Tuesday, October 6, 2015

KIM DAVIS RELEASED FROM KENTUCKY JAIL !!!

U.S.

Kim Davis, Released From Kentucky Jail, Won’t Say if She Will Keep Defying Court

Continue reading the main story Video

Kim Davis Speaks After Release From Jail

Ms. Davis, the Rowan County, Ky., clerk, spoke at a rally after she was ordered freed, saying: “I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people.”
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on Publish Date September 8, 2015. Photo by Ty Wright/Getty Images. Watch in Times Video »
GRAYSON, Ky. — After five nights in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk, walked free Tuesday to a roar of cheers from thousands of supporters, but she and her lawyer would not say whether she would continue to defy court orders and try to block the licenses.
Outside the jail here, a planned demonstration by people who, like Ms. Davis, say that same-sex marriage violates their religious beliefs turned buoyant when she was released, the sense of triumph mixed with a dose of presidential politics.
She walked onstage to thunderous applause, the song “Eye of the Tiger” playing on loudspeakers, her hands held aloft by one of her lawyers, Mathew D. Staver, and Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor. Another Republican presidential contender, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, was also in attendance but largely overshadowed.
Ms. Davis broke down in tears and spoke only briefly, not addressing the issues in her case.
Continue reading the main story Video

Lawyer Discusses Kim Davis’s Release

Mathew D. Staver, the lawyer for the Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, spoke on Tuesday about his client’s release after she was jailed for defying a court’s order that she issue same-sex marriage licenses.
By REUTERS on Publish Date September 8, 2015. Watch in Times Video »
“I just want to give God the glory,” she told the crowd, some waving white crosses. “His people have rallied, and you are a strong people. Just keep on pressing. Don’t let down. Because he is here.”
But her release came with a stern warning from Judge David L. Bunning of Federal District Court, who on Thursday sent her to jail and directed five of her deputies to issue licenses without her approval. In a two-page order on Tuesday, he wrote that he was setting her free because her office was “fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples,” but that he would respond to any further defiance.
“Defendant Davis shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples,” he wrote. “If Defendant Davis should interfere in any way with their issuance, that will be considered a violation of this order and appropriate sanctions will be considered.”
Last week, one of Ms. Davis’s lawyers signaled in court that Ms. Davis would not consent to her office’s processing marriage licenses under existing guidelines. On Tuesday, reporters asked repeatedly if she would abide by the latest court order. Ms. Davis remained silent, and Mr. Staver said, “She’s not going to violate her conscience.”
The central issue for Ms. Davis is that the licenses say they are issued by the Rowan County clerk, and she, as the clerk, will not authorize them. If that feature is eliminated, Mr. Staver said, she will not stand in the way of granting licenses. “The court order did not resolve the underlying issue,” he said.
He called once again on Gov. Steven L. Beshear, a Democrat in his final year in office, to change the wording of the licenses. Mr. Beshear has said he does not have that authority and will not intervene in “a matter between her and the courts.”
Photo
The demonstration turned buoyant with Ms. Davis’s release. Credit Ty Wright/Getty Images
The Legislature could change the law on marriage licenses to accommodate objections like Ms. Davis’s. But the governor has said he will not call a special legislative session this year, which he said would be a waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Mr. Staver says licenses issued by Ms. Davis’s office without her approval are void, possibly signaling another legal fight. The Rowan County attorney and the state attorney general say they are valid.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Ms. Davis said her Apostolic Christian faith prevented her from approving such unions, so her office stopped issuing marriage licenses to any couples, same-sex or opposite-sex.
After Judge Bunning ruled last month that she must issue the licenses, a federal appeals court and then the Supreme Court declined to stay his order, pending her appeal. When she maintained her resistance, he held her in contempt and sent her to jail.
Her argument and incarceration have resonated deeply among Christian conservatives who say they fear an erosion of religious liberty, and transformed an obscure local official in a rural corner of Kentucky into a national symbol of unyielding resistance to same-sex marriage.
Of the two presidential contenders who attended the rally, it was Mr. Huckabee, making his second White House run, who grabbed the political spotlight. Before Ms. Davis appeared, Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Staver took the stage to tell the crowd, in unison, “Kim Davis is free.”
Continue reading the main story

Document: Kim Davis Contempt Order Lifted

When Mr. Cruz, who met with Ms. Davis, exited the Carter County Detention Center, a throng of journalists beckoned him toward their microphones, but an aide to Mr. Huckabee blocked the path of the senator, who appeared incredulous.
Soon after, Ms. Davis emerged, apparently wearing the same clothes she had worn in court Thursday. Mr. Huckabee stuck close by her side, along with Mr. Staver and her husband, Joe, as they approached the reporters and cameras. Ms. Davis remained silent, letting Mr. Staver and Mr. Huckabee do the talking.
Mr. Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor, cast the dispute as a matter of religious freedom threatened by overreaching courts, while Mr. Cruz stood to the side, keeping an unusually low profile.
“If you have to put someone in jail, let me go,” Mr. Huckabee told the crowd. “Every one of us will have to decide whether we want to keep this great country or whether we want to surrender and sacrifice it to tyranny.”
Ms. Davis said, “Thank you all so much; I love you all so very much.”
This small town near the West Virginia border, population 4,200, swelled with people arriving for the rally, along with a smaller group supporting same-sex marriage, bringing traffic to a crawl. One entrepreneur offered parking spaces for $20 each.
Continue reading the main story

What’s Next for Kim Davis and Kentucky’s Gay Marriage Standoff

Many demonstrators, few of them expecting that Ms. Davis would be released, brought lawn chairs. On one side, there were signs with Bible verses and one comparing the Supreme Court to the Islamic State, while a man with a megaphone urged people to repent. On the other, people waved signs saying “God Loves!!!! Period!”
Linda Clark, 40, an opponent of same-sex marriage from Olive Hill, Ky., said, “We’re happy for God to raise an army for what the majority of people want.”
A number of other local officials in several states, including two other county clerks in Kentucky, have taken stances similar to that of Ms. Davis. Chris Jobe, the president of the Kentucky County Clerks Association, has said that half of the state’s 120 county clerks said they objected on religious grounds to issuing licenses to same-sex couples, though most of them have not said they would defy the courts.
“It’s time for all God-fearing Americans to take a stand for truth, just like Kim Davis,” Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, said at the rally.
But Ria Mar, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the primary case against Ms. Davis, said in an email that the courts had spoken clearly. “To the extent any other clerks are still refusing to follow the law and treat everyone equally, there is simply no basis for further delay,” she said.
Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Human Rights Campaign, a major gay rights group, said her main concern was that Ms. Davis and others in her position could start to treat license applications differently. “She might start issuing licenses to opposite-sex couples and making her deputies issue licenses to same-sex couples,” Ms. Warbelow said.
For Republican presidential candidates, Ms. Davis’s situation has become a litmus test of commitment to religious freedom. Those who are relying on the support of social conservatives have ardently backed her cause. Others have expressed respect for her views while saying the law must be heeded
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana have also criticized Ms. Davis’s jailing. Some have suggested finding alternative ways to avoid standoffs in cases where elected officials say they are being required to act against their religious beliefs; Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said Tuesday that Ms. Davis should be moved into a different role so that her religious freedom was protected while government continued to function. Carly Fiorina, a former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, said last week that the rule of law should be paramount and that Ms. Davis might want to consider changing jobs.
Donald J. Trump did his best not to offend evangelical Christians who have been strong supporters of his candidacy. He called it a “sticky situation” and said he saw both sides of the issue, before adding that ultimately, “we are a nation of laws” and that someone in the clerk’s office must issue the licenses.
Correction: September 11, 2015
An article on Wednesday about the release from jail of the Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, misstated, in some editions, part of the name of the hometown of Linda Clark, a demonstrator outside the county jail where Ms. Davis was housed. It is Olive Hill, Ky., not Olive Hall.
Alan Blinder reported from Grayson, and Richard Pérez-Peña from New York. John Mura contributed reporting from Grayson, and Alan Rappeport from Washington.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

WAFANYAKAZI WA SEKTA ZA AFYA WATAKA MABADILIKO TANZANIA !!!

* Kutoka Kagera, Katika Mkutano Mkuu wa Mwaka wa Wauguzi (Annual General Meeting).
Leo tarehe 30 Sept. 2015


* MADAKTARI, WAUGUZI, WAFAMASIA NCHINI WAUNGA MKONO RASMI VUGUVUGU LA MABADILIKO NCHINI.

Taarifa Maalumu Kwa wadau wa afya nchini (Wataalamu wa afya na wananchi wote). MUHTASARI:

Ndugu wananchi, na wadau wa afya nchini sisi viongozi wa Jumuiya ya Madaktari, nchini (MAT), Jumuiya ya Wauguzi nchini (TANNA) Jumuiya ya Wafamasia nchini (PST), na Association of Medical Practitioner of Tanzania(AMEPTA) nchini, tumekutana na kujadiliana mambo kadha yanayohusu mstakabali wa maendeleo mahususi ya sekta ya afya Kama wadau wa maendeleo,
AJENDA YETU: Afya kuelekea uchaguzi mkuu.

Tumechukua hatua hii madhubuti Kwa nia njema kabisa tukitambua kuwa sekta ya afya inakabiliwa na changamoto nyingi na zinahitaji hatua ya dhati kuinusuru sekta ya afya kuendelea kutoa huduma isiyokidhi viwango, kwani tunapojadili mstakabali wa afya za watanzania, tunajadili mstakabali wa harakati za taifa letu kujikwamua kutoka hatua hii ya maendeleo tuliofikia kwenda hatua nyingine iliyo bora zaidi, Kwa kadiri ya dira ya maendeleo nchini na duniani kwa ujumla.

* Kwa nini tunachukua hatua hii wakati tuko katika kipindi cha kuelekea uchaguzi mkuu ifikapo tarehe 25/10/2015,

Jibu: Ni kwamba tunatambua mustakabali na msingi wa mabadiliko ya kweli katika sekta ya afya na hata sekta nyingine za umma umo mikononi mwa Wanasiasa tunaoenda kuwachagua kuanzia madiwani, wabunge na raisi. Hivyo tungependa(Wahudumu/Wataalamu wa afya na wananchi wote watambue wanapoamua kuacha kupiga kura, au wanapopiga kura basi wanaamua mstakabali wa afya yao katika kipindi cha miaka mitano(5) ijayo au zaidi.
wote nchini tusifanye makosa, tuamue afya yetu sasa, tuchague kwa makini, tuchague mabadiliko ya kweli.

Aidha, TUNARIDHISHWA NA TUNAUNGA MKONO VUGUVUGU LA MABADILIKO NCHINI Kuelekea uchaguzi mkuu ifikapo tarehe 25/10/2015. "Afya bora Kwa wote inawezekana Tanzania" Tuamue tarehe 25 Octoba. "Tuchague mabadiliko"

Zipo changamoto zinazoikabili sekta ya afya 

1. Uhaba wa dawa na vifaa Tiba:
Hii inatokana na bajeti finyu ya sekta ya afya, hatuna viwanda vikubwa vya kuzalisha dawa nchini vinavyomilikiwa na serikali, Tanzania kuna msambazaji mmoja tu wa dawa nchini, yaani bohari kuu Kwa vituo vyote nchini huku akiwa hana uwezo wa kutosha kumudu kazi hii muhimu sana. Hii hufanya Wagonjwa au wateja wa huduma kulazimika kuandikiwa dawa ili wakajinunulie kwingineko.

Aidha, watalamu wa afya wanalaani na kuwasihi wanasiasa kuacha mara moja kueneza propaganda kuwa wahudumu wa afya wanaiba dawa, hivyo kusababisha upungufu wa dawa nchini, wakati inajulikana wazi upungufu wa dawa unatokana na ufinyu wa bajeti ya serikali katika sekta ya afya na si vinginevyo, aidha, kauli hiyo imewasikitasha na kuwapunguzia heshima na morali wa kazi wahudumu wa afya nchini.

2. Uhaba wa wafanyakazi wataalamu wa afya Kwa asilimia 56%, yaani chini ya nusu ya hitaji: 
 Mfano Kwa mwaka 2014, daktari mmoja alihudumia wagonjwa 20,000(1:20,000) badala ya daktari mmoja kubudumia wagonjwa 5000(1:5000). Matokeo yake mzigo wa kazi unakuwa mkubwa na unadhifu wa kazi unapungua.

3: Mazingira magumu ya kufanya kazi, Miundombinu mibovu,
hadi Leo mwaka 2015 wapo watanzania wanaolala chini hospitalini, na wengine wanaruhusiwa ikiwa hawajapona vizuri ili kupisha nafasi Kwa wagonjwa wengine.
Je, watanzania ni kwanini tusitamani mabadiliko?

Mpango wetu;
Nafasi ya wananchi kuelekea uchaguzi mkuu
Sisi tunatumia fursa hii adhimu kuwakumbusha watanzania wote, kama wadau wa afya na wadau wa maendeleo wajue wanapopiga kura, au wanapoacha kupiga kura basi, wanaamua afya zao, wanaamua hatima ya elimu yao, wanaamua uchumi wao na ustawi wa taifa letu Kwa pamoja. Ni muhimu kila mtanzania aliyejiandikisha ahakikishe anapiga kura, achague mabadiliko ili kusaidia kupata viongozi bora watakaosaidia kutatua kero zetu Kwa pamoja Kama taifa.

Matatizo mengi ndani ya sekta ya afya na hata sekta nyingine zinaweza kupunguzwa au Kwisha kabisa, tukumbuke baada ya uchaguzi huduma Kama afya, Elimu na nyingine nyingi hazitolewi Kwa itikadi ya vyama, tusichague kiongozi kwa mazoea ya chama(chetu), tuangalie je wanaweza kutusaidia Kama taifa?

Tukifanya makosa viongozi wasiofaa wakashinda, basi kulala chini hospitalini kutatuathiri wote, na kutaendelea daima, ilimradi tuko masikini. Ndugu zetu wanafunzi wakitanzania kukaa chini darasani kutawahusu pia, (tuamue sasa).

Tunahitaji viongozi wenye kuthubutu, Wenye dira, Maamuzi magumu, na Nguvu ya kusukuma mbele maendeleo yetu Kama taifa.

Dr. P. Magesa

Friday, October 2, 2015

UKWELI UKIDHIHIRI UWONGO HUJITENGA

 UKWELI  UKIDHIHIRI  UWONGO  HUJITENGA

Ahmed Rajab
Toleo la 424
23 Sep 2015
NIMEKUWA nikiyasoma, tena na tena, makala ya Abdulrahman Kinana, Katibu Mkuu wa Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), yaliyochapishwa Septemba 10 kwenye blogi la gazeti la The Hill la huko Washington, Marekani.
Gazeti hilo si la kuchezewa wala kudharauliwa. Tangu liasisiwe 1994 limekuwa ni muhimu na lina uzito katika siasa za Marekani na, kwa kiwango fulani, za ulimwengu kwa jumla. Ni gazeti ambalo wanasiasa wa Marekani na wote wenye kuhusika na siasa lazima walisome. Wakati wa msimu wa Bunge la Marekani (Congress) linapokuwa linakutana gazeti hilo huchapishwa kila siku.
Huchapishwa kwa karatasi na katika mtandao. Ni gazeti linalosomwa na wabunge wa Marekani na linaloandika mambo mengi kuyahusu mabaraza yote mawili ya Bunge la nchi hiyo, yaani Baraza la Wawakilishi (House of Representatives) na Baraza la Senate (Senate). Taarifa nyingi za habari kuhusu Ikulu ya Marekani (White House), Bunge la Marekani na taasisi za kisiasa za Marekani huchapishwa kwanza katika jarida hilo pamoja na habari kutoka ofisi zenye kazi za kuwashawishi wabunge zilizo katika Barabara ya K, jijini Washington.
Hakuna popote duniani penye barabara yenye uzito wa kisiasa kama Barabara ya K ya Jiji la Washington. Huko ndiko kwenye ofisi nyingi zinazoajiriwa kuwapigia debe wanasiasa, sera fulani na hata nchi fulani au viongozi wao kwa lengo la kuwashawishi wabunge wa Marekani.
The Hill linajigamba kwamba ni la aina ya pekee na hakuna anayeweza kulishinda katika kuchapisha habari madhubuti zisizopendelea upande wowote kuhusu namna Bunge la Marekani linavyofanya kazi. Linajigamba pia kwamba habari zote kuu kuhusu siasa za Marekani na biashara za nchi hiyo huanzia gazetini humo.
Gazeti hilo na jukwaa lake la mtandaoni huwaunganisha wanasiasa, wachambuzi wa siasa na taasisi za siasa. Kadhalika gazeti hilo ndilo linaloongoza ajenda ya kisiasa nchini Marekani. Ndilo lenye kuamua nini cha kujadiliwa na lina ushawishi mkubwa juu ya maoni ya wabunge kuhusu masuala mbalimbali.
Kwa hivyo, Kinana alipoamua kuandika makala yake katika gazeti hilo alikuwa anawalenga wabunge wa Marekani na Rais wa Marekani akitambua wazi kwamba makala yake yatamfikia Rais Barack Obama mwenyewe moja kwa moja ayasome au yatamfikia kupitia wasaidizi wake na washauri wake kuhusu mambo ya Afrika.
Makala hayo ya Kinana yanatisha. Tena yanakirihisha na yanaweza hata kukutapisha. Pia ni yenye kusikitisha. Ninasema hivi kwa sababu Kinana amejisahau na amesahau kwamba anaowalenga ni watu wenye uwezo wa kutofautisha baina ya ukweli na uzandiki.
Baada ya kuyasoma makala ya Kinana nilijiuliza: Dhamira yake ilikuwa nini kwa kuandika makala hayo yenye maudhui ya kutisha? Hitimisho langu ni kwamba Kinana hakuwa na nia njema kwa Tanzania, na hasa kwa Zanzibar. Huenda akawa anadhamiria kuuchimba mchakato wa demokrasia nchini Tanzania.
Makala yake yalinikumbusha hotuba aliyoitoa mwaka jana huko Gombani ya Kale, kisiwani Pemba. Hotuba hiyo ilinichochea kuandika makala katika gazeti hili (“Hiki kiburi cha Kinana kina nini?”,Raia Mwema, Toleo la 351).
Niliandika kwamba hotuba yake ya Gombani ya Kale, ilikuwa ya kusikitisha na ilikuwa na matamshi ya namna mbili: “ya uzushi mtupu” na “yaliyoubiruwa ukweli”. Vivyo hivyo, makala yake ya majuzi kwenye blogi ya The Hill.
Mna mengi katika makala hayo yasiyo ya kweli. Kwa ufupi, yanashutumu kwamba wale wasichana wawili wa Kiingereza, Katie Gee na Kirstie Trup, walioshambuliwa kwa kumiminiwa tindikali huko Zanzibar 2013 walishambuliwa na wafuasi wa Jumuiya ya Uamsho na Mihadhara ya Kiislamu (Jumiki), maarufu kwa jina la “Uamsho”; kwamba Uamsho ni “kundi la kigaidi lenye funganisho zinazojulikana na Boko Haram” na kwamba kwa msaada wa polisi wa Uingereza na Shirika la Polisi la Kimataifa, Interpol, “wanachama” wa Uamsho walikamatwa kwa kosa hilo la jinai na hivi sasa wameshtakiwa mahakamani. Kama huo si uzandiki basi ni nini?
Tunaofuatilia siasa za Tanzania tunajuwa kwamba viongozi wa Uamsho wamekamatwa kwa sababu za kisiasa. Wametiwa ndani ili wasiweze kuendelea na kampeni dhidi ya muundo wa sasa wa Muungano na kwamba uchaguzi utapomalizika wataachiwa.
Hii ni mara ya mwanzo ulimwengu kusikia kwamba Jumuiya ya Uamsho ina uhusiano na Boko Haram, kundi la kigaidi lenye chimbuko lake Nigeria. Hii ni shutuma ya kitoto na ni ya uchochezi. Inastahiki kulaaniwa na wote wale wenye kufanya jitihada za kijitu uzima za kupambana na ugaidi wa kimataifa. Vita dhidi ya ugaidi ni mapambano yasiyo na utani, yanayohitaji busara, ukweli na moyo wa dhati kupambana nao.
Hii pia ni mara ya mwanzo ulimwengu kusikia kwamba masheikh wa Uamsho waliokamatwa Zanzibar na kupelekwa Dar es Salaam wanashtakiwa kwa kosa la jinai la mashambulizi dhidi ya wale wasichana wawili wa Kiingereza. Kinana amesahau kusema kwamba masheikh hao, wenye kuheshimiwa na waumini wa dini yao, wameyaambia mahakama jinsi walivyoteswa na hata baadhi yao kulawitiwa wakiwa kizuizini.
Mark Trup, baba wa mmoja wa wasichana hao, ameliambia gazeti la Evening Standard la London wiki iliyopita kwamba maneno ya Kinana ni “upuuzi mtupu” au ameyasema kwa sababu za kisiasa. Salum Msangi, kaimu mkurugenzi wa upelelezi wa makosa ya jinai huko Zanzibar, amekanusha kwamba kuna watu waliokamatwa kwa shambulio hilo.
Hii ni aibu kubwa kwa kiongozi kama Kinana kuambiwa kwamba anasema uongo hasa kwa jambo nyeti kama hili. Na ikiwa anathubutu kudanganya kwa jambo kama hili tunawezaje kumuamini kwa mengine?
Kinana ameendelea kuandika kwamba Jumuiya ya Uamsho ina historia ndefu ya kuwalenga wageni na hata viongozi wa kidini wa Kikristo na wa Kiislamu “wasiounga mkono lengo lao la kuuvunja Muungano wa Tanzania kwa ugaidi na kuigeuza Zanzibar iwe ni dola yenye itikadi kali”.
Kinana ameshutumu kwamba Edward Lowassa, anawaunga mkono magaidi na kwamba ameahidi kuwa akichaguliwa Rais atawaachia huru wale waliokamatwa kwa kufanya shambulio la tindikali. Huku ni kuupindua ukweli kwani Kinana hakueleza yote aliyoyasema Lowassa kwamba watuhumiwa hao, waliopelekwa Tanzania Bara kinyume cha sheria, wataachiwa huru huku kesi yao ikiendelea mahakamani.
Kinana amesahau kwamba katika mfumo wa utawala wa kisheria mtu huwa hana hatia mpaka atapohukumiwa na mahakama kwamba ana hatia. Na huo tujuavyo ndio msimamo wa Lowassa.
Anapolijadili suala hili Kinana anajikanganya. Mara anasema kwamba viongozi wa Uamsho ndio waliofanya shambulio la tindikali, mara anasema kuwa wao “wanashukiwa” kwa shambulio hilo, ilimradi inavyoonyesha ni kwamba hajui anasema nini. Lakini sisi tunajuwa anachotaka kusema.
Anachotaka kusema ni kuutahadharisha ulimwengu, hasa wa nchi za Magharibi na hususan Marekani, usiuvumilie ushindi wa Lowassa, kwamba Lowassa akishinda Tanzania itakuwa medani ya magaidi. Labda anayataka madola hayo yaingilie kati iwapo Lowassa na Ukawa watashinda uchaguzi au labda chama chake cha CCM kinajiandaa kuchukua hatua ovu za kuupindua ushindi huo endapo ukitokea. Labda anayataka madola hayo yakionee huruma chama chake kikichukuwa hatua hiyo.
Baada ya kushindwa kuwatisha wananchi wa Tanzania, Kinana ameona bora awageukie wageni na aanze kuwatisha wao. Na kwa nini basi akaona haja ya kuwatisha? Kwa sababu, na haya ameyaandika yeye mwenyewe, “kuna uwezekano ingawa kwa sasa ni mdogo wa Lowassa na wafuasi wake wa upinzani kushinda” katika uchaguzi na hivyo Tanzania kuwa medani mpya ya magaidi. Hii ni mantiki isiyoingia akilini.
Sitoshangaa nikisikia kwamba makala ya Kinana, yasiyo na kichwa wala miguu, yalipachikwa kwenye gazeti la The Hill kwa msaada wa ofisi ya wapigadebe iliyo Barabara ya K na yenye lengo la kuwashawishi wabunge wa Marekani wauone upinzani wa Tanzania kwa macho mengine na waione Zanzibar kuwa ni nchi yenye kuwafuga magaidi na kwamba magaidi hao watajititimua pale upinzani utapokishinda CCM katika uchaguzi ujao.
Jengine analolisema Kinana ni kwamba Lowassa alikataliwa na wapiga kura alipojaribu kutaka ateuliwe na CCM awe mgombea wake katika uchaguzi wa urais. Ukweli ni kwamba bado hatujui iwapo Lowassa atakubaliwa au atakataliwa na wapiga kura. Tujuavyo ni kwamba alikataliwa na vigogo wa CCM, au hasa na “the system”, lile niliitalo “dubwasha” lenye kuiongoza serikali na CCM. Wapigaji kura, wananchi wa kawaida, bado hawakutoa uamuzi wao. Utakuwa bayana Oktoba 25.
Kinana ametaja shutuma za ufisadi zinazomuandama Lowassa na kwamba alilazimika kujiuzulu uwaziri mkuu kwa sababu ya ufisadi. Kinana amesahau kwamba hadi leo Serikali ya CCM haikumfikisha mahakamani Lowassa na kwa hivyo, mbele ya macho ya sheria Lowassa hana hatia.
Yeye mwenyewe Lowassa amekwishajitetea kwa kusema ya kwamba alijiuzulu uwaziri mkuu kwa sababu ilibidi awajibike kisiasa na alifanya hivyo kuilinda Serikali ya CCM. Zaidi ya mara moja amesema ya kwamba alihusika na sakata la Richmond “kwa maagizo kutoka juu”.
Angekuwa mkweli Kinana angeutaja ufisadi uliozagaa katika ngazi za juu kabisa za Serikali ya Tanzania, pamoja na ule unaohusika na biashara ya kusafirisha kwa magendo pembe za ndovu nje ya nchi. Ni ufisadi huo uliolifanya Shirika la Serikali ya Marekani la Changamoto za Milenia (MCC) likatae Alhamisi iliyopita kuipa Tanzania shilingi zaidi ya trilioni moja (sawa na dola za Marekani milioni 472.8). Fedha hizo zingetumika kugharimia miradi kadhaa katika sekta ya nishati.
Kwa makala yake katika The Hill Kinana hajajitendea haki yeye mwenyewe wala chama chake wala wapigakura wa Tanzania ambao kura zao chama chake kinazisaka. Inanibidi niulize tena swali nililoliuliza katika makala ya toleo la 351 la Raia Mwema: “Kwa nini kiongozi wa hadhi kama ya Kinana akawa haoni taabu usiku kuuita mchana na mchana kuuita usiku?” Uongo mchana kweupe!
Hatutochoka kuuliza: Kinana, kwa nini? Kwani kunani? Chambilecho mshairi wa Kenya Abdilatif Abdalla:
“Kana na kuku kunena, kunenwa k’akutakiwi
Kuna wanakokuona, kunena kwamba si kuwi
Kunena wakikuona, kukuita k’awakawi
Kunena kana kwanuk’a, nikukome kukunena?”*
*Kutoka “SAUTI YA DHIKI”, uk. 23 (1973); uk. 25 (2012)

AHADI ZISIZOTIMIA ZA SERIKALI YA CCM MIAKA 10 ILIYOPITAA !!!


AHADI  TANO  ZA  KIKWETE  ZISIZOTIMIA

BY THOBIAS MWANAKATWE
2nd October 2015
http://www.ippmedia.com/media/picture/large/JK-02Oct2015.png
Rais Jakaya  Mrisho Kikwete.

Wakati zikiwa zimebaki siku 22 kuanzia leo kabla ya uchaguzi mkuu utakaofanyika Oktoba 25, imebainika kuwa Rais ajaye atakuwa na mzigo mzito wa kutekeleza ahadi kadhaa zilizowahi kutolewa na serikali ya Rais Jakaya Kikwete anayetarajiwa kumaliza muda wake baada ya uchaguzi huo utakaompata mrithi wake.

Uchunguzi uliofanywa na Nipashe umebaini kuwa, licha ya mafanikio makubwa katika sekta mbalimbali katika kipindi cha miaka 10 ya serikali iliyopo madarakani, bado kuna ahadi tano kubwa ambazo ni miongoni mwa zile zinazoonekana wazi kuwa utekelezaji wake utahitaji muujiza kutokana na muda mfupi uliobaki kati ya sasa na siku ya kupiga kura.

Kwa sababu hiyo, imebainika kuwa Rais ajaye atalazimika kufanya kazi ya ziada kuhakikisha kuwa walau anatekeleza ahadi hizo na hivyo kufufua matumaini waliyokuwa nayo wananchi kwa kipindi chote tangu wakati wa kampeni za uchaguzi uliopita.

Hadi sasa, wagombea wanaoonekana kuchuana vikali katika kampeni zinazoendelea ni Dk. John Magufuli wa Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) na Edward Lowassa wa Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) anayewakilisha pia muungano wa vyama vinavyounda Umoja wa Katiba ya Wananchi (Ukawa) vya NCCR-Mageuzi, NLD na Chama cha Wananchi (CUF). 

Wagombea wengine wanaotafuta ridhaa ya Watanzania katika uchaguzi mkuu wa tano tangu kuanza kwa mfumo wa vyama vingi nchini mwaka 1992 ni Fahmy Dovutwa wa UPDP, Hashim Rungwe wa Chama cha Umma (Chaumma), Maximillian Lymo wa TLP, Anna Mghwira wa ACT-Wazalendo, Chifu Lutasola Yemba wa ADC na Janken Kasambala wa NRA.  

Kadhalika, imebainika kuwa yeyote ayakayeshinda kati ya wagombea hao wa urais,  hasa Dk. Magufuli wa CCM na Lowassa wa Ukawa wanaoonekana kuchuana kwa karibu kutokana na maelfu ya watu wanaojitokeza kwenye mikutano yao kila uchao, atakabiliana na mtihani mzito wa kutekeleza ahadi hizo. 

Uchunguzi umebaini kuwa Rais ajaye kutoka miongoni mwa wagombea nane wanaoendelea na kampeni hivi sasa, atakuwa na kazi ya kutekeleza ahadi zake binafsi na zilizotolewa katika ilani za chama chake na pia atakuwa na kibarua kizito cha kuangalia ni kwa namna gani atatekeleza ahadi zilizowahi kutolewa na Rais Kikwete kwa nyakati tofauti kabla na baada ya chaguzi zilizoiingiza serikali ya sasa madarakani.

Ahadi tano kubwa kati ya zile zilizowahi kutolewa na serikali ya Rais Kikwete ni pamoja na ununuzi wa meli katika maziwa ya Victoria,  Tanganyika na Nyasa; ununuzi wa bajaji maalum za kubebea wagonjwa katika hospitali; kuimarishwa kwa mgodi wa makaa ya mawe Kiwira ili mwishowe usaidie kuzalisha umeme; ujenzi wa reli mpya ya kati na pia kumalizwa tatizo la maji katika maeneo kadhaa nchini ikiwamo katika Jimbo la Nzega mkoani Tabora. 


1. KIGOMA KUWA DUBAI YA AFRIKA
Serikali ya Rais Kikwete iliahidi kuwa itaubadilisha Mkoa wa Kigoma na kuwa Dubai ya Afrika kwa maana  kuwa wa kibiashara kama ilivyo Dubai kwa kujenga uwanja wa ndege, kupanua bandari na kuimarisha reli ili kuhudumia nchi za maziwa makuu na za kusini mwa Afrika.

2. AFYA (BAJAJ KUBEBEA WAGONJWA)
Wakati wa kampeni za uchaguzi mkuu mwaka 2010, Rais Kikwete alitoa ahadi ya kununua pikipiki za miguu mitatu (bajaj) 400 za wagonjwa kwa nchi nzima.

Rais Kikwete alitoa ahadi hiyo wakati akizungumza na wananchi wa mji wa Mkwajuni wilayani Chunya mkoa wa Mbeya.

Ahadi hiyo itakuwa mtihani mzito kwa Rais ajaye ambaye atatakiwa kuitekeleza kwa kuwa baadhi ya maeneo, hususani ya vijijini, bado yanaendelea kukabiliwa na tatizo kubwa la ukosefu wa magari ya kubebea wagonjwa ili kuwawahisha kwenye hospitali kubwa. Waathirika wakubwa wa tatizo hili huwa ni kina mama wajawazito, hivyo ni mtihani wa aina yake.

3. UJENZI WA 'FLY-OVERS'
Miongoni mwa ahadi maarufu za serikali ya awamu ya nne ni ujenzi wa barabara za juu (fly-overs) kwenye makutano ya barabara kubwa za jiji la Dar es Salaam kama Mandela/Nyerere na Mandela/Morogoro, lengo likiwa ni kupunguza makali ya foleni. Licha ya ahadi hii kurudiwa mara kadhaa, bado haijatekelezwa hadi sasa. 

Rais ajaye atalazimika kufanya kazi ya ziada kuhakikisha kuwa inatekelezwa ili kutimiza kiu ya maelfu ya wakazi wa jiji la Dar es Salaam waliojawa na matumaini waliyopewa na serikali yao ya sasa kwa kuamini kuwa hilo likifanyika, adha wanayoipata ya kutumia muda mwingi wakiwa kwenye foleni za magari itapungua kwa kiasi kikubwa.

4. UJENZI RELI YA KATI
Wakati wa kampeni za uchaguzi mkuu 2010, Rais Kikwete akiwa wilayani Nzega, mkoani Tabora, aliahidi kuwa serikali yake ingejenga reli mpya kutoka Dar es Salaam hadi katika mikoa ya Kanda ya Ziwa.

Aidha, akizungumza na wananchi wa wilaya ya Pangani, mkoani Tanga Septemba 10, mwaka 2010, aliahidi pia kujenga reli kutoka Tanga kwenda Arusha hadi Musoma.

Hata hivyo, hadi kufikia sasa hakuna utekelezaji wa kuonekana kwa vitendo katika kutimiza azma hiyo ya kuwa na reli mpya. Kwa sababu hiyo, Rais ajaye na serikali yake watalazimika kuifanyia kazi ahadi hii ili kuboresha sekta ya uchukuzi wa reli hiyo muhimu kwa uchumi wa nchi.

5. AHADI YA MELI ZIWA VICTORIA, TANGANYIKA
Hii ni ahadi mojawapo maarufu ambayo bado haijatekelezwa na kuna kila dalili kuwa haitatekelezwa katika kipindi kilichobaki, hivyo kumpa mtihani wa aina yake rais ajaye. 

Katika kampeni za uchaguzi mwaka 2010, Rais Kikwete alitoa ahadi ya kununua meli kubwa kuliko ya Mv Bukoba iliyozama mwaka 1996. Alitoa ahadi hiyo Agosti 24, mwaka 2010 wakati akizungumza na wananchi katika mkutano wa hadhara uliofanyika Bukoba Vijijini. 

Aidha, katika mkutano wake Bukoba Vijijini, Rais Kikwete aliahidi pia kujenga uwanja wa ndege ili kuwarahisishia usafiri wananchi wa mkoa wa Kagera. 

Akiwa katika wilaya ya Nkasi, mkoa wa Rukwa Agosti 28, 2010, Rais Kikwete aliahidi kuwa serikali yake itanunua meli mpya itakayokuwa inatoa huduma katika Ziwa Tanganyika. 

Aliahidi pia kununua meli mpya yenye uwezo wa kubeba tani 400 katika Ziwa Nyasa. Hadi sasa hilo halijafanyika.

Mrithi wa Rais Kikwete katika serikali ijayo ya awamu ya tano, atalazimika kuumiza kichwa na serikali yake ili kuhakikisha kuwa pamoja na mambo mengine, ahadi hii pia inatimizwa. 

AHADI NYINGINE
Ahadi nyingine zilizowahi kutolewa na Rais Kikwete na ambazo utekelezaji wake bado haujafanyika ni pamoja na ya kuwapelekea kivuko wakazi wa Buchosa mkoani Mwanza. Akizungumza na wananchi wa jimbo hilo Agosti 23, 2010, Rais Kikwete aliahidi kununua kivuko cha Maisome ili kuwaondolea adha wananchi wanaotaka kuvuka kwenda maeneo mengine. Hilo hadi sasa halijafanyika na hivyo rais ajaye atakuwa na kazi ya ziada kutekeleza.

Zipo pia ahadi nyingine kadhaa zilizoibua matumaini mapya kwa Watanzania lakini hadi sasa utekelezaji wake haujafanyika kwa asilimia mia moja. Baadhi ya ahadi hizo ni ujenzi wa barabara za pembezoni (ring roads) jijini Dar es Salaam, kukamilisha katiba mpya, kumaliza madai ya walimu, uraia wa nchi mbili, kuufanya mji wa Tanga kuwa wa viwanda na pia kushughulikia tatizo la ukosefu wa ajira.

MAFANIKIO SERIKALI YA JK 
Licha ya changamoto zilizopo, serikali ya awamu ya nne imefanikiwa katika maeneo kadhaa yaliyotokana na ahadi zilizotolewa wakati wa chaguzi zilizopita, hivyo kumpa kibarua cha ziada rais ajaye katika kuhakikisha kuwa serikali yake inaongeza juhudi ili idumishe mafanikio hayo.

Baadhi ya maeneo ya mafanikio ni ujenzi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dodoma, ujenzi wa mtandao mkubwa wa barabara za lami na pia ujenzi wa madaraja makubwa kama la Mto Malagarasi. 

Mafanikio mengine ni kuwapo kwa shule nyingi zaidi za sekondari nchini, kushamiri kwa vyuo vikuu na kuongezeka kwa ufanisi katika sekta ya Bandari ni miongoni mwa maeneo ya mafanikio, sawa na ilivyo katika harakati za kuimarisha amani na utulivu katika visiwa vya Zanzibar kupitia Serikali ya Umoja wa Kitaifa.

SOURCE: NIPASHE

Friday, September 4, 2015

KABULA NKARANGO MASANJA GOES HOME TO TANZANIA

1st of Tanzanian albino kids with missing limbs goes home

Associated Press

Associated Press Videos

New Hope For Africa's Hunted Albino Children

New Hope For Africa's Hunted Albino Children
Lição De Baião (Video)
NEW YORK (AP) — Kabula Nkarango Masanja returned home to Tanzania with a new American prosthetic arm replacing the limb that was chopped off with a machete by followers of African witchcraft.

She's one of Tanzania's children with albinism, a condition that leaves people with little or no pigment in their skin, hair or eyes. Their severed body parts are used in potions witch doctors believe bring wealth and good luck. The soft-spoken 17-year-old Kabula is now one of the lucky ones.

Doctors at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Philadelphia recently created new artificial limbs for Kabula and four other youngsters. And New York City resident Elissa Montanti provided housing about two hours away in the borough of Staten Island and organized all their daily, medical and travel needs.
Kabula boarded a plane Tuesday at Kennedy Airport, heading to Tanzania's capital, Dar es Salaam. She'd been in the United States since June with the four other children, ages 5 to 15, who also were fitted with prosthetics.

"God be with you till we meet again," she wrote neatly on a piece of paper left for Montanti and the Global Medical Relief Fund, the charity she founded.

Montanti, who lives up the street from the charity's "Dare to Dream" house, has spent years flying in children missing limbs from dozens of crisis zones including Bosnia, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.
"But I have never, ever been so pained as watching these children," says the 62-year-old former radiation technician.

While the 200 or so youths Montanti has helped were victims of land mines, earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters, "this is deliberate" she said of the witchcraft victims.

Lacking natural pigmentation, people with albinism look almost white — ghosts of departed humans, according to witch doctors who order body parts to be hacked off: hair, nails, teeth, tongues, hands, feet, even genitals. More than 200 witch doctors have been arrested so far in the killings of Tanzanians with albinism. The government outlawed witch doctors last year.

Still, attacks continue; at least eight were recorded in Tanzania in the past year.
There's another, even more cruel twist.
Some parents are collaborators because "they still believe their children are cursed," says Ester Rwela, a social worker who accompanies the children and translates their Swahili language.

The father of 5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo was arrested after part of the little boy's right arm was sliced off last March amid ear-piercing screams.

Tanzanian diamond dealers, businessmen and politicians have paid as much as $75,000 to hunt albino people, says Rwela. "Elections are high season for the witch doctors," she says. "And people with albinism live in fear."

But the kids' lives aren't consumed by the monstrosities.
"Guess what? They're still capable of loving," says Montanti, who constantly holds their hands and hugs them.
them to Philadelphia to fine-tune the prostheses and learn to use them.
Emmanuel Festo Rutema, a 13-year-old missing his left arm and several fingers on his right hand, also goes to a dentist to replace the front teeth knocked out as a witchcraft prize. Attackers tried to cut out his tongue but only damaged it.

On a summer afternoon in the Staten Island home, the rooms are alive with laughter.
"Baraka Obama!"

That's the nickname his friends jokingly call the small boy. He cracks a shy smile, adding, "I don't know who Obama is."
On the sofa, Emmanuel is playing cards with 12-year-old Mwigulu Matonange Magesa, who's wearing a hooked extension of his left arm to pick up the cards. It's an easier tool than the prosthetic hand he hasn't yet mastered.

Kabula is studying for the school exam she faces after returning to Dar es Salaam, where she and the other four have been living in a "safe house" far from their impoverished villages.

"God says forgive your enemies, but as a human being, I cannot forgive them, because they can do this again," says the teen, whose right arm was cut off to the armpit.
She wants to become a human rights lawyer.

At Kennedy, Kabula wiped tears from her eyes, crestfallen at the prospect of leaving her friends and the safety of New York.
"But I told her, 'this is not the end, it's only a bright new beginning,'" says Montanti.
The other children are leaving in late September. And they'll be back next year for new prostheses matching their growth.
___
Online:
Global Medical Relief Fund: http://www.gmrfchildren.org

ALLIANCE FOR CHANGE AND TRASPARENCY [ACT-WAZALENDO] PARTY TO REVIVE PRINCIPLES OF UJAMAA {SOCIALISM} !!

 

BY QUEENTER MAWINDA
4th September 2015
 
  To revive 'some' principles of Ujamaa
Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo) presidential candidate Anna Mghwira stresses a point during an exclusive interview with The Guardian in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo) presidential candidate Anna Mghwira yesterday vowed to nationalise some “industries” if she is voted into power next month.

She said her party would do so in reliving Founding President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s socialist ideology and ACT-Wazalendo’s own Tabora Declaration and election manifesto.

Mghwira, the only female candidate for Tanzania’s presidency in the October 25 General Election, said the move would seek to alleviate poverty and improve the country’s economy. 

“The party is bent on reviving our country’s socialist ideology,” she said in the exclusive interview with this paper in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

She clarified, though, that her party was not advocating “blanket complete or blind nationalisation of private property,” adding: “But it is our wish to revive some Ujamaa principles and restore social justice, accountability, equality and leadership ethics.”

Mghwira said her government would nationalise some industries in a bid to ensure proper supervision of the country’s natural and other resources in order to develop a self-reliant economy. 

“We want to put the economy in the hands of the people,” she said, elaborating: “Every citizen has the right to benefit from our God-given resources instead of helplessly looking on as the resources are enjoyed by a few people.”

She said the move would go hand in hand with stepped-up participation of women in the economy, noting: “It is crucial that women across Africa form a platform that will bring them to one table at which they will discuss the challenges they face and how to meet them.”. 
“Women all over the continent are facing similar challenges especially in politics,” she noted.

On a different plane, she said Tanzania’s economic development was being undermined by incompetence and irresponsible people in positions of authority. 

“My government will hold accountable all irresponsible and corrupt leaders,” she said, adding: “Patriotism is a scarce item among civil servants... Many leaders are thinking only of themselves instead of the country and the nation.”

ACT-Wazalendo launched its General Election campaigns at the weekend, promising to place leadership ethics first and to re-do the review of the country’s Constitution.

The party also promised to increase the number of primary school years from seven to ten “in order to help ensure better student performance”.

Speaking at the launch, Mghwira cited plans to revamp the economy saying in order to transform the country’s economy, ACT would work to boost agriculture through the establishment of the agriculture regulatory authority.

She said under her leadership and in accordance to the party’s election manifesto, economic transformation will grow at a rate of 10 per cent in a decade.

Following the Arusha Declaration of 1967, in which the country’s first President Julius Nyerere laid out his vision for self-reliance, many industries were nationalised and new industrial parastatals created. 

Nevertheless, half of all industries remained in private hands during the socialist period and Mwalimu Nyerere argued that a private sector was necessary for economic growth to occur. 

By the mid-1970s, however, the growth within the sector that had been achieved in the first few years of independence began to slow down.
Productivity in many of the industrial parastatals started to fall around the mid-1970s, mainly owing to chronic underutilisation of their capacity. 

Some once buoyant textile mills were operating at less than 10 per cent capacity by the mid-1980s. As a result, many of these parastatals became more dependent on government subsidies as their profits dwindled further.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Thursday, September 3, 2015

DIVER BREAKS UP MORTAL COMBAT BETWEEN DEADLY SEA SNAKE AND STONEFISH IN AUSTRALIA !!!


Diver breaks up mortal combat between deadly sea snake, stonefish

Danny Gallagher
September 3, 2015
 
sea-snake-and-stonefish.jpg
sea-snake-and-stonefish.jpg
Trippe says the sea snake was approximately 2 meters (6.5 feet) long.

Rick Trippe
If an average person happened upon the world's most poisonous snake and the world's most poisonous fish engaged in battle, stepping between them would probably be the last idea to come to mind. Leaving the area and trying to find a change of underpants would be more likely.
But for experienced diver and fisherman Rick Trippe of Darwin, Australia, breaking up such a deadly struggle of nature didn't even require a second thought.

The Australian realtor with a passion for being on the water found a sea snake and stonefish fighting each other during a Thursday trip in Darwin Harbor. He separated them with his own two hands and set them both free. The photos he posted of the encounter on his Facebook page quickly went viral, netting him emails from around the globe that probably contain phrases like "Are you insane?!?"

Trippe told CNET's Crave blog that he and a friend had just "up-anchored from an old World War II wreck and were feeling pretty chuffed" about the fish they caught when he first noticed the sea snake.

"We were going to our next wreck when we saw something in the middle of the harbor but couldn't make out what it says," Trippe said. "So with curiosity, we motored over to find a massive sea snake. It was close to 2 meters (6.5 feet) long and thick. As we approached the sea snake, we saw that it had a stonefish in its mouth."

Sea snakes and stonefish are classified as the most venomous members of their respective species. Sea snakes are actually docile -- they "don't want to touch humans" and don't always inject venom when they bite, Trippe says -- but he adds that their venom is "five times deadlier than a cobra's."
poor-sea-snake.jpg
poor-sea-snake.jpg
Diver Rick Trippe holds up a sea snake and a stonefish that he found fighting in Darwin Harbor.

Rick Trippe
Stonefish, also known as scorpion fish, inject their venom through the row of spines along their back. The stonefish's venom can cause intense pain that may take up to two days to recover from and can be fatal if injected into a person's chest or abdomen.

Trippe's photos show the snake's mouth locked on the stonefish's back where its poisonous spines are located. Trippe says he knew the stonefish wouldn't have a chance of surviving once the snake injected it with its venom but he still felt moved to break up the battle.

"Being an animal lover, I grabbed the snake just behind the head with serious precaution knowing that sea snakes are highly venomous, and untangled the stonefish, also poisonous, from its mouth and body," Trippe told CNET. "I released the now-happy snake from its impediment, but moments later, the snake swam around making a beeline for the not-so-happy stonefish and a second attempt."

Trippe says he knew by that point that the snake won and would have a tasty meal as the spoils of its victory. So he says he let it swim away and continued his trip. He didn't learn just how poisonous the snake he held in his hand was until he got in front of a computer. "Lucky I handled it with such care and didn't get bitten or I may not be here to tell the story or share these fabulous pictures," Trippe said.

Trippe says he has plenty of experience handling snakes and stonefish, unlike most people who get shivers just thinking about them. So he felt confident enough handling what turned out to be the most poisonous snake and fish in the world.

"People think I'm crazy, but I used to have a chicken coop and I would shine a torch in there and pull pythons out of there all the time, so I'm used to handling snakes," Trippe said. "Also, a friend of mine has a marine aquarium and I learned how to handle a stonefish from him. You just place a cap over the fish and slide a knife underneath it, but you have to be extremely careful because getting hit with a spike is very, very painful."

Trippe also says he takes "any chance I can" to go diving and fishing and quips that he feels "more danger on the street than I do in the ocean."

I think we've got a new Crocodile Hunter on our hands, folks. Quick, someone call Animal Planet!