Its a major setback to the catholic church movement that should be moving towards change. Its a shame that in this century, the church, represented by their cardinals, have elected a conservative pope. I think its time priests were given the chance to have their own families since there is nothng wrong with that. What is wrong with women priests? I think its not fair for a small clique of conservative leaders to dictate to the church what should or should not be in this age.

Let the cardinals chose the next pope, when the time comes, with a lot of wisdom.

The smallest word i know is "I"
THe sweeetest word i know is "LOVE"
The person i will never forget is "YOU"
Send this to your lover and she will always love you.

Hello all,

I come from a gemstone prone area in Kenya but have a problem finding the market for these precious stones. If any of you would like to partner with me, you can get all my contacts from my profile. Please do so.

Since the ‘birth’ of affirmative action (AA) it has remained an extremely controversial issue. It is generally accepted that AA is morally right, as it is empowering those who were previously disadvantaged. Inequality, form a functionalist perspective, is rather inevitable, as we are not all suited to the same things, and never will be. If one man puts far more effort and time into his job, surely he deserves more rewards than someone who applies himself less. The functionalist approach believes that inequality is necessary, unless abused. The conflict perspective believes that various elements of society have created these inequalities due to greed amongst various ‘dominant’ groups. These debates remain inconclusive as each opposing view is so vastly different from the next.

The functionalist perception of both inequality and AA are seen in the context of society as a single body. In order for this body to function and develop successfully, every aspect needs to remain strong at all times. In order for a particular aspect of society to remain strong, it needs to be controlled by a group of very capable and talented people. These people, ideally, should specialise in their specific stream of work, according to their individual talents. As every person is different, we will all undoubtedly perform at various levels of effort, thus requiring various amounts of reward and ‘prestige’. The functionalist approach to inequality therefore believes that inequality is inevitable and even ‘necessary’ for society’s existence.

The functionalist approach towards AA and inequality believes that they are valuable to society, but can also become detrimental to society’s well being if they cause ‘harmful side-effects’. These ‘harmful-side effects’ are not specified, but one can assume that the functionalists are referring to economic problems, rather than humanitarian ones. Inequality and AA are described as potentially being both ‘pathological’ and ‘problematic’, depending on whether they detract from society’s well being or perform inadequately.

Opponents to AA claim that it would lead to the employing of inadequate people, who would decrease efficiency in the workplace. This would lead to a ‘lower overall productivity’, and this would be damaging to society’s economic well-being. These opponents also worried that by requiring a certain percentage of minority workers, a company would be disregarding those who are more qualified. These opponents are presumably implying that these ‘more qualified’ people are white.

Davis and Moore’s (1945) functionalist theory states, “In any society certain positions or activities are more important to the general welfare of others…many of these also require greater skill, ability, or diligence than the average member of society has.” Davis and Moore also state that by enticing certain elite individuals with rewards they will become motivated to perfect their skills and “take up those essential but more demanding tasks”. Functionalists, as previously mentioned, do not believe that every form of inequality necessarily productive for society. If social inequality prevents certain (‘highly qualified’) people from being able to become successful, then it is deemed as ‘dysfunctional’. Functionalists see meritocracy as the ideal social system as it allows the ‘best’ and most talented people to excel in their chosen careers, regardless of race or gender.

As opposed to the functionalist picture of society, where all components seek an overall successful performance, the conflict perspective observes society as a constant clash between various elements for status, authority, financial resources and material produce. This perspective believes that certain individuals or groups obtain a great deal of power in certain areas of society, and subsequently utilise that power to award themselves more privileges than the average individual. These privileges include political rights, material rewards and a higher status. Even those groups described as ‘disadvantaged’ compete amongst themselves for recognition and power within society. This results in a completely fractured society, where small elements have no consideration for society as a whole, but attempt to better themselves for personal gain.

In regards to racial inequality, James Blackwell’s (1990) idea suggests that in order for a society to achieve racial equality, it would have to change the ‘power relations’ among various groups. In the context of contemporary America, for instance, the dominant group (whites) has remained powerful predominantly due to inequality. Inequality has prevented other minority groups from reaching their full potential and obtaining a higher level of power. The dominant group has thereby primarily served its own needs, and it continues to do so as it restricts the power of weaker minorities. ‘Gate keeping’ ensures that the ‘authoritative standard’ is always monitored, preventing a substantial number of minority groups from ‘taking over’ from the dominant one.

AA was essentially established for ‘socio-economic competition’, as it aimed at taking away the white person’s unfair advantage in the workplace, therefore creating and fair atmosphere where the best-suited person is appointed for a job. This is one of the conflict perspective’s four observations, in which he explicitly recognises that racial groups do contend with one another. The second observation recognises that social change does not occur without pressure on the government. Martin Luther King Jr noted that it was unusual for advantaged groups to give up their privileges voluntarily. In the late 1960s and early 70s ‘minority hiring’ was only considered as a result of heavy political pressure and lobbying.

The third observation discusses how ‘American apartheid’ (Massey and Denton, 1993) prevents certain minority groups from achieving success in various areas. It argues that America’s ‘competitive system’ is not healthy, as everyone is not given equal opportunities. As the functionalist perspective believes that ‘gate keeping’ prevents certain capable minorities from becoming successful, so the conflict perspective believes that it isolates poor minorities in the ‘worst’ areas, schools and jobs. Supporters of AA therefore believe that every American doesn’t have an equal opportunity to achieve maximum success.

The fourth observation examines that competitive groups require alliances with those who able to assist, or these groups attempt to sabotage their opposition by creating internal divisions. The initially black Civil Rights movement, for example, accepted the support of any minority group, as a stronger, united force would be more beneficial. Contemporary America remains divided about AA, with the Democrats supporting and the Republicans opposing this social policy. Other critics of AA believe that it will not only widen the split between groups, but it will also create conflict between groups as minorities are no longer working together as a united resisting body. If these minority groups unite, and fight for more opportunities for all of those in need, there is a greater chance that their requests would be seen to.

Disagreement over AA takes place on two levels. The first is the direct struggle for jobs for certain material things, e.g. university placement, jobs etc., and involves ‘political influence’. The second is an ideological conflict and takes place among any two individuals or groups with opposing ideas. Basically, this conflict is intended to debate whether or not AA is morally and economically valuable.

AA and inequality will continue to be debatable and controversial issues. It is generally accepted that AA is the best way to go about change in society, as it is only fair to give minorities the rights and abilities to succeed, as they have been discriminated against for so long. Inequality is rather inevitable, as we are not all suited to the same things, and never will be. If one man puts far more effort and time into his job, surely he deserves more rewards than someone who applies himself less. As we are attempting to repair the (almost irreparable) mistakes of our past, certain sacrifices have to be made by the ‘dominant’ groups in order to build and strengthen those who have been wronged.

It does look like a major gamble, but then that would be nothing new for Coca-Cola, a company that has redefined the free spirit of capitalism.

At a time when the non-alcoholic beverages market has become very competitive, the giant soft-drinks firm and its partners have pumped Sh1.9 billion ($25 million) into an ultra modern bottling plant in Nairobi.

But the commissioning of the new Nairobi Bottlers Limited factory in Embakasi this morning by President Mwai Kibaki, marks a milestone in the restructuring of Coca-Cola operations, and the Government's industrialisation goal.

Speaking to BusinessWeek at the Sh1.9 billion plant's offices last Friday, Nairobi Bottlers managing director, John Donnachie, said that the consolidation of three bottling plants at the 4.04-hectare site is a culmination of Coca-Cola’s plans to rationalise its business by removing unnecessary costs from its operations in order to maintain affordable prices.

"One of the first steps we took towards returning to growth can be traced back to 2003 when we reduced the prices of our products in order to better meet the cost demands of our consumers," recalls Donnachie.

He says that the second important turning-point for Coca-Cola came last year, when the Government, in its 2004/2005 budget, agreed to slash excise tax from 15 per cent to 10 per cent, after the company lobbied for the decrease.

This, noted Mr Donnachie, is a testimony of successful engagement of government by the private sector in creating a business-friendly environment.

Coca-Cola and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) had tried, for many years, to impress upon the previous government every year, to effect the tax chop.

Over the same period, Nairobi Bottlers made a decision to close its plants in both Machakos and Nakuru, a move that the CEO says was part of the bottler's strategy to become a "cost-efficient producer by taking unnecessary costs out of the business".

The operations of the two plants – East Kenya Bottlers in Machakos, and the Flamingo Bottlers plant in Nakuru, have now moved to the new location, which was owned by Anspar, former bottlers of Schweppes, the soft drink that evaporated in the stiff competition offered by makers of non-carbonated soft drinks and juices.

The old plant at Addis Ababa Road is expected to be moved to the new site by June, adding up to a total of six production lines.

Says Donnachie: "This makes Nairobi Bottlers one of the largest production lines in the Coca-Cola family in Africa." He adds that it now has a capacity of producing 75,000 cases (about 1.8 million bottles) of soda per day.

With the Embakasi plant now fully operational, Donnachie is confident that the company can now have a long-term view of its business with the aim of introducing new brands in the Kenyan market, depending on the dictates of consumer and market research.

Explaining the recent soda shortages experienced in some areas recently, NBL chief said that the prolonged hot weather increased demand of the company’s products by over 30 per cent while production grew by about 20 per cent over the same period.

"Although the Coca-Cola business is growing by double digits, the challenge now is to invest ahead of demand to satisfy the customer and consumer needs not just today but also in future," says Donnachie.

Nairobi Bottlers is a joint venture of Coca-Cola Sabco and the ICDC Investment. The company says that the $25 million investment is expected to lead to low production costs, stable pricing, competitiveness in the FMCG sector, improved productivity and higher growth potential.


The new world-class facility currently includes five filling lines, modern services, new syrup room and a new water treatment plant. The plant is also expected to be one of the most productive returnable-glass bottling operations in East and Southern Africa.

The $25 million investment puts Coke on renewed growth path besides huge production capacity and opens up fresh job creation opportunities.