The European Union (EU) will lift sanctions against President Robert Mugabe and his top allies only after the Zimbabwean leader and his former opposition foes fully implement a power-sharing agreement signed in 2008, a group of British parliamentarians said in Harare on Monday according to ZimOnline . Sounds about right
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Stop using sanctions as an excuse
We need more people like Rejoice Ngwenya in Zimbabwe. People who are willing to say it like it is. Here is Rejoice’s latest article: Many people who have expressed contrarian views on the wickedness of Mugabe , like yours, have only one slight problem – they won’t swap citizenship with me! We liberals in Zimbabwe [and there a miserly few of us] do accept that Leander Starr Jameson and his paymaster, Cecil John Rhodes, galloped across our fore fathers’ land and shot their way to the Deeds Office in 1890. Rhodes’ remains are now at Matobo Hills, a world heritage site that is part of our revered National Parks. Guess who was forcibly evicted from there in the 1900s?
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Spiked with snake venom
Last week, we reviewed Scott Berkun’s latest book, Confessions of a Public Speaker . I asked Sara Peyton over at O’Reilly (the book publisher) for a few copies for Six Minutes readers, and she kindly agreed. Now, you can win one of three copies by sharing your own public speaking confessions! What speaking lesson did you learn the hard way?
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Win a Book! Share Your Public Speaking Confessions
John Mutumburanzou wrote to Kubatana recently, sharing his views on GNUs, and the new way of doing politics in Africa: The obsession and deliberate automated habit by contemporary statesman, political brokers and mediators buttressed by multilateral institutions like SADC, AU and the UN to form coalition governments (also erroneously referred to as Unity Government or Government of National Unity) in each and every troubled state in Africa is astonishing and mind boggling to say the least.
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Legitimised coups in modern 21st century Africa
I have never been too fond of radical feminism or any form of extremism for that matter; finding it to be an aggressive, usually narrow and unhelpful approach to conflict resolution. Radicalism is often reactionary, manifesting as a reaction to some undesired reality and is usually the preserve of those who feel they have something to defend against all costs and something to fight for against whatever odds. As an activist, I have found that radicalism has its place, its use and its benefits in pursuing the elusive goal of attaining social justice for womankind
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Kicking out paternalism
2300 years ago, Aristotle wrote down the secret to being a persuasive speaker , the secret which forms the basis for nearly every public speaking book written since then. Do you know the secret? If you don’t, you might be wondering what a 2300-year-old theory has to do with public speaking in the year 2010
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Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking
Confessions of a Public Speaker is a highly entertaining and insightful insider’s view of public speaking, with value for speakers of all levels. This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes .
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Book Review: Confessions of a Public Speaker (Scott Berkun)
The Basics At long last you’ve landed a job interview at a design firm. You’re excited, nervous, and worried all at the same time. You realize that part of the interview process hinges on presenting a strong portfolio.
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The Do’s and Don’ts of a Successful Portfolio – Part I
Six Minutes weekend reviews are back for a third year of bringing you the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere . This review features topics including: speechwriting lessons from Martin Luther King Jr.; structuring your presentation logically; becoming aware of your voice; benefits of a flip chart; mistakes with visuals; speaker habits; stages in a professional speaking career; and more! From the Six Minutes Archives One Year Ago from Six Minutes … Speech Analysis: I Have a Dream – Martin Luther King Jr
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Public Speaking Tips: Weekend Review [2010-01-15]
Freedom Fone’s ability to fulfill it’s promise as a must have tool for bridging the digital divide has yet to be determined. Millions of poor people have access to mobile phones, but with tariffs as high as they are in countries like Zimbabwe, experimentation in this field is still costly. And of course, for our project these are early days
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Free Kiswahili synthetic voice for Freedom Fone a possibility
Kubatana , a Zimbabwean non-profit organisation committed to democratising access to information, was awarded a Knight News Challenge grant in May 2008 for its Freedom Fone software development project. The Freedom Fone project aspires to help civic organisations extend their information in an audio format to mobile phone users. In Zimbabwe the mass media is monopolised by an entrenched and unpopular government
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Molo and Kubatana’s partnership helps put information in the hands of Zimbabweans
Everyone breathes. It’s one of the most natural things we do. However, if you ask singers to name the most important part of vocal technique, 9 out of 10 will say “breathing.” So, is there some special way to breathe that makes your voice better? Yes! In this article, we explore breathing as it relates to vocal variety as a speaker .
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Breathing: The Seductive Key to Unlocking Your Vocal Variety
Six Minutes weekend reviews are back for a third year of bringing you the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere . This review features topics including: new public speaking books; best and worst communicators of 2009; how to tell a story; teleprompters; moving your audience; Toastmasters survey and tips; and more! Resources for Speakers – Public Speaking Books Check out these recently released public speaking and communications books: Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations by Garr Reynolds Speaker’s Edge: Secrets and Strategies for Connecting with Any Audience by Darren LaCroix, Patricia Fripp, Craig Valentine, Ed Tate, Mark Brown Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking by Dan O’Hair Surviving Dreaded Conversations: How to Talk Through Any Difficult Situation at Work by Donna Flagg Best and Worst Communicators of 2009 Bert Decker reveals his annual list of the best and worst communicators of the year. Speechwriting Kathy Reiffenstein describes how to tell a story .
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Public Speaking Tips: Weekend Review [2010-01-02]
On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere . This review features topics including: cross-culture communication; editing your presentation by asking “why?”; addressing the elephant in the room; pitfalls to presenting with someone else’s slides; the growth of Death By PowerPoint; how a video camera will help you improve as a speaker; and a must-read parody: How the Grinch Spoke at Christmas
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Public Speaking Tips: Weekend Review [2009-12-19]
In the green-filtered sunlight through the closing canopy the rain washed garden sparkles with joy Today people standing on the freezing streets of Copenhagen hold candles of hope for the planet whilst the world leaders haggle about responsibility in warm lit rooms candles burning on the streets for a belief in a planet and a spirit of caring that is wider than themselves This has been a long year in Zimbabwe walking the steps of survival at a time when the work of healing and community building and empowerment has been handicapped by lack of funded support and the stark reality of giving up /closing down has had to be faced or to try to continue their work holding on to the web of good intentions For the last months of this year, in the face of disaster the Tree of Life was held in place by a web of love of witnessing and donations from individuals from all over the planet who dared to care .
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Today is perfect
Zanu PF held their National People’s Congress last week. The Congress resolved that “the Party’s national strategic objective for the next five years shall be the checking, containment and ultimate defeat of the West’s neo-colonial regime change agenda.” Other highlights of the Congress resolutions include: Congress has noted that the national economy continues to be under siege from the machinations of the Western detractors and their internal MDC surrogates
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Politics of condemnation
I would like to make a few comments that connect to two excellent recent Kubatana blogsthe first by Amanda Atwood concerning Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill and the second by Catherine Makoni concerning the troublesome PSI research/adverts . Both blogs effectively highlight worrying ideological agendas and human rights violating desires for control over peaceful citizens. Moreover, both blogs increase our awareness of the negative consequences when political leaders, research projects, and TV ad executives allow fear of difference to direct the way they think and how they develop policies, design research, and disseminate information. It is with pain in my heart that in the last few days I have been inundated with people spewing ideas predicated on fear of difference. Just the other day I read a fear of difference article by William Lungisani Chigidi entitled Shona Taboos: The Language of Manufacturing Fears for Sustainable Development
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Fear of difference
My visit to Johannesburg recently brought back memories of my mother, oddly enough, watching the construction that was taking place – the longsuffering looks on the strained faces of drivers who have long resigned themselves to being daily inconvenienced by the activities taking place to spruce up the city before the world comes charging in. I was reminded of similar days when the family was expecting some important guest and the whole house would be turned upside down and we would be exiled outside with strict orders to steer clear of mama and her broomstick. I always resented the disruption such visits brought to our lives – there would be the shifting of bedrooms and suddenly I would find myself sleeping on the floor while the ‘dignitary’ enjoy the luxury of my single bed and the comfort of mama’s best sheets and bed linen
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So what’s 2010 got to do with it?
Aids Free World has released their report Electing to rape: Sexual terror in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe . Based on interviews with 72 survivors and witnesses, and documentation of 380 rapes, the report describes the deliberate, systematic use of rape as a campaign tactic by Zanu PF. According to their press release : The testimony demonstrates that the rape campaign waged by ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe was both widespread and systematic, with recurring patterns throughout that cannot be coincidental.
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Rape as campaign tactic in Zimbabwe’s 2008 elections
I was reading Ugandan feminist and lawyer Sylvia Tamale’s powerful response to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill last night. In a scathing assessment of this legislation, and the damage it would do to Uganda’s legal and social framework, she quotes Martin Luther King Jr., writing “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” Regarding the bill, a few important points stood out for me
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Correct everything that stands against love