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Wednesday, 2 October 2013

ICC extends sittings in Deputy President William Ruto, Sang trial

Wednesday, 2 October 2013 - 0 Comments

Trial Chamber V(A) presiding judge Chile Eboe-Osuji also said the court would review the possibility of sitting on Wednesday next week when the trials were to take a break to allow another chamber use the courtroom.
“As we all know, we have lost some time in the trial due to events beyond our control. We are being forced to make up for the lost time,” judge Eboe-Osuji said Wednesday at the resumption of the trials that adjourned on September 23.
“We will be sitting extended hours today (Wednesday), tomorrow and possibly Friday. We will review Wednesday if the court is available,” the chamber said.
Hearings will also take place between October 7 and 11 with the rest of the time timetable still under review.
VARY CALENDAR
However, Justice Osuji was categorical that the trial will break on November 1 to pave way for the start of the case of President Kenyatta on November 12.
“The intention is not to vary the calendar beyond November 1. At the moment, the idea is to keep the schedule,” judge Osuji said.
The trials of Mr Ruto and Mr Sang adjourned on September 23 when the chamber granted the deputy president the request for excusal to return to Nairobi to attend to the Westgate terrorist attacks and its aftermath. The initial excusal of one week was extended by two days during the status conference last Friday, against the defence’s request for two more weeks.
The chamber is however yet to pronounce itself on whether there will be the initial break that was to start on October 4 to October 14, which now looks less likely.
Mr Sang’s lead counsel Katwa Kigen offered that his client was “happy to extend the sitting schedule to include Saturdays.”
Mr Ruto’s defence counsel Karim Khan said his client was ready to sit the extended hours up to 7pm as it was during the confirmation of charges hearings, including weekends.
UNMASK IDENTITY
On his part, the prosecution lead counsel Anton Steynberg invited the chamber to take into account the interest of the witness while making any decisions on the extended sitting hours.
The chamber will be expected to rule on the same but judge Osuji signalled that the sitting hours will be dictated by the International Labour Organisation standards.
Meanwhile, the first prosecution witness 536 continued with her testimony in private sessions.
The witness, who was also a victim of the Kiambaa Church arson attack on January 1, 2008 has been on the witness stand since September 17 excluding the break and on the day she could not testify after it emerged that certain individuals had attempted to unmask her identity and intimidate her family.

Moses Wetang’ula vows to appeal case ruling

Former Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula on Tuesday vowed to appeal a ruling that nullified his election amid fears that he could be blocked from defending the seat.
Mr Wetang’ula contested the findings by Mr Justice Francis Gikonyo that he had treated voters, an offence under the Elections Act which attracts a lengthy prison sentence or a hefty fine or both.
“This was an election petition, not a criminal case. There is nothing in the ruling barring me or anybody from contesting in the by-election otherwise the judge would have expressly said so. The ruling was fraudulent, erroneous and obviously engineered by some invisible hands pursuing an evil political agenda against the people of Bungoma and Cord,” Mr Wetang’ula stated.
“If this was not political, how come the judge in his ruling made reference to Cord more than 20 times yet I stood on a Ford Kenya ticket and not Cord? It just goes a long way to show that this was an onslaught against Cord,” he said.
In his ruling, Justice Gikonyo said the petitioner, former Webuye MP Musikari Kombo had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Wetang’ula and a former assistant minister Alfred Khang’ati had treated voters at the Kenya Red Cross offices.
The Elections Act describes “treating” as giving a voter money or refreshments in order to vote or not vote for a particular candidate.
The law also states anyone who commits the offence of treating or bribery is liable to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for six years or to both.

ICC issues arrest warrant against Kenyan journalist Walter Barasa over witness interference

The International Criminal Court has issued a arrest warrant against a Kenyan journalist for "corruptly influencing or attempting to corruptly influence ICC witnesses".
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the Kenyan Government had received the warrant "for the immediate arrest and transfer of Walter Barasa to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face criminal charges"
"There is evidence to suggest that Walter Barasa tried to bribe someone he thought was a Prosecution witness in the case against (Deputy President William) Mr Ruto," Ms Bensouda said in a statement Wednesday.
She said the Prosecution has conducted a detailed investigation on the allegations of witness interference, a situation that obtains to date.
"The evidence collected so far indicates that there is a network of people who are trying to sabotage the case against Mr Ruto et al. by interfering with Prosecution witnesses. Walter Barasa, against whom compelling evidence has been collected, has been part of this network, and his actions fit into this wider scheme that the Office continues to investigate," the prosecutor said.
Under Article 70 of the Rome Statute, using bribes or threats to influence witnesses to change or recant their testimony is a crime.
If found guilty, Walter Barasa faces up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
BRIBE THREE WITNESSES
The prosecutor accuses Mr Barasa, a journalist based in Eldoret, of attempting to bribe three witnesses including witness 536.
Witness 536 is the survivor of the Kiambaa Church arson attack and is presently testifying in the case facing Mr Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua arap Sang at The Hague.
She is giving her testimony in private sessions after attempts to expose her identity and intimidate her family.
Ms Bensouda says Mr Barasa offered "to pay her and her husband a total of one million four hundred thousand Kenyan Shillings (KES 1,400,000) in order to influence her to withdraw as a Prosecution witness, committed during the period 20 May to 25 July 2013 and at or near Kampala, Uganda".
He also attempted to corruptly influence witnesses 256 and 336, Ms Bensouda charges.
HAND OVER BARASA
Ms Bensouda said it was her expectation that Kenya would arrest and hand over Mr Barasa for prosecution.
"He will appear before ICC judges on charges of corruptly influencing and attempting to corruptly influence a person he believed to be a Prosecution witnesses," she said.
The prosecutor said her office continues to monitor and probe other incidents of witness interference.
Ms Bensouda said the issuance of the arrest warrant should serve as a deterrence to those who may be plotting to obstruct justice.
"The issuance of an arrest warrant in this case should be a warning to others who may be involved in obstructing the course of justice through intimidating, harassing, bribing or attempting to bribe ICC witnesses.
"My Office will continue to do everything it can to ensure that witnesses are able to present their evidence before the Court without fear. Witnesses who have courage to come forward to testify deserve no less," she said.
She praised her witnesses for their "moral courage" to testify in the Kenyan cases.
"Through my Office, I will do all within my power to protect the integrity of our cases and ensure that justice is allowed to run its course unobstructed."
Mr Barasa's arrest warrant was unsealed by Judge Cuno Tarfusser, Single Judge of Pre-Trial Chamber II.
"He is charged with several offences against the administration of justice including corruptly influencing or attempting to corruptly influence ICC witnesses. An under seal warrant of arrest was issued against him on 2 August 2013, " the court said in a statement
"Based on the Prosecutor’s evidence, Judge Tarfusser also found that it is necessary to arrest Walter Osapiri Barasa to ensure his appearance at trial, to ensure that he does not obstruct or endanger the investigation or the proceedings, and to prevent him from continuing with the commission of the crime."
Mr Ruto and Mr Sang are facing charges of murder, persecution and deportation arising from the 2007/08 post election violence.
President Kenyatta trial is scheduled to open on November 12. He faces charges of murder, rape, persecution, deportation and other inhumane acts.
NEXT STEPS:
During an initial hearing before ICC Judges, Walter Barasa will be informed of the crimes which he is alleged to have committed and of his rights under the Rome Statute.
His plea will be entered and the Judges will then set a date for a hearing on the charges.
At this subsequent hearing, the Judges will hear submissions from both the Prosecution and Walter Barasa’s Defence on whether his case should go to trial.
If the charges are confirmed, the judges will set a trial date.

Courtesy of Dairy Nation

ICC Resumes Trial of Kenyan Deputy President Ruto

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto, left, awaits start of trial, courtroom of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands, Sept. 10, 2013.
The International Criminal Court has resumed the trial of  Deputy President William Ruto after letting him return home to deal with last week's deadly militant attack on Westgate mall.

Ruto was back in court at The Hague on Wednesday for his trial on charges of crimes against humanity.

The trial began last month, with prosecutors alleging Ruto orchestrated ethnic violence after  2007 disputed presidential election. Both he and his co-defendant, radio executive Joshua Sang, have pleaded not guilty.

Also on Wednesday, the court unsealed an arrest warrant for Walter Barasa, a Journalist accused of trying to corrupt witnesses involved in ICC cases regarding Kenyan officials.

Prosecutors say Walter Osapiri Barasa offered to pay witnesses to not testify in the proceedings, and that his arrest is necessary to ensure he does not obstruct the cases.

In addition to Ruto and Sang, the ICC will also try  President Uhuru Kenyatta. That trial is scheduled to begin in November.

Jeff Koinange to start a new show in KTN: Jeff Koinange Live

Jeff Koinange, host to the Capital talk on K24, is now headed to KTN to start a new show; Jeff Koinange Live.

Earlier this year, Jeff Koinange landed a big job in South Africa’s Arise News, a new TV station that was paying him about one Million dollars per year. He is one of the main news anchors at Arise News. It’s not clear whether Jeff is quitting that job to start his new show in Kenya’s KTN.
Jeff is set to start a new show called “Jeff Koinange Live”. It has been confirmed that the show will be aired on KTN every Wednesday at 10 PM. Listeners of Radio Maisha will also listen to the same show (also at 10 PM every Wednesday)
Jeff Koinange Live will be the same as K24’s capital talk and Jeff will be interviewing guests just like he did on the famous “Bench”
Before joining K24, Jeff Koinange was fired from CNN. He had allegedly been caught up in a sex scandal that CNN did not want to be associated with. In the said scandal, a mpango wa kando who Jeff was dating said that he was a “date-molester” and even posted some nasty phone conversations that she had with Jeff on a blog. All that time Jeff was a married man

Jeff Koinange to start a new show in KTN: Jeff Koinange Live

Jeff Koinange, host to the Capital talk on K24, is now headed to KTN to start a new show; Jeff Koinange Live.

Earlier this year, Jeff Koinange landed a big job in South Africa’s Arise News, a new TV station that was paying him about one Million dollars per year. He is one of the main news anchors at Arise News. It’s not clear whether Jeff is quitting that job to start his new show in Kenya’s KTN.
Jeff is set to start a new show called “Jeff Koinange Live”. It has been confirmed that the show will be aired on KTN every Wednesday at 10 PM. Listeners of Radio Maisha will also listen to the same show (also at 10 PM every Wednesday)
Jeff Koinange Live will be the same as K24’s capital talk and Jeff will be interviewing guests just like he did on the famous “Bench”
Before joining K24, Jeff Koinange was fired from CNN. He had allegedly been caught up in a sex scandal that CNN did not want to be associated with. In the said scandal, a mpango wa kando who Jeff was dating said that he was a “date-molester” and even posted some nasty phone conversations that she had with Jeff on a blog. All that time Jeff was a married man

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Al-Shabaab and Obama’s Family Push For Islamic Kenya

Tuesday, 1 October 2013 - 0 Comments

obamaisBoth the al-Shabaab terrorists and the Obama family want the nation of Kenya to be under Sharia code.
Al-Arab wrote that Obama’s cousin, Musa Obama, “studied Sharia in Medina” and has called

“upon the Arab and Islamic states to put more effort toward aiding the Kenyan Muslim brethren, especially since there is much support coming from Western nations and Western churches.”
Musa has also confirmed that his organization, the Mama Sarah Obama Foundation, “gives scholarships to study Sharia in Medina [Saudi Arabia].”
He stated, furthermore,
“that despite the fact that Barack Obama hasn’t visited his tribe in Kenya since his election in the United States, there is a continual communication between him and several members of his family and his tribe in Kenya, of which the Kenyan prime minister is also a member.”
Thus, we know for a fact that Musa Obama studied Sharia in Medina, that his organization gives scholarships for Muslim youths to study Sharia in Saudi Arabia, for the purpose of de-Christinizing and extinguishing Christianity in Kenya, where the majority of people are Christians. Musa Obama, Sarah Obama (Obama’s grandmother) and Sayed Obama (Obama’s uncle) are lending scholarships for youths to enter the three major Sharia schools in Saudi Arabia: Umm al-Qura, the Islamic University in Medina, and the University of Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.
Now we have al-Shabaab terrorists executing a slaughter of people in a Nairobi mall, and when we look into what this group is, what we find is that they are a result of youths being sent to these very same universities in Saudi Arabia, including the one where Musa Obama studied.
In the sixties and seventies, the major conduit of Wahhabism into Somalia, was the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood bringing in Islamic schools into Somalia. Somalian youths were then given scholarships for three major Islamic universities, Umm al-qura University, the University of Medina, and Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, all three of these institutions are the same schools to where the Mama Obama Sara Fund is sending Kenyan youths to learn Sharia.
The Gulf Issues Centre For Strategic Studies describes these institutions as “the spring of Wahhabism,” and further writes:
“[Wahhabists] grew up in the Wahhabi and Salafi schools which imbibed radical ideas in the Islamic University in Medina, Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, and the University of Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.”
A 2010 African Policy Briefing for the International Crisis Group, in writing on the history of Wahhabism and the al-Shabaab group in Somalia, places its significant growth with Somalian youths being recruited into Umm al-Qura University and the University of Medina, the same schools to which the Mama Sarah Obama Fund brings Kenyan youths to study Islamic Sharia:
Saudi Arabia – flush with petro-dollars after the oil shocks of the 1970s – was particularly instrumental in promoting Wahhabism. and Islamic charities sprang up in all the major urban centres and even in the remote countryside. Well-funded madrasas (religious schools) Thousands of Somali youngsters were brought to Saudi universities – principally Medina and Umm al-Qura – to study Wahhabi jurisprudence (fiqh) and missionary work (da’wa).
The two named universities are the ones which the Obamas are heavily associated with. Moreover, Obama’s brother, Malik Obama, is the executive secretary for the Islamic Dawah Organization of Sudan, which is working to make Africa Islamic, the same goal of the two named universities’ dawah programs.
The Foreign Policy Council attributed the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Somalia substantially to these same three universities:
After Somalia’s independence in 1960, Egyptians opened secondary schools in many of the country’s towns. In the 1960s and 1970s, Saudi religious and educational institutions—especially the Islamic University of Medina, the Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, and the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh—joined al-Azhar in offering scholarships to the graduates of these institutions. This development has parallels with the entrenchment of radical Islam in nearby Sudan via the establishment of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, the precursor to the currently-ruling National Congress Party (formerly the National Islamic Front).
It was from this very Islamism that al-Shabaab arose, and, furthermore, the report parallels this rise to the founding of the National Congress Party in North Sudan, which is ran by Omar al-Bashir, the same Muslim Brotherhood member who Barack Obama’s brother, Malik Obama, is working with to make Africa fully Islamic and free of all Christianity.
This goal to replace Christianity with Islam in Kenya by the Obamas, was expressed by al-Arab in their interview with Musa Obama in the World University Ruff in Nairobi:
“Muslims [in Kenya] suffer from the monumental Christianization aided by Zionist expansionism that infiltrates the nation.”
Al-Shabaab, as well, wants to purge Kenya of all Christianity. When they were slaughtering people in the Nairobi mall, they lined civilians up, and executed them after deeming them non-Muslims because they could not “name the Prophet Mohammed’s mother or recite passages from the Koran.” There was one man who was Muslim who was spared after he recited some verses of the Koran.
Lets not forget that Kenya is 83% Christian, so we know that this massacre was done specifically to kill Christians. In 2011 it was reported that al-Shabaab decapitated a Christian in Somalia named Juma Nuradin Kamil.
There is a very significant figure in the Nairobi mall shooting, Hassan Mahad Omar, also known as Hassaan Hussein Adam “Abu Salman.” Hassan is the unofficial mufti and ideologue for al-Shabaab, and their terrorist attacks are linked, directly and indirectly, to his fatwas.
Hassan teaches Islamic doctrine and has a degree from an Islamic university in Saudi Arabia, which means that he is interlinked with the three major Islamic universities to where the Obamas are sending Islamic youths to study Islam and Sharia.
Al-Shabaab, the group who slaughtered the people in the Christian majority nation of Kenya, and the Obamas, are associated with the universities which gave rise to the ideology of al-Shabaab, and both are striving for the same goal: an Islamic Kenya where Christianity would be outlawed.
Is it any wonder, now, that Obama prevented the revolution against the Muslim Brotherhood dictator of North Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, and that he is giving weapons to the jihadists in Syria?

Kenya to open inquiry into Westgate Mall attack, says President Kenyatta

President Kenyatta speaks during the national prayers session at KICC, Nairobi October 1, 2013. He said Commission of Inquiry will be established to probe the Westgate Mall attack. EMMA NZIOKAPresident Kenyatta has said a Commission of Inquiry will be established to probe the Westgate

President Kenyatta has said a Commission of Inquiry will be established to probe the Westgate Mall attack.
The President said Kenyans remain united despite the terror attack.
"I will set up a commission of inquiry to see where there were lapses and how we can avoid them in future," President Kenyatta said during a national prayers session to promote healing and national reconciliation in Nairobi Tuesday.
The Inter Religious Council hosted the prayers at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi.
The President said the terror attack would not deter Kenya's efforts to stabilise Somalia.
Some 67 people were killed and many injured after terrorists stormed the mall on September 21 and opened fire indiscriminately.
A multi-agency operation ended the four-day siege with President Kenyatta saying "we have ashamed and defeated our attackers".

Monday, 30 September 2013

Dollar, global shares fall as U.S. government shutdown looms

Monday, 30 September 2013 - 0 Comments


Global stock markets fell and the dollar dropped against major currencies on Monday as a partial U.S. government shutdown neared reality, with passage of an 11th hour stop-gap spending bill seen as unlikely.
The Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate killed a proposal by the Republican-led House of Representatives to delay President Barack Obama's health care program for a year in return for temporary funding of the federal government beyond Monday.
The bill, which would run through November 15, was aimed at averting a government shutdown. It now goes back to the House, where Republicans will seek a one-year delay of the "individual mandate" as part of an emergency spending bill.
A prolonged shutdown could have a major impact on the U.S. economy and consumer confidence. As many as 1 million federal employees could face unpaid furloughs. But a shutdown is unlikely to affect the country's sovereign credit rating.
President Obama, saying he was not "resigned" to a shutdown, said he planned to talk to congressional leaders later, as well as on Tuesday and Wednesday, but held out no new offer of compromise on his signature health-care law.
Investors are accustomed to political battles in Washington resulting in a last-minute accord and voiced skepticism any shutdown would last for an extended period.
The CBOE's Volatility index .VIX, often called Wall Street's fear gauge, jumped to a September high of 17.49, before shedding some losses to trade at 16.60.
"I don't think there is 'panic' per se, although the VIX is near 17, which is higher than what we've been seeing for some time," said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab & Co. in Austin, Texas.
The dollar last traded 0.07 percent lower against a basket of six major currencies at 80.233 .DXY and was near break-even against the yen, up 0.1 percent at 98.34 yen. The euro rose 0.03 percent at $1.3525.
MSCI's all-country equity stock index .MIWD00000PUS was down 0.78 percent, while the broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of regional shares closed down 0.6 percent at 1,247.14.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI closed down 128.57 points, or 0.84 percent, at 15,129.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 10.20 points, or 0.60 percent, at 1,681.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC slipped 10.12 points, or 0.27 percent, at 3,771.48.
Despite a slide since the Federal Reserve surprised the market on September 18 by not starting to trim its stimulus program, stocks closed the month and quarter higher.
The Dow rose 2.2 percent, the S&P gained 3.0 percent and the Nasdaq 5.1 percent for the month. Over the quarter the Dow rose 1.5 percent, the S&P 4.7 percent and the Nasdaq 10.8 percent.
Shares of defense companies declined, as a prolonged government shutdown would most likely diminish the amount of new contracts. Raytheon Co (RTN.N) closed 1.4 percent lower at $77.07 and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) fell 1.3 percent to $127.55, while Boeing Co (BA.N) slipped 1.1 percent to $117.50.
The PHLX defense sector .DFX slid 0.82 percent.
Wall Street has weathered similar incidents in the past. During a shutdown from December 15, 1995, to January 6, 1996, the S&P 500 added 0.1 percent. During the November 13-19, 1995, shutdown, the benchmark index rose 1.3 percent, according to data by Jason Goepfert, president of SentimenTrader.com.
That pattern of gains may not hold this time, given that economic growth continues to be weak. Wall Street may also be ripe for a sell-off, with the S&P near an all-time high after having escaped any sustained pullback so far this year.
In the latest economic data, the Chicago Purchasing Managers index rose more than expected in September, climbing to a reading of 55.7 from 53 the previous month. Analysts were expecting a reading of 54.
Fears of a U.S. government shutdown supported safe-haven demand for bonds, sending benchmark yields to their lowest in seven weeks.
U.S. government debt was on track to post its first monthly gain since April and to eke out its first quarterly rise since a year ago, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
"The best way to say what the market is doing right now is that it's pricing in a partial government shutdown," said John Herrmann, director of interest rates strategy at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities in New York.
U.S. Treasuries prices rose in choppy trade, with the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond up 4/32 in price to yield 2.6118 percent.
Brent crude oil fell, heading for its first monthly decline since May, as the looming U.S. government shutdown clouded the outlook for demand, while tensions over Iran continued to ease.
Brent fell 26 cents to settle at $108.37 a barrel. U.S. crude settled down 54 cents at $102.33 a barrel.
Gold prices posted their best quarter in a year, gaining almost 8 percent, but fell during the session on the impasse in Washington.
Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,328.74 an ounce, while U.S. Comex gold futures for December delivery settled down $12.20 at $1,327 an ounce.

reuters

U.S. government shutdown begins after Congress fails to break impasse

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (L-R), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) stand with a clock counting down to a government shutdown at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 30, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstThe U.S. government began a partial shutdown on Tuesday for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects.
Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions.
After House Republicans floated a late offer to break the logjam, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected the idea, saying Democrats would not enter into formal negotiations on spending "with a gun to our head" in the form of government shutdowns.
The political dysfunction at the Capitol also raised fresh concerns about whether Congress can meet a crucial mid-October deadline to raise the government's $16.7 trillion debt ceiling.
With an eye on the 2014 congressional elections, both parties tried to deflect responsibility for the shutdown. President Barack Obama accused Republicans of being too beholden to Tea Party conservatives in the House of Representatives and said the shutdown could threaten the economic recovery.
The political stakes are particularly high for Republicans, who are trying to regain control of the Senate next year. Polls show they are more likely to be blamed for the shutdown, as they were during the last shutdown in 1996.
"Somebody is going to win and somebody is going to lose," said pollster Peter Brown of the Quinnipiac University poll. "Going in, Obama and the Democrats have a little edge."
The dollar held steady on Tuesday even though much of the U.S. government was due to start shutting down. S&P stock futures inched up 0.2 percent, unchanged from earlier price action after the cash index fell 0.6 percent on Monday, while U.S. Treasury futures slipped 5 ticks.
Most Asian markets were trading higher on Tuesday.
Political polarization
The shutdown, the culmination of three years of divided government and growing political polarization, was spearheaded by Tea Party conservatives united in their opposition to Obama, their distaste for Obama's healthcare law and their campaign pledges to rein in government spending.
Obama refused to negotiate over the Republican demands and warned a shutdown could "throw a wrench into the gears of our economy."

Some government offices and national parks will be shuttered, but spending for essential functions related to national security and public safety will continue, including pay for U.S. military troops.
"It's not shocking there is a shutdown, the shock is that it hasn't happened before this," said Republican strategist John Feehery, a former Capitol Hill aide. "We have a divided government with such diametrically opposed views, we need a crisis to get any kind of results."
In the hours leading up to the deadline, the Democratic-controlled Senate repeatedly stripped measures passed by the House that tied temporary funding for government operations to delaying or scaling back the healthcare overhaul known as Obamacare. The Senate instead insisted on funding the government through November 15 without special conditions.
Whether the shutdown represents another bump in the road for a Congress increasingly plagued by dysfunction or is a sign of a more alarming breakdown in the political process could be determined by the reaction among voters and on Wall Street.
"The key to this is not what happens in Washington. The key is what happens out in the real world," said Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis. "When Joe Public starts rebelling, and the financial markets start melting down, then we'll see what these guys do."
A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed about one-quarter of Americans would blame Republicans for a shutdown, 14 percent would blame Obama and 5 percent would blame Democrats in Congress, while 44 percent said everyone would be to blame.
An anticipated revolt by moderate House Republicans fizzled earlier on Monday after House Speaker John Boehner made personal appeals to many of them to back him on a key procedural vote, said Republican Representative Peter King of New York.
After Boehner made his appeal, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer called on him to permit a vote on a simple extension of federal funding of the government without any Obamacare add-on. "I dare you to do that," Hoyer roared.
The fallout
The potential fallout has some Republican Party leaders worried ahead of the 2014 mid-term elections and the 2016 presidential race, particularly given the Republican divisions over the shutdown.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who commandeered the Senate floor for 21 hours last week to stoke the confrontation and urge House colleagues to join him, sparked a feud with fellow Republicans who disagreed with the shutdown and accused the potential 2016 presidential candidate of grandstanding.
"Whether or not we're responsible for it, we're going to get blamed for it," King told reporters on Monday. "They've locked themselves into a situation, a dead-end that Ted Cruz created."
It was unclear how long the shutdown would last and there was no clear plan to break the impasse. The Senate on Tuesday planned to recess until 9:30 a.m. (1330 GMT), at which time Democrats expect to formally reject the House of Representatives' latest offer for funding the government.
The shutdown will continue until Congress resolves its differences, which could be days or months. But the conflict could spill over into the more crucial dispute over raising the federal government's borrowing authority.
A failure to raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling would force the country to default on its obligations, dealing a potentially painful blow to the economy and sending shockwaves around global markets.
Some analysts said a brief government shutdown - and a resulting backlash against lawmakers - could cool Republican demands for a showdown over the debt limit.
"A lot of this is political theater. It's not about real policy. Part of this is taking a stand for their constituents," said Julian Zelizer, a historian at Princeton University.
"If there is fallout from a shutdown and there is a big enough shock, maybe they will be willing to move on to other issues," he said.
Obama says negotiating over the demands would only encourage future confrontations, and Democrats are wary of passing a short-term funding bill that would push the confrontation too close to the deadline for raising the debt ceiling.
"The bottom line is very simple - you negotiate on this, they will up the ante for the debt ceiling," Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said.

 Reuters

Public romps become the norm as sex, virginity loses meaning

By NDUKU MWEMA
Sex has found a new home in weird places with 90 per cent of Nairobi women this writer spoke to confessing that sex in cars is not only a normal thing, but that they have experienced it as well.
The men, on the other hand, openly give accounts of their sexual escapades in cars, many having done it multiple times and claiming, rather surprisingly, to have been driven to it by the women.
Take the case of Chris*, who confesses to have had sex in his car countless times. I asked him what pushed him to do it the very first time.
“The girl wanted a wild experience and I obliged,“ he says and jokingly, adding,” What are friends for?” You are good to go as long as the parking is dark and the car windows are tinted.”
Chris says he has done this a couple of times, the anxiety of getting caught notwithstanding.
Joshua*, another lover of car sex says, “Just like sex in the store or on a corridor, sex in the car is fun. The anxiety caused by the unorthodox venue and the risk of getting caught takes the pleasure to crazy heights.”
Joshua, however, warns that sex in the car is a recipe for a bad omen. He says that sooner or later after a car romp, a traffic accident is inevitable. He says it happened to him just days after an escapade and also to three of his ‘boys’ as well, something Chris* disputes as an old wives’ tale.
Not that this car thing is a youth fad. Wachira*, a student at a local private university, narrates what he witnessed at a famous Nairobi shopping mall. His mother and sister had left him resting in their car at the parking lot as they shopped in the mall. Suddenly, a man in his 50s walked out of the mall with a 20-something-year-old petite woman. Joshua saw them put their shopping in the boot and get in the car, which oddly stayed put for 30 minutes before driving off. “Something unusual was happening to that car. I could see it rock — like a bed. Some action was certainly taking place. It was around 7.10pm and there was a streetlight, but the car windows were tinted and their windscreen was facing away from the light,” Wachira* recalls.
Wildest moment
Carole*, the only woman who shared her experience, describes her 3am tryst at a quiet parking as her wildest moment, one she can never forget, and wouldn’t hesitate to try again in the car or a weirder place like the dance floor.
“It is exciting, brings out your wild side, but don’t try it in a borrowed car. Damages are inevitable!” Carole quips. Call girls in an upmarket part of Nairobi have also turned cars into lodgings. Most of their clients are taxi drivers who, at the close of business, pay for the services by dropping the call girls home.
Car romps happen mostly at night on parking lots near pubs and girls’ hostels. But this being Kenya, watchmen and cops are always on the look out to catch the culprits and squeeze money out of them as happened last weekend outside a girls’ hostel in the outskirts of Nairobi.
A couple caught in a compromising situation outside the hostel was trying to settle the matter ‘out of court’ with the watchman who was demanding Sh5,000, with the man offering half of that in order not to get the girl, a resident of the strict hostel, into problems.
A consensus was reached and the unlucky guy forked out Sh2,000 as the girl staggered into the hostel.The watchman sheepishly disclosed to this writer that that was neither his first nor last deal of this kind, and said business is more lucrative for his peers in town.
Tip off
“They spread cartons on the floors for ‘customers’ at a fee at night. But if the man looks loaded, they tip off policemen on the beat who arrest the ‘misbehaving’ couple in their birthday suits and squeeze anything from Sh5,000 to as much as Sh10,000 out of them. The watchman, therefore, earns double — from renting the floor to the couple and from a share of the loot from the policemen,” he says.
Watchmen will also tell you that flushing couples out of pub toilets is commonplace. Just last week, a couple was smoked out of a toilet in a pub in the heart of Nairobi.
The embarrassed couple walked out of the toilet to the grinning faces of fellow revellers who had gathered outside the washroom, their fun cut short by a hawk-eyed bouncer. In another pub, those waiting outside the toilet were bemused when a woman peeped and said, “Just a minute darlings.” A few minutes later, a man in a suit emerged followed by the woman smoothening her skirt.
Walter, a bouncer in a Nairobi club, says throwing out people trying out what he calls “too much in the club” has become part of his job. He says such people hide at dark corners of the pub and in some instances, the culprits are not young. He recalls an incident where he had to throw out an old lady in the company of a middle-aged man who were “behaving like chicken”. Similar incidents in the pubs have been witnessed on the dance floor and couches. Some daring people have even attempted to have sex at the DJ’s cubicle in pubs, mostly in collaboration with the DJ — or even the DJ being that daring rogue.
Alfred* says he has had sex twice on the dance floor. “Everybody on the dance floor minds their own business, it is always congested and a simple sex escapade is easily mistaken for a dance style. It’s easy to get extremely naughty, especially if the girl is wearing tights,” he says.
And still on pubs, there is a crazy live sex show in a famous strip club in Nairobi. The male clients give premium money for the show and the girl chooses a random man to have sex with and decides whether the man should wear protection or not. The other men spectate in anticipation of being chosen by the next girl, or the same girl in round two or three.
Alcohol
Away from pubs, other notorious places for ‘wild sex’ are the endless social and sporting events in towns. Young souls indulge in alcohol and get out of control, mating everywhere in the fields and paths as witnessed in a recent sporting event.
This is not so different from in-house parties hosted by university students, something notorious with universities along Thika Road. A victim of gang rape disguised as consensual group sex had a warning for this writer: “Don‘t go to an in house university students’ party if you don’t want to sleep with half of the men attending. All sort of stuff are served in these parties — from weed cookies to heroine and cocaine. Some of the girls willingly have sex with as many guys as possible in some sort of competition, while others get drugged and dragged into the same.”

courtesy of standard news

Bungoma Senator Wetangula loses seat

Bungoma Senator and CORD's co-principal Moses Wetangula Monday lost his senatorial seat following a successful petition filed by former minister Musikari Kombo.
Bungoma High Court Judge Francis Gikonyo in his ruling said there was a wide range of malpractices including double registration, vote tallying manipulation, and double voting.  "At a meeting in Red Cross hotel, clergy were offered Sh260,000 to vote for CORD leaders in the area," the court heard.
The Monday decision leaves Wetangula with a second chance to seek votes from electorate through a by-election to be announced later.
Moses Wetangula was nominated as a Kanu MP after the 1992 general election, serving until 1997. He has held several other previous public positions which include that of magistrate and the chairman Electricity Regulatory Board.
Wetangula was elected to the National Assembly in the December 2002 parliamentary election. In the Cabinet appointed by President Mwai Kibaki on 8 January 2008, in the midst of a crisis regarding the results of the concurrent presidential election, Wetangula was named Minister for Foreign Affairs.
CORD leaders including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga were present during the ruling.
 

Revealed!!The relevant authorities were warned of the terror attack..Did they ignore it?

Four Cabinet Secretaries and the Kenya Defence Force boss were warned that al-Shabaab terrorists were planning a Mumbai-style attack in Nairobi, where they would storm a building and hold hostages.
The warnings started in January and increased early this month when the Cabinet Secretaries, who are members of the National Security Council, were told of plans to cause mayhem in Nairobi and Mombasa on September 13 and 20.
According to counter-terrorism reports seen by the Saturday Nation, Cabinet Secretaries Julius Rotich (Treasury), Joseph ole Lenku (Interior), Amina Mohammed (Foreign Affairs), Raychelle Omamo (Defence) and KDF boss General Julius Karangi were alerted on the impending attacks. The report said terrorists planned to storm a building with guns and grenades and “probably hold hostages”.
“Briefs were made to them informing them of increasing threat of terrorism and of plans to launch simultaneous attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa around September 13 and 20, 2013,” the report says.
The briefs were also escalated to the National Security Advisory Committee in mid-September, when intelligence reports showed that the al-Shabaab had intensified activities in Kenya and were planning an attack. 
The committee is the top security organ in Kenya. The council comprises the President, Deputy President, Cabinet Secretaries for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Attorney-General, Chief of Kenya Defence Forces, Director of National Intelligence Service and the Inspector-General of Police. It was not immediately clear whether the President received the brief.
Last week’s Westgate attack that killed at least 67 and injured 175 people happened on September 21, a day after the projected date.
The attack on Westgate, which is owned by an Israeli, followed similar warnings from Israel to the Kenya government.
The Israelis said terrorists were planning to attack premises owned by its citizens during the Jewish holidays between September 4 and 28. “The Israeli Embassy in Nairobi has raised concern with the Foreign Affairs Ministry that Iran and Hezbollah from Lebanon have been collecting ‘operational intelligence and open interests in Israeli and Jewish targets around the world including Kenya,’” warns the report filed on September 13, 2013.
Also targeted were US and British installations and an unspecified UN office. The report identified Ahmed Imam Ali as the man who would carry out the attack on the installations. 
The Cabinet Secretaries named in the report could not be reached for comment yesterday. Short text messages sent to their phones did not elicit response.
According to the intelligence situation report, Westgate and Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi had been flagged for attack early this year. The report names Sheikh Abdiwelli Mohammed and Sheikh Hussein Hassan as the masterminds.
“They are believed to... have already surveyed the two targets,” says the report.
It says the Westgate raid was ordered by al-Shabaab leader Abdi Godane and that some of the attackers involved were operating in Somali’s Bullo Marer area near Barawa. Godane is the new al-Shabaab Emir after he assassinated Omar Shafik Hammami and chased away Sheikh Aweys, who later handed himself to the Somali government.
President Kenyatta has promised to punish the terrorists who attacked the mall and vowed that the military will not retreat from pacifying Kenya’s borders. However, al-Shabaab spokesman Hamza Mohammed dismissed President Kenyatta in an interview on Al-Jazeera television, saying Kenya “had no capacity” to bring justice to al-Shabaab.
The report also warns of an influx of religious extremists to North Eastern and Coast regions of the country.
“In Lamu, an unknown number of al-Shabaab operatives are hiding close to a herder’s camp between Katsakakairu and Nyangoro near Witu,” it says.
Apart from attacking churches in northern Kenya, the militants are said to be targeting Times Tower and popular entertainment spots on Koinange and Kimathi streets in Nairobi.
“Other than the clubs, they also surveyed Times Tower and Nyayo House. During this mission, they identified peak hours, security checks, CCTV cameras and ideal points from where to carry out car bomb attacks. They further observed that the buildings could easily be accessed using fake identification documents obtained from River Road, Nairobi,” says the report.
The Times Towers raid was to be carried out by Musharaf Abdulla, a member of the Al Shabaab cell that was planning to attack Parliament Buildings in September last year.
The report says many Muslim youths in Nairobi and Mombasa were being radicalised, adding: “Some Islamic scholars with extremist tendencies have been conducting programmes in schools (names withheld) within Nairobi.”
According to the report, the problem of fighting terrorism in Kenya is the constant innovation by the terrorists and lack of awareness by the public.
The report says that identifying al-Shabaab returnees was a major challenge.
“Some of them are only identifiable through Christian names and aliases, while others have no form of identification at all,” says the report.
The report also says that they have adopted” a strict operational security measures”.
“This includes reducing use of mobile phones, communicating through encrypted messages, using e-mail draft boxes such as Dead Letter Boxes and adopting use of such applications as WhatsApp. They have also minimised interactions with non-members, thus reducing opportunities for recruitment against them,” the report says.
The report singles out levels of corruption in government as a key problem that allows foreigners and terrorists to enter Kenya.

Assault mastermind said to be a Kenyan, 50, associated with ex-Qaeda leader Fazul

The mastermind of the Westgate shopping mall terrorist attack is suspected to be a 50-year-old Kenyan man who is an associate of the late Al-Qaeda leader Fazul Abdullah, theSunday Nation has established.
Abu Sandheere, whose parents were a Maasai and a European, is thought to have escaped moments after the assault started on Saturday.
“He escorted the attackers to the mall and then left as people were fleeing. He then travelled to the border and crossed to Somalia,” said an intelligence source.
According to counter-terrorism sources, the man seconded to Al-Shabaab by the Al-Qaeda network arrived in Somalia on Friday after days of avoiding the tight security that had been mounted across the country to stop suspected terrorists from escaping.
Sandheere, said to be the regional Al-Qaeda man in charge of intelligence, logistics and special operations, escaped from Westgate with two other unidentified terrorists.
The reports describe the man as tall and light-skinned with perforated ears lobes. He is also described as being “extremely sharp”.
VALUES THE MAN
According to the sources, Al-Shabaab values the man and only declared the Nairobi mission accomplished when he arrived in Somalia on Friday.
“Al-Shabaab values him a lot. They were keeping their fingers crossed until he returned to base,” the sources said.
Kenyan security agencies also say Sandheere is well educated, having studied at an institution only identified as Al-Azhar.
We could not independently establish whether he studied at Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, or Al-Azar, which is also a religious site in the city. The head of Al-Qaeda, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, is an Egyptian.
Al-Shabaab “formally” joined Al-Qaeda in February last year after cooperating since 2008.
Sandheere arrived in Somalia with Fazul just after the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi.
POWER STRUGGLE
Fazul was later killed at a roadblock in Mogadishu by government forces after years of evading Kenyan and Somali security forces.
There has been speculation that Fazul’s death was part of a power struggle that now leaves Abu Godane as the undisputed Al-Shabaab leader.
“He arrived in Somalia with Fazul. He is also a skilled trainer of terrorists, the trainer of the Al-Khidma within Al-Shabaab. He is very important to the group,” said the sources.
The planning of the attack reportedly started nine months ago when the terrorists hired a shop at the Westgate Mall.
They are said to have then brought in ammunition, automatic guns and grenades that they used for the attack and siege which lasted for 72 hours.
According to the intelligence reports, Al-Qaeda facilitated the attack to unite the warring factions in Al-Shabaab under Godane. There have been recent reports of fighting in the group that has claimed casualties, mostly foreign fighters.
Separately, an intelligence counter-terrorism brief seen by Sunday Nation says a highly trained Al-Shabaab assassination squad of 20 could be on the loose in the country. The squad, known as “head breakers” or Mandax Jibshe in Somali, has a specific mandate to locate and assassinate individuals in Nairobi and Mombasa.
The report says the killer squad could have crossed the Kenya-Somali border between September 5-10.
According to counter-terrorism reports, the squad is led by Salaad Hassan and Khadar Abdi Abubakar and its members are trained in use of small arms.
The squad members are said to have entered Kenya disguised as refugees and registered at Hagadera refugee camp where they were helped by a Mr Ahmed Bishar and an Amniyat (Al-Shabaab intelligence network) which operates both in Kenya and Somalia.
The squad is said to have received forged refugee documents in early September in preparation for their entry into the refugee camp in Kenya and later to their intended destinations in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Their suspected entry into Kenya has resulted in increased activities by the Amniyats in Northern Kenya, where it believed their activities are aimed at giving them cover.
According to the situation reports, the spies also run the supply line of explosives and other weapons used by terror cells in Nairobi and Mombasa.
“Al-Shabaab spies and Amniyat operatives have continued to pour into the country, especially in the North Eastern region and facilitating terror activities to the extent of engaging and controlling economic activities, some of which are illegal, “says the report.
The squad is backed by Al-Shabaab cells in the country — young men who joined the terror group to fight in Somalia but only to be displaced after the Kenya Defence Forces liberated Jubaland during Operation Linda Nchi.

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