I went for TEDxNairobi yesterday.
It was incredible. So incredible that I've been inspired to start writing again, I actually started blogging in 2006, using this and my car blog Motogari, then I just focused on Motogari, and then facebook(I have 45 notes and 212 posted items) so I've dusted off this blog and I want to write again. I want to "earn" my membership into the amazing group of people who came for TEDxNairobi yesterday, I got many a puzzled look when I said I was an Auditor at TEDx.
It was nice meeting the people I follow on twitter, lakini twitter isn't why I know Bankelele or Aly-Khan, I've been reading what these people write for years, Twitter just brought y'all abit closer.
Anyway I think I'll start with what I thought of TEDxNairobi. Moses Kemibaro, well, its was the same old same old Fibre story we've been hearing since the cable landed, But it was a good presentation.
Jacquline Novogratz: I liked the bit about giving people the "dignity of choice", If you've read the works of Dambisa Moyo and Hernando de Soto, you'll understand how true this is, treating poor people without the dignity they deserve as human beings has been a problem with aid agencies for a long time.
The assumption that all a poor african wants is clean water and freedom from the tropical disease of the month has informed the attitude towards how aid agencies operate.
Crystal Watleys presentation picked up on that, She couldn't get funding outside of the normal themes of HIV/AIDS and certainly not to simply give people information, showing them that theres a life outside of their daily hardship, something they could aspire to beyond having clean water and managing HIV/AIDS, kudos to her and congratulations to he on winning the award.
Tonee Ndungu cannot be put in words that could accurately describe him up on the stage, live, I wont even try, that was an amazing presentation.
Aly-Khan Satchu, I wish we had more time.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Bad Day
I had a really really bad day today, bad enough for me to, like a good Christian, seek help from the The Chairman of the worlds largest multinational, the Catholic Church.
The Catholic church has grown from strength to strength since its humble beginnings as Yahweh & Son, plying its trade in the little town of Bethlehem.
The brutal murder of the Chairmans son in 33 AD, a tragedy that doubled as effectively, the worlds greatest IPO, set in motion the creation of a more formal organization.
Today, from its global headquarters, the Vatican, the Church attends to the needs of its millions of shareholders and other clients. Its largest single shareholder is the Trinity group, a small private equity firm comprising of the Chairman, his son and Holy Spirit Support Services Ltd, a powerful, little seen but often felt silent partner.
The Chairman and by extension, the Trinity group, has a majority shareholding in many other similar churches. Although the other churches have similar objectives, there is no conflict of interest arising from this cross-ownership.
The church is headed by the Chairman, who leads the Board of Directors , commonly referred to as the "College of Cardinals". The Board elects one of its own as the CEO. The current CEO, Pope Benedict XVI, was elected on 19 April 2005.
The church has a wonderfully flat organizational structure. The Chairman and the Trinity Group lead the church, The CEO, whose rarely used full title is "His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God." follows. Bishops, who are seen as the modern day equivalents of a group of the chairmans sons closest advisors, the apostles, feature prominently in the churches hierarchy.
The structure is summarized below
The chairman is actively involved in the day to day operation of the church. The word, "Miracle" ,His name for the one-on-one interaction with shareholders he occasionally engages in, has been adopted in popular culture, often meaning an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers ascribed to a supernatural cause.
The church has branches in every corner of the world and given the way today went, one of those branches which will be seeing alot more of me pretty soon.
Anyway, I have a conference call with the Trinity Group regarding my Monday blues on hold while I write this, so I'll stop for now and get right back to it.
I really need one of them miracle things right about now.
The Catholic church has grown from strength to strength since its humble beginnings as Yahweh & Son, plying its trade in the little town of Bethlehem.
The brutal murder of the Chairmans son in 33 AD, a tragedy that doubled as effectively, the worlds greatest IPO, set in motion the creation of a more formal organization.
Today, from its global headquarters, the Vatican, the Church attends to the needs of its millions of shareholders and other clients. Its largest single shareholder is the Trinity group, a small private equity firm comprising of the Chairman, his son and Holy Spirit Support Services Ltd, a powerful, little seen but often felt silent partner.
The Chairman and by extension, the Trinity group, has a majority shareholding in many other similar churches. Although the other churches have similar objectives, there is no conflict of interest arising from this cross-ownership.
The church is headed by the Chairman, who leads the Board of Directors , commonly referred to as the "College of Cardinals". The Board elects one of its own as the CEO. The current CEO, Pope Benedict XVI, was elected on 19 April 2005.
The church has a wonderfully flat organizational structure. The Chairman and the Trinity Group lead the church, The CEO, whose rarely used full title is "His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God." follows. Bishops, who are seen as the modern day equivalents of a group of the chairmans sons closest advisors, the apostles, feature prominently in the churches hierarchy.
The structure is summarized below
The chairman is actively involved in the day to day operation of the church. The word, "Miracle" ,His name for the one-on-one interaction with shareholders he occasionally engages in, has been adopted in popular culture, often meaning an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers ascribed to a supernatural cause.
The church has branches in every corner of the world and given the way today went, one of those branches which will be seeing alot more of me pretty soon.
Anyway, I have a conference call with the Trinity Group regarding my Monday blues on hold while I write this, so I'll stop for now and get right back to it.
I really need one of them miracle things right about now.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Today is a dark day in Kenyas history, the 29th of December 2007 the day when instead of jubilant cries of Kazi Iendelee or Chungwa Moja Maisha Bora, we have scenes of violence and looting,
where just days after standing in line for 7 hours with people of all tribes who live around me, I dont feel safe leaving the house because I'm a certain tribe, in fact, fuck trying to be diplomatic, I dont feel safe in a place I've lived in since 1986 because I'm a Meru which means I'm a Kikuyu which today, means I'm trying to rig the election.
Politicians in both the government and the opposition have always tried to play the ethnic card during each election, but it never seemed to get out of the trouble spots.
The tribal clashes were always far away from us, way out there in Likoni, in Molo and this year in Mt Elgon.
But this time, guess what, it worked.
This time we're divided everywhere we are we're divided.
Last night I went to bed thinking Raila would win, and I was disappointed, but I was cool with it and I think many other people were. Today when the race got tighter we were put through a shameful spectacle at KICC and even worse scenes around the country that we saw on TV.
There were some islands of calm in the madness, like that cop on NTV, but today was the worst day of the year 2007. I blame the media, I blame politicians, I blame the ECK, I blame PNU, I blame ODM but most importantly, I blame myself,
for falling for all of this, for thinking about which tribe people I've known for years are, for only talking to some of my pals about the election, for the things I've said and the things I've thought about saying.
I was raised better than this so now I want to apologise and to pray for Kenya to get out of this mess. If you can please join me
where just days after standing in line for 7 hours with people of all tribes who live around me, I dont feel safe leaving the house because I'm a certain tribe, in fact, fuck trying to be diplomatic, I dont feel safe in a place I've lived in since 1986 because I'm a Meru which means I'm a Kikuyu which today, means I'm trying to rig the election.
Politicians in both the government and the opposition have always tried to play the ethnic card during each election, but it never seemed to get out of the trouble spots.
The tribal clashes were always far away from us, way out there in Likoni, in Molo and this year in Mt Elgon.
But this time, guess what, it worked.
This time we're divided everywhere we are we're divided.
Last night I went to bed thinking Raila would win, and I was disappointed, but I was cool with it and I think many other people were. Today when the race got tighter we were put through a shameful spectacle at KICC and even worse scenes around the country that we saw on TV.
There were some islands of calm in the madness, like that cop on NTV, but today was the worst day of the year 2007. I blame the media, I blame politicians, I blame the ECK, I blame PNU, I blame ODM but most importantly, I blame myself,
for falling for all of this, for thinking about which tribe people I've known for years are, for only talking to some of my pals about the election, for the things I've said and the things I've thought about saying.
I was raised better than this so now I want to apologise and to pray for Kenya to get out of this mess. If you can please join me
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Belief
My Philosophy lecturer once said,
Either there is a god who eternally rewards those who believe in him and eternally punishes those who dont or there is no such god.
If I dont believe in Him and he does exist, I shall be eternally punished.
If I dont believe in him and he doesn't exist, nothing Good or Bad will happen to me.
BUT
If I believe in him and he does exist, I shall be eternally rewarded.
If I believe in him and he doesn't exist then nothing good or bad will happen to me
It is clear that I have more to lose from not believing and being wrong than from believing and being wrong
Therefore it is wise to believe
Either there is a god who eternally rewards those who believe in him and eternally punishes those who dont or there is no such god.
If I dont believe in Him and he does exist, I shall be eternally punished.
If I dont believe in him and he doesn't exist, nothing Good or Bad will happen to me.
BUT
If I believe in him and he does exist, I shall be eternally rewarded.
If I believe in him and he doesn't exist then nothing good or bad will happen to me
It is clear that I have more to lose from not believing and being wrong than from believing and being wrong
Therefore it is wise to believe
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Raila Odinga
I wasn't alive during the 82' coup so all I know about it is what I learnt in school and what I've been told by my parents and have seen for myself on documentaries on KBC
What I do know is that it was a defining moment of Kenyan history. My parents tell me stories of driving in town at a snails pace holding their IDs out in the air through the car windows to avoid being shot by the military. We have lived in Langata most of my life, right next to the Barracks housing the "Maroon Commandos"the army unit that is said to have done the most to crush the Coup
My father can name at least 4 Airmen from our village who were killed during the coup, he says that although the period leading up to the coup was filled with fear and mistrust, nothing could prepare Kenyans for what was to come
He says that before the Coup, the prevailing conditions were ripe for revolution. The dreaded Special Branch listened in to any conversations in the streets, in Bars, Churches, in fact in any large social gathering and arrested people on such frivolous charges as imagining the death of the president
The coup was bound to happen, according to him, but the dead bodies of airmen that littered the streets of Nairobi were not worth it.
Apparently most people at the time thought that Raila was being punished by the Government for the sins of his father, Jaramogi. The "revelations" in his book RAILA ODINGA:AN ENIGMA IN KENYAN POLITICS prove otherwise
For Mr Odinga to associate himself with this part of Kenyas history this close to what is likely to be a hotly contested election is quite frankly in my view irresponsible .It may be an amazing marketing tool for his new autobiography but it is not what we expect from a possible contender for the post of President
It makes me think about what will happen after the election, given his "alleged" track record of subversive activity
I will try to read the book as he suggests, but the look in my fathers eyes when he talks about the coup is the strongest testimont to the fact that it should never happen again, no matter the motivation
rK
What I do know is that it was a defining moment of Kenyan history. My parents tell me stories of driving in town at a snails pace holding their IDs out in the air through the car windows to avoid being shot by the military. We have lived in Langata most of my life, right next to the Barracks housing the "Maroon Commandos"the army unit that is said to have done the most to crush the Coup
My father can name at least 4 Airmen from our village who were killed during the coup, he says that although the period leading up to the coup was filled with fear and mistrust, nothing could prepare Kenyans for what was to come
He says that before the Coup, the prevailing conditions were ripe for revolution. The dreaded Special Branch listened in to any conversations in the streets, in Bars, Churches, in fact in any large social gathering and arrested people on such frivolous charges as imagining the death of the president
The coup was bound to happen, according to him, but the dead bodies of airmen that littered the streets of Nairobi were not worth it.
Apparently most people at the time thought that Raila was being punished by the Government for the sins of his father, Jaramogi. The "revelations" in his book RAILA ODINGA:AN ENIGMA IN KENYAN POLITICS prove otherwise
For Mr Odinga to associate himself with this part of Kenyas history this close to what is likely to be a hotly contested election is quite frankly in my view irresponsible .It may be an amazing marketing tool for his new autobiography but it is not what we expect from a possible contender for the post of President
It makes me think about what will happen after the election, given his "alleged" track record of subversive activity
I will try to read the book as he suggests, but the look in my fathers eyes when he talks about the coup is the strongest testimont to the fact that it should never happen again, no matter the motivation
rK
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) is the first sale of a corporation's common shares to public investors. The main purpose of an IPO is to raise capital for the corporation. While IPOs are effective at raising capital, they also impose heavy legal compliance and reporting requirements. The term only refers to the first public issuance of a company's shares; any later public issuance of shares is referred to as a Secondary Market Offering.
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