Palaver

"We have continued to use the ballot to elect semi-illiterate and visionless leaders who change into demi-gods once they are in the office. This time we must interrogate ourselves and do the right thing," said PLO Lumumba the other day. Could this phrase apply to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh whose troops are notching up deaths daily as they brutally try to end a four-month-old sit-in? How does one shoot unarmed people whose only crime is to make speeches, perform plays and sing songs of freedom? Palaver hopes Luis Moreno-Ocampo has a few extra cast iron-grilled cells on standby.
If you thought Chips Funga and Sausage Funga are a purely Kenyan phenomenon, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Apparently, it is fashionable and normal for students in China to abandon schooling to become some rich fella’s Funga. Okay, they call them ernai, literally, "second breast" in that part of the world, but it is actually widely accepted! According to Time magazine, the annual Funga maintenance fees ranges from Sh255,000 for students in low-class schools to about Sh2.2 million for students from the best campuses. And you can continue studying part-time.
Congratulations Dr Bonny Khalwale for retaining the ‘Goldmine’. If not for your peace of mind and that of your voters, then certainly for the sake of robust debate on the floor of the House. One niggling matter though: Since New Ford-Kenya held the seat in the first place, at what point did it become ODM’s to lose? What is the hullaballoo about Musalia and ODM leader getting their just desserts? Surely, they were duty-bound to campaign for their party candidate.
And finally...
Dear Palaverites, that shrieking Republican running mate is back and getting shriller by the day. It gets worse when her former boss Sen John McCain actually goes on air to say she will wallop Barack Obama hands down next year! Let’s just hope former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s prospective candidacy remains a publicity stunt, so that we don’t abuse the dignity of Geography students who actually know I-Ran is different from Obama’s I-Reland.
—editorial@standardmedia co.ke