Sunday 22 May 2011

Broadcaster silent as Judgment Day hours tick by

Broadcaster silent as Judgment Day hours tick by




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Harold Camping, 89, the California evangelical broadcaster who predicts that Judgment Day will come on May 21, 2011, is seen in this still image from video during an interview at Family Stations Inc. offices in Oakland, California May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Reuters Television

SAN FRANCISCO | Sat May 21, 2011 2:31pm EDT
(Reuters) - With no sign his forecast of Judgment Day arriving on Saturday has come true, the 89-year-old California evangelical broadcaster and former civil engineer behind the pronouncement seemed to have gone silent.

Saturday 21 May 2011

Nicki Minaj New Song “Tragedy” Disses Lil Kim

Nicki Minaj New Song “Tragedy” Disses Lil Kim [Audio]

April 2nd 2011

lil_kim_nicki_minaj

So the ladies are back at it again. When will this petty beef end? So for months Lil Kim has been taking darts at on behalf of Nicki Minaj. For the most part Nicki has been quiet except for the live interview she did with Angie Martinez on Hot 107 and the infamous song Roman’s Revenge that definitely has everybody “Like Whoa”.

I wanna get you guys opinion on this song she did a diss on Lil Kim. Was it worth her time spent in the studio or should my girl Nicki sit down and continue to do her and collect these MILLIONS on the road while touring with her boss Lil Weezy.

'Rapture' apocalypse prediction sparks atheist reaction


'Rapture' apocalypse prediction sparks atheist reaction



Continue reading the main story


US atheists are to hold parties in response to an evangelical broadcaster's prediction that Saturday will be "judgement day".
The Rapture After Party in North Carolina - "the best damned party in NC" - is among the planned events.
Harold Camping, 89, predicts that Jesus Christ will return to earth on Saturday and true believers will be swept up, or "raptured", to heaven.
He has used broadcasts and billboards to publicise his ideas.

Keko: Beast From The East


Keko: Beast From The East

By Our Sub-Urban Legend • May 20th, 2011 • Category: Suburbans
He was born in reverse. He existed, then gave birth to his parents and grand parents. He spells in numbers and counts in letters. He sweats blood and bleeds sweat. From the reverse cycle of the English alphabet, we bring you this week’s tenth and final suburban legend…
Peter Twonjex
A 6-foot lyrical giant has come to join the music industry. None of the women rappers we have had before her has made this kind of impact. It’s Keko! But no one can stop her.

Ramblings Of A 21st Century Professional


Ramblings Of A 21st Century Professional

By Our Sub-Urban Legend • May 19th, 2011 • Category: Suburbans
He is so insane that when he enters a maximum security facility, the death row inmates apply for bail and commit suicide from outside. He is so insane that the word ‘insane’ sued for sexual harassment when it was used on him. From the wacky chambers of the English alphabet, we bring you this week’s eighth suburban legend…
Tashobya Davis

Friday 20 May 2011

Urban Legend Kampala » Blog Archive » TOP TEN: Because its like… uh, the end of the world, hello!


TOP TEN: Because Its Like… Uh, The End Of The World, Hello!

By Streetsider • May 20th, 2011 • Category: Columns, Top 10
So the world is ending tomorrow, la di da and fuddy da. Some guy in the US has deciphered it out and beyond the shadow of a doubt, May 21 will be the date of the Rapture and the Day of Judgment will follow in October.We did the research, he isn’t lying.

Thursday 12 May 2011

Microsoft-Skype deal can benefit Nokia

Analyst: Microsoft-Skype deal can benefit Nokia

Telecom operators’ reluctance may block the growth in Skype phone calls on mobile phones


Analyst:  Microsoft-Skype deal can benefit Nokia

According to industry analysts, it is not clear what kind of impact the software giant Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype could have, for instance on the fortunes of Microsoft's new strategic partner Nokia.
Microsoft Corporation announced on Tuesday that it planned to acquire Skype, the company behind the software application that allows users to make VOIP calls and chats over the Internet, for EUR 5.9 billion. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.

In February, Microsoft and Nokia announced that they were to enter into a major strategic partnership agreement, under which Nokia would start to use Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 operating system as its primary platform in smartphones.

In a recent report issued by International Data Corporation (IDC), senior research analyst Rosalind Craven estimated that the deep integration of Skype software into the Windows phone operating system would be a ”major selling point” for Nokia’s upcoming smartphones.

Skype’s current client software can already now be downloaded to mobile phones based on Android, iPhone OS, and Nokia's own Symbian platforms.
According to Craven, Microsoft could nevertheless wish to include in the Windows Phone version for example special features which would not be available for any other systems.
When integrating Skype technology into its Windows Phone software, Microsoft could actually give its new handsets an attractive edge that could be used to compete against the Internet features provided by iPhone and Android-based mobile phones.

However, Craven warns that there is a downside: some operators could take a negative attitude towards the use of Skype becoming more common on mobile phones.
Operators are not overly fond of Skype, as using the Internet phone company’s software and services allows consumers to make free or very cheap calls, taking money out of the operator's pockets.
Controllling the existing phone networks, operators exercise power over mobile handset markets as well. In many countries, operators are selling a major part of all handhelds in bundled deals with a mobile connection thrown in.

Research company Morningstar’s analyst Sunit Gogia estimated to the American news agency Associated Press that it will require some effort from Microsoft to turn the Skype deal into a money-spinner.

Microsoft deal should vastly expand reach of Skype - Yahoo! News

Microsoft deal should vastly expand reach of Skype

Tony Bates, Steve BallmerAP – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, right, and Skype CEO Tony Bates, left, shake hands during a news conference …
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SAN FRANCISCO – Imagine using your Xbox and switching from a game to a video chat with a faraway friend holding an iPad. Or going into your office email to invite Grandma to a virtual family reunion beamed on TV sets to relatives across the country.

Microsoft's $8.5 billion purchase of Skype is supposed to make using the Internet for video phone calls as common as logging on to Facebook or instant messaging is today.

If it wins regulatory approval, the deal announced Tuesday provides Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, with the means to sell more digital advertising and offer more popular conferencing tools to help businesses save money.

Skype's services also span hot markets — online socializing, mobile phones and digital video — where Microsoft has been struggling to catch up with Facebook, Apple and Google.

Analysts and investors couldn't seem to agree whether Microsoft is wasting its money on an unprofitable service or has pulled off a coup that will help it restore clout. Microsoft stock was virtually unchanged, falling 0.6 percent.

About 170 million people worldwide who use Skype regularly for calls and chats. Microsoft believes it can attract hundreds of millions more by weaving Skype into its products. Not just Windows, which runs on eight of every 10 computers and servers on the planet, but also its Outlook email program, software for phones and the Xbox video game console.

Microsoft already has a Skype-like service called Windows Live. But the real Skype is far more popular and bridges different computers and phones. Already, someone using the Skype application on an iPhone can talk to someone who has it installed on a Dell laptop.

For businesses, Microsoft has separate communications software. Building Skype into it would make it easier for corporate users to conduct video chats with people at other companies, or from home, said Bern Elliott, an analyst at the research firm Gartner Inc.

Skype allows users to make voice and video calls for free or pennies. Calls from one Skype account to another are free. Those to a landline or cellphone using the regular phone network cost money, but much less than going through the phone company.

It has become a popular way to avoid large phone bills. Skype is the largest provider of international calling services in the world, surpassing any single phone company, according to research firm TeleGeography.

Skype users made 207 billion minutes of voice and video calls last year — almost 400,000 years' worth. Most of that was free, which has made it difficult for Skype to make money. Only about 5 percent of active Skype users pay for it.

Microsoft pledged to keep Skype in all the places it is currently available, including mobile devices that run of the software of two major rivals, Apple and Google. Skype users don't have to pay to install the software on Apple's iPhone, iPad computer tablet or devices running on Google's Android system.

The new ownership probably means more advertising in Skype's video services along with potentially compelling new uses. Skype only recently began experimenting with ads. Microsoft, which has a much larger sales team, intends to expand them.

The partnership would also bring Skype to the Xbox video game console and has sold 50 million copies, making it the world's No. 2 video game system behind the Nintendo Wii.

Already, players using the Kinect motion-sensing controllers can videoconference with each other. The Microsoft-Skype partnership means a player could one day put a game aside and use the Xbox to call anyone else who has registered for a Skype account — a grandmother on her landline phone, a friend holding an Android phone, a coworker using Outlook email at work.

It's also conceivable that Microsoft could expand Skype's video chatting services into Facebook, the social networking site that has more than 500 million users of its own. Microsoft owns a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook, and both have an interest in cutting into Google's power.

Microsoft's pursuit of Skype may have even been motivated by a desire to make sure Google didn't buy it first, said technology analyst Rob Enderle. He believes Microsoft will plug Skype into Facebook.

"Either Microsoft or Google could turn Skype into an international standard," Enderle said. "Microsoft didn't want to be at the other end of that — that's why it got as pricey as it did."

The purchase is the most expensive in Microsoft's 36-year history, eclipsing its $6 billion acquisition of online ad service aQuantive in 2007. That deal has helped Microsoft sell more online ads, although analysts aren't convinced it was worth the money. The $8.5 billion is also more than three times what Skype was valued at 18 months ago when an earlier owner, eBay Inc., sold a two-thirds stake to a group of investors led by the private equity firm Silver Lake.

When eBay bought Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005, it saw tremendous potential to bring together the millions of buyers and sellers in its online bazaar. But "Skyping" and shopping didn't fit together the way eBay envisioned, feeding the skepticism about whether Microsoft will be able to realize its ambitions.

"The onus is on Microsoft to execute with this deal," said Morningstar analyst Sunit Gogia. "It's really hard ... for shareholders to be optimistic at this price point."

Although it makes billions of dollars selling software for personal computers, Microsoft has struggled badly in its effort to become a bigger force on the Internet. In the past six years, Microsoft's online division has lost more than $7.2 billion.

Skype has lost money consistently since its inception in 2003, mostly because it charges only a small fraction of its users. As a standalone company, Skype lost $7 million on revenue of $860 million last year.

That did not deter Microsoft. We are a super-ambitious company," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said. "This Skype acquisition is entirely consistent with our irrepressible, forward-looking nature."

Skype was founded in 2003 by Scandinavian entrepreneurs Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom. They also created Kazaa, a file-sharing program that, along with Napster, roiled the music industry a decade ago.

Skype, based in Luxembourg, will become a new business division of Microsoft. Skype's CEO, Tony Bates, will run it and report to Ballmer.

The vast majority of paying Skype users are in Europe, where it's popular among people who want to avoid expensive charges for traditional country-to-country phone calls. In the U.S., calling state to state is comparatively cheap.

Microsoft can easily afford the purchase. At the end of March, it had a cash hoard of $50.2 billion. Because Skype is based overseas, Microsoft plans to pay for the deal from the portion of cash that Microsoft holds overseas to avoid higher taxes in the U.S. The company hopes regulators will approve the Skype takeover before the end of the year.

That's likely. MF Global analyst Paul Gallant said regulators might even view the deal as good for consumers by helping Microsoft compete with Google.

___

Svensson reported from New York and can be reached at http://twitter.com/petersvensson. AP Technology Writers Rachel Metz in San Francisco and Joelle Tessler in Washington contributed to this report.

Museveni 4th term swearing in: Live Updates

Museveni 4th term swearing in: Live Updates


President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta swearing in for the fourth time as the president of the Republic of Uganda at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala.

President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta swearing in for the fourth time as the president of the Republic of Uganda at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA



Posted Thursday, May 12 2011 at 12:25

12:20 EAT: Twenty one gun salute as national anthem is sung after Museveni swears in.

12:17 EAT: The Key symbol which has been used in the past during swearing in as one of the instrument of power was this time round not used.

12:15 EAT: Chief Justice hands over to Museveni instrument of power, constitution, presidential flag, national anthem, court of arms, public seal amid deafening applause. He departs the swearing in dias.

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12:12 EAT: Museveni takes seat to be administered oath of allegiance and president. There is deafening applause from supporters. Museveni is accompanied by his wife Janet, dressed in black skirt and red blouse.

Museveni begins swearing in at 12:20pm, promises to uphold, protect and preserve the constitution as well as welfare of Ugandans. Crowd erupts in applause. He then signs on both oaths.

12:00 EAT: President Joseph Kabila of the republic of Congo arrived at 11:29am. This is a significant figure looking at Uganda’s strained relation between 1997 to 2003 during which Ugandan army invaded Congo.

President Kabila took office in January 2001, ten days after the murder of his father and DRC president Laurent-Désiré Kabila. On November 27, 2006, Joseph Kabila was confirmed as President following the July 2006 general election.

Both Uganda and Congo have been accusing each other of aiding rival renegade elements in either countries.

The last time the presidents met was at Mpondwe in Western Uganda. The appearance in person of President Kabila may signify a thawing in bilateral relations between Uganda and Congo, and particularly the two principals Kabila and Museveni.

Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit arrived at 11:32am and was followed by Ethiopian minister Meles Zenawi who came in at 11:40am

Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe finally arrives at 11:53am and a smiling Museveni steps forward to receive him on the red carpet. He takes the seat to Museveni’s right, just next to Chief Justice Odoki. Other guests roar in applause.

Formal swearing-in ceremony begins with singing of East African and Uganda’s national anthems

11:05 EAT: Almost all the guests are accompanied by presumably their spouses according to Journalist, Tabu Butagir. Nigeria’s president Jonathan Goodluck was first to arrive at 10:30am. Gambia’s president, his Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh arrived at 10:45am shortly followed by former Kenya’s Daniel arap Moi who came in at 10:46am

President Museveni accompanied by his wife arrives at Kololo Airstrip at exactly 11:00am in a precession of many cars.

9:45 EAT: Rwanda and Egypt have been represented by their respective ministers

9:30 EAT: Nigeria’s president Jonathan Goodluck was first to arrive 10:30. Gambia’s president, his Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh arrived at 10:45 shoprtly followed by former Kenya’s Daniel arap Moi who came in at 10:46

9:25 EAT: Daily Monitor Journalist, Tabu Butagira reports that a number of guests are streaming-in including ministers and the electoral commission. But it appears we are behind schedule because from the official programme, Vice President, Prof Gilbert Bukenya and Speaker Edward Ssekandi should have arrived at 10:12am but they are not yet here.

No head of state has arrived yet. There are three mini stages, one for the president’s tent where the president will be taking his oath; it is enclosed with bullet proof side glasses, another for the press and entertainment.

Besigye return: Live update

Besigye return: Live update


Dr. Kizza Besigye and his wife Winnie Byanyima on their way from Entebbe Airport on 12th-05-2011. Besigye was from Kenya where he has undergoing medical treatment after he was sprayed with pepper which affected his eyes.

Dr. Kizza Besigye and his wife Winnie Byanyima on their way from Entebbe Airport on 12th-05-2011. Besigye was from Kenya where he has undergoing medical treatment after he was sprayed with pepper which affected his eyes. PHOTO BY JOSEPH KIGGUNDU



Posted Thursday, May 12 2011 at 14:30

THURSDAY 12th 2011

14:56 EAT: President Museveni is said to be around Sseguku heading to Entebbe statehouse. Dr Besigye crowds have been stopped on the junction that goes to Akright estates as you get into Bwebajja.

14:36 EAT: At Namulanda military officers continue ordering people to clear the road and using canes to beat back those who resist or do not make way fast enough. However , crowds keep surging back towards the road . Dr. Besigye, who has been greeting well wishers since his convoy left Entebbe airport 3hours ago looks exhausted.


14:18 EAT:
Convoy now in Kawuku heading to Kampala
14:25 EAT:
A very large crowd of people is converging on Kibuye roundabout, the first intersection of the Kampala-Entebbe Highway. People started thronging the spot as early as 10.00 a.m. today and a carnival atmosphere is building up over the place. Our reporter, Mercy Nalugo, reports that private vehicles arriving from the Nateete side are being boarded at will by very enthusiastic supporters of the Forum for Democratic Change leader. Hundreds of armed men in military and police uniform uniforms have deployed around as the people await arrival of the Dr Besigye convoy.

14:18 EAT: Still at Kisubi, supporters block the panya (short cut) where their leader had been forced to divert by the police. They started burning tyres and the convoy feared using the road, choosing to take the main road.

14:04 EAT: The army tries to convince Dr Besigye to agree that he be escorted to Nsambya but he has refused, saying he can’t leave his people

14:01 EAT: At the Kisubi junction to the seminary, the convoy is thrown off the road. There is speculation that some foreign guests invited for the ceremony are going back to their countries. Military in full swing.

13:50 EAT: Daily Monitor reporter Phillipa Cromme reports: Dr Besigye says on phone from his car that he feels strong because he is with his people who are demonstrating for their rights. DP president Norbert Mao also says this is the kind of government which we have always wanted and “We are going straight to Nsambya grounds.”

13:35 EAT: Still at Kisubi, convoy moving slowly, beatings of the people by soldiers continue as people throw stones at them in retaliation. The army has started firing in the air and crowds dash for dear life. Police starts using blue teargas colouring almost all the people in the crowd.

13:18 EAT: Winnie gets out of the car, refuses to put the injured man on the ambulance for fear he will be killed because it is a police ambulance. The injured man Yusuf Kavuma is a journalist with Sky Magazine he was taking a photo of a military guy beating the crowds and his head was hit and he started bleeding.

13:17 EAT: It has attracted attention of the crowds ahead and they are coming back to see what happens.

13:15 EAT Thousands of supporters, Fire brigade vehicles also in the middle of the convoy.

13:10 EAT: Kisubi military starts beating people who are standing on the road sides and people react by throwing stones.

13:03 EAT: One injured man, DP President Mao, MP Elijah Okupa helping him onto the police ambulance. He has been hit on the head and is bleeding profusely. Mao’s shirt full of blood. The army and military have reinforced and come in plenty.

12:57 EAT: Military attempts to divert the convoy at Kitala to take some panya roads to town but Dr Besigye resisted and it continued moving but a very slow pace. Many army trucks with SFG soldiers are moving very close to Besigye in their cars. Crowds have reduced and many stuck on the roads sides watching.

11:30 EAT: Still at Abayita ababiri crowds have become much more and almost 20 vehicles of military, regular, anti-riot, teargas and army have broken into the convoy making it stuck.

11:04 EAT: At Abayita ababiri convoy takes more than 30minutes yet it is less than a km from Kitubulu. Crowds keep growing and cars from Kampala are stuck on the road and for those with a flight to take, they could be stuck.

11:04 EAT: At Kitubulu Police starts caning each and everyone and the numbers have reduced. Besigye has stopped to find out what is happening to his people. The number of walkers had reduced. Military police got tree branches and decided to beat whoever was following.

10:53 EAT: Military police mounts 2 road blocks one at the UN base and the second at Kitubulu centre where more crowds are waiting for the opposition leader.

10:47 EAT: At the Total and Shell petrol stations, there are over 500 people following him and the crowds keep growing, by-standers are also so many. People have made two lanes in the road and police is trying to force them into one lane.

10:38 EAT: At Muzinga trading center, police tries to block the masses but they have now grown. A group ahead of Besigye car is carrying a banner with words; “Entebbe municipality welcomes back Dr Besigye” and they are making Police work very difficult. He is dressed with a blue Scarf inscribed ‘walk to walk’.

10:30 EAT: Besigye convoy of only three vehicles reach Kitoro trading center where people have waited behind buildings after being chased by police. They follow, shouting praises to him, making his travel at a snail speed.

People keep swelling in numbers at each moment. And as he approaches state house, anti-riot police, fully dressed is very heavy and they are dispersing people who won’t relent. Dr Besigye, waiving at his people, is being driven in blue surf UAJ O54B.

10:20 EAT: Only five journalists from NTV, Radio One, New Vision, NBS and Red Pepper have been allowed into the Entebbe Airport VIP lounge where Dr Kizza Besigye is still negotiating with security officials to allow him address a press conference. Assistant Inspector General of Police Asan Kasingye read out a list of the media houses, excluding Daily Monitor, which would be allowed into the lounge. FDC officials Maj. Gen Mugisha Muntu, Bugweri MP Abdu Katuntu, Chapaa Karuhanga, Bukhooli Central MP-elect Wafula Oguttu, Kitgum Woman MP Beatrice Anywar, Mbale Municipality MP Wamai Wamanga and Joyce Ssebugwawo are inside the lounge.

Meanwhile, a number of other party officials have also been refused access to the airport and are waiting with supporters in Kitooro area of Entebbe.

Our reporters say police and soldiers are beating and chasing away people who wanted to welcome Dr Besigye from the Entebbe-Highway.

10:00 EAT: Forum for Democratic Change president, Dr Kizza Besigye, has arrived in the country aboard a Kenya Airways which landed at Entebbe Airport shortly before 9.30 a.m., bringing an end to a fiasco lasting more than 24 hours when the airline yesterday offloaded him from its early morning flight. Riot and regular police backed by soldiers are crawling all over the airport. Daily Monitor reporters in the arrivals section report that even on the steps leading up to the VIP lounge, police have posted men. Two police escort vehicles are waiting on the tarmac to escort the opposition leader to Kampala.

WEDNESDAY 11th 2011

19: 00 EAT: Kenya Airways flight KQ 414 has left Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, at 1750hrs without opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye. He had been re-scheduled to come aboard this flight following this morning’s dramatic events which saw the airline offload him from the early morning flight on the grounds that they had intelligence the plane would not be allowed to land at Entebbe, Uganda with him on board.