One of the biggest ambitions of former President Bill Clinton after the historic 2002 elections was to meet the man who had ousted the dictatorial, corrupt KANU government, one Mwai Kibaki. The reason was obvious. The former US president knew a thing or two about the Moi regime and although he carefully leaves out the issue of Kenya and the policy of his administration towards corrupt African governments from his massive biography it is well known that the Clinton administration used information from high tech surveillance to identify instances where bribes were being solicited and to intervene when US companies were going to lose multi-million dollar contracts as a result of bribery and corruption.
The best example of this was the infamous incident where American companies were competing with European competitor Airbus industrie for a major contract in the Middle East and high tech surveillance showed evidence that officials of the company were involved in bribery attempts. The Clinton administration intervened and the contract went the way of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas.
Now what is this high tech surveillance that I keep on referring to here?
Ever heard of Echelon? Echelon is a joint intelligence surveillance arrangement that the governments of the US, England, Australia and New Zealand share intelligence information thus bypassing domestic privacy laws that limit the extent to which the individual countries can spy on their own citizens. The Echelon project benefits greatly from the 9 acres of computers, backed by sophisticated satellite links that keeps a watch on the entire world's every communication that is operated by the NSA (National Security Agency) in the United States. That includes private cell phone conversations, fax, land line conversations, the confidential email you sent off moments before you came to this site to start reading this and so on. The whole system is run on a sophisticated arrangement where certain keywords will attract attention. During a recent documentary feature a former NSA operative gave the amusing example of a conversation between a woman who had been to see her son in a school play and described it as "a blast" (common English expression meaning that it was excellent) to a friend. That keyword sent the NSA alarm bells ringing and caused close scrutiny of the entire conversation before it was realized that the woman was not involved in planning a "blast" somewhere or any terrorist activities for that matter.
But while the systems of processing the information are not yet foolproof, the gathering virtually is. These systems not only capture every conversation on the globe but agencies like the NSA are well able to decode encrypted communication as well. All this may sound like fiction, but it isn't. It is reality.
This means that there is foolproof evidence lying somewhere on Anglo Leasing, Goldenberg and even the gruesome Ouko murder. Little wonder that it is said that the British have conclusive evidence on the Ouko murder locked up somewhere in London. (Although retired superintendent John Troon is of the view that there is enough evidence in Kenya to prosecute the two big names in that gruesome crime).
What all this means is that Western governments are always very much aware of the facts when dealing with African governments such as the Kenyan one. And when they warn of imminent terrorist attacks during World Cross Country championships scheduled for Mombasa this Saturday, they have their facts.
Obviously people like Kieni MP Chris Murungaru were either not aware of the existence of this surveillance system or chose to ignore it when as a full cabinet minister he chose to meet characters who are known to be involved in the illegal drugs business, during a visit to London. The British authorities promptly slapped a visa ban on him that still stands to this day.
It sends a chill through your spine does it not, to realize that your every move is being watched. Big Brother is watching.
Read more about Echelon
The most valuable business secret from Coca Cola
Regular violent wife rape by a dutiful husband.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Most Valuable Business Secret From Coca Cola
The most recognizable brand in the world, Coca Cola would have gotten absolutely nowhere had the idea of bottling the soft drink not been hatched. There are all sorts of fascinating stories linked to the issue of bottling, many of them myths, but the significance of bottling the soft drink rather than just distributing it to fountains at popular outlets birthed Coca Cola's legendary distribution system which meant that the soft drink could penetrate the remotest parts of the world easily.
The pairing up of a great soft drink and bottling technology made the whole difference. There are many other examples of two different components coming together to create amazing synergy and a "knock-out" product that ends up making millions for its' creator. A horse carriage and an internal combustion engine were combined to create the motor vehicle. The cone was combined with ice-cream to create the hottest selling ice cream in the world, the cone ice-cream. PC sales did not really take off until somebody found a way to link them together using telephone lines, hence the birth of the Internet.
But of all the amazing stories of synergies in the history of mankind, none can beat the pairing up of a favourite hobby or pastime with the power and reach of the Internet. As you read this hundreds of thousands of people have made their fortunes on the Internet by simply recognizing that simple fact.
In fact the biggest secret of business success on the World Wide Web is to start by ignoring the cash and money-making aspect and to instead focus all your attention on doing something you really love. Do you have a hobby? What do you really enjoy doing? These are some of the first questions you should ask yourself rather than asking how much money you are bound to make from the whole thing. Information on how to make money online is easily accessible and you can be sure that if you succeed you will not be the first nor the last.
Regular violent wife rape by a dutiful husband.
The pairing up of a great soft drink and bottling technology made the whole difference. There are many other examples of two different components coming together to create amazing synergy and a "knock-out" product that ends up making millions for its' creator. A horse carriage and an internal combustion engine were combined to create the motor vehicle. The cone was combined with ice-cream to create the hottest selling ice cream in the world, the cone ice-cream. PC sales did not really take off until somebody found a way to link them together using telephone lines, hence the birth of the Internet.
But of all the amazing stories of synergies in the history of mankind, none can beat the pairing up of a favourite hobby or pastime with the power and reach of the Internet. As you read this hundreds of thousands of people have made their fortunes on the Internet by simply recognizing that simple fact.
In fact the biggest secret of business success on the World Wide Web is to start by ignoring the cash and money-making aspect and to instead focus all your attention on doing something you really love. Do you have a hobby? What do you really enjoy doing? These are some of the first questions you should ask yourself rather than asking how much money you are bound to make from the whole thing. Information on how to make money online is easily accessible and you can be sure that if you succeed you will not be the first nor the last.
Regular violent wife rape by a dutiful husband.
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