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Friday, October 8, 2010

NEWSROUND PRESS:CAMPUS LIFE, A MODEL OF NATIONAL COHENSION.



By Nyakoni Agnes Nyaboke


At the height of post election violence, it was hard to fathom the genesis of what almost became genocide for Kenya. Although the bloodletting began on the premise of stolen elections, the anarchy was almost generating a momentum of its own fuelled by tribal intolerance.
Flash forward, two years down the road, the war wounds seem to have healed. In fact, just recently Kenya underwent a rebirth, during which her people witnessed the promulgation of a new constitution. How is it that fate could shift gears so dramatically within such a short period? Well, to say the least the story is so Kenyan.

My idea of a university is probably as skewed as the idea of civilization to a forgotten village tribe in the Amazon. Where else would you expect to begin to understand the concept of unity in diversity apart from the university? It is a place to socialize, to express free thought, to have fun and engage the power of mob psychology once in a while-no one gets blamed when it was a clear case of collective responsibility.
The academic view however, is not as intriguing as many have been made to believe. This has been proven over time by the jubilation generated after classes fail to take off because of an absentee lecturer. Furthermore, the library is usually a favorite destination, once in a semester when the end of semester examinations threaten the unprepared with impending failure. However between attending lectures and sitting for examinations, the interlude characterizes true campus life and the thrill that comes with it. Most people like to call it social life.
Various social activities in campus have been put in place to ensure every possible outlet of youthful energy is exploited. For the agile, there is salsa to excite the muscles or a game of rugby, basketball or football. For the laid back types the cheering squad is always an enticing pastime.


There is also the possibility of a few hours to spare on ones favorite club and society. These range from regional clubs with members from similar localities, to broad range clubs such as
SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) and the Christian union for the so called “heaven bound.” For the less cautious a few hours at the pub and a few bottles of alcohol creates a much needed laxative effect.
In campus, romantic relationships form regardless of social, religious, cultural or ethnic divides
It is interesting to point out that the most compelling argument of any university student is the prospect of being able to manage one’s own life without undue supervision. This is usually summed up by one word - freedom. According to Dennis Mayeku, a student, the thrill of being in campus is mostly because of ‘the freedom to make your own choices.’ This ranges from the choice of career to the friends one chooses to associate with.
In campus, romantic relationships form regardless of social, religious, cultural or ethnic divides. Friendships blossom with a promise of longevity. At this point an unspoken bond of affection, free of any judgment or negative criticism develops. The syllables on ones name are never an issue; whether it be Merie’ng, Tesot, Wasike, Omondi or Isaboke the fact that we are all contemporaries and peers with a common vision at that is all that matters. Once this identity is clear to every university lad and lass the alliance is solidified to provide a platform for greater bargains.
(The writer is a third year Media Science student in the school of Information Sciences)

NEWSROUND PRESS:VIVA VIVO…!

Adnan Babisho has been motoring and has a confession to make
I have a second love that’s after my ama and it’s one that my kin and kith are crystal clearly aware of.
I do love cars. I’m simply fascinated by them.
Right about now, I may not be a peacock-proud owner of one but that does not deter me from being at par with the up-to-date info’ on motoring. The classics and ol’ timers. The latest. And the propheted to come. In terms of cars, but of course!
I even have a name to christen my first car. Actually, I’ll call her…Biatch. Yah, Biatch, for real. Now, how about that?
It’s hard to believe, but 2010 is almost gone. I don’t expect many car makers to shed a tear at its passing, though, because for many of them ’10 has been an annus horribilis, and one to forget as flash quickly as possible. Will 2011 be any better?
My car-loving pals comments are widely divergent, with some being immensely up-beat, most, I would say, treading a conservative middle ground, and others predicting more dark times ahead. It’s safe to say, though, that there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel and this careful optimism perhaps reflects in the abnormally large numbers of new model instructions, towards the end of 2010.
But you shouldn’t necessarily let the imminent arrival of a new car scare you off the model it replaces. After all, the dealer will be mustard keen to get rid of the out-going stock, and may therefore be willing to do a very juicy deal.
But back to the 2010 metals - among the most important models to arrive are cars designed and priced for the entry-level buyer. On the horizon for those shopping at entry-level are The Chevrolet Agile, Ford Figo, Cherry J1, GWM Florid and the repositioned Chevrolet Spark Lite.

But the biggest news of all is that a long-time favourite, the seemingly immortalVolkswagen CitiGolf, has been retired.
Aston Martin has been big this year, at least so far. This British Marque ventures into the world of luxury saloon car manufacture with the long-awaited Rapide. This Toyota IQ based cygnet luxury small car was, and still is, offered for sale to owners of full blown Aston Martins.
O.K., that’s my personal favourite and the perfect idea of one of the cool ridez that I would have loved it to be part of my, future, sleek fleet of toys.That’s Aston Martin for you.
And my second- close to first- favourite wheelz in the name of a sports toy, for this year happens to be The Lotus Evora. This, also, British brand is undergoing a repositioning, with its new CEO stating that he wants Lotus to once again be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini.
I also recently got to know that there’s a Volkswagen that will replace and be the successor to the Volkswagen CitiGolf.Ati it’s going to be called The Vivo, and is essentially a lower-specification variant of the current generation Polo.
In layman’s, Volkswagen has taken the GolfMk1/ CitiGolf recipe, and replicated it on Polo.Will it work...?
I’ll have to wait and see the features list of the Vivo first before I like it and ultimately fall deeply in love with it
I just hope it’s going to have, in possession, airbags and ABS, at least, otherwise, what is the point? Ha ha ha ha haa…oops!...My precious ribs! Vava Viva Vivo Vroom…

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Newsround:Phone calls that kill

ISSUE NO. 2010010042

Privacy, Probity and Public interest



Could September 1 be the new fools’ day?

Ronnel N Onchagwa tried to understand the rumour that never was and now he breaks it down for us


A rumour that hit the rounds on Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday , cautioning people against answering unfamiliar calls for fear of death, caused a great deal of panic in campus and yonder.

Forwarded emails and text messages warned mobile phone users not to accept calls from certain numbers which allegedly transmit high frequency signals causing brain hemorrhage and death. This caused widespread anxiety with many people refusing to answer their phone calls, some switching them off and others throwing them away in extreme cases.

The email/text message The messages read in part:

FW: Number za shetani I don’t know how true this is but just take precaution. Please do not attend to any calls from the following numbers:

*7888308001* *9316048121* *9876266211**9888854137* *9876715587*

These numbers come in red colours or green. You may get brain hemorrhage due to high frequency. 27 people just died receiving calls. Watch the news to confirm. Please inform all your relatives and friends soon it’s urgent.’

Explanation: More ‘scientific explanations’ were offered to the effect that, some mobile bases send out massive quantities of electromagnetic energy, which resonates from the mobile phone’s antennae. As the user answers his phone, the energy surges into his body resulting in both coronary heart failure and brain hemorrhage. This is generally followed by severe external bleeding and rapid death.

The most bizarre message claimed that the phone calls, if listened to could also trigger impotence in men and pregnancy in women.

The recommended action was to neither receive nor reject strange calls but ignore them totally and completely.

According to media reports, variants of the so called “red number” or ” death call” hoax first appeared on April 13th2007 in Pakistan. There was however an earlier version that was reported in Nigeria in 2004 and Egypt in 2006. The latest one only hit Kenya.

A hoax by any definition: In an effort to quell the hysteria, government officials and service providers issued statements disapproving the rumours that have since subsided. The communications commission of Kenya released a press statement terming the rumours completely unsubstantiated and that they had no technological evidence to support them. According to telecommunications engineers, cell phones are incapable of emitting sound frequencies that could cause immediate physical injury or death.


A publication of Moi University School of Information Sciences-Media Group