Posts

With Kibera In Mind

Anonymous said... Slum Tours :Go to cape town, Shanty town tours is the in thing,Go to joburg, Soweto slum tours is the order of the day.Go to brazil, slum tours is scheduled daily. In pro poor tourism, the net benefit goes to the poverty alleviation of the Poor in the area visited. What is this husle with James Asudi of victoria safaris introducing a new thing in Kenya. Bravo Asudi, You need a Reward for this effort.In 2006, 56 billion K.shs. came in through Tourism , How much went to alleviating poverty in kibera and other slums in kenya. Critics who have no knowlege of Pro poor tourism should shut up and go for a tour with the only Tour Operator in kenya - Victoria safaris, who considers the plight of the poor in the slums. I received this, above anonymous comment as a response to a comment I made at being sad and considering it cruel, of tourists visiting slums. I am not a critic nor a critique of tourists visiting slums; I do believe that - whatever is done by any one or organisat

Francis Ona

Image
"Papua New Guinea we can beat in a week. Australia, Rio Tinto that will take a little longer" "This war is to protect the land environment and social system on Bougainville.I feel the Papua New Guinea government will continue to prepare to open Panguna mine and the rest of the other mines." "A leader who is not willing to clean the boots of his people is not a leader" Read More : Wikipedia , Counter Punch , Answers Photo : theage

Who Is The Real Terrorist?

Japan considers Greenpeace 'terrorists' and 'pirates'; Japan has gone as far as to refuse assistance from a Greenpeace vessel to tow its stricken whaling ship out of Antarctic waters . In actual fact - who is the terrorist? Under the pretext and guise of 'scientific research', Japan continues its indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds of whales every year; Why? The bottom line is that: Japan hunts whales mainly for commercial reasons and not 'scientific research' as they would like us all to believe. And many Japanese simply have a taste for whale meat. And what a cruel way to fulfill one's culinary taste! "The fate of the world's whales hangs in jeopardy. By way of its vote buying campaign, Japan could very well control the simple-majority vote of this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, targeting small island nations in the Pacific and Caribbean with foreign aid for pro-whaling votes. If these countries vote with Jap

The Young Need Role Models

Last night I was reading Dennis's interesting last post: Blogging a Blogger III in which he mentions today's youngsters; this got me into thinking and pondering about the young of today. Be it here in Yemen, or back in East Africa - present day youngsters seem very confused and at odds with their surroundings. Boys, more so. What with several TV channels being aired each moment; the kind of violent, noisy music that's popular with the young; life being as hard as it is in most of the developing world; and above all, the lack of real, inspiring events and role models - the young of today will continue being overwhelmed and confused. Sure, during my time - we too were confused in some ways; and at times directionless. But we didn't live the kind of mechanical life that today's youngsters find themselves in; and at the break neck speed which their lives have to endure. What an astonishing speed? All I had to think about during my youth, was - school, play, eat and sl

Socotra Island

Image
Size:3,800 sq. km (1,500 sq. miles) Habitat type:Deserts and Xeric Shrublands Geographic Location:Island off the northeast coast of Africa (the Horn of Africa) Yemen Conservation Status:Critical/Endangered Some places seem to hover on the edge of the imagination. The remote and exotic island of Socotra, located between the coasts of Yemen and Somalia in the Indian Ocean, is just such a place. Known by ancient Indian, Arabian and Greek seafarers as an entrepĂ´t for myrrh, frankincense and dragon’s blood trees, Socotra has been biologically isolated for several million years. Socotra remains one of the most fascinating places on earth, and has Arabia's greatest plant diversity. On our Yemen holidays on Socotra Island we will introduce you to the natural wonders of this blessed island, dubbed ‘the other Galapagos’. Responsible Travel More On Socotra: Socotraisland.org , Worldwildlife , FTIYemen , Wikpeadia , National Geographic , Lexicorient , New York Times , Arabian Widlife , Books ,

Isalm and Wildlife

Image
 Islam commands us to be kind and caring to all Wildlife and all living Creatures: There is not an animal (That lives) on the earth, Nor a being that flies On its wings, but (forms Part of communities like you. Nothing have We omitted From the Book, and they (all) Shall be gathered to their Lord In the end. The Noble Qura'an ~ 6:38 Whoever is kind to the creatures of God, is kind to himself. ~ Wisdom of Prophet Muhammad All creatures are like a family (Ayal) of God: and he loves the most those who are the most beneficent to His family. ~ Wisdom of Prophet Muhammad The Prophet(s) was asked if acts of charity even to the animals were rewarded by God. He replied: 'yes, there is a reward for acts of charity to every beast alive.' (Narrated by Abu Huraira, Bukhari, 3:322. Also Muslim, Vol. 4; Hadith No. 2244. Also Awn (Ref. No. 32), 7:222, Hadith No. 2533. Also Mishkat al-masabih, Book 6; Chapter 6. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "While a man was walking a

Barack Obama For President

That's what I wished for , a few months ago. And well, Mr. Obama has almost decided: he's deciding whether to run for President . Again I say: it's only in the United States that some one with a background as Barack's, where one can have such aspirations and dreams. He has just taken the first steps ; a few excerpts from Barack's message: "As many of you know, over the last few months I have been thinking hard about my plans for 2008. Running for the presidency is a profound decision - a decision no one should make on the basis of media hype or personal ambition alone - and so before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the country." "..I've spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need." "Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we ca