Saturday, December 25, 2010

Kah Walla and the Cameroon Tea Party Movement

A lot of movement has taken place in Cameroon since Ms Kah Walla announced her candidacy for the presidency of the republic. For one, it seems to have spurred incumbent regime head, Paul Biya and his henchmen. If Kah's historic run at the finish has only this as its achievement, then it would have been a good experience for Cameroon as a whole.

Shortly after independence, president of the Federal Republic of Cameroon, Ahmadou Ahidjo banned political parties and the Cameroon National Union (CNU) was the lone authorized. Things remained pretty much the same, with a change of name to the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) to mark the Ahidjo-Biya transition in the early eighties of last century.

When John Fru Ndi launched the SDF in 1990, it marked the return to multi party politics in Cameroon.

Paul Biya and John Fru Ndi have both revealed to Cameroonians their heavy- handed methods, and like birds of a feather, got together two weeks ago in Bamenda. There is no room for opposition or a different opinion to the wishes of these two men. And thus, Cameroon suffered, children died from curable illness while the president has his kids treated in foreign hospitals. Kids study in the open air while the Biya kids ride in a jet to school. Yet he gets to rule the lives of millions of Cameroonians. It is an inconvenient arrangement which was bound to be short-lived.

So step in Ms Kah Walla. She provides an alternative to the two henchmen who still have vestiges of colonial heavy handedness deeply entrenched in their ways.

She is the head of the Cameroonian Tea Party. A third pathway to the presidential palace at Etoudi. Since she launched her campaign, Biya has done what would normally take a decade to accomplish. He has created a full-fledged University, and is actively seeking funds for the Ring-Road (and presidential campaign?). He also appointed officials to head the Bamenda University.

The tea party is comprised of the rural women, unemployed youths, the poor, weak, and disenfranchised in Cameroon. In other words, those who have had it tough under the Biya regime - which is most Cameroonians. Looking at the Tea Party constituency, it is no surprise Ms Kah is generating such a buzz. She is within striking distance of Etoudi. She is young, eloquent, well connected locally and internationally, and speaks for the masses. She grew and still lives in Cameroon, as opposed to Biya who prefers Switzerland and all his children have foreign passports.

The Cameroon Tea Party Movement headed by Ms Kah Walla will likely rout Biya and his henchmen in the 2011 presidential elections. It will be all the better for Cameroonians, both at home and abroad. She needs all the help she can get to achieve this.
In 2011, "BIYA Must GO"
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Craigslist rolls out anti-scam security measures.

The popular online website craigslist.org has a new set of measures aimed at protecting its users.

Ranked by ALEXA.COM as the 10th most visited site in the United States, craigslist has been a favorite for scammers.

Notwithstanding the bold warnings in red found on almost all pages on the site, people still fall prey to advance fee scams perpetrated by con men.

A typical transaction would involve a seller with a late model vehicle for an incredibly low price, who just happens to be out of the country, but is willing to get the low price if sent through instant payment services like Western Union or Moneygram. The victim wires the money, usually to Nigeria and then never sees the car.

These security measures have been long awaited. The new procedure locks out registered craigslist users and requires them to change their password. Then they have to be confirmed using a security code that they input on the website. It is sent through a US or Canadian number, and the user can choose either a voice call in English, French or Spanish, or an SMS with the code.

What this achieves is it authenticates that the user is an actual person, and not a computer, then, through the number to which the security verification code is sent, links that number to the account holder.

So, a scammer with no US number is effectively shut out of the system and those who pist multiple ads in many cities will easily be traced and can be banned from the website.

Expect a cottage industry selling craigslist authentication codes to take root.
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