Inspiration // Current TV

Absolute vs Situational Ethics

Leadership is such a crucial element. The world is void of leadership. There is a... more

Bheki
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19 days ago
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Mazal: So this is what it all comes down to - Los Angeles kabbalah | Examiner.com

The study of thought cannot proceed without a valid reference point. Every step then... more

daasseeker
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24 days ago
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Africa: gangsters swap guns for greenhouses

With his long black plastic gumboots, overalls and cap, Alamin Ibrahim really looks the part of a farmer leaving his shamba (field) in the Kenyan countryside. Once a car-jacker, he has become a farmer, while the smallholding he works beside a railway line previously used as a tip for the slums of Kibera, Nairobi, produces organic vegetables. Or something very close.

Inside the greenhouse patched together with plastic sheeting, rows of onions and chilli peppers run alongside lines of tender-green spinach, just beginning to sprout. Pests devoured the most recent cabbage crop. This time the onions and chilli are supposed to keep them at bay.

As for the soil, it is still a bit too acidic. "There were quite a lot of car batteries in the tip, so of course there was spillage and the soil is still full of the stuff," Ibrahim explains. Organic farming in Kibera – with neither chemical fertilisers nor pesticides – is still in its early days.

Ten years ago Ibrahim realised he either had to leave his gang, the G Unit, or accept the likelihood of a premature death. "One day I sat down and looked at a photo taken a few years earlier with my mates. They were all dead, most of them shot down by the police," he says. So he had to find some way out. "Our main activity was car-jacking on Mbagathi Way [a major thoroughfare nearby]. In Kibera itself it was mainly petty thieving and hold-ups. If you'd come this way at the time, we'd have stripped you bare."

So a bunch of gang members who did not want to end up full of lead in a ditch decided to go straight, in so far as possible, and set up an organisation to survive in the slum. It evolved into the Youth Reform Self Help Group. They started collecting rubbish, selling plastic to "brokers" who bought recyclable waste.

Then they got hold of a 2,000-litre water tank and began selling water in jerrycans. Ibrahim says: "We did our own market research and noticed there were no latrines, no way of getting a wash, so we saved up and built proper facilities."

The wash-house seems a little like exploiting misery, but there is paper in the toilets, soap in the showers and "security" throughout, laid on by YRSHG members (which means you will not have all your gear stolen while under the shower) and the whole thing only costs five cents a time.

This was soon followed by a small operation renting plastic chairs, much in demand in Kibera. In the makeshift shacks there are never enough seats when people drop in or on special occasions. Another lucrative activity is selling wooden posts, to build the framework of new homes.

The idea of organic farming came later, in the wake of the violence sparked by the presidential election in December 2007. Kibera erupted and even the rails on the nearby track were torn up to paralyse traffic.

When calm was finally restored, the YRSHG decided to clean up the slum's perimeter and then branch out into organic food, in the hope that they could sell their produce to a specialist network. In fact the main buyers are ordinary local people, but the project is still going.

More at the linkWith his long black plastic gumboots, overalls and cap, Alamin Ibrahim really looks... more

JanforGore
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1 month ago
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3 comments

I'm a Christian, unless you're gay

This is one of the most powerful Blogs I have had the fortune to read and I hope you... more

Cruzankenny
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2 months ago
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1 comment

Random Battle: Chris Majewski

We chat with Chris Majewski, SideQuesting's featured artist for the month, about... more

kewlrats
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3 months ago
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Inspirational Quotes (32 pics)

neham
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6 months ago
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Malawi: Women get dirty to stop water scarcity

Ethel James cannot wait for the gravity-fed water scheme in her area to be fixed so... more

JanforGore
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7 months ago
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15 comments

Fabulous Girls Vs Slim Bitches|DJ Mona-Lisa Podcast|BlogTalkRadio

DJ Mona-Lisa relates to women who may have weight issues. The sensational broadcaster... more

DJMonaLisa
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7 months ago
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The X-Structure - 4 free albums - South Africa space-trip

The bands consists of four wild and adventurous members who all share a passion for... more

worrg
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7 months ago
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Don't Be Fooled-Still A Recession ~N ~You Need God!

Starvation! Working or not-inflation-recession... calls for a sacred moment with Jesus... more

DJMonaLisa
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8 months ago
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Breaking News~The Mona-Lisa No Longer A Mystery

The "Mona-Lisa" art that gains attention globally is no longer perplex but... more

DJMonaLisa
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9 months ago
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DJ Mona-Lisa (High School Lesbians)

Radio broadcaster, DJ Mona-Lisa informs parents and guardians of lesbianism in high... more

DJMonaLisa
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9 months ago
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10 Big Businesses That Started in a Garage

Every big business had to start out somewhere, right? Some have come from more humble... more

GoldenHeart
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9 months ago
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0 comments

Video: Flourish and Prosper

21. Flourish and Prosper. The Way to Happiness, a common sense guide to better... more

PepsiJuror
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10 months ago
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10 Great Minds Every Math Student Should Know

The work of mathematical geniuses can inspire intimidation or even fear into the... more

GoldenHeart
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10 months ago
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25 Biographies Every Leader Should Read

Learning more about the lives and leadership abilities of those who have risen to the... more

GoldenHeart
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10 months ago
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0 comments

Glad to see your all distracted.

In the news we have a lot of crooked men given crooked pats on the back because a shut down was avoided by the people that would have caused it int the first damn place and alot of other people talking about how much money has been cut from this years budget and how much more money is going to be cut in a few years if the time line pans out and someone doesn't come in and change it after thier no longer in office.

Meanwhile we have troops in every damn country across the globe muddling in this affair our that if their is something to be gained from it for the rich. We have the state governors ripping apart every law they can find that helps anyone making less then 100k a year get a head in life, Some bitch ripping off a supreme court election,And not to mention what ever the so called celebs are up to and the fact that The First Lady is wearing red...or maybe gray panties and cant decide if she should go with granny cut or a thong.

So I ask...

Are you Distracted? I ask because that is what they want. They do not want you asking questions about there true agendas and they seriously doubt if either you our I could find them with all the meaningless trivial crap you have to search through everyday in an effort to finally see the bigger picture.

This next part is an opinion.

The Bigger Picture is this. The Rich at the very top of the World Economy have planned or have gotten some one smarter then themselves to plan most of what your seeing on the media networks and on the top picks of your favorite search engine news headlines. This is a world where everything and everyone is seen as a trade commodity with a price on its head. This is not the world we live in trying to survive day to day on minimum wage or what ever they pay in your part of the world. Theirs is a world were everything has a price. The Victorian Era called them Society "Old Money" and just like us a hell of a lot worse things behind their backs. The difference is the "peasants then didn't have the tech we do that allows us to get up and Scream it in there face from the relative safety of the Library computer or laptop while sipping a bad latte from the local franchise that closed all the good coffee shops down. We do and almost sixty to seventy percent of us are wasting are time looking for self fulfillment and entertainment rather then taking a single care in what this world has become. For the religious I'll say to me it looks like Satan,Lucifer or what ever is name is got his Thousand years of ruler ship because the people running the show have turned this Earth into a Hell just look at your temperature gauge. For those of you that are just lazy and jaded or apathetic. I understand, its a daunting fucking task before us, it means turning off the soap opera and getting the kids in the car and then dragging them down to your local capitol building or public place and yelling in front of the kid hell teach em to spell while you do it. It means looking at that jerk of a boss that thinks he is the shit because he's the manager getting paid ten an hour while you get paid seven despite the fact you cover his ass with the rest of your crew and saying for one day "Fuck this job I got something more important then money to handle today, close this place down and lets make some noise" When he asks what more important then money or the husband or wife asks why supper isn't down just tell em Fighting for freedom came first that day. One day a week of shouting to be heard with your voice not your keyboard (unless your a skilled hacker) One day a week of connecting with people in your community that feel the same way and you will make a difference and when they try it again in a hundred years you can tell your grand kids to get up and fight just like you did and if you don't start now then by tomorrow it may already be to late.

Love Peace People
MD BardIn the news we have a lot of crooked men given crooked pats on the back because a shut... more

MDBard
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10 months ago
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1 comment

The Top 10 Movies for Computer Science Students

LINK : Computer movies are often amusingly horrible. Full of misconceptions, fear, and... more

GoldenHeart
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10 months ago
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Greek Easter Lamb | Piraeus, Greece | Franco Lania

Greek Easter Lamb | Pireaus, Greece | Franco Lania | Franco Lania... more

cheffrancolania
added this
10 months ago
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God's social site/ VERSE OF THE DAY

This site is for spiritual uplifting, and believers in God's word... God have... more

kennyboythemotivator
added this
11 months ago
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