You may have heard on the news about the fighting in Kenya but besides the quick 30 sec news snippet do you know the whole story? What is happening in Kenya is an important lesson with what can happen if we fail to keep U.S. Elections Fair. Do you want to know how to help ? Then keep reading.
[via The Walrus Blog]How did it come to this? Most Kenyans are asking themselves the same question. Until just before New Year's Eve, Kenya's peaceful reputation stood in uplifting contrast to neighbours like Somalia and Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda. The 2002 election was an orderly event that swept away decades of one-party rule, leading to five years of press freedom, free primary education, and many more right-minded developments. The Electoral Commission of Kenya, hired to oversee the 2007 poll, was headed by a man held in universal esteem, the wry-witted Samuel Kivuitu. Thousands of domestic and international observers were invited to make sure nobody cheated.
(Photo-Walrus Blog)
Regardless, many people did. What began as an orderly election day was followed by a suspiciously long counting period. All across the country, electoral officers mysteriously turned their cell phones off and disappeared with the official counts. Some waited two days to resurface with up to 20,000 more votes for the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki, than EU observers had recorded in their presence.
As results trickled in, opposition leader Raila Odinga watched his lead over Kibaki dwindle from over a million to half a million, then three hundred thousand, then forty thousand votes. As both sides called on each other to accept defeat, the slums housing half Nairobi's population began preparing for war. Youths armed themselves with machetes, sticks, pipes and arrows; rumours flew by SMS, radio, television and word of mouth. Time accelerated and confusion gripped the country, but one thing grew increasingly, uncomfortably clear: someone was manipulating the results.
The last four weeks have been painful for many Kenyans who are agonizing over the violence gripping their country following disputed presidential elections. Almost nine hundred people have been beaten, burned or hacked to death by rampaging Machete mobs. A quarter of a million are displaced because of senseless violence that is driven by deep-rooted tribal rivalries and mistrust. The democracy in Africa has turned into a battlefield and it’s spiralling towards mayhem.
Machete Murder Gangs.
The President claims that the opposition planned and executed the violence after refusing to concede defeat after recent elections . As the politicians traded blame, violence has continued to spiral. However, in Nairobi talks are entering a key stage as Negotiators are trying desperately to get both sides to enter into a peace agreement.
Too See more video of what is really going on in Kenya follow this link.
Also to get an independent full account of what is going on in Kenya a must check out is The Walrus
However, your probably asking what can you do to help! Well here are a few options but please comment if you know of more!
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According to California Senator Barbara Boxer, President Bush is using his executive priviledge to hide vital information from Americans in regards to the public’s health and Global Warming. We came across the following on the 
