Wednesday, January 02, 2008

DUE TO THE CURRENT POLITICAL CRISIS IN KENYA, MY BLOG HAS MOVED TO

WWW.JOSEPHKAROKI.WORDPRESS.COM


SPREAD THE WORD

Monday, October 08, 2007

cowboys win

Tony Romo is nothing if not resilient. And because he didn't let four interceptions in the first half, two returned for touchdowns, destroy his night, the Dallas Cowboys pulled off a stunning comeback victory.

MORE COVERAGE: NFL news and notes

Tony Romo is nothing if not resilient.

And because he didn't let four interceptions in the first half, two returned for touchdowns, destroy his night, the Dallas Cowboys pulled off a stunning comeback victory.

The Cowboys scored nine points in the final 20 seconds Monday night, with Nick Folk's 53-yard field goal as time expired giving them an improbable 25-24 win over the Buffalo Bills.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Bills | Dallas Cowboys | Tony Romo | Jason Witten

Romo, after being intercepted five times and also losing a fumble, drove Dallas (5-0) 80 yards and hit Patrick Crayton with a 4-yard TD pass with 20 seconds remaining. The 2-point conversion try failed when Jabari Greer stripped Terrell Owens of the ball in the end zone.

But Nathan Jones recovered the onside kick and after two completions, Folk nailed his fourth field goal, shocking the sellout crowd that came to celebrate the first Monday night home game for Buffalo (1-4) in 13 years.

It was the second last-second loss on a field goal this season for the Bills; Denver did almost the same thing in the opener.And the win kept the Cowboys as the NFC's only unbeaten team heading into a megamatchup with 5-0 New England next week in Texas Stadium.

This latest victory was one of the most incredible in the Cowboys' illustrious history. Buffalo made nearly all the big plays, including interceptions for TDs by George Wilson and Chris Kelsay and a 103-yard kickoff runback by Terence McGee.

In position to clinch it, Trent Edwards' pass from the Dallas 11 was tipped by DeMarcus Ware and returned 70 yards by Terence Newman.

Romo looked for tight end Jason Witten, his favorite receiver. Instead, he found linebacker John DiGiorgio at the goal line and DiGiorgio returned his first career pickoff 38 yards.It was the third time a pass intended for Witten was stolen by Buffalo.

Yet the Cowboys didn't go away. And after their long drive to Crayton's touchdown, Sam Hurd deflected the onside kick ahead to Jones.Immediately, Romo hit Owens, but he couldn't hold onto a 20-yard pass to the Buffalo 25; officials needed a replay review to overturn the original call.

Romo completed two more passes and Folk, after having his first try from 53 yards negated by a Bills timeout, won it.

Folk also made field goals of 47, 29 and 37 yards.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Kikuyus should keep an open mind

Growing up as a Kikuyu, it was difficult to ignore the ugly face of tribalism. It was not uncommon to hear that Kikuyus do this and luos do that and Lughyas do that. However, when I attended school at Lenana, I was no longer a kikuyu but a “changerian” proud to be from Lenana School. Tribe to many of our classmates meant nothing. Just an ignorant facet of the older generation we thought. We all got along and the differences we had, were ideological and not tribal. As a reside in the United States, I look at it in contempt if anyone asks me what tribe I am from because it flat out does not matter, I am a Kenyan. That is the way the majority of my fellow Kenyans in the Diaspora perceive it. We are all Kenyans and defined by our character and individual achievements not tribe.

Kenyans voted for Mwai Kibaki on December 27th 2002, not as a Kikuyu but as a symbol of institutional change. Kibaki as a candidate made promises not only to Kenyans but his fellow colleagues that he failed to deliver. The grave failures of Kibaki as a president are well documented and stem from his inept inability to tackle corruption to his alliance with individuals in his Cabinet that have been linked to various financial crimes against the Republic.


Kibaki’s bungles are endless. Failure to implement constitutional reforms, failure in tackling tribalism within Government, failure in dealing with Violent crime that has held Kenyans hostage. Inability to effectually deal with Mungiki, a terror organization that has grown exponentially in the Kibaki regime. In office, President Kibaki has allowed the blatant attack on independent media. In what was termed as unprecedented in Kenyan History, Authorities raided the offices of 'The Standard', arrested three journalists, damaged and confiscated equipment, burned newspapers and shut down a broadcasting station, Kenya Television Network (KTN). Attack on journalists have included the arrest of senior Kenya Times editor Onyango Omollo and writer David Ochami in September of 2005.

Ladies and Gentlemen I could go on but the list remains endless. This is not a kikuyu issue! This is a Kenyan issue. Accountability has to be in place wether the individual is a kikuyu, a luo or a pokot. Its time to change guard and get beyond the myopia of an individuals tribe. Lets get our country back and fire kibaki

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Friday, August 24, 2007

Bishop Thomas weeks and Juanita Bynum


Just wanted to take this time to ask those of you who pray, to remember Bishop Weeks and Prophetess Juanita Bynum in prayer. For those who have been following the news, its been unbelieveably tough especially to those that are close to these wonderful people.

There are two sides to every story and then there is the truth!

Televangelist Bynum Assaulted in Atlanta
The Associated PressThursday, August 23, 2007; 2:51 AM
ATLANTA -- Police said Juanita Bynum, a televangelist who has won a national following with sermons about women's empowerment, was assaulted by her preacher husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday.
Bynum and her estranged husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, the founder of Global Destiny churches, met at Renaissance Concourse Hotel near Atlanta's airport to try to reconcile, police said.

ATLANTA -- Police said Juanita Bynum, a televangelist who has won a national following with sermons about women's empowerment, was assaulted by her preacher husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday.

About 4 a.m., they fought in the parking lot until a hotel bellman pulled Weeks off, Officer Ronald Campbell said.
"She was bruised up and battered," Campbell said. "She had purple bruising around her neck and upper torso."
No charges had been filed by Wednesday night against Weeks, who left the scene accordign to police.
A call to Global Destiny in suburban Duluth was answered only by a recorded message with information about the ministry, and there was no listing for Weeks in the metro Atlanta telephone directory.
Bynum, a Pentecostal evangelist who lives in Hempstead, N.Y., has administrative offices in Waycross. The former homemaker, hairdresser and flight attendant got a break when Bishop T.D. Jakes invited her to speak at one of his conferences several years ago. Her ministry blossomed further after her "No More Sheets" sermon on breaking free of sexual promiscuity at a singles event.
She writes books, records inspirational CDs and preaches to millions through televised sermons.
She married Weeks in 2002 in a televised wedding

www.mahalo.com/Bishop_Thomas_Weeks_Assaults_Juanita_Bynum

www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=102111&provider=top

COjONES

Today’s word of the day is "cojones".I was thinking today about taking bold steps to better your life. It takes a lot of cohones to do things outside your comfort zone and the complex and intellectual attributes that determine your character. So take the time today to think about what you need to do to improve your life. So Grab your cojones and do the right thing!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Am Back Baby!!!

after a brief hiatus..more like 2 years, and a little nudging from the fans, I am back to blogging.. I'll be posting my thoughts on socio/political issues in the next few posts. glad to be back!

Friday, September 30, 2005

WHY I SUPPORT DAVID OCHAMI



senior Kenya Times editor Onyango Omollo and writer David Ochami were yesterday charged with publishing an alarming article. For those not familiar with the story, David Ochami published this article http://www.timesnews.co.ke/25sep05/nwsstory/opinion.htmlon the Kenya Times in which Mr. Omollo drew parallels on why coups often occur in Africa and gave backgrounds on the aborted coup in 1982 in Kenya, thus infuriating the authorities.
Mr. Omallo's title was "Coups in Africa do not occur out of nothing"


Let me begin by saying these; the Kenyan Goverment seems to be doing an excellent job at impeding free speech and its modus operandi is reminiscent of the notorious Kanu Regime. Mr. Ochami just as any other professional journalist did not call for a coup. He did not incite anyone to have a coup, as the last time I checked the impotent Kibaki regime was still in power. Now there are some who may say that he broke the Law by "publishing an article that was likely to cause fear and alarm to the public." Lets pretend for a minute that he indeed broke the law by publishing an article that was likey to cause fear and alarm to the public. So what? What if today I published an article in the Kenya Times and claimed that I had seen aliens land in "Patch" u know..Nairobi School. What if I continued my alarming article by suggesting that half of patch was infected by an alien disease that caused alarming symptoms like hydrophobia, losersystis and the horrible ballscratchitittis. would that be considered by the kenyan goverment as publishing an article the was "likely to cause fear and alarm to the public." Would I be arrested and taken to court by 10 detectives from the Kenya Police disservice?

In short, all I am saying is that this charges are bullshit and everyone knows it. Just because a law exists does not make it a just law. Furthermore, Kenyans including journalists are not under any kind of moral obligation to heed to UNJUST LAWS!

David Ochami expressed the frustration of many kenyans that the democratic process has failed in electing a corrupt free goverment. Mwai Kibaki the president of Kenya was elected on a platform of anti-corruption. It is obvious even to the most illiterate Kenyan that his goverment has FAILED. If we as Kenyan citizens cannot recall the president in an election, or if we cannot impeach the president, then the cancer has to be removed and cancers are not removed by a democratic process!

We ought to resist oppression and bigotry. The arrest of these two exceptional journalists is unacceptable and does not in any way convince me that the colonial master has left. He is alive and well, this time in a new skin colour.

Another right-wing fool


Dear friends, occasionally we are awakened from our sleepy dillusions of racism by ridiculous, ignorant fools like a fellow named by his mother, William bennet.

Former Education Secretary William Bennett on Wednesday touched off a firestorm on Wednesday when a caller to his "Morning in America" show postulated that if abortion were illegal, Social Security would remain solvent.
Bennett raised questions about the caller's premise, saying that according to that logic, the argument in the book Freakonomics — that allowing abortion reduces crime — would be equally valid.Referring to the book's hypothesis, Bennett told the caller,

"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.
That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do. But your crime rate would go down."

I could not believe my friggin ears when I heard the above comments made by him. By the way this guy is not one of those "the south shall rise again" idiots. This is actually an 'educated' , self proclaimed 'moral evangelist'.

The thing that ticks me off is that he claims that he was misquoted! He deliberately linked crime to infant black babies! His comments reminded me off similar comments by barbara Bush a few days ago expressing dismay that the black New Orleans survivors were thinking of relocating permanently to texas. I hope this is a wake up call to all those who still claim that rasiscm does not exist in today's America.

Racism rears its ugly head again.

Friday, June 17, 2005

Thai Man Commits Suicide Using Super Glue

June 17, 2005 9:48 a.m. EST

Hector Duarte Jr. - All Headline News Staff Reporter

BANGKOK, Thailand (AHN) - Bangkok police say a young man found dead Thursday committed suicide by applying super glue to his nose and mouth, suffocating to death.
The body is found Thursday morning in his bedroom, with a note stating, "Here is all that I have, take what you please."

The man's family tell authorities he and his sister had argued Wednesday over money she owed him. He then went into his room;his body was found dead ten hours later.
Police indicate the man suffered a history of moodiness.

time for a new broom in kenya


This week, the United States and European nations decided not to forgive the financial debt Kenya owed to them. The official reason-Kenya is able to pay back the debt; the unofficial reason-the Kibaki administration’s failing war on corruption.

I mean lets be real, how many of us abroad were really surprised by the decision of the donors not to include Kenya in the debt relief? The decision was a long way coming. Unfortunately, the ordinary Kenyan is left to pay the price for a half-hearted anti-corruption effort and not the MP or Minister getting paid thousands of dollars and stipends highly incomparable to the country’s economic scope to do so. But this is what gets me; Kenyans are so used to corrupt officials raping their economy that even after this week’s decision by the United States that was in reality based on the deplorable corruption in the country, its business as usual for everybody! I mean how long are we going to loose out because of a small bunch of ever-wrangling political clowns?

Unfortunately even the patriots abroad are increasingly becoming demoralized and are unable to hold any political clout that could save our sinking ship. The KCA (the Kenyan community abroad) also known, as the Kenyan clowns abroad cannot come up with something better than ask for petitions. Petitions have never moved African Governments to do anything. Collecting petitions against the policies of an African government is like inseminating a chicken. You ain’t gonna get no eggs baby! Waste of protein thus waste of effort. Having said that; let me say that Africa’s leadership is increasingly disenfranchising young Africans abroad from a wide range of countries. Recently a group of African students and myself, here in the United States, attended a small dinner meeting that hosted a prominent Ugandan minister. The main discussion was the future of Africa and what role we had to play. I was moved by the love and patriotism that burned in the hearts of my colleagues. There is hope. We are Africa’s hope.

What we need is an assertive or better still, an aggressive, non-violent movement of young enlightened, patriotic Kenyans that will be the broom that will sweep the country cleaner. The old guard has let us down ever since our independence” more than 30 years ago! What do we have to show from the leadership of the old guard?

Before anyone gets on me about disrespecting our political elders, let me say this; looking at it from a corporate standpoint, do we really need non-performing managers? I mean that is what the Kibaki administration really is –managers. Managers are hired and fired everyday in the corporate world. Can I hear a vote of no confidence? I apologize guys; our representatives in parliament are still incensed about their cancelled trip to the coast.
So we cannot depend on the members of parliament to fire an impotent government; so what other avenues can we explore without the unpleasant risk of being thrown in jail for treason? Now I know what the old guard is going to tell us. You “young people” do not know anything about politics. Well they are right. We do not know anything about their kind of politics. In addition, let me say this; old feet do not run the arduous grounds of battle. Let me continue to further affirm the following; we “young people” did not run our country into debt. We “young people” did not create a haven of unabated graft in the corridors of our government. We “Young people” did not let criminals hold our neighborhoods on ransom. We “young people” did not allow our hospitals to become chambers of deaths for young children who died recently in the hands of their mothers because of striking nurses and doctors. I dare say this; the Kibaki government let those babies die because of their weak health and economic policies. If you look beyond the fancy language, the blood of those babies is on their hands.

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."- Mandela's statement from the dock at the opening of the defense case in the Rivonia Trial, Pretoria Supreme Court, April 20th, 1964."

the stink of injustice

I have been watching for sometime now with great unease as events unfold in my beloved country Kenya. With the injustices that have occurred recently, I find it difficult to even call Kenya…my beloved country for we as Kenyan Citizens in all reality seem to have lost what our ancestors and predecessors fought for. The painful question comes in mind. Did we really gain independence? If we indeed gained independence, from what or whom did we gain it from? Let me rephrase that question. Did we gain our freedom or did we simply switch masters?

I recall the late Honorable Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s book, “not yet Uhuru” were he enumerated facts on why Kenya was still not free. Decades after the Honorable Jaramogi wrote the book, it is with immense sadness that I say today, and some may agree with me; that the chains of sadistic oppression were simply handed over to a darker-skinned colonialist.

Lately the news from the motherland that has been crossing the seven seas are the disturbing reports regarding the eccentric dramatics and may I dare to say shameful acts of the first Lady Lucy Kibaki and the criminal activities or should I say purported criminal activities of Tom Gilbert Cholmondeley. To add insult to injury the chief law enforcement of official in the republic of Kenya decided out of his own merit and discretionary powers that two individuals in the country were above the law and therefore should not be held accountable for charges ranging from public affray to trespassing to assault and battery to murder of an officer in the line of duty. There is also the seemingly uncontrollable graft, a new constitution that despite a hodgepodge of promises by the very “vibrant” Kibaki government is yet to implemented. Before I continue any further let me say this; I am not a politician, have no ambition to become one and for the Love of God hope never to become a politician. Having said that however, the issue that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to the point of a nauseating sensation is the ridiculous and gross abuse of power by our attorney general, the Honorable Amos Wako.

In two very public criminal cases that infuriated Kenyan citizens, our honorable attorney General decided to enter a “Nolle prosecui”. Let me explain. Under the current Kenya Constitution, the Attorney General can use his discretion to halt a criminal indictment and prosecution and yes...no one apart from the president can do a goddamn thing about it. In these criminal cases, one of them involved the first Lady of the republic of Kenya assaulting a journalist who was on duty in the full glare of television cameras and a host of witnesses. Can anyone say guilty? Then there is the sickening case of Tom Gilbert Cholmondeley, who happens to be a descendant of a colonialist who shot an on duty law enforcement officer. I was even surprised that the guy managed to get arrested without getting accidentally shot while resisting arrest. If this fellow was a black Kenyan say with the last name of cheriyot he would have been dead by now while the police tried to “apprehend” him. Anyways, this guy gets arrested, after a few days gets arraigned in court and guess what ladies and gentlemen, not a visible scar on his body, he didn’t accidentally fall while in police custody. By God! He must have had his own cell while in custody! Either that or his ass would have been made into scrambled eggs by the wanugus. To top it all, while the regular suspected criminals of meager means arrived in court in prison attire, the murderer of a law enforcement officer was arraigned in court styling in a designer suit and designer eyeglasses. Nothing but the best for the grandson of a former colonialist. After all they did us such a great favor by introducing tarmac roads, hospitals and schools right?

With a surmounting amount of evidence, the attorney general of Kenya, the chief law enforcement official decides that different rules should apply to the first lady and a colonialist’s son and therefore no prosecution of criminal acts should proceed. Can you smell the stink of injustice? I doubt that the Attorney General of Kenya in his very busy schedule of enforcing the law reads my blog but if you do Mr. Wako, I have a few questions for you. How do you sleep at night Amos? Can you hear the cries of the grief stricken families of the murdered officer? Can you see his children growing up without their father who lay his life on the line in order to provide food on the table and a roof over their head? How does it feel to let a millionaire get away with murder? What about Lucy Kibaki the pride and joy of Kenyans everywhere? I mean if it is so difficult to prosecute the murder of a law enforcement officer with a bog of evidence in your face, you could at least prosecute a simple assault. As a law enforcement officer myself who has in the past made arrests for anywhere from probation violation to sexual assault and subsequently testified in court proceedings under intense cross examination from American trained attorneys, I can surely tell you that the immense evidence of audio and visual data should guarantee you a conviction and win some justice for Mr. Derrick.

I have questioned myself numerous times and wondered, what if the tables were turned? What if the nation staff and the KTN journalist had simply walked into state house and held a sit in for 5 hours. Lets take this further. What if Mr. Clifford Derrick had slapped the first lady? A cup of Nolle prosecui anyone?

Now on defense of Lucy, there may have been a host of mitigating circumstances that could have lead to the first lady having to react the way she did. The mitigating issues could have ranged from self-defense to mental health issues. Any of this could have been a possibility. Right? Either way Justice is blind and having said that, she should have been treated just like any other Kenyan. Being the first lady she is held to a higher standard of conduct. There is still time for Lucy Kibaki to redeem herself. A simple public apology to the victim and the public would go a long way. Kenyans are a loving and forgiving people and humility is a respectable trait. Wish you all the best Lucy. As for you Mr.Cholmondeley…justice will catch up to you soon. . We hope. I am not yet done with you Mr. Wako, all I can say is we once held you in high esteem and to me you may as well be a lion with no teeth. Simply a barking chiwawa.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Happy Fathers day to all dads


First and foremost…happy fathers day to my own father and a big thank you to him for putting up with 3 crazy boys. Congratulations to him too for his monumental achievement of graduating with a masters degree after leaving behind a comfortable executive position in a non profit organization, and coming to the United States to hustle with the rest of us. Congrats and the boys and myself are looking forward to calling you Dr. Karoki soon.

Unfortunately in the African community we rarely acknowledge the critical roles our fathers played in raising us and even more seldom do we formally celebrate dads. The general attitude is that, it is the job of fathers to go to work, put the food on the table, push us to achieve our goals and that’s it and therefore recognizing them for their “job” is like recognizing the kidney for filtering blood, producing erythropoietin, and regulating our blood pressure after a night of idiotically saturating our body with Budweiser and tequila. After all we do not have a “happy kidney’s day “ do we?

Nevertheless, being a dad of two beautiful and wonderful kids with whom I am madly in love with, I recognize how critical my role as a father is, to two very helpless living organisms whose cerebrums and cerebellums are yet to mature. My son and daughter are dependent on me not just for their daily bread but for nurturing, mentorship, guidance, protection and sustaining a healthy development in a crazy world.

So, I would like to share some of the following statistics about children whose fathers played little to no roles in their upbringing

* 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes
(Source: U.S. D.H.K.S., Bureau of the Census)
* 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
(Source: U.S- D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)
*85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes
(Source: Center for Disease Control)
*80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes
(Source:Criminal Justice & Behavior,Vol 14, p- 403-26, 1978
*71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes
(Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High schools)
*75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes
(Source: Rainbows For All God’s Children.)
*70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes
(Source: U.S. Dept. of justice, special Report, Sept 1988)

These statistics translate to mean that children from a fatherless home are:
*5 times more likely to commit suicide.
*32 times more likely to run away.
*20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders.
*14 times more likely to commit rape
*9 times more likely to drop out of high school.
*10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances.
*9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution.
*20 times more like to end up in prison.
These statistics have a way of sobering the way we think of our fathers. I am glad to have had and continue to have a father who is active in my life and I believe most of the readers had the same privilege growing up. Fatherhood is challenging. Tim Hansell said, “It takes time to be a good father. It takes effort – trying, failing, and trying again.”

Fathers are not born being good fathers, they learn from their own fathers but most of all they learn from themselves. Their successes and failures, their triumphs and their losses and the sons and daughters learn from those situations as they watch there father deal with the curve balls of life. The joys of fatherhood cannot be replaced by anything or anyone but the real joy comes in imparting part of yourself as a father to your offspring and seeing them practice what you as a father have imparted. Kathryn McCarthy Graham once said,
“My father is the standard by which all subsequent men in my life have been judged’

What a powerful statement. For those of us who are fathers, it is indeed a great task that we have ahead of us. As we celebrate father’s day I hope that you will take time to honor your father including the one who sees all things and seeks only good from he that he loves.

“For God so Loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”

Wednesday, June 08, 2005


my baby girl Posted by Hello


my angels Posted by Hello