changamkamkenya

Mau Forest: Ruto, PM rift narrows as Cabinet meets

2009-07-30T09:00:00.000+03:00

The battle to save the largest water tower, which is the fountain of 12 main rivers, was half-won as the list of beneficiaries was made public ahead of the Cabinet meeting today.

It was the culmination of strident debate by politicians, religious and conservation groups, as well as the media, on the need to save Kenya. Never before have Kenyans debated an environmental issue with so much fire and passion, after years of treating global climate change as an alien ‘animal’ in outer space that would not affect them.

The triumph of conservation therefore appeared to take its place on the list of what should worry Kenyans — even as those who tried to inject the poison of fractured politics mellowed.
It was also the turning point in the war that had been spiced by politics, largely between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Agriculture Minister William Ruto. The two leaders appeared to strum same strings and sing same tune.

Apart from releasing the names, Raila told Parliament the momentum to clear human settlement and end farming and logging in the Mau was unstoppable and he would not be intimidated.

The popularity of the decision, tucked away in Mau Forest Task Force awaiting Cabinet discussion and possible adoption, was discernible from the foot thumping that greeted Raila’s statement in Parliament when he said he was standing on the side of the truth.

But the struggle appeared half-won when the biggest hurdle was surmounted — with Ruto maintaining the peasants have to be resettled, but not the big firms and the VIPs behind them. Raila, on the other hand, said all title deed holders would be compensated, the process would take long, but will be systematic, and the big beneficiaries are on their own.

Blackmailed

Raila spoke on Mau Forest settlement in Parliament with confidence, which appeared to suggest he had outfoxed his Rift Valley critics. "I will not be intimidated. I will not be blackmailed. I am ready to pay the price. I am doing this for Kenya. It is a matter of national interest. I am on the side of the truth and it never fails," said the PM, adding the momentum to remove human settlement from the largest water tower was unstoppable.

He was explicit: "In my meeting with Rift Valley MPs we agreed everyone with a title deed, whether legal or illegal (but given by the Government) would be compensated.’’

Raila then drove the knife behind his critics’ backs — the MPs who were criticising him were dishonest and seekers of cheap political publicity. That sent Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto and Cheragany MP Joshua Kuttuny, asking more questions.

That was in the afternoon, but in the morning Ruto seemed to climb down on his no-eviction-without-compensation stand — saying instead that perception he was against the evictions was false.

Water tower

"We are not madmen to oppose the conservation of Mau water tower. We know and feel the consequences of destruction. Any efforts to portray Rift Valley MPs as opposing conservations are cheap and primitive," said Ruto.
Ruto then dropped the bombshell: "Those ones with hundreds of acres are on their own. They do not have our support."

Raila also said the net would be cast wider: "Environmental degradation is not in the Mau only. We will tackle each case with the seriousness it deserves. We are going to pay attention to other water towers as well. But the Mau problem is acute and serious".

He added:" The entire ecosystem is now under threat. The destruction of Mau is a symptom of weak enforcement of the law... The Government is acting now but we don’t want a repeat of 2005 when security forces were sent to terrorise people. We want to be more systematic and humane."

Ruto, on his part, said: "The Government cannot afford to be inhumane by evicting small scale farmers who genuinely acquired land. What we are asking is that they be compensated and offered alternative land. On this I stand by my statement."

He added: "I wanted to set the record straight. Political detractors are taking advantage of the debate to drive a wedge and brand a section of Rift Valley MPs as tribal chauvinists who are primitive and insensitive to conservation."

Big question

With Raila and Ruto agreed on who should be compensated and who should not, and on the biggest question of the day which is human habitation and activity in Mau has to stop, the ball is now squarely in the Cabinet’s feet. The only factor remains time — or the questions when and how? And so the stage was set for the replanting of Mau Forest’s trees to cover the patches that are now tea, maize, bean and sukuma wiki farms. Eldama Ravine MP Moses Lessonet appear to capture the mood of the 18 Rift MPs when he rose the PM, "and so where does Mau Forest start and end...?

Raila’s responded with glee: "I don’t know whether you want longitudes or latitudes. I have presented a map and the Hon Member can look at it."

Probably he asked the question after weighing the possible extent of the upcoming removal of human settlement in the forest that was parcelled out to peasants and high-profiled personalities who squeezed their names among those of squatters and other landless groups — including Ogiek’s forest community — to get a new home and thousands of acres to farm or simply add to his inventory of property empire. Prime Minister Raila Odinga was forced to table a list of hitherto faceless landowners in the Mau forest saga.

Raila said he was doing so "reluctantly" after Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale demanded it, asking the Chair to deal with the PM for ‘evading the question’. The PM also tabled maps detailing the water towers’ destruction.
The Public Accounts Committee chairman had told the House the Government degazetted parts of Mau in 1996, marking the beginning of the destruction.

"Powerful individuals formed companies to get a share of the Mau," Khalwale said. "Because of the chest-thumping by some politicians, I ask the PM to table the list of original allottees who are the genesis of this problem."
Thanks to Standard

99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter

2009-07-29T16:01:00.000+03:00

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Twitter. In the short time Twitter has been around, it has pretty much changed the way I do business. Right up until the time Google let me back into their index, Twitter was my biggest referrer of traffic and one of my main money makers. In my quest for Tweeting knowledge, I came across a book call 99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter. This is not an eBook but an actual book you can buy at Amazon.com.
99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter was written by the editors of GEEKPRENEUR. What started off as a introduction to Twitter eBook has turned into a 376 page reference guide.

Last year, we released our twitter ebook as an introduction to using Twitter. We could not have anticipated that our ebook would become one of the most downloaded Twitter ebooks or that Fortune 500 companies would be contacting us to include the ebook in their corporate intranets. But what we DID anticipate is that Twitter would be a strong and viable business and marketing tool. And so we assigned our entire writing and research staff to work towards releasing a Twitter business book. The result is 99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter.

As you know no doubt guessed, 99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter shows you 99 ways to make money with Twitter. Some of the ways are pretty obvious (like put affiliate links in your tweets) but there are many other ways that I guarantee you’ve never thought of before. Each chapter comes with a rating system to rate the difficulty, skill and income potential for each of the 99 methods.

In addition to the key ratings, 99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter features handy tips for success and best practices model for each method. The books offers tons of information and doesn’t have to be read in a linear fashion. Just choose the method that appeals to you and read it. 99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter is ideally suited for individuals, businesses and Internet marketers. It’s a handy reference guide that you’ll want to refer to again and again.
99 Ways To Make Money Using Twitter is available from Amazon.com in both hardcover edition ($34.95) and Kindle edition ($19.95). Every Twitter user who’s serious about improving their business or social media income should get a copy. It’s well worth the read and I’ve picked up a lot of great ideas from it that is going to make me far more than the book price.
Thanks To John Chow

The World’s Largest iPod

2009-07-29T15:49:00.000+03:00

July 29, 2009

The World’s Largest iPod

Jonathan Ive, the man behind the design of Apple iPhone and iPod, recently created a giant iPod model that he sent as a gift to British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith on his birthday.
While a device of that size may not be very practical, ft.com has revealed that Apple is actually working to release a large-screen iPod sometime during Christmas.

Apple is racing to offer a full-featured, tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season. The touch-sensitive device will have a screen that may be up to 10 inches diagonally.
It will connect to the internet like the iPod Touch - probably without phone capability but with access to the web, and to Apple’s online stores for software and entertainment.

The price of the new 10" Apple iPod Tablet could be anywhere between $600 and $1,000 according to the same report.
Thanks To Amit

Kenya: Seacom Link Promises New Telecoms Era

2009-07-29T15:17:00.001+03:00

Kenya: Seacom Link Promises New Telecoms Era

30 July 2009

Kenya's second international fibre optic cable link goes live today (Thursday), heralding the start of a new era in the telecommunications sector.

Telecoms firms that have bought capacity on Seacom are already able to access connectivity, meaning that end-users expect to enjoy lower Internet and calling rates as soon as their respective providers are ready to offer them.

"Testing is complete, meaning Seacom broadband capacity is now available at the relevant countries POPs (points of presence) and can be accessed by our customers.

They will in turn resell the capacity to customers such as Internet service providers, local loop operators, cable operators, and so on," said Kevin Kariuki, who is a director of the project as well as the head of infrastructure at Industrial Promotion Services (IPS), Seacom's largest shareholder.

Seacom is a $650 million privately funded fibre optic project that promises increased access to communication services for Kenyan companies as well as providing a new gateway for international firms who are keen to tap into the under served African markets.

The cable is the first in the country to start commercial operations, with Dr Karuiki saying some Kenyan end-users were already accessing the cheaper broadband offered by the cable.

Early this week, Safaricom, who has leased 4 STMi of Seacom's capacity, said it expected to end tests on its network in four weeks time and then pass on the connectivity to consumers. The last year has seen a flurry of activity within the local telecoms sector as players attempted to position themselves ahead of the arrival of two international fibre links.

The country's other fibre optic link is TEAMs (the East African Marine System), which is a public-private partnership between the Kenyan government and local firms.

TEAMs hit the Kenyan coastline in early June, and services are still being tested on the system. It is anticipated it will start offering commercial services in the next 10 weeks.

The biggest benefit to consumers on the arrival of fibre optic links is the availability of cheaper communications solutions.

Fibre is a cheaper mode of transport for data than satellites, which were the country's main means of gaining access to telephone and Internet services.Using satellite can drive up the cost of communicating by as high as 10 times, say industry players.

Kai Wulff, managing director of Kenya Data Networks, which has bought capacity on both TEAMs and Seacom, said he hoped to see a reduction in pricing of at least 75 per cent once the cables were activated.

Fibre optic cables are also expected to allow consumer access to new services such as high definition TV, video conferencing, IPTV, and high speed Internet.

Analysts anticipate the arrival of the link will provide unprecedented access to foreign companies eyeing a share of Kenya's Internet market, which is pegged to double in size from the current three million users as a result of the cable landing.

"With Seacom also landing in countries like Kenya and Mozambique, which are key business areas for us on the continent, the investment will also benefit African business substantially," said Hillel Shrock, Business Solutions Director at Internet Solutions South Africa.

Seacom links much of sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya who will be inter-connected.

Seacom is 76.25 per cent African owned by Industrial Promotion Services (26.25 per cent), an arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Venfin Limited (25 per cent), Convergence Partners (12.5 per cent) and the Shanduka Group (12.5 per cent). The remaining 23.75 per cent is held by Amercain firm Herakles Telecom.
Thanks To Kui Kinyanjui

EU piles pressure on Kenya over poll trials

2009-07-28T14:39:00.000+03:00

The European Union on Monday told the Kenyan Government to quickly form a special tribunal to try election violence suspects.

Michael Jackson estate 'to support mother'

2009-07-28T14:29:00.000+03:00

LOS ANGELES — Executors of Michael Jackson's estate said the late pop star had provided full financial support to his mother when he was alive and his estate should continue to do so after his death, The Los Angeles reported Sunday.
The daily newspaper said that in court papers filed Thursday, the administrators of the estate asked for approval to pay a monthly allowance to Katherine Jackson, 79.
The specific amount requested was not disclosed, the report said.
"The special administrators are informed and believe that Mrs. Jackson has no other sources of income currently available other than Social Security income," lawyers for administrators John Branca and John McClain wrote in the filing, according to the paper.
Jackson's mother is caring for her son's three children, and the administrators requested an additional monthly allowance for them.
According to the court papers, the Jackson children are beneficiaries of an insurance policy "but the insurance proceeds have not yet been collected," the Times said.
The allowances are among the issues Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff is to take up at a hearing August 3, said the paper

3 foreign aid workers grabbed on Kenya-Somali border

2009-07-18T13:20:00.000+03:00

MOGADISHU — Three foreign aid workers were kidnapped overnight in a Kenyan town close to the Somali border by armed men, who took them into Somalia, a Somali government official told AFP Saturday.
The three were snatched from their office in Mandera, in northeast Kenya.

"We have been told the Somali militia kidnapped three aid workers from inside Kenya and entered Somalia and we are investigating the incident by tracing the kidnappers," Sheikh Adan Mohamed, a senior official in the neighbouring Somali town of Bulohawo told AFP by telephone.

The nationalities of the three and the organisation for which they worked were not immediately known.
"We haven't seen them yet, but they have crossed the border," an elder in Bulohawo, Adan Wardhere told AFP, saying the kidnappers had seriously injured a security guard during the abduction.

Foreigners are regularly kidnapped in Somalia, which has been mired in civil war since 1991, and usually freed in return for a ransom. Journalists and aid workers are particularly targetted.

Two French security agents were kidnapped on Tuesday from their hotel in Mogadishu.
Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Geoffrey Brennan, who were snatched on August 23 last year, are still being held by their abductors.

Four European employees of the French non-governmental organisation Action Faim and their two Kenyan pilots, kidnapped in early November, are also still being held.
AFP

NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center MOON SHOT: The Apollo 14 landing site in a photo released Friday with labels added by NASA. NASA orbiter offers images of moon landing sites

2009-07-18T13:04:00.000+03:00

NASA orbiter offers images of moon landing sites

NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center

MOON SHOT: The Apollo 14 landing site in a photo released Friday with labels added by NASA.

Two days before the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, the space agency releases the photographs of astronaut work sites. The pictures could aid future moon colonists.

By John Johnson Jr.
July 18, 2009

With the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing just two days away, NASA on Friday released the sharpest images ever taken of astronaut work sites on the moon, showing hardware and soil disturbances left behind by the 12 Americans who visited the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972.

The images, taken over the last few weeks by cameras aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, include some of the 10-foot-tall landing structure called the descent stage. It was left behind when the astronauts returned home and is seen casting long shadows over the pale surface of the moon.

"It's fantastic to see the hardware sitting on the surface, waiting for us to come back again," Mark Robinson, chief of the camera science team, said in a news briefing in Washington, D.C.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched June 18 on a mission to map the lunar surface in preparation for the planned return of astronauts to the moon in 2020. It carries instruments designed to search for ice deposits in sunless canyons and crevices; those deposits could be a source of water and rocket fuel for future moon colonists.

The cameras started clicking away in the last few weeks, as the spacecraft settled into an orbit that brought it as close to the surface as 18 miles. Over the years, Japan, China and India have all sent probes to the moon that have focused on the old Apollo sites. But the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's images of the hardware left behind are the sharpest yet, NASA said, resolving features as small as 3 feet wide.

The reconnaissance orbiter took pictures of five of the six landing sites, missing only that of Apollo 12, which launched on Nov. 14, 1969.

Some of the best images are of the Apollo 14 landing site, where a set of scientific instruments can be seen, along with marks in the topsoil, known as regolith, left by the astronauts walking around in their spacesuits. The pictures also show the tracks of the tool cart the astronauts towed behind them, Robinson said. Apollo 14 launched on Jan. 31, 1971.

As impressed as they were by the images, NASA officials said they expect better quality after the orbiter finishes commissioning its instruments, a process similar to tuning a new musical instrument to get the best sound. Images of the Apollo 11 landing site, for one, are expected to be twice as good in the future, officials said.

Referring to conspiracy buffs who question whether the moon landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin really occurred, one reporter asked if the images show the American flag planted by the astronauts. Robinson said that would be difficult to resolve from space.

"If it's standing, it would be very, very narrow," he said. "We might be able to see its shadow at some point."

But he said he believed the flag was knocked over by the exhaust from the Apollo 11 lunar module's ascent engine as Armstrong and Aldrin lifted off for the trip home. The mission ended on July 24, 1969, when the module carrying Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins parachuted into the Pacific Ocean.

Aside from the curiosity value connected with the images, NASA said the pictures could be important to future moon colonists. Changes in the surface, in the form of new cratering, would help scientists understand how often a particular region on the moon is hit by rocks from space. That information would be important in designing habitats.
Thanks To The LAtimes.

The lunar images can be viewed on the NASA website, at www.nasa.gov .

Virtually Safe: Five Real-Life Pitfalls of Online Worlds -- And Some Safer Alternatives

2009-07-18T12:51:00.000+03:00

Depending on exactly how you define the term, virtual world games have an audience that's somewhere in the region of 20-30 million players around the world. The vast majority of them, whether they're into World of Warcraft, Runescape, or Club Penguin, enjoy healthy, safe, and relaxing entertainment -- but these pastimes aren't without their dangers. From addiction to theft to divorce, careless behavior in virtual worlds can lead to real consequences. Here's a few recent headlines, and a few tips on how to keep yourself (or your family) safe.

Is World of Warcraft "the most dangerous game"?

Virtual worlds are designed to be addictive. That's how the creators make money: if its players get bored, they give up and quit paying. Nothing wrong with addictive games in moderation, but when obsessed players put virtual rewards over real jobs, relationships, and chores, lives get ruined. World of Warcraft, merely by virtue of being the biggest and most successful virtual world to date, is the chief culprit -- so much so that one Swedish researcher called it "the crack cocaine of the computer gaming world" in a government-backed report. "Some people are literally unable to drag themselves away and will play it till they drop," he said.

"Age of Conan" too violent -- even for Arnie

Most online worlds tend to favor cartoony violence and stylized combat over the explicit violence that's a common sight in other game genres. 2008's Age of Conan, however, did the Conan brand proud, releasing with copious lashings of swords-and-sorcery sex and violence. Although the game is licensed from the pulpy books that originated the Conan character, not the subsequent Arnie movie, the game's content put Governor Schwarzenegger in a curious position. Schwarzenegger, together with California senator Leland Yee, has pushed for harsher legislation controlling access to violent games like Conan, and although as his spokesman Aaron McLear was keen to stress to the San Jose Mercury News, Schwarzenegger has no association with the game, it's still hard not to smile at the irony.

Gamer steals from virtual friends to pay real debts

Eve Online, a ground-breaking space sim that focuses on interstellar commerce and conflict, made headlines recently when a player embezzled over $5,000 in in-game currency from a player-run bank. Eve's laissez-faire, almost-anything-goes rules system means "Richard" wasn't banned until he tried to exchange the in-game money for real currency via a third-party web site.

Second Life affair ends in divorce

Anyone who's spent any length of time involved in the social dimensions of online worlds will tell you that attachments formed in-game can be just as convincing and satisfying as real-life friends. Nothing wrong with that...as long as you can keep it in perspective. Unlike this British couple, who split after husband David Pollard was caught being unfaithful -- but not in the regular, messing-about-with-the-mailman way. No, Pollard was caught in flagrante with a virtual call girl in online world Second Life. Undaunted, Pollard's ex moved on -- to a relationship with a man she met playing World of Warcraft, according to CNN.

Dutch teens do time over Runescape theft

Even free online worlds aren't immune from these shenanigans. Two Dutch players of "Runescape" -- one of the most popular free online games around -- were sentenced to hundreds of hours of community service after a judge found they'd coerced another youngster into transferring in-game items to them.
Thanks To Mike Smith.

Tribunal: Government blamed for dragging its feet

2009-07-17T13:45:00.001+03:00

Kenya came under increasing pressure to set up a local tribunal to try post-election violence suspects, as Western envoys joined the fray.

It came as Agriculture Minister William Ruto was criticised for his proposal that suspects be subjected to a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC).

European envoys led other diplomats in Nairobi to register their displeasure at the way the Government has been dragging its feet in setting up a special tribunal to try perpetrators of the violence, that broke out immediately after President Kibaki was declared the winner of the 2007 heavily disputed election.

Then, ODM — led by humiliated presidential candidate Raila Odinga — claimed that the election had been stolen, and asked its supporters to defend democracy. Flexing muscle, a defiant PNU side — which by now had named a partial Government — deployed the might of the country’s security forces to quell the countrywide protests.

It took the intervention of Dr Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary-General, and the international community to broker a way out of the crippling crisis.

Remedy for impunity

On Thursday, the Western diplomats — who have become increasingly vocal on Kenyan affairs — ruled out the TJRC as "a remedy for impunity", and asked politicians to focus efforts on enacting the special tribunal.

As this was happening, the International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo, in a statement posted on his website, said the situation in Kenya had been under preliminary examination by his office since 2008.

Joining the onslaught on Ruto, Gichugu MP Martha Karua and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi rubbished the proposal to have suspects appear before a truth commission.

On Wednesday, Ruto led seven MPs from the Rift Valley in declaring that the handing over of the Waki envelope — that has the names of suspects bearing the greatest responsibility for the violence — to the ICC would not solve problems linked to the violence.

Ruto and his Roads ministry counterpart, Mr Franklin Bett, said it was upon Kenyans to solve issues affecting them through the TJRC.

Ruto said there was need for Kenyans to reconcile instead of wasting too much time focusing on The Hague and involving the international community in problems that could be addressed locally.

"Ocampo, the ICC Prosecutor, and US President Barack Obama will not provide us with answers relating to what happened after the 2007 General Election," said Ruto.

Differing voice

But on Thursday, Mudavadi offered a differing voice: "We had issues that emerged during our Serena talks, and TJRC was an option to be used for conceptualisation (sic) of other issues."

Mudavadi added: "Now some people are suggesting that the same (TJRC) be used. We now leave it to the public to judge whether TJRC is the best option."

The Local Government minister reminded the country that Parliament had adopted the Waki Report, which had only two options: The Hague and a local tribunal, or both.

"It is a question of collective responsibility," he added.

Karua, the former Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister who bolted out of Cabinet claiming his mandate had been countermanded by President Kibaki, said the perpetrators would have to face criminal justice, and the TJRC would not be an option.

Karua said those talking about a stolen election should have come out and handed that evidence to a court of law or to the Kriegler Commission.

"They must stop dancing in circles because those who committed crimes will have to be dealt with through the criminal justice system, and there are no two ways about that," added Karua. The EU envoys were joined by the American, British and Canadian counterparts in demanding that the National Accord — as initiated in 2008 — must be implemented fully.

The envoys did not mince words: "To gain the confidence of the Kenyan public and to attract international support, the Special Tribunal will need to follow the Waki Commission recommendations and meet international standards," said Ms Anna Brandt, the Swedish ambassador who chairs the EU presidency in Kenya.

"We encourage the Kenyan Government and Parliament to establish the independent Special Tribunal urgently, but if they are unwilling to set up a special Tribunal expeditiously, we urge the Government to refer the situation to the ICC at The Hague."

Jakarta Indonesia Ritz Carlton and J.W Marriot Bombing:-Suspected Hotel Bombers Stayed at Marriott

2009-07-17T13:05:00.000+03:00

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Jakarta's police chief says several suspects in the bombing of the Marriott were staying at the hotel.

Maj. Gen. Wahyono said the suspects stayed on the 18th floor of the hotel where un-detonated explosives were found after Friday's twin explosions at the J.W. Marriott and neighboring Ritz-Carlton.

Wahyono told reporters, "There were several perpetrators."

"They were disguised as guests and stayed in room 1808."

He said the attacks killed 8 and wounded 50, including 18 foreigners. Earlier the security minister said nine people died, but that number was later revised by authorities.

It was the first major terror strike in Indonesia since three suicide bombers hit restaurants on the resort island of Bali nearly four years ago.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Suspected suicide bombers set off explosions that ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta Friday, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 18 foreigners were among the dead and wounded.

The blasts at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, located side-by-side in an upscale business district in the capital, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street, kicking up a thick plume of smoke. Facades of both hotels were reduced to twisted metal. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw bloodied bodies being shuttled away in police trucks.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the attack was carried out by a "terrorist group" and vowed to arrest the perpetrators. He said it was too early to say if the Southeast Asian Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for past attacks in Indonesia, including a 2003 bombing at the Marriott, was responsible.

"Those who carried out this attack and those who planned it will be arrested and tried according to the law," a somber-looking Yudhoyono told a news conference.

The Marriott was hit first, followed by the blast at the Ritz two minutes later. The attacks came just two weeks after presidential vote expected to re-elect Yudhoyono who has been credited with stabilizing a nation previously wracked by militancy.

Theo Sambuaga, chairman of the parliamentary security commission, said "there are indications of suicide bombs" at the two hotels. "That is being investigated."

Local MetroTV reported that investigators suspect the attackers may have been hotel guests, who smuggled explosives past security checks. An unexploded bomb was found on the 18th floor of the Marriott after the blasts and removed by an explosives disposal team, said an investigator who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

But top anti-terror official Ansaad Mbai told AP it was too early to conclude suicide bombers were responsible.

Security Minister Widodo Adi Sucipto told reporters at the scene the hotel blasts happened at 7:45 a.m. and 7:47 a.m. (0045 GMT, 8:45 p.m. EDT) and that "high explosives were used." He said at least nine people were killed and 50 wounded.

Alex Asmasubrata, who was jogging nearby, said he walked into the Marriott before emergency services arrived and "there were bodies on the ground, one of them had no stomach," he said. "It was terrible."

Anti-terror forces with automatic weapons were rushed to the site, and authorities blocked access to the hotels in a district also home to foreign embassies.

"This destroys our conducive situation," Sucipto said, referring to the nearly four years since a major terrorist attack in Indonesia — a triple suicide bombing at restaurants at the resort island of Bali that killed 20 people.

The security minister and police said a New Zealander was among those killed, and that 17 other foreigners were among the wounded, including nationals from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea the U.S. and Britain.

The dead New Zealander was identified by his employer as Timothy David Mackay, 62, who worked for cement products manufacturer PT Holcim Indonesia. He was reportedly attending a business meeting at the Marriott Hotel when the explosions occurred.

Noel Clay, a U.S. State Department spokesman in Washington, said that several American citizens were among the injured.

Earlier, South Jakarta police Col. Firman Bundi said that four foreigners were killed, but gave no details.

Manchester United football team canceled a planned visit to Indonesia. The team had been scheduled to stay at the Ritz on Saturday and Sunday nights for a friendly match against the Indonesian All Stars, the Indonesian Football association said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but terrorism analyst Rohan Gunaratna said the likely perpetrators were from the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah.

"The only group with the intention and capability to mount attacks upon Western targets in Jemaah Islamiyah. I have no doubt Jemaah Islamiyah was responsible for this attack," he said.

There has been a massive crackdown in recent years by anti-terror officials in Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation of 235 million, but Gunaratna said the group was "still a very capable terrorist organization."

Police have detained most of the key figures in the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah, and rounded up hundreds of other sympathizers and lesser figures.

But Gunaratna said that radical ideologues sympathetic to JI were still able to preach extremism in Indonesia, helping provide an infrastructure that could support terrorism.

Jakarta chief of police operations, Arief Wahyunadi, said the blasts were in the Ritz-Carlton's Airlangga restaurant and in the basement of the Marriott. He gave no details on what kind of bombs were used and whether they were suicide attacks.

Government spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told CNN the scene of the blasts were "eerie," when he arrived.

"The bodies I saw, some were being collected, some were on the floor," he said. "What we know, of course, is this was a coordinated attack."

When asked if Jemaah Islamiyah was behind the attack, Djalal said: "We always knew there are terrorists out there. But we've had a number of very good successes; no major attacks since the Bali bombings."

He was referring to the October 2002 bombings of two Bali nightclubs that killed some 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

"This is a blow to us," Djalal said, but said the government would find those behind the attacks.

"The president has built his reputation on ... anti-terrorism policies," he said. "Make no mistake, he will hunt whoever is behind this."

Because of past attacks, most major hotels in Jakarta take security precautions, such as checking incoming vehicles and requiring visitors to pass through metal detectors. Still, international hotels make attractive targets, since the nature of their business requires them to be relatively open and accessible.

On Friday, Australia and New Zealand updated their travel advisories, which had already warned against unnecessary travel to Indonesia because of the risk of terrorism.

"We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Indonesia due to the very high threat of terrorist attack," the Australian Foreign Ministry said on its Web site. Those in Indonesia were warned to exercise "extreme caution."

New Zealand urged its citizens in Indonesia to keep a low profile.

Britain also updated its travel warning, though it did not raise its alert level.

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta and Tanalee Smith in Adelaide, Australia, contributed to this report.

Here Is a Sneak Preview of Ubuntu 9.04 Beta, Dowload It Here.

2009-07-16T11:03:00.000+03:00

Ubuntu 9.04 Beta

Ubuntu 9.04 Code Named Jaunty Jackalope.

Table of Contents

For testing only! This is a pre-release version of Ubuntu and is almost ready for general use. If it is important that your computer run reliably please continue to use the current stable release (8.10) until this version is ready on April 23rd, 2009.

Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.10

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.10 on a desktop system, press Alt+F2 and type in "update-manager -d" (without the quotes) into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '9.04' is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions.

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.10 on a server system: install the update-manager-core package if it is not already installed; edit /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades and set Prompt=normal; launch the upgrade tool with the command sudo do-release-upgrade; and follow the on-screen instructions.

Download

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/9.04/ (Ubuntu Desktop and Server)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/edubuntu/9.04/ (Ubuntu Education Edition)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/kubuntu/9.04/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/9.04/beta/ (Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Ubuntu MID)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/9.04/beta/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/9.04/beta/ (UbuntuStudio)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/9.04/beta/ (Mythbuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/netboot/9.04/beta/ (Ubuntu ARM)

Local mirrors are also available:

Africa

http://ubuntu.saix.net/ubuntu-releases/ (South Africa)
http://bw.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Botswana)
http://ls.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Lesotho)
http://mz.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Mozambique)
http://na.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Namibia)
http://sz.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Swaziland)

Asia

http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/ubuntu-releases/ (Japan)
http://debian.nctu.edu.tw/ubuntu-releases/ (Taiwan)
ftp://dl2.foss-id.web.id/iso/ubuntu/releases/ (Indonesia)
ftp://ftp.chu.edu.tw/Linux/Ubuntu/releases/ (Taiwan)
ftp://ftp.corbina.net/pub/Linux/ubuntu-cd/ (Russian Federation)
http://ftp.cs.pu.edu.tw/Linux/Ubuntu/ubuntu-cd/ (Taiwan)

Europe

http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-releases/ (Germany)
http://ie.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Ireland)
http://mirror.switch.ch/ftp/mirror/ubuntu-cdimage/ (Switzerland)
http://releases.ubuntu.igor.onlinedirect.bg/ (Bulgaria)
http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Sweden)
http://ubuntu.ipacct.com/releases/ (Bulgaria)

North America

http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/ubuntu-iso/CDs/ (United States)
http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu-releases/ (Canada)
http://mirror.uoregon.edu/ubuntu/releases/ (United States)
http://mirrors.cat.pdx.edu/ubuntu-releases/ (United States)
http://mirrors.ccs.neu.edu/releases.ubuntu.com/ (United States)
http://mirrors.easynews.com/linux/ubuntu-releases/ (United States)

Oceania/Australia

http://ftp.citylink.co.nz/ubuntu-releases/ (New Zealand)
http://ftp.iinet.net.au/pub/ubuntu-releases/ (Australia)
http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/ubuntu/releases/ (Australia)
http://mirror.netspace.net.au/pub/ubuntu/releases/ (Australia)
http://nz2.releases.ubuntu.com/ (New Zealand)
http://ubuntu-releases.optus.net/ (Australia)

South America

http://mirror.globo.com/ubuntu/releases/ (Brazil)
http://mirror.pop-sc.rnp.br/mirror/ubuntu/ (Brazil)
http://mirror.pop-sc.rnp.br/mirror/ubuntu-releases/ (Brazil)
http://ubuntu.c3sl.ufpr.br/releases/ (Brazil)
http://cl.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Chile)
http://espelhos.edugraf.ufsc.br/ubuntu-releases/ (Brazil)

New features since Ubuntu 8.10

These features are showcased for your attention. Please test them and report any bugs you find on Launchpad:

http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu

GNOME 2.26

Ubuntu 9.04 Beta includes the latest GNOME 2.26 desktop environment with a number of great new features, including:

brasero, developed by Philippe Rouquier and Luis Medinas, as an all-in-one CD burning application

Improved handling of multiple monitors with an updated gnome-display-properties by Federico Mena Quintero.

X.Org server 1.6

The latest X.Org server, version 1.6, is available in Jaunty. A number of video cards have been transitioned to free drivers as part of this update.

The -ati driver has received numerous fixes and performance improvements. It now uses the EXA acceleration method by default. 2D acceleration support for the newest R6xx/R7xx family of cards is also available. 3D support is available up to R5xx cards for -ati. An updated -fglrx proprietary driver is available for R6xx/R7xx users who need 3D support.

New style for notifications and notification preferences

Included in Jaunty is a simple menu which can be used to set preferences for notification icons, such as where they pop up on the taskbar. Ubuntu 9.04 beta also includes a whole new notification system, as shown in the Flash movie here:

http://www.markshuttleworth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/jaunty904_notifications_example1_web_092.swf

Boot performance

A number of improvements to the Ubuntu start-up process bring significantly improved boot performance to Ubuntu 9.04 Beta. Please open bugs if you experience any degradation, and tag them with boot-performance.

Linux kernel 2.6.28

Ubuntu 9.04 Beta includes the 2.6.28-11.37 kernel based on 2.6.28.8.

Ext4 filesystem support

Ubuntu 9.04 Beta supports the option of installing the new ext4 file system. ext3 will remain the default filesystem for Jaunty, and we will consider ext4 as the default for the next release based on user feedback. There has been extensive discussion about the reliability of applications running on ext4 in the face of sudden system outages. Applications that use the conventional approach of writing data to a temporary file and renaming it to its final location will have their reliability expectations met in Ubuntu 9.04 beta; further discussion is ongoing in the kernel community.

Ext4 support in GRUB was provided by Colin King. If you choose to upgrade your / or /boot filesystem in place from ext2 or ext3 to ext4 (as documented on the ext4 wiki), then you must also use the grub-install command after upgrading to Ubuntu 9.04 Beta to reinstall your boot loader. If you do not do this, then the version of GRUB installed in your boot sector will not be able to read the kernel from the ext4 filesystem and your system will fail to boot.

Ext4 support in gparted has been provided by Curtis Gedak.

Cloud computing

Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition makes it easy to experiment with cloud computing. Eucalyptus, an open source technology which is included in Ubuntu as a technology preview, enables you to use your own servers to deploy, experiment and test your own private cloud that matches the Amazon EC2 API. You can dynamically create virtual machines, configure multiple clusters into a single Cloud and even provide an EBS (elastic block storage) equivalent and an S3 compatible storage manager.

Turn-key mail servers

The dovecot-postfix package in Ubuntu 9.04 Beta provides an easy-to-deploy mail server stack, with support for SMTP, POP3, and IMAP with TLS and SASL.

dovecot-postfix was packaged by Ante Karamatić.

Testing wanted

There are a number of specific areas of focus in Ubuntu 9.04 where the developers could use from more feedback from users. Read on to find ways that you can use the beta to help to improve the Ubuntu 9.04 final release.

Suspend/resume testing

The Ubuntu kernel team has been gathering information about what laptops do and don't suspend and resume correctly. If you are running Ubuntu on a laptop and would like to participate to help make sure the kernel team has accurate information about Ubuntu's support for your hardware, please see KernelTeam/SuspendResumeTesting.

Hotkey testing

Hotkey handling has been a source of difficulty in the past two Ubuntu releases. Significant improvement has been made to the range of hotkeys supported in Ubuntu 9.04, but more user feedback is still needed, to help identify those hotkeys that are not yet supported. If you have a keyboard with a hotkey that doesn't function as you expect, please see Hotkeys/Troubleshooting for directions on reporting this problem in the right place.

Kerneloops

With the Ubuntu 9.04 Beta release, we invite you to install and test the kerneloops package. kerneloops is a daemon that collects kernel crash information and then submits the extracted signature to the kerneloops.org website for statistical analysis and presentation to the Linux kernel developers. Additionally, a bug report regarding the crash in question will be filed within Launchpad for tracking purposes.

Known issues

As is to be expected at this stage of the release process, there are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with Ubuntu 9.04 Beta. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds, so that you don't need to spend time reporting these bugs again:

A bug in an Ubuntu-specific patch to X server logging code will cause X sessions to crash after they have been running for longer than a day. Users encountering this bug should upgrade to the latest version of the xserver-xorg-core package, which will be available immediately after the beta release. 328035.
Some users of Intel i8x5 video chipsets are unable to load X, getting an error message of "Fatal server error: Couldn't bind memory for BO front buffer". As a workaround, use the VESA driver by logging into a text console, running "sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf", and adding the line Driver "vesa" to the Device section. An alternative (experimental) workaround is to use the UXA acceleration method (see below). If in doubt, please do not upgrade to Ubuntu 9.04 Beta yet. 304871
Users of Intel video chipsets have reported performance regressions in Ubuntu 8.10 compared with previous releases. (252094) Although these performance issues have not been resolved by default in Ubuntu 9.04, a new experimental acceleration architecture option, DRI2/UXA, is available for Intel graphics users. Our testing has found this provides significant performance improvements for many users, but has also shown risk of severe stability problems, thus we are not yet providing to the general public. You can opt-in to enable this by running "sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf", and adding Option "AccelMethod" "UXA" to the Device section of your xorg.conf. Users wishing to maximize stability should stay with the standard default acceleration method, "EXA".
Ctrl-Alt-Backspace is now disabled, to reduce issues experienced by users who accidentally trigger the key combo. Users who do want this function can enable it in their xorg.conf, or via the command dontzap --disable.
Ubuntu 8.10 systems installed from the desktop CD mistakenly had the lilo package installed as well as grub, although grub was used for booting. If you use the recommended Update Manager upgrade method, then the lilo package will be removed if it does not appear to be used. If you upgrade using some other method and are sure that you only use the GRUB boot loader, then we recommend that you remove the lilo package manually. 314004
On the timezone map in the desktop CD installer, the markers for cities are displaced from their correct locations. Users should be aware of this issue when selecting their timezone. This bug will be resolved for daily builds immediately after the 9.04 Beta. 334284
If any filesystems are mounted when starting the desktop CD installer, then a dialog labelled "Unmount partitions that are in use?" will be presented. Unfortunately, the buttons on this dialog box are poorly named: "Continue" attempts to unmount filesystems and then repeats, which will often just display the same dialog box again, while "Go Back" ignores this condition and continues. This will be corrected for the final release. 346589
On desktop installations from USB disks, such as typical Ubuntu Netbook Remix installations, the installer displays a warning about the fact that the installation medium itself (often /dev/sdb) is mounted. This warning is unnecessary, because the fact that it is mounted is completely normal, and does not interfere with the user's ability to install the system to devices other than the USB disk itself. You should ignore this warning; note that in order to do so you will need to select "Go Back", due to the issue above. 347916
In some cases, the "Prepare Disk Space" screen in the desktop installer displays obviously incorrect partition sizes in its graphical disk previews. This is only an error in the preview and does not reflect a problem with the partitioning changes that will actually be applied. 336203
The mythtv frontend in mythbuntu fails to render fonts correctly when using video drivers other than the Intel or closed-source nVidia drivers. This issue is expected to be resolved for the final 9.04 release. 341898
When installing to a system with another OS previously installed, the migration assistant will offer to migrate settings and documents even when the entire disk is being overwritten. The migration assistant will not be able to preserve documents when using the entire disk for installation. 339898
Users who were running eCryptfs on the Jaunty Alpha milestones are advised to re-encrypt any encrypted files. An upstream 2.6.28 kernel bug caused random kernel memory to be written to eCryptfs encrypted file headers. The fix has been applied and deployed to Ubuntu users in the Jaunty Beta kernel. Ubuntu eCryptfs users running this kernel should re-encrypt each encrypted file using /usr/bin/ecryptfs-rewrite-file. For more information, please see ecryptfs-rewrite-file(1). See 345544.
Users of Compaq Smart Array controllers will be unable to remove existing LVM volumes using the partitioner in the installer. 341928
The mdadm package in Ubuntu 9.04 Beta will fail to assemble RAID10 arrays on boot. Other types of RAID are not affected; investigation of this issue is ongoing. 316670
Booting degraded RAID may fail in virtual-machine setups where the host is running with cpu frequency scaling enabled, due to a non-deterministic race condition, 334994. Booting degraded RAID on physical hardware should not be affected, since the cpu frequency is constant through the hard disk detection process.
Upgrading a desktop system using an ATI video chipset with the fglrx binary-only driver may result in a warning that the driver needs to be replaced. There is a bug in the driver replacement logic, so if you see this prompt, please cancel the upgrade until this is fixed, which will happen immediately after the beta release.

Reporting bugs

It should come as no surprise that this beta release of Jaunty Jackalope contains other bugs. Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. Please report bugs using the tools provided.

If you want to help out with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

Participate in Ubuntu

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

More information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on the Ubuntu website and Ubuntu wiki.

To sign up for future Ubuntu development announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's development announcement list at:

Courtesy of the UBUNTU official site,Linux for Human Beings.

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-announce

Now Ocampo to Open Waki Envelope

2009-07-12T15:27:00.000+03:00

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo will on Monday open the envelope containing the names of key Government officials and prominent businessmen suspected of perpetrating post-election mayhem.
Mr Ocampo has confirmed he will open the envelope and other documents handed over to him by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Dr Annan gave the documents to Ocampo on Thursday. The former UN chief has had the documents since he received them from Justice Philip Waki in October, last year. Justice Waki chaired the commission that investigated post-election violence.

Ocampo said: "On Monday (tomorrow), I will be back in my office and probably open the envelopes to understand what they say. But I will seal them again."

The news of the opening of the envelope will further heighten the anxiety that has gripped the country.
Up to now, it is only Justice Philip Waki who knows the contents of the envelope he gave Annan when he completed work of the Commission of Inquiry Into Post-Election Violence.

Justice Waki’s mandate was to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the violence, the conduct of State security agencies, and to make recommendations on these and other matters.

Speaking in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Saturday, Ocampo recalled the visit by a Kenyan delegation to his offices at The Hague, late last month.

"They confirmed the commitment of Kenya to end impunity for the crimes committed during the post-election time, "said Ocampo, in the interview, with The Standard on Sunday stringer, then in the DRC.

He said the delegation comprising Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo, Attorney General Amos Wako, and Lands Minister James Orengo, informed him the Government plans to establish a local tribunal to try the suspects.
But Ocampo said, they also told him Parliament had a different position and wants suspects of post-election chaos referred to the International Criminal Court.

Post-election violence

"In the meantime, they commit themselves to provide all the information they have, on the allegations and crimes committed," said Ocampo.

It was after this, Ocampo disclosed, that Annan called him, saying: "Hey, look. I also have to give you the information I have. And he handed over boxes with documents and an envelope with names of persons under suspicion that the Waki commission considered we have to investigate."

While handing over the envelope to Ocampo, Annan "welcomed the Government’s renewed efforts to implement the recommendations of the Waki Commission and to establish a special tribunal".

Annan said: "Any judicial mechanism adopted to bring the perpetrators of post-election violence to justice must meet international legal standards and be broadly debated with all sectors of the Kenyan society to bring credibility to the process."

The former UN chief, who headed the Panel of Eminent Persons that brokered peace in Kenya early last year, said it "reaffirms its conviction that combating impunity and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the post-election violence in Kenya is fundamental to the country’s reform agenda".

Mr Annan added: "Justice delayed is justice denied. The people of Kenya want to see concrete progress on the fight against impunity. Without such progress, the reconciliation between ethnic groups and the long-term stability of Kenya is in jeopardy."

On Monday, Ocampo will be back at The Hague after a tour of African countries that took him to Ethiopia and the DRC.

"So on Monday (tomorrow), I will open the envelopes to understand what they say, but will seal them again. It is just advice. I have to make my own impartial judgement," he said, in Kinshasa, the DRC capital.

He reiterated that Kenya is committed to deal with the post-election atrocities. But he pointed out: "If they cannot do it, assuming it is clear they cannot do it, and they refer the case to me or not I will be ready with all the information I need to start a very fast investigation".

War crimes
At least 1,200 Kenyans were killed in the violence, 600,000 displaced, and many jobs lost. Most of those displaced in the post-2007 General Election violence are yet to be resettled.

Ocampo spoke as an African Union (AU) panel led by former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki backed the ICC indictment of Sudanese officials, including President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for war crimes.

The panel’s recommendation showed the differences around Africa over the indictment for crimes in the Darfur conflict.

An AU summit in Libya last week voted to suspend co-operation with the ICC on the matter.

Mr Mbeki told reporters that the panel of eight eminent Africans had consulted widely in and outside Sudan.
"The consensus is that those charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity should appear in court and defend themselves," he said.

"The warrant has been issued. There is nothing that can be done."

The ICC has indicted Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture.

But he has dismissed the allegations as part of a Western conspiracy, and the AU has sought a deferment of the indictment, saying it has complicated peace efforts in Darfur.

UN officials say the Darfur conflict in Sudan’s western region has killed as many as 300,000 people since 2003.
—Standard Additional reporting by Reuters

Obama Returns Home From European, African Trip.

2009-07-12T15:09:00.000+03:00

US President Barack Obama addresses members of Ghanaian Parliament at the International Conference Center in Accra, 11 Jul 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama has returned home from a weeklong trip to Moscow, a G-8 summit, and a stop in Ghana.

Mr. Obama and his family arrived back in the United States shortly after midnight.

On Saturday, the president challenged Africans to take more responsibility for wiping out poverty, war and corruption on the continent.

In a speech to Ghana's parliament, he said good governance is missing from too many places in Africa. He said Africa does not need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.

The emotional high point of the president's visit was a tour of a former slave center from which thousands of Africans once were shipped off to America.

Before leaving Ghana late Saturday, Mr. Obama said he would never forget the image of his daughters, the descendants of Africans and African-Americans, walking through the center's doors of no return, but then walking back out.

Mr. Obama's visit to Ghana was his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa since becoming the first African-American president.

He said it was particularly important for his daughters to see the slave center at Cape Coast Castle and witness how history can take cruel turns.

Mr. Obama said the tour reminded him of a visit to a German World War Two concentration camp. He said both experiences remind him of man's capacity for evil.

The president said several times on his trip to Ghana that Africa is not a world apart, but is a fundamental part of an interconnected world.

He said he chose to visit Ghana because of its "functioning democracy" and its president, John Atta Mills, who Mr. Obama said is "serious about reducing corruption."

Panic as ICC Swings Into Action

2009-07-11T11:14:00.000+03:00

A day after former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan handed over the envelope with the list of post-election violence suspects to The Hague, the International Criminal Court (ICC) swung into action and set up a team to deal with the Kenyan case.

Luis Moreno Ocampo

A team of 14 professionals was identified to look into the files of perpetrators of post-election violence, The Standard on Saturday has authoritatively learnt.

It has also emerged that Attorney-General Amos Wako has prepared an updated report on the investigation and prosecution for ICC Chief Prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo.

ICC Director of Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division Beatrice Le Fraper Du Hellen told The Standard on Saturday in an exclusive telephone interview that 14 professionals have been enlisted to look at the reports that would be handed over by the Government.

Ms Hellen said there would be no preferential treatment or bias against Kenya.

Same standards
"We have to apply to Kenya the same standards we apply to other countries," said Hellen.
She disclosed that the AG had assured Mr Ocampo that he would soon send police files to The Hague for analysis that could lead to possible investigations.

Hellen noted that by June next year, the ICC would be ready with information to begin investigation against the perpetrators.

"The Kenyan delegation that visited our office in The Hague told us if they are unable to commence investigations on the perpetrators, they will officially hand over the case to us in June 2010," she said.

However, Hellen hoped the Government would speed up the establishment of a special tribunal as recommended by Justice Philip Waki.

Ocampo, in an exclusive interview with our sister broadcasting station KTN earlier in the week, confirmed that the ICC was already collecting information to establish whether crimes against humanity were committed during post-election violence last year.

"In the next one month, in September, the Kenyan delegation promised to be back with a detailed plan. For now, let us wait and see," said Ocampo
And on Friday, Dr Annan, who was the chief mediator in the post-election dispute, clarified that he was not angered by the agreement between Kenya and the ICC.

Through his spokesperson Nasser Ega Musa, Annan said he has had "cordial and pleasant deliberations" with the Kenyan delegation.

Annan said he would continue to support the process for the establishment of a special tribunal.
Last October, Annan received the Waki report and a secret list containing names of State and non-State suspects who are alleged to have funded and planned last year’s chaos.

The Government was expected to set up a tribunal with local international judges and prosecutors. Justice Waki, who chaired the commission that investigated the violence, recommended that if the tribunal were not set up, then the list would be forwarded to the ICC.

Local tribunal
Early this year, however, Parliament shot down the Bill that would have established the tribunal. Many MPs’ clarion call was: Let’s not be vague; let’s go The Hague.
Annan put off the deadline to give Kenya an opportunity to set up the tribunal. But last month, a delegation comprising Cabinet ministers Mutula Kilonzo and James Orengo and AG Amos Wako met Annan in Geneva and Ocampo at The Hague.

The ICC prosecutor and the delegation agreed to give the Government another chance. Kenya was to by September send a report to Ocampo on what it had done since the chaos.
But at a Press conference on Thursday after news broke that Annan had handed over the envelope, Mutula, Orengo and Wako disclosed that they had already done so.

Fast and furious
And on Friday, reaction to the handing over of the envelope by Annan was fast and furious. Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto said the Government should not cede its sovereignty to foreign powers. Mr Ruto said Annan and Ocampo should not dictate on issues that can be resolved locally.

"Parliament shall remain independent and asserts the position that Kenya is a sovereign State even if some Government officials want to cede some ground to foreign elements," Ruto said.
Speaking in Bomet, Ruto said Parliament would not pass laws on the basis of agreements that make the country owe allegiance to foreigners.

"America cannot make us accept Rome statutes which it is not even a signatory to," he said
But Assistant Minister Omingo Magara says Kenyans had no choice but to accept Annan’s decision.
Speaking in his South Mugirango Constituency, Mr Magara castigated MPs for shooting down a Bill seeking to establish a local tribunal that would have tried even petty offenders.

He added: "Regardless of who is in the list from ODM or PNU, if trying them at The Hague will reduce impunity, then so be it. After all, I don’t know whether Mutula will do anything new that he has not done before," Magara said.

The International Centre for Policy and Conflict (ICPC) has hit out at the Government over the ICC issue.
Co-ordinator Ndung’u Wainaina said the way Attorney-General Amos Wako handled the matter was evidence of "ineptitude and subversion of justice" on the part of the State.

He claimed it had led to "serious embarrassment to the Kenyan people through Annan’s action of transmitting post-election violence suspects and evidence to the ICC".

US President Barack Obama Hits Out at Kenya Over Corruption

2009-07-11T11:06:00.000+03:00

Even before President Obama arrived for his visit to Ghana, Kenya was feeling the heat.
In a meeting with African leaders attending the G8 summit in Italy on Friday, Obama vilified Kenya as a country where bribery and corruption were the way of life and institutions had failed.

Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman was quoted by the ABC News online edition saying: "His cousin in Kenya can’t find a job without paying a bribe, and that’s not the fault of the G-8."

And he was not done with Kenya. He added that companies "can’t operate without paying, in some parts of Africa, a 25 per cent fee off the top in bribes".

ABC News quoted the aide saying: "Everyone knows that his father was from Kenya, that he still has relatives living in poverty, and that while he’s President of the US, he feels poverty in a very personal way because of his family situation."

Froman recounted that the President explained that when his father, Barack Obama Senior, went to the US, Kenya’s GDP was higher than Korea’s.

"Obviously, much has happened since then and he wanted to make it clear that the problems that Africans face weren’t just a product of colonialism or past history," Froman said.

At a Press conference after the meeting, Obama said: "The point I was making was that my father travelled to the United States a mere 50 years ago yet now I have family members who live in villages. They themselves are not going hungry, but they live in villages where hunger is real. This is something I understand in very personal terms. And if you talk to people on the ground in Africa, certainly in Kenya, they will say part of the issue is the institutions aren’t working for ordinary people. So, governance is a vital concern that has to be addressed."

Civil society
By bringing up the example of South Korea, Obama said, he was trying to make the point that "the South Korean government, working with the private sector and civil society, was able to create a set of institutions that provided transparency, accountability and efficiency that allowed for extraordinary economic progress. And that there was no reason why many African countries could not do the same."

The US leader said the partnership between governments and the private sector and civil society — whether it is over food security or other development ideas — requires local governments to take responsibility seriously.
Froman recalled Obama saying: "This isn’t a time to make excuses. And that it is important to join together in a clear-eyed way."

When Obama met the leaders of Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Libya and Ethiopia, he spoke about his personal connections to both Africa and poverty, and according to a top White House aide, "you could have heard a pin drop".

After describing a food security initiative that the President and other G-8 leaders have been working on, Obama talked about development and the importance of governance.

The US President, Froman said, pointed out that it was important to think about people on the ground who are focused, not about who is at fault in Africa, but on how to survive, succeed and provide for their families.
He emphasised the importance of transparency, openness, and efficiency.

It’s important, Obama told the African leaders, that development programmes are implemented so they "reach people who really need them, that assistance actually gets to the farmers and the farmers benefit from this".

Several people who were in the meeting said it was a very moving remark and thanked him for sharing his personal story with them. And I think it helped define the seriousness of the discussion and the importance of the subject."
Thanks To Standard

Dr Prophet David Owour -A Brief History of the Man of God

2009-07-10T19:24:00.000+03:00

THE BIG INTERVIEW: Dr. Owuor on his life, ministry.....and new prophecies

Dear readers, following your sustained readership of this blog and endless questions concerning some of the stories I have published here, I have had to follow up on one that I think has dominated your interest the most as evidenced by your comments and e-mails. Two days ago, I met with and interviewed Dr. David Owuor for nearly five hours following your queries about his life and ministry. I should, from the very outset, state that the transcript I'm offering here is in no way definitive about the chat we had; there's much detail I have ommitted for reasons beyond my control. There is a limit to what I can say here, mostly for security reasons. I should also state that I'll make every attempt not to inject my personal opinion into my recollections of the chat I had with Dr. Owuor; I hope to God you will be in a position to read and make your own independent conclusions. The October 23rd, 2005 edition of Kenya Times has a good summary of the man's personal story, details of which I have opted to overlook in my piece (including mentions of some events he says are yet to occur). I'm in the process of getting the audio and video copies of some messages from his office for your considered consumption. Those among you with the know-how of how such may be uploaded on this blog are welcome to share your expertise via the e-mail address on my homepage the soonest you possibly can. Happy reading! Jesse. Q. Who is David the man? What is the story of your beginnings? A. I was born in Yimbo, Bondo District. I studied sciences at Makerere University and the University of Nairobi. I later proceeded to study and work in other countries, specifically the Ben-Gurion University in Haifa, Israel where undertook my Ph.D studies in molecular genetics, otherwise known as the "science of the future." I also took up a post-doctoral fellowship in the United States with a specific interest in gene sequencing and signal transduction. I progressed further in these fields. Q. How did you come to understand that you had a calling to what you now know as the ministry God has called you to? A. I came to faith in 1987 when, while Uganda was still fluid politically, I asked God to take me safely from Western Kenya into Uganda and back as I tried to transfer my credits from Makerere to Nairobi. I told God that if He did it for me, I would consider giving Him my life; I would live for Him. Suprisingly, the Ugandan soldiers were unexpectedly most helpful to me throughout; I was never harassed. I didn't notice it at the time but my spiritual journey with God had actually began. I was never serious with Him thereafter but He still pursued me. In my office in Haifa, Jewish colleagues would peep through my doorway and shout jokingly: "Remember Moses!" They were neither Christians nor Judaists, but their reference to Moses left me wondering what they were about. Later, after I had moved to the US, the same references were used again but now to a clearer end. One day as I walked through Chicago, a man drove and pulled up besides me and said: "Man, are you aware that as you were walking a brilliantly blinding light had enveloped you, thus blocking my view of the way? You know, like Moses...do you remember Moses?" Q. What happened? A. That's when the Haifa incidents came back to mind. I decided to talked to the LORD and asked HIM as to whether it was HE that had put the brilliant LIGHT that all were seing and asking "Do you remember Moses?" Then the LORD appeared to me that Night in my apartment house and I was fightened and tried to run away.....After the LORD appeared to me, HE sent me the PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT who started talking to me in mighty visions and dreams about the mission. HE started showing me the different churches in the world all the things that were to happen and those things started happenning. Then the LORD commanded me to leave to the churches after another visitation in a dream on the 3rd of July 2003. At first it was a great struggle but when the LORD appeared to me and physically touched my mouth and then lifted me from one room to the next in my house and wrote on the wall ISAIAH 43:11 and ISAIAH 43:1 on the wall for me. So I woke up and understood that HE had called me out for HIMSELF. Q. Whose son are you spiritually? Who is your mentor and how has your journey in faith been like? A. After I got convicted concerning my calling, I tried to get closer to some known American Christian leaders to mentor me but got no further with any one of them. There was a pastor I went to and shared my encounters with the Lord and the new direction I believed He was leading me to; the pastor just said there was no way they thought they could be of help to me in the circumstances. Another prominent leader involved in prophetic ministry in the US was least helpful; he appeard more eager to exploit rather than walk with me in my spiritual journey. Another one who appears regularly on Kenyan television just couldn't meet me as he was having an outreach meeting in London. I found myself having to just learn on the mill with the Lord Himself. The Lord turned Himself into my ultimate mentor in the despair, doubts, questions and even pain I had trying to find my footing in ministry. A while later (after the 2002 elections), it became clear to me that he needed me to return and serve Him here (in Kenya). Q. Ahead of this interview, a reader sent me an e-mail saying: "Please ask Dr. Owuor why all his prophecies are ever tragic. God has never spoken to him on good things about Kenya and the world. At times it's very scary to hear him. My family stopped watching his television programme long time. Ask him his view on Good News. The Bible is good news to humanity. Ask him why Jesus never spoke on the devil many times yet he does. I don't miss him." How does such a take on your ministry sit with you? A. These events were prophecies by Christ JESUS HIMSELF in Matthew 24 and now HE has sent me and shows them to me and when I prophecy them they do come to pass. This is actually the true GOODNEWS because these prophecies talk about the beginning of birth pain and hence the Nearing of the coming of the LORD for the church. So the fact that they are being fullfulled is VERY GOODNEWS and we as christians should not fear these prophecies. Instaed we should prepare in REPENTANCE for the Innevitable EndTime, the GLORIOUS COMING OF THE LORD. Remember the LORD has Spoken to me about the Rapture and the SECOND COMING, so they will for sure happen sooner than the church thought. The God of Israel has a zero tolerance for sin. I won't soften what He asks me to proclaim just so as to win anyone's approval. I have a mission to tell it as it is. If people change, judgement won't happen. The Church has not taught the true God who judges sin. Q. What is your understanding of the role that theological education plays in ministry? A. The best teacher is the Holy Spirit, not the different schools of thought that inform theological training in most Bible and theology schools. Equally sad, there is no capturing of God's vision because people are training for ministry as a proffession. It is pointless trying to lead people to a spiritual and visionary God from such a position. It is an indictment of many among us who are looking to start Churches as a business. People are building personal kingdoms and empires with wrong, spiritual foundations in the name of God. Their training is preparing them for ministry as a gateway to wealth. Their preaching is horizontally heavy on flesh and blood, never vertical enough to help their congregants meet God on His own terms (I Cor. 15:50). That's not a good model anyhow. Q. What is your understanding of the difference between faith and reason? A. Faith builds on spiritual being, not empirical manifestation. Once you build your faith, anything in the physical can happen. Faith is irrational. Reason, on the other hand, seeks empirical evidence. The Church has not built her faith. Healing, restoration, etc would come our way if we had faith. The Church should focus on building faith over reason. The miracle industry has boomed because people have lacked faith. We should not depend on miracles to reach God. Consequently, some ministers are lying to their congregations because they (the ministers) have not believed God can use them to do what they lie about. Q. Where do both the Church and the nation stand concerning the judgement of God over the land? Will God remember mercy or are we still in the danger zone? A. Both are currently in judgement. The altar of the Lord has to be restored. The judgement in the house of God is going to be most severe. Q. What is God saying about the national prayer and repentance done by individual believers and Churches last year? What is the current state of Kenya after that repentance day? A. It's not over yet. God is not yet done with Kenya. God is serious about that. God definitely appreciates last year's prayers and repentance, but it isn't over yet. We are in judgement. Look at the drought that hit Kenya, the drought I had warned about, the many people I said I had been shown by the LORD as leaving their homes in large numbers and going to unknown, SURELY we so this happening till now. People lost cattle and left homes in search for water and food and death occured. The LORD is asking for REPENTANCE; HE is faithful. Recently in Nakuru HE wrote for me HIS JUDGMENT in the SKY and I have warned Kenya of the urgent need to repent. HE further showed me very very thin cattle and this is Judgment. Q. They say that a nation's state of affairs is a reflection of the manifest spiritual condition of the Church inside such a nation. How does such a maxim sit with you regarding the present state of affairs in the country? A. The Church is a mirror of the State. Kenya needs the Church for direction because the Church speaks to the Lord. The Church prayed to the Lord for a new government in 2002, but rested easy thereafter believing that it had accomplished its mission. Right now, it has no authority to point fingers at anyone in preaching the gospel of corruption as it is mired in the same in ways that would make the government even look clean. There's rape in the country because there is rape in the Church; there is poor leadership in the country because there is poor leadership in the Church. And the list goes on and on. The Church needed to teach holiness. What we have today in the way of exposed ills in the Church is just the tip of the iceberg. Q. What specific sins have believers and non-believers been committing to warrant the repentance message you have been preaching? A. Sexual immorality, love of money, lying, false prophecies, etc. People are exalting money, what with the fake health and wealth prosperity gospel from the USA. A further word on sexual immorality may be appropriate. The other day I saw a disturbing advert ahead of the 7 O'clock news on one of the local TV stations. A mother was telling her daughter that she could sleep around as long as her boyfriend had a condom on. The levels to which we have sunk in accomodating pre-marital sex are just too low. God is mad! Holiness has been thrown out of the Church too. Condoms can easily be found in Church compounds after kesha (vigil) nights. We are more inclined to turn our Churches into entertainment and performance centers for fun and comedy; the more you laugh, the better the Church, we seem to be saying. The gospel of panda mbegu (sow the seed) which came from Satan the devil is the gospel they are preaching as a symbol of their success as custodians of the altar of the Lord. It is now about the sizes of cars, houses, bank accounts, etc and less about the narrow path and cross of the Lord. Q. Do you have tangible evidence on some section of the clergy's use of demonic powers to serve God as has been reported that you claim? A. Yes, there is massive evidence. Witchdoctors have come out speaking about some of them who have been to see them over their services (Editor's note: Some details ommitted). Q. Where do you place the Bible in your predictions and your claim of prophecy? How Biblical and accurate is the statement "God has commanded us to repent so that the Church can prepare for the rapture?" Does the repentance of the Church in Kenya, therefore, guarantee an immediate rapture? And whatever happened to Jesus' coming like a thief in the night? A. There is nothing the LORD speaks to you about that you dont find in the Bible. Remember the Asian Tsunami (see appendix below), Katrina, Pakistani Quake, EA Quake, Australian Storm on now (prophesied in Kitale on the June 4th 2005; see tapes of messages) etc that the LORD showed me earlier and finally happened. You find these in Matthew 24 when the LORD said in the End will come the Beginning of Birth Pain.There is nothing the Lord tells you about anything that you cannot find in the Bible. The Lord is sending forth His word through His servants in these last days. These are merely the beginnings of intense birth-pangs for the entire world. The end is nigh. People, get ready! Q. What thoughts are there on Jewish-Muslim relations in this age? And can you add any insights on Jewish breakthroughs in recognizing Christ as their Messiah? A. That land is precious to the Lord and Jewish leaders who have thought otherwise have in recent years had to learn that lesson the hard way (Editor's note: Some details ommitted). Spiritually, it is not yet over for the Jews. God has a plan for them. Those are His beloved. He has a covenant with them. He is bringing many of them into the saving knowledge of His Son and will continue to do that. Q. What do you call yourself - a prophet, prophet of doom, or God's special spokesman on matters of calamities and repentance? A. It is up to the people that listen to the prophecies the LORD has given me and monitoring their fulfillment that can now decide for themselves what to call me. Deuteronomy 18 says very clearly that if a man prophesies something and it comes to pass, that man I have spoken with and is my prophet, and if a man prophecies and it doesn't come to pass that man has spoken presumptiously and I have not spoken with him, so do not fear him. Q. What is next in the pipeline, any predictions...especially on the Church as well as the current state of politics in Kenya? A. The Lord used me to speak about the Asian tsunami, tremors that hit Kenya, Tanzania and the Great Lakes region last year, the ongoing Avian Flu and other major events around the world. He has impressed on my heart that a third of the world, including Iran, Russia and Germany is going to be hit by a major earthquake. The Church in Kenya and the country itself is in judgement and will need every prayer to go through some difficult moments ahead of it (Editor's note: Some details ommitted). Q. Has God revealed to you anything on the country's future President? A. No, He hasn't but He will with time. Q. What should the Church in Kenya do to be able to send missionaries to unreached people groups in Kenya and other nations? A. Reaching to the many who are constantly ebbing into an eternity, damned in Hell and forever separated from God should be the Church's greatest humanitarian emergency. The Church must restore the Lord's altar for missions. It must also position itself for the latter rains of God's saving grace upon the unreached people groups in and outside Kenya. The floodgates of Heaven are going to open again. Q. What would a transformed Kenya look like for you? A. A Kenya that would reflect a nation hit by revival that brings repentance and holiness. Q. How is your prayerlife? A. I have to pray. APPENDIX: COPY OF E-MAIL SENT OUT BY DR. OWUOR AHEAD OF THE ASIAN TSUNAMI AND NEW ORLEANS KATRINA

Date:	Thu, 25 Nov 2004 01:33:29 -0800 (PST)
From:	E-MAIL ADDRESS OMMITTED BY EDITOR
Subject:	The LORD GOD Has Spoken Again
To:	"E-MAIL ADDRESS OMMITTED BY EDITOR>

HTML Attachment [ | ]

Shalom Apostle Nuyo,

I am holding a meeting with my team today for the second time.

The LORD is going to build a holy church here.

Nuyo, the LORD GOD talked to me this morning VERY VERY STRONGLY BY HIS VOICE beginning 12:30 am until 6 am in the morning.

Nuyo, the LORD is so mad and has asked me to pass a Judgement on the Eastern Religions and New Age Religions. He has HE asked me to shave my head and beard and showed me blood on my hands i a vision, if I dont warn them.

He said I should warn them (the whle world and especially Africa and Asia), that if they dont repent in Christ Jesus, HIS Judgement will come upon them and he concluded

"AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT THE LORD GOD HAS SPOKEN"

It was such a tough night, but you know, I am with the LORD GOD, and I love HIM because HE is the Eternal KING.

He showed me a great vision in which many peple died from floods.

In the vision HE put me in there and showed me how it was impossible to save any body in this HISTORIC floods coming soon. Please inform the prophets about this new move of the Lord GOD HIMSELF. To hear HIS VOICE issuch a MIGHTY Experience, Amen

I am going to preach this for the first time today.

Thanks Hno Nuyo, May the LORD bless you and your family,

In Christ JESUS,

Thanks To Kenyananalyst

Secret To Maximum Blog Income and Conversion

2009-07-09T12:03:00.000+03:00

Courtesy of John Choo
The live blog chat with my friend David Risley will be starting in a couple of hours. I figure I would get you started with a really neat video that David recently produced. It reveals the secret to maximum blog income and conversion.
You don’t need to opt-in to a list or anything to watch this video. It is right out there in public. It is about 20 minutes long, but contains some really solid info. Watch the video and then join us for the live blogger Q&A at 3PM EST.
In this video, David talks about:

Why blogs actually suck at turning readers into money.
How and why you need to get visitors off your blog.
The tactic called “click funneling” and how it can make you a LOT more money from your blog.
Follow this link to watch the video enjoy and learn to make cash from your blog here

Choosing the Right Social Bookmarking Widget for your Website

2009-07-09T11:50:00.000+03:00

Social bookmarking widgets have really helped reduce clutter on web pages.
Not long ago, it was not uncommon to find bloggers putting a dozen different icons under their blog posts hoping that people would click these buttons to spread their content on the web. But as the number of social sites grew on the Internet, these numerous buttons were replaced with all-in-one widgets that not only offered more features but were easy to maintain as well.

The idea is that instead of confusing your site visitors with icons of 16 different social bookmarking sites, you show them a single Share icon and they can choose the social service they want to use to save, share or bookmark your content.

Which Social Bookmarking & Sharing widget is right for your site?
The three most popular social bookmarking and sharing widgets on Internet are from Share This, Add This and Add to Any. Another service that’s relatively new but worth a mention is Tell a Friend.

Before we actually compare the features of these services, take a look at the graphic above to get some idea about the appearance of these widgets. Or you may visit this dummy page and try out any of these social sharing services.

AddThis.com

AddThis gives you complete control over the appearance and layout of the widget. You can arrange the icons in a single vertical column or put them in a horizontal strip or, if you are comfortable with CSS, you can even go for more complex hover animations.

In addition to sharing your web pages on social networks, your site visitors can also use the AddThis widget to print content or for adding the page to their browser bookmarks.
AddThis provides several analytics reports so you know what content is getting shared and what social services are most popular among your visitors. And there’s an option to add your brand name to the widget as well.
Almost every US government website (include the Whitehouse blog) uses AddThis for social sharing.

ShareThis.com

One of the unique points about the ShareThis widget is that remembers what you share. That means if you vote for a story on Digg or share a link on Twitter or stumble some page, the service will auto-save a log of all this activity into your ShareThis account. The sharing widget is available as a bookmarklet as well and this is handy for browsers like Google Chrome that don’t support add-ons.

On the publisher side, ShareThis is the only service that will allow you site visitors to share content through SMS text messages in addition to email and AIM. Though the default look of the ShareThis widget cannot be changed, you can choose which social services should be available inside the widget and their display order.
Like AddThis, ShareThis too provides detailed analytics so you can find out what people are sharing and how.

AddToAny.com

There are at least 50 different social networks and bookmarking websites on the Internet so how do you decide services that should be included in the sharing widget on your website? For instance, delicious is the most popular bookmarking service but some of your visitors could also be using Diigo or Mister-Wong so what do you do in this case? Show them both or toss a coin and pick one?

Well, the AddToAny button provides an excellent solution to this very problem. The service automatically detects social services that your visitors use and places them first in the widget. The detection mechanism is pretty good and I guess it does this by reading the browser history of visitors.

Another advantage of AddToAny is that it automatically uses your Google Analytics account for reporting. That means if you have the Google Analytics code on a page that also uses the Add To Any widget, the sharing statistics of that page will be collected just like your other Analytics data.
The layout of the Add To Any widget isn’t customizable though advanced users can hide individual tabs or even change the color scheme using CSS hacks.

Tell-A-Friend.com

With Tell-a-Friend, your site visitors can share your content with their IM buddies on Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL and MSN/Windows Live Messenger. You can rearrange the tab order in the widget and also choose which social services should be part of the individual tabs. The service also offers a paid option incase you like to brand the widget and email message with a custom logo.

For some reason, the TAF widget on the dummy page isn’t working in IE 8 or Firefox 3.5 but I used the one on NDTV.com and their email sharing feature is pretty impressive.

Conclusion:

All the services discussed above have something unique to offer. Here’s what I would suggest:
If you are looking to customize the widget heavily or plan to use your own social bookmarking icons so that the widget on your site looks a bit different from the rest, AddThis is a perfect choice.
If you want to offer readers an option to share content via text messages or need a widget that is extremely easy to setup and also looks elegant, go with ShareThis.

The Add To Any widget is again a good choice because site visitors get to see the service they frequently use right on top but the email sharing feature in this widget will open in another window.

Tell-A-Friend is the only service that offers sharing via popular instant messaging clients, the widget also includes a rich HTML email client so visitors can add notes to their shares but the free version of TAF doesn’t offer analytics and the widget UI can be a bit confusing for new users.
Thanks To Amit.

First Family: Rejection of Cars Points to Unanswered Questions

2009-07-09T11:21:00.000+03:00

Confidential sources last evening revealed State House Chief Finance Officer was removed following controversial purchase of eight high-class vehicles the First Family ordered returned to suppliers this week.

The news broke as questions spiralled on how Sh40 million deal, complete with paper trail between the ‘purchasers’ and the ‘vendors’ could have reached the signing and delivery stage behind the First Family’s back. Though the fate of Mr JK Mutua, who was in charge of purchasing at State House was not immediately clear, our sources were firm he would not be working from State House and the purchase is under investigation.
"As we speak now there are new developments because the Chief Financial officer has been suspended over this matter," sources intimated.

The officer was suspended as Toyota Kenya and DT Dobie — the companies that supplied the vehicles said to have cost at least Sh40 million — pondered the next step because to them it was a sealed deal.

DT Dobie and Government signed the requisite documents and Kenya Revenue Authority has registered the vehicles for GK. This implies the Government could be forcing the firm to take back what it already legally owns.
"It has never happened before that a client has ordered for vehicles we deliver and then the owner rejects them," the firm’s marketing manager Ms Josephine Njuguna told The Standard on the telephone. Njuguna said her company was still consulting on the way forward as the matter was unprecedented. Each of the four Mercedes Benz S280 series goes for Sh5 million, but if customised the cost could even go up threefold.

Unanswered Question

Toyota Kenya confirmed selling Toyota Prado vehicles to State House "as ordered", but declined to give the size of the fleet. But the firm’s marketing manager Ms Benda Kithaka confirmed each luxury vehicle cost Sh4.7 million, duty inclusive. "For us to deliver a vehicle to our client it must be registered and fully paid for," she added, but declined to give details. Kithaka said all the Government procurement procedures were followed.

The rejection of the vehicles by the President and his wife, condensed into a one-page statement dispatched by Presidential Press Service, also triggered questions on who could have made the decision to buy the vehicles in a rush to beat the deadline of closing the financial year.

Another an unanswered question is the First Lady’s involvement in what would be a routine Executive an administrative issue at the Presidency.

The flurry of questions also turned attention to the fact that in unprecedented move, and through formal State House communication, the President and First Lady Lucy, were enjoined in the executive order on the return of the vehicles. Five times in the statement sent to newsrooms on Wednesday, the quoted and unquoted text is attributed to: "His Excellency the President and Her Excellency the First Lady…"

It opened with the line: "His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki and Her Excellency the First Lady Mrs. Lucy Kibaki have directed that eight vehicles bought without their authority for use in State House be immediately returned to the dealers ... As an immediate measure we are ordering the return of the eight vehicles that were purchased without our knowledge."

Defy Treasury

But the answered questions hinge on the fact that it would be suicidal and audacious for a Government official to order vehicles for State House without the President’s own input on his preference. Discussions on security features such as bullet proof windscreen and windows as well as non-inflatable tires, would also have to be discussed with him, or in the least his top aides.

The delicate nature of the contract, given that it is single-sourced would also require clearances at various levels within the presidency since it would cost millions. The make of the vehicles also suggest at least seven of them could not have been meant for pool transport, and must, therefore, have been earmarked for some high-ranking officials at State House. This begs the question who were they? Through whom had he channelled the requests? And at what level was the approval of procurement and payment done?

There is also the oddity that someone or some Government officers had the temerity to defy the Treasury. As the financial year closed, Finance ministry ordered accounting officers not to spend the money still in their hands hurriedly and just for the purpose of avoiding returning it to Treasury’s vaults. The circular was also clear expenditure at this time should be restricted to essential items, and not vehicles, unless for emergency or security reasons.

Njuguna disclosed the company had delivered the vehicles, meaning the "deal was as good as done." "We are looking into the matter and since it especially involves the President and First Lady. This complicates the matter even further," Ms Njuguna added. The DT Dobie official said they had received a purchase order from the Government on the vehicles and they were duly authorised and had no choice but to deliver as per the agreement.
Njuguna referred further questions on the sale to a Mr Pete Kirigwa.

Macworld preview: Apple Takes on Google with Cloud Computing Plans

2009-07-08T13:21:00.002+03:00

Apple has unveiled details of a new “cloud computing” initiative that will see it put many of its software and services online, taking on the might of Google in the process.

Published: 10:03AM GMT 06 Jan 2009

Apple is set to take on Google with cloud computing plans Photo: REUTERS

The announcement of the public test version of iWork.com came at the Apple Macworld expo in San Francisco. The service, which will rival Google's "Docs" application, is free but will cost money when Apple has finished it.

“Cloud computing” refers to the idea of software and services, such as photo sharing and word processing, living online, stored on servers “in the cloud” rather than on individual home computers. It means the data is accessible on almost any device with an internet connection, and that friends or colleagues will be able to work collaboratively on the same documents simultaneously.

Apple’s plans build and update its existing iWork suite of programmes, which features presentation, word-processing and spreadsheet software. The company also updated its iLife suite, which is used to edit photos, movies, web design and music.

The move into cloud computing is a shrwed one for Apple because it enables many of its products and services to run on any machine, not just Macs, exposing a wider audience to Apple’s range of software and hardware.

The strategy, however, could also potentially spark a cloud computing race, as Google already offers many services online, for free, and Microsoft has also signalled its intention to move into cloud computing with the launch of its own development platform for cloud services, dubbed Azure.

Software vendors and computer makers are increasingly recognising a need for smarter operating systems and cloud computing solutions. The growing popularity of ‘netbooks’ – cheap, ultra-portable, almost pocket-sized laptops with little storage or memory, but the ability to get online quickly using wireless hotspots or the phone network – means manufacturers need to make their software less memory-hungry in order to run on this new breed of machines.

Moving software and services onto internet servers is one way of achieving that.

Thanks To Claudine Beaumont

Signs of the Times-Father Steals Daughter for Sexual Pleasure

2009-07-08T12:59:00.002+03:00

"Dad, I gave you maximum respect and unquestionable loyalty. I shielded you from ridicule and refused to expose your crimes. Now you have repaid me with misery! I still love you dad but you must get a little punishment for your crimes…"

Wairimu during the Interview with CCI

This is a message from a distraught 19-year-old Form Two student, Wairimu ** to her father, Simon Kimani Mithia. Her life is in shambles. She has suffered from manic depression and tried to take her life on several occasions, all because of her father.

Her cry represents a cry from a growing number of children sexually abused by their fathers and threatened with death if they reveal. Some of their mothers cover up the crimes to "protect the family."

Alarming statistics
The rate at which wayward fathers are sexually preying on their daughters has reached alarming levels.
Even with tough jail terms their acts go on unabated.
Director of Community Policing, Gender and Child Protection at police headquarters, Beatrice Nduta says the issue is degenerating into a national disaster.

She accuses the society and some members of the provincial administration of fuelling the crisis through cover-up.
"Parents are compromising on defilement against their children. Some chiefs and their assistants hold Kangaroo courts to fine the culprits goats and cows," she laments.

Head of the Gender Violence Recovery Centre at the Nairobi Women Hospital Lillian Kasina says last year, 79 cases of defilement by fathers were recorded at the facility.

She says the cases are rampant across the country adding that some people fear reporting. Central Province and Nairobi have more cases recorded.

She says mothers conspire and shield the fathers in the name of preserving the family’s image. The victims are told the family will suffer stigma, legal consequences and become a laughing stock.
Such was the case for Wairimu.

In 2004, shortly after sitting the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education at Thageini Primary School in Nyeri District, her trusted uncle introduced her to a man as her long lost father. She was overjoyed.

Her mother explains a point during the interview. The girl is about to deliver after she was allegedly impregnated by her father who has since gone into hiding. Photos: Jennifer Wachie /Standard

After 15 years without fatherly love, the man was now ready to shower her with good things.
"He promised to educate me and ensure that I never lacked anything. At first I was doubtful but my uncle convinced me pointing out our similar physical features," Wairimu recalls.

When the girl’s mother, Bilha Wangui heard about this visit, she was livid.

"He stole into our life like a thief in the night. Before I knew it, my daughter’s head was running wild," Wangui says.

Kimani had married Wangui in 1989 but the marriage failed after one year leaving her with an eight-month-old baby Wairimu.

She educated her until she was 15-years-old when the father came back to her life while she was at Kirigiti Rehabilitation Centre.

She had been taken to Kirigiti through a court order to repeat Standard Seven after her mother complained she was disobeying her.

"My uncle came to school accompanied by Kimani. He convinced me Kimani was my father and he took me for shopping in Kiambu town," the girl recalls.

But she never returned to school as she went away with the "father".

"I learnt that my former husband had fetched her from school. How could he come after all these years to destabilise her life? I marched to his home in Kagaa," recalls the girl’s mother.
After a clan meeting, the mother was advised there was nothing wrong with the father reuniting with his long lost daughter — his only child. After all she was going to be enrolled at the nearby Kagaa Secondary School.
But the mother cringes with horror at the mention of Kagaa, where she was swept off her feet by Kimani in 1989, made a wife, a mother and later left on her own.

Wairimu went through Form One without difficulties but in January while in Form Two, Wangui was summoned by the school administration. "They told me my daughter had collapsed. I rushed there and found she had recovered," she says.

The girl explains that after collapsing, she was taken to Kagaa clinic by her father and relatives.
Further tests were conducted which brought out a well-kept family secret. Wairimu was now pregnant.

Unapologetic father
Earlier, Kimani’s uncle Cyrus Njuru had confronted him for taking his daughter to bars.
"I told him he was introducing her to immorality. We held a family crisis meeting but Kimani was unapologetic," Njuru told CCI.

When the tests were out, the father was dumbstruck.

"At first he wanted me to implicate any young man I could think off. There was no way I was going to testify against anybody else. My father threatened violence but I held my ground," the girl recalls.
The girl recounts how a steamy affair had developed in which she had little say.

"I was staying with my grandmother but my father demanded that I join him in his house. He argued that the house had two bedrooms," explains Wairimu. She claims that one night in January, he returned home drunk and started pestering her.

"When I resisted, he grabbed the pruning knife and threatened to slash my throat if I denied him sexual pleasures. He took advantage of me," the girl says.

Wairimu says she was too ashamed to confide even in her grandmother. She respected the father too much to expose him.

The father repeated the assault a few days later.

"Later he suddenly lost interest in me. He became rude and appeared reluctant to pay my school fees. And when he learnt that I was expectant, he begged me not to abort," she adds.
Later she mysteriously disappeared from the village with the father.

"The principal called me to ask about her whereabouts. I told him she was supposed to be at school. When I later went to Kimani’s home, I was informed he had left with my daughter to an unknown destination," the mother says.
"I know Kimani was living in the same house with his daughter although there was no other person. I received reports that he was sleeping with his daughter but later fled when the girl became pregnant," Kamburu Location chief, Kariuki Kaniu told CCI.

"The father has gone into hiding. We believe he is in Ongata Rongai," Githunguri Officer Commanding Police Station, Kingsford Nyaga said.

"Once the medical records and the P3 form are filled, we will liaise with police in Ongata Rongai to arrest the suspect. We will then use DNA tests to establish whether the man and the girl are related and the fatherhood of the unborn child," the OCS added.

Kimani’s mother, Rahab Nduta was scandalised when we broached the subject: "What you are asking is taboo. I cannot bring myself to talk about it. I do not know who impregnated her. What you are asking me is unspeakable," the agitated grandmother added.

She, however, confirmed that the girl was her granddaughter and that her son had migrated to unknown place.
The Good Samaritan who picked the abandoned girl in Kitengela and who requested not to be identified says: "It was a big burden. I was afraid the girl would deliver in my home and complicate my life. That is why I searched for her mother."

Wairimu says Kimani left her taking a soda outside a shop.

Paedophiles on the prowl
Pedophiles and serial rapists have been on the prowl in parts of Kiambu District leaving shattered lives and tormented souls.

In September 2007, citizens, human rights groups and members of provincial administration held demonstrations to protest the rising cases of sexual violence against children.

Githiga Location Chief, Grace Nduta recalls how she personally participated in the demonstrations urging the people to expose ‘the beasts.’ "I am a chief, and a mother. I get distressed when I hear that somebody has been sexually violated. This is an evil we must all join forces to eliminate," she says.

"At the height of this orgy of violence, we could receive as many as three cases a day. The suffering was too much," recalls Paul Kamau Mwangi of Human Rights Community Bridge.

Kamau’s organisation helped in the arrest and prosecution of eight suspects who had been brutalising their own daughters in Githunguri Division.

"Out of the seven fathers who had been arrested for defiling their daughters, two were handed life sentences. A third is serving 10 years in jail," Kamau says.

In the same district, a HIV infected woman was arrested for recruiting pupils into group sex orgies.
In a case that shocked local residents, the woman from Komothai paired the young girls with adults mainly matatu and lorry drivers.

Outraged parents led police in raiding the premises last year where pornographic material was seized and the suspect arrested.

Kenya and Sweden Sign Grant on Reforms

2009-07-08T13:14:00.002+03:00

Kenya has signed a bilateral agreement with Sweden that will boost its push for reforms.

Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Sweden ambassador Anna Brandt Wednesday signed the grant in which her government will give Kenya Sh3.5 billion per year for the next five years - a total of Sh17.5billion to drive the country’s reform agenda.

"Swedish support will be clearly linked to implementation of key reforms initiatives, with an emphasis on those agreed in the National Accord,” said Mrs Brandt.

She spoke after signing the agreement at the Finance ministry Treasury office in Nairobi.

The grant has injected additional funds to the government’s efforts to deliver the long-term reforms that were identified by the Serena team, which was formed to negotiate a lasting solution to the 2008 post-election violence.

The long term reforms, which were identified during the talks under Agenda 4, include enactment of a new constitution, land reforms, unemployment and addressing historical injustices.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have expressed confidence that the country will have a new constitution in a year.

Parliament has also established the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) and the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC), key institutions in the realisation of a credible electoral system.

According to Mr Kenyatta the agreement between Kenya and Sweden will support governance and spur overall development.

The Chairperson of Kenya Commission on Human Rights Simbiri Jaoko said the government must use the funds on specific areas but give priority to reforming the electoral system.

“The government still needs to build the IIEC and the IIBRC, because the reforms recommended in the Agenda Four included creation of a credible electoral systems,” she told Daily Nation on phone.

Google Announces Plans for PC Operating System.

2009-07-08T12:33:00.000+03:00

Google announced plans late Tuesday night to develop operating software for personal computers, initially the downsized PCs called Netbooks. An outgrowth of the Internet search giant’s Chrome Web browser, Chrome OS is also Google’s most direct challenge yet to Microsoft, whose Windows operating system dominates the PC world. Chrome OS is expected to be available in the second half of next year.

Photo AP.Courtesy of Telegraph

Predictably, and understandably, blogs and other publications are making the case that this is a new, major assault on Google’s archrival. Perhaps that’s true, but I’m betting that taking on Microsoft isn’t Google’s main aim here. Instead, I think it’s logical to accept its longstanding claim that, with projects like this as well as the Chrome browser itself and its Android mobile operating software, it’s chiefly trying to simply make the Web work better.

This isn’t altruism on Google’s part. If the Web works better, people will search more and Google will benefit. Of course, Google doesn’t seem above throwing a monkeywrench into Microsoft’s finely tuned machinery, and maybe that’s part of the point, as it sometimes seems with Google’s software applications business. But Google surely knows it’s not going to knock Microsoft aside anytime soon, if ever. The logic that a better Web helps Google is compelling enough that I think that is indeed the key reason for Google’s seemingly quixotic announcement.

That sentiment is apparent throughout the post (full version after the jump) on the official Google blog by by Sundar Pichai, VP of product management, and Linus Upson, an engineering director. Here’s the gist:

The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we’re announcing a new project that’s a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It’s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be. … Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

At the same time, it’s hard not to detect a shot at Microsoft as well:

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

It’s commendable that Google is trying to advance the state of the art in computing and the Web. The Chrome browser set new standards for speed that no doubt will force others such as Firefox and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to catch up. But an operating system by nature isn’t nearly as simple to pull off, because it must work with so many variations of PCs and run a wide variety of software without major problems. So here’s another statement from the Google executives that I’ll accept at face value: “We have a lot of work to do.”

Here's The Full Post:

It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.
We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

We have a lot of work to do, and we're definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision. We're excited for what's to come and we hope you are too. Stay tuned for more updates in the fall and have a great summer
Thanks To BusinessWeek

Get a (down)load of These Addictive iPhone Apps

2009-07-07T14:08:00.000+03:00

iPhone owners looking to spice up their summer can find more than 50,000 applications at Apple's popular App Store. And the word "popular" isn't used lightly here; more than 1 billion apps have been downloaded for the iPhone and iPod Touch in the store's first year. Apps range from the silly (digital whoopee cushions) to the sublime (classic novels in the public domain). Here's handful of fun-and-games apps for summer:

Jules Verne's Return to Mysterious Island, Chillingo; $4.99. Adventure games, which focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, are in a bit of a renaissance thanks to the iPhone, with versions of Myst ($5.99) and Dream Chronicles ($2.99). Return to Mysterious Island, a challenging 5-year-old PC adventure based on the Verne novel, has gone pocket-size (though it's a hefty 263MB download). Navigate with your fingertip through this first-person game as Mina, a young sailor stranded on an island; survives by finding and combining items and solving the isle's mystery. Also check out Chillingo's fun puzzler, Toki Tori ($4.99).

THE IPHONE: 'Next generation' of games

Peggle, PopCap Games, $4.99. It's one of those puzzlers that's easy to pick up yet impossible to put down. PopCap's celebrated PC game is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch and features nearly 100 levels of ball-bouncing fun. Peggle might be described as a digital Pachinko, in which you must choose where to shoot a ball at the top of the screen and watch as it cascades down, hitting colored pegs and bumpers along the way; if all the orange pegs are touched (and thus destroyed) with your limited number of balls, you advance to more elaborate stages.

The Moron Test, DistinctDev; $0.99. How much would you pay to see how smart you are? For less than $1, The Moron Test features a collection of more than 100 brain-teasing puzzles that challenge players to see how many they can solve — and vie for best time as well. For example, you might be asked to tap five yellow ducks in order from largest to smallest (based on body size or eye size) or quickly add up a few numbers and then tap the correct sum from among four options. This clever game is also fun to pass to friends to see how they fare. Scores range from Moron to Genius.

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Flick Fishing, Freeverse; $0.99. The first paid app to sell 1 million copies, Flick Fishing takes you on a virtual fishing trip to exotic locations. Flick your wrist to cast the line (taking advantage of the iPhone's motion sensor) and reel in your catch using your fingertip. Select bait and tackle to increase your chances of success, and when you land the big one, show off via e-mail in a "brag" feature. Flick is also one of the first apps to allow for in-game purchases: For 99 cents more, gain access to a private beach with new species of fish and the ability to compete against others online. Hooked yet?

Pandora Radio, Pandora Media; free. iPhone owners have no shortage of free radio services, but Pandora is still tops among users, averaging a score of 3.5 stars (out of 5) from more than 140,000 votes. Tap thumbs up or down on streaming songs to teach Pandora your likes and dislikes (or type in a favorite artist or song), and a personalized station is created out of the results. The huge music selection, intuitive interface and many options make Pandora the music app to beat. And grab the free Shazam and Midomi; both identify songs when you hold your iPhone up to a speaker.

Thanks To UsaToday.

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