Israel Suspected of Bombing Sudan Arms Convoy Headed for Gaza

Israel suspected of bombing Sudan arms convoy headed for Gaza
An Israeli F-16 warplane takes off for a mission from an air force base in southern Israel

(AP)

Israeli warplanes are suspected of carrying out the bombing raid in January
Jenny Booth

Sudan admitted today that foreign fighter planes carried out an airstrike on a convoy of 17 trucks transporting arms to Gaza in January.

Israel refused to comment on reports that it was responsible for the attack, which took place inside Sudanese airspace near the border with Egypt.

CBS, the US television network, said that 39 people were killed in the strike, which happened soon after Israel’s devastating three-week military assault against Gaza. The origin of the weapons – whether Sudan or further afield, with some fingers pointed at Iran – is not clear.

“A convoy of vehicles carrying illegal weapons was bombed near the Sudanese-Egyptian border in mid-January,” said Mabruk Mubarak Saleem, the Sudanese transport minister, adding that the weapons were headed for Gaza.
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The minister, who is a former commander of the Eastern Front rebel group that signed a peace deal with Khartoum in 2006, ending decades of civil war, said that arms smuggling was rampant in the region because of the marginalisation of his Rashidiya Arab tribe.

“Rashidiya tribesmen engage in this illegal trade because they’re so poor,” Mr Saleem said.

News of the airstrike dominated news coverage in the Israeli media.

Israeli security sources told the liberal daily Haaretz that there was an international network of smugglers moving arm caches from Iran through the Gulf to Yemen, across the Red Sea to Sudan and then through Egypt to Gaza.

“If the reports are true, the bombing in Sudan was an important message of deterrence from Israel to Iran,” the paper said in an analysis.

“The timing of the operation – not long after Operation Cast Lead in Gaza – is indicative of the importance which Israel places in its execution. If the powers that be decide that it is worth taking the risk and striking targets some 1,400 kilometres [900 miles] outside of Israel’s borders, then it would appear that Israel believed Iran is seeking to supply Gaza with significant armaments."

Eitan Ben Eliyahu, a former Israeli air force chief, told army radio that the reported Sudan raid showed that it was still too early to draw up a final assessment of the offensive in Gaza.

“One of the essential elements of this operation was the strengthening of co-operation, particularly with the United States, to prevent arms smuggling to Hamas,” he said.

On January 16, just two days before Israel and Hamas implemented separate ceasefires, Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed an agreement with the then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to work together to stop arms smuggling to Gaza. As well as naval patrols off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast, the agreement also provides for intelligence sharing.

In recent weeks, the outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has alluded to a series of “major operations” carried out during his term of office.

In another unexplained incident, warplanes bombed five fishing boats off Sudan’s Red Sea coast on January 16, wounding 25 people, Sudanese security sources told AFP.

An international conference on preventing arms smuggling to Gaza is due to be held in Ottawa in May.

University Oof Nairobi Students’ Protests Marked by Destruction and Looting

University of Nairobi students destroyed property, looted business premises and robbed motorists and pedestrians in a protest that was originally meant to be peaceful.

They harassed city residents as they caused mayhem soon after marching through several streets in Nairobi to protest at last week’s killings of two human rights activists and their colleague.

Protestors help themselves at BookFirst restaurant, in Nakumatt Lifestyle, Nairobi.

The students attacked and robbed motorists, raided restaurants and robbed pedestrians soon after the march as police watched from their lorries parked at the Central Police Station.

The worst affected businesses were Kengeles restaurant on Koinange Street and BookFirst restaurant within Nakumatt Lifestyle where they stole food items before escaping.

At Kengeles, the rioters pulled out seats and tables and barricaded on Koinange Street before they sat to drink the stolen alcohol for almost two hours, to the amazement of the public.

Hurriedly Shut

Several businesses were hurriedly shut, as the marauding students became chaotic. Hapless business owners blamed police for failing to contain the situation.

In Nairobi, the students marched through various streets and made stopovers at police headquarters, Vigilance House, Harambee House, Parliament, KICC, City Hall, I&M Building, Laico Regency and Central Police Station where they made demands.

Among the demands were the sacking of Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua, Commissioner of Police Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, Attorney General Amos Wako and Town Clerk John Gakuo.

More than 200 riot police officers who were on standby said they had been instructed by their seniors not to intervene. 

Enraged wananchi at one point attempted to repulse the students by pelting them with stones.

For almost three hours, the students blocked Koinange Street, University Way and a section of Uhuru Highway while harassing motorists.

Nairobi University students demonstrate atop furniture belonging to Kengeles restaurant on Kionange Street, Nairobi.

On Tuesday evening, the Government gave in to pressure and allowed the protest though police had earlier banned it claiming it could turn chaotic.

Demo Won’t Be Banned

Prime Minister Raila Odinga had earlier assured students and civil rights activists, who had called on him at his office, that the demo would not be banned.

And when the demonstrators took to the streets yesterday, they hijacked five lorries including an oil tanker and used them to block the Uhuru Highway/University Way roundabout before confiscating their ignition keys.

The road was impassable for hours and the drivers only managed to get back their keys after the students had extorted some money from them.

The riot police only intervened at 5pm, long after the city had experienced heavy traffic snarl-ups, property destroyed and some pedestrians injured.

The officers lobbed several teargas canisters at the students but they replied the gesture with a hail of stones.

Traffic flow was, however, restored within minutes of the intervention by police.

The students had been allowed to hold a peaceful demonstration in the city to protest the killing of human rights activists Kamau King’ara and Paul Oulu and their colleague Godwin Ogato.

According to an earlier agreement, the protests were supposed to start at 9 am and end at midday.

Hundreds of the students had earlier on poured onto the streets of Nairobi disrupting the flow of traffic as they protested the shooting incidents.

King’ara and Oulu were shot by as yet unidentified assailants while Ogato was shot dead by police in a confrontation over the body of King’ara within the university hostels last Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the students marched peacefully carrying placards and most of them donning black T-shirts.

They demanded the arrest of the ‘real’ gunmen who killed the Oscar Foundation officials. They also asked that proper action be taken against the officer who shot dead their colleague.

Police on horseback escorted the students throughout the protest march. Other student leaders restrained their colleagues who tried to harass motorists.

Egerton University students also protested along the streets of Nakuru town.

Business in Nakuru town came to a standstill, as the more than 1,000 Egerton University students took to the streets in a peaceful demonstration.

Paralysed Transport

The students, mainly drawn from the University’s Nakuru Town Campus, marched along the town’s streets paralysing traffic as they chanted slogans against Internal Security Minister George Saitoti and Police Commissioner Hussein Ali.

"We are demanding for their immediate resignations and the setting up of an independent probe over the killing," said Mr Amon Matuga the chairman of the University town’s campus. 

The officers in heavy riot gear steered clear of the demonstration as the students peacefully matched along the main streets. Standard

Mdaku Says: Welcome To The Global Recession,  Kenya Style.

Alabama Gunman Kills 9 Before Taking His Own Life

Samson, Ala. -- A gunman went on a rampage across two southern Alabama counties Tuesday, killing at least nine people and burning down his mother's house before shooting himself to death, authorities said.

The victims included family members and apparent strangers, the Associated Press reported.

 

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  Sequence of events and map

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  Victims mourned

Police were investigating shootings in four locations in three communities near the Florida border, all of which were thought to be the work of a single gunman named Michael McLendon.

Investigators declined to comment on a motive for the shootings, in which at least four other people were injured, including a child.

The bloodshed began when McLendon burned down the house in Kinston where he lived with his mother, Lisa McLendon, said Coffee County Coroner Robert Preachers.

Officials saw Lisa McLendon's body inside but couldn't get into the still-burning structure to determine the cause of death or whether she was her son's 10th victim.

McLendon then headed about 12 miles southeast to Samson, in Geneva County, where he shot and killed five people -- four adults and a child -- at a home, authorities said.

He killed one person each in two other homes, authorities said.

"He started in his mother's house," Preachers said. "Then he went to Samson and he killed his granny and granddaddy and aunt and uncle. He cleaned his family out."

Police said McLendon also shot at a state trooper's car, striking the vehicle seven times and wounding the trooper with broken glass.

Samson contractor Greg McCullough said he was pumping gas at a service station when the gunman opened fire, killing a woman and wounding McCullough in the shoulder.

"I first thought it was somebody playing," he said. The gunman fired a rifle, which appeared to jam, but "went back to firing" and drove off.

"I'm just in awe that something like this could take place, that someone could do such a thing. It's just shocking," McCullough told the Associated Press.

McLendon also killed someone at a Samson supply store, authorities said.

Police pursued McLendon to Reliable Metal Products just north of Geneva, about a dozen miles southeast of Samson, where he fired an estimated 30 rounds from a semiautomatic weapon, authorities said. One bullet hit Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey, who was saved by his bulletproof vest.

McLendon then went inside the plant and shot himself, authorities said.

The night security guard, whom The Times reached by telephone, remained shaken hours later. "It was frightening," said the guard, who refused to give his name. ". . . It's kind of a shaky thing when a man holds up his gun and shoots himself."

Reliable Metal Products makes grills and vents for heating and air-conditioning systems, mainly for hotels. State Rep. Warren Beck, a Republican whose district includes Geneva, said McLendon had worked at Reliable Metal.

State Sen. Harri Anne Smith said some of those killed in Samson were sitting outside.

"He was just driving down the street shooting at people sitting on their porches," she told the Associated Press.

Smith described Geneva County as small-town America, where news usually revolves around high school sports, and where people grow peanuts and cotton and raise chickens and cattle. In Samson, she said, there is no Hardee's or McDonald's, just a seed business and a couple of mom-and-pop shops.

"Our community is centered around family," she told The Times. "So we'll take care of the families. We'll take care of their children."

Local officials are "baffled," she said. "There's been no clue as to why this gentleman -- I shouldn't say gentleman; I'll say individual -- did this."

John Rainey, an administrator at Wiregrass Medical Center in Geneva, told the Associated Press that a child was brought in with injuries, but was flown to another hospital. The staff had geared up to try to help survivors, but their hopes were dashed when reports of the deaths came in, Rainey said.

"It's something you'd expect in Atlanta or your bigger cities, but in a little town it puts a lot of people in stress," Rainey said. "Our nursing staff broke down in tears hearing what was going on and realizing they weren't going to be able to help them." Source LaTimes

Mdaku Says : It Looks Like The Shooting Season Has Began In Earnest, How Sad.

German Police Say School Shooting Kills at Least 10

German police say a gunman killed at least 10 people and injured several when he opened fire at a secondary school near Stuttgart in the southwest of the country. The gunman is reported to have fled the school.

 

At least 10 people were killed on Wednesday when a gunman fired shots at a secondary school in southwestern Germany, a regional government official said.
"We have to assume a death toll in the double-digits," a spokeswoman for the interior ministry in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said. "These are students."

The incident took place at 9.30 am local time at the Albertville school in Winnenden, a town of 27,600, near Stuttgart in southwestern Germany. 

German media said the gunman, dressed in a black camouflage suit, was a 17-year-old former student at the school.
Police, rescue workers and fire fighters were at the scene and helicopters circled the town. The school has been evacuated.

Wednesday's shooting followed a rampage in the United States on Tuesday in which a gunman shot dead 9 people then killed himself in southern Alabama.

String of school shootings

The Winnenden incident hooting is the latest in a spate of school shootings in Germany in recent years.

In 2006, a masked man opened fire at a school in the western German town of Emsdetten, wounding at least eleven people before committing suicide.

In April 2002, a gunman killed 17 students and teachers before killing himself at a high school in the eastern city Erfurt in the worst such incident. Deutsche Welle

Mdaku Says: Unfortunately It Looks Like Shooting Season Is Here With Us Yet Again

TECH HABITS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE18. Tweak, Monitor, and Extend Your Wi-Fi Network With a Firmware Upgrade (or Aluminum Foil)

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Extend your router's signal, throttle your bandwidth, review usage charts, and more with an open-source router-firmware upgrade. The free DD-WRT and Tomato firmware each offer advanced features for managing your wireless network, including bandwidth monitors, quality-of-service graphs, and even router overclocking to extend your signal

Want to make your Wi-Fi router's signal reach the attic and the basement the low-tech way? Some sites say they've achieved gains by fashioning a foil "windsurfer" parabola and attaching it to the router antenna.

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Kenya Rainmakers: The Suba People
A story of rainmaking amongst the Kenyan Bantu Suba people of Southern Nyanza.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1497595/kenya_rainmakers_the_suba_people.html

Forest Where Moi Found Peace And Serenity And A Few "Herbs" To Run Kenya 24 Yrs.

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As we veer off the tarmacked Sacho-Kabarnet road, we run straight into the thick indigenous Kipng’ochoch Forest.
It is a relief when we finally reach the lush green edge of the forest since the road has been steep and winding.
For a moment, one is awed by the fresh air in Kipng’ochoch and serenity accentuated by a cool breeze.

Part of Kipng’ochoch forest. The community plans to open up the site for tourism. [PHOTO: AGNES WAMBUI/STANDARD]

The forest used to have a unique visitor who made it famous. Former President Moi visited it at least four times a year during the 24 years he was Head of State.

According to ex-Senior Chief Weldon Labat, who was among those who accompanied Moi on most visits, the retired President seemed to derive peace of mind as he bore the heavy-burden of leading the nation.

"He always went in looking tense and quiet but he came out of the forest jovial, more relaxed and with a radiant smile," said Labat.
Mr Labat’s tenure as the area chief ended with that of the President when Moi also retired.

"I used to accompany him whenever he visited the forest," he said.
Hot season

Labat said the former President would visit any time of the year, mostly during hot seasons. There is no single year during his presidency that he failed to visit Kipng’ochoch.

Labat said the former Head of State would go to a particular spot accompanied by former Kabarnet Mayor, the late Philemon Chelagat and Mr Joel Bultut, who was Baringo District Kanu chairman. Others who accompanied Moi, he said, included elders of his age set — the Chumo and former Co-operative Bank chairman Hosea Kiplagat.

The former administrator said Moi last visited Kipng’ochoch in 2002 to talk with elders while he was drumming up support for then Kanu presidential candidate Mr Uhuru Kenyatta.
He said the former Head of State spent at least three hours but would at times spend the whole day chatting with elders as they sat on low chairs.

Labat said Moi’s security would remain at a safe distance while his cooks were on hand to serve him and his group food brought from his Kabarak or Sacho homes.

Ex-Chief Weldon Labat shows the scenery, which the former President Moi enjoyed seeing while at Kipng’ochoch picnic site. [PHOTO: AGNES WAMBUI/STANDARD]

The first thing Moi would do, said Labat, was to check some trees he attached a lot of importance to, before moving to the high point where one could see the eastern and western part of Rift Valley from a panoramic view.

"Moi would first check on specific indigenous trees before proceeding to the high point and finally settle down for a chat with elders," he said.

At the peak of the site, one is able to espy Lake Baringo basin, the steaming geysers of Lake Bogoria, Laikipia Range and the imposing Tugen Hills on the eastern side.


Beautiful scenery

On the Western side, the magnificent Elgeyo Escarpment tantalises the eye, while the fluorspar mines and Kerio Valley are also within eyesight.

Labat says the former President would listen to stories from the elders recalling their youthful escapades that would send him into prolonged laughter.

"He would share stories with the elders about their youthful days," he said.

Always, the Head of State would end up advising the leaders on the need to conserve forests and good leadership qualities.

"As usual, Mzee is a man of wisdom and after light moments, he advised the leaders and elders on issues of importance to the country and their community," he said.

Fenced for security

The point, which was fenced off for the security of the former Head of State, is also a prayer site for the community during periods of calamity like drought.

Recently, students from Sacho High School went to the site to pray before they sat their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.

Chief Philip Korir said elders of old used to converge at Kipng’ochoch to perform rituals and pray for the prosperity of the community.

"During the drought of 1984, elders spent days at the site praying for rain and eventually it rained," said Mr Korir.
He said Kipng’ochoch has trees with medicinal properties, and which Moi has always been keen to see preserved.

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Ruto Breaks Ranks With ODM

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Agriculture Minister and ODM deputy leader William Ruto has broken ranks with his party and told off its disgruntled MPs to shape up or ship out.
Ruto said this even as it emerged that a new political alliance between himself and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta could be in the offing.
Ruto led Rift Valley MPs in roundly condemning their party’s demand that the power sharing accord for the grand coalition be renegotiated.
Speaking at a fundraising at Chematich Secondary School in Cherangany on Sunday, Ruto challenged "dissatisfied ODM MPs" to quit the Grand Coalition Government.
He accused the disgruntled ODM MPs of frustrating the working spirit of the coalition.
"We should be talking about hunger, the failing education standards and not the improper sharing of power," said Ruto.
To prove that he would be willing to go it alone, Ruto further challenged the dissatisfied ODM MPs to quit the coalition as "individuals instead of threatening that the party was about to withdraw from Government".
Ruto, who was accompanied by several ODM MPs, said the current government had a mandate of five years to serve Kenyans.
Fair share
The Rift Valley MPs drove their message even more clearly yesterday when they joined Ruto at yet another fundraising at Kapsabet Showground in Emgwen Constituency of Nandi District, where they made it clear that they would quickly take up Cabinet positions if their ODM colleagues walked out of the coalition.
And even as ODM pushes for a fair share of government positions in the coalition, the Rift Valley MPs re-opened dispute over the sharing of government positions among their party members.
The MPs included Assistant ministers Charles Keter, William Cheptumo and Aden Duale.
Others were area MPs Elijah Lagat, Magerer Langat (Kepkelion), David Koech (Mosop), Peris Simam (Eldoret South), Jackson Kiptanui (Keiyo South), Charles Keter (Belgut), Julius Kones (Konoin), Lucas Chepkitony (Keiyo North), David Koech (Mosop), Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny, nominated MP Musa Sirma, Isaac Ruto and politician Alex Kosgey.
The possibility of the alliance between Ruto and Uhuru — and possibly Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka — was given credence by Assistant minister Kareke Mbiuki, who sensationally revealed that he had been involved in meetings between the two and that a political union was in the offing.
Mbiuki disclosed that Uhuru and Ruto had met and worked on a possible political alliance.
Mbiuki, a close ally of the Finance minister, said majority of Central Kenya MPs —including the chairman of the region’s Parliamentary caucus Ephraim Maina, who is also the Mathira MP — were in support of Uhuru’s move to forge an alliance with Ruto.
Mbiuki said he had mediated talks between Uhuru and Ruto, which could result in a key political partnership in the run-up to the 2012 General Elections.
Speaking at Ngunga Primary School in his Nithi constituency where he distributed relief food to residents of the remote Igamba Ng’ombe division on Sunday, Mbiuki said the two had been holding meetings aimed at a political union.
"Mr Ruto is my minister while Mr Kenyatta is my party chairman. Both of them are youthful and have a long history in Kanu. I relate with them well. I have been the middleman in talks that could result in a major political alliance," said the Nithi MP. He hinted that the alliance would also include the Vice-President.
Efforts to reach Ruto about Mbiuki’s claims were unsuccessful as his mobile phone went unanswered.
The ODM MPs from the North and South Rift region who attended the Ruto function said those demanding re-negotiations should tell Kenyans of their political intensions.



Mr Lagat dared those who wanted to quit the coalition saying, "We will move in swiftly and replace them as soon as they quit."
Isaac Ruto said if fresh negotiations will be done, then a third principal should be engaged because "the half a loaf ODM received was not fairly distributed."
Kutuny said if there was to be any renegotiations, then the distribution of the half loaf in ODM should first be addressed.
Simmering rows
"The party should not be personalized. It belongs to all Kenyans and there should be fairness," Kuttuny said, revealing the simmering rows within ODM.
Ruto said "As leaders we must strive to focus our energies to develop the country by addressing pertinent issues affecting Kenyans," said Ruto.
Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny and nominated MP Musa Sirma said some MPs had hatched a plot to weaken and destroy the coalition. They vowed to stick to the principles of the one-year-old grand coalition.
"Those out to scuttle the grand coalition have a hidden agenda and we challenge them to declare their interests without compromising the party," said Kutuny.
Duale said ODM MPs from Rift Valley, Coast, Western and North Eastern would protect the coalition and termed those agitating for its collapse as daydreamers.
The Agriculture minister censured his Cabinet colleagues for allegedly abdicating their responsibilities and instead wasting time in unnecessary and unhealthy political talk.
Ruto’s sentiments were echoed by nine MPs at the function who also dismissed threats by their colleagues to quit the Government.
"It is an unrealistic plot to return the country backwards when we have many challenges to overcome," said Ruto.
The MPs said ODM was a senior partner in the coalition and would not pull out of Government.
They termed the quit threats orchestrated by some MPs from Nyanza province as misplaced.
This is a clear breakaway from ODM’s National Executive Council (NEC) that kicked off the storm last week by demanding that the coalition National Accord be re-negotiated to provide for a 50-50 stake for their party and PNU.
Addressing a press conference then, ODM Secretary-General Anyang’ Nyong’o said the party was tired of staying in a marriage where their rights were being ignored. Thanks To The Standard


Mdaku Says- Show Us The Maize First Then Tutahama Chama,Mahindi, Bande, Oduma, Just Give Us A Few Cobs We Roast And We Will Be All Good Mr Roots!!

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Google Universe-Google CEO Hints Google/Linux Netbooks May Be Cominer

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People have been speculating about Google getting into the desktop business ever since Good OS, an Ubuntu-based Linux built around online Google applications showed up in 2007. Then, the rumor-mill really got churning when it was shown that Google mobile operating system, Android, would work just fine as a desktop operating system. Just because something can be done, though, doesn't mean a company actually going to do it though. On March 3rd, though, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, "What's particularly interesting about netbooks is the price point. Eventually, it will make sense for operators and so forth to subsidize the use of netbooks so they can make services revenue and advertising revenue on the consumption. That's another new model that's coming."







Making money from online advertising. Hmm... Now what company, with a name that starts with 'G' and ends with 'e,' do we know that's the absolute tip-top at making money from online advertising? Could it be Google!? I think so.
The idea of selling netbooks cheaply with a service contract is already being tried. Dell and AT&T offered a Dell Mini 9 for $99 with an AT&T Data Connect contract. I have no doubt you'll see similar mobile phone like discount netbook pricing from other PC companies and telecoms soon. Look for these offers to start showing up everywhere later this year or early next year, as high-speed WiMAX networking starts to come into its own.
It makes perfect business sense for Google to jump into this business. Netbooks continue to be the one bright spot in computer sales and Google already has a Linux that will work on them. Google, of course, also has many online applications that work perfectly on a netbook. Making it even more attractive, Google is making it possible to use their applications, such as GMail, without a Internet connection.
Now take all this, combine it with putting data and applications on the cloud and Google's online advertising savvy, and I see a business model that, even in this grim economy, can't help but make money.
We've gone from pure speculation, to speculation based on facts, and now Google's CEO is talking about how much sense this kind of idea makes. I hereby predict that we'll see the first netbooks with an official Google Linux desktop on them by the second half of this year. It will happen that quickly because Google won't want to give Microsoft a chance to regroup with Windows 7 from its Vista disaster.
In 2010, the big desktop operating system battle will be between Apple, on the high-end, Google and the other Linuxes on the netbook and other low-priced systems, and Windows getting squeezed in the middle. If I were a betting man, I'd put good money on it.

Mdaku Says-It is slowly but surely turning into a Google universe soon we will have Google guided surface to air missiles, Google rocket launchers and Google microwaves or do we have them already? Google is on fire.

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Ever Heard Of Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships?

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Ambassadorial Scholarships

  This post comes as a follow up to the other post about UCAS and the Common App for making educated and informed decisions when you are in pursuit of Higher Education. You will notice that in that post i said i will make it a point if time and tide allow to post for all you good people very, very helpful sites, links and other resources to keep you well informed on what opportunities lurk over yonder, which are but waiting for you to reach for and pluck,,,Ok Enough of the poetry and sentimentality already did you know that these guys, The Rotarians, are the largest Non Govermental Awarders of scholarships in the whole wide world? Guess you did not huh., well they award all types of scholarships from undergraduate all the way to postdoc.,to get an idea through the 2005-2006, they gave out grants totaling $500 million dollars which benefited people from 70 countries who went on to study in some 70 other countries. All that is required is that you sign up to be a Rotarian which is as easy as walking up to the nearest office and signing up,,Ok enough from me read on and sign and be empowered.Good Day.-By Mdaku



You Can Decide To Skip The Rhetoric And Go Directly To The Application Pages Here

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A mbassadorial Scholarships, The Rotary Foundation's oldest and best-known program, was founded in 1947. Since then, nearly 38,000 men and women from about 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today it is the world's largest privately funded international scholarships program. Nearly 800 scholarships were awarded for study in 2005-06. Through grants totaling approximately US$500 million, recipients from about 70 countries studied in more than 70 nations.

"The Rotary Foundation does some terrific things, not the least of which is the Ambassadorial Scholarships program." — Michael R. Whiteman, international programs director, University of Idaho

The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas. The program sponsors several types of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for qualified professionals pursuing vocational studies. While abroad, scholars serve as goodwill ambassadors to the host country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups. Upon returning home, scholars share with Rotarians and others the experiences that led to a greater understanding of their host country.
Generous contributions from Rotarians worldwide represent a continued faith that today’s Ambassadorial Scholars will be tomorrow's community and world leaders.

Martha Karua Sorry-Central MPs Have Endorsed Uhuru Madrinks For Presidency

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Political supremacy war in Central Province went a notch higher at the weekend with 15 MPs throwing their weight behind Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

And in a bare-knuckle rejoinder, Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua said Kenyans would not be easily hoodwinked.

"I don’t think Kenyans will be enticed to build dynasties," she said adding, "Every individual must be judged by his track record."

Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua after attending a church service in Githunguri, Kiambu, on Sunday. Photo: Jonah Onyango/Standard

Speaking in Githunguri, Kiambu, Ms Karua added, "I expect to be judged by Kenyans, not 220 MPs in Parliament."

The MPs meeting in Gatundu South told Karua to go slow, saying the region’s bloc vote was Uhuru’s.

"Let everybody know that Uhuru is the undisputed leader of Central Kenya," said Kamukunji’s Simeon Mbugua. 

The leaders were speaking at Kimunyu Secondary School during a fundraiser. The move by the MPs will certainly pit Uhuru against Karua.

"Others moving around saying they want to be President are day dreamers," said Mr Mbugua.

Juja MP George Thuo set the ball rolling, saying Uhuru was politically mature and tested. Mr Thuo said time was ripe for the community’s political leadership to speak in one voice.

Uhuru, who accepted the endorsement, however, said the political leadership needed to focus on issues affecting Kenyans.

"We have problems facing the nation which need our attention," he said. 

Forget renegotiation

The MPs, mainly drawn from PNU, said there would be no renegotiation of the National Accord and urged ODM leaders to quit the coalition if they were dissatisfied.

Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau said ODM was given an equal number of positions as PNU and should stop lying to Kenyans they got a raw deal.

"They know that most positions given to ODM in the power-sharing deal went to one region," said Mr Kamau.

Uhuru dismissed the Geneva meeting called by Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, saying it was a waste of taxpayers’ money. "Annan should instead come to Kenya and meet us here," said Uhuru.

On the killings of the Oscar Foundation officials, Uhuru told leaders not to politicise the murders and called for speedy investigation.

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Jailbreak Kid Busted Creeping Back Into Jail

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Jail guards in the US state of Georgia searching for an escaped inmate did not have to look very far - the fugitive was caught sneaking back into prison.

Guards spotted Harry Jackson, 25, trying to creep back in with 14 packs of cigarettes allegedly stolen from a nearby store.
The alarm had been raised earlier after a jail door was found unlocked.
He had opened a door to the exercise yard and climbed an outer fence to get away, Sheriff Tommy Gregory said.



Jackson now faces new charges of breaking out of prison and burglary, reported AP news agency.
He was in jail in Woodbine, Camden County, on charges including possession of a controlled substance and violating probation, reported AP.

Mdaku Says: The Guy Should Have Listened More Often To The Song "Now Why You Wanna Go And Do That Huh,,Huh,,Huh,,". Good People Imagine Trying To Pull Such A Stunt At Our Very Own Kamiti Max.,,,Utashangaa!!Utaona Siku Mrefu Sana Mwanan'gu.
For You Who Don't Speak Kiswahili The Above Simply Means,,Why? Man, Why?

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TECH HABITS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE17. Reach Favorite Sites and Searches Faster With Firefox Keywords

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You probably hit the same Web sites and search engines several times a day. Why not get to those pages as quickly as possible? Instead of typing out long URLs by hand or hunting down the right search box, use Firefox keyword bookmarks to navigate to your favorite Web haunts instantly (here's how to set them up).

To search Wikipedia for George Washington, for example, you could key up to Firefox's address bar (Ctrl-L), type w George Washington, and press Enter to go directly to that topic page. You can use the same technique for Web pages that don't involve searches, too--for example, try setting the compose keyword to open a new Gmail message. To associate a keyword to a bookmark, enter a short, easy-to-remember keyword in the bookmark's Properties dialog box. Once you've set up a few keywords, you can use your Firefox address bar as a powerful, customized command line.
Bonus tip: Sync your Firefox bookmarks from home to the office to the laptop using the Foxmarks extension; it will keep your keyword vocabulary up-to-date wherever you're working.
More: 15 Undocumented Firefox Tips Thanks To PcWorld

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Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga On The Warpath

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Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Saturday tore into the country’s security agencies over extrajudicial killings and said acts of impunity must be brought to an end and the rule of law restored.

Mr Odinga spoke a day after the US Embassy in Nairobi offered help in investigating the latest killings – those of Oscar Foundation director Oscar King’ara and official Paul Oulu.

And the matter threatened to throw the struggling grand coalition government into a fresh crisis over the strong positions taken by cabinet ministers.

The Prime Minister, one of the two principals in the coalition, has twice this week lashed out at the same government he serves and half of whose Cabinet members belong to his ODM party.

Mr Odinga appears to be growing frustrated with the government he helped form a year ago and this week asked for a renegotiation of the deal that brought his ODM and President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity together.

On Friday, he fired a salvo at government spokesperson Alfred Mutua saying that he did not speak for the grand coalition government.

Mr Mutua issued a statement on Wednesday alerting the public that the Oscar Foundation and members of the proscribed Mungiki sect were planning to paralyse transport the following day and warned that the law would take its course.

The protests went ahead Thursday, but the day ended tragically with the execution-style killings of Mr King’ara and Mr Oulu.

On Saturday Mr Odinga called for a halt to the “rule by the gun the security officers have displayed while purporting to discharge their duties in recent times. People should not be shot without following the due process of the law. We have had cases where the officers shoot dead innocent citizens before they plant a gun on the body of the deceased.”

He attributed the lawlessness to the collapse of the country’s justice system and said the office of the Attorney-General was guilty of abetting the practice after officers implicate defenceless people with trumped up charges to justify their actions.

On Saturday the police said they were questioning six people in connection with the killings Thursday evening near the junction of Mamlaka Road and State House Road

Intense scrutiny

Two weeks ago, the police and the AG came under intense scrutiny in a report prepared by UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Philip Alston who accused the force of engaging in such killings, sparking outrage from the public.

Speaking in his Gatundu South constituency, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta called on security forces to ensure that the killers of the two human rights activists were apprehended immediately.

“We need justice, and police should speed up investigations. People should also stop politicising the killing and instead seek the truth … you cannot politicise everything,” Mr Kenyatta said.

“We should stop persistent wrangles in the coalition and concentrate on solving problems that face Kenyans for development. We should stop shouting at each other every now and then. ODM should accept whatever the party has been given and serve Kenyans.”

The Sunday Nation learnt that the US government has offered the services of Nairobi-based detectives from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate Thursday’s killings. A diplomatic note to the Foreign Affairs ministry says the American detectives are ready to “offer immediate assistance.”

“The FBI within the US Mission (Nairobi embassy) is standing by and is able to begin working immediately on the investigation,” read part of the note dated March 6, 2009 ....Read More

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