Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

26 Sep 2011 10:23

tags

World: Wangari Maathai, African sustainable development advocate, dies at 71

  • She will be remembered as a committed champion of the environment, sustainable development, women’s rights, and democracy.
  • Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan • Speaking about Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, who died Sunday of ovarian cancer at age 71. Maathai, a Kenyan, founded the Green Belt Movement, an organization that encouraged methods of sustainable development. Her work with the Green Belt Movement, which spanned over 30 years, led to her winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. “We need people who love Africa so much that they want to protect her from destructive processes,” she noted in a 2005 speech. “There are simple actions we can take. Start by planting 10 trees we each need to absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale. Get involved in local initiatives and volunteer your time for services in your community.” This world needs more people like her, not less. Based on the strong response on Twitter today, lots of people agree. source

16 Aug 2011 20:10

tags

Tech, World: A growing market: Kenyans buying $80 Android phones left and right

  • This isn’t the fastest Android phone you can buy. Nor does it have the largest screen — in fact, at 2.8 inches, it’s downright tiny. And battery life is reportedly so short that it can cause problems for those without nearby electrical sources. But the Huawei IDEOS has a major advantage for Kenyan consumers — it costs just $80 without a contract. The result? In a country where 4 in 10 people live on less than $2 per day, they’ve sold in the hundreds of thousands. The moral of the story? There is a huge market in the developing world for phones like these — region-specific apps, too. Other companies, including Apple, are rumored to be trying for this market. But can they hit an $80 price point with their phones? That’s the real question. source

13 Jun 2011 15:52

tags

Politics: Herman Cain asserts his Americanism over President Obama’s

  • … I feel more of an affinity for America than I do for Africa. I’m a black man in America. Barack Obama is more of an international. … he was raised in Kenya, his mother was white from Kansas and her family had an influence on him, it’s true, but his dad was Kenyan, and when he was going to school he got a lot of fellowships, scholarships… He spent most of his career as an intellectual.
  • GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain • Speaking to The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, in an interview he wrote for Bloomberg View. Goldberg, to his credit, corrected Cain that President Obama spent some years of his childhood in Indonesia, not Kenya, to which Cain replied, “Yeah, Indonesia.” Whether this was a sincere mistake or not is impossible to say, and frankly doesn’t entirely matter — Cain is trying to paint Obama as mysterious and foreign, as opposed to himself, an American black man who rejects the term “African-American.” He also throws in some anti-intellectualism for good measure, but really, the story here is his stoking of, if not birtherism, the core belief that allowed that rumor to spread — he ain’t one of us. In trying to seize momentum with his recent, strident remarks, Cain’s campaign slogan could easily share a title with a classic 80s film — “Say Anything.” source

28 Nov 2010 00:11

tags

Politics: Obama’s own grandmother offers up “Obama’s a Muslim” ammo

  • birthers The president’s biggest doubters believe Obama is a Muslim for some reason, and that he wasn’t born in the U.S. despite the fact that he has a birth certificate. (La la la, they can’t hear you!)
  • grandma The president’s own grandmother, 88-year-old Sarah Omar of Kenya, wants him to convert to Islam: “I prayed for my grandson Barack to convert to Islam,” she said. That should freak birthers out. source

17 Nov 2010 20:42

tags

U.S.: Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani finds civilian court nicer than military court

  • 224 number of people killed in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania
  • 285 number of charges Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani faced in front of a civilian court recently
  • one number of charges he was actually convicted of; he’ll go to jail for at least 20 years source
  • » Why this trial is a big deal: Ghailani was the first suspect who served time in Guantanamo to face trial in a civilian, rather than a military, court. The suspect once faced much harsher charges that could’ve led to the death penalty, but instead will receive a much lighter sentence. For its part, the Justice Department is OK with that: “We respect the jury’s verdict and are pleased that Ahmed Ghailani now faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and a potential life sentence for his role in the embassy bombings,” they wrote.

08 Aug 2009 10:47

tags

Offbeat: Kenyan man says Chelsea Clinton is worth 40 goats, 20 cows – at least

  • Of course I have never met her, but I like her family and how they stick together. I’ve waited for a long time. I’m still waiting to meet her and express my love for her.
  • Godwin Kipkemoi Chepkurgor • The Kenyan man who wants to marry Chelsea Clinton. Chepkurgor made his offer back in 2000 to her father, Bill, offering a trade of 40 goats and 20 cows. The offer was renewed earlier this week when mother Hillary visited. It sounds like a joke but Chepkurgor is sincere about his desire to marry the former first daughter. • source

27 Jul 2009 13:51

tags

Tech, World: Windfarms are quickly becoming Kenya’s new energy BFF

By 2012, northern Kenya will be home to the biggest windfarm on the continent, leading the way for a new type of energy production south of the Sahara. source
 

08 Apr 2009 08:46

tags

World: African pirates ransack yet another ship, this one American

  • 20 U.S. nationals are likely on the ship; it’s the 9th hijacking this week source