Rastimoo Nation

Obama Mania. YES WE CAN!

Though my early endorsement of Barrack Obama is and was inconsequential, I still do take pride in the success of this young man who happens to be black. It is do or die in the remaining primaries in order for him to secure the Democratic Party nomination. All the math is working to his advantage making him the front runner but not inevitable. If he doesn’t end up the nominee ( God forbid), he will still be a winner to the millions (over 19 million) who have taken time to remind the political machines (Read: The Clinton Machine) and the dynasties (Bush and Clinton), that you can not stop a movement- No you Can’t!

Microsoft Vs the Rest.

Seams like Microsoft has made a lot of expensive enemies at home and abroad. First, Yahoo and Google the two leading industry giants in the Internet Search business don’t want to share the billions worth lucrative business with the software giant, and in the latest attempt to punish Microsoft for their legendary antitrust ways of doing business, the European Union regulator slapped them with a record fine (US$1.3 billion ).

I never knew being successful at what you do will earn you such expensive enemies. Give them a break!

Blue-Ray It IS!

I hope you are budgeting for a new DVD player since the one you have will be totally obsolete when you start bringing home the next generation of Optical Discs (Blue Ray Disc). After a protracted battle of the mighty between Hitachi & Toshiba’s HD DVD and a Sony backed consortium Blue-ray Disc Association, BD worn the primary and the the eventual general election to form the next generation format.

Seams like we will never keep up with this technology changes.

Yesterday morning, I was listening to Ngugi wa Thiong’o on BBC World service and his continuing argument that the current ethnic cleansing in Rift valley was premeditated. I was beginning to think Raila and Company were cheated of an election victory but given the fact that the violence started in Kisumu and some other parts of Rift valley province even before Kibaki was declared the president, my fears have been confirmed that the larger Kikuyu tribe would have been ‘dealt with’, with an aim of ’sending them back’ to their ‘native land’ had Raila been declared the winner.

If the above theory is true, then the good professor is calling on the UN to investigate the crimes being committed in Rift valley province and the perpetrators be tried in an international court for crimes against humanity. If the government is to be held at a higher standard, so should be the opposition which is the government in waiting, I hope William Ruto is listening!

Tata motors of India has launched the Rs 1 lakh car-the peoples car which is the world cheapest car at a price of $2500. Although it is set to bring a revolution in India’s transportation, critics and environmentalist see it as a source of more pollution and congestion, while I see an opportunity for the developing nations ( read Africa & Latin America) to embrace this ingenuity and rip its benefits.

Sacrified are luxaries such as radio and space while some will come with air conditioner for an additional price.

My take: Can’t complain, ban them in and around the congested cities and let the folks in the outer suburbs and rural areas enjoy the ride.

Majimboism

When this word is heard over the ears of many Kenyans particularly those those who live away from their traditional homes, it’s like an ogre approaching and this invokes bad memories-tribal clashes and so on. The tense is hanging in the air with the electioneering debate heated to go Majimbo way or the old unitary government we’ve always had.
Both opposition parties have vowed to adopt a Majimbo government once they get to power and this is becoming the topic of the day. Opposition have well crafted this thought and have made it appear like a federal government is the only way to solve the common mwananchi’s problems. They have well crafted this art and they know it can only be opposed by Central Kenya having being the only province where majority of its inhabitants have got business and property interests outside their home province. This is becoming even trickier as majority of other provinces believe Kikuyus have taken away their land and have dominated them in almost everything. To fight this idea the battle seems to be between the entire Country 41 Tribe vs The ‘Dominant’ Kikuyu.What we expect from now up to the D-Day is that PNU will employ the best propaganda possible to make this ‘Ogre’ a more Dangerous one that is gonna haunt not only the interests of Kikuyus outside their home province, but spell doom to Peace and Unity that the PNU stands for. If they succeed the better, but if they make it look like they protecting one Tribe from losing what the whole Nation believes have taken away from them it will be too bad.

Chris Njuku, NAIROBI, KENYA

I have decided to start a series of guest posts that will be featured during this prominent electioneering period. We are fighting this battle together and Our motherland will go to the dogs if you won’t do your part. A friend forwarded to me this article , “From my point of View” which i found worth of being published at this humble blog, Gentlemen and ‘Gentlewomen’, without father ado,

Mburu Njenga

I was going through the recently released Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance and it is interesting to see how Kenya, a mighty country by all means is being beaten by countries that you can handily locate if you were given a map of Africa. Of interest is how Rwanda is closing on the rest of Africa and the East African countries in particular, given the era they are emerging from. Rwanda is the most improved overall ranking 18^th among the 48 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa.

Focusing further on the East Africa, Kenya is regarded as the giant in most areas especially on the economic front but the index which ranks countries on;

· Safety and Security

· Rule of Law, Transparency and Corruption

· Participation and Human Rights

· Sustainable Economic Development

· Human Development

ranks Kenya 15^th overall behind Tanzania (14^th) and ahead of Uganda which ranks at a comfortable 25^th place. So has Kibaki done his job especially on the two platforms he was elected to elevate? On the Rule of Law, Transparency and Corruption, in 2005 Kenya had an index of 57.9 compared to an index of 55.9 in 2002. On Sustainable Economic Development, Kenya had an index of 47.9 in 2005 compared to an index of 44.6 in 2002.

My take on this:We have progressed and it will be interesting to see how Kenya will fair next time given this index is based on 2005 data and information.

Since Al Gore has forgone active politics (for now), I’m one of his admires and supporter when it comes to his global initiative and his quest for an efficient energy saving world. I came across this kind of a laundry list on how we can make this world a better place, and an affordable one too!
Five things you can buy

1. Compact fluorescent lightbulbs

These energy-efficient bulbs cost less than $4 and are produced by major corporations like GE. If every household in America switched five regular light bulbs for five fluorescent bulbs, it would be the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the highways for a full year.

2. Outdoor solar lighting

These yard or patio lights cost less than $20, and they don’t burn any electricity or produce any CO2.

3. Programmable thermostats

Though these thermostats cost from $50 to $100, they can actually cut your heating and cooling costs. Set the setting so it’s a little bit cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer when you’re not in the house. A difference of 2 degrees can reduce a home’s CO2 emissions by up to 9 percent over the course of a year.

4. Air filters

Changing the air filters in your heating and cooling systems regularly can knock 2 percent off of your CO2 output each year.

5. Electric water heater blanket

Water heaters use a lot of energy and generate a lot of CO2. A blanket costs less than $18 and can cut your home’s CO2 emissions by almost 4½ percent.

Keep green in mind!

The current crop of candidates and the election mood reminds me of the 1997 general elections, I shall equate the 2007 to the 1997 general elections based on some facts and the lessons we learned 10 yrs ago;

• The opposition had not realized that failure to unite against an incumbent simply meant handing him an easy victory. This year’s is different but we are in the 21’st century, three candidates are way too many especially if they are divided along tribal and stomach lines.
• We shall surely loose our official opposition leader Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta on strange dealings as we did loose Mr. Matiba on strange character traits portrayed throughout his 5 year tenure.
• That, better the Kibaki Devil we know than the Angel Raila we don’t know since he has been a Devil we knew before he converted to the Angel we don’t know today- Like seriously what does this guy stand for, I have seen and witnessed his metamorphosis for over 10 years now and boy, he scares the hell out of me.

Editorial Note: Rastimoo Nation endorses the Kibaki re-election based on his five years performance, Kenyans gave Moi a 24 year rule that saw our country repeatedly raped and abused and all the culprits have resurfaced as clean cut politicians with ‘blueprints’ on how to make Kenya a better place, well Kibaki doesn’t emerge as the clean one here but in politics, The more things change, the more they appear to be the same-They so say.