Tanzania President speaks to "Dar-es-Salaam old men"

As date set for strike by TUCTA edged closer, an intervention came from, no less, the President of the United Republic.
The Swahili version from Tanzania Daima runs below, a speech that raised different feelings in different persons, a speech whose live audience was mostly retirees to whom whatever workers were fighting for was meaningless to them. Cheer they did, throughout the speech.


Kikwete azikataa kura za TUCTA
• Asema wasipompa, wengine watampigia

na Ratifa Baranyikwa na Betty Kangonga

HATIMAYE Rais Jakaya Kikwete amewatisha wafanyakazi ambao wamepanga kushiriki kwenye mgomo ulioitishwa na Shirikisho la Vyama vya Wafanyakazi nchini (TUCTA) uliopangwa kuanza kesho kuwa watakumbana na mkono wa sheria endapo watathubutu kutekeleza azma yao hiyo.
Rais Kikwete alitoa kauli hiyo jana jioni jijini Dar es Salaam, wakati akizungumza na wazee wa mkoa huo kwenye ukumbi wa Diamond Jubilee ambapo alisema kuwa mgomo unaoshinikizwa washiriki ni batili na kinyume cha sheria kwa kuwa umeitishwa katikati ya mazungumzo.
“Mie ndiye muajiri mkuu nisikilizeni mimi, msimsikilize Mgaya (Kaimu Katibu Mkuu TUCTA) mtafukuzwa kazi wala Mgaya hamtamuona! Mtapoteza haki zenu…akili ni nywele kila mtu ana zake mtu mzima dawa,” alisema Kikwete ambaye alikuwa akishangiliwa na wazee hao.
Akiwa ameongozana na Makamu wa Rais, Dk, Ali Mohamed Shein, Waziri wa Kazi na Maendeleo ya Vijana, Profesa Juma Kapuya, Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Dar es Salaam, William Lukuvi na viongozi wengine wa chama na serikali, Rais Kikwete alianza kwa kusema kuwa ana mambo mawili ya kuzungumza na wazee hao, na akatamka moja kati ya hayo kuwa ni tishio la mgomo wa TUCTA.
Wengine waliohudhuria mkutano huo wa Kikwete ni Mkuu wa Majeshi ya Ulinzi na Usalama, Jenerali Davis Mwamunyange, Mkuu wa Jeshi la Polisi (IGP), Said Mwema na viongozi wengine wa serikali na Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Rais Kikwete alisema kuwa hakupenda kulizungumzaia suala hilo kwa sababu alikwishalitolea ufafanuzi mwezi Machi mwaka huu lakini amelazimika kulizungumzia baada ya kuwasilikiliza viongozi wa TUCTA wakiwashawishi wafanyakazi kugoma katika maadhimisho ya sherehe za wafanyakazi za Mei mosi za mwaka huu.
“Nimesikia wakiwashawishi kugoma wakitutuhumu sisi kuwa ni serikali isiyoambilika, huo ni uongo na hawa viongozi wa TUCTA ni waongo, wanafiki…nilieleza katika hotuba yangu ya mwezi Machi jinsi serikali ilivyochukua hatua kuboresha maslahi ya wafanyakazi, na dhamira ya kuendelea kuwajali.
“Nikasema hata katika bajeti ijayo tumejiandaa kuongeza kima cha chini toka sh 60, 000 hadi kufikia 105,000…nikaeleza mambo mazuri toka katika sekta binafsi na umma lakini yote haya wenzetu hawayaoni hata walidiriki kusema kuwa Kikwete kaongeza shilingi 4,000 tu, ama kweli akutukanae hakuchagulii ...” alisema Kikwete kisha wazee hao waliokuwa wakishangilia muda wote aliokuwa akitoa vijembe wakamalizia msemo huo maarufu kwa kibwagizo cha … ‘tusiiiiii’.
“Sasa hata hatujazungumza wameanza kutangaza mgomo, sasa afadhali tuzungumze kwanza maana mgomo una kasheshe zake, mkigoma hamtaachwa, askari watawapiga virungu na hata wengine kuweza kupoteza maisha, mimi naweza kuwa rahim (mwenye huruma) lakini polisi mkiwafanyia fujo watawatwanga na hata mkigoma baadaye mtarudi kwenye mazungumzo mkiwa na plasta midomoni,” alisema Kikwete na kushangiliwa na wazee hao waliokuwa wakitoa maneno kuwa wamechoka (wafanyakazi) waende wakalime mpunga.
Akifafanua kuhusu mishahara ya umma, Kikwete alisema kuwa, Aprili 6 mwaka huu, viongozi wa wafanyakazi walikutana kwenye tume, na April 27 mazungumzo yakaanza kujadili kima cha chini na kwamba mapendekezo yao yalikuwa ni sh 315,000/- lakini serikali ikasema haina uwezo huo hali iliyosababisha wao kuteremka mara tatu zaidi.
Alisema alishangazwa na viongozi wa TUCTA kushindwa kuwaelezea wafanyakazi ukweli juu ya mazungumzo yalipofikia hadi kusababisha wao kushusha dai la kutaka kiwango walichokipendekeza awali cha sh 315,000.
Kikwete alisema kuwa viongozi hao walipokutana na tume hiyo tena Aprili 30, wakakubaliana wakutane tena Mei 8 (Jumamosi wiki hii).
“Sasa juzi nasikia wakisema kwamba, hakuna kinachoendelea na kwamba mgomo uko pale pale ... hawa viongozi ni wanafiki wa hali ya juu, waongo wana hiyana ….wanachonganisha serikali na watu na wanafanya makusudi kama fitina ni nini? ama kweli ukubwa ni jalala kwangu mimi watu ninaowaongoza ni kama hawa,” alisema Kikwete na kushangiliwa kwa nguvu.
Alisema wao (Viongozi wa TUCTA) kama si waongo wakiseme hicho kiwango walichokipunguza toka sh 315,000 la sivyo yeye atakuwa tayari kukisema kiwango hicho kwa sababu yeye hana sababu ya kuwasingizia.
“Tunayo kila sababu ya kuhoji dhamira zao; Wana nia njema kweli hawa? Wana hili hili la wafanyakazi au wanalo lingine?” alihoji Kikwete.
Alisema wafanyakazi watakaogoma watakuwa wamekiuka taratibu na kanuni za ajira na pia watachukuliwa hatua za kisheria.
Akifafanua sababu za kushindwa kuwalipa wafanyakazi wa umma kima cha chini cha sh 315,000 Kikwete alisema kuwa, haina uwezo huo kwa sababu serikali ina wafanyakazi zaidi ya 300,000 na kwamba zinahitajika zaidi ya trilioni sita kwa ajili ya mishahara tu.
Kikwete alisema kuwa kiwango hicho kinazidi mapato ya serikali ambayo kwa mwaka ni zaidi ya shilingi trilioni tano na kwamba wao kama serikali wakikubali kuwalipa watahitaji trilioni sita huku mapato yakiwa ni trilioni tano.
“Sio kama tuna mtimanyongo au roho ya chuki hapana! Na wao waliliona hilo kwenye mkutano na ndio maana wakateremka…leo wanawavuruga wafanyakazi, wanasema eti kima cha chini sh 315,000 wanasahau kama walipunguza….. labda ukikubali kuwalipa ukakope, lakini hata hao utakaokwenda kuwakopa watakushangaa kwa sababu wanajua hutaweza kuwalipa na atasema hawa jamaa hawana akili nzuri,” alisema.
“Lakini hata kama ningekuwa nataka kumfurahisha Mgaya na watu wake…maana walishasema uchaguzi unakuja kula yao kwa anayejali maslahi yao hata kama nataka hizi kura nikiwaambia nitawalipa kiwango hicho nitakuwa nawadanganya.
“Kama hawataki wasinipigie kura…nitazipata kwa wengine ambao wanataka kudhulumiwa na hawa wafanyakazi…kwa sababu fedha za serikali ni kwa ajili ya Watanzania wote milioni 39 sasa hizi trilioni sita zinahitajika kwenda kununua madawa, ruzuku ya mbolea, maji, shule, umeme, barabara kwa faida ya kila mmoja sasa kwanini ziende kwa wafanyakazi? Hii si haki ni madai yasiyo na msingi wa haki,” alisema Kikwete na kuwafanya wazee wamshangilie huku wakiimba, “Kikwete sema…..sema usiogope semaaa…..Kikwete sema …..”
Akili ya kuambiwa na Mgaya changanyini na yenu, mfanane na mbayuwayu vinginevyo mtapoteza kila kitu si halali mkiwafuata mtakula hasara kwa kuwa hatutakuwa tayari kuwasamehe.
Alisisitiza kuwa wafanyakazi hata wakigoma kwa miaka nane fedha hazitaongezeka na kwamba kama kuna mfanyakazi anaona anadhulumiwa aache kazi ili kupisha wengine walioko nje wanaohitaji kazi.
Akimaliza hotuba yake, Kikwete alisema kuwa wao kama serikali wanawajali, wanawapenda wafanyakazi kwani bila wao shughuli serikalini haziendi na kwamba ahadi yake iko palepale kwamba wataendelea kuongeza mishahara kadiri ya uwezo wa serikali.
Awali Kikwete alimshutumu Mgaya kuwa alimwandikia barua Waziri Kapuya akimtaka asitangaze viwango walivyokubaliana vya mishahara ya kima cha chini ilihali wao ndio waliofanya mazungumzo na kutia saini.
Alisema mara baada ya waziri kutangaza, kesho yake wakaanza kusema mishahara aliyotangaza Kapuya ni danganya toto wakati wakijua kuwa viwango vilivyotangazwa vinatokana na vikao ambavyo wao (Tucta) walishiriki.
Naye Kaimu Naibu Mkuu wa Tucta akijibu hotuba hiyo ya Kikwete alisema, kitendo cha rais kumsema mbele ya hadhara kimemuongezea umaarufu mkubwa kwenye jamii.
Alisema, Rais Kikwete, alipaswa kutambua kuwa yeye ni kiongozi wa nchi ambaye hatakiwi kutoa maneno kama kiongozi dikteta.
“Huyu alichoambiwa na Waziri wa Kazi, Ajira na Maendeleo ya Vijana, Profesa Juma Kapuya ni uongo mtupu… tunasema kesho (leo) tunajiandaa kutoa tamkoa zito juu yake,” alisema Mgaya.
Alisema ni wazi, Rais Kikwete ameingilia uhuru wa mahakama kwa sababu suala hilo liko mahakamani, hakutakiwa kugeuka kuwa hakimu.
http://www.freemedia.co.tz/daima/habari.php?id=15377

Mayday 2010: Historical event for Tanzania

Read my Blog. The 1st May 2010 will go down the annals of Tanzanian trade unions struggles as the bold show of strength, a daring wave of one people who have a claim to make, a message to send.
The official demonstration organized by the federation of trade unions, TUCTA, comprising a number of independent trade unions, took place at Uhuru Stadium, where such event has been taking place most of times the Mayday celebrations are held in Dar-es-Salaam.
Departing from tradition, though, was fact that the Guest of Honour was the President of TUCTA where in other situation it would be some government figure, likely the President of the United Republic.
There has been a long claim by trade unions, endorsed by their federation, that (i) minimum wage is way too low to support any employee for a month, (ii) PAYE tax on workers was way too high for this meagre salary (iii) uneven pension schemes for different groups of workers was discriminatory, that the government should attend to these issues. TUCTA had given government time to react to these valid claims, short of which an indefinite nationwide strike would ensue. The deadline is looming, and it is quite likely that the strike will take place as scheduled on 5 May. The president, in his recent monthly speech, had called for TUCTA and government to resolve the matter by talks, but as of May 1st, there had not been any joint communique about the agreement reached.
In what appears to be divide and rule, a slice of workers (including two of leading banks) had their own mayday celebration at another venue, Mnazi Mmoja grounds, officiated by the Dar-es-Salaam Regional Commissioner.
It seems these group 2 have things going well, hence bringing into the open the gradient of benefits between private and public sector. It is, however, noteworthy, the private sector came in their multitudes in support of popular TUCTA-led demonstations. This is solidarity.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are those of the author and not for any party or group of persons.

Frequent alcohol consumption may increase breast cancer risk in teenage girls

Frequent alcohol consumption may increase breast cancer risk in teenage girls

If you....believe in witchcraft...

Many individuals do believe in witchcraft and supernatural powers.
I would totally understand such belief for a person who has no idea of physics how rainbow is formed, why sun sets and rises, why tides occur.
A person who is an adult of 18+; educated to some high school level+; and yet believe in witchcraft, that person is DUMB.

Gays should get their own land and become extinct

Every where you look something about gays is being talked about. Gay marriage, gay rights, gay clergy, gay this, gay that. Gay people are in this very society we "straight" people (whom gays in their warped logic refer to as "having homophobia") live.

I do like gays as persons, many of them exhibit high level of imagination--is it that flair which causes mental shift causing them go counterlifewise? Mercury, Aiken, Sylvester, Maugham etc. etc. are people whose works i like and enjoy and was sorry to learn one by one that they were, uh, gays. Some "stepped out of the closet", other were caught in the act, and so forth.
When they are among each other, these unfortunate individuals feel happy and praise themselves how smart they are. Else how could you explain the colourful carnivals they hold?

If they could keep to themselves without influencing the normals, it would be fine. But some, in their bliss, not only want to tie a knot, but also adopt and bring up kids! It is unnatural for them to have kids of their own, you see. A kid brought up by gay couple would, without doubt, belong to that group of sinners without having idea anything is amiss. This shouldn't be.

I have therefore come up with this brilliant idea of gays being in their own country, electing their own leaders who 100 percent are pro-gay, with all found: music, art joy. The residents of that land of music and flowers shall be grown-ups who make their own decisions. That way they will have been contained, and there would be no increase of population (no sexual reproduction, of course), until such time where the last of them shall die happy with their twisted minds satisfied, "oh, what a life". That shall be the second Sodom and Gommorah.

New COSTECH Board appointed

These are individuals of notable management records and unquestionable integrity, in my humble opinion.
Source: Habarileo wedn 10 mar 2010

Mwenyekiti: Prof B Mwamila
Wajumbe:
Joyce Mapunjo - KM, MITM
Prof M Nkunya
Eliseta Kwayu - Katibu Mtendaji, Baraza la Taifa la Uwekezaji
Prof E Mwaikambo - HKMU
Christina Kilindu -Katibu Mtendaji Shirikisho la Wenye Viwanda Tanzania
Prof E Mbede - Mkurugenzi wa S+T, Wizara ya Mawasiliano, Sayansi na Teknolojia
Dr Hassan Mshinda - Mkurugenzi Mkuu, COSTECH
Prof A Mawenya - Mshauri Mwendelezi kutoka sekta binafsi
Bashiri Mrindoko - Kamishna wa Nishati, Wizara ya Nishati na Makini
Dr Fidelis Myaka - Mkurugenzi wa Utafiti na Maendeleo, Wizara ya Kilimo, Chakula na Ushirika
Dr Abdulla Kanduru - Mhadhiri Chuo Kikuu cha Zanzibar
Dr Felician Kilahama - Mkurugenzi wa Misitu na Nyuki, Wizara ya Maliasili na Utalii.

Tanzania Engineer

Today's Tanzania's newspaper with largest circulation was carrying an advertisement by the Engineers Registration Board on its front page. It was a long, eight-part message. It announced many changes to be carried out in the next few days, virtually overhauling the system that had been in place hitherto.

I am an engineer myself, and have been shifting uncomfortably whenever the talk of what engineers in this country are doing. Almost fifty years after independence, spewing out engineers from our prestiguous University of Dar-es-Salaam, we are still having foreign companies doing almost everything, from road works to ferries, from installing microwave networks to installing processing plants.

Where are those hundreds of engineers who graduated every year, with growing number of enrolments year after year (this is an unfortunate trait of universities and colleges in our land, the first thing that comes to the minds of chief executive officers with respect to growth is to increase the number of enrolments while classes, lecturers and other facilities remain unchanged--year after year). Yes, where are all these engineers? Someone may have done some tracer study but the findings are not all that widely known. Many had resorted to carrying out other moneymaking activities, not engineering, such as trading. They flourished, no wonder, because someone with brains to graduate in engineering is likely to find business a piece of cake. If you were to ask them, they would look at you in the eye, say the system in place is hostile, unsupportive etc. to engineers. They would be correct, though they would be saying that with a pang of conscience.

It is therefore with joy that I read an advert that signals regulators taking their correct part to bring respect back to engineering carreer in this country. This first stage may look like it is making things difficult for engineers (raised fees, requirement to possess certificate indicating you were tested and found fit for the job, etc.)

It has also come at the right time, when the iron and coal deposits in Mchuchuma and Kiwira are about to start being exploited, a feat expected to revive the dead iron and steel industry which hardly has a pulse left at present.

Any engineer in his right mind would appreciate ERB move.

Year MMX is here!

Today is January First, Year 2010. Thank God, I've crossed over into the new decade.
Looking back to the outgoing year, I may say it was fine. Apart from regular work, I was invited to participate in a number of professional seminars, training and workgroups: I do appreciate when a peer values my potential.

My year was also full of pomp and ceremony where colleagues, friends and relatives were getting married, were being confirmed etc.

There was an event, though, that could have easily gone terribly wrong. We do read in papers and hear news about armed robbery, and we do not give it much thought-it never occurs to us that such an occurence can happen to us. Well, this time I was caught in the scene of armed roberry. It was early evening when a group of young men--not wearing any face masks, one brandishing a gun, hollered an order for everyone to lie on the floor. They then went from person to person cleaning their pockets of wallets and cellphones. About ten revelers we were, neither of us as much as cleared his throat. They then dashed to a car opposite to the tavern we were. The event must have taken not much longer than three minutes but to me seemed like one hour. They made away with my two cellphones and a wallet that had some money inside, but also my other IDs.

On the international arena, I was saddened by the passing away of my hero, Michael Jackson. I was also saddened by a large pack of human beings rubbering my hero, Tiger Woods to the extent of shooting him down from his deserved, comfortable perch. With Woods it will come to pass and he'll soon be swinging those irons and stringing birdies.

Then there is Barack Obama being elected the US President. Towards the end of counting when the outcome was all to obvious--I was watching it all on CNN on a TV in a hotel room --I got so excited I could feel hair behind my neck standing.

Then there was my super-heroine, Whitney Houston comeback: I'd known all along it was not all over for her, so her "re-debut" was my wish come true, and I wish her all the best. Same goes for Donna Summer, my disco queen.

Tiger Woods undesirable publicity

They went for the story like a hungry pack of stray dogs would go for a rotting turkey. They barked and whinned, they bayed. Press, that is.

Tiger woods must have been, and still is (and will continue to be, likely) an enigma, something you cannot decipher with commonplace science, religion maybe, only an average paparazzi is a non-believer. So when this thanksgiving-day accident met this hero, they loved it: talk about Delilah discovering where Samson's strength arose from!

I, however, am taken aback, looking at the man, Tiger, a black person, a successful one at that. Sooner or later a scandal had to come, looking back at the long list of celebrities like Tyson, Jackson, Vick, Brown, Simpson, (Marion) Jones. I choose do doubt all I hear for some reasons. One, Tiger is like a goldfish in a glass bowl, he's a popular public figure. If there was anything even remotely resembling what is being written about, then the whole world of scribe is asleep most of times until accidentally awakened by an suv hitting a fire hydrant. Two, these girls are gold diggers. I can easily picture something innocent-looking going to him requesting for his auto, "No, do me a tattoo, i got the pen and all, let's do it in your room, you can't do it here on the poolside with everyone watching....giggle..."; off they go, it takes a minute, cellphone camera of gold digger has incriminating evidence ("been in tiger's lair, i can show you!").

Going by the comments on online news, fact that Mr Woods had a white wife fuelled the fires of the scandal. I am of the opinion that if he carries on with life as usual the whole excitement will die out and whoever wrote something stupid would wish they didn't in the first place.

Nyerere, 10 years today since he went away

Today, 14 October, is a public holiday in Tanzania to mark the passing of The Father of Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.

Such a vision for this country that Nyerere had, if things had gone the way he had in mind, Tanzania might be an economic giant, at least among neighbouring African countries. He had correctly figured that with lots of arable land, growing cash crops that would bring in the much needed foreign exchange was the way to go. This was coupled with industries to process those crops, in the process creating wide employment base.

While still in power, Mwalimu saw the industries failing one after the other, and farming going down. Certainly the reason was, the persons given mandate to run the country, the industries, oversee agriculture etc did not share the vision that he had, and misinterpreted appointments as some kind of present to be shared with relatives and friends.

Time pressed on, different leaders took over, each with own style, but none seemed keen to bring the country back to track Mwalimu had intended. More recently there was massive privatization whereby the state-owned industries and businesses were offered for a song to would-be investors, mostly foreign companies. Even industries that were performing well were put up for sale.

Today we are seeing such a situation that very few individuals own a large chunk of national cake, salaries are dismal, crime rate, prostitution and other society vices are on the rise, schools grow in number and sizes but the education these kids get leave lots to be desired. That is not a problem for nouveau-riche who plundered industries and entered into warped mining contracts, stashing away dollars in Swiss banks: their kids receive quality education outside the country, and they have a cheek to brag about it in public, as if they deserved the thieved spoils.

Throughout the week, radios and TVs had been playing clips of Nyerere speeches, and they all address the things that shouldn't happen but are now happening. At least they will haunt the bad people who shot down the Nyerere vision, and, meanwhile, someone from rank and file is bound to come up, action packed and lead this great nation to its rightful place up front: who would have known that Obama would be US present today a year ago? Who would have even in wildest dreams imagine two weeks ago that Obama would get Nobel Peace prize?

Go Google Go! Eleven already.

The graphic is google's image to signify its turning 11.

---

Today Google turns 11, eleven years of laying golden eggs, eleven years of providing soooo much to the world for little or nothing.
Google experience makes me come up with the following observations

A business concept may be a win-win situation for both provider and customer

Non-intrusive ads that make Google income also help their businesses to prosper, and the world to learn, communicate, share.

Geniuses are God-sent to easily unravel what other mortals would manage with difficulty.

Dr Brin and Dr Page are just two out of the whole lot of them on the time axis, from the days of Noah of the Ark: Newton, Faraday, LaVoisier, Euler, Einstein, LaPlace etc are few among these people.

Joy of giving

Google are among prominent philantropists. Some of their work in this area feature on the GOOGLE.ORG. Other such blessed individuals like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Michael Jackson have generously supported charities.

Internet is 40

CNet, September 2, 2009 1:13 PM PDT
At 40, the Internet still reshaping history
by Stephen Shankland

At the time, it would have been hard to predict which of these events 40 years ago would prove to be most momentous:

• Humans step out of a spaceship and walk on the moon.
• The Woodstock concert becomes a seminal cultural moment for the baby-boomer generation.
• A New York City police raid leads to the Stonewall riots and modern gay-rights movement.
• A handful of engineers at UCLA send some data from one computer to another.

You may disagree, but in my opinion, it's the last of the list: four decades ago today, the Internet was born.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say some important seeds of the Internet sprouted with that data transfer on September 2, 1969. There's plenty of debate about when the Internet was actually born, but one thing is certain: it's been a constant work in progress.

It began as a Defense Department-funded project called Arpanet that drew on plenty of research elsewhere. It grew to offer a useful electronic mechanism to send mail, then the virtual real estate of World Wide Web, then a backbone for commerce, and now a core part of globe-spanning social activity. And it's well on its way to becoming the foundation for how the world's population uses computers.

Woodstock embodied the rising power of a new generation. Stonewall opened the door to a radical reshaping of morality. Men on the moon showed us how small the Earth is. But the Internet changes everything--and it will be instrumental in the next chapters of humanity's future.

The global community
I've been moved since childhood at how Apollo 11 photographs of Earthrise as viewed from the moon make my planet seem a single entity rather than a bunch of squabbling factions of humanity. But because of its practical effects, the Internet has done more to unify the world.

That's because the Internet has enabled communities based on interests, not geography. Latin speakers, macro photographers, Philip K. Dick fans, and college roommates can stay in touch with their respective peers. Jets, phones, and letters made this possible before, but the Internet builds it into daily life so it's as ordinary as going shopping.

Likewise, the Internet has given a megaphone to many who had none before--protesters in Iran and Myanmar are recent examples in which the people were able to comprehend what was going on in hard-to-see parts of the world and decide for themselves whether they liked it or not.

The Net has enabled more than just talk, of course. The Net powers a huge amount of commerce, whether it's buying songs over Apple's iTunes, hiring cheap labor through Amazon's Mechanical Turk, or managing the supply chain of inventory used to build cars.

In its early years, there were objections to the arrival of the profit motive on the Net, but that transformation out of academia has been one of its greatest assets. Economic ties are powerful and often durable, and corporations are willing to pay real money to make sure the infrastructure they're using stays up and running.

There now are 226 million Web sites registered for use.

There now are 226 million Web sites registered for use.
(Credit: Netcraft)
Technology tour de force
The Internet itself is a mind-boggling complex overlay of technologies that spans every level from steering photos down a glass fiber to showing where your friends are on a dynamically generated map. But the first half of its 40 years were spent largely in obscurity.

Its early years involved just a relative handful of computers sending data to one another over increasingly large distances. The 1970s brought a key innovation, the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) that governs how data is broken down into packets, routed across numerous networking devices, and reassembled into their original form at the other end of the pipe.

In the 1980s, e-mail started blossoming in earnest as a killer application for the Internet, and the World Wide Web arrived in the 1990s. These innovations vaulted the Internet from academia into the mainstream. Exploding popularity led to companies that sold Internet access, equipment, and services--and the first dot-com bubble.

The bursting of that bubble was cataclysmic in the industry, but it was a mere blip in the Internet's history. According to Netcraft, there were 226 million Web sites in August, nearly 10 times the number around when the bubble burst. Google filled the void left by the collapsed start-ups with a powerfully profitable business making sense of the Internet's information chaos.

What's perhaps notable about the Internet is how organic it is. In the short term, there are plenty of disruptions as one company or another suffers problems or technology can't match new demands. But in the long run, the system continues to function as researchers, computing companies, standards groups, and start-ups constantly upgrade the infrastructure and offer new reasons to use it.

The next phase of growth is through cloud computing, in which people use software that's housed on the Net rather than on their own machines. Giant farms of servers house the applications people use, making them available to personal computers and mobile phones today and in-car computers and other devices tomorrow.

Today's cloud computing applications are primitive compared to PC-based equivalents, but the browser is evolving to meet the new demands with accelerated graphics, much of the native power of a PC's processor, and maturing programming tools. That increased power fuels the arrival of more sophisticated applications.

The dark side
The Net is by no means perfect or universally beneficial.

The ease with which it's enabled communications has led to a series of new conduits--e-mails, instant messages, blog posts distributed over RSS, tweets, and Facebook updates. That's handy for keeping in touch, but it also means people must grapple with a constantly shifting collection of oversaturated communication conduits.

Sifting the signal from the noise can be nearly impossible--and that's before dealing with the spam.

The Net also has brought with it plenty of new crime, facilitating identity theft and financial scams. Stalking has never been easier, and distributed denial-of-service attacks by armies of compromised computers can cripple a business' operations.

I acutely feel the financial pains of journalism that arrived when the Internet brought an oversupply of news. Arguably, the ever-shrinking number of reporters is offset by the arrival of new voices and the ease of tracking what's going on, but I share the concerns about the waning power of the press to uncover corruption or other problems.

The Net also has fueled the globalization that led to job losses and resentment as expensive labor in wealthier countries was replaced by cheaper workers elsewhere.

The most worrisome issues I see stem from problems people themselves have adapting to social interaction on the Net.

It seems our brains are hard-wired for a social circle about the size of a tribe, but now parts of our lives are on display to the whole world. Just closing your curtains now won't get you privacy, and good luck teaching Facebook's information sharing mechanisms to somebody not steeped in the subtleties of the social graph.

The Internet can abet governmental censorship and propaganda efforts, too. My gut instinct tells me that the Net's power to disseminate information--especially when augmented by technology such as Google Translate--ultimately will prevail, but it's not a sure thing.

So the Internet poses plenty of problems. But it's only gaining in importance, power, and reach, so my advice is to embrace it and try to shape it for the better for the next 40 years.

Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank.

This blogger, me

It's quite some time since I posted, and prior to that I was mostly relaying bits of news, verbatim, read here and there. I also really moaned the passing of Michael Jackson--I am still.

Recent addition to my blog has been a sidebar with my tweets (which also post on my Facebook)--easlily kept up with because I post from my mobile.

For my age, qualifications and standing, more should be expected of my blog. Some while ago I spoke of launching an e-zine here on the blog or elsewhere. That good intention is still there, the delay is likely because of the fast-changing landscape of my dear subject, Information Technology.
Many things are happening around me that could contribute to even multiple posts per day. I've set myself a target of posting weekly in the least.
Although photo blogs are growing popular around here, photos should be on my Facebook and Flickr (while yahoo leaves it on--been shutting services lately) profiles.I prefer being analytical within a variety of subjects that includes engineering, design, wood, metals, health, hiv/aids, CMS, SMEs, knowledge management, electronic marketing, market research, education, research and many others.
My target is to maintain posting habit of content that gets appreciated by peers and other professionals: when I make it to the pinacle noticeable on technorati and such other metering services.

Michael Jackson

On my bedside table I do have this small radio which I usually leave on, tuned to the BBC with volume turned very low. If there is a piece of news that would be of significance to me, I am jolted awake--I don't know how this phenomenon works, but it has happened many times. I guess ears don't quite turn off when one is asleep.
It is thus I got to be one of the first to learn of Michael Jackson - The King of Pop - had just completed HIStory, had passed. The rest is history--not HIStory.
I recall the old days when we didn't have FM radio stations, even radio cassette players were few and far apart. Audio field was ruled by vinyl disks (I still have about 100 albums, very well preserved, I'm gonna see how to get this Sony vinyl album player that can help lifting music onto hard disk of computer, then on CD). There was The Michael.
Michael's is one sad story- from being walloped by his dad while still a little boy so that he could make him money by performing, to his well-meant slumber parties with kids, misinterpreted and seized by gold-diggers. Like Pink Floyd sang in Crazy Diamond, it was Michael they had been singing about: what about being caught in the crossfire, childhood stardom, random precision and several other descriptive clauses!

The Michael was a gifted talent like no other. He was a genius. To me any of his songs is superb, I'd go crack to try to figure which I like more.
Bye Michael. You done me proud. You showed the way: you were there on the podium long before The Kobe, The Shaq, The Oprah, The Tiger, President Obama.

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond "

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!


[ www.azlyrics.com ]

History repeats itself in a way you wouldn't imagine

Black girl escorted to school, 1960:
On November 14, 1960, nearly 49 years ago, 6 year old Ruby Bridges faced hostile crowds, and had to be escorted by U.S. Marshalls , because she was the first black child to attend previously all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans , Louisiana . Ruby was 6 years old. (The Great Norman Rockwell created the painting above depicting that event.)

That morning, she had only been told by her mother that she was going to be attending a new school that day and 'had better behave.' Little did little Ruby know that she would be bombarded with jeers and even death threats; and that she would end up being the sole

child in her first grade class because all the other children were kept home by their parents. All because Ruby was Black.

---

Black girl escorted to school, 2009:
On January 5, 2009, nearly 49 years after Ruby attended her school, 7 year old Sasha Obama, faced cheering schoolmates as she is escorted by her Mother and U. S. Secret Service Agents to Sidwell Friends Elementary School in Washington, DC. Her Mother, the current First Lady of the United States of America , had Secret Service escort because Sasha's daddy is now the 44th President of the United States , Barack Obama.

Source: Anon

Zitto Kabwe: Seeing tanzania political landscape in perspective

12 June 2009

12th June 2009, 06:27 PM

Zitto

Re: Zitto Kabwe atangaza kung’atuka - Maelezo yangu Wana JF , Mwanzoni nilipoona mada hii na majibu ya baadhi ya watu hapo awali sikuona umuhimu sana wa kujibu kwani ni mada ya zamani sana, mwaka 2007. Nilisema kwa mara ya kwanza kuwa sitagombea ubunge mwaka 2010 mwezi September mwaka 2006 na kuripotiwa na gazeti la SundayNews. Nilirejea tena kauli hiyo mwezi March mwaka 2007 nikiwa Wilayani Maswa mkoani Shinyanga na kuleta mjadala mkali sana katika JamboForums wakati huo. Mwezi March mwaka 2008 nilihojiwa na gazeti la The EastAfrican na kusisitiza kuwa nia yangu ni kutumikia kipindi kimoja tu cha Ubunge na kupumzika kwa miaka mitano kabla sijarudi tena Bungeni...... soma hapa ...allAfrica.com: Tanzania: Zitto Kabwe - The Country's One-Man Backbench (Page 1 of 2) Mara zote nilisema kuwa sababu kubwa ya kuamua kuwa Mbunge wa kipindi kimoja ni kurudi kusoma zaidi na kupata fursa ya kufanya kazi maana toka nimemaliza shule nimefanya kazi mwaka mmoja tu (Shirika la Friedrich Ebert Foundation) na hivyo kujiona kuwa ninakosa 'some skills' za uongozi ili kutumia kipaji changu 'to the fullest' na kutumikia nchi yangu. Hata siku moja sijawahi kutia shika nia yangu ya kutumikia Taifa. Lakini siku zote nimekataa kuwa carrier politician. Ninapenda nikimaliza kazi zangu za kisiasa niweze kuwa na uwezo wa kufundisha katika vyuo vikuu taaluma yangu nitakayobobea. Baada ya kuwa Mbunge kwa takribani miezi 9 tu (na hasa baada ya kikao cha bajeti cha mwaka 2006/2007) niliona dhahiri kuwa kwa Bunge letu hili, mabadiliko ni nadra sana. Hivyo nikasema mapema kabisa kuwa nitakuwa Mbunge wa 'term' moja. Nilisema mapema ili watu wa Kigoma Kaskazini wenye mawazo ya kutaka kugombea wajue 'incumbent' hatagombea. Nilifanya kwa nia njema kabisa. Ninadhani nina uhuru wa kuamua kutogombea kama nilivyoamua kugombea bila kusukumwa na mtu. Mimi sikuombwa kugombea ubunge. Niliamua mwenyewe. Sasa kuhusisha uamuzi wangu huu nilioutoa miaka mitatu iliyopita na kununuliwa ni ufinyu tu wa mawazo ya baadhi ya watu wenye malengo yao. Kwanza nimesema mara kwa mara kuwa sinunuliki. Hakuna kiwango cha fedha cha kuninunua. Nimejiwekea misingi ya maisha ya kusema kile ninachoamini. Sasa kama ninachoamiani unakipenda, ninashukuru. Kama hukipendi kikatae. Nimejieleza sana kuhusu suala la Dowans. Niliunga mkono ununuzi wa mitambo ile ili kuliokoa shirika la Umeme - tanesco. Nilisikiliza maelezo ya watu waliopinga na kuyaheshimu. Nilipinga kutukanwa na kuzushiwa kuwa nimehongwa (wengine mpaka wamesema kiwango cha hongo - mara VX mpya, mara dola 70,000 na leo nimeona kuwa nimewekewa pesa katika yangu ya Stanbic sh 800 milioni) - Nimekuwa Mbunge miaka 4 sasa. Kweli siwezi kuwa na pesa za kununua VX mbili tatu nk? Mwaka 2007 nilinunua gari ya kifahari kabisa (pamoja na msaada wa marafiki wa nje) aina ya Hummer, nayo nilihongwa na nani? Nimekuwa mjumbe wa Kamati ya Afrika Mashariki kwa miezi 6 nalipwa kila siku 200,000 shs. Pia nimekuwa mjumbe wa Kamati ya Madini ya Bomani kwa miezi 4 na nusu na kulipwa 350,000 kila siku. Kweli ndugu zangu nishindwe kununua VX ya 60m, tena second hand pale AfriCarriers? Mbona mnanitukana ndugu yenu? Nimesomea kiasi cha kutosha Biashara ya Kimataifa na kufanya kazi za 'consultancy' Wizara ya fedha na wizara ya Biashara na Viwanda kuandaa mkakati wa nchi katika mazungumzo ya Economic Partnership Agreements dhidi ya EU. Nimekuwa nikilipwa vizuri tu. Nimefanya kazi kwa Mwaka mmoja na Rais Kohler kuhusu mpango wa Ujerumani kuhusu Afrika. Nimefanya consultancy na EU kuhusu nafasi ya Zanzibar katika Biashara ya Kimataifa....... Kweli jamani, hata kama mtu ana ajenda ya siri, siwezi kupata fedha za kununua gari ninayoipenda? Hivi sasa nina gari 5 - Prado 2 (zote sasa nimezigawa kwa Wagombea Ubunge watarajiwa wa CHADEMA mwakani, Nissan Patrol 1 ambayo inatumika Jimboni kwangu, Prado 2 moja anayotembelea Jacquiline, my partner na VX ambayo ninaitumia mimi kwa ziara ndefu za Chama. Gari zote nimeziorodhesha katika fomu za maadili na zile za kuzitoa nitazitoa baada ya kubadili umiliki. Ninapenda kurudia kusema kuwa sikuhongwa kutaka TANESCO wanunue mitambo ya Dowans. Sijawahi si tu kukutana na mmiliki wa Dowans, bali hata mlinzi wa kampuni hiyo na kufanya hiyo dili inayosemwa sana humu na baadhi ya watu kutaka kuamini bila hata ushahidi. Nimeshangaa sana watu kuhusisha kuacha kwangu Ubunge na mambo hayo ya Dowans kana kwamba hiyo kampuni ili ilikuwapo September 2006 wakati ninatangaza kutogombea. Watu kadhaa hawakukubaliana na sababu zangu za kutogombea. Ninaheshimu mawazo yao. Wengine ni watu ninaowaheshimu sana kama Mzee Mtei na Dkt. Salim (ambaye, nitamke kwa mara ya kwanza, aliplay role kubwa sana kunifanya niwe Mbunge). Wengine ni mazoea tu kwamba unaachaje ulaji? Yaani unaacha mshahara wa 12m kwa mwezi Zitto? Wengine hawaamini kuona Bunge bila Zitto. Basi kila mtu ana sababu zake. Kitu kimoja kinaniumiza sana. Licha ya kutekeleza asilimia takribani 75% ya ahadi zangu Jimboni na kuilazimisha serikali kufanya miradi mikubwa ya maendeleo jimboni kwangu (leo barabara ya kwanza ya lami katika Mkoa wa Kigoma toka nchi ipate uhuru imezinduliwa na Pinda Jimboni kwangu - Barabara ya Mwandiga Manyovu), ninatumia muda mchache sana kuwapo Jimboni. Hii inaniumiza sana. Kwa siasa zangu, siwezi kuwa parochial MP, hivyo hili linanifanya nione uamuzi wangu wa kutogombea uendelee na kwamba hata nikirudi Bungeni baada ya miaka 5 au Kumi, ninadhani nitagombea Jimbo mojawapo la Dar es Salaam kwani ninatarajia kuendelea kufanya siasa za kitaifa. Ninaacha Ubunge nikiwa nimefanya mambo ninayojivunia sana. Nimesababisha mabadiliko makubwa katika uendeshaji wa Bunge kupitia mabadiliko ya kanuni za Bunge, niliufanya mjadala wa sekta ya Madini kuwa mjadala wa kitaifa na kupelekea kuundwa Kamati iliyotoa ripoti nzuri sana na nimekuwa mstari wa mbele kuhakikisha kuwa ripoti hiyo inatekelezwa, kwa mwaka mmoja ambao nimekuwa mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Mashirika ya Umma mabadiliko makubwa sana yanatokea na soko la Hisa la Dar (kwa juhudi zangu) sasa liktakuwa na Kampuni nyingi sana 'listed', nimesimamisha zoezi la kubinafsisha mashirika mpaka tathmini ifanyike, nimepelekea uchunguzi mkali kufanyika kuhusu mashirika kadhaa ambayo yalibinafishwa kiharamu ikiwemo uchunguzi wa kampuni ambayo ilinunuliwa na Rostam Aziz ambaye wengi humu mnaamini kanihonga, nimechangia kwa kiasi kikubwa kufanya mijadala ya Bunge kuwa yenye uhai na hata kuamsha wabunge wengine ambao hawakuwa wakisema licha ya kuwa Bungeni vipindi vingi, nimechangamsha siasa za nchi wakati ambapo chama tawala kina zaidi ya asilimia 80 ya wabunge. Mara zote nimeweka maslahi ya nchi mbele kiasi kwamba Dola, narudia Dola, haina wasiwasi na 'eventuality' ya mimi kuongoza dola nikitaka kwani maslahi ya nchi hayatakuwa na mashaka. Nimejenga imani kubwa na civil service na parastatal heads na hivyo kuwa na machinery muhimu za kuongoza nchi. Sitagombea Ubunge. Ninakwenda kusoma 'Resources Economics' na nikimaliza nimeanza mchakato wa kuomba kazi ama somaliland au Southern Sudan ili nishikrika katika ujenzi wa 'institutions' kwa nchi hizi. Ninaamini kuwa maarifa na uzoefu nitakaoupata vitanisaidia sana nitakaporudi kwenye siasa. Ninaamini pia kuwa kuna Watanzania vijana wengi sana wenye uwezo mkubwa wa uongozi lakini hawana fursa kama niliyopata mimi. Nitawasaidia hawa ili watoe mchango wao katika kujenga Taifa letu zuri sana. Nimetimiza wajibu wangu. Ninajivunia sana rekodi yangu ya kazi ya Ubunge mpaka sasa. Mtu mmoja humu amewahi kuandika kuwa wengi humu hamumuelewi Zitto. Nakubaliana nae sana..Wengi humu mnaniunderestimate sana! Save this thread........ mtahitaji kuirejea huko mbele.....

Internet is resourceful-how did we ever survive without the www?

Awhile back I sadly observed Yahoo was about to kill Geocities. Around that time I had a feel on a certain free open source CMS software (Drupal). For this I had to install it on localhost... another free suite of webserver, database and scripting language installed as xampp.

The two events are signs of the times. Whereas to make a webpage on Geocities one needed to know at least the basics of html, one wouldn't need to have a little bit of knowledge of html or scripting language to build quite a complex website, blogs etc on Drupal.

The relationships on web use is what could be described as symbiotic association: A website owner would place ads on their websites announcing someone else's product. Web users would be brought to the site for information they want, likely to be enticed (not conned) by ads there. When they visit the link on the ad, whoever is selling a product or service becomes happy, someone is appraising their mechandise. The website owner is happy, a click has registered on their adsense. Google or other adserver is happy because the advertiser is happily paying . It is a win-win situation.

There are other services too which are so cool such as Wikipedia, MIT-OCW it is a big miracke that they are there. Webmail too, with their virtually unlimited capacity mailboxes: how were we surviving with a 2 MB mailbox as recently as 5 years ago?

The word of hardware has its own tale to tell, but that would be a subject of another post.

Oh, GM has filed bankruptcy!

Announcement sounded like a clap of thunder. General Motors has been bobbing atop Fortune 500 list for ages. So this is a shocker, a real one. One would expect a company of GM's girth to deploy whatever resources to sidestep the slippery time slice the world is going on. Seems whatever they tried to do didn't quite work out.
It might be the sign of the coming times. Environment-conscious Planet Earth is shuddering away from the fuel-guzzling SUVs which, anyway, wouldn't run on battery-powered electric motors. Jobs--blue- and white-collar alike--are going down the grain. There won't be much to spend. Where the jobless get unemployment cheques, they will start learning taking subways, cleaning up environment even more.
While auto industry, (airline and several others too) are going through hard times, we are told of some growth in technology businesses. Here are people who were able to work out miracles with miniaturization: the other day I bought a 4 giga memory card for my camera for quarter the price I'd bought a 1 giga card about six months earlier. What's that joke of exchanges between microsoft and GM on their industries' growth comparison that was going around the net sometime ago?

Geocities is closing. Oh!

It was in the IT news this week. Troubled Y! has sighted Geocities as one of the services to be dropped in the ongoing rationalization exercise.
Many of us who ever coded a page a little while ago (that's to say more than 10 years) likely used Geocities.

Geocities was supposed to make money from ads that would appear on these free website. There was also possibility of getting rid of ads by upgrading. (With my blog--successor of Geocities-like web presence--instead of lugging provider ads, I place my own Adsense links).

I wouldn't be surprised if the younger generation has never heard of Geocities. Now with a myriad of social networking web services such as Facebook, Myspace and blogs, life is easy for page owners, plus, it's quite easy to link to friends etc, share stuff while having fun. Emergence of these web 2.0 services rang the death knell of stiff-upper-lip services that couldn't conform with changing times. Freeservers and Tripod are likely to be next.

The one hosting service that offers free registration that seem almost too good to be true, Awardspace, got me hooked and am now owning a paid hosting that offers hundredfold more for a song. Now this is nice and proper. With it comes database, PHP, server-side installers of a handful of utilities (Zacky tools installer) etc.

I'll say bye to Geocities, it did us lot of good while it lasted. I'm still having my older sites on Geocities such as my resource page. Time I moved them elsewhere, I guess.

Karl Marks predicted cash-hard times coming...

"Owners of capital will simulate working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which have to be nationalized, and State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism" Karl Marx, 1867 in "Das Kapital"