http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/ RSS Feeds for The Standard - Online Edition en-us http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/ PHP/5.2.9 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028733&cid=489& Times such as Kenya has entered this week remind us of the keen need to distinguish delicately between the true leaders of the people and self-seeking counterfeits. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:21:05 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258734065 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028759&cid=485& As the heavens opened and drenched Mau forest evictees huddled together under porous shelters, I was torn between sympathy and sigh of relief. The sight of individuals roasting helplessly under the blazing sun and families cooking in the wind was pathetic but a worth sacrifice for the preservation of Mau water tower and humanity. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:39:07 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258738747 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028704&cid=483& Long ago, for the shirtless boys playing on anthills while looking after livestock, the most refreshing thing would be when the first droplets of rain fell after dry spell. The ecstasy in the village would be palpable. Everything would come to life and even the livestock would stand out in rain, chewing cud. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:40:39 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258656039 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028726&cid=477& Peace, love and unity was the clarion call by former President Moi, who held a club in his right hand that some mistook for an iron fist. He said he would walk in the steps of his predecessor, the good old Jomo, now departed from our midst for a generation. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:15:15 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258701315 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028638&cid=510& The Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review is generous with the Executive, which has been at the centre of the country’s tragic moments. The presidency, which could have been a candidate for abolition, is merely dehorned. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:19:30 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258564770 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028620&cid=587& My colleague pored over the crystal clear windows of the spotless Volkswagen Passat. He was sure that the diminutive frame slouched in the back seat was not one in President Kibaki’s 41-member Cabinet. Yet the flag fluttered in the wind and the VW Passat gleamed in the evening sun. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:01:53 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258550839 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028565&cid=588& Last Thursday Kenyans woke up to news that nine gangsters suspected to be Mungiki members were killed in a 12-hour operation by our law abiding and law enforcing agency, the Kenya Police. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:22:01 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258474921 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028510&cid=497& We have all focused our attention on Vision 2030, when Kenya will become a middle-income country. But what about beyond 2030, what will happen to our grandchildren? Will we have achieved the status of a developed country by then? Will they be happier, healthier? What will they say about us? Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:19:23 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258388363 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028523&cid=503& Today, the country will be watching with great anticipation the official release of the Draft New Constitution, a model developed by the Committee of Experts. The draft is based on a year’s worth of work and proposals from Kenyans of multiple interests. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:24:19 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258392259 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028452&cid=501& I understand that the official draft of the proposed new constitution of the Republic of Kenya will be published on Tuesday. Good. Let it be published so that we all can peruse, interrogate and, if necessary, tear it into pieces. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:46:31 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258299991 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028486&cid=553& One fine day, late this year, Benjoh Amalgamated Ltd was in court for the hearing of a suit they filed against Kenya Commercial Bank. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:24:11 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258309451 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028398&cid=598& The World Cup trophy finally made it to Kenya, and for those who saw it, it was such a nostalgic and fervent moment. To many football and sport fans, this is the ultimate trophy – a celebration of the best in football. Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:19:06 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258215546 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028330&cid=489& We are the anthills of the savannah grasslands, we poets who are privileged with space in these pages. In the event that you forget, it was Chinua Achebe who told the tale of the Anthills of the Savannah grasslands and of the struggles between poets and emperors. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:44:46 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258130686 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028334&cid=490& On a recent trip to Hungary for the World Science Forum, I frequented Legends, a new sports cafÈ in Budapest. I was impressed by the commitment of the employees, especially chief waiter Pal Robert. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:28:38 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258133318 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028333&cid=491& A potentially important and long overdue legislation, the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Bill, was reintroduced in Parliament this week. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:51:15 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258131075 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028332&cid=485& For close to two years, Kenyans have been living a collective lie about the nation’s centre of power and it took the arrival of the Fifa World Cup for reality to dawn. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:50:29 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258131029 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028331&cid=539& Prime Minister Raila Odinga could end up as Central Province’s preferred candidate for the 2012 presidential elections. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:48:29 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258130909 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028274&cid=483& I do not know what President Kibaki and Prime minister Raila Odinga think of each other in private but freedom allows us to guess. I say in private because in public we say what we want others to hear, not what they ought to hear. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:40:58 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258047658 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028273&cid=477& I could have gone to the airport on Thursday to see the World Cup had the invitation card not arrived in a red envelope, which I mistook for a Red Card disqualifying me from setting foot there. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:34:59 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1258047299 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144028231&cid=510& Politicians asking for local solutions to local problems are right. But they are waxing patriotic long after some development partners have given up on Kenya’s capacity for self-reliance in matters of good manners. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:35:43 +0000 http:www.standardmedia.co.ke/rss/.1257964543