Nairobi, KENYA - As Kenyans gear to vote in the referendum to accept or reject the new constitution, proponents and opposers of the new constitution are targeting the women telling them of the gains each side has for them in terms of women's participation in politics. Surprisingly, very few women politicians are hitting the campaign trail except as escorts of their male counterparts, rarely being heard orating on the podium but rather to be seen ornamentally decorating the male-dominated rallies. This is scary and may be translated by misogynist critics to mean that it reflects the lacklustre performance of women in the august house as well as national politics. We need therefore, as the talk on the new constitution heats up, to also analyse the participation of women in Kenyan politics and what hinders them from fronting their agenda despite an increase in numbers in this parliament as well as talks of a guaranteed increase in participation under the proposed new constitution.

Since 1969 when Kenya had its first woman parliamentarian, the Ninth Parliament has the highest ever achieved level of representation by women in Kenyan history; with 18 women out of the 222 members in parliament. This however, falls drastically short of the United Nations target of achieving 30% representations of women in politics by 2005. Highlights of the African Regional Congress of Women in Politics - 1995 concluded that such statistics, in Kenya as well as in Africa, are indicative of the "limited decision making roles given to women in this region, as well as the need to support girls' education and women's more active participation in politics." It is therefore of paramount importance to analyze the political scene for gender imbalances, identify the problems that hinder women's active participation in politics, and offer recommendations to help alleviate the dismembering of women from the National Assembly and their marginalisation from decision making roles once they enter into parliament. Only when women fight hard against these problems are they going to ascend to power and be able to articulate their grievances, there is no shortcut to it. ... READ MORE

New Orelans, LA, USA - So many lies have been told about the Lower Ninth Ward community of New Orleans, it was as though our collective voices had been muted in favor of the propaganda and hype to take over our community. I was born and raised in the Lower Ninth Ward community of New Orleans. I have lived in other places, such as Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Carson, California; and while attending college, Grambling, Louisiana. But no matter where I've roamed, it was always the place I call home that beckoned me.

The Lower Ninth Ward has historic homes, multi-million dollar homes (the historic Riverboat homes), famous musicians (Fats Domino, Bill Sisco of The Drifters, and the gentleman who sings the theme to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Al "It's Carnival Time" Johnson.) It has generational family homes, it has The Jackson Barracks military installation, with homes on this compound that date back to the Battle of New Orleans. The Lower 9 has gorgeous trees lining its streets, some pre-dating the Civil War. The Lower 9 has a grassy levee which runs along the Mississippi River, from the Industrial Canal to the end of the Lower 9; this levee gives a panoramic view of New Orleans at night, which is not comparable by any other city view. The lights shimmer off the muddy river and hypnotically dance in a rainbowed arch. This single view is the most romantic in all of New Orleans, but is only seen from Reynes Street, at the River's end, from the Lower Ninth Ward.

The city government and media have done a sufficient job of painting sweeping generalizations of the Lower Ninth Ward community as the most crime-ridden, impoverished and rundown section of New Orleans and definitely not worth rebuilding. While I must agree that there were areas of the Lower Nine in dire need of repair, certainly this is not the worst area of town. We absolutely are not the most prosperous or elite neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. But unlike the erroneous national depiction which the Mayor has not even tried to correct, it is not the "seat or pocket of poverty for the whole of the city". .... READ MORE


DOUG STRANGE TALKS BISON:

Ekalaka, MT, USA - In reflecting on the awful predicament for farmers in Britain during the mad cow crisis, one could well believe that were Thomas Hardy alive today, he might seize upon the tragedy and morbidity in the English countryside to pen a novel of heartbreak and woe. But Hardy likely would fail to feature, as the general media failed to publicize then, a protagonist from the natural world that could give his novel, and their headline stories, a happy ending. That protagonist is a native hero, the American bison.

The Bison bison, came to North America over the Bering Strait over 200,000 years ago. Their adaptation to the ?harsh climate and sparse ecology of the Great Plains has been a Darwinian triumph. They endure heat, and thrive in cold to 35 degrees below zero. They have the athleticism to run at speeds up to thirty miles per hour, to leap over obstacles of five or more feet, and to turn on a hoof-print to crush a coyote or rattlesnake. They possess an astonishing ability to heal quickly from injury and their millennia-tested immune system conquers many diseases that overwhelm other creatures. They are fertile into their twenties and they appear to be able to time their birthing to avoid spring blizzards and periods of endangerment. Their impressive longevity results from their ability to eat lean and to metabolize their food more efficiently than any other bovine ruminant.