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Noam Chomsky and the Struggle Against Neoliberalism
by Alex Gakuru 30 Jun '07

30 Jun '07

Taking a break from ICT websites.... http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/19990401.htm Neoliberalism is the defining political economic paradigm of our time - it refers to the policies and processes whereby a relative handful of private interests are permitted to control as much as possible of social life in order to maximize their personal profit. Associated initially with Reagan and Thatcher, neoliberalism has for the past two decades been the dominant global political economic trend adopted by political parties of the center, much of the traditional left, and the right. These parties and the policies they enact represent the immediate interests of extremely wealthy investors and less than one thousand large corporations. Aside from some academics and members of the business community, the term neoliberalism is largely unknown and unused by the public at large, especially in the United States. There, to the contrary, neoliberal initiatives are characterized as free market policies that encourage private enterprise and consumer choice, reward personal responsibility and entrepreneurial initiative, and undermine the dead hand of the incompetent, bureaucratic, and parasitic government, which can never do good (even when well intentioned, which it rarely is). A generation of corporate-financed public relations efforts has given these terms and ideas a near-sacred aura. As a result, these phrases and the claims they imply rarely require empirical defense, and are invoked to rationalize anything from lowering taxes on the wealthy and scrapping environmental regulations to dismantling public education and social welfare programs. Indeed, any activity that might interfere with corporate domination of society is automatically suspect because it would impede the workings of the free market, which is advanced as the only rational, fair, and democratic allocator of goods and services. At their most eloquent, proponents of neoliberalism sound as if they are doing poor people, the environment, and everybody else a tremendous service as they enact policies on behalf of the wealthy few. The economic consequences of these policies have been the same just about everywhere, and exactly what one would expect: a massive increase in social and economic inequality, a marked increase in severe deprivation for the poorest nations and peoples of the world, a disastrous global environment, an unstable global economy, and an unprecedented bonanza for the wealthy. Confronted with these facts, defenders of the neoliberal order claim that the spoils of the good life will invariably spread to the broad mass of the population - as long as the neoliberal policies that exacerbated these problems are not interfered with by anyone! In the end, proponents of neoliberalism cannot and do not offer an empirical defense for the world they are making. To the contrary, they offer - no, demand - a religious faith in the infallibility of the unregulated market, drawing upon nineteenth century theories that have little connection to the actual world. The ultimate trump card for the defenders of neoliberalism, however, is that there is no alternative. Communist societies, social democracies, and even modest social welfare states like the United States have all failed, the neoliberals proclaim, and their citizens have accepted neoliberalism as the only feasible course. It may well be imperfect, but it is the only economic system possible. Earlier in the twentieth century some critics called fascism "capitalism with the gloves off," meaning that fascism was pure capitalism without democratic rights and organizations. In fact, we know that fascism is vastly more complex than that. Neoliberalism, on the other hand, is indeed "capitalism with the gloves off." It represents an era in which business forces are stronger and more aggressive, and face less organized opposition than ever before. In this political climate they attempt to codify their political power and enact their vision on every possible front. As a result, business is increasingly difficult to challenge, and civil society (nonmarket, noncommercial, and democratic forces) barely exists at all...... ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

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Looking for Vision 2030..??
by Bill Kagai 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

If you have been searching for this document on the net, then look no further, it is now available in Nigeria and they are discussing it in blogs. Scroll down to the bottom where the duscussion is posted after the Nairobi fotos we take for granted!!! http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-51356.0.html -- -- Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Nairobi Stock Exchange [NSE] - Authorised Information Vendor Suite B2 Tetu Apartments StateHouse Avenue P. O. Box 20311-00200 Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. Rendered Obsolete URL. www.mediacorp.co.ke --

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report, re-sent
by Rebecca Wanjiku 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

i have re sent the report just incase it did not open first time regards becky Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Be a PS3 game guru. Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.

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Fw: [gu-new] (06/26/07) ICT-Learn2007 Conference in Cairo, Egypt and our final paper
by Florence Etta 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

fyi sorry for crossposting. FE Florence Etta P.O. Box 14285,00800 Westlands-Nairobi, Kenya Tel: Mobile + 254-733-621851 Terrestrial: + 254-20-7121506 Fax: + 254-20-7125732 Alternative Email:[email protected] ___________________________________________________________ Copy addresses and emails from any email account to Yahoo! Mail - quick, easy and free. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/trueswitch2.html

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Communication Tariffs
by Alex Gakuru 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

> --- Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >its in order to give CCK and the rest of the Mobile >Sector players a pat on the back the tariffs have >reduced considerably in the last months. there is >increased competition due to Introduction of new Value >added Services, so far i guess CCK is doing fine [not quite so and beware of telcos' reinvigorated PR campaigns and advertisement assault. Only comparative, data based (NOT perception oriented) regulatory intervention can ensure "fair play". Remember the absence of war does not mean "prevailing peace and harmony". Thank though the democratic space lending consumer complaints an ear. The more consumers complain the less hilly and more flat the world gets.] [EASTANDARD] "Mobile telephone charges likely to fall again, PS says" By Tom Mogusu [snip] The Government has commissioned a study on mobile telephone industrys tariff and taxation levels in what is hoped would trigger a decline in the cost of calling. Permanent Secretary for Information and Communication, Dr Bitange Ndemo said this was response to public demand that taxes on use of mobile telephones be lowered. He said Treasury is under pressure to lower tariff levels for mobile calls. "We are expecting more changes in this sector over the coming year because Government will launch a taskforce to investigate the costs of mobile calls." "There is an expectation that the tariff levels will drop further," he said. http://eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143970580&catid=14 [snip] ------------ [DAILY NATION] Cutting edge Story by Watchman Publication Date: 6/27/2007 One report says Kenyans are becoming poorer. Another says the economy is booming, and companies are announcing profits in billions of shillings, notes Morrison Muleri. But ironically, he says, the banks, oil companies, Safaricom and others serve a wide spectrum of Kenyans, millions of whom survive on less than Sh100 a day. His biggest grouse is that Kenyan firms charge more than what is paid for similar services in wealthy America. He poses: Is it morally right to make huge profits from the poor who have no choice? <http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&cate…> --------- LETTERS Safaricom can do more for the poor Publication Date: 6/27/2007 Safaricoms huge Sh17 billion profit for last year is good news to the owners but ordinary subscribers have nothing to smile about. The profit should have been ploughed back into the economy for citizens to benefit. CEO Michael Joseph should not boast of hefty profits when the firm is not doing enough to uplift the lives of Kenyans. Safaricom must come up with initiatives to help the Government eradicate poverty and boost health and education projects. It should launch programmes to spur development. Small reductions in call and SMS rates are not enough. DENNIS ODHIAMBO, Kisumu. <http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&cate…> ____________________________________________________________________________________Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/

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Another 'IGADD' plans bringing broadband to everyone
by Alex Gakuru 28 Jun '07

28 Jun '07

Investor Group Against Digital Divide (IGADD) is conceived as a global coalition of investor institutions, now in formation, whose purpose is to close the Digital Divide. It aims to recruit onto its advisory board the chairmen of the worlds major global technology corporations operating in emerging markets. On top of its agenda is high-speed internet: to reduce the alarming disparity in broadband penetration. Some countries give their citizens full access to the powerful learning experiences made possible by fast internet. Other countries isolate themselves and their citizens by making the internet unavailable, too expensive and unreliable. Broadband, increasingly, is the precondition of anyones empowerment in todays global age. It could be called a fundamental human right for the 21st Century. http://www.digitaldivide.org/dd/igadd.html ____________________________________________________________________________________ Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today! http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

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Re: [kictanet] Is 999 a local BPO opp?-beyond the BPO
by John Walubengo 28 Jun '07

28 Jun '07

Actually am for the idea...and understand perfectly well the front-end (customer-focus) capability the local BPO (call center) would offer these utilities. However, the moral of my story was that an efficient front-end would be quickly be frustrated by an in-efficient and sometimes non-existent back-end (supplier of services). In other words, all our BPO strategies must recognise our inadequacies precisely in some of the services u mention (the value chain) and ugrade them accordingly...preferably before the famous fiber-cables hit our shores. I think it was KenCall or another local BPO that said how their Operational Expenditure is increased simply because they have to meet the extra cost of security(guards), transport(taxi) and power (generators) - thinks that investors in other economies rarely bother to think about. walu. --- Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: > Walu, > > > In addition, its not just about reporting crime. How > about domestic > accidents and incidents that require either ambulances, > directions on > first aid/CPR to save a life, fire brigade services etc. > > In essence, i dont think all functions of the 'emergency > services' > should be crippled based on the 'non-responsive' nature > of one > supporting element (i.e police). > > Just an opinion. > > Regards, > > John Walubengo wrote: > > Michuki, > > > > the problem with our 999 is complex. Apart from the > fact > > that it rarely works (goes thro), i suspect that if it > did > > go thro' it may not make a difference. > > > > Imagine u r being attacked by Mungikis at your > residence, u > > pick up your phone, dial 999 or 911 and the local BPO > > provider efficiently links to your nearest police > station. > > > > Its only early evening (8.30pm) and you feel lucky as > the > > Policeman at the other end picks up the phone...but > then > > you realise your luck is out because he says, he has no > > fuel and/or a car to bring his 'mboys' to your > rescue...u > > suddenly realise your problem was much bigger than the > BPO > > - local or otherwise. > > > > walu. > > > > --- Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: > > > >> There has always been complains and concerns raised on > >> the emergency > >> service numbers 999. As a result, the enterprising > >> Kenyan's amongst us > >> have opted to provide similar emergency numbers that > come > >> at a fee to > >> its subscribers i.e the 911 service. > >> > >> On the other hand, we are seeking to provide BPO for > >> multi-nationals and > >> others at significant investment costs. While i > support > >> the initiative > >> and its opportunities, i believe we also need to > review > >> the local > >> opportunities for outsourcing that may come with a > less > >> 'investment > >> price tag'. With this in mind is the 999 service which > is > >> a national > >> service to 32M plus Kenyans ... that would probably be > >> the largest call > >> center. > >> > >> If this was to work am would be certain most of the > other > >> call center > >> requiring service providers would follow suit. > >> > >> Regards, > >> > >> -- > >> Michuki Mwangi > >> KENIC > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> kictanet mailing list > >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >> > >> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > >> Unsubscribe or change your options at > >> > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com > > > > > > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > > Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small > Business gives you all the tools to get online. > > http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting > > > > > > -- > Michuki Mwangi > KENIC > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/

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NSE Authorised Information Vendor
by Bill Kagai 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce that we have today been appointed 'Authorised Information Vendors for the Nairobi Stock Exchange'. This means that we are now authorised to stream 14 realtime data feeds on the internet. -Instrument -Bid Price -Bid Quantity -Ask Price -Ask Quantity -High Price -Low Price -Trade Price -Trade Quantity -Close Price -Change: Up or Down -Total Trade -Total Turnover -Total Volume This service will be available at no cost to MediaCorp Premium Subscribers on our websites. Premium Subscribers will be availed a password to access the live data feed as the market trades in the coming days. www.mediacorp.co.ke -- -- Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Authorised Information Vendor - Nairobi Stock Exchange [NSE] Suite B2 Tetu Apartments StateHouse Avenue P. O. Box 20311-00200 Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. Rendered Obsolete URL. www.mediacorp.co.ke --

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Wireless Technology { with a light touch ;-) }
by Wainaina Mungai 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

After digging to a depth of 100 meters last year, Russian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago. So, not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, American scientists dug 200 meters and headlines in the US papers read: " US scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibers, and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Russians." One week later, the Ken yan newspapers proudly reported the following: "After digging as deep as 500 meters, Ken yan scientists have found absolutely nothing. They have concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were already using wireless technology. Na ndio maana najivunia kuwa Mkenya!!! --- Wainaina Mungai Made in Kenya Network P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 Nairobi. Kenya. Tel: +254-20-780669 Cell: + 254-722-811171 http://www.madeinkenya.org/

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Is 999 a local BPO opp?
by Michuki Mwangi 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

There has always been complains and concerns raised on the emergency service numbers 999. As a result, the enterprising Kenyan's amongst us have opted to provide similar emergency numbers that come at a fee to its subscribers i.e the 911 service. On the other hand, we are seeking to provide BPO for multi-nationals and others at significant investment costs. While i support the initiative and its opportunities, i believe we also need to review the local opportunities for outsourcing that may come with a less 'investment price tag'. With this in mind is the 999 service which is a national service to 32M plus Kenyans ... that would probably be the largest call center. If this was to work am would be certain most of the other call center requiring service providers would follow suit. Regards, -- Michuki Mwangi KENIC

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Solar Powered computers
by Fatma Bashir 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Dear Listers, Check this out http://allafrica.com/stories/200703300217.html Countries that have implemented this solar powered computer solutions successfully include - Rwanda, Ghana, Mali, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau. For more on this go to http://www.inveneo.org/?q=mission Couldnt help but think of rural healthcare and relief, monitoring and reporting and yes ofcourse EDUCATION institutions in far flung areas . Such renewable energy options can make these things a reality Apologies if this is not breaking news to some as it was for me :) Fatma A Bashir Chief Marketing Officer Cyber School Technology Solutions Ltd. P.O. Box 14636-00100 Nairobi, Kenya. T: 4452870/1 ; 0726/0734 880864 F: 4452873 M: 0722 5070 50 www.cyberschooltech.com ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world"

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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Communication Tariffs
by Ochola, Atieno 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Dear Alex, Kindly be informed that the tariff structures for the respective operators are published on their individual websites. Kind regards, Atieno J. Ochola (Ms) Director /Licensing Compliance & Standards Communications Commission of Kenya P.O Box 14448-00800 Nairobi, Kenya Tel. Office: +254-20-4242000 Mobile: +254-722-516262 Fax: +254-20-4348135 Email: ajochola(a)cck.go.ke Website: http://www.cck.go.ke Disclaimer: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use by the individual(s) or entity to whom it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Additionally, if you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately by a reply e-mail. -----Original Message----- From: ke-internetusers-bounces(a)bdix.net [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alex Gakuru Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:28 PM To: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke; ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net Subject: [ke-internetusers] Communication Tariffs Hello All, The consumer network has a problem and we are wondering if you may be able to assist. We are aware that consumers do not have tariffs information sufficiently; permanently, readily and freely available and they end up incurring communication costs they could have avoided had that information existed. In addressing this problem, last week we wrote to Safaricom, Celtel and Telkom asking them to provide us with their current comprehensive tariffs to enable us compare contrast and independently and freely advice consumers on the best priced offerings, and on regular basis. We intend(ed) to publish the comparative analysis at a website, print brochures post to mailing list among other dissemination avenues. We copied that email to CCK to observe protocol However, only Safaricom sent us this data(on the same day), but Telkom and Celtel have continue ignoring ou request even declined to reply the email. We requested CCK to assist us but we are yet to receive, if at all, the help. We are further questioning the urgency, need and importance CCK gav to purchasing their shs 50 million call drop monitoring equipment and wondering if really it was no just meant to "assist" consumers stay connected to exorbitant calls cost, considering that when we ask then to help consumers with a simple cost-free support they fail us. We need your ideas on how we can arrest renegade pricing cost in Kenya because it appears those legally tasked to protect consumers are not doing as much as they should. All ideas and suggestion on what we should do are most welcome. Alex Gakuru ICT Consumers Association of Kenya (now refused certificate) ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/ _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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"KEEP THE CORE NEUTRAL: Civil Society Workshop on Freedom of Expression and Domain Name Policy: ICANN Meeting
by Wanjira, Alice Munyua 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Civil Society Workshop on Freedom of Expression and Domain Name Policy: "KEEP THE CORE NEUTRAL" Wednesday 27 June 2007 (13:00 - 15:30) at the ICANN Board Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the San Geronimo Ballroom Civil societys "Keep the Core Neutral" workshop will explore freedom of expression issues in the policy development process to introduce new generic top-level domains (gtlds). As the ICANN community debates policy options to allow new top-level domains, it must consider important issues that impact what ideas may be expressed in a domain name. The NCUC/ALAC workshop aims to provide a public discussion point in the ICANN policy development process for new top-level domains. The workshop will address new gtld policy issues such as: * should ICANN remain 'content neutral' in national policy debates when evaluating applications for domains? * how can ICANN protect freedom of expression rights in domain name policy? * what is the proper role for governments in approving or rejecting top-level domains? * what is the appropriate balance between trademarks and free expression rights in domain names? * who should decide which ideas are too controversial to be allowed in a top-level domain? * how to balance competing rights to use the same words in domain names? * should trademark owners be given prior registration privileges before other rights holders? * should a controversial domain name be rejected or delayed? Workshop Speakers: * Joichi Ito, ICANN board member and Creative Commons board member * Christine Haight Farley, Law professor at American University * Michael Palage, Attorney and ex-board member of ICANN * Milton Mueller, Chairman of ICANNs Non-Commercial Users Constituency, professor at Syracuse University and founding partner of Internet Governance Project * Wendy Seltzer, Visiting professor at Northeastern University Law School and Fellow at Harvard Laws Berkman Center for Internet & Society * Wolfgang Kleinwaechter, Professor at University of Aarhus * Tan Tin Wee, Professor at National University of Singapore * Ram Mohan, Vice President of Business Operations and Chief Technology Officer at Afilias Limited * Moderator: Robin Gross, IP Justice Executive Director "Keep the Core Neutral" workshop is organized by ICANNs Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) and the At-Large-Advisory Committee (ALAC) The workshop will be webcast live from ICANN's website and a video of the workshop will be posted to http://www.ipjustice.org Webpage for the workshop: http://www.ipjustice.org/wp/2007/06/12/06272007workhsop/ More Info: ICANN San Juan Board Meeting: http://sanjuan2007.icann.org/ Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC): http://www.ncdnhc.org/ At-Large-Advisory Committee (ALAC): https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?at_large_advisory_committee IP Justice New gtld info page: http://ipjustice.org/wp/campaigns/icann/gtlds/

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ICANN's 29th International Meeting Opens Monday in San Juan
by Wanjira, Alice Munyua 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

ICANN's 29th International Meeting Opens Monday in San Juan 25 June 2007 SAN JUAN , Puerto Rico: The future of the Internet will be front and center as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opens its 29th International Public Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Monday, 25 June 2007. "If you are interested in the domain names that can be used on the Internet, if you want to make sure there are enough numbers to allow the Internet to expand, if you care about how the Internet evolves and want to have a say, ICANN meetings are the place for you," said Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN. "The San Juan meeting gives us an opportunity to talk face to face within the global Internet community, listen to ideas and input, and make sure policies promote the Internet's security and stability. Even if you can't be here in person, you can be part of the meeting with our remote participation website, meeting blogs, and webcasts." Attendees and on-line participants can be part of more than 30 sessions and workshops, and will help ICANN continue improving the global coordination of the Internet's unique identifiers. "ICANN's task is unique and these meetings help us make sure we're on the correct path and continue to move forward," Dr Twomey added. The San Juan meeting is the second of the three public ICANN meetings in 2007. These meetings are crucial to because ICANN's polices are created through a bottom-up, transparent process involving Internet Community. Some issues and events at the meeting include: * Progress on a creating a policy to introduce new generic top-level domains (the part of web addresses after the dot -- like .com or .info) * Update on the testing process of introducing Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) to the Internet. * A tutorial on IPv6 -- a major expansion of the Internet Protocol address space so that the number unique addresses available globally is increased dramatically (from about 4.3 billion available with the current IPv4 to about 340 trillion trillion trillion). * Further discussions of ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Agreements (RAA) and the Accreditation process, arising out of the RegisterFly collapse. * The completion of the creation of the global Regional At Large Organization (RALO) structure with the signing of the fifth and final RALO agreement -- this one with the North American region. RALOs are the main forum and coordination point for public input to ICANN on a regional basis. * The first General Assembly of the Latin American and Caribbean RALO, which was formed at the ICANN meeting in Lisbon, Portugal in March. "We are all looking forward to a successful meeting in San Juan and thank the local hosts, the .PR top-level domain of Puerto Rico, and the event sponsors, for their efforts," Dr Twomey said. The complete schedule for ICANN's San Juan meeting, as well as links to webcast sessions and our public participation website, can be found at: http://sanjuan2007.icann.org/ ICANN Maps 25 June 2007 In further improvements to transparency and accountability, ICANN has commenced the process of illustrating some basic data in geographical maps. The data includes: * the number of accredited registrars there are and the countries in which they are located; * board and staff representation by nationality; * ccTLD agreements; * ccTLD financial contributions; * the countries in which the 29 ICANN meetings have been held so far; * the global areas that the Regional Internet Registries cover; * the general location of root servers based on publicly available information; * root zone Whois information; * support for IDNs at TLD registries; * registrations for the current San Juan meeting. "This is a further example of making information about ICANN more accessible so that people can understand clearly how, why and what we do." said Paul Levins, Executive Officer and Vice President Corporate Affairs. "Accessibility and transparency measures help people to hold us accountable." "It joins the list of initiatives that ICANN has introduced to assist accountability and transparency including better board minutes, comprehensive Strategic, Operating and Budget plans, an annual report, a community blog, an improved website that clearly explains our processes, an independent review of transparency and accountability, newsletters and the posting of all in-bound and out-bound correspondence, amongst other things." "We have also released a set of frameworks and principles for accountability and transparency that is open for consultation with the community and we look forward to feedback" Mr Levins said. Protecting Registrants Focus of ICANN Workshop Session discusses ideas on data escrow, revising Registrar Accreditation Agreements 25 June 2007 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Strengthening the protection of registrants and their domain names was the focus of a key workshop at the 29th International Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in San Juan today. "In March I said that there must be comprehensive review of major review of our Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) and the Accreditation process. The results of that review are driving this workshop," said Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN. "We are going to keep this discussion going, get input from the wider community, and then we will make the changes needed to protect registrants and domain names." Some of the topics discussed in the workshop include: * The implementation of the registrar data escrow program for generic top-level domains by the end of 2007, * Potential amendments to the RAA and a process for implementing changes, * Development of registry failover plan, which lays out ICANN response plan if a registry suffers a financial, technical or business failure, or is prevented from operating by outside factors like a natural disaster, * Recent work done by ICANN's Contractual Compliance function. "When ICANN introduced competition to the domain name market in 1998, there was one registrar. Today there are more than 890 so it's obvious that a lot has changed since the first Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) was introduced in a much smaller and radically different marketplace," Dr Twomey added. "We also learned valuable lessons from the RegisterFly situation and ICANN is turning those lessons into plans and policies to protect registrants and their domain names." One change to the RAA being looked at is introducing graduated enforcement tools. Right now, ICANN's only tool is to terminate accreditation a step that has been avoided in the past for anything other than flagrant, repeated failures to cure material breaches of the RAA, because termination is viewed as an extreme remedy, with negative consequences to registrants. A graduated sanctions scheme based on the nature and seriousness of alleged breaches will give ICANN more tools to effectively enforce the agreements. Another change being examined deals with resellers businesses that sell domain name registrations on behalf of Registrars, who act as wholesalers. ICANN has no contractual relationship with resellers, and cannot directly address consumer complaints about reseller practices. ICANN is discussing changing the RAA so Registrars have specific responsibilities with regard to their relationships with resellers. About ICANN: ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: www.icann.org.

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Re: [kictanet] Fwd: Employment Opportunity - Systems Administrator
by David Sparrow Malaba 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Note: forwarded message attached. Dear All, The following company has advertized for jobs and require immediate responses as per message forwarded. Respond as appropritae David Sparrow Malaba Computer Society of Kenya ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php

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Communication Tariffs
by Alex Gakuru 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Hello All, The consumer network has a problem and we are wondering if you may be able to assist. We are aware that consumers do not have tariffs information sufficiently; permanently, readily and freely available and they end up incurring communication costs they could have avoided had that information existed. In addressing this problem, last week we wrote to Safaricom, Celtel and Telkom asking them to provide us with their current comprehensive tariffs to enable us compare contrast and independently and freely advice consumers on the best priced offerings, and on regular basis. We intend(ed) to publish the comparative analysis at a website, print brochures post to mailing list among other dissemination avenues. We copied that email to CCK to observe protocol However, only Safaricom sent us this data(on the same day), but Telkom and Celtel have continue ignoring ou request even declined to reply the email. We requested CCK to assist us but we are yet to receive, if at all, the help. We are further questioning the urgency, need and importance CCK gav to purchasing their shs 50 million call drop monitoring equipment and wondering if really it was no just meant to "assist" consumers stay connected to exorbitant calls cost, considering that when we ask then to help consumers with a simple cost-free support they fail us. We need your ideas on how we can arrest renegade pricing cost in Kenya because it appears those legally tasked to protect consumers are not doing as much as they should. All ideas and suggestion on what we should do are most welcome. Alex Gakuru ICT Consumers Association of Kenya (now refused certificate) ____________________________________________________________________________________ Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/

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worlds first solar mobile
by Badru Ntege 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Chinese firm claims solar powered mobile http://www.htwchina.com/htwtE/index.jsp

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FW: Shortage of IT staff in SA------------Standard Bank
by Kagwe James 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Please check it out.....Would someone tell them to and recruit in Kenya... ________________________________ Business Day (Johannesburg) 21 June 2007 Posted to the web 21 June 2007 Johannesburg THE Standard Bank is expanding its recruitment campaigns to suck in talent from India because it cannot find enough information technology staff locally. It has up to 100 vacancies to fill instantly and will need 300 recruits by the end of the year, including programmers, project managers and business analysts. Last year it hired 600 IT staff, and its total of 2500 means its in-house IT department eclipses many of SA's specialist IT groups. "The shortage isn't breaking us," says its chief information officer, Jorg Fischer, but he is tired of postponing new IT projects because of a staff shortage. "We want to try to complement our IT shop with Indian resources. We are always looking at the South African market, and we need to look beyond our borders," he says. "It will give me another option for how to solve IT or business issues, instead of saying I don't have the people to do it. I want to make us more flexible and nimble so IT doesn't become a bottleneck in delivering." As some technologies approach the end of their life, the bank will request proposals from Indian companies to maintain and support those applications. That will let the in-house technicians be reassigned to develop new applications to take the bank forward. It should also give them a better career path and more interesting work, so they do not seek brighter prospects elsewhere. The first tenders should be issued in the third or fourth quarter of this year and will target companies including Tata Consulting and Satyam, which already have operations in SA. One example is the testing and integration of new software, which demands a large staff complement. That could be outsourced to Indian workers who could either be brought into SA or could conduct the testing processes remotely. If projects to develop new systems also run into local skills shortages, technicians could be recruited from India. As part of the job description they would be expected to train South Africans working alongside them. No-go areas for outsourcing will be designing the bank's IT architecture, project management and business analysis. The idea was inspired by what is becoming a common practice for financial services organisations in the US and Europe. Although they mainly outsource to cut their costs, the Standard Bank will do it "because we don't have the people and the skills available," Fischer says. He expects many other local firms will follow suit to combat the skills crunch. The number of students studying IT at universities in SA, Europe and the US has decreased for three years, so the skills base is depleting. In comparison, India pumps out about 400000 IT graduates a year. The bank hires many temporary contractors from the personnel provider Paracon, but Paracon has told Fischer it needs another 1000 technicians to fill all the vacancies facing its customers. Its chief financial officer, Mireille Levenstein, says: "We have never been in such a situation where there is so much demand for IT skills, and the supply isn't there." Paracon also looks to India for relief, and is flying in technicians after acquiring 34,6% of India's Nihilent Technologies last year. Growth consultancy Frost & Sullivan analyst Lindsey McDonald says SA's skills shortage is reaching chronic proportions and fuelling the trend for outsourcing. Yet the third-party service providers are also struggling to attract and retain skilled staff. "In order to build a reserve of skilled personnel, service providers should show higher levels of commitment to skills development," she says. A report by the Economic Intelligence Unit shows that India's quality of service and low costs make it the destination of choice for outsourcing application development and management. Countries such as Brazil and Russia are ramping up their outsourcing capabilities to become more attractive to foreign customers, but research by Accenture says the cost benefits and experience to be found in India are often too large to ignore -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? .........Martin Luther King, Jr. -------------------------------------------------------------------- --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "KAZI-AFRICA" group. To post to this group, send email to kaziafrica(a)googlegroups.com To subscribe , send email to kaziafrica-subscribe(a)googlegroups.com To unsubscribe, send email to kaziafrica-unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/kaziafrica?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- ________________________________ No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43910/*http:/mobile.yahoo.com/mail> with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43910/*http:/mobile.yahoo.com/mail>

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final report
by Rebecca Wanjiku 25 Jun '07

25 Jun '07

following the report summary released earlier on the CCK internet study, here is the full report, (annexed) hope it will make good reading, regards becky Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

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Techdirt: Net Neutrality Debate Again Descends Into Shouting, Farce
by Alex Gakuru 24 Jun '07

24 Jun '07

[farber] http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070622/093628.shtml from the par-for-the-course dept Net neutrality is a complex issue, but as tends to happen with most things these days, it gets boiled down into easily consumable, though not wholly accurate, ideological soundbites from both sides. And even when people try to have an open, even-keeled discourse about the issue, they still run into problems explaining things well. For the most part, debate on net neutrality has glossed over the fundamental, but perhaps less incendiary issues, and been characterized by intellectual dishonesty and propagandizing from activist groups on both sides. It was hardly surprising, then, to read about a panel at the Supernova conference descending into a shouting match between a Commerce Department official (ie the "anti-regulation" guy) and "pro-net neutrality" supporters in the audience. Really, it's an apt characterization of the whole debate: a bunch of yelling, very little exchange of useful information, and nobody really moves from their previously established ideology. All this means is that, in the end, it's very unlikely for the right, or even a good, solution to emerge. Instead, it will just come down to whichever side can muster the most political clout -- which is pretty much how things have gone in telecom regulation anyway ---------------------------------------------------------- WWWhatsup NYC http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com ---------------------------------------------------------- [Reading Provocative Comment No 4 at http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070622/093628.shtml] # by Stu on Jun 23rd, 2007 @ 8:29am "political clout -- which is pretty much how things have gone in telecom regulation anyway." The problem is that political clout has become a function of money, rather than votes. It's much too difficult to replace an incumbent elected politician - also a function of money. Just listen to the news reporting about elections - it's all about the money. Out goes legislation for the common good - in comes legislation for big money interests. "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it comes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power." Franklin D. Roosevelt ____________________________________________________________________________________ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow

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Call for Papers-2nd Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
by John Walubengo 22 Jun '07

22 Jun '07

For those wishing to contribute towards the 2nd IGF meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 12 - 15 November 2007. Plse checkout http://www.intgovforum.org/ walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow

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Kibaki names ombudsman to hear complaints
by Alex Gakuru 22 Jun '07

22 Jun '07

[Complaint No.1 ICT Consumer Protection. we shall surely turn up as soon as they assume office] Story by NATION Reporter Publication Date: 6/22/2007 President Kibaki yesterday appointed an ombudsman to deal with public complaints. The Public Complaints Standing Committee will be chaired by Mr James Simani, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. The President also appointed Mr Peter Migwi Karingu, Ms Grace Barbara Ngele Madoka and Ms Nafisa Abdirahman Abass as members of the committee. The appointments will run for three years. Mr Karingu and Ms Madoka are advocates of the High Court of Kenya while Ms Abass is a holder of Masters of Business Administration (MBA). A Kenya Gazette notice issued later said the committee will have a chairman appointed by the President and a vice-chairman by the committee. It shall also have not more that three members appointed by the President following recommendations from Justice minister. It shall also have a director appointed by the minister and who shall be its secretary. The committee is required to promote alternative dispute resolution through mediation. It is further mandated to publish quarterly reports on complaints received and action taken. The committee is answerable to the President and could use previous investigation reports in its work. The establishment of the public complaints committee is geared towards enhancing good governance, management and administration in public institutions, a statement from the Presidential Press Service said. The functions of the committee include receiving, registering, sorting, classifying and documenting all complaints against public officials in ministries, parastatals, statutory bodies and other public institutions, it added. In some jurisdictions, including West Australian State, the ombudsman is referred to as the Parliamentary Commissioner. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&ne… ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

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promoting the ccTLDs
by Rebecca Wanjiku 22 Jun '07

22 Jun '07

while its good to have a .ea, i think in the intervening period we can promote the .ke, .tz etc i have met people who think that having a .ke domain restricts you to kenya or you are not seen as "modern" enough some have .biz, .net and see it as more "global" than .ke in my opinion, if people appreciate their ccTLDs, then they will not need much convincing when the new regional ones come up.. for instance, the .tz is free yet their registration is not much, if there is no proper awareness, then we might have all the domains and still the uptake is low, yes people in the industry will understand, but we need others to on the same page, regards Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: I had specified "Top Level Domain" Sponsorship" but you see they threw me to ccTLDs. Figured this would assist as foundation for relevant Kiswahili content. Could there be other Kiswahili speakers interested we run with it next year? Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: Did you request for a .SWA ccTLD or a .SWA TLD?. There is no open window for sponsored TLD's submission. I think this will probably open up in 2008. Regards, Alex Gakuru wrote: > After I requested to sponsor .swa for Kiswahili speaking community of > interest, ICANN/IANA 18 May 2007 reply referred me to ccTLDs as follows: > > ---snip--- > Please see the following for information on how new country code top-level > domains (ccTLDs) are created: > > http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-establishment-procedures-19mar03.htm > > > Best regards, > > Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) > ---snip--- > > Michuki is quite right on "The process will require intense collaboration > from the community and its stakeholders to be successful." > > Alex > */ > Michuki Mwangi /* wrote: > > Bill et al, > > Bill Kagai wrote: > > > > Michuki...I therefore see [.eac] as an aggressive business strategy > > complimenting [.ke], [.tz] etc and not as competition. > > > > Competition is healthy, it is an instigator of creativity and innovation > and i welcome such incentives. For your information, there are > interested parties evaluating submissions to ICANN for a TLD for Africa > i.e .africa. Hence this will make the African scene alot more > interesting in my opinion. > > Any addition into the Root zone outside the ccTLD category will be > considered under the Sponsored/Unsponsored TLD category. There are > procedures to this as evidenced in the following URL: > > http://www.icann.org/tlds/new-tld-application-instructions-15aug00.htm > > ICANN has published guidelines for applying for a TLD under the > following URL and i would wish to invite the members to read through > this document. > > http://www.icann.org/tlds/application-process-03aug00.htm > > > Alice...If KICTANET knows some influential people at the East Africa > > Community Secretariat in Arusha, maybe they can help get things into > > second gear with ICANN?? > > > > ICANN will not just insert a TLD in the Root zone. The process will > require intense collaboration from the community and its stakeholders to > be successful. The case studies for .asia and .eu are well documented on > their webiste www.dotasia.com and www.doteu.com - also from the ICANN > website. It will be interesting to have the community read through their > experiences in order to have a deeper understanding of the issues faced > in the process. > > I would recommend a start of by identifying the need for the regional > TLD (i think we have interest based on this threads), then convening a > regional working group that is inclusive of stakeholders to drive the > process to its logical conclusion. > > Notably resources are critical in the process as it somewhat tends to > drag on in trying to ensure inclusion of all stakeholders. More of the > social engineering than the technical. > > Its is however possible to achieve this and we should probably aim for > the next ICANN window on TLD applications - which i think happens ever 4 > years. > > Regards, > -- > Michuki Mwangi > KENIC > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email > wherever > you're surfing. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/michuki%40kenic.or.ke -- Michuki Mwangi KENIC _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/rebeccawanjiku%40yahoo.com Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added security of spyware protection.

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Kimathi Information Centre reaches out again
by Jose' 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

With the rescent symposium that was held on 24th March 2007,Kimathi Information Centre had purposed to follow up on the delegates who had participated in the symposium. Having invited Ministry of youth,Kenya Women Finance Trust,Faulu Kenya,IFC and Edith Adera of IDRC we saw up to 185 youth delegates attend the March 24th symposium and listen to the speakers on how to be ICT empowered. Thanks to Cyberschool who lent us a projector on the Sunday 17th June 2007 and we were able to gather up to 51 youths who were eager to tell us how the symposium was beneficial to them and how they have been able to network professionally. Kimathi Information Centre made a presentation on how one can grow your enterprise one step at at time,how to prepare business proposals and grant proposals.Having made sure all participants had email adresses from the previous symposium,we enrolled them into the kimathi Information Centre mailing list using the yahoo groups.Thanks to KICTANET mailing list effective idea.Through this mailing list Jobs shall be advertised,workshops announced and anything that the youth need to communicate to each other addressed. Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss an email again! Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/

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Alexander Forbes Financial Services (EA) Limited donates computers
by Jose' 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Through the Kictanet forum,Mr.James Kagwe of Alexander Forbes came into contact with Kimathi Information Centre "DIGITAL VILLAGE" and has been following the organizational performance with great interest. Mr.Kagwe wrote an email and suggested that he would love to donate some few working computers to the centre to be used for training and bridging the digital divide as is always evidently stressed at the centre. The main core activity of the centre is not only to bridge the digital gap by training but also ensuring that the whole community gets a glimpse on how computers will ease their daily lives and enhance there business productivity. Four working computers were donated on Monday 18Th,June,2007.We purpose to use them for training.On the ground we had 13 computers for which 12 are being used to train 12 students per two hours.Now we shall increase the number to 16 students per two hours. Mr.James Kagwe has emphasized on the PPP(Public Private Partnership) that Dr.Bitange Ndemo always emphasizes apron.The four computers donated will be serviced at the computers for Schools Kenya(CFSK) if they get to break down. We cannot forget to mention our mentor Ms.Edith Adera of IDRC who has worked tirelessly to see us(K.I.C) to the position we are in today.Having networked us to Kictanet-Ms.Alice,Ministry of Information-Dr.Bitange Ndemo and Computers for schools-Mr.Tom Musili.Just to mention a few. With this thank you very much Mr.James Kagwe for reaching out to our vision of "BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE THROUGH ICT" Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html

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