Wednesday, August 8, 2012

David Mc Cullough graduation speech; how the world responded




from http://edition.cnn.com

Showing 25 of 1782 comments

  • Gray Shelton
    I certainly agree that my child isn't special to the whole world, but is special to me.  I think as seniors in high school, kids should already know this truth and hearing it from a speaker shouldn't really tear them down.  Most teens I know are arrogant enough to rebound and say "yeah whatever". :)  I was.  :)
    I can certainly see the advantage of allowing your child to understand their short comings.  My parents, for example, would comment on my efforts and not necessarily the outcome.  They would say "You gave a great effort!" instead of "you'll have to work on your swing" when I would strike out in a softball game.  I knew I was no good and so quit playing, but wasn't hurt by that at all.  I recognized a weakness and didn't waste my time, instead pursuing music which was a natural talent for me.  I think parents are afraid of being realistic with their kids.  But we shouldn't be.  I agree with the idea of letting our kids know they mean EVERYTHING to us (because don't they?) but letting them know that not EVERYONE is their number one fan - and that is ok.
  • DmndForeignr
    As a teacher, I give a tough course, yes, involving math. For many of these youngsters it is the first time in their life where the buck stops: Not so special anymore! They have never learned to handle defeat. You would not believe the vile aggression that is the result in their anonymous course evaluations.
  • H Ngon Eban
    But I  don't agree with his statement that " kid, you are not special" at all, as that would lead to some bad feelings for students, who are still teenagers, and they may loose their self-confidence 'cause of his saying also. Therefore, they need to be encouraged but not a criticizer to look forward their bright future, I think.
  • Michelle Huang
    你並不特別
  • Nando_Em_Brooklyn
    There is a difference between engaging your child in a critical discussion about his or her performance and telling him/her that what ever you just witnessed "was pretty bad." 
    If a child did his or her best, then that should be acknowledged ... within the context of encouraging improvement ... if that is appropriate.
    There are so many questions we, as parents, need to ask ourselves before engaging in any kind of critical discussion with our children.
    1) Am I an expert in this field? Can I define/recognize "a good performance"?
    2) Is this something that my child actually wants to do?
    3) How is my child going to react to negative feedback? Is my child normally encouraged by positive feedback? Or, does my child thrive when confronted by obstacles?
    I think think this is a much deeper conversation than what LZ Ganderson and the aired story propose. 
  • Ingenuous
    I really enjoyed this article and I think this message is important for all people especially in America. Reality is far healthier than this message that we are all special. I was born in 1980 and many people in my generation have bought into this being special fantasy. Try managing them at a job, the all have some special need that boils down to not doing what you hired them to do. Accountability has gone out the window because we are all special and have excuses for our mistakes instead of owning up to them and not repeating them. Telling everyone they are special before they have done anything to merit such accolades  reinforces mediocrity or worse. All these people that are brought up thinking they are special go through a period of realization similar to loss in religious faith to come to grips that they are just 1 of many billion. It is much healthier to be honest, show your kids love, encourage them realistically, and let them know when their stick figure looks like crap instead framing their first "masterpiece". If you tell them they are the next Michelangelo they are in for some hard knocks when their art professor throws their "masterpiece" in the trash and tells them to reconsider art.
  • Guest
    amen, brother. when everyone thinks they are special (as our reality TV lives seem to imply), as Dash from the Incredibles pointed out years ago, NO ONE IS.  but that does not mean we should not strive to be special in some way. the danger comes when our parents, teachers, preachers, etc, all say how wonderful and special we all are. many things in life are played out on a bell curve. not all kids are above average, only about 49% are. but when everyone gets a ribbon, a sticker, or a medal, how are kids supposed to learn that? how do they learn that to excel, you must work at it?
    thanks to LZ for another thoughtful article. i do not always agree with what he says, although i do in this case, but he is always well written and thoughtful. unlike others (read: carville, navarette etc).
  • KPATL
    LZ, you got this one right.  All of the liberal blather on this post about how we need to be more like "John Lennon" With love, roses and unicorns, have lost sight of just how winners are losers are determined.  Competition is what breeds the best ideas and results, and people are no different.   We need a thinning of the herd in America, and I would think that Darwinian theory was supposed to be embraced by the left.  I guess not.
  • jennymay
     Darwinism is about allowing those with superior genes to survive while those who have less evolutionarily desirable genes to die off.  To compare natural evolution based on superior genes to a easily rigged social system, in which history has shown can be manipulated, is silly.
    It is no measure of health to be well adjusted in a profoundly sick society
    -Jiddu Krishnamurti
  • jennymay
     We are all inherently valuable and powerful. Not all actions are valuable or powerful, but it is within us all. I would say with all the groupthink/trends/'following' that permeates all levels of society, there are too few people willing to recognize their own worth and think and act for themselves.
  • Michael Tellier
    This post hits the mark in so many ways.  I can't believe the ways I see parents overinflate their kids value.  Yes every child has value and has potential, especially to those close to them, but I regularly run into kids who think "I'm special" when they haven't stretched their limits or anything.  We have raised a generation of grown children who can't take criticism, don't reach beyond what is easy, or reflect on their actions.  They are already awesome.  They don't have to change a thing. 
    Congrats to Mr McCullugh for having the courage to say what was needed.  I hope that some helicopter parent doesn't demand his dismissal because little Johnny didn't leave graduation feelling actualized
  • KPATL
    J Bird,  It's not all Happy Happy Joy Joy out in the real world.  And the kids should know that.  Not everyone gets a Ribbon for participation, and my boss does not care about my "personal reflection time".  My guess is that you still live with your parents and have spent your entire life without any serious consequences or personal responsibility.  Do yourself a favor, don't go back to school, get a job that involves a shovel and do some growing up.
  • jbird
     Glad that you are so egotistical, that you must rain on someone elses parade!
  • orlandojon
    A better message for kids...you can be special through hard work. Supporting yourself and your family without government entitlments should be one of the yardsticks to measure success
  • Honor480
    "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." (Mark Twain) 
  • Luciano Barroqueiro
    there's a problem in my view about this article.. the world belongs to youngs.. if you say they is not special you are transforming in ordinary people.. the world cant change with ordinary people in charge, guys!! .. We need more Gandhi, more John Lennon, more people that care with others, we dont need people just talk  like Obama or brazilian ex-president  Lula with your empty promisses .. We need more help to ordinary people and enterprises and less for banks and government .. we need another system of government, another view for market .. Apple , for example , show us how the capitalism is so destructive like communism.. Microsoft invest much more in USA than others companies.. (and i dont like windows, i use ubuntu ok?) .. let the youngs dream, try, let they make ours mistakes.. it isnt you is a looser that you never can do what you dream , you have the rights to kill the dreams of someoneelse..sorry for my english..  
  • Guest
    by telling them they are all wonderful, and by constantly fixing their mistakes as young parents do today, we are not teaching them anything. its one thing to dream. its another to be raised to expect that everything will be given to you because you are young and alive.  kids have to learn how to MAKE their dreams a reality. this happens with hard work and by making mistakes and learning from them. sadly, nobody wants to do that today.
  • SixthPlanet
    We should tell our kids the plain truth.

    They are entering an economy of rapidly disappearing opportunity. The private sector has outsourced 20% of our jobs and can now provide jobs for only 80% of us. We now have a permanent unemployed class. Obviously 20% of our graduates will be joining that social class of life-long losers.

    Corporations in the same industry are making agreements not to hire each other's employees, to reduce turnover. It also means that an employee of one of those corporations will never be considered for a good position with a competitor, making the employee an indentured servant of his employer.

    Employers now expect an unlimited amount of free overtime from 'salaried' employees. Obviously, it is much more profitable to compel 2 employees to work 12 hours a day instead of having 3 employees work 8 hours a day. You still get 24 hours of labor, but you only payh for 16 of them. To hell with the employee's family life, civic life, spiritual life, hobbies, and mental health. Many of today's graduates will never hear the phrases '8 hour day' or '40 hour week' in their lifetimes.

    The new graduate can expect long periods of unemployment. It takes the average job seeker 50 weeks to find a job, usually for less pay than the previous job. Government is cutting back on unemployment compensation, so the graduate should expect to move back in with Mom and Dad for a year or two several times during his or her working life.

    Finally, at age 65, the graduate can look forward to spending his or her golden years gathering shopping carts in the Wal-Mart parking lot instead of collecting Social Security. Fortunately, with the disappearance of Medicare, the graduate will not live as long as his or her grandparents, so his misery will be shorter.

    Tell the kids the truth. Life is tough. It's screw or get screwed.
  • Jblast
    Who thinks they're special??? The Occupiers...
  • polydac2003
       I am constantly amazed at the sheer ignorance exhibited by people like msosaman pertaining to the Tea Party.   I agree with the tea party and have a Ph.D. in chemical engineering.  Furthermore, the vast majority of tea party supporters I know have college or post-graduate degrees (although  I agree with Kat that a degree is no indicator of intelligence)
    But msosaman, do you really think the democrats can claim the intellectual  high ground given that a majority of its supporters consist of union members, illegals and uneducated immigrants, occupiers, and welfare recipients?     Seems a bit hypocritical don't you think? 
         
  • IrishYank2
    This is so very true. I love it when we make offers to come on board (salaried) to our interns and their salary expectations are twice the offer and derived from salaries(.)com. They get sooooo pizzed when I explain to them that they are in no position to negotiate such terms and, frankly, they're not blowing me away with some skill set that would ever drive me even close to meeting their expectations. It's pretty sad, really.
  • polydac2003
     So true.  My employer has had training sessions for managers to help them deal with the new generation of young employees.   Most have been pampered for so long that they can't handle criticism.    Some even have their parents call in and negotiate salaries for them.   
     Fortunately, there are still new employees and interns coming in who have impressed me with their humbleness and willingness to work and learn.  I guess not all parents have subscribed to the self-esteem approach to child rearing.....  
  • KPATL
    They have delusions off grandeur that they got from public education for their entire lives,..  " I got a participation ribbon  Yohoooo!!!  I'm special I'm special!"  Glad to see that you are bringing them closer to reality,..  they need that big time.
  • Roberta Vath
    I had a professor who used to tell the class "you are all extraordinary."  I just assumed he didn't know what the word meant =P
  • msosamanCollapse
    Well polydac, just to show your ignorance, or at least assumption, I am NOT a democrat.  You may have a PhD, but honestly, just scan the crowd at any tea party rally and listen to them speak.  It's obvious most are uneducated led by highly intelligent, but sinister, leaders.  Look at the Nazi regime.  Goebells had his PhD also. 
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Location: Wellesley High School, 50 Rice Street Wellesley MA 02481, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA

http://www.thedailybeast.com A SPEECH THE GENERATION Y THAT THINKS THEY ARE SPECIAL MUST READ



I read "Mutoko on Monday"  column by Kenya's Caroline Mutoko on The Star newspaper...The star columnist who says what she wants. She asked the GENERATION Y.. to google this speech...( http://bukhungu-bukhanga.blogspot.com/2012/08/httpwwwthe-starcoke-generation-y-youre.html )

David McCullough at Wellesley Commencement: ‘You Are Not Special’ (Video)


Ouch! David McCullough Jr., the son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and a longtime English teacher at Wellesley High School, gave his students a reality check at their graduation this year. Read his speech below, via The Swellesley Report. Plus, watch the video.
Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful.  Thank you.
So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony. (And don’t say, “What about weddings?”  Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective.  Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away.  No identity-changing pronouncement. And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to the refrigerator.  And then there’s the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced. A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American League East.  The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.)
But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time.  From this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati, through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.
No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field. That matters. That says something. And your ceremonial costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same.  And your diploma… but for your name, exactly the same.
All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special.
You are not special.  You are not exceptional.
Contrary to what your u9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special.
Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs.  Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…
But do not get the idea you’re anything special.  Because you’re not.
The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood Ns. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs.  But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by. And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it. Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him… although that hair is quite a phenomenon.
“But, Dave,” you cry, “Walt Whitman tells me I’m my own version of perfection!  Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!” And I don’t disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another–which springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality—we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point—and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole. No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it… Now it’s “So what does this get me?” As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans. It’s an epidemic—and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune… one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide, Wellesley High School… where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the midlevel curriculum is called Advanced College Placement. And I hope you caught me when I said “one of the best.” I said “one of the best” so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition. But the phrase defies logic. By definition there can be only one best. You’re it or you’re not.

If you’ve learned anything in your years here I hope it’s that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning.  You’ve learned, too, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness. (Second is ice cream… just an fyi)  I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize how little you know… how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just the beginning. It’s where you go from here that matters.

As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance. Don’t bother with work you don’t believe in any more than you would a spouse you’re not crazy about, lest you too find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore Orioles comparison. Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages.  And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big.  Work hard.  Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you’ll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.

The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you’re a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—quite an active verb, “pursuit”—which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots rollerskate on Youtube. The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow. The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone… I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem. The point is the same: get busy, have at it. Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you.  Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands. (Now, before you dash off and get your YOLO tattoo, let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression–because you can and should live not merely once, but every day of your life. Rather than You Only Live Once, it should be You Live Only Once… but because YLOO doesn’t have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn’t matter.)

None of this day-seizing, though, this YLOOing, should be interpreted as license for self-indulgence. Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, a gratifying byproduct. It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.  Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly. Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion—and those who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.

Because everyone is.

Congratulations. Good luck. Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours, extraordinary lives.


YAHOO.COM NEWS REPORTS

Many expressed their approval of the message on Twitter:
This is awesome. I don't remember my HS commencement speech. I think I would remember this one. — S.L. Gray
Fantastic speech which sums up the neglected duty of so many Americans in 1 phrase: "Be worthy of your advantages." — Benjamin Yee
the greatest commencement speech ever. — Neil Raden
My new hero. Tells grads "You're not that Special ... when everyone gets a trophy, the trophy doesn't mean anything." — Jason Dobrolecki
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Location: Nairobi, Kenya

http://kenvironews.wordpress.com Post Poll Skirmishes : UN Honours Kenya GSU Police Officer



J   oseph Musyoka Nthenge employed negotiating skills to avert post presidential election violence
The United Nations in Kenya, on the occasion of UN Day on Oct. 24, has decided to award the 2008 “UN in Kenya Person of the Year” to Acting Senior Superintendent of Police, Joseph Musyoka Nthenge.
Speaking for the UN, the Acting Director General, Inga Klevby said: “Today the United Nations family in Kenya recognizes Supt. Nthenge for his contribution to peace through dialogue [after demonstrators took to the streets following the December 2007 presidential election]. He is indeed worthy of the title ‘Kenyan hero.’”
Klevby added that, “Within a 48 hour period, Nthenge employed dialogue and negotiations four times to extinguish possible violent flare-ups. In addition to being seen on TV persuading a mob away from their destructive behaviour, he convinced two other mobs in the city as well as dissuading a group of Members of Parliament (MPs) to call off a march to challenge the banning of public gathering inside the city’s largest park (Uhuru Park) by the police.”
Amidst the scenes of bloodshed and mayhem that marked Kenya’s dark days following presidential election, the image of peace and judiciousness practiced by Nthenge stands out. The policeman was seen reasoning with an angry mob of demonstrators, and successfully convincing them to stop the destruction and turn back. “Mnataka kuharibu Kenya kwa siku moja, nchi ambayo imetuchukuwa miaka arubaini kujenga” (Kiswahili, meaning ‘You want to destroy Kenya in a day, a country that has taken us 40 years to build?’), the officer asked the young men. This was a rare feat for paramilitary officers mostly known for violently dispersing demonstrators.
Seventeen years earlier, in 1991, Nthenge had used reason and words to effectively quell inter-communal violence in a part of the Rift Valley Province. But it happened away from the glare of TV cameras and lights. Fortunately, the 2007/8 encounter was captured by a TV crew recording the violence sweeping the city, and splashed on the television screens across the country. He became an instant national hero.
Nthenge was in charge of a unit of the paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) assigned to patrol a part of the city which was smoldering with tension and violence. On December 29, 2007, the unit encountered a mob of angry young men marching towards the city centre, protesting the delay in announcing the presidential results. They had already burnt some vehicles and were poised to burn down a petrol station when they encountered Nthenge.
Given the GSU’s reputation for ruthlessness in quelling riots and demonstrations, and the violent manner in which security forces had dispersed demonstrators in other parts of the city and country, what followed was totally unexpected — and now part of the folklore surrounding the Kenyan crisis.
After he was notified of the award by the UN, Nthenge said: “I am indeed honoured to be selected for this auspicious commendation on behalf of thousands of dedicated and selfless policemen and women who daily put their lives on the line for other Kenyans.”
He added that his guiding principal as a law enforcement officer is “to see the public as our customers and our role is to offer them service. People know their rights and we must respect these rights.”
Nthenge will be honoured at a special ceremony at 1 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the United Nations Complex, Gigiri.
This is the seventh time the UN Family in Kenya has collectively honoured an individual as part of its celebrations of UN Day, which is held every year on Oct. 24. “The United Nations in Kenya Person of the Year” is chosen based on their personal commitment towards achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
This year’s runner-up is Mary Makokha, the driving force behind the Rural Education and Economic Enhancement Program (REEP) in Butula, western Kenya. Beginning without any money or access to donors in 1997, REEP operated under a tree for two years. She also suffered threats of court action for acknowledging that AIDS was prevalent in Butula. Later, she was also excommunicated from the Catholic Church for encouraging the use of condoms. Many people in the community also took offence when she spoke out against widow/widower disinheritance.
Today REEP has 44 support groups of people living with HIV with nearly 5,500 members. REEP has grown from its modest beginning, to a beautiful complex called Firelight House, sponsored by the Firelight Foundation of the US, who recognised Makokha’s inspiring work. The organization has 15 staff in addition to over 1,000 community volunteers.
In a world affected by a complex web of issues — HIV/AIDS, poverty, negative cultural practices and beliefs — the commitment of people, like Makokha, are an example of how communities can change from the inside. Without developing home-grown solutions, the Millennium Development Goals will be much harder to achieve.
Commenting on Mary Makokha, Ms. Klevby said that the UN was also paying tribute to “the many men and women who work tirelessly in their various fields towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the country. We need role models such as Mary Makokha to help us focus on why achieving the MDGs is so important: it is because it will mean improvements in the daily lives of millions on Kenyans and people around the globe.
The MDGs are a set of achievable development targets, which all Member States of the United Nations have pledged to meet by 2015. Last year, the UN in Kenya honoured Abbas Gullet of the Kenya Red Cross Society as the 2007 “UN in Kenya Person of the Year.”

6 Responses to “Post Poll Skirmishes : UN Honours Kenya GSU Police Officer”

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[...] Post Poll Skirmishes : UN Honours Kenya GSU Police Officer By Phil Joseph Musyoka Nthenge employed negotiating skills to avert post presidential election violence The United Nations in Kenya, on the occasion of UN Day on Oct. 24, has decided to award the 2008 ?UN in Kenya Person of the Year? to Acting … Kenya Environmental & Political… –http://kenvironews.wordpress.com/ [...]
Political Blog Posts» Blog Archive » Post Poll Skirmishes : UN Honours Kenya GSU Police Officer
24 October 2008
Reply
There is nothing left for a Police Force governed by laws which stagnates against a dynamic society, ill equiped. They are left with no option but to improvise what is left for their disposal; dispensation of servise to the people.
Pastor Noah Wanjala
9 May 2009
Reply
IAM CORNELIUS KIMBUI AND I STILL THANK THIS OFFICER (JOSEPH NTHENGE) FOLLOWING HIS GOOD WORK.GOD BLESS HIM
CORNELIUS KIMBUI
28 December 2009
Reply
What necessary words… super, a magnificent phrase
video to ipod converter
24 July 2010
Reply
That is the magic of the rarely used method of dispersing rioters(dialogue).Congrats Mr. Nthenge,you succeeded where the majority have failed

from;http://generationkenya.co.ke

Comments

  1. Ngugi says:
    March 17, 2008 at 1:37 pm
    Hello,
    I write to seek your permission to reproduce the Unusual Hero article in Kenya Weekly newsmagazine, with full credits to your writer and organisation.
    Thanking you in advance,
    Ngugi wa Mbugua
    Editor, Kenya Weekly
    Tel: 254-733-899-227
  2. Michael Kuria Mbogoh says:
    July 7, 2008 at 10:27 am
    .Last genearal was surrounded by very mysterious circumstances.After announcement of results the competing sides went for each other necks and in the process 250000 people were displaced and 1500 killed.What a shame?
    Kudos to all who struggled tirelessly to ensure that peace prevailed.
    Could it prevail even in days to come.
  3. CORNELIUS KIMBUI says:
    October 28, 2008 at 8:51 am
    MAY GOD BLESS GSU OFFICER MUSYOKA NTHENGE FOLLOWING HIS RARE EFFORTS HE MADE DURING THE POST ELECTION SKIRMISHES.KEEP IT UP.MAY GOD CROWN YOU WITH HIS GRACES . BY CORNELIUS KIMBUI ,KITENG’EI,KATHIANI
  4. ISRAEL KEMBOI says:
    March 21, 2009 at 8:26 am
    The officer did a noble thing.This should be emulated by all officers especially the GSU company commanders who are also doing aa excellent job just like the GSU Chief Inspector of police who supervised GSU personel in the succesful destruction of firearms at Uhuru Grdens recently.
  5. joram isika says:
    March 5, 2010 at 10:14 am
    NTHENGE you made us your neighbours pround.
    keep the fire burning. you are a role model to the young generation in kitengei and mutitu.
    kudos afande

    20 Responses to “The Unusual Kenyan Hero”

    1. By 31337 on Oct 27, 2008
      kudos to him, at least he was recognised. i watched him as he spoke to the group of youths he was supposed to be teargassing and sending back into kibera and thought why did the whole force use the same tack and diplomacy to disperse crowds? he spoke reason.
    2. By Shiko-Msa on Oct 27, 2008
      I remember him well too. I watched him.To think of it if the whole force used the same tact and diplomacy, then things would have been much easier.
    3. By Maua on Oct 27, 2008
      The Force should have mandatory training on communication and reasoning, then tact and diplomacy would be employed.Well done Joseph.
    4. By BP ONE on Oct 28, 2008
      Congrats to Superintendent Joseph Musyoka Nthenge. What really pleased me most was his advice to the youth. He said and I quote “We have built Kenya over along time, why should we destroy it in one day? Why?” As if the gentleman was seeing what was to happen in the following weeks. The Kenya that was built over 40 years was destroyed in matter of days. In reality the officer is not only a hero of different kind but a uniformed Wise man.
    5. By joyunspeakable on Oct 28, 2008
      Now that’s my hero. Watching him talk sense was such bliss. he sud have been the police commissioner
    6. By Shiko on Oct 28, 2008
      True Maua. At some point there they tried to tone down their brutality. there was a time when even mentioning police to a child would make her cringe in fear! The forces at the moment have some human faces thankfully. some are still enjoying the brutality of course but a journey of 100 steps starts with 1.BP, Joy it’s congrats to Nthenge. I still recall that footage. he deserves the prize.
    7. By bOMSEH on Oct 28, 2008
      The one in a million character. Hope others follow the example.
    8. By Pink M on Oct 28, 2008
      I also remember that footage. It was humanity displayed in mayhem. Methinks he should have gotten the honorary degrees, but who am I?Glad he’s got some recognition though.
    9. By Maua on Oct 29, 2008
      Now that BP1 quotes him, I recall the guy. I watched him on 'A song for Peace' in January and the song made me cry.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vvbUFrU7dM&feature=related
    10. By Shiko-Msa on Oct 29, 2008
      Hope so too Bomseh.Pink Kenyans have already honoured him, including us here. He’ll forever live with that honour and he deserves it.Maua thanks for the youtube link. A very touching song indeed. It touches a very deep part of the heart. I’ve heard it before but still somehow never got to watch this version. Watching if from a foreign country it must have been even more so for you. That is Eric Wainaina at his best.
    11. By Anonymous on Oct 29, 2008
      Maua you are right that song made us cry too , especially those days when the future of kenya looked dark.
    12. By Shiko-Msa on Oct 29, 2008
      True Anon. Kwanza the children. Anything involving children is just twice as touching.
    13. By Rafiki on Oct 29, 2008
      Shiko: It is people like these who should indeed be honoured – instead of Kibaki and Raila being given honorary degrees of Doctor of Law. At least I am happy the two were not given the Nobel Peace Prize.
    14. By Anonymous on Oct 29, 2008
      that song on You Tube is giving me goose bumps. I love my country so much after listening to that song. najivunia
    15. By Shiko-Msa on Oct 29, 2008
      Rafiki indeed the doctorates and all that belong to the likes of Nthenge. The fact that someone even mentioned Kibaki and Raila in the whole nobel thing, it feels like the prize is losing it’s prestige?As for the honorary degrees, those ones became cheap a long time ago.2.50 it’s a touching video indeed. Maua thanks.
    16. By ruthleen on Nov 2, 2008
      hi,shiko,thanx for commenting on my blog,tiz new and i think yours is intresting esp.ndoa,come we stay lo!anyway will recommend your blog ,do to mine as well,here inVI it reminds me of mombasa.thanx again
    17. By Shiko-Msa on Nov 3, 2008
      Most welcome Ruthleen. I got there through Neema. The Jeniffer Hudson story was just too touching. Wish her all the grace in this difficult time.
    18. By SupremeGREAM on Nov 3, 2008
      Its been a while since I was around. I guess I blame it on being mobile and I lost my laptop last last week in a almost ghastly situation. I hope the youths he spoke to went to their homes and didnt take part in the chaos again otherwise his efforts would have been to waste. But then again, even if those youths didnt hear him, there many others like me who heeded to his words. Its good to see the police can have afew good men among them.
    19. By Shiko-Msa on Nov 3, 2008
      Yes indeed Greamz. Sorry about your laptop. Hope you did not get hurt in the almost ghastly situation.Nthenge is one of a kind. See what they forces are doing in Mandera.
    20. By Cee on May 18, 2009
      Great post Shiko….he deserves our utmost respect.
Irene Kerubo
3 November 2010


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KENYA’S “MINI BOLT” EZEKIEL KEMBOI; THE JOURNEY OF INSPIRATION.






KENYA’S “MINI BOLT” EZEKIEL KEMBOI; THE JOURNEY OF INSPIRATION.

How Kenya has dominated 3,000m s/c Olympics race
1984- Julius Korir- Los Angeles
1988- Julius Kariuki- Seoul
1992- Mathew Birir- Barcelona
1996- Joseph Keter- Atlanta
2000- Reuben Kosgey- Sydney
2004- Ezekiel Kemboi- Athens
2008- Brimin Kipruto- Beijing
2012- Ezekiel Kemboi- London

E
zekiel Kemboi has entered into the annals of Kenyan Athletics History and Hall Of Fame. Despite a pending court case back home on assault charges, the World 3,00m Steeplechase Champion ensured the Olympics title over the distance remained in Kenya’s hands for the 8th straight time, when he triumphed in London on Sunday.

Kemboi now becomes only the 2nd two-time Olympics champion in the event, after Finnish Volmari Iso-Hollo took back to back titles in 1932 and 1936 in Los Angeles and Berlin.

The other Kenyan to have won two Olympic titles, although in different events, is national Olympics committee chairman, Kipchoge Keino. Kip won the 1,500m gold in Mexico 1968 before bagging the 3,000m steeplechase title in Munich in 1972.

Kemboi led Kenyan men to 3,000m steeplechase podium sweep in Athens in 2004. however, he lost steam as Brimin Kipruto took gold in Beijing 4 years later, where Richard Mateeloong finished 3rd behind Benabbad of France. Kemboi finished 6th.

With the London victory, Kemboi has now cemented his place in the history of steeplechase with 2 Olympics and 2 world titles over the distance. In London, Kemboi left journalists and the world in stitches with his “Kemboi jig dance” after winning. Asked why he chose to run the last 100m on lane 8, Kemboi hinted that he was making a statement about moving from the steeplechase race to the marathon.

What about his signature hair style where he leaves an island of hair? Kemboi lamented his “mo-hawk” or “punk” style was a round shave replica of the gold medal he was anticipating to win. You gotta love this guy!

Benabbad repeated his Beijing performance to once again deny Kenya a 1st podium since 2004.

Source: The People Newspaper Kenya.









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