The largest nuclear particle research center in the world has named a new president.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has announced the election of Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s professor Eliezer Rabinovici as its 24th president — the first one from Israel.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, CERN focuses on “researching the fundamental structures of the universe. Physicists and engineers use complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles, its website says.
“The World Wide Web was invented at CERN. In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau developed HTML (HyperText Markup Language), which is used for creating web pages and preparing information for display in a web browser. Grid-computing, which inspired cloud-computing (the shift of data storage from hard disks on personal computers to servers in the ‘cloud’), was also developed at CERN.”
Rabinovici will be taking over from Ursula Bassler, who will conclude her term at the end of 2021.
“Professor Rabinovici is a brilliant theorist in the most advanced fields of research,” said Bassler. “During my presidency, I very often had the occasion to exchange with Professor Rabinovici, whose advice and contributions have always been very helpful to steer the ongoing discussions. I am confident that the council is welcoming an excellent president, whose concern for science is of the utmost importance.”
Rabinovici received his PhD in high-energy physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1974 before working as a research associate at Fermilab and at Lawrence Berkeley Radiation Laboratory in the United States.
In 1977, Rabinovici returned to Israel and the Hebrew University as a senior lecturer, where he serves as a professor at the Racah Institute of Physics. Rabinovici’s main field of research is quantum field theory and string theory.
He was appointed in 2004 as one of Israel’s delegates to the CERN Council, where he served as vice president from 2016 to 2018.
“CERN is a special place where science and collaboration meet to answer some of the most fundamental questions about the world we live in,” said Rabinovici. “Throughout my 16 years as a member of the CERN Council, I have, time after time, been captivated by the commitment, collaboration, and knowledge of people who work together towards the same mission.”
Hebrew University President Asher Cohen said Rabinovici’s election “is a badge of honor not only for Hebrew University but for the State of Israel and its institutes of higher learning.”
The Kīlauea volcano continues to put on quite a show as its latest eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island enters its second week.
“Gas emissions and seismic activity at the summit remain elevated,” the United States Geological Survey said in an Oct. 6 posting on its website. “The western vent remains the dominant source of fountaining. One fountain remains active in the south portion of the lake. The silver-gray lava comes from the western vent, and the dark black lava comes from the south fountain.”
They also shared the footage showing the Kīlauea eruption continuing, with a large lava fountain visible in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater’s western vent that was filmed Oct. 4.
“Kīlauea volcano is erupting lava into a deepening lava lake filling Halema‘uma‘u crater,” the agency said. “This video shows the dominant fountain at the west vent from two different angles and the smaller fountaining source emerging through the lava lake.”
The agency said that the Kīlauea volcano’s Halema‘uma‘u crater, located in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park began erupting again on Sept. 29.
A view of the lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu’s crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, taken from the western crater rim looking east in Hawaii’s Big Island on Oct. 5. (USGS N. Deligne/Zenger)
Though mostly not as spectacular as the images released during that initial eruption, more recent footage reflects the volcano’s ongoing activity. For example, Hawaii Volcanoes NPS (National Park Service) released on Twitter a time-lapse sequence of the increasing volcanic activity, with the smoke leaving the volcano becoming thicker and more abundant.
Kīlauea is a highly active shield volcano — so called because its lava flows have broad sloping sides and are generally surrounded by gently sloping hills in a circular or fan-shaped pattern that looks like a warrior’s shield — that is believed to be between 210,000 and 280,000 years old, emerging from the sea about 100,000 years ago.
Its last major eruption started in May 2018 and ended in September that year, resulting in thousands of local residents being displaced and the destruction of 716 homes.
A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) geologist takes notes on the active lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu’s crater, at the summit of Kīlauea on Oct. 5. (USGS N. Deligne/Zenger)
The 2018 eruption included lava oozing from 24 different vents with one major explosion sending debris flying 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) into the sky.
Currently, several vents are oozing lava from the volcano, but the local authorities have not closed the national park it’s located in to tourists.
“We continue to work with USGS scientists to receive the latest volcanic updates, and remind visitors that the eruptive activity and accessibility could change at any time,” the park service said in a statement.
LAGOS, Nigeria — The leader of a Nigerian indigenous separatist group who was deported from Kenya earlier this year, is seeking to win passage back to the United Kingdom by suing the governments of Nigeria and Kenya for illegal arrest.
Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen and the leader of the secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra, has sued the Nigerian government for $12 million in damages, naming the Kenyan government as co-accused for what he says was illegal extradition. He has asked to be sent back to Kenya — where he says he was “abducted” — so he can return to the U.K.
The case is scheduled for Oct. 21 at the Abia State High Court in Nigeria’s southeast.
Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyers arrive in the Abia State High Court on Oct. 4 for a hearing ahead of his trial ahead of a controversial arrest and deportion. (Courtesy of Premium Times)
His brother, Kingsley Kanu, sued on his behalf, according to documents seen by Zenger.
In the petition, Kanu requests that the court to declare his extradition “a violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms to equal protection of the law, human dignity, freedom and security, freedom of movement, fair administrative action, access to justice, the right to be represented in court and a fair hearing as guaranteed in the Constitution of Kenya.”
His lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, said Kanu’s suit was filed in the Kenyan High Court.
“Kanu’s legal team in Kenya, Luchiri Associates, filed the suit on Sept. 14,” Ejimakor told Zenger. “Because Kanu is a British citizen who entered Kenya on a British passport, he should not have been extradited to Nigeria for any reason without valid court orders.”
Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary, the director of immigration, the director of criminal investigations, the officer commanding Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Police Division, and the attorney general are respondents in the petition.
Following his June 28 arrest in Nairobi, Nigeria’s Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, said Kanu was “intercepted through the collaborative efforts of the Nigerian intelligence and security services. He has been brought back to Nigeria to face trial having jumped bail.”
However, the Nigerian government has not disclosed where they arrested him.
But his attorney said Nigerian investigators seized Kanu in Kenya, held him incommunicado, and chained him to the floor for eight days in a Nairobi private facility.
“The people that abducted him said that their sponsors told them that Kanu was a Nigerian terrorist linked to the Islamic terrorists in Kenya, presumably Al-Shabaab,” Ejimakor told Zenger. “Days later, they discovered his true identity and tended to treat him less badly. Despite that, they told him they felt committed to hand him over to those that hired them.”
George Wajackoyah, a counsel representing the detained separatist leader in Kenya, told the media Kanu had provided them copies of his passport proving he had been in Kenya.
“We also have evidence he was in his residence on that particular day. We also have material proof that he was at the airport on a particular day to meet a friend, and that is where they arrested him,” Wahackoyah said.
Kenyan diplomats in Nigeria have denied any participation in the matter and called the accusation “deliberately fabricated to fuel antagonistic attitudes in the minds of certain elements of the Nigerian people against Kenyans.”
Kanu was first arrested in Oct. 2015 and charged with 11 counts of terrorism, with the courts granting him bail on health grounds in April 2017. The military then moved into the southeast region in Sept. 2017 to neutralize the secessionist movement in Operation Python Dance, and Kanu fled the country. After his extradition from Kenya this year, authorities prosecuted him in a Federal High Court in Abuja without a lawyer present.
Kanu admitted to the Abuja Federal High Court that he had violated the terms of his bail, but said he had fled to Kenya in fear of his life if he had stayed.
Kanu was born on Sept. 25, 1967, during the Nigerian War, where the Eastern Region, comprising the five federal indigenous Igbo-majority states, had unilaterally declared independence. The separatists created a new country called the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, with army Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, as its leader.
The move triggered a two-and-half-year conflict that ended in Jan. 1970 with Biafra’s surrender.
Kanu formed the Indigenous People of Biafra in 2014 to revive old Biafra’s secession dreams due to what he termed marginalization of the Igbo people by the government of President Muhamadu Buhari.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
His politics have polarized opinions in the country.
In 2020, the insurgency group formed the Eastern Security Network, an armed wing blamed for a series of violent attacks on police stations, electoral offices, and other government assets in southeast Nigeria.
Kabiru Adamu, a security analyst, said that the Nigerian government’s transparency would be critical in dealing with the public’s reaction to Kanu’s trial.
“The government would have to present clear and persuasive proof of Kanu’s guilt in all the charges leveled against him,” he told Zenger.
“He must be tried in a way that will persuade everyone that the trial is free of political intervention.”
Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, assured that Kanu would receive a fair trial and treatment in his 11-count treasonable felony, terrorism, and illegal possession of firearms charge, pending before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
“So far, the forensic investigation has unearthed a gold mine of material on the outlawed … commander and his associates,” he told local media during a press briefing in Nigeria’s presidential villa just after Kanu’s arrest. “I can tell you that Kanu will not be denied the fair deal that he deprived many of the victims of the violence that he intentionally encouraged through his Eastern Security Network, broadcasts, and tweets.”
Mohammed alleges that Twitter allowed Kanu to use its platform to call for the killing of police officers, and the company allegedly failed to take down the tweets despite repeated requests by the Nigerian government. This has caused friction between the Nigerian government and Twitter, which suspended Buhari in May 2021 over a tweet threatening violence in the southeast region.
In retaliation, the government halted Twitter’s operations in Nigeria.
In an effort to advance racial equity and revise New York City’s Charter, the city’s Racial Justice Commission has released its interim report, aimed at producing ballot initiatives for the Nov. 8, 2022 general election.
If approved by voters, they would become law. That would change the City Charter, which governs how New York operates.
Established by Mayor Bill de Blasio in March, the commission wants to eradicate systemic racism. It began by asking New York City residents to share experiences of inequality in housing, transportation, healthcare and education.
Its report, issued Thursday, identifies six patterns of inequity where New Yorkers say structural racism persists.
“The commission will examine the NYC Charter to identify barriers to power, access and opportunity for black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and all people of color in New York City … to address the underlying causes of racial injustice …,” the report says.
“Communities know what they need, Our job is to listen and translate their concerns into recommendations for structural change,” said Henry Garrido, commission vice chair.
1. Inequity in quality services that promote social and emotional well-being
2. Inequity in work, advancement and wealth building
3. Inequity within and across neighborhoods that inhibits thriving individuals, families and communities
4. Marginalization and over-criminalization of BIPOC [black, Indigenous, people of color] persons and communities
5. Inequity in representation in decision-making
6. Enforcement and accountability of government and entities.
The input sessions were open to the public and attracted 260 attendees, of which 104 testified. The commission heard nearly 34 hours of testimony, which helped shape the initial six categories. It also held 50 one-on-one interviews and drew more than 1,100 online submissions.
Changing the system
Additional public sessions are scheduled through December, when a final report will be issued.
“When people look at the report and ultimately the final report, as well as the ballot proposals, they may not see a specific program or policy idea they put forward,” said commission chair Jennifer Jones Austin. “But by using the six themes, our effort is to try to capture the essence of what they’re speaking to.”
A community member expresses her concerns to commissioners at a public session in Queens. (Courtesy of Racial Justice Commission)
De Blasio’s mission statement for the commission was to propose structural changes and policy reforms that advance justice and equity and dismantle structural racism for all New Yorkers.
Examples of structural change, the report says, are transforming how government uses power to make decisions; redefining the relationship between government and society; eliminating contradictions between the values of people, and addressing outdated values that do not honor the reality that New York City is a diverse, multiracial city.
Patterns address inclusive concerns
Among the issues the commission seeks to address from the “patterns of inequity” are: a lack of quality education for diverse people; lack of access to affordable housing; and a scarcity of mental health services or coordinated care.
The list includes the inequitable distribution of resources, inferior facilities and land use, and a lack of community ownership and control.
The patterns also seek to address inequity in employment opportunities, lack of economic mobility, insufficient preparation for the future and a lack of access to capital and similar resources.
Over-criminalization, inequity in representation and decision-making are among the elements that contribute to systematic discrimination. They can be based on race, disability, gender identity, criminal history, source of income, immigration status and more, the report said.
Ballot proposals
“The next step is we’re going to confirm whether these six areas fully document what people are experiencing, while the commission staff works on potential solutions,” Austin said. “We’re trying to … tie it back to how the charter can do a better job of helping meet New Yorkers’ needs to bring about greater racial equity.”
In addition, the commission will offer a road map to racial justice with suggestions for city, state and federal agencies to implement.
Commissioner Lurie Daniel Favors talks with a community member at a public session in Harlem. (Courtesy of Racial Justice Commission)
Most of the commission members have dedicated their lives to seeking racial justice.
Austin, CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and daughter of civil rights activist the Rev. William Augustus Jones, Jr., said: “Hearing a woman of color share her story to the commission appointed by a government leader, I thought it was Earth-shifting. It was a current employee who found her voice to speak about the continuing injustice in her work setting.”
Commission chair Garrido said: “It became loud and clear that the work we’re doing will affect people’s lives, not just from the perspective of economics, but their actual livelihood.”
Chris Kui, a commission member and former executive director of Asian Americans for Equality, said structural racism impacts all ethnicities.
“Asian Americans are not perceived as leadership potential, only for the technical aspects of a job. It’s an example of how these experiences are shared by everybody,” he said.
Austin is confident that the proposals, if passed, will create long-term change.
“We’re going to call what racism and discrimination looks like and what it has done here in New York City as it has persisted year after year,” she said. “That’s a big and bold step, because never has there been a government-appointed commission that has spoken this truth and made it part of the legal record of this city.”
Said Garrido: “We’re looking to put a bulldozer to structural racism in our city.”
The White House has again called on OPEC to increase oil production, with prices stuck at multi-year highs even after two straight weeks of increases to domestic commercial inventories.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported commercial crude oil inventories had increased by 2.3 million barrels from the previous week — the second week in a row for gains, which would usually indicate waning demand and downward price pressure.
Al Salazar, the managing director at Enverus, said supply outages brought on by Hurricane Ida in August contributed to a month-long stretch of market shortages, with the market only now recovering. Over the past two weeks, he said, inventories have been steadily on the rise.
“Should the inventory builds continue, oil prices will soften from current levels,” he said.
U.S. offshore oil production has finally recovered from storms in the Gulf of Mexico. (Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement)
The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark for the price of oil, is up nearly 24 percent since offshore oil companies started marking preparations for Ida in late August. But on Wednesday, the price for Brent crude oil fell by 1.8 percent to close at $81.08 per barrel.
That was the first daily decline since the end of September.
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and White House officials recently called on the oil producing OPEC group to open the spigot to increase global supplies and combat soaring prices. But during its latest meeting, the group opted to ignore the White House and stand pat on production levels, sending oil prices to a 7-year-high before the recent contraction.
Saxo Bank, a Danish investment firm, said in a research note last week that soaring energy prices could push world economies back into recession should the rally continue.
Even with recent builds in commercial crude oil inventories, the U.S. market remains under supplied. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Ole Hanson, the head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, added that much of the recent trend in commodity prices was driven by emotional factors rather than real-world issues.
“Rising U.S. stocks and the overnight news that Aramco had cut its November price to Asia could indicate, at least for now, that the market is fueled by fear of tight markets than actual tightness at this moment,” he said.
In the U.S., the oil market remains tight, even with the increase this week, U.S. federal data show crude oil inventories are about 7 percent below the five-year range for this time of year.
Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at The PRICE Futures Group in Chicago, suggested the market will likely take care of itself. The report was enough to take the momentum out of the rally in crude oil prices, he said.
“I think in the coming week, supplies should tighten more significantly for crude oil, but at least for now, this is an excuse for the market to take profit,” Flynn said.
Despite two-straight weeks of increases in domestic commercial crude oil inventories, U.S. crude oil prices hit a 7-year-high. That comes in the wake of an OPEC report showing global oil use is projected to go up 31 percent by 2025. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
This all comes in the wake of OPEC reporting in its 2021 World Oil Outlook that to meet a growing population, the world will need 28 percent more energy by 2045 — and much of that will continue to come from oil and natural gas.
The report paints a stark contrast the ambitious goals of many nations, which are pressing for a “net zero” energy economy by 2050, where any carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use are either replaced with a carbon-free source, including renewables or nuclear power, or otherwise accounted for through other means of carbon reduction, like reforestation.
Efforts to suppress fossil fuel production will mainly hurt the developing world, said Mohammad Barkindo, OPEC secretary general, during a recent Atlantic Council event.
“We have over 800 million people who have no access to energy,” said Barkindo, adding that 600 million in Africa are without reliable access to electricity. “All sources of energy will be required for the foreseeable future.”
CMC Guapo continues to pursue a career that was almost cut short following a wild incident involving an ex-girlfriend, a flipping car and a shot that hit him in the right arm. He lost all feeling in his arm, which sent the rapper into a deep depression.
But thanks to family, friends and other supporters, as well as strenuous rehab, he has regained full mobility in his arm, and become one of the bright spots on the Detroit rap scene. He also uses his platform to advocate for change in the foster care system that he once was a part of.
Zenger spoke with the resilient Motor City native about the release of his new single,“Paradise,” on Friday; the incident that changed his life forever; and why he’s so passionate about reforming the foster care system.
Percy Crawford interviewed CMC Guapo for Zenger.
Zenger: You pride yourself on showing off different styles in your music. On “Flight Mileage,” what style were you trying to display?
Percy Crawford interviewed CMC Guapo for Zenger. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)
CMC Guapo: That’s one of my many styles. Detroit and the Bay Area have a similar sound, so that was my replica of a Detroit style. But some people say it sounds like a West Coast track. That’s what I was aiming for.
Zenger: How did you make the transition from battle rapper to studio artist?
CMC Guapo: It was really easy for the most part because I always knew how to make songs. I really didn’t have to do too much other than getting some studio time. When I was battling, I was more so free styling.
Zenger: Tell us about the “Money Comes First Entertainment” movement.
CMC Guapo: It’s the label. It’s my homeboy team. It’s something that Charles Sisk had prior to me rapping, but I feel like I’m in good hands with him. He sees something in me. We had the same vision on where I want to be and where he sees me going. It’s a partnership.
Zenger: You will be dropping a new single, “Paradise,” on Friday. What can we expect from that one?
CMC Guapo: If you’re familiar with any of my sounds, it’s going to be something different. If you’re not familiar with me at all, this is what you’re going to get: A more Caribbean/reggae type of sound. It was my first time trying it, and I feel like I came out on top with it. It’s going to be vibrant. It’s going to make you want to dance. It’s up-tempo.
It’s for the ladies, so the ladies are going to love it. The men will love it too, because it gives you that dance vibe. When I played it and females heard it, I got a nice response. That was the end goal: to give the ladies something. Every song ain’t bashing. It’s just a feel-good song.
Zenger: It sounds like you took a risk to do something outside your norm.
CMC Guapo: It’s important for me to do that because I don’t wanna be put into a box. I want to be known as a versatile artist. I don’t feel like there is anything that I can’t do. With that being said, it’s important for me to let people who are my fans and people who aren’t familiar with me at all, know that you might not like the song you heard from me at first listen, but if you dive in and go a little deeper, you’re going to find something you like for sure.
Zenger: Is “Paradise” leading to an end-of-year project, or something we can look forward to early next year?
CMC Guapo: The project will come out in early 2022. I’m actually finishing up getting the songs mixed and mastered right now. Towards the end of January, I should have the project ready.
Zenger: You have been at this music thing for a while. What have you learned the most about yourself?
CMC Guapo: That I have more patience that I actually thought I had. I learned the resiliency that I have in myself because this is something that you can easily quit. I’ve been at it for a while. It’s starting to pick up now, but it was slow. I am still seeing progression. I saw a lot through music that I wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise, traveling wise and different cultural experiences that I had being that I was the rapper in certain places. Just the doors that it has opened up for me, I appreciate the journey.
Detroit rapper CMC Guapo’s latest single is “Paradise.” (Courtesy of CMC Guapo)
Zenger: You had an accident that nearly forced you to give up your career. You were in a car rear-ended by a female you were involved with or used to be involved with. In turn, the car flipped and your driver’s gun went off shooting you through your hand or arm. Could you detail that incident?
CMC Guapo: Yeah, at one point I thought it was over for me. … At one point in time, I didn’t have control of my right hand. I wasn’t able to move it at all. I went through… I want to say a depression stage. I went through the thoughts of, who wants to hear a handicapped rapper? We live in a world where everyone trolls. I didn’t think that the world would accept me or actually listen to me because I had an actual physical defect that they could noticeably point out and see. It was hard at first, but I got through it.
I was still living. That was my motivation. I didn’t know when I was getting my hand back, but I was motivated to do it. Today, I got full access of my hand. I’m missing feeling in a couple of my fingers, but I still have mobility in my hand, and I’m making the best out of my situation. I can clinch a microphone, but I do have nerve damage, so my hand is always tingling and throbbing.
I have been in pain since day one, but I just fight through it. It’s never going away. I’m going to die with this pain in my hand, so I might as well try to make the best of it. Once I got mobility in my hand, that was the blessing. I traded the pain for the pleasure of actually rapping again. It’s a gift and a curse.
In terms of the incident itself, I had went out one night, it went totally wrong. I was with a girl, and she was hitting the back of the car that I was in. The car ended up flipping over, and a gun went off and shot me in the artery. I went through multiple therapy sessions. I went through a lot actually to get my arm back. I broke my wrist in the process too. So, not only did I get shot in my arm, I broke my wrist, so my whole right arm had no use for a long time.
I’m ambidextrous now. I know how to write with my left hand. I had to learn to do a lot of things with my left hand. My left arm is stronger than my right arm, which wasn’t the case. It was an adjustment, but I had support around me from my family. I got fan support. People were reaching out to me, and as I started progressing, I saw that people still rocked with me regardless if I was handicapped or not. That didn’t change me as a person. Once I got that confidence back in myself, I went back for it, and I’m here where I am today.
Zenger: You message is more than just music. You grew up in the foster care system, and you are now advocating for change within the system. I definitely wanted to get your take on your experience and things that need to be altered.
CMC Guapo: Actually, bruh, my actual experience wasn’t that bad. I went from a great situation into bad by leaving. I don’t want to say bad like it was the worse situation, but I went from a rich family where I was raised by a predominantly white family, to go back to the neighborhood in which my parents was raised in, and to grow up like my parents did. That was my experience, but from people that I have known and things that I have seen, I know that a lot of kids aren’t as lucky as I was to have that type of family.
Once they get in the system they get lost in it, they get mistreated and abused because it’s about the money. It’s not even about actually helping the child. The next generation is our hope. Not only because of that, it’s a child and they are innocent to a certain extent. I feel like an adult shouldn’t knock the purity out of a child.
I would like to see that element leave, and I would also like to see the actual money by the government produced for that child, be for that child. I wanna see children get put into homes where they actually care about the child, and it’s not just about the money. I want them to know that, even though it is an embarrassing situation to some people, you’re not different or less, you just had to go through a different walk of life.
Zenger: You’re currently working on some events that will give foster kids some care packages. Would you also like to do some public speaking? Because that message you just told me, should definitely be heard.
CMC Guapo: Yeah, most definitely. That’s the whole point of living is learning and then teaching somebody else. I want to make sure that if someone sees what I’m doing, and they think I’m cool for whatever reason, this is what I had to go through, too. So, even if it’s embarrassing at some point, next time you will be telling your story and empowering somebody else. You take the bumps and the bruises because one day, it’s going to be some brighter days. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.
SIAYA, Kenya — The remote village of Nyangoma-KogeloIt, where President Barack Hussein Obama’s father grew up, is no longer bustling and busy as when the 44th President of the United States was in the limelight.
From 2004 — when Obama first won his United States Senate seat — hundreds of local and foreign visitors streamed to the modest hometown of his father’s birthplace.
That stardust settled deeper on the village when Obama visited in August 2006, as rumors swirled that he was seeking to be on the Democratic Party’s ticket for the 2008 presidential election.
President Barack Obama together with his Kenyan family members during the official opening of the Sauti Kuu empowerment center in Kogelo village on July 16, 2018. (Courtesy Sauti Kuu Foundation)
What had been a trickle of interest became a flood of high-end SUVs and tourist buses desperate to glimpse the African roots of the man who would make history as the United States’ first black president.
For security reasons, the Kenyan police cordoned off the home of Mama Sarah Obama, who died at age 99 earlier this year.
Local investors flocked to the village, dizzy on the chance to cash in on the gold rush of Obamamania sweeping around the world.
Barack Obama Sr. was every bit as big a man in the village as his son was on the global stage. He donated land for both the village’s schools and named them after his son.
“Obama’s 2006 visit led to Kogelo’s transformation, and things got even better when he became president,” Johannes Oduor, a village resident, told Zenger.
And as Obama was swept to power in the White House, change started to flow through the tiny village where the last great infrastructure project had been a bridge built in 1930. It got its first electrical grid and even a police box to cope with the new tourists.
But now — five years after Obama left the White House — the once-bustling, busy village, as sophisticated as squeezing a buck from a tourist as any modern city, is back to its old sleepy days.
A section of the Kogelo village resort, which is among the hotels that closed shop due to lack of visitors in Kogelo, Siaya county on Aug 26, 2021. (Jackson Okata/Zenger)
The expensive 4X4s and celeb-safari vans full of curious tourists are no more, replaced by the few personal cars and trucks ferrying farm produce to the local market.
The now-deserted Nyangoma market, which acted as the epicenter of the famous village, shows how fortunes have dramatically changed after Obama’s exit from the world stage.
Bernard Wendo, a 42-year-old taxi operator at Nyangoma market, said the hype, fame, and international focus on the village vanished after Obama left office, just at it had appeared 16 years ago.
“Initially, this village would be full of foreign dignitaries, government officials, students, tourists, journalists, and researchers, but that is no longer the case,” he told Zenger.
A Kogelo resident, Humphrey Kosiele, said the community’s gains during Obama’s era are fast waning due to a lack of foreign visitors.
“We are back to where we were before the fame,” he told Zenger.
For nine years, Kosiele ran a successful grocery store at Nyangoma market, but he shut down his business in 2017 due to what he describes as a “disappointing business environment.”
“After Obama left office, things turned gloomy. Visitors vanished, and that is how most businesses died, including mine.”
Dennis Weloba, 35, a barber at Nyangoma center, is among the few whose businesses are still operational but are struggling.
Weloba says he would make $10 a day tending to throngs of visitors during the Obama era but struggles to make $2 today.
“Life was good back then, but now we are surviving by the grace of God,” he told Zenger.
The taxi business, which visitors relied on to make their way around the village, flourished during Obama’s time. However, there are no longer taxi ranks in the town.
Bicycles and motorcycle taxis, commonly known as bodabodas, are the main mode of transport for the majority of the locals.
Andrew Jumba, 56, was forced to sell off his taxi after things went south.
“I had to sell the car so that I could repay a loan which was overdue, and the bank was on my neck,” he told Zenger.
“When tourists were coming, money was in plenty, and servicing my loan was no problem, but life became hard when they disappeared.”
Many of his fellow taxi operators sold their vehicles or relocated to the nearby Siaya and Bondo towns.
Bernard Omondi started a small shop selling agriculture and veterinary products to people who bought farms in and around the village, anticipating great fortunes.
After Obama’s retirement, he says, people’s “purchasing power” drastically reduced, forcing most businesses to shut down.
“Farmers had a big market for their produce, but with hotels closing and people moving to nearby towns, many abandoned their farms,” he told Zenger.
Investors in the hospitality sector who set up top facilities to cater to Nyangoma-Kogelo’s high-profile visitors also count their losses.
“The hotel industry was the most vibrant sector in this village,” Nicholas Rajula, the owner of Kogelo Village Resort, told Zenger.
The resort attracted hundreds of visitors in its heyday, but it is a shell of its former self today, almost deserted.
“We relied on foreign visitors and tourists, and when they stopped coming, I had to look for other options. I have turned a section of the hotel into residential homes.”
Since President Barack Obama left office, his ancestral home in Kenya, Nyangoma-Kogelo, has gone from bustling tourist destination to sleepy village. (Kevin Dietsch – Pool/Getty Images)
The only operational facility — albeit partially — is the Barack Obama Hotel, owned by Malik Obama, Barack’s half-brother, most remembered for backing Donald J. Trump for the presidency in 2017.
But with Obama’s exit, Nyangoma-Kogelo has lost more than personal businesses. Hundreds of poor folk who benefited from myriads of charities set up in Obama’s honor gradually faded after his presidency.
After Obama left the White House, many educational foundations scaled down their operations as donors became scarce.
Some students who entirely relied on education sponsorships from the Mama Sarah Obama Foundation dropped out of school after it ceased operations.
After Mama Sarah Obama’s death in March 2021, a vocational training center she helped set up to train orphans in artisan courses closed down due to a lack of resources.
Marsat Onyango, who oversees operations and administration at the foundation, said that a reduction in the number of donors affected the continuity of most projects initiated during Obama’s time.
“The scholarship program was the most affected with diminished funding, forcing us to reduce the number of students receiving support,” she told Zenger.
“However, we are working both locally and internationally to seek new and more partnerships to help us keep hope alive in this community.”
But even in the village’s changed circumstances, some positive work can still be seen.
Obama’s half-sister, Auma Obama, is still engaged in education, personality development, and sustainable economic development projects through her foundation of the same name.
She said plans are underway to kickstart the construction of Barack Obama University on a 90-acre piece of land earmarked in Kogelo.
“Mobilization of funds is on, and it is our hope and prayer that this project will sail through,” Jacob Wakoli, the infrastructure and projects coordinator at the foundation, told Zenger.
Students take a reading test, a project initiated during the Obama presidency by his half sister Auma Obama in Senator Obama Kogelo primary school on Aug 26, 2021. (Courtesy Sauti Kuu Foundation)
“The Barack Obama University will be a landmark project for us. It will lift education standards in the community and also spur economic growth in this area.”
In July 2018, Obama traveled to Kenya to promote the opening of a sports and training center sponsored by Auma’s foundation.
However, community leaders worry that Obama’s legacy to Nyangoma-Kogelo is wasting away and are considering taking over his family’s projects.
“We hope that we can salvage the situation and save the projects from dying,” Willys Ochiel, one of the community leaders, told Zenger.
“We believe that Obama will one day come for another visit, and we do not want him to be disappointed by our laxity.”
Hesbon Ochieng, 74, a community leader, says their tiny village would have struggled to access necessities were it not for the Obama connection.
“Our community has running tap water, electricity, good schools, a health center, and good roads, all which came under his name,” he told Zenger.
Ochieng said the community leaders also plan to revive the Obama Kogelo cultural center to preserve the village’s history.
“Future generations must know that it was Obama who gave this village global recognition, and we can only do that by preserving his legacy and the good deeds his name brought to this community.”
An injured horseback rider in a remote area of California was rescued by a helicopter crew alerted by the rider’s companion who found an area with cellphone reception and called 911.
Video shows the Sonoma County Sheriff’s helicopter team being lowered to the ground to assist the rider near Lake Sonoma on Oct. 6. The unnamed woman, who was thrown from her horse, was attended to by paramedics before being airlifted for medical care.
The California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division Air Operations Helicopter H32 also responded to assist, the Sonoma Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
“Due to the nature of the rider’s injuries, as well as the inaccessibility of the rider’s location, H32’s tactical flight officer/paramedic was inserted into the scene, along with H1’s TFO/EMT, via H1’s long line.
“After making patient contact, the rider was packaged in a traverse rescue device and flown, via long line, to an awaiting Bell’s Ambulance.”
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office accompanied the video with this post: “This afternoon, the sheriff’s helicopter ‘Henry-1’ responded to the Lake Sonoma area to assist with searching for and ultimately rescuing an injured horseback rider.
“Due to the remote location, and lack of cellular phone coverage where the rider was thrown from their horse, a party riding with the injured rider had to ride to a location where they could find cellphone coverage in order to call 911.
“H1 arrived in the area and quickly located the reporting party who subsequently directed H1’s aircrew to the injured rider.”
Another rider went to a location with phone service and directed the helicopter crew to the injured woman once they arrived. (Sonoma Sheriff/Zenger)
The California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Office “both have very robust helicopter rescue programs. These programs have their differences, but also have their individual strengths,” the Sonoma sheriff’s office said.
“By employing vertical reference longline, H1 is able to lift significantly more weight than a comparable sized helicopter equipped with a hoist. At times, such as today, this allows multiple rescuers to be flown into a scene to begin rapid patient care.
“Today was a prime example of how working with our allied agency partners allows us to provide patients with the most rapid and highest level of care possible; which ultimately benefits the people we serve.”
The condition of the injured woman was not reported.
The Lake Sonoma trails are popular with hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the trails. Among the popular routes is the Lone Rock to Little Flat hike.
“The trail from Lone Rock to Little Flat is very scenic,” the Army Corps of Engineers says on its website. “You will pass through second-growth Redwood stands, small stands of Madrone, open grassland and Chaparral. The trail is 2.1 miles long and has gentle slopes. This trail does not loop, so it’s best to treat it as a point-to-point trail, leaving one car at the bottom and one at the top of the trail. … If you are planning on hiking this trail in the summer, bring plenty of drinking water.”
The documentary, directed and produced by Succar, chronicles his journey from humble beginnings as an unknown indie artist recording in his parents’ garage to winning one of the most prestigious honors in Latin music.
In 2019, Succar was nominated for four Latin Grammys for his record “Mas de Mi,” winning for Best Salsa Album and as Producer of the Year.
“Más de Mi” will be part of the four-day festival that spotlights the emerging film industry in Panama and creates exchanges and networking opportunities with the film industry in the U.S.
This is the fest’s seventh annual edition.
Born in Lima, Peru, Succar immigrated with his family to the United States when he was two. Music runs in Succar’s family. His father, Antonio, is a pianist and his mother, Mimy, is a singer. Also, his paternal great-grandparents are Mexican composer Lauro Uranga and Spanish flamenco dancer Rosa Rodríguez Valero. His maternal Japanese-Peruvian great-grandparents also sang and played musical instruments.
When he was 3 years old, Succar began playing the Peruvian cajon with his parents’ group in both private and business events around Miami.
After earning degrees in music, Succar took over his family’s band.
“Más de Mi” is Succar’s second studio album. The first, which he produced, was “Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson,” a salsa take on the King of Pop’s biggest hits. This album featured Tito Nieves, La India, Kevin Ceballo, Michael Stuart, Jon Secada, Jennifer Peña, Jean Rodríguez and Obie Bermúdez. Succar is also featured in all the album tracks.
He also worked as a producer of a music film inspired by the album, capturing a musical tribute to Jackson by over 40 musicians and artists in various cities.
That makes “Más de Mi” Succar’s second film production.
“The purpose of ‘Más de Mi’ is to inspire people to follow their dreams, despite the obstacles, and never to give up,” said the singer about his movie. The salsa star is expected to attend the festival’s red carpet and his film’s screening on Oct. 8. A question-and-answer session and reception will follow.
Also featured at the Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles are “Blursday,” a dramatic film by director Sergio Guerrero Garzafox, and “COVID-19 Sins & Virtues,” produced and directed by various Latino filmmakers in lockdown during the pandemic, including Yeniffer M. Behrens, Mauricio Mendoza, Oscar Torre, Hugo Garcia, Caroline Brethenoux, Hernan de Becky, Cesar Gamino, Juan Gil, Marabina James, Miguel Paredes, Shanay Patalano, Jesus Schettino and Alex Toedtli Mera.
The fest is also presenting a Panamanian shorts program.
