Tuesday, July 31, 2012

AMAZING CREATURES OF KIHANSI SPRAY TOAD..

I am proud to be Tanzanian, a country that is full of amazing creatures and natural resources like The Kihansi spray toad which was originally discovered and described in 1998, now the Kihansi spray toad lived in the spray wetland of the Kihansi Falls in the Kihansi Gorge in the Udzungwa Mountains of Eastern Tanzania.
Though the species is believed extinct in the wild, Wildlife Conservation Society has been able to breed hundreds of these diminutive frogs in the hope they can one day be reintroduced into a restored ecosystem. Kihansi Spread Toad had one of the smallest ranges of any verbrate in the world, Its home was limited to only about 8 acres in the Kihansi Gorge at the bottom of large water falls.
The Kihansi Spray Toads have never been found living anywhere else in the world. These tiny four-legged vertebrates may well have the smallest habitat range in the world. Adult toads range in size from 1 to 1.5 inches in length and weigh only a few grams. They are yellow in color, and usually have gold and brown spots on their backs. Their skin is thin to the point of being translucent, and many of their internal organs can be seen through their stomachs
The Kihansi spray toad is one of the few frogs that give birth to fully formed young, the small toad lets can produce up to 20 babies at a time, each of which could fit on the head of a pin. Feeding baby Kihansi spay toad require enormous amount of small insect. It lived only in soaked herbaceous vegetation in the spray zone of the Kihansi Falls. It breeds by internal fertilization, the females retaining the larvae internally in the oviduct until little toad lets are born. The toads lived in a nearly vertical wetland created by the forceful spray that came off the pounding water. They prefer the moist rainy remote valley environments of the highlands and mountains of Tanzania. So amazing about The Kihansi Spread Toad, During the day seem to prefer to sit on leaves and at night they hide on the ground under fallen trees and coarse wood debris. The Kihansi Spread Toad is among Icon found in Tanzania,

I SAW IT COMING ..TEACHERS GO ON STRIKE...

On my way to the office yesterday i heard some striking news on the radio,i wondered who is it now cause last month we had the the doctors going on strike..after listening carefully to the National radio i realized its the Teachers.Oh i knew it was coming ,Teachers have been at it for decades,We have become a nation of endless strikes and they get more unconventional by the year. I mean did you see Teachers strike coming?
Tanzanian teachers went on strike on Monday to push for better pay joining doctors in demanding higher salaries as rising costs of living threaten to stoke social tension.
Many public schools across Tanzania were forced to suspend classes as teachers stayed at home.
The teachers' strike comes on the heels of an on-off strike by doctors who have also been demanding salary increases and better working conditions.
About 200,000 teachers in the country voted overwhelmingly for the strike, ignoring a warning from the president that the boycott was illegal, the Tanzania Teachers' Union said in a statement.
"Some 95.7 percent of our members voted in favour of the strike, hence validating the industrial action against the government as their employer," Gratian Mukoba, chairman of the teachers' union said in a statement.
Teachers want a pay hike of more than 100 percent from their current average monthly salary of around 500,000 shillings ($320). The government said it was willing to raise their salaries by about 15 percent in the 2012/13 fiscal year.  Doctors launched another round of strikes last month after talks with the government over better pay and conditions failed to reach a compromise.
Tanzania's year-on-year inflation rate fell to 17.4 percent in June from 18.2 percent a month earlier, but consumer prices remain high in the country.
($1 = 1578.0000 Tanzanian shillings) (Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Editing by Issah QM Msongo)

           
they strike while below innocent children suffer
 
who to blame on this matter ?is it the teachers or the government?

What Women Want Part 2


 University is a place of growth, education and re-invention (and if that fails... pretend). By this point, I was not the same lad I was in the puberty years. I had grown up and the hormones had dissipated. I had embraced ignorance of women as a religion. There were far more interesting things around me like cameras, microphones, clubs and literature class. Who had time for women? It was during this state of educational bliss that I met “The Regressor”. 
As her name suggests, she had the ability to return me to previous inappropriate hormonal behavior. If I knew what was to come, I would have continued day dreaming in that public speaking class. But I just HAD to look up from my doodling and catch eye contact with her as she delivered her speech. She flashed me a smile as she spoke which did not escape the lecturer. He shot me a stern look as if saying “I saw that, Behave!” She noticed this and giggled as she brushed her open hair away from her eyes and behind her ear (No, she wasn’t white, she just had REALLY nice hair). A few flirtatious bumps in the halls later we were an item. We laughed perpetually at inside jokes, shared intellectual conversations and predicted the directions our favorite bands would take with their next albums. 
However, euphoria is short lived. It was not long before my once intellectually stimulating paramour became cold and distant. Laughter and conversation became silence and awkwardness. Then the romantic terrorism began. One day she liked me, the next day she didn’t. She’d call everyday for a week, and then disappear for two. When she returned and was greeted with my hostility, she disarmed my rage with physical acts Larry Flynt would approve of. Then the cycle would begin again. Needless to say, eventually I was back in the desert of solitude trying to understand what women want. 
A few months later cupid’s poison arrow struck me yet again. I met “The Executioner”. Much like “The Regressor” she could make me laugh and keep me intellectually stimulated. But unlike the former she seemed steady and trustworthy. Little did I know that she would be the most ruthless one of them all. She gave me hope by captivating my imagination. I remember our shared romantic day dreams of Range Rovers, Riverside houses and bratty children. She made me want to reach higher and be a “grown up” faster. Unfortunately, growing up is a slow process. It takes time which she was not prepared to wait. I was booted for an older model who I assume was closer to River Side than I was. I call her “The Executioner” because her sudden abandonment was nothing short of emotional decapitation which had physical health implications attached to it. 
The wise men say, “Nice guys finish last”. This is not completely true. Nice guys aren’t aware they are in a race. There was a time I thought being one was something to be ashamed of but not anymore. The benefit of having such an entertaining romantic past is it was an opportunity to learn some of the things I value most.
Today, am older and proudly dumber to that age old question. So what is MY answer the question, “What do women want?”…. There REALLY is NO generic answer and it does not even matter. For a man what matters is enjoying life, achieving your full potential at your chosen field and taking care of those you call family. Trying to figure out what women want is just a Rubik’s Cube designed to keep single men busy. 
I hate these things.... They take SO long to figure out 
and even after you're done
there's no real accomplishment achieved.
See my point?

Monday, July 30, 2012

LETTER TO TANZANIAN SWIMMERS ...

 


Dear Tanzanian Swimmers,
Dive like a whale, swim like a mermaid ...you are so young, so intelligent, focused with full of enthusiasm, don’t you want an epoch? I know you envy it badly. It’s the first time in history for my country to have such young swimmers like you. Today over thousands of Tanzania's will be watching you do your thing...Ammaar Ghadiyali and Magdalena Moshi. Make us proud of you.
Ammaar i know you are used of this,remember the other time in China where came 99 out of 130 ,you got experience boy FINA world championship wasn't that bad ..don't let Olympics scare you..Bring that medal home.
I come to you Magdalene Moshi ,oohh yeah girl you got the guts ,so daring my dear ...I once saw you swim at International School of Dar-es-salaam ,you did get my attention nearly thought was watching a Mermaid Movie on my 3D glasses.21 years old ,very interesting ,don't dissapoint Tony Ongala your trainer .shes expecting much from you..not only her ,we are all looking forward to see you bring the medals back home...we wish you all the best.
regards ,
Issah QM Msongo.
 
                             Ammaar Ghadiyali, (middle) Magdalena Moshi (left) and coach Sheha Mohammed

EBOLA OUTBREAK IN UGANDA..

After weeks of speculation about several mysterious deaths, Ugandan officials confirm 14 people have died from the Ebola virus.

Health officials told reporters in Kampala that the 14 dead were among 20 reported with the disease. Among those who died were a woman and her four-month-old baby. Two of the infected have been isolated for examination by researchers and health officials.
Ugandans are being urged to stay calm, with officials saying a national emergency task force has been set up to stop the disease from spreading far and wide.
Ebola, which manifests itself as a hemorrhagic fever, is highly infectious, kills quickly and there is no known cure.
It was first reported in 1976 in Congo and is named after the river where it was recognized.
A factsheet on Ebola from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says the disease is "characterised by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomach pain".
It adds: "A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients."

 Ebola virus 

Ignatius Besisira, an MP for Buyaga East County in the Kibaale district, said people had at first believed the unexplained deaths were related to witchcraft. "Immediately, when there was confirmation that it was Ebola … patients ran out of Kagadi hospital (where some of the victims had died)," he told the Guardian. "Even the medical officers are very, very frightened," he said.
Government officials and a World Health Organisation representative confirmed the Ebola outbreak at a news conference in Kampala on Saturday. "Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute ... have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale is indeed Ebola haemorrhagic fever," they said in a joint statement.
Health officials said at least 20 people had been infected and of those 14 had died.
There is no treatment or vaccine against Ebola, which is transmitted by close personal contact and, depending on the strain, can kill up to 90% of those who contract the virus.
It has a devastating history in Uganda, where in 2000, at least 425 people were infected, of whom more than half died. Ebola was previously reported in the country in May last year, when it killed a 12-year-old girl.
During an outbreak in 2007, which claimed at least 37 lives, President Yoweri Museveni advised people not to shake hands and public gatherings were also discouraged.
One of those who succumbed to the outbreak in Kibaale was a clinical officer, Besisira said. The other fatalities came from a single household in Nyamarunda subdistrict, he added.
Joaquim Saweka, WHO's representative in Uganda, said the suspected infections emerged in the region in early July but the confirmation came only on Friday.
The Ugandan government said a national emergency taskforce had been set up and urged the population to remain calm. The government, WHO and the US Centres for Disease Control have sent experts to Kibaale to tackle the outbreak.
Besisira said officials in Kibaale had released radio broadcasts outlining precautionary measures on Saturday. "We have assured (the people) that we have a very strong team … who are making sure the disease is controlled … I am very confident we can contain it," he added.
Besisira had not heard of people moving out of the region, but the Daily Nation newspaper in neighbouring Kenya said on Sunday that people were leaving the area around Kagadi town, where the disease first appeared.
"We have to move to safer places because we can easily get infected by this disease here," the paper quoted a resident, Omuhereza Kugonza, as saying.
The WHO describes Ebola as "a viral haemorrhagic fever and one of the most virulent diseases known to humankind". It says the disease was identified in 1976 in a western equatorial province of Sudan and a nearby region of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). It takes its name from a river in the DRC.

What Women Want: Part 1 (A.Onyango)



 God made the world and rested. Then God made man and they rested. Then God made woman… and the word “rest” rested. I am on record as referring to women as wild animals who should be tranquilized and ignored until they mature to look like Halle Berry. But like my uncle The Actuary usually tells me, "women are a calculated risk every man must take to ensure the continuation of the family name" (screw the species). 
But I am not above admitting that my skepticism about the “fairer sex” is due to empirical evidence compiled from interactions with ex-girlfriends. They sparked the question “What do you want from me?”
My friend Eva the Diva tells me that all women want is honesty, integrity, unconditional love, good grooming, a good sense of humor and respect. If a woman gets all of these from a man then she will “reciprocate ten times over”. In addition a quick survey at the office (I have a lot of time on my hands) revealed add-ons like maturity, intelligence, affection, leadership, financial stability, reliability, support, worldliness and curiosity. This compiled list seems fair enough but what if I told you I have been all these things (at once at some point) and it STILL didn’t work. Allow me to share my romantic escapades with you. 
It began with the “Playground Missy”. I can still remember her red polka dot dress. Back then life was simple, I thought ALL girls were disgusting and would go as far as to build “forts” out of logs, where me and my male comrades could be safe from their advances. She was a sneaky one, she managed to penetrate our defenses with fancy footwork (hopscotch is not a game, it’s training). Once she was in the fort, my comrades took off in fear. But I stood my ground. She puckered and went for the kiss, but I pushed her back. As I turned to get away, she tripped me and jumped on my back. Once she had me pinned, she unleashed a barrage of kisses as her evil friends laughed and cheered. Humiliated in defeat, I cried all the way home. I told The General (aka Dad) what had happened and he told me to “Get used to it”. According to him, women would be tripping me over for the rest of my life.


Time passed and puberty struck like a hammer of punishment. Hormones began to rage and pure mind, once concerned with what would happen on the next episode of Mighty Ducks, now became riddled endless desires and naughty images. As if the shame of what was going on in my head was not enough, the once disgusting female attention I received in earlier years became an obsession. I had to have one. I had to kiss one.
At this point I met “The First One”. I call her the first one because she was the first woman I used the term “girlfriend” on without gagging. She satisfied my sick hormonal desires and in return all I had to do was hold her hand in public and occasionally eat lunch with her. Unfortunately, as I would later affirm in life, hand holding and shared meals are not key drives for fidelity. Soon enough she was sharing lunch, holding hands and satisfying the hormonal needs of other guys.
TO BE CONTINUED….

Sunday, July 29, 2012

PLACES TO VISIT IN TANZANIA ON AUGUST..

  • Bagamoyo
  
The town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania, was founded at the end of the 18th century. It was (also spelled Bagamojo) the original capital of German East Africa and was one of the most important trading ports along the East African coast. Today the town has about 30,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the District of Bagamoyo, recently being considered as a world heritage site.
          


  • Tarangire    
Tarangire-Natpark800600.jpg  
Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi and Mkomazi. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire river that crosses through the park, being the only source of water for wild animals during dry seasons. During the dry season thousands of animals migrate to the Tarangire National Park from Manyara.

  • Kilimanjaro    

 
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level (the Uhuru Peak/Kibo Peak) .

  • Amboni caves (Tanga)
 
The Amboni Caves are the most extensive limestone caves in East Africa. They are located 8 km north of Tanga City in Tanzania off the Tanga-Mombasa road. The caves were formed about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic age. It covers an area of 234 km². According to researchers the area was under water some 20 million years ago. There are altogether ten caves but only one is used for guided tours.

  • Serengeti National Park

               
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in Serengeti area, Tanzania. It is most famous for its annual migration of over one and a half million white bearded (or brindled) wildebeest and 250,000 zebra. Serengeti National Park is widely regarded as the best wildlife reserve in Africa due to its density of predators and prey.

  • Mt. Meru
 

Mount Meru is an active stratovolcano located 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Mount Kilimanjaro in the nation of Tanzania. At a height of 4,565 metres (14,977 ft), it is visible from Mt Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and is the tenth highest mountain in Africa. Much of its bulk was lost about 8,000[citation needed] years ago due to an eastward volcanic blast, similar to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the U.S. state of Washington. Mount Meru most recently had a minor eruption in 1910. The several small cones and craters seen in the vicinity probably reflect numerous episodes of volcanic activity.

  • Gombe National Park

 Gombe Stream NP Mutter und Kind.jpg
 
Gombe Stream National Park is located in western Tanzania, 10 miles (20 km) north of Kigoma, the regional capital of western Tanzania.Established in 1968, Gombe is the smallest national park in Tanzania, with only 20 square miles (52 km2) of forest running along the hills of the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.The terrain is distinguished by steep valleys, and the forest vegetation ranges from grassland to alpine bamboo to tropical rainforest. Accessible only by boat, the park is most famous as the location where Jane Goodall pioneered her behavioral research conducted on the chimpanzee populations. The Kasakela chimpanzee community, featured in several books and documentaries, lives in Gombe Stream National Park.



BIG MIRACLE...(operation breakthrough)

Its so sweet how people can sacrifice there lives to help a bunch of innocent animals,i once heard about this story when i was a kid,Justin a friend of mine which back then he was among my  oldest friends i had,he had this magazine (it wasn't in good shape i remember) where it explained about this tragic event that happened in Alaska in 1988, three gray whales from pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska  were trapped in pack ice.
This year a movie was released called Big miracle.Its a nice movie i would comment but according to the real story there a lot missing.


that's the movie cover above.. but below i will share the true story on what really happened..the story is from trusted sources.
On October 7, 1988, Inuit hunter Roy Ahmaogak discovered three gray whales trapped in pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska. The hunter used a chainsaw to attempt cutting a path in the ice leading to open water. Fellow villagers helped the hunter by using water pumps to keep ice from reforming overnight. Word spread through the Inuit community about the whales, and biologists from North Slope Borough, Alaska visited the site and realized the danger. A skycrane was proposed to create holes in the ice using a 5-ton hammer.
The first news story about the trapped whales was in Anchorage, Alaska a week later. Rescuers tried to borrow a barge from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to break the ice and clear a path, but the barge was locked in. The whales' plight gained more attention from the media as journalists called North Slope Borough and flew to the site. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent a team of whale biologists, and the United States Department of State requested the help of two icebreakers from the Soviet Union, the Vladimir Arseniev and the Admiral Makarov.
While the whales remained in their initial area, they were given Inuit names Putu, Siku, and Kanik and English names Bonnet, Crossbeak, and Bone, respectively. The youngest whale (Bone), nine months old, died on October 21. On October 28, the Admiral Makarov broke apart a ridge of Arctic ice that was 400 yards wide and 30 feet high. The Vladimir Arseniev cleared the icy rubble to create a large enough path for the remaining two whales to escape. After the path was cut observers could find no sign of the whales and the operation was declared a success. The remaining whales were reportedly in very poor health at the time of the rescue and because radio tags were never attached it is unknown if the animals survived.
The rescue effort cost US$1 million (US$1.97 million in today's terms) and was criticized by some scientists. 
           That being said, the movie is actually a good story with an excellent linear pattern. Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski nailing it ,good acting i would say .

Saturday, July 28, 2012

BRING US A PRESENT...

Bring me a present my brother ,bring me a present my sister ,it has been long since you brought me one .Please don't be stingy this time ,or act you have forgotten to bring me one ,i would love Gold ,but i wouldn't mind if you bring me silver .Its so important that you bring at least one this seasons .
Dad is expecting Gold ,remember how dad sacrificed for you ,all the trainings he gave you ,he never cared how much it did cost ,your family of about 30 million brothers and sisters are waiting for the presents not only i..What are you going to do to please us ?
 Think of us ,and think did we send you  5,000 miles to start a race or win it??



 
Team Tanzania bring home a present please ,been long ,follow Filbert Bayi's roots and make our country Happy.Show the spirit that does not know poverty,ethnicity ,richest or human race guys do your thing ,I know you can bring us those presents.
Run like leopards ,swim like Dolphins and box somebodies teeth out ..We need the medals.
 

we know you can do it ,we wish you all the best ,you all have our prayers ,do your thing and come home safe.Bring yourselves back to your Families with the joy of winning.
 "We count our victories  by the husbands we return to their wives with medals, by the Team we give back to their children and parents with medals. To the last minute,  We win!"