Now the two Kenyan leaders, Raila the PM who is also the leader of ODM is fighting with his deputy ODM leader and minister for agriculture William Ruto over Mau evictions.

Raila says he is ready to loose his political path and start selling doughnuts in Kibera while Ruto says he is ready for a sack from the government.

Why are the two fighting so hard and yet it is easy to do the honourable thing when gentlemen disagree – resign as the British ministers normally do whenever they disagree. They call it gentlemanly, a thing the Kenyan ministers are not used to, but instead fighting to the bitter end is the answer.

The Mau settlers are suffering while the leaders are heavyweighting and the public cheers to see the winner.

Now some MPs allied to Raila’s deputy leader Mr Ruto are planning a censure motion against the PM. If they get the numbers in parliament, Raila may have to go but then as the National Accord signed that enabled the formation of the government says, early elections may become necessary. Do the MPs want to go for early elections now and leave the high salaries they are comfortably chewing?

By Chief editor Korir

African Press International.

Photo: Brendan Brady/IRIN

A community ranger riding an elephant in Srepok Protected Forest in Cambodia’s eastern Mondulkiri province

MONDULKIRI,� – Poaching was a serious business for Chran Thabb – until his tracking skills were put to better use protecting his former prey. He is one of 45 rangers in the remote eastern province of Mondulkiri recruited for a grassroots tourism project that uses employment incentives to encourage environmental conservation.

“Before, whenever I saw an animal in the forest, my first thought was to shoot it,” said Chran, now a guide for treks around Dei Ey village, in a protected forest area in Mondulkiri.

“I don’t do that any more. The animals would become extinct and I want the next generation to see them,” he said.

Because of its forests, mountains and rare wildlife, rugged Mondulkiri has been targeted by the Cambodian government as an area for eco-tourism development, after lobbying by WWF. The wildlife group launched conservation projects more than four years ago in this remote region, which has been likened to Africa’s Serengeti for its abundant wildlife.

WWF has recruited former hunters to put their knowledge of the forest and expert tracking skills to good use. The overall aim is to establish an environment where wildlife can recover after years of hunting, poaching and neglect. Richer wildlife, conservationists hope, will attract tourists – and, in turn, create jobs for local communities.

Most of Mondulkiri’s impoverished population comprises indigenous communities who practise shifting cultivation but also grow cash crops, although this is under threat from deforestation and changing climate patterns, according to a September 2009 report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Lack of access to education and primary healthcare are key development concerns in Mondulkiri, IOM says, with 59 percent of its population living below the poverty line, according to a 2004 study by the Cambodia Development Resource Institute and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

“In a poor province such as Mondulkiri, eco-tourism offers a long-term alternative livelihood to combat the short-term illegal activities they do now to earn a living,” said Olga van den Pol, head of WWF’s eco-tourism operations in Mondulkiri province.

Wildlife in the area, which is near the border with Vietnam, was severely depleted in the 1970s and 1980s when battling Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese soldiers relied heavily on hunting for survival.

But since the launch of conservation projects, rangers are seeing an increase in wildlife for the first time in years.

Community values

Most people in the area belong to the Phnong ethnic group. Bill Herod, a development worker who works with Phnong youth, said cultural forces should operate in favour of conservation efforts.

“Phnong are more likely to see common ownership of the land, and less likely to want to hunt for wildlife on an individual basis,” he said.

Given Cambodia’s violent past, it is especially important to avoid using violence to deter poaching and instead focus on encouraging livelihoods, conservationists say.

In countries such as Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, governments have resorted to heavily armed patrols in an attempt to combat poaching. But this method is increasingly being shunned.

“For a poor rural person who wishes to feed their family, no deterrent will be sufficient, but the chances of being killed are far higher,” said James MacGregor, a researcher for the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development. “Guns raise the stakes but don’t combat the poaching necessarily,” he told IRIN.

Challenges

While those employed by the projects hope their fortunes will improve, the initiatives are no panacea for the area’s poverty.

Krak Sokny, a teacher and farmer in Dei Ey village, doubted the eco-tourism initiatives would reach a sufficient scale to extend benefits to locals not directly involved, but said they would instil an active interest in conservation in villagers.

And while Dei Ey and other areas appear to be on the path to recovery, other lands in the province still face serious threats from speculators and slash-and-burn practices.

Local development workers also say police and well-connected officials continue to traffic wildlife and timber with impunity.

Against these forces, villagers in Mondulkiri’s eco-tourism enclaves are trying to carve out a space for themselves and adventurous tourists.

“I’m hoping there will be more tourists so we can earn money that way and not have to go hunting in the forest,” said Am Pang Deap, who previously made ends meet selling fried bananas in Dei Ey, but now works at a new eco-tourism resort. “People are trying to hunt less and maintain what’s left for tourists.”

bb/ey/mw source.irinnews.org

MYANMAR: Funding shortfall hits Nargis survivors

Photo: Stacey Winston/ECHO

BANGKOK,� – A lack of funding is still posing a serious problem for recovery efforts to help the survivors of Cylone Nargis, the UN says, despite fresh pledges from donors.

At a Post-Nargis and Regional Partnership Conference, held on 25 November in Bangkok, donors pledged more than US$88 million for an appeal for $103 million to cover critical recovery needs � part of the earlier Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP) released in December 2008 by the Tripartite Core Group, comprising the Myanmar government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN.

The original appeal called for $691 million for a three-year recovery plan from 2009 to 2011.

�There was very good support and excellent response from the donors � there was a good acknowledgement of the recognition of the need,� said Bishow Parajuli, the UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar.

However, �what must be underlined is that the $103 million is only for needs identified until July 2010, and moreover this need doesn�t include many other critical elements�, he told IRIN.

Nargis struck Myanmar in May 2008, killing at least 140,000 people and affecting another 2.4 million, mostly in the Ayeyarwady and Yangon divisions. Damage was estimated at more than $4 billion.

Recovery threatened

Thierry Delbreuve, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Myanmar, said there had been a sharp drop in contributions to recovery activities in the Ayeyarwady Delta.

�Pledges were made this year but very little has trickled down so far,� he told IRIN, adding that there was also a need for funding for general humanitarian assistance outside the delta in areas such as Chin state and the border regions.

Photo: Contributor/IRIN

Shelter remains a key challenge for many Nargis survivors

Before the 25 November announcement, only $120 million of the $691 million had been committed, with $64 million received, according to the UN.

Parajuli warned that a lack of funding would stop recovery activities.

�It is a big challenge,� he said. �Several NGOs and UN agencies have started cutting down staff because of a lack of funding. If there is no new funding, some of the critical activities could be stopped.�

With money just trickling in for the PONREPP, the TCG decided in October to launch an appeal for the $103 million to address critical gaps in education, health, livelihoods, shelter, and water, sanitation and hygiene until July 2010.

The money will be used to provide 17,800 new houses, 40 new schools and 16 cyclone shelters, as well as livelihood programmes, water and sanitation facilities, education facilities and health services, ASEAN said.

Delbreuve said support for the restoration of livelihoods was crucial, with indebtedness growing among survivors who had borrowed money to rebuild their homes. However, he said shelter was the most important need identified for now.

�Only 10,000 individual shelters delivered by humanitarian agencies can be considered truly durable with cyclone-resistant features,� Delbreuve told IRIN.

�There is still an overall gap of 178,000 households that require urgent shelter assistance and have been waiting for support from the humanitarian community for over a year,� he said.

ey/ds/mw source.irinnews.org

Why do some MPs want to destroy the PM? Is the PM touching their wealth and causing them to revolt or are the MPs are really genuine that they are fighting for the poor Kenyans? (API)

Prime Minister Raila Odinga (centre) with ministers Henry Kosgey, William Ruto and Anyang� Nyong�o after a past ODM retreat in Naivasha. Mr Ruto is seen as part of a new ethnic political alliance. Photo/FILE

It�s going to be a Christmas of political intrigue, as MPs on Sunday stepped up the war of words over the conservation of Mau forest and deal-making ahead of an election which is still three years away.

An inter-ministerial committee, overseeing the conservation of the forest, has endorsed the eviction of this second lot. Many powerful politicians in the Rift Valley are believed to own hundreds of acres under this phase. The 400-hectare Mau Forest, parts of which have been destroyed, is the country�s most important water source. Its destruction has caused the drying up lakes such as Lake Nakuru and threatens important national assets such as the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

But speaking to supporters in Kibera, his constituency, Mr Odinga said Mau was not only a national but international issue and that he was fighting for its restoration in the interest of future generations. More than 60,000 ha of the forest had been illegally given to individuals in the Moi regime, he said, adding that because of the ensuing deforestation many rivers originating from Mau were now drying up.

Reports by Lucas Barasa, Geoffrey Rono and Anthony Kitimo

source.nation.ke

//Hopefully, Mrs Salahi will not charm her way to Obama’s party in Oslo on the 10th of December when he travels there to receive the Nobel Peace Prize… Let her try but we think the Norwegian police will be watching her every move…. until after Obama’s 2 day Oslo visit.

UPDATE~
Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009, 8:12 a.m. EST, Fox and Friends TV News produced a photo from 2005, which includes Barack Obama centered in a small group including the Salahi couple who have been accused of being strangers who were “uninvited” guests at the recent Obama White House Dinner. It seems the suppositions I had posted earlier were, in fact, valid. Thank God — and the late Paul Harvey for “the rest of the story,” which is not over yet. Stay tuned! ~Rev. L. Dowell, Voice Ink News Commentary

COMMENTARY

By Rev. Lainie Dowell

Where is Paul Harvey when you need him? It appears the Obama Administration has given the nation another oops moment. But, we cannot help it, if former President George W. Bush made his eight-year tenure in the Office look so easy that every fool thought they could do a better job. Enter the DEMs’ favorite and most highly favored son, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.

Any time you have almost the entire nation and the global community whispering in your ear telling you “Yes (you) can,” you are bound to begin believing yourself to be invincible and pretty near indestructible and that everything you place your hands to do will turn to gold. Somehow, accolades can become your worst enemy, if you are not settled and grounded in self and truth.

This latest gaff of the reportedly “uninvited White House guests” slipping by the White House staff and security presents for us yet one more moment of levity from the administration’s heavy-handed, ongoing push of various legislative bills towards Obama to be signed into law, such as “Hate Crime,” “Free Choice,” “Abortion,” “Same Sex Marriage,” “Cap and Trade,” and many more to come but against the majority of the people’s will. I am still laughing every time I see the photo flashed on the TV screen showing Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq, posing with noted political dignitaries and journalists like they belong. And, no doubt they do. After all, they were introduced and presented to Obama for the well-circulated photo session. Just look at that wide grin on Obama’s face! (Forgive me if I forego the usual blonde jokes)

How could anybody feel so comfortable coming in off the street and getting close enough to Vice President Joe Biden, place her hand on his chest, turn to the cameras, and smile? Where was Dr. Jill? Wouldn’t you think somebody would stop short of snapping that picture and tell Michaele Salahi that is a “no no?” But, that’s the picture that really cracks me up every time I see it!! The look on Biden’s face is priceless and he appears to be enjoying every moment for all the world to see. How “stately!”

The Guest Who Has the White House Invitation – Or Not?!

Somebody is not telling the truth! And the way the Obama White House has been vacillating since he took office on January 20, 2009, I suppose it would be very difficult to determine who is and who is not being truthful about the situation. I mean — the Salahi’s even came dressed up in formal attire, and her bright red dress just screams, “I have arrived!” Who wouldn’t take notice of them and wonder who these people are and what is their role in society? Apparently, somebody in attendance must have known who they were. Apparently, somebody must have said, “They’re o.k. They’re with me! Let ‘em through.” But, really! I don’t understand what all the excitement is about because, when the Obamas’ State Dinner was announced publicly, didn’t we hear Obama state he was holding it outside in tents instead of inside the White House, because he wanted the American people to be able to get in??? So, what’s the problem? Who knew??

The Indian Prime Minister White House Guest and His Wife, Who?!

Even though Obama started out his sojourn in the White House with scheduled “Happy Hours” and socials for the news media and entertainers to come mingle and wine and dine with him and other guests, this particular scheduled event was touted as being the very first White House State Dinner. Never mind that the puzzled public couldn’t figure out why the White House would have as their first state guests, dignitaries from India instead of from one of America’s more notable allies. And, now, we may never know unless we search the small print in the back of newspapers or hear news reports on some very late night, obscure news station in order to know that the Guest of Honor for the night was Manmohan Singh, Indian Prime Minister, and his wife.

For the most part, the supposedly “uninvited” Salahi’s drove that political story right off the front pages of news periodicals all across the nation. And there they stand the talk of the town! (are we laughing yet?) To be sure, the White House security and many government agencies don’t think this is the least bit funny. Nevertheless, the Obamas’ beloved staff have reportedly denied knowing whether the Salahi’s had received invites even while the Salahi’s maintain that they did. And they have engaged an attorney spokesperson to defend them even as calls go forth from TV news pundits to make an example of them and even put them in jail. WHAT??!!

If the Salahi’s Can’t Dine With the Obama’s Then Who Can?

News reports state the Salahi’s showed up for that prestigious event in a long limo and with photogs trailing close behind to record every last moment. Archival articles found in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal give a pretty good background on the now infamous couple. Therefore, it is even more puzzling to me why White House security must not have even taken time to go on the internet and find out who any of the invited guests are. The government has access to the latest technology, think tanks, and proverbial records of “Who’s Who” everywhere in the world. Therefore, I find it difficult to believe the government is now publicly whining about a couple of billionaires coming to “crash” the White House dinner which was held OUTSIDE! How ridiculous is that?!

Tareq Salahi is almost 40 years old. He is a young man who lives in Hume, Virginia, with his family and owns a world renown winery called, “OASIS.” Hume, Virginia, is also reportedly the homeland of Fox TV’s journalist, Britt Hume. And, with neighbors like that, how bad could the Salahi’s be? Furthermore, while news pundits are on TV yelling about the Salahi’s having filed lawsuits in the Virginia courthouse, they fail to add those suits have been ongoing for years and that hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake for them. That’s nothing to sneeze at.

The Salahi’s may have actually done the Obamas’ and the nation a favor by identifying a real flaw in the Obama administration’s loosely and flippant attitude. On the one hand, the Obamas’ are complaining and sending out armed police and FBI agents and CIA agents to threaten and intimidate citizens, if they speak out and tell the truth about Barack Obama. And, on the other hand, Barack and Michelle Obama are apt to be found out on the town seated amongst a crowd of people, such as during their recent visit with family members to watch a basketball game coached by his brother-in-law, Michelle’s brother. How fearful could they be for their lives, when Obama was seated down front and up close and not encased inside of any bulletproof enclosure while he was enjoying that basketball game? Where was the security detail?

Could it be that Obama’s security detail is feeling frustrated by their attempts to keep up with their job to protect him, when he is determined to have it his way or have them hit the highway? Could the White House security detail be subjected to the same overbearing as the American public?

My mind cannot grasp how those two “guests” from that well-known Virginia family could have escaped the Obama radar along the path to the party. But I cannot overlook the fact that Tareq’s father is reportedly from Israel and is Palestinian. And, it just so happens that Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has the same background as Tareq, in that his father is also from Israel and is Palestinian. Tareq is known to be a jet setting polo player who is well-known to the international set, especially in the Middle East. But, so, too, are Rahm and Obama known to be jet setters. And, to date, when we look back over the documented record, it is easy to surmise that, if RahmBO knows anybody on the political, fundraising, party circuit, then its a sure bet that Obama would at least have a passing acquaintance at some time or another throughout all of these years of them knowing one another.

Stay tuned. The late Paul Harvey is probably putting together “the rest of the story” right now, because all of this supposition is just the beginning.

US President Barack Obama (right) meets with Sudan Special Envoy General Scott Gration in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington March 30, 2009. The State Department said it saw little movement on issues such as voter registration and border delineation between Khartoum and the semi-autonomous South. Photo/ REUTERS

“Addressing these ongoing security concerns is crucial for achieving a lasting peace in Darfur,” the statement said.

source.nation.ke

Landlords need a court order to evict tenants and must notify them before selling their land. Some analysts welcome the new law as a way of modernising Uganda�s system of land tenure, but others see it as a political move ahead of elections due in 2011.

source.nation.ke

Photo: Anna Jefferys/IRIN

MONROVIA, 27 November 2009 (IRIN) – �My first kid died because I breastfed him after my husband had had an affair,� Tina Kollie, mother of a seven-month-old in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, told IRIN. She has not breastfed any children since. �[If I breastfeed], whenever my husband has an affair my child gets sick.�

Rebecca Carter in the Buzzi Quarter neighbourhood said she stopped breastfeeding after a few months because she could not have sexual intercourse while breastfeeding � the semen will mix with breast milk, she said, making it toxic for the child.

�I didn�t want my husband to go with other women so I could not breastfeed,� she told IRIN. �I had to be available for him.�

UNICEF estimates that just 35 percent of Liberian mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding; a survey by NGO Action contre la Faim (ACF) in Monrovia estimated 44 percent in 2008.

ACF staff regularly hear widespread beliefs about breastfeeding perils: It is dangerous to breastfeed while pregnant as it could weaken the unborn infant; women should not breastfeed if a previous child has died while breastfeeding; and breastfeeding over time is dangerous as breast milk can mix with blood.

Instead Kollie, Carter and dozens of other women IRIN spoke to, feed their babies mainly rice and water.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend feeding newborns only breast milk for the first six months to reduce vulnerability life-threatening diseases or malnutrition. Aid agencies in Liberia are trying to re-frame breastfeeding and�infant nutrition as a health issue.

�Working with communities on breastfeeding is a long, drawn-out job, because malnutrition is often not seen as a sickness, but is associated with witchcraft-like beliefs,� ACF Liberia head, Massimo Stella, told IRIN.

UNICEF nutrition specialist Kinday Samba agreed, saying aid agencies have to support the Health Ministry over the long term to bolster exclusive breastfeeding. �We won�t see huge changes immediately.�

Men, grandmothers key

The UN Children�s Fund (UNICEF), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), ACF and others are encouraging women to exclusively breastfeed their babies up to at least six months.

Dispelling breastfeeding myths is not the key to changing women�s behavior, ACF�s Stella said; all staff can do is inform communities of the benefits of breastfeeding and trigger discussion, he said.

Women who have already changed their feeding practices can show that it is not dangerous, encouraging others to attempt change, ACF�s care practices manager, Audrey Gibeaux, told IRIN.

ACF must also target men and grandmothers in the discussion, she said.

�I always try to encourage men to come, as they have so much decision-making power in Liberian households�and grandmothers must be present as the knowledge they pass down is considered very valuable.�

Liberia has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in West Africa and grandmothers often care for babies.

All fronts

Breastfeeding messages must be spread through every channel to be effective, UNICEF’s Samba said, citing radio, posters, community groups and clinic visits as examples.

UNICEF is developing messages to be disseminated on all of these fronts, she said.

Stella agreed: �We found the prevention activities are more effective if they take place simultaneously at country level, community level and school level.�

Monitoring the impact of these efforts is not easy, Stella said. �Immediate evidence of the links among increased knowledge, behavior change and improved health cannot all be measured in medical or statistical terms.�

A UNICEF-supported infant feeding practices survey is due out in late 2009, while ACF will carry out a study of its activities� impact in February 2010.

More red peppers, more breastfeeding

One village where knowledge has translated to behavior change among some families is Gbarnga-ta, 15km outside of Gbarnga in Bong County, where according to NGO Caritas a third of under-five children are undernourished.

Caritas, supported by CRS, has been working with residents to improve agricultural productivity and infant feeding practices.

Before, women and men thought having sex while still breastfeeding was dangerous, resident Helena Sharif told IRIN.

It was partly the success of the agricultural activities that made villagers more receptive to the NGO�s breastfeeding messages, giving them traction, say villagers.

Residents are now producing surplus aubergines and red hot peppers which they sell to nearby villages, giving them money to pay school fees, said Sharif.

Helena�s husband Tony Sharif is relieved. �We don�t worry so much about [having sex while breastfeeding] now. We do it. Things are much better than they were,� he said, prompting laughter and nods from fellow villagers.

While intensive efforts may work, some aid experts are skeptical that behavior change can be effective on a mass scale.

�It�s very difficult to change people�s behavior,� said European Commission humanitarian aid department (ECHO) representative in Liberia Koen Henckaerts.

�I�m skeptical that you can [do so] in the short term or on a mass scale. It takes a long time, and it is related to wider, entrenched issues such as poverty.�

aj/pc/np source.irinnews.org