For a trip from Canada to Kenya, consider ALL this:

A yellow fever vaccination (and certificate) is required, along with shots and pills for Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, rabies, Meningococcal meningitis, malaria, cholera, polio and more.

Visitors are at risk for traveler’s diarrhea, even at the most posh of accommodations in the big cities.

Here are more concerns: tuberculosis, dengue fever and Rift Valley fever in rural areas, sand fly transmitted leishmaniasis, African trypanosamiasis, schistosomiasis from freshwater exposure…

Watamu Beach, Indian Ocean, Kenya

Beyond personal health, traveler reports for Kenya warn against all visits to the border areas with South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia. This is due to an increase in terrorism. Kidnappings are a favorite criminal activity.

Of course, these traveler reports aim to be comprehensive and can fear monger.

But terrorism comes to touristy-areas. Road names are given to avoid navigating these without an escorted convoy; some places only go by air.  Common are carjackings and robberies enroute to and from airports. Don’t drive with the windows open and doors unlocked. Public transportation is not that safe, with vehicles in need of repair, often driven carelessly. When not moving about, crime is high, especially in cities such as Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu (in other words, the places one visits).  Slum neighbourhoods: stay out. And more crime comes at Christmas time.  Severe drought times in rural areas also heightens criminality in addition to the crossfire from the usual ethnic violence. By water, pirate attacks on ships take place. By train, not safe.

A confusing, amateurish road sign in Kenya

Females: sexual assaults are regularly reported. Gays: don’t be gay in Kenya as this is against the law.

Careful snapping photos, as some buildings and embassies captured this way may lead to your capture, too.

There are police and protective services, don’t worry. But just as much, vigilante and mob justice brings lynching for alleged criminals.

Have a nice vacation!

Nairobi slum

See more: Your Country is Not So Bad If…

Source: Travax Traveler Health Report

“Yeah, I’d have to agree. When we look back years from now, we’ll probably say that was a grand old party!”

The Grand Old Party refers to one of the two main United States of America political parties, the Republican Party. The first Republican president was Abraham Lincoln, and the party came about from those against slavery. The GOP is considered pro-business and supports limited government in principle, and its chief adversary is the Democratic Party. The Republican mascot is an elephant.

See also: More political terms that sound better…

President Kibaki Addressing Kenyans during Kenyatta Day, 2009

From the Kenya Daily Nation, Sunday edition of January 26, this comment from an academic and bureaucrat really got me thinking:

“Kenyans are getting accustomed to more and more people resigning and this is a sign of a maturing democracy”-Professor Michael Chege, policy analyst at the Ministry of Planning, Kenya.

At issue is Kenyan politicians being called to account by the International Criminal Court for their alleged roles in 2007 election violence.

A quick thought to the quotation is, “Seriously?” That politicians stepping aside for crimes against humanity (yet to be proven), is somehow a good thing?

Crimes against humanity are not good!

A Luo man (opposition supporter) is hacked by Kikuyu men (president Kibaki supporters) in Huruma slums 20 January 2008 during inter-ethnic violence in Kenya.

But the politicians have resigned and are off to court. And with this, people bumbering Rift Valley streets are not beating, stabbing each other.

Many countries in the world that continue to struggle to be grown up liberal democracies often have citizens behaving otherwise. A political culture that disaparages abuses of due process and human rights, takes generations to ripen. Politics is about resolving conflicts, and the process of doing so, with respect and adherence to constitutionalism and the rule of law, not men, can even make a scandal a good thing! The misdeed however heinous is exposed, and hopefully resolved with certainty and celerity and peace.

See also from this blog about Kenya: Kenya-Somalia Dispute Plays Out on Twitter; Kenya Invades Somalia: Why and How; Slum Tourism: What’s Next

Many TV and film stars are accorded a degree of public attention to their political views beyond their qualifications given their celebrity status. But Ben Savage, born 1980, may be one actor with the competency to express opinions on current events.

Savage, second from right, in "Boy Meets World"

Following the end of “Boy Meets World,” Savage earned a degree in political science from Stanford University (2004). He also worked as an intern for a U.S. Senator, Democrat Arlen Specter, in 2003.

A degree in political science doesn’t guarantee thoughtful and reasoned political commentary just as much as an uneducated star could prove politically enlightening. But the academic training by some small measure trumps the typically narcissistic politicking of other celebs that should best stick to reading lines from the scripts handed to them.

See also: Your Country is Not So Bad If…

Have wealthy tourists had their fill of eco- and extreme vacations, and so now would like to get their travel high from gawking at the poorest of the poor the world has to offer?

Maybe the poverty-viewers will donate to the people living in these slums. But it’s hard to imagine what “taking it to the next level” for them shall bring.

It earns more media coverage, at the cost of irritating the heck out us.

The risk should be us ultimately not caring, which for many Canadians may be the case with the race to replace Michael Ignatieff as the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Bob Rae is the interim leader. He’s  not answering questions about whether he will also seek to become the official leader. But no doubt he LOVES being asked such questions.

It’s one of the heights of political narcissism, by prolonging the focus of attention on oneself. The media should knock off such coverage: “Call me back when you have some news.”

I’ve blogged about it before: Avert Your Eyes From Political Teases, but the message is obviously not getting through.

BC’s economy has historically been about natural resource extraction. While modern safety records are stellar, we sometimes forget the people in these jobs still take great personal risk in continuing this tradition. Given that forestry, mining and the like remain important to BC’s economy as a whole, the sacrifices extend to beyond their families. It is terrible for hospitals such as the one in Prince George to have to declare a “Code Orange” disaster given the injuries and worse it then does its best to treat. And we all hope for survivors, recovery and improvements and corrections to minimize such future tragedies.

A list of nearly 200 “surrogates” – people that could lend their names to persuade you to support the incumbent President, was provided to an American newspaper. Names include:

Marc Anthony, George Clooney, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z…

When the rich and famous make public statements, do you want to follow what they say?

Maybe your Mom would roll out the old chestnut, “So, if all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you do the same?“

It’s a logical fallacy, an appeal to authority, that these famous people should be heeded given who they are. And a twisted twist to that fallacy, given that they are pronouncing in an area outside of their expertise.

It’s also possible some of the celebrities have thought long and hard about their positions and know of which they speak. And likewise that political experts and pundits of this ilk may not deserve the final word any more than a rapper or movie star? And further that hey, they’re citizens, too, why can’t they chime in?

Well, cynically, it seems celebrities lining up behind a politician may also be try to draw attention to themselves. Which is stale narcissism we can lament.

Related, but shifting gears: For Obama, the list itself could politically backfire in a few ways:

• Some on the list could be (cruelly, mind you) termed has-beens, such as Counting Crows, Mario Lopez, Ricky Martin and Bruce Hornsby. Ex-celebrities may be a sign of a politician not primed for the future.
• Some on the list could turn off as many as they attract to the politician (Jonas Brothers, Lea Michelle for Glee haters).
• Some can’t even vote (Arcade Fire is a Canadian band).
• Are influential people missing that could indicate the celebrity endorsement list is not so hot or comprehensive (Jay-Z but not wife Beyonce, as the Tennessean newspaper noted, along with Matt Damon, otherwise a biggie for Obama)?
• Some don’t want to be on the list (Lady Antebellum and Band Perry).

Full List/Actual Document (Adobe pdf)

A dominant political science textbook tries to define ‘representative bureaucracy as,

…the public service be a microcosm of the total society in terms of a wide range of variables, including race, religion, language, education, social class and region of origin (Kernaghan and Siegel, Public Administration in Canada, 1999).

Somehow, government departments that resemble the diversity of the people would be more responsive to their needs and concerns.

Government communications thus strive to also look representative. The following Canadian images show this:

A BC government financial report covers a spectrum of people of different ethnicities and even disabilities.

A welcome page to the government of Ontario has an Asian Dad or Grandfather, and also, possibly, a single mom (note a swoosh conceals whether she sports a wedding band on her finger)

A family that has possibly adopted a child of different ethnicity, and senior citizens.

The Green Party has a little child imploring us to vote, when she can't herself. This can't be "real democracy" by law in Canada, but appeals to the tween crowd?

The nervous hypothesis is this: With governments taking so much pains to be uber-representative, does it ultimately seem meaningless? If every time a government advertisement is released, all the colours of the rainbow are flying, does such diversity really bring blandness?

Representative democracy is to look like the population, but does it go too far, in the same manner that for a few decades, every judge on an American television show was African American? Yet, this was far beyond the actual proportion of blacks in such legal robes, in reality.

The hypocrisy remains in another way. That is, when such communications are not representative, governments may still be fingered for blame:

Whoops? Cute kids but they are all Caucasian.

Insufficient diversity?