risk of ethnic violence will always be significant.

ENTER ICT..
The current ICT developments in Kenya (e.g. terrestial Fibre Optic network) have created a window of opportunity for a radical transformation of the entire electoral process.

Key requirements to address tribal issues include:

1. Integration of Automated Electoral System with National ID card system.

2. Polling constituency "membership" for citizens should be based on randomly picked ID numbers.

3. Aspiring MPs should not have any constituency assigned to them during campaigns. Instead, the system would assign candidates randomly to thair "constituencies" after the campaign is over and actual voting commences. Read on to understand the reasoning...

4. Voting: Basically, Gov provides a terminal at all polling stations and someone keys in their ID number, then he/she is advised of "consituency"/voting bloc and candidate MPs to vote for and then person either casts vote or abstains.

Constituencies in this case will not be tribal constituencies but rather equal voting blocs whose membership is determined randomly. They can have random names like "Simba Constituncy, Ndovu Constituency, Farasi Constituency etc".

MPs will not know who voted for them. All they will know is that Kenyans voted for them - nation wide (Post-election Statistics can be availed to auditors of course - to ensure transparency) .

New Legislation and Parliamentary debate will not be based on "my constituents needs" but the needs of Kenyans in general and Kenya as a country. Hence when campaigning, the promises/manifestos etc will cover all regions and all tribes.

Presidential:
Same can be extended to presidential candidates - where:

President has to garner votes in X constituencies/provinces/ whatever. Members of the constituency/province/whatever only know where they belong on voting day. (i.e. random assignment of ID numbers)

Therefore any president who wants to last two terms has to look after the entire Nation rather than rely on tribal divisions/alliances etc.

Benefits:
- Tribal politics cease to have value!
- Promote concept of leaders rather than rulers.
- Politicians have to campaign nationwide
- Campaigns focus on national issues
- "chota kitu kidogo" campaigns will no longer be viable (bribing voters)
- People vote on basis of national ISSUES rather than tribal loyalty/affiliation
- Mobilizing voters will not be possibe
- counting errors will be eliminated
- double voting - eliminated
- Fake ballots - eliminated
- Tribal victories - elinminated. If x wins all Kenyans who elected x celebrate - irrespective of tribe.
- Quick announcement of results!
- Accuracy in determining winner during close contests. Losers have no option but to accept/concede - hence in their interests to be civil and dignified about it.
- Meeting international standards!
- Easy to measure any weaknesses of such a system
- Easy to incorporate controls that address any weaknesses!
- Fair and transparent
- Easy to Audit! Validates fairness & transparency.
- No incentive for election related tribal violence.
- Tribe takes on a positive aspect (richness in cultural diversity).
- People dont have to choose between being "Nationalistic" or "Tribalistic". They can be both at the same time!
- Current tribal political parties will no longer be sustainable!

Warning: To avoid another scandal/white elephant, Kenyans must insist that such a system be developed locally by a kenyan company employing at least 90% kenyans. That way we stand to win TWICE improve our institutions while contributing to the economy and well being of Kenyans!

That's my proposal to the Government of Kenya and Kenyans in general. Let us harness our homegrown talent and knowledge to unite our country!

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

2009-02-24T15:34:00.005+03:00

- FIGHTING CRIME: A FRESH PERSPECTIVE -

1. Criminals don't just appear from thin Air.

2. Crime has nothing to do with poverty (visit Ethiopia and see for yourself).

3. By the time someone is jailed for a serious premeditated crime - it's usually too late. Might as well throw away the key.

I believe it is easy to predict whether someone will be a criminal as early as standard 1 (Age 7) by observing the social values as they interact with other kids in school. Luckily the problem can be "fixed" at this age if the root cause is understood (influence from other deviant kids - older/younger; lack of proper role models; parents; relatives or any combination etc) - and the guardians are willing to participate.

The correction window is up to std 5 (age 11) - after which it quickly becomes more and more difficult to change the person's social values - and by extension propensity to crime.

By form 4 you can tell who the future thugs will be (they hang out in Groups and their activities are well known) and the future white collar criminals (they dub/cheat in all the tests - and get better at it as they grow older - usually secretive loners). Tracking deviant form 4 leavers (17/18 years) in a database and montoring their movements as adults can help in predicting / preventing crime.

Say for example, a cop on patrol meets a young guy walking aimlessly at 3am. Nothing wrong with walking at 3am - but is this guy a suspect or not? No way of telling - unless you have a method of feeding his ID number in a database of "past offenders" (highly suspect) and "deviant history" (possible suspects).

Sidenote: Of course cops would have to be retrained to do actual police work - instead of executing people left right and centre! But I digress...

Rather than jail people when it's too late to change their ingrained values and behavior, the Gov of Kenya should adopt initiatives that train Teachers on how to spot tendencies for deviant behavior and tactics (positive) for replacing such with positive behavior - preferrably at the earliest age possible.

Sensitizing society on such a program to get their buy-in and participation would of course be a hurdle - but the benefits for future generations can be immense!

Lets have a mix of Proactive approaches (change values at young age) and Reactive approaches (punitive measures after 14 yrs) for the best results.

Copyright 2009.

2009-02-24T09:17:00.007+03:00

- ENGLISH IS OVERRATED -

Kenya should get over the perception that English is a source of competitive advantage. Such a logic presuposses that the global market prefers english speakers over others - which is essentially fallacious logic.

China speaks Mandarin/Catonese (chinese) - yet they recently sent a man to the moon. They have managed to sell their goods all over the world. Their language keeps them united as a people. They are already a nuclear superpower and a dominant nation. When china speaks, the world pays attention. They may not like it - but they do listen.

Indians speak Hindu/Urdu in their country (english is a language of convenience) - yet they are the number one Software and IT Services providers to western nations. One language keeps them united. Recently they launched their space shuttle to the moon. They are already a nuclear super power. India's global influence is set to peak in the coming years.

Arabs speak Arabic. They remain the wealthiest nations in the world (ok ok maybe it's something to do with oil) - but they are proud of their culture and they make others learn THEIR language.

Europeans speak various other languages. Yet they belong to the club of industrialized nations. Germans; French; Belgians; Spanish; Portuguese; Not forgetting Russia and CIS/East european tribal languages.

Not forgetting.. the JAPANESE. The ultimate perfectionists. You know what you do at Luthuli Avenue - you look for "Made in Japan" and you pay more for it. "Made in Japan" is synonymous with QUALITY. Previously despised by the west, they have turned around perceptions - such that even western racists regard them as having the highest IQs in the world!

Have you ever attended a UN meeting of global leaders - or watched it on TV? How come they don't use one language?

English is overrated - but ONLY IN AFRICA.

Read my posts on the Art of Capitalism (among others) and see if you can find a link between poverty, economics, politics, propaganda, education and language.

Do you see it now? Colonial brainwashing is the biggest hurdle faced by Africans. If we can clean that up (decolonize and free our minds), learn the Capitalism game and play it like the masters, we will ALL be RICH by 2020. I am saying this with 100% conviction and certainty.

Language is a source of identity. A source of unity. A source of national pride. A source of patriotism. Tribes in Kenya retain their unique identity through language. What culture do you have in Nairobi? Any tribal division is perpetrated by LANGUAGE.

The bible, Genesis 11:1-9, talks about the immense destructive POWER of language. According to the bible, all God had to do to divide a united nation was simply to introduce different languages and step back. That was enough.

The key to wealth and prosperity is a FREE MIND.

Copyright 2009.

2009-02-22T22:38:00.007+03:00

- THE ART OF THINKING... OUT OF THE BOX -

It's not often that you witness the power of lateral thinking in action. Something big is about to happen in Kenya. Check this out:

A turkish company plans to launch Smart card payment system in Kenya - initially targeting the transport sector (article in BD Africa).

Even the news editors at BD Africa don't seem to realize how big this insignificant sounding announcement is!

Lets look at it from another angle. What 2 things always make the top 5 list as the biggest challenge to doing business in Nairobi right now?

CRIME/SECURITY:
What do criminals want? All those who have been robbed before... lets say this together now... yes! CASH. First and Foremost. PAPER. CHAPAA. MCHUZI.

Imagine people walking around with smart cards. Topping up at ATMs. Using the cards to make purchases etc. No cash in pocket. Businesses having minimal cash in tills. Cashless Mathree collections. etc etc

Take the cash out of the equation and suddenly a life in crime becomes very very complicated! Avoid any cash related functions (ATM weaknes), Link the Card to a secret PIN, register each user (traceability to deter crminals from using the system) and BAMM you have a winner.

Remember the average gun-toting "Lala Chini" thug is usually a dim witted semi-educated halfwit. It would take two or three GENERATIONS for them to "crack" such a system - and that means they would have to make their kids pay attention in school (which means the kids would get jobs anyway - hence no need to thug etc).. but I digress...

The other issue...

CORRUPTION:What do corrupt gov officials/cops want? What has been the biggest hinderance to gov revenue collection; spot fines for traffic; game reserve collections etc? Yes! CASH. PAPER. CHAPAA. MCHUZI. Remember the dummies who wanted to make people pay for park fees via Bankers Cheque?

Now the possibility of 100% revenue collection is real.

There are many more possibilities & solutions to our everyday challenges.

People, this is a big one. Are you ready?

Copyright 2009.

2009-02-21T14:34:00.004+03:00

- STOP GIVING AID TO KENYA -

AID. The poor nation's drug. Worse than Cocaine. Worse than Heroine. Results in millions of deaths worldwide. Yet not recognmized as a crime against humanity.

AID is not free. It must be paid back. Resulting in budget holes. Resulting in the need for... more AID.

AID leads to laziness. Every x years there is a great famine in Kenya. We have a weather department. We have research centres. We have universities. Yet we always get caught by surprise.

AID leads to dependence. At the Cabinet meeting. Our leaders. Tribal rulers. Having gorged themselves. With the food meant for the poor. Make yet another resolution: "Lets retrieve our begging bowls.. Masta Bwana Mzungu is rich. Surely he can help"?

AID has political strings attached. Master Bwana has his own agenda. Nowhere does it say - "let's free these people". More likely than not, Master Bwana benefits 10 times more than the beggar. Employing his people in key project positions (check the UN). Paying them Exorbitantly. Using resources made in Master Bwana's country. Channeling back the funds. Indirectly. To his own country.

AID kills. Yes it does. Tribal rulers eat. Because they are eating Master Bwana Mzungu's money. "Anyway Master bwana has a lot more - so lets eat". We'll just take out our begging bowls. Money diverted from essential services e.g. Healthcare; research; sanitation; infrastructure. High Child mortality / Unnecessary deaths overall. From simple diseases. AID kills.

AID breeds dictators... Tribal rulers cling to power; Master Bwana's money must be eaten. At all costs. This is our turn to eat. Frustrated poor dont get it. They cling to hope. Demagogues rise up. The poor go on rampage and murder each other.. self righteus Master Bwana. Mutters with rightful indignation... these beggars - lets thereaten them with AID cut...Mean while, no one, not even CSI, is able to link the deaths to... AID.

Dear Foreign Donors,

Please, please, please,

Stop giving us AID. Stop Giving us AID. Stop Giving us AID.

Instead of AID, all we ask for is a debt restructuring. Give us a repayment break for existing debt. Yes we shall pay you back. Just give us time to sort out our financial issues.

Instead of AID, Postpone all our repayments for 20 years. Let us re-channel the funds internally. Then we have no excuse.

Instead of AID, Step back and dont try to change regimes / control governments / dominate people / mislead masses / manipulate people. Postpone your agendas. Be human for once.

Instead of AID, Let us suffer the consequences of our actions. It may be temptng to play god. To show us what is good for us. Because we are morons? Incapable of fixing our problems? It is insulting to those who know what you are doing. "mtoto akililia wembe, mpe".

Thank you for your efforts.. but please, if you really want to help, and you have a clean heart, please restructure ur debt - and stop giving us AID.

Copyright 2009.

2009-02-21T14:03:00.005+03:00

- THE ART OF CAPITALISM -

Money is an illusion. It does not exist - except in our minds...

Think about it... what is the difference - in terms of value perception - between the pieces of printed paper and metal coins - when compared to cowrie shells (currency traditionally used by Kikuyus to trade with Masais)?

I contend that, the inflation in Zimbabwe is nothing but a mere illusion and the suffering and poverty within Africa is largely a result of ignorance on the structure, design and operation of Capitalism.

We need a credit crunch in Kenya. Yes, I said it! We need one. ...and the the only way to get there is by Kenyan banks availing cheaper credit for the masses - this would lead to excessive consumption - which leads to economic boom - growth giant corporations - jobs everywhere - GoK collects enough taxes to eradicate deficits and gain surplus - invests in superb infrastructure (health/housing/transport/tech/etc)- better treatment of kenyans overseas (perceived as rich) etc etc.

After a few years (30 or so) there will be a massive correction (Recesion/Depression). This is inevitable. But, whats important is that, the structures built on credit remain intact (roads / quality of life / general infrastructure).

When such corrections occur, Banks collapse (ochestrated - its all a myth remember?); People lose jobs (it's temporary - but necessary), Property and commodity prices plummet; deflation kicks in; and Governments come up with big "rescue packages" - i.e. they print more cash.

A short period of gloom and (if not managed weell, political upheaval)... then the cycle begins.. confidence grows,,,credit,,, bubble... correction... gloom...rescue... recovery.. confidence...

That is the art of capitalism.

If AFRICA wants to get ahead in the game, we gotta learn to play like the architects. Let's open the rivers of credit and fix poverty now. Sure there'll be a "credit crunch" in 2030 - who cares, we'll be rich enough to fix it!

Copyright 2009.

2009-02-13T15:05:00.004+03:00

-INDUSTRY PREDICTIONS: AVIATION -

Have you noticed how, as the world grapples with recession, everyone's turning into a prophet?

Well, am not one to be left behind in this soothsayer business - so heres's my unsolicted prediction for the airline industry:

================
Business travel:
================
To ride the recesion, organizations will want to minimize overheads as much as possible - this suggests a renewed interest in methods of substituting travel e.g. with virtual interaction (e.g. Videoconferencng, virtual collaboration etc). ICT Legislation will become stronger - such that things like "virtually signed" documents gain legal authority.

VERDICT: With costs in focus, business travellers will only travel if its absolutely essential.

==============
Leisure Travel
==============
Old habits die hard. People will still want to take exotic vacations etc for some time to come. What they're gonna be worried about, to some extent, is how the vacation impacts their their personal finances. However these customers dont make rational decisions (no approval process) so you can still count on emotions as the primary factor behind a purchase decision.

VERDICT: This market is gonna be driven by perceptions of value for money. Most likely they will be ready to forego certain luxuries for the sake of cheaper tickets. Focus will be on getting from A to B rather than the (inceasingly old fashioned) in-flight experience. Show them they are getting the most value for the least dent in their wallets - and you close the sale!

=============================
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE INDUSTRY
=============================
Radical change in pricing and revenue management models. Possibly a more "transparent" and flat pricing structure with customer empowered to select a base price + add-ons as "extra" when booking. Increase in cabin types - each designed to offer some unique value (e.g. "economy plus" with more leg room).

Focus to be on high volumes. Economies of scale. Super jumbos a'la A380 taking over as preferred long-haul equipment. But without the glitz and glamour - just MANY, MANY coach-class seats (perhaps compartmentalized) in one aircraft!

Small Airlines may shift focus to regional - and form some form of alliances with major carriers for intercontinental sales... Major carriers may decide to focus on long haul, high-volumes only (A380?). Industry regulations may radically change to accomodate this..

Sales: No more pampering. Customers will have to buy tickets online or use Self service ticketing kiosks (like ATMs). Personal touch will be an "add-on" chargeable luxury - rather than the norm. "Season/multiple flight" discount tickets may come in handy to lock-in frequent flyers to an airline as competition intensifies.

Back office: Historically, companies who build their brands during a downturn - emerge as market leaders when the economy recovers. Business Intelligence / Analytics and CRM Systems will now be taken more seriously - as airlines seek extra competitive edge through innovation and product/service differentiation.

HR - Airlines that can identify and retain the talent that best suits their strategic objectives will probably have higher chances of survival. Creativity and innovation may become general expectation for most roles. Employee relations and stress-free work environments will take centre stage in order to retain at lowest cost.

=========
AIRPORTS
=========
Airports.. higher emphasis will be placed in maximizing end-to-end efficiency. The less time passengers spend at the airport, the higher the throughput and the lower the costs per passenger. Web Check-in / Bar code / RFID technologies will be probably be reclassified from "strategic/potential" to "key operational" i.e. must-have to survive. The idea of Common Use Self Service might resurface as airlines seek additional economies of scale.

Duty Free shopping concept will probably die out (especially for luxury and non-essential brands) or move on-board to long-haul Super Jumboz. Most likely supermarket type shops with travel essentials like toothpaste, shavers etc There is a high likelihood that Duty free Alcohol / Tobacco shops will survive (LOL).

Lounges may survive (people seek small comforts in times of hardship) - but with less glitz. Most likely - "pay only for what you use". Meaning cheaper first & business class seats.

==========
CONCLUSION
==========
All in all, we're definitely going to see some radical transformation in the industry's business model as a whole. Those who arent agile enough to change will probably dissapear or be acquired by the more agile.

For the shareholders? Scrutinize the strategy like a hawk. Is it in touch with reality? Is there any sign of a unique response to new challenges - or are they still planning for a market that expired 3 years ago? You be the judge.

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

2009-01-24T20:21:00.003+03:00

- EDUCATION SYSTEM: LESSONS FROM THE PAST -

In Primary School, my most hated subject was "GHC (Geography, History and Civics)". It never made sense to me and I always knew I was being tricked to do THREE different subjects sandwitched into one.

What does the formation of Volcanic rocks and the shifting of Tectonic plates have to do with the rise and fall of King Shaka Zulu?

AAARRRRGGHHH!!!

================
Play time
================
Break was only 30 minutes a day. An additional 30 mins or 1 hour of PE (physical education) a week was provided - during which some teachers simply took a "sunshine break" and left children to play on their own. Hmmm.... It's no wonder then Kenyans are undeveloped in many "skill sports" like soccer or gymnastics!

==================================
First encounter with 8-4-4 chaos:
==================================
At age 10, I was expected to master 13 subjects - yet I had only learned new concepts like "ABCD.." and "1+1=2" only 3 years earlier. Each of the 13 subjects was taught in 30/45 minutes sessions (!!) to cram as much into one day - and, as if that wasnt enough, almost all the lessons were taught in a new strange language - English (!!!) Most kids were thoroughly confused students by the end of the day and not much learning was taking place!

=============================
Accidental discovery of... The Library:
=============================
Strangely enough, I never really "studied" for the subjects that I enjoyed (actually used to read story books "under the desk" while the teacher was rambling on and on).

Now, my relentless quest for more and more storybooks led to the accidental discovery of the ultimate source of children's books... The Library (I remain indebted to my mum for this hot tip). It was like a dream come true for an 8 year old kid.

Incidentally none of my early primary school teachers ever mentioned libraries or encouraged kids to visit them (std1 - std5).

=========================
Best Subjects - Analyzed
=========================
Lets analyze the topics I really excelled in (top 1/2/3 student always) and possibly see if there's some underlying reason:

1. CRE/RE: reading bibilical comics and going to sunday school was enough... and mind you, I was not one of the "saved kids". Outcome: Effortless 100% score most of the time..

2. English: Since Standard one, reading "story books" was all i did to learn english. I swear. Yet I was almost always number 1 in Spelling, English Grammar, Comprehension etc. I think this sort of spilled over and accelearated my understanding of other subjects (since the delivery language was mainly English).

So anyway, I could go to the library and read stories.. eventually migrating to colorful books with nice pictures about science, astronomy, robots etc simply because I ENJOYED READING THEM.

Truth be told - I never really managed to read those boring 800-page "Sikh" or "Butt" books that we were being advised to Cram in order to pass.

1. Science & agriculture: just watching the wonders of science in VOK (KBC) tv was enough to trigger a strong interest in science. I first heard about microchips on VOK tv when I was age 10 - it was in a science documentary (one of the "Deuschewelle" proggies sourced from Germany) that used to air after school. 4 real.

For some reason I was always ahead of class in science... easily defining "big words" like Osmosis / Photosynthesis / Chlorophyll, Milky way Galaxy, Trypanosomiasis etc.. on the first day the teacher mentioned them in class.

Needless to say, I was the undisputed top-dog in Science throughout all my years in Primary School. Secondary school was a different ball game as being "Dumb" was in fashion (thanks to movies like House Party by Kid & Play that said you could only get girls if you are dumb). I pretty much stopped reading in order to be "cool".

===================================
LESSONS LEARNED / CONCLUSIONS
===================================
I strongly believe that the education system in Kenya and Africa in general can be vastly improved by shifting focus from mindless classroom-based cramming of theory, to specially tailored holistic, environment-based learning that recognizes African culture and the need to reach to children in Fun and creative ways.

Language barriers should be eradicated. If swahili (or sheng) is the National language, then it should be institutionalized such that it can apply as the primary method of delivering academic concepts. Chinese teach in Chinese. Russians Learn in Russian. etc. Alternatively, creative ways of teaching english at very early ages should be incorporated into children's education from birth onwards - of course with the resultant loss of National identity (as currently seen in Kenya!).

Remove colonial propaganda from our eductational system. This is a known disease in our educational systems/material and much has been said about it. Urgent action must be taken for the sake of our children and future generations.

Identifying a child's strongest interests must be done at an early age and the system should be customizable in order to develop the child's talents in their areas of interest. This suggests that the role of teachers changes from teaching to talent discovery and talent management. Teaching methods should therefore designed to facilitate talent discovery and talent enhancement.

This calls for great flexibility in the academic curriculum! Perhaps measuring progress in terms of credit point accumulation - rather than number of subjects + marks attained.

Each school must have a TRAINED Coach/Guide for each extra-curriculum activity (music / debate / sports / drama etc). Extra-curriculum activity must result in some form of academic credit. This will develop our non-academic and social talents, resulting in well-rounded citizens.

Positive propaganda must be fed to our kids such that they associate being smart with being "cool" and "popular". Gov should sponsor the creation of role models via Comic books Super heroes (e.g. a Mr. Kenya who saves the world...); local movies etc. The hero must be smart and must show some initiative, creativity, research and application of knowledge to perform some great deed - always. Watch US movies and see the general theme. Almost always some research is involved before a problem is solved.

==================
Wrap up.
==================
A 10 year old kid wants to learn in a FUN way that stimulates his/her imagination. Forcing a 10 year old kid to sit in class cramming outdated facts for 8 hours every day is counterproductsive, destructive and an abuse of children's rights.

Our education system is currently counter-productive and needs a complete, but well thought out, overhaul if we are to achieve mental freedom and prosperity as a nation.

Other ideas / lessons learned from fellow Africans are most welcome.

Copyright 2009.

2008-12-31T21:23:00.011+03:00

WISHING YOU ALL
A HAPPY AND
PROSPEROUS

2009.

Share the knowledge. Spread wealth and promote economic empowerment throughout the entire African continent!

I love you all my brothers and sisters.

2008-12-05T04:19:00.006+03:00

- THE LINK BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RACISM - PART 6 -

This is the final part in the series. It reviews the ongoing debates regarding the origins and alleged purpose of diseases like Ebola and AIDS... Parts 1 - 4 set the "stage" by giving a historical overview. Part 5 revealed more chilling consequenses of Racism and ethinc dehumanization in the "modern world".

CREDITS: The information in this article is copied "verbatim" from various Wikipedia Sources. I do not claim to be the author or copyright holder. The purpose is to illustrate the Powerful effect of Institutionalized Racism and to show that it still exists and that African Governments have done very little to promote the dignity, safety and social standing of African people.

Origin of AIDS: "Conspiracy theories"

--> Edward Hooper, a former BBC correspondent, has advanced the "contaminated polio vaccine" theory for the origins of HIV and AIDS. In his exhaustively researched book, The River, Hooper advances the theory that HIV1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a mutation or variant of, or the result of animal-to-human transmission of, SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus), a virus found in the chimpanzee. He lays blame on Dr. Hilary Koprowski, a virologist working for Philadelphia's Wistar Research Institute, who allegedly used hastily concocted chimpanzee kidney culture medium from a Stanleyville research laboratory to create millions of doses of oral polio vaccine for a mass vaccination program in the Belgian colony of the Belgian Congo.

The experimental vaccine was administered to millions of natives in the Belgian Congo without their informed consent. The research was partially funded by the U.S. Government.

Hooper points out inconsistencies in what Koprowski and his team said they did, and what workers in Koprowski's laboratories and at his chimpanzee research camp said was done.

The contaminated polio vaccine theory was supported by the influential evolutionary biologist and Oxford University professor, W. D. Hamilton, who died as a result of contracting malaria on one of his trips to Africa to seek proof for the theory. Dr. Hamilton is considered considered to be one of the greatest evolutionary theorists of the 20th century. (Interesting coincidence. An expert biologist goes to seek proof and ends up dead. Hmmm...)

Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz, author of Emerging Viruses: AIDS & Ebola. Nature, Accident or Intentional? and Death in the Air: Globalism, Terrorism and Toxic Warfare, has advanced the theory that the AIDS virus was engineered by such U.S. Government defense contractors as Litton Bionetics for the purposes of bio-warfare and "population control."

In the words of Paul Farmer, physician, anthropologist, and author of AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame, "AIDS, although a new disease, is deeply embedded in social and economic structures long in place... violence, poverty, and inequality are the fault lines along which HIV spreads."

Sources & Further reading:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080122151928AAncTVS
http://www.originofaids.com/
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Large_Human_Trial_Of_HIV_Vaccine_Canceled_By_NIAID_20659.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/specialreports/2005/11nov/AIDSorigins.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_origin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_conspiracy_theories

2008-12-04T23:33:00.007+03:00

- THE LINK BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RACISM - PART 5 -

Half of all HIV infection are adult women, 61 percent of them being located in Africa’s sub-Saharan nations. In fact, sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the global malady. Of the 32.2 million people living with HIV, about 22.5 million are registered here, as well as 76 percent of those who die because of AIDS annually. Also 90 percent of all HIV positive children in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. [Source: eFluxmedia.com 2008]

Every Black African should read this. Parts 1 - 4 set the "stage" by giving a historical overview. Part 5 looks at the state of Racism in the modern world and reveals more chilling consequenses of Racism and ethinc dehumanization such as Human experiments on unsuspecting African subjects without their consent.

CREDITS: The information in this article is mostly copied "verbatim" from various Wikipedia Sources. I do not claim to be the author or copyright holder. The purpose is to illustrate the Powerful effect of Institutionalized Racism and to show that it still exists and that, to date, there are strong indications of organized clandestine racial artrocities possibly targeting the extermination or "population control" of communities in the developing world.

"Dehumanization: a process by which members of a group of people assert the "inferiority" of another group through subtle or overt acts or statements.

When people become things, they become dispensable - and any atrocity can be justified.

Dehumanization can be seen outside of overtly violent conflicts, as in political debates where opponents are presented as collectively stupid or inherently evil. Such "good-versus-evil" claims help end substantive debate.

A common theme is that of scapegoating, where dehumanizing the target provides a release from guilt for the person that scapegoats them, who typically begins to see themselves as a victim of the dehumanized person, rather than as a potential oppressor. (e.g. suggesting that all People of African Origin are drug dealers and criminals?).

- Recent Implications of dehumanizing Africans-

--> 2001: Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer under fire for allegedly testing meningitis drugs on African children. Obviously there were no ethical scruples.

-->2008: Numerous controversies which have surrounded microbicide trials carried out on women in South Africa which revealed that women in the study developed higher risk of HIV infection.

-->2007: The US-based reproductive health research organisation, CONRAD, announced the premature end of trials of a cellulose sulphate-based microbicide in Nigeria, Benin and Uganda after the data safety and monitoring committee found a higher number of infections in the active group compared to the placebo group

(Maishinski: Wow.. Quite a mouthful. There's much more - but I leave the rest of the research to you. The point has been made.)

Sources & Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leilani_Muir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_zoo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lynn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shockley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_sterilization
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805290720.html

-END-

2008-12-04T17:33:00.002+03:00

- THE LINK BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RACISM - PART 4 -

Every Black African should read this. Parts 1, 2a, 2b and 3 sets the historical "stage". Part 4 continues the series and presents a glance at the oft-ignored consequenses of Racism and ethinc dehumanization such as Racially motivated genocide.

CREDITS: The information in this article is copied "verbatim" from various Wikipedia Sources. I do not claim to be the author or copyright holder. The purpose is to illustrate the Powerful effect of Institutionalized Racism and to show that it still exists and that African Governments have done very little to promote the dignity and social standing of African people.

"FLASHBACK:
In 1851, antebellum Southern physician Samuel A. Cartwright (1793–1863) of Louisiana considered the attempts of slaves to gain freedom as a treatable mental illness he named "drapetomania". He wrote that '..withproper medical advice, strictly followed, this troublesome practice that many Negroes have of running away can be almost entirely prevented.'"

Early anthropologists such as Josiah Clark Nott, George Robins Gliddon, Robert Knox, and Samuel George Morton aimed to prove scientifically that Negroes were not the same species as white people, that the rulers of Ancient Egypt were not actually Africans, and that racially mixed offspring were infertile or weak.

(Maishinski: erm... Now you know why the Sphinx doesn't have a nose...)

In the United States,, eugenicists such as Harry H. Laughlin and Madison Grant sought to prove the physical and mental inadequacy of certain ethnic groups to scientifically justify compulsory sterilization and immigration restriction. Compulsory sterilization continued until the 1960s and beyond.

One of the first acts by Adolf Hitler after achieving total control over the German state was to pass the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring (Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses) in July 1933. By the end of World War II, over 400,000 individuals were sterilized under the German law and its revisions, most within its first four years of being enacted. When the issue of compulsory sterilization was brought up at the Nuremberg trials after the war, many Nazis defended their actions on the matter by indicating that it was the United States itself from whom they had taken inspiration.

Forced sterilization has been recognised as crime against humanity if the action is part of a widespread or systematic practice. The United States was the first country to concertedly undertake compulsory sterilization programs for the purpose of eugenics. Native Americans, as well as Afro-American women, were sterilized against their will in many states, often without their knowledge, while they were in a hospital for other reasons (e.g. childbirth). Over 65,000 individuals (actual non-official estimates could be higher) were sterilized in 33 states under state compulsory sterilization programs in the United States.

American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell explained why he believed blacks were inferior to whites, citing a study by G.O. Ferguson that showed black people who were part white outperformed "pure-black niggers" (Rockwell's words) on a test. Rockwell's use of these statistics is a textbook example of a statistical fallacy used to propagate scientific racism.

Until the 1920s such work was regarded as science and faced little criticism. But soon, cultural anthropologist Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict began to note methodological errors and claim politics and ideology biased the work's conclusions.

At the turn of the century, white Americans, and whites elsewhere in the world, felt uneasy because poverty and economic depression seemed to strike people regardless of race. White poverty contradicted notions of racial superiority, and hence it became the focus of "scientific" study.

The ICC Convention (in article 2) defines genocide as:

...any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group (COLONIAL MASSACRES IN AFRICA; ANNIHILATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES);

(b) Causing serious bodily (HUMAN EXPERIMENTS IN AFRICA) or *mental harm* to members of the group (BRAINWASHING & RACISM);

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part (ECONOMIC SLAVERY + AIDS + EBOLA conspiracy theories);

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group (FORCED STERILIZATION);

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group (SLAVERY?).

– Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article II

Maishinski: It's interesting to note that all the 5 crimes have at one time or another been perpetrated against Africans.

The final part of this article will look at more recent incidents and scandals associated with racism and ethnic dehumanization.

2008-12-04T17:32:00.000+03:00

- THE LINK BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RACISM - PART 3 -

Every Black African should read this. It could provide some explantion for the "unexplained Injustices" from "people of other lands".

CREDITS: The information in this article is copied "verbatim" from various Wikipedia Sources. I do not claim to be the author or copyright holder. The purpose is to illustrate the Powerful effect of Institutionalized Racism and to show that it still exists and that African Governments have done very little to promote the dignity and social standing of African people.

WILLIAM SHOCKLEY - NOBEL PRIZE WINNER
"Physicist William Shockley (British Nobel Prize holder and co-inventor of the Transistor) spent much of his later life focused on the questions of race, intelligence, and eugenics. He began giving speeches on population problems and published several controversial papers arguing that intelligence is primarily hereditary.

Shockley postulated that the higher reproduction rate of those with lower intelligence was having a dysgenic effect on society and proposed that individuals with IQs below 100 be paid to undergo voluntary sterilization (Maishinski: ok, I admit this was rather funny). Shockley described his work on the issue as the most important of his career.

Shockley reasoned that because intelligence (like most traits) is inherited, the black population would, over time, become much less intelligent countering all the gains that had been made by the Civil Rights movement.

SPERM DONATION
Shockley donated sperm to the "Repository for Germinal Choice", a sperm bank founded by Robert Klark Graham in hopes of spreading humanity's best genes. The bank, called by the media the "Nobel Prize sperm bank," claimed to have three Nobel Prize-winning donors.

Shockley has been described as a racist, white supremacist, and scientific racist.

Shockley was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. He received honorary science doctorates from the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University in New Jersey and Gustavus Adolphus Colleges in Minnesota.

2008-12-04T17:30:00.000+03:00

- THE LINK BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RACISM - PART 2b -

Every Black African should read this. It could provide some explantion for the "unexplained Injustices" from "people of other lands".

CREDITS: The information in this article is copied "verbatim" from various Wikipedia Sources. I do not claim to be the author or copyright holder. The purpose is to illustrate the Powerful effect of Institutionalized Racism and to show that it still exists and that African Governments have done very little to promote the dignity and social standing of African people.

Lynn - continued... IMPLICATIONS:
Lynn has spoken against immigration in Britain at a 2000 American Renaissance magazine sponsored conference, citing problems of unemployment, crime, illegitimacy, and low IQ, considering African and African-Caribbean immigants to perform worse in these measures than Indian and Chinese immigrants. Lynn spoke on his book IQ and the Wealth of Nations at a 2002 American Renaissance conference.

Lynn suggests that natural selection in preindustrial societies favoured traits such as intelligence and character but no longer do so in modern societies. The author argues that due to the advance of medicine, selection against those with poor genes for health was relaxed.

Lynn argues embryo selection as a form of standard reproductive therapy would raise the average intelligence of the population by 15 IQ points in a single generation.

Lynn has also been known to argue based on eugenic principles for the extinction of entire cultures based on their "incompetence." In Lynn's own words,

"What is called for here is not genocide, the killing off of the populations of incompetent cultures. But we do need to think realistically in terms of "phasing out" of such peoples. If the world is to evolve more better humans, then obviously someone has to make way for them. ... To think otherwise is mere sentimentality."

Elsewhere, Lynn makes clear which "incompetent cultures" need "phasing out": "Who can doubt that the Caucasoids and the Mongoloids are the only two races that have made any significant contributions to civilization?" (cited in New Republic, 10/31/94).

2008-12-04T17:17:00.005+03:00

- THE LINK BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RACISM - PART 2a -
Every Black African should read this. It could provide some explantion for the "strange behaviour" from "people of other lands".

CREDITS: The information in this article is copied "verbatim" from various Wikipedia Sources. I do not claim to be the author or copyright holder. The purpose is to illustrate the Powerful effect of Institutionalized Racism and to show that it still exists and that African Governments have done very little to promote the dignity and social standing of African people.

Profile of a Racist:
Richard Lynn (born 1930) is a retired British PROFESSOR of Psychology who is known for his views on racial and ethnic differences.

Lynn was educated at Cambridge University. He has worked as lecturer in psychology at the University of Exeter, and as professor of psychology at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, and at the University of Ulster at Coleraine. He has written or co-written more than 11 books and 200 journal articles spanning five decades. Two of his recent books are on dysgenics and eugenics.

He sits on the editorial boards of the journals "Intelligence" and "Personality and Individual Differences". He also sits on the boards of the "Pioneer Fund", and of the Pioneer-supported journal "Mankind Quarterly".

(Maishinski: This is just one person - but his Teaching and Authorship Role gives him the ability to influence and brainwash Millions of minds.)

Works of a Racist:
2002: Lynns article, "Skin color and intelligence in African Americans", Population and Environment, concludes that lightness of skin color in African-Americans is positively correlated with IQ, which he claims derives from the higher proportion of Caucasian admixture.

2006: Lynn's "Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis" is the LARGEST REVIEW of the global cognitive ability data. The book organizes the data by nine global regions, surveying 620 published studies from around the world, with a total of 813,778 tested individuals.

Lynn's meta-analysis lists the average IQ scores as follows:

1. East Asians (105)
2. Europeans (99)
3. Inuit (91)
4. Southeast Asians and Amerindians each (87)
5. Pacific Islanders (85)
6. Middle Easterners (including South Asians and North Africans) (84)
7. East and West Africans (67)
8. Australian Aborigines (62) and
9. Bushmen and Pygmies (54).

To put this in perspective: Europeans with an IQ of 70 or belew are considered mentally handicapped.

Lynn argues the surveyed studies have high reliability in the sense that different studies give similar results, and high validity in the sense that they correlate highly with performance in international studies of achievement in mathematics and science and with national economic development.

(Maishinski: Hmm... as an East African, should I be insulted or amused? What do you think?)

2008-12-04T13:05:00.007+03:00

- THE LINK BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RACISM - PART1 -

CREDITS: The information in this article is copied "verbatim" from various Wikipedia Sources. I do not claim to be the author or copyright holder. The purpose is to illustrate the Powerful effect of Institutionalized Racism and to show that it still exists and that African Governments have done very little to promote the dignity and social standing of African people.

"Colonialism was often based on the ethnocentric belief that the morals and values of the colonizer were superior to those of the colonized; some observers link such beliefs to racism and pseudo-scientific theories dating from the 18th to the 19th centuries. In the western world, this led to a form of proto-social Darwinism that placed white people at the top of the animal kingdom, "naturally" in charge of dominating non-European aboriginal populations."

"Scientific racism denotes the use of scientific, or ostensibly scientific, findings and methods to support or validate racist attitudes and worldviews.

Scientific racism was most widespread during the New Imperialism period in the second half of the 19th century. These theories often worked in conjunction with racism, for example in the case of "human zoos", in which human beings of various races were presented in cages during colonial exhibitions. "

"Human zoos, sometimes called "ethnographic exhibitions" or "Negro villages," were objects of anthropology and anthropometry and also an important means of bolstering "popular racism." Human zoos were popular from the 1870s until World War II, and the concept survived into the 21st century.

Historian Pascal Blanchard et al. thus wrote:

Human zoos, the incredible symbols of the colonial period and the transition from the nineteenth to twentieth century, have been completely suppressed in our collective history and memory. Yet they were major social events. The French, Europeans and Americans came in their tens of millions to discover the "savage" for the first time in zoos or "ethnographic" and colonial fairs. These exhibitions of the exotic (the future "native") laid the foundations on which, over an almost sixty-year period, was spun the West's progressive transition from a "scientific" racism to a colonial and "mass" racism affecting millions of "visitors" from Paris to Hamburg, London to New York, Moscow to Barcelona"

Fellow Africans, do we promote racism by maintaining some of these "Human Zoos" for tourists to come and see - essentially selling our dignity for a few measly bucks? Think of famous "human settlement" tourist attractions in Kenya and the western media portrayal of Africa and Africans...

CONSIDER THIS: "An African Village was opened in Augsburg's zoo in Germany in July 2005. "

2008-11-27T10:53:00.007+03:00

- ET v/s KQ: A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE -

So you're wondering whether it makes sense to invest in KQ or not? Well me too. Here's some food for thought...

Ethiopian Airlines Net Profit (before Tax) for FY 07/08 was 507 Million Birr. Approx KSH 4 BILLION. Slightly more than KQ despite KQ having newer and better fleet, better environment, better routes, better facilities, better access to skilled labor, etc.

Consider the following:
1. Ethiopian also faced the same Fuel problems and global industry challenges

2. Ethiopia is one of the poorest, least developed countries in Africa and is often overlooked as a tourist destination.

3. Kenya Tourism industry is probably only second to South Africa. This means super high passenger volumes compared to Ethiopia. Post election violence affected only 3 months of KQ revenues (Jan-March).

4. KQ has better fleet with 21 YOUNG long/medium range aircrafts + 3 YOUNG short range aircrafts (jets). Compare this to Ethiopian's OLDER fleet of 20 long/medium range + 5 tiny propeller based short range.

5. For some reason, Ethiopian is able to fly to MORE international destinations than KQ (excluding codeshare flights) with older and less powerful aircraft! KQ covers 43 destinations compared to ethiopian's 53 routes (33 within Africa, 20 other continents).

6. Ethiopia has a new big modern-looking airport. However the Airport is barely automated and so many thing are manual (e.g boarding process in addis is ridiculous! high chances of misplaced/lost baggage etc) - meaning that it cannot possibly ofer any major advantages to tip the competitive scales to the current level!

7. Ethiopian has maintained an impeccable safety record. Interesting to note, Ethiopian pilots are mostly local Ethiopians!

8. IT Systems-wise KQ is far much more advanced than Ethiopian. But Ethiopian has a better website overall (from a functional eCommerce perspective)! They seem to utilize the little they have to the Maximum extent possible.

Verdict:
For some reason KQ seems to have lost its competitive edge. Excuses churned by KQ management for poor performance no longer hold up to scrutiny when you compare with Ethiopian.

It would be rather naive to expect improved performance from KQ without a RADICAL change of KQ's overall strategy. This suggests that KQ's future is not too bright at the moment. For that reason alone, I would keep off KQ shares - despite the apparent bargain price.

Copyright 2008.

Disclaimer
This is just my personal opinion and should not be mistaken for investment advise. Do your own research and make your own independent decisions!

2008-11-21T10:10:00.004+03:00

What is Darkness?

It seems that the general consensus by physicists is that "Darkness is the abscense of light".

I would like to challenge this lazy definition of darkness.

The theory of darkness being the absense of light presumes that darkness is an inexplicable state of nothingness and as such - it doesnt exist!

How can matter (light photons) displace or be absorbed by non-matter? The concept of nothingless is beyond our comprehension. Our senses (sight, smell etc) respond to feedback from our environment - and since nothingess doesnt exist, we can not possibly perceive it. Therefore the mere fact that we can perceive darkness in its visible state suggests that darkness actually DOES exist in a form of matter that scientists still don't understand and cannot measure!

A pragmatic definition of darkness can be arrived at using paradoxically extended analogies; for example, a glass that is half full with water is not necessarily half empty - because the space not occupied by water is occupied by AIR.

Applying this analogy to the concept of light and darkness suggests that darkness is a form of super-elastic, hyper-dispersable matter less dense than photons. Super-elastic in the sense that it compresses/expands significantly to give way to photons or to occupy space not occupied by photons.

The ability of darkness to absorb photons is also an area that needs further research. Where do these particles go? Can the process be reversed to extract light from darkness? Imagine being able to store sunlight in a box for later use - it would be the ultimate paradigm shift in concept of energy and electromagnetism!

Understanding darkness and harnessing its powerful properties may be the next frontier in Science.

Copyright 2008.

2008-11-19T20:02:00.005+03:00

DO YOU SMELL SOMETHING?

According to BD Africa (ahem!):

[quote - edited for brevity & sense]
- 143.5 million Safaricom shares have changed hands in the five months since the company was listed at NSE on June 9.

- Local individual shareholders have on aggregate sold 77.3 million shares in the period,

- foreign corporate shareholders have off-loaded 66.3 million shares. (!!!)

- Only 12,087 shareholders have exited.
[end of edited quote]

FOLKS, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?

For one, the numbers above look like 1 day's trade volumes - not 5 months volumes! Anyone who monitored this share will probably remember a lot of activity. Huge daily volumes. Now it appears that less than 0.5% actually changed hands! Ask yourself: Do the numbers add up? Does it make sense?

Do you smell something foul and smelly - like Circular Trading perhaps?

Now lets talk about our beloved regulator... CMA: would it be reasonable to predict that very soon, during yet another thunderstorm, someone will issue a clever statement telling us what we see out of the window is "technically" NOT RAIN "per se" and is actually DEW falling from the sky due to accumulation of culumunimbus clouds from the nothern hemisphere... ?

DISCLAIMER:
BDAfrica has not revealed the source of this info. It may not be credible. For now, treat the above info as rumours and conjecture - until some undeniable facts are exposed.

2008-10-28T19:12:00.001+03:00

- BETTING ON THE INDEX -

"Diversification" proponents are in "shock and awe" right now. If the entire market has lost 40% overall, those who bet on the index (e.g. mutual fund managers) must surely be having nightmares at night!

By sticking to well researched companies, combining fundamentals + charts and investing for wealth creation (not for safety), I have shielded my portfolio to a large extent from the downturn. What's more, I can now average down my overall investment in order to magnify any future gains; not to mention cashing in on both upturns and downturns with my "gambling stash" (speculation money).

Did somebody say crisis? What crisis? Let the bear rule!

Copyright 2008

2008-10-21T21:56:00.003+03:00

- THE ART OF INCOMPETENCE -

If any American is reading this, welcome. Below is a message from my leaders to your leaders:

"Greetings my friends! Welcome to the Third World.

Can I get you some corn?

IMF and Worldbank will contact you shortly to discuss conditions for your AID from Middle East and China. However, you leaders must address some serious overall governance and mismanagement issues first and explain to the world how self proclaimed 'financial experts' could be so incompetent as to create the worst financial crisis ever under the nose of equally incompetent regulators.

Finally, how come no one in US, the home of prestigious universities like Havard was smart enough to see a credit crunch coming?

Or was everyone too busy meddling with other people's lives?"

I bet they thought they were immune to poverty. Welcome back to planet Earth! Now all you need is an attitude make-over...

:-)

2008-10-17T21:30:00.009+03:00

A word about "P/E" Ratio.

My mum bought KQ during the IPO at 11.50. She then kept the shares for many years treating AGMs as a "outing/picnic day" i.e. going only for the goodies and enjoying the humorous questions like "why the chicken in this year's AGM was smaller than last year's?".

She was one of the investors who, as Bankelele says, never watched Financial news and to her, P/E means the PE class that children take in primary school (Physical Education). Really.

She sold KQ at 120/= Which is roughly 1,000% profit.

Now she wants to buy when the market bottoms out - but she doesnt even check. She just asked me to tell her if I think it has reached bottom.

I am thoroughly baffled, is it luck or is she more skillful at this NSE thing than I give her credit for?

Is that how Warren Buffet became a billionaire? Despite all my research on investment strategies, I am yet to match my mum's portfolio returns at the NSE.

:-)

2008-10-15T17:27:00.009+03:00

- THE ART OF THE COVER UP -

(Revised)

CMA Press Release regarding DSL: I initially dismissed it as one of the most ridiculous press statements I have ever read... Now I realize it was actually 2 statements rolled into one - in what looks like a very clever and easily deniable cover-up attempt!

1. Why put 2 obviously unrelated press statements under one heading?
2. If global crisis had little impact on Kenya - then why was it put at the top of the statement - instead of the DSL crisis which directly impacts Kenyans?
3. Why didn't the statement contain headings at appropriate sections of the page?
4. and finally, why say there is no impact

"So far the contagion effect has not been felt in Kenya." ...

and then proceed to relate the two issues??

"It is against this background and through our continuing inspection of all licencees that it has come to our attention that Discount Securities Ltd. have been experiencing corporate governance challenges."

Seriously, if Kenyan investors choose to accept such obvious nonsense from the so called "Market Regulator" then our stock markets are DOOMED.

Its time to put CMA and NSE under a big Microscope.

(Opinion)

2008-10-13T18:54:00.004+03:00

- THE ART OF THE STOCK MARKET -

So the markets are tumbling down. Ha! Big deal. With good Technical analysis skills and a little bit of luck, you can actually make money when stock markets are crashing. Here's how:

Suppose you started off with 50/= as your investment stash. Say you purchase 10 shares of Safcom at 5.00 each:

Cash in Hand = 0
Number of shares = 10
Value of shares = 50
Wealth Increase = 0

Now, say after a few days, the price goes up to 7.00.

Cash in Hand = 0
Number of shares = 10
Value of shares = 70
Wealth Increase = 20

Now lets assume the market starts tumbling and your share drops to 6.00. Sensing a sustained downward trend, you sell all 10 shares:

Cash in Hand = 60
Number of shares = 0
Value of shares = 0
Wealth Increase = 10

Lets ignore broker commissions to keep things simple...

Now suppose the price falls further down to 3.70 as you anticipated (this is where a bit of luck helps! you dont want the price to swing up suddenly at this stage), and you buy all shares your 60/= can afford:

Cash in Hand = .80
Number of shares = 16
Value of shares = 59.20
Wealth Increase = 0

Now, lets assume things look up and the share recovers a bit and price goes up to 4.80 after a few days. You then sell off at this point.

Cash in Hand = 76.80
Number of shares = 0
Value of shares = 0
Wealth Increase = 26.80 (PROFIT!)

This is the kind of proft you would have made if the share price went up to 7.65, but you made it when market was DEPRESSED and the market price was actually lower than what you initially bought the shares for.

If you had stayed put, played it safe and waited, while the markets see-sawed, you would be having a wealth reduction ("loss") of .20 cents at this point in time.

Keep in mind however that you can't really predict the stock market. Hence the above strategy of reaping while others weep is inherently risky.

Final word (disclaimer): This is investor education - not investment advise. Do your own research and make your own informed decisions.

:-)

copyright 2008.

2008-09-26T04:39:00.010+03:00

- THE ART OF THE PRICE WAR -

Zain just cut down the cost of mobile calls across networks by 60%. Is this healthy competition or is it a form of predatory pricing (illegal in many countries!)?

Here's a tough question for business strategists: How do you deal with a competitor who doesn't have to make a profit to survive?

Some might argue that cheaper calls will benefit Kenyans in the long run - but such arguments are fundamentally flawed when applied to the so called "oil-backed companies". The priciple of healthy competition in capital markets is founded on the assumption that competition MUST BE FAIR. That is the only way to get sustainable benefits without damaging the economy.

Just recently a foreign state-funded airline unfairly eroded Kenya Airways market share by pricing its tickets far below the fair market rates. Any attempts by KQ to match or beat such fares would likely have resulted in serious losses. The foreign airline's contribution to local economy is negligible. All revenues are repatriated and most likely, it records a loss to keep from paying taxes. KQ's best employees are unfairly poached - crippling the national carrier's ability to sustain its strategic efforts. To me, this looks like unfair competition at its worst!

Seriously, is the kenyan economy gaining or losing when its best companies are driven out of business by heavily subsidized foreign competition?

Price wars resulting from unfair competition are DESTRUCTIVE - and can cause severe damage to a country's economy:

1. Companies make less revenues; growth stagnates;
2. To keep making profits - company cut down their spending (which cuts down their supplier's revenues - spreading the vicious cycle to other industries);
3. Affected companies scale down operations / downsize / lay off employees;
4. Government gets less taxes and fails to meet its revenue targets..
5. Cash flow problems kick in - and good companies without OIL FUNDS wind up
6. The stock market crashes.. investors panic leading to massive losses...
7. Government attempt short term bailouts (with funds that could have been used elsewhere - e.g. in health and infrastructure - leading to shortfalls in those areas!)
8. Bailouts address symptoms - but fail to address root cause of the problem and more companies collapse.

...and suddenly you have an economic recession in your hands.

Zains competitive practices could create a foreign monopoly whose contribution to overall economy is negligible (e.g. doesn't pay corporate tax - as it keeps making losses). Service levels go down (no more motivation as competitors have been wiped out). Consumers end up having no choice as all competitors are wiped out.

The benefits that consumers get from price wars are usually short lived - especially when unfair competition exists. EVERYBODY LOSES in the long run - except the foreign company.

Rather than respond with a similar price reduction Safaricom, Telkom/Orange and Econet might be better off joining hands to take Zain to court and sue them for Antitrust/unfair competition etc. As damage control, I would suggest they get an injunction first against the recent price reduction - pending determination if it reflects fair or unfair competitive practices.

Needless to say, KQ legal department needs to wake up! The outcome of an anti-trust suit in Kenya would more likely set a precedent to protect Kenyan companies against destructive practices of foreign-state-subsidized organizations.

Kenyan Legislators, Kenya Investment Authority and Treasury (Finance Minister) need take keen interest in this important national issue.

Quick online references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidies (discusses the effect of subsidized firms on economies)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitrust (unfair competition - general overview)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_pricing (discusses unfair pricing strategies)

Copyright 2008. All my blog posts are mere expressions of personal opinion and contribution to debates. If you're looking for advice or facts, please do your own research. ;-)

2008-09-21T21:52:00.004+03:00

RACISM. CANT AVOID IT... SO HOW DO YOU COPE?

I just landed from Amman, Jordan. Yesterday was my first time there - and hopefully my last ever (if I can help it).

Now, I have travelled to many countries in this world interacting with many different types of people - from Asia to Europe, Middle East, Africa, etc etc... Most people are genuinely nice and culturally tolerant. However, once in a while I bump into a racist (or end up working with one or two in a project) so I thought I had seen it all... boy was I wrong.

Never before, have I experienced such ballant "in-your-face" racism and hatred for Africans, like I did in Jordan.

The open hostility starts at right on arrival - and follows you all through till you leave. For example: on arrival, at Immigration, the government officials simply refused to serve me - taking me round in circles checking and quadruple-checking my passport... at one point I was directed to one guy who actually picked up a newspaper when he saw me coming - and ignored me only to grudgingly serve me about 15 minutes later!

Departure from Amman had its share of nastiness - but at least this time I knew what to expect. Interestingly all my white and Indian colleagues were served in a matter of seconds.

Never have I felt so alone and hated on this planet. What did I do? Who did I hurt? What’s my sin? Whose air am I breathing? Whose space did I wrongfully occupy by being born?
Just one night. Thats all it took for me to realize that being a black African is a crime in Jordan. Thank God I managed to keep my cool whenever some dumb comment was thrown at me. However, I am dissapointed that Arabs - the very people who claim to be targets of racism
nowadays, can turn into such monsters given the slightest opportunity.

The problem with Racism is that the victim is faced with a FIGHT/FLEE scenario whose outome is LOSE/LOSE position. Any response you make to a racial attack works AGAINST you in one way or another:

1. If you object to subtle racial attacks and innuendos, you appear overly sensitive - yet these are usually powerful psychological attacks aimed at crushing your human dignity and spirit.

2. If you step up indignantly and demand fairness, you portray the image of "The angry black man" and reaffirm the stereotype associating Africans with rowdiness, violence and crime.

3. If you keep quiet - you subconciously reinforce the prejudice - reaffirming the "slave" stereotype and encouraging similar attacks to continue on other innocent Africans.

So BAMM! there you are, faced with a split second dilemma - no prior warning... what to do? Hmm.. How would King Solomon have handled it? Lets look at some of his sayings:

1. "Never argue with a fool, otherwise no one will be able to tell the difference" - but if you see point 3 above.. that can have long term negative results if you are surrounded by ignorant "fools". Remember the crucifixion of Jesus? The Jews interpreted his silence to mean
that their accusations were right - so they went ahead and murdered him.

2. "Give a foolish answer to a foolish question - then the fool will realize that he is not as clever as he thinks".. I think this is where the answer to direct verbal racist attacks lies. Provided you are in a conversation setting, you should be able to counter attack.

Our defense against racism, whether verbal or non-verbal, must be well thought out; sharper and smarter than the attacker's. We must respond (rather than react) in a manner that's totally different to what the attacker expects - or is used to. For example, rather than be visibly angry/upset - we can feign amusement - and respond to the attacker like you would respond to a very young child (works best if bystanders burst in laughter).

However, each response must be tailored to the situation; racists are not known for their intellect or wit - and they can get violent pretty quickly (going by recent racial murders in UK and other parts of Europe)... sometimes quietly walking away is a smart move.

African governments have contributed to the racial harrassment of their citizens abroad (and sometimes in their own country) by accepting, tolerating and sometimes unwittingly promoting subtle racial and social attacks against the dignity of African citizens. Thanks to western media, it is no surprise then that the ignorant, poorly educated, least exposed people in other cultures associate Africa and Africans with hunger, crime, deprivation, civil war, savagery etc... Our governments have effectively sold our souls for the so called Aid money.

Fellow Africans, have you had first hand experience with racism (including black on black racism)? How do you cope with it? Let's openly discuss this real issue!

Copyright 2008

2008-09-17T17:15:00.017+03:00

BRIDGING THE POVERTY GAP IN AFRICA:

There is general consensus that, in Africa, you are either very rich or extremely poor. The middle class is more of an exception than the norm...

While the west typically stereotypes the poverty (to get their NGO dollars and showbiz - aka "media" revenue), we as Africans know that there are those who grew up in families that have never experienced shortage of finances - sometimes for more than 2 generations.

In school we used to call them the "us guyz" the clique of "cool dudes" from rich/well-to-do families who could actually afford to import original Nike Shoes and other labels from "the states". In numbers, they were less than 10% of the school population...

Looking back, I now realize that the gap between the "us guyz" and the "ordinary guyz" exists in every facet of our lives... However, as we grow older, its the choices we make that determine where we eventually end up. Of course everyone wants that cool Jaguar - no matter how old we get, we still dream of joining the "us guyz" club.

Some of us give up and settle for mediocrity. Others blame those who have succeeded and will readily be manipulated to commit crime "unwittingly". Others consciously decide to be "us guyz" by hook or crook (joining politics without any ideology, participating in corrupt tender committees, violent crime etc.).

Many Africans in the Diaspora fail to understand the Middle class effect:- the countries you work in appear safer and more pleasant because you have majority of the population with "comfortable" income. The rich and poor are the exception - rather than the norm.

What we need in Africa is to flip the script such that majority of the population has comfortable income (so called middle-class) - leaving the minority in the wealthy / poor bracket.

Obviously we don't need to do much about the wealthy. But we can take action to minimize poverty in Africa.

My challenge goes to Africans in the Diaspora. What have you learned out there that can help bridge the poverty gap in Africa? For me some of the lessons I have noted include:

1. Education System:
Most African universities seem to think that "more is better" - cramming as many unrelated (sometimes rather useless) topics into one degree. In contrast, the best universities in the world go for depth rather than breadth of coverage - churning out experts in various fields who are equipped to contribute to the advancement of knowledge. Our entire education system needs an urgent makeover!

2. Access to education:
Currently roughly 10% of all Secondary school students are admitted to public universities. Private universities take care of the 5% "rich parents kids" who didn’t pass their exams. As for the rest – it’s “every man for himself”. Roughly over 70% of our future labor force either receives no further training or substandard vocational training - most of them ending up in low paying menial jobs.

The absurdity of this setup is obvious - its like a government shooting itself on its foot as it would hope to get tax revenues for use in development from these people in future. As a result the country has to keep relying on foreign Aid - at a steep cost for its people (handouts promote corruption - it's a vicious cycle).

3. Innovation / Invention / Entrepreneurship:
Our education system does not encourage innovation. Focus is on cramming and passing exams "to get a good job". As if getting a Job is all that matters...

4. Branding:
African countries should brand themselves and their people. If I say I am from Kenya - a foreigner should subconsciously equate that to efficiency, IT savvy, Management savvy etc... not hunger / starvation etc... Philippines and India have done it really well. Governments should be at the forefront to fight international stereotypes of Africa.

5. Patriotism:
For many of us, the government is not part of us. It's another separate entity on which we rely on for jobs, free medical services (sometimes) etc It is also an enemy who taxes us and gives the money to politicians for their personal benefit. For those elected into power, it is an opportunity to loot and amass quick riches.

We are the government. If we don’t love ourselves - how can we expect the world to love us? How can we steal from our own house? How can we willingly destroy our own house?

Patriotism Classes should be taught in all African schools from the earliest of ages. Our children should be taught about African heroes and role models using media they can understand (e.g. comic books, tv programmes, movies etc). USA has Captain America, it's time for have Captain Africa!

6. Pride:
Our children should be taught to be confident and proud of their African heritage (from an early age - when they are most susceptible to brainwashing by unscrupulous foreigners). They should be shown how to recognize negative stereotypes and media's role in reinforcing stereotypes. Example "This Is Africa" is typically used with negative connotations in media/showbiz to suggest that nothing good can come out of Africa.

7. Common Language:
Africans need to agree on a common set of AFRICAN LANGUAGES that can be used across the continent. Germans Speak German; Indians Speak Hindu; Western Europeans typically speak French; Eastern Europe we have Russian; Americans (i.e. British immigrants) speak English; China Chinese etc What about Africa?

We value and take pride in the language of our former colonial masters yet we have rich languages like AMHARIC in Ethiopia; SWAHILI in Eastern Africa; Zulu in Southern Africa etc...

If we can harness the unifying power of LANGUAGE and see ourselves as one people, albeit with different rich cultures, it will be much harder for external parties (you bet!) to trick us into going to war with each other so that we can remain economically enslaved. If we see each other as brother and sister, the well-to-do will be fair with the poor and leaders in government will be servants of the people rather than rulers and exploiters.

How does the above help bridge the gap?

Well, you can't build a house without a foundation. First you need to unite people to ensure the perceived differences are minimal. You also need a quality labor force and innovative minds. And finally you need strong, united African nations that can compete globally - politically and economically.

If you have read all this: Congratulations! You have a desire to make a difference - and most likely have what it takes. Sadly, the average person will skim - then complain that the article is "too long".

Now I ask you for your views - how can Africa bridge the gap between the rich and the poor?

2008-09-16T15:52:00.006+03:00

PREDATORY LENDERS:

Things to watch out for when you take a loan/mortgage/credit card with your bank...

1. If you prepay your loan - can you get refund on unused insurance premium?
2. Are you locked in? Whats the penalty for early repayment?
3. Some Loans are structured to make you default (massive penalties for late payments etc)
4. You pay higher interest than you should...(given your credit history)
5. Hidden charges...
6. automatic interest rate increase when you are late on even one payment...

Based on your experience, which banks do you know that can, in your opinion, be viewed as predatory lenders - and why?