Muammar Qaddafi defiant in the face of International Pressure.

Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Qaddafi is resisting calls from his
countrymen to resign as leader.

He has ruled the nation of 6 million for the past 41 years. Together
with his family, wealth generated from oil revenue has been invested
in diverse endeavors, yet the average Libyan feels left out of the
economic prosperity the country should have been enjoying.

People also want more freedoms, the kind of freedom the Colonel's son
Saif Al Islam enjoyed when he was a student in the London School of
economics, or when any of his other children are in Europe or the USA.

But the aging leader is refusing to give up his stranglehold on the
political and economic life of his people.

A ragtag rebellion has been organized in the East of the country and
seems headed to the capital city of Tripoli. Desertions are being
recorded daily amongst the senior ranks of the Qaddafi inner circle.

In the last few hours, violence has escalated between African
mercenaries and Libyan civilians trying to remove Qaddafi from power.

There have been calls for the establishment of a "No Fly" zone to
protect civilians from bombardment by Qaddafi's elite security force.

As the mounting death toll causes concern worldwide, the African
Union, the European Union and some world powers like the USA are
working to have the United Nations pass a resolution calling for a "No
Fly" Zone.

With every passing day, lives are unnecessarily lost as Qaddafi tries
against all odds to prolong his 41 year rule over the Libyan people.

As of this writing, it is being reported that the despot is in a hotel
granting interviews in camera to some Western journalists. We will
know what the outcome of this trip to meet the press is, especially as
news that Qaddafi had been shot spread over the last few hours.

More on this in another post soon...

What is the Best Oil for your Car Engine?

If you own a car, you may have heard the saying thayt the heart of the
car is its engine. It is the single most important component. Without
a running engine, the a car becomes nothing but a paperweight that
will rust with time.

Engine oil provides lubrication for the moving parts in your car's
engine. All lubrication oils are not created equal. There are two main
types, Synthetic oil and Regular oils (also known as Dino oil).

Regular engine oil is derived form the heavier distillates from
refining crude oil. The oil is the most commonly available and is
quite cheap. It does a pretty good job, but has to be replaced every
3000 miles or every 6 months for best performance of your engine. It
is not recommended by some high performance engine manufacturers
because of its characteristics under high stress conditions these
engines may have to operate in.

The other major type of oil is the Synthetic Oil. These is completely
created in a laboratory as its name suggests. It is the oil of choice
for some high end manufacturers like Mercedes Benz and BMW. It brings
out the best of the motor it is called to lubricate. Engines with
synthetic oil run much quieter and smoother in my experience. The most
famous of these include Mobil1. These oils can be run in the engine
for much longer too, so instead of changing the oil every 3000 miles,
you may have to go 5000 miles between oil changes. The engine is also
cleaner inside too with less sludge accumulation.

So whatever way you choose to go, the cheaper regular engine oil, or
the higher performance synthetic oil, you will get to enjoy your car
if you follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

International Women's Day 2011: Women Honored Worldwide

Once more, it is the 08th of March, the International Women's Day.

Since 1911, the day has been one when the plight and achievements of
women has been celebrated. The significance was not much initially, as
the day was timidly observed in Germany.

But over time, the day has grown in importance and scope. In the 1940s
and 1950s, it was mostly celebrated in Eastern Bloc countries as the
International Day of the Working Woman. The 1960s and 1970s saw many
women join the workforce in different capacities, and the day became
popular even in Western Countries like the USA.

1977 saw the UN General Assembly voting to adopt the 08th of March as
the International Women's Day. This is what really popularized the
celebration of women on this day.

In different parts of the world, the day is marked in various ways.
Some have seminars and other events that showcase the achievement of
women in industry, politics and business.

In sub Saharan Africa, it is mostly a day where women are honored by
men. They get together and pretty much party with other women. It is a
very important day both economically as well as politically.

Women's groups showcase their activities, educate the public on what
they do, and they get the full attention of the media. In recent
years, it is a tradition to get a special fabric design, which women
wear as a uniform on this day.

It is also a day that women leave the kitchen, and can be said to be
an official day off for the sub Saharan women.

In the United States, president Barack Obama designated the month of
March "Women's History Month". Celebrations for the day included
Congressional hearings broadcast live on C-SPAN which focused on the
difficulties women still face in some parts of the world.

Congressmen were briefed on mass rapes carried out by the LURD's
Resistance Army in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and how this has
affected the spread of HIV/AIDS.

All in all, the International Women's Day 2011 was a success across
the globe, and shows the growing role women have come to play not only
in the home, but in society.

What to do in Case of a Serious Car Accident

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No one leaves their home with the intention of getting in a car crash. It is one of those things that happen, and is aptly named, an "accident". But there is more involved in a car accident than may be immediately apparent. There is the condition of the vehicle you are driving, the road, weather conditions such as heavy rain or snow, and of course, other users like pedestrians or drivers who are all players when a car crash occurs. Any of these could be a factor. If blame is placed on you, you could see your insurance rate rise and over the course of years, it could add up to a lot of money. so here are some few tips to observe when you or someone you know is involved in a car crash.


1. Secure the area. Many people have lost their lives or been disabled when they are involved in a minor fender bender, then stepped out of their vehicle or loiter around just to see on oncoming vehicle plough into them. Be safe. Move out of harm's way.


2. Assist other persons in danger. Help other injured parties who may not be able to get to safety on their own to do so. When everyone is in a safe area, then you can move to the next step which is:


3. Call emergency services. This may be the police, fire or ambulance services. A dispatcher who takes the call will help you determine what service may be appropriate for your situation.


4. Give your statement to the police. NEVER ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY.  The police will collect statements from involved parties and witnesses. Don't discuss the accident with anyone, even bystanders.


5. Call your insurance company and alert them. Most insurance agents  will furnish you with an insurance card that you are required to have in the vehicle at all times it is operated. Have this handy as emergency phone numbers for your insurance agent will be found on the card.


6. If you are intimidated by the prospect of navigating through the Insurance claims and legal process on your own, get a good lawyer. Check your local library and other groups, even your local Church. Some lawyers will offer their services for free -pro bono- to needy people. Be proactive. You can also check online for other guides or advice on how to get help in your specific States or locality.

FACEBOOK clashes with GOOGLE and AMAZON.COM

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The battle for online content domination took a new turn last week when online giant Facebook of Tunisia and Egypt revolutionary fame decided to take on Internet behemoths, Google and Amazon.

The bone of contention is a seamless operation that takes place behind the scenes and has been honed to a level that, most Internet users don't realize the billions of dollars that change hands when they simply use the internet. 


Think of when you visit a web page including this one. On the right, you will see some adverts. These are served by Google and each time a visitor to this web page clicks on one of them, the advertiser pays Google a very small amount of money. Now, the interesting part is that Google uses its computers to scan all the words on this page, and serves ads relevant to the subject matter of the article. These are targeted ads. For example, if this were an article about the famous Cameroonian soccer star Samuel Eto, you might see soccer gear from Adidas or Nike advertised on this page. You get the drift.


Because ads served by Google are targeted and not just random, they are highly effective, and advertisers prefer to spend their money on companies that can advertise their products effectively. They don't have to pay a huge flat fee  for example, as they would if they were using a billboard. They only pay when someone clicks on the ads, and then, the amount they have to pay is considerably less.

So Google has been making a lot of money using this strategy, making it one of the most successful companies ever.


Enter Facebook, with a rapidly growing number of users. They too quickly realized the money is to be made only when you have a real human being accessing the Internet. If no one turns on their computers, Google cannot serve ads and thus, cannot make money. So, they knew with their huge number of subscribers, they could leverage this mass, and leave a huge dent in Google's checkbook.


Now, they are entering the fray of online ads, and have  published a list of websites that they have approved to serve ads on Facebook. It remains to be seen how good these ads will be. Google had so much success because its ads were relevant and heightened the Internet user's experience, rather than take away from it. People fear poor quality ads from newer companies with little experience may disrupt Facebook.


The next few days will tell and there will certainly be feedback from Facebook's users. It will be interesting.

Illegal Arms Trade in Cameroon: Who is hiding behind the GUN?

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 Local media in the West African nation, Cameroon, are reporting that a huge lot of 30 containers of arms have been seized in the Eastern Region of the country.


According to a reputed local paper, "Le Messager", official sources speaking on condition of anonymity are quoted as saying the huge shipment of heavy artillery was destined for Cote d'Ivoire. 


It should be recalled that the Cote d'Ivoire is currently embroiled in a partisan clashes following presidential elections late last year, with two candidates installing themselves as president. In recent days, fighting has spread mostly to the east and north of the country, with major escalation imminent.


Back in Cameroon, the reports filtering out of Bertoua, the regional capital of the East Region, according to Le Messager indicates that the trailers transporting the arms in shipping containers had the republic of Chad as their provenance, and were headed for the port city of Douala, from whence they would have been shipped to Cote d'Ivoire. The containers were marked as a United Nations shipment.


This weapons seizure is similar to another that recently occurred in neighboring Nigeria. In October 2010, authorities in Lagos Nigeria seized 13 containers full of heavy miltary ordinance from Iran.


With such events occurring at a disturbing rate, one can only wonder if some obscure hand is planning something big in the Central African Sub region, or if these are long established arms trade routes that are just coming to light.
It had better be the latter, for Africa can certainly be better off with one less conflict.