The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania, forebearers of an ancient East African Empire…? Vast areas of Kenya and Tanzania bear Maasai related names, a sign that the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania were once the dominant community in East Africa. For instance, Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, is drawn from “Enkare Nairob”, which means “Place of cool waters” in Maasai. Mt. Kenya is “Eru Kenya”, meaning “Snow from Laikipia”. Nakuru, Kenya’s third largest city, is also a Maasai name. Then across a vast length and breadth of about 1,000 kilometres and 800 kilometres respectively, transcending both Tanzania and Kenya, are numerous locations that have either Maasai names or Samburu names. The Samburu of Kenya are close kin of the Maasai, and the Maasai and Samburu converse with each other without much difficulty. The Maasai/Samburu names of key locations that spread across both Tanzania and Kenya include Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa’s ...

The 2010 Kenya constitution, chapter five stipulates the foundation of human rights is anchored on clean and healthy environment. Unfortunately in Tharaka- Nithi County bordering Embu County lies the snow capped Mt.Kenya Mountain second highest in Africa,located along the equator, Chuka town lies in a section of the larger Mt. Kenya forest which is known for its birds sanctuary, wildlife, splendid flora and fauna, streams of river and the century old trees, around the center of the mountain in 1997 was designated as a national park and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, since time immemorial conservation efforts have been embraced by the indigenous forest community, on the other hand government Forest Officers in charge of national park and the larger forest have been plagued by widespread corruption activities, inefficiency, political servitude, low   standards of professionalism, mass production of "bhangi"( cannabis ), massive charcoal production within the...

Community Organizing: UN Science Panel shows importance of climate actio... : Climate scientists in the UN panel on climate change (IPCC) are wrapping up their latest meeting, held in Copenhagen over the past week. T...

Climate scientists in the UN panel on climate change (IPCC) are wrapping up their latest meeting, held in Copenhagen over the past week. Their fifth report is fresh on the table, and it is full of predictions about our future. The head of the ACT Alliance delegation to the meeting, Mattias Söderberg, says: “Scientists are giving us a preview of a huge bill we will have to pay for the effects of climate change. The cheapest path forwards - for people, companies and governments - is to invest in climate action now. Transforming our countries for a low carbon future will save lives and money”. “The report highlights that climate change will have an increasing impact on food security, and that there are limits for adaptation to the increasing global temperature. Sea level rise and persistent droughts will force many people to move.” Söderberg says. “For the families and communities that are going to be hardest hit, the report is a horrific prediction. We can’t adapt our way out o...

Soils are critical for all life—they act as a water filter and growing medium, supply nutrients for plant growth and contribute to biodiversity.  Yet, despite the universal importance of healthy soil, we continue to lose approximately 5 to 7 million hectares each year through soil degradation – 24 billion tons of this non-renewable resource have been lost over the last century from the world’s arable land. Today, land and soil degradation affect approximately 1.5 billion people, and not just in arid or dry environments. June 17 is World Day to Combat Desertification, and this year’s theme is ‘Land Belongs to the Future - Let’s Climate Proof’. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), through its technical cooperation programme and the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, is helping Member States to address this goal by supporting the collection of data on soil and water interactions. Nuclear technology, and radioactive and stable isotope techniques in particular, play a very importa...

By Robin Ramsay “ Lobster  has had its moments.  It has been denounced  in the House of Commons... ” “ Where were the  shouts of derision ... when MI5 and MI6... overspent the budgets on their new builings by  £200 million ... why do MPs take no notice... The Labour Party's passivity... is a more compled phenomenon... ” “ A member of [Neil Kinnock's] personal staff actually phoned 'Spycatcher' Peter Wright in Australia...  every phone within a mile of Wright and his legal team was tapped of course... the information about the call from Kinnock's office was duly passed -- presumably from the NSA via GCHQ -- to the Tories. Mrs Thatcher then stood up in the Commons and denounced Kinnock for talking to a traitor... [Kinnock] should have asked how she knew the contents of the phone call... ” “ Peter Mandelson...  has been around MI6 since his early 20s ... Four of the Blair cabinet are alumni of the Anglo-American elite group the British American Pr...

The influence of intelligence services on the British left A talk given by Robin Ramsay to Labour Party branches in late 1996 This is an adaptation and massive compression of the pamphlet The  Clandestine Caucus  written and published by Robin Ramsay in 1996. In that the sources for most of the claims contained in this talk are to be found. Dirty tricks and covert operations In the official theory of British politics the state in general and the intelligence services in particular have no role. This is what I think of as the Disney version of politics; and this is the one that is still largely taught in British universities and regurgitated by the mass media. In the Disney version, the state is neutral. Interests in society align with political parties; and the parties contest elections. The election winners form governments whose policies are then implemented by the state. This was the view, for example, of Ron Hayward, the General Secretary of the Labour Party. In 197...