Mediaboss Marketing

The National Assembly. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The election of four parliamentary members today could tilt the scales in determining which of the two leading coalitions becomes the majority and minority in the National Assembly.

A mix-up at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission prevented voters in Rongai, Kitui Rural, Pokot South, and Kacheliba in Nakuru, Kitui, and West Pokot counties from choosing their MPs with the rest of the country on August 9.

The four elections are crucial for President-elect William Ruto and Kenya Kwanza Alliance, as well as Raila Odingas Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, because a majority win will help the political formation gain control of the National Assembly.

Currently, Rutos Kenya Kwanza leads the Azimio by one seat in a tally of 161 to 160, and the victory in other seats could inform the coalition that will win the coveted positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader, and Majority Whip in the National Assembly.

If the Supreme Court upholds Rutos victory, he will want control of the National Assembly to ensure his government business is expedited.

In the two weeks since he was declared winner by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, the president-elect has gone on the charm offensive, welcoming nine of the 12 independents and wooing MPs from other parties to join him.

On Friday, Ruto welcomed Ugenya MP David Ochieng and his MDG party to the Kenya Kwanza coalition days after he won over the United Democratic Movement of Mandera senator-elect Ali Roba, an Azimio affiliate, that has six members in the National Assembly and two in the Senate, to his fold.

Alongside the four constituencies polls, IEBC will today also conduct elections for the governor seats in Kakamega and Mombasa and MCA posts in Nyaki West (North lmenti Constituency, Meru County) and Kwa Njenga (Embakasi South Constituency, Nairobi County).

Because of the ongoing scramble for seats in the National Assembly, parliamentary seats are more competitive than governor contests.

The parliamentary elections that Ruto and Raila will be watching closely are not only for bragging rights, but also because they will control House business.

Parliament is different because they have to elect the speakers and then deal with contentious issues that will affect the running of government, political analyst Prof Macharia Munene says.

Kenya Kwanza is backing Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula while and Azimio is fronting Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and every vote in the National Assembly will count.

Link:
Four MP poll results to determine coalition that will control House - The Standard

The Capital Regional District is warning residents sections of Thetis Lake Regional Park are closed due to a wildfire.

In a release published Saturday morning, the CRD said the parks Main Beach and Seymour Hill areas are closed to the public. Other areas of the park remain open, however visitors are required to follow any directions given by park staff on site in order to support the safety of fire crews and visitors.

View Royal Fire Rescue Chief Paul Hurst told Black Press Media Saturday morning the fire was first discovered at the top of Seymour Hill around 1 a.m., but crews were unable to reach it until 6:30 a.m. as it would not have been safe to approach it at night. As of 9:30 a.m., nine View Royal firefighters, two Colwood, two Langford, and an initial attack team from the province are on scene.

He said the fire is sitting at around 1 hectare in size, and crews have been able to contain it and bring it under control using hand tools to dig a trench around it. Water is being drawn from the lake and crews are now working on extinguishing the blaze, a process Hurst said is expected to take several days due to the extent of the burnt vegetation.

Hurst said the weather has been very cooperative, and the combination of cooler temperatures, high humidity, and lack of wind overnight contributed greatly to the fire remaining a manageable size before crews could get on scene.

As the fire is quite a distance from the lake and there is equipment setup over a wide area, Hurst is asking residents to avoid the park where possible.

The fire will be investigated by both the provinces wildfire crews and View Royal Fire Rescue, but Hurst said it has already been determined to have been the result of human actions.

It comes days after a fire sparked near Fort Rodd Hill and the Esquimalt Lagoon, but was quickly brought under control by West Shore fire crews.

READ MORE: Drone captures Fort Rodd Hill fire from Colwood skies

bc wildfiresThetis LakeWest Shore

See the rest here:
UPDATE: Wildfire closes sections of Thetis Lake Regional Park - Sooke News Mirror

A video of former Supreme Court judge Indu Malhotra emerged on social media on Sunday, in which she can be seen commenting that Communist governments want to take control of Hindu temples because of the revenue these temples generate.

This is what happens with these Communist governments. They want to take over because of their revenue. Their problem is the revenue. All over they have taken over..all over..only Hindu temples, the retired judge is seen telling a group of people. HT cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video. Attempts to reach the former judge were also not successful.

In the video, Justice Malhotra claims that she and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit said that they will not allow it.

Justice Malhotra and CJI Lalit were part of a bench in the top court, which in July 2020 delivered a judgment over control and management of Keralas Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. The bench had set aside a Kerala high court ruling that allowed the state government to take control of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple and manage its affairs through a committee. This bench instead affirmed the mandate of the erstwhile ruling family of Travancore to continue its involvement in the management of the temple.

Earlier in the day, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted his photo with Justice Malhotra. Pleased to meet retired Supreme Court Justice Indu Malhotra at the Trivandrum Medical College function today. A remarkable lady, Tharoor posted.

Justice Malhotra also happened to be the lone dissenting voice on the five-judge bench that had in 2018 held that women of all ages should be allowed in Keralas Sabrimala temple.

In her judgment, she said that matters of deep religious sentiment should not be interfered with by the court and that the subject of rationality should not be seen in religious beliefs.

Issues of deep religious sentiments should not be ordinarily be interfered by the court What constitutes essential religious practice is for the religious community to decide, not for the court, Justice Malhotra had held in her judgment.

Currently, the Sabrimala case along with a batch of other petitions relating to religious practices across various faiths is pending before a nine-judge bench.

Utkarsh Anand is Legal Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on law, judiciary and governance....view detail

Subscribe to our best newsletters

Subscribed to newsletter successfully

Thank you for subscribing to our Daily News Capsule newsletter.

More here:
Communist governments are trying to take over the temples: Former SC judge - Hindustan Times

Crapo: Inflation Impacting Idahos Agriculture Industry is Out of Control | U.S. Senator Mike Crapo Published: August 26, 2022

Twin Falls, Idaho--Thursday, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) led Idaho agricultural producers in a news conference on the inflationary pressure impacting Idahos agriculture industry.

Sustained high inflation impacting Idahos agriculture industry is out of control, Crapo said. The party-line budget reconciliation bills Congressional Democrats pursued the past two years only added fuel to the inflation fire with unwarranted increases in federal spending. Further, the tax increases in the Inflation Reduction Act will only make matters worse by increasing burdens on businesses that continue to deal with supply-chain disruptions and the added costs of delivering goods to the marketplace.

Crapo was joined at the conference by Idaho Farm Bureau CEO Zak Miller and Twin Falls County Farm Bureau President Larry Hollifield. Miller and Hollifield added to the Senators concerns regarding sustained high inflation and its impacts on Idahos producers.

As a farmer, we are used to good and bad years; that is normal, Hollifield said. However, there is a great concern about inflated farm inputs. We dont know how long they are going to last.

As the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over international trade, Crapo continues to put pressure on the Biden Administration to pursue more trade agreements.

Sound trade policies that open more international markets to Idaho-produced agricultural goods are also another critical area we can fight inflation and increase economic opportunities for our Gem State agricultural producers, Crapo said.

Video of the press conference is available here: https://youtu.be/UtYqHHydITo

See original here:
Crapo: Inflation Impacting Idahos Agriculture Industry is Out of Control | U.S - Senator Mike Crapo

Parents everywhere try to capture the perfect photo of their children for their first day back to school, then post it on social media. While it may seem harmless, these innocuous pictures could lead to a myriad of privacy consequences for parents, says Byron Lowens, a research fellow in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.

Lowens, whose research focuses on privacy, human-computer interaction, usable privacy, and security, said that predators can use information from photos to target victims, especially children.

Why would a cute photo of the back-to-school moment be problematic?

The photo itself presents less of a concern, but the information in the photo is what poses the risk. For example, if parents are taking pictures of their child at home or in the neighborhood, a hacker or predator may be able to discover the homes location by pieces of information stored in the background. Hackers may also be able to use landmarks in the background to figure out where the child may catch the bus or be dropped off after school.

What else should parents keep in mind?

It might not be safe to post the childs name, grade level, or school. This presents hackers with the information they can leverage to answer security questions on personal and financial accounts. For example, if a parent uses their childs birth year as a security question, a hacker could use the simple information from the social media post to hack into an account. Child predators could also use personal information from a picture to show up at the school and request to pick up the child based on the personal information gathered from social media.

Parents should check the location settings to ensure that the location is not attached to the photograph.

How concerned should teens or family members be if they share their loved ones photos?

I think this is a concern that the sharer is not really aware of. Photos shared on social media can expose rich information about the individuals in the photo, of which some of that information can be considered sensitive. If teens/young adults or other family members are sharing photos of their friends or loved ones online, they are exposing them privacy risks without even knowing. Privacy leaks to personal information can occur based on information in the photo, as well as if privacy settings are not configured to reduce privacy threats. Before sharing anyones photos, consent should be obtained from either the person themselves or a parent or guardian. Individuals may also consider obfuscating sensitive information in the photo (e.g., background landmarks, name tags, location) that may cause threats to privacy. Its also important for users to review their privacy settings and adjust them for more control over personal information if needed.

Do you have any other suggestions or tips?

If friends or family are sharing photos online, it is important to know the intended audience the picture is being shared with.

Also, make sure the privacy settings are configured appropriately. It would be best if photos, especially of children, are only shared with close friends and family members, but not with the public. Some social media sites provide this option in privacy settings. I recommend that social media users periodically review their privacy settings to be informed of how their data is being shared.

Originally posted here:
Pause before posting "Back-to-School" pics on social media - University of Michigan News