Very good morning to you. My name is Rama Gukko. Thank you so much for choosing Y25 for this power talk. And as always, it is a pleasure being with you each and every Thursday. Remember, a repeat of this show also airs again each and every Thursday at 10 PM. So ensure that you catch this particular program again tonight at 10 PM. As always, it is a pleasure being with you. I hope that you're well this particular Thursday morning. And I hope that you're healthy from wherever you're watching us from. We are coming to you live from the broadcasting house here in Nairobi, Kenya. We are also live also on our website streaming at www.kbc.co.ke4 slash Y254. Engage with us. I shall give you where we shall be able to engage with you in a bit. But this is a show that we have all been waiting for. We started this conversation last week. The secret is to having a successful marriage. What are they? We started this conversation last week. And due to public demand, as always, we listen to our fans. We listen to our viewers. You wanted it. Now you have it. This is part two of last week's conversation, secrets to a successful marriage. How can you ensure that your marriage is successful? What are some of the reasons why we are seeing so many divorce cases happening nowadays as opposed to back then? What was the secret that our parents, our fathers, used to have that made their marriages last longer than ours? Squeezy, people get married. And after one week, two weeks, two months, two years, it's done. What is the problem? We started this conversation last week with our fantastic guests. And they are still joining me today on this particular Thursday morning to my extreme left Ladies and gentlemen, I am with the Reverend Evans Kochaw. He is a pastor, a counselor, a mentor, and a conference speaker. Can you stand up, Kassisi? Thank you. It's a pleasure. Last week it was on fire and looking forward to the day. And next to me, I am with Pastor Helen Giroux, a pastor at Jesus Victory Center in Kawanguare, Can you stand up, Helen? Thank you so much. Salam, how are you? How are you? I'm fine, how are you? Let's do it again. Yeah. And we are supposed to be joined by Apostle Prince Isaac from the, who is a lead pastor at the WEMI Church in Ruiru. He shall be joining us. Last week he was not able to join us, but today he said that he's going to ensure that he graces us with his presence. So Pastor Prince shall be joining us in a bit. But for now, ladies and gentlemen, let's kickstart this show. Let's start the show going on and show that you engage with us. The hashtag is Why In The Morning. It's a power talk show on Twitter. At Ram Maguko and at Y244Channel is where you can be able to engage with us. I am aware that you're watching from different parts of the country. So let us know where you're watching us from and we shall sample your feedback as you continue with this morning's conversation. Secret to a successful marriage. Now, I'm told Pastor Prince is within the vicinity. Maybe he shall join us. All right. Now, Ninona Amengia, Kunye Studio. I think he, all right, let's continue. He will join us in a bit. Apostle Prince has already entered in the building, but he's going to be amazing. You don't have to miss this particular program. So last week, we ended in a very interesting way. And I remember we were talking about how wives need to submit to their husbands, and how husbands need to submit to their wives. And there's so many things we did not touch on last week. Just to recap on what we were talking about. You know, what are the secrets to a successful marriage? For those of just join us in a natural. Let me start with you, Reverend. Coach. I still want to echo the same thing I said last week.  Yes. Yeah, that marriage is God's agenda. Marriage is God's idea. And because it is God's agenda, God's idea, we cannot run it without him. Of all the secrets, of all the things we want to talk about, we want to say about marriage, God becomes number one. God is the mother of all the secrets. Without him, at the center of it all, it falls down. So number one secret, and the mother of all secrets, is God, because this was his idea. Uh-huh. In a natural, secret to successful marriage. Yeah, I will echo what he has said, because we are cream that God is the center of our marriages. And we're saying that every marriage has a blueprint in the hands of God before it begins. So if you fail to get back to the blueprint, you fail it.  It becomes a risk. And from wherever you're watching us from at home, let us know about what you think. Is marriage all about God? Is he the foundation of marriage? Is he the principal founder? Is it his idea, as they are saying? Well, let us know what you think or where your stand is in regards to this. Now, I want us to touch on other aspects that we were not able to touch on last week. And these particular aspects that we are going to touch on are items that are at the end of the day going to enlighten us even more or further in regards to this particular conversation that we just talked about the secrets to successful marriage. Apostle Prince has already set foot in the studio. My brother, Karibusana. Thank you, sir. Uko Salama. I'm a chonjo. I'm a BA. I almost robbed you of. My goodness, you cannot do that. It's impossible. It is impossible. Impossible? How can you? When I'm with my brother here, he's like, how? That is Apostle Prince Isaac from the U is a lead pastor at the RWEMI church in Ruiru. RWEMI stands for? It stands for Royal Word Empowerment Ministries International. Do you want me to continue? No. Royal Word Empowerment Ministries International. I'm a CAO. I know. It depends on the school you've gone to. Let me still say that there are some things we did not touch on last week, so let's talk about it. We left on that particular aspect of outside influence. So we are picking up from where we left. How can a couple seize their marriage, cushion their marriage, or prevent their marriage against or from outside influence, the in-laws? And sometimes that outside influence can be pastors, brothers or sisters, the extended family. What is it that couples need to do to cushion their marriages against all these things? Let me start with you, Apostle. All right. Number one, Ram, as we said last week, where we say that you need to put your priorities right. When you're meeting your spouse, when you're ready to get married, you need to have your priorities right. And therefore, the number one agenda that made you to come together, no matter the outside pressures and everything, you need to protect that. You don't have to be influenced by anything else. But how do you protect it? How? How do you do it? Because these people also feel like they have an opinion over your life. Now, that's where we are getting back to where my brother said that every marriage has to have a foundation on the word of God. The Bible is the standard of every marriage. And therefore, any agenda that is beyond or even outside the word of God should be null and void in every marriage. Yes. So any practice that you can see outside your marriage or it's not in the word of God, you should just avoid it like a plague, because it will crumble your marriage. Prasakucho, outside the influence. God ordained marriage to be for two people. The third party is an illegality. That is why in the Garden of Eden, we are using the Bible because actually I agree with her that Bible is the standard. The Bible is the gaging meter for every marriage. In the Garden of Eden, we see the third party coming in in the image of the snake. It interfered with the plan of God. It interfered with that marriage. Later brought us to where we are today. So God ordained marriage to be for two. So number one, we have to have that basic understanding that this marriage is for two people. Number two, having understood that this marriage is for me and my wife or me and my husband, I need to manage because at the end of the day, we don't need to chase relatives away. We don't need to chase our children now. We don't need to chase pastors away. We need them. But we need to know that we relate with them in our marriage up to what extent. The Bible says in the book of Genesis chapter 24 that therefore a man shall live. His father and his mother and cleave. And I say last week that you cannot cleave unless you decide to live. So there are times that I need to narrow down our friends. I need to talk to friends and tell you, you know what, we used to hang out. We used to all do all these things, go out. Mom, I used to stay with you up to, so I sit, I was equal. But now I have somebody to be responsible to. I have somebody to be accountable to. So I need to know my mom is relating with me in that marriage up to what extent. Now there is a particular individual who is watching us today. I'm sure they're suffering from this particular or they're struggling with this particular issue where everything you do, the mother-in-law wants to monitor.  And they will eat. What are these food?  Even if they are hungry? Even if they are hungry? They eat because they are hungry. Yeah. They look at the table and they will eat. No wonder my son, your stomach is coming. He's not coming. What is the problem in this household? And then they begin to question why aren't you having kids? Why, I need children. I need this, I need that and that. I need money. Is your husband. I don't know how much money he has. I don't know how much money he has. Outside influence. Let me get it from you, episode. I just want to say it is a reality, a sad reality that is happening right now. But as much as it is happening, I want to go back to what we have echoed, the Bible. But now I don't want to measure on the Bible. I want to measure in the Word, in the Bible. Because that Word is the creator of this marriage in the beginning wars. And so that beginning brings the difference because every other institution uses the Bible. But they lack the precept of the Word. And that Word is what brings us to one. Now, me and my wife is equals to one. And so if I am divided from my wife, then I am weak to any kind of influence. But if I am one, because it is two shall become one, marriage concept is about wholeness.  So who are you listening to? If you are my wife, then it means I only have the ears. My wife has no ear. I'm the head. And it's only the head that has the ear.  But that's where the problem comes in. Where by someone talks to your wife and tells your wife, that where man and woman, how can a man do this to you? What kind of marriage are you in with this kind of a man? It happened in the Garden of Eden. Did God really say? That was the statement of the devil. Did God really say? And that question brought Eve to a place of looking at the head and thinking right away. Did God really say? And the body now brought to the head, what it should consume? So for us to avoid what comes from outside, our mothers, our fathers, our brothers, and our sisters, our pastors, believe you me, given time, they will ruin. I always say this. The wickedness pastors have to destroy marriages is greater than what the devil has because they are pastors who are not for marriage. In fact, they look at a sister like this and they say, who you and Afaram? Afai culture. But in the real sense, God has ordained her for you. But because me and the pastor are overseeing you, I will divert the plan and give you this man because I know when I have you with this man, your tight is sure. Let me talk about women and friends. Let me start there. I will talk to the man later. Let me talk about women. A woman is being influenced by a friend. And this where gossip comes in. And then that gossip is brought into the family. Now, this husband and wife are fighting at night, till 2 a.m., 3 a.m., over something that she was told, something she had, or something that someone taught her that it should not be this way, it should be that way. I love Manomeh Hanasauti as a woman. What is the problem here? Number one, all I do myself. I've seen last week that I'm 14 years in my marriage. And not that we don't quarrel, not that I don't hear, but what I decided is what my husband hasn't told me, I will not allow it to get into my ears. Powerful word, what your husband has not told you? I have not told me. And if you come across me and tell me, Helen, there is this and that about your husband, then our semen behave like I know, that one I know. But behind my back, I know I shouldn't consult my husband but the same, so that I get the right information. Because the second party would distort everything. So I always protect my heart, I always protect my marriage by not accommodating such. And as he is saying, if two will become one, how then do you talk about the hand? What else is in the body? In the body. How? How? And that is where Man of God, I want to interject. Tuki Dogo, the way she said that she must approve it from the husband, you know? That means the body is working in oneness. That oneness is what synchronizes the energy, the synergy of marriage. It brings love at the place where it's supposed to be. I want us to now handle the men. Oh. What is it about men? The man has gone to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar and say, man, your wife cannot do that to you. I don't know if I can do that. Now you are being, I don't know if it's a peer, if I say peer pressure, and then your ego is being punched, punched. And then when you go to the house, Monome and Agaropa, and then the wife is wondering, what did I do? What is the problem? Will he seek your wife? Will he seek your wife? Now the man is now almost even beating the wife because he was told outside there, it could even be by the mother, the old mother. My son, when I was with your father, this is how I do it. Don't allow your wife to do this. So now there's a fight in the house, never mind. Suddenly it happens. It does. It's happening, and it has reigned several marriages. One thing I would want to echo what my two colleagues have said, the moment there is a definition that puts wife and husband apart, then that is a room enough for the devil to reign that marriage. And number two, we also need to understand that from the very first day, the devil never wanted anything called marriage. Never his desire? Well, never his idea. He fought marriage from the very beginning. Up to this time, the devil is still fighting marriage. So the devil can use anyone and anything to fight your marriage. So some of these things come from our parents that your wife is not doing this. Some of these come from our friends. So I saw your husband doing this. Some of these come from our colleagues. A woman cannot do this to me. But let me say this. The moment we begin to listen to external people or people from outside that marriage, then we are defiling the concept of God, which the Bible says that it is not good for a man to be alone. And I said last week that that statement means it is good for boys to be alone. Because it is only boys that will understand or hear things. They're rabbiah. It is only boys that will incite against their wife. If you are inciting me against my wife, if you are inciting me against myself. You are self. That's the concept. You are self. So if you allow someone to speak against your wife, you are allowing them to speak against you.  Yeah, two shall become one. And therefore they are no longer two. They are one. So any time we are describing my wife negatively, in other words, you are worshiping me right in the presence of my wife. Yes, you should not take my wife. What should couples do when somebody comes and speaks badly about their spouse, about their partner? How should they, what should they do? Number one, I don't need to give that any minute. The chance. I don't want to give that any minute. Even if it's a very sad or juicy or gross. I don't want to. Because the moment I'm able to listen to you, meaning at up to some degree, I'm beginning to think that what you are saying is true. And I'm also confirming to you that you have my attention. You have my attention. And therefore I will not give it a chance, number one. And if it's anything to go by or to listen to, I'll go back home and talk to my wife about it. All right. So I'm so was telling me about this. So I'm so was saying about this. Do you know about this? So you should ask. Yeah, yeah, I'm not asking like I need to ask you now. Why, why do this? No, we are having a conversation about it. You know, in Marais, there are, we have to be very careful with the words. I'm not asking, but we are having a fellowship about it. How do you approach your husband and your wife? Who is she? I'm going to say, my husband and I, at the level, how do you approach him? How do you ask? That's why we're saying last week, we said you need to package yourself, right? Yes. Because you might be right and not correct. You might be correct, but not right. And therefore you might, you must package yourself right. So that when I approach my husband about an issue, maybe I overhand or even have come across, I need to go back in prayer, package myself well, such that when I come to my husband and appear to him and maybe table my, my, my, my, my, everything, my complaint, he would take it positive. Now, when I tell him and now maybe passed to me and in amchoma, then I am wrong. Not my husband. I am the one. Come in amomiza. Come in ameniko seya. Let's begin from there. Ameniko seya, nikue li. Then as a wise wife, I need to package myself in a way that he will take it as a something good, something positive. But in this case, you've been told something about your husband. Yes. Siya tiya mekuko seya. I know. You manenu miski anji. Nikue li. That point is very dangerous.  So this person was already a suspect. From the beginning. From the beginning. So you were just looking for evidences to prove. So that means that in the first place, it is not a marriage. What is it? Marriage is you believe in yourself. Man of God sayu niyabiesi diya vahsmat. Ni takuabie weinim. In fact, get behind me certain. Because I don't want to listen to you. I know I am. So if you allow somebody to do that, it means, number one, you had already put him on the spot. So you were just waiting for something to happen.  I knew. I knew from the word go niyabiesi diya vahsmat. You were this way, you were that way, you were that way, you were that way. And everything is over. And everything is over. And they don't want to know. Why? Because from the word go, like the way they said, when the foundation is wrong, it doesn't matter how the fancy, how the building is fancy and beautiful. It doesn't matter until you become one whole. Whose report are you listening to? Whose report are you listening to? Whose report? Which ear are you using to listen to people? Which one? There is something going around on social media. But don't tell me what other people told you about me. But explain to me why you are so comfortable to listen to those lies. What other people are saying about me? I want to start to touch on this particular angle here. Children. Still a big issue here. Ladies and gentlemen, you are talking about secrets to a successful marriage. When you've been married for a particular period of time and you still don't have children, and now your mother-in-law, father-in-law, your in-laws, your relatives are now asking you, where are our children? I don't know what to do with them. What to do with them? And you begin to get so concerned till some of them even begin suggesting other possible solutions. Exactly.  I don't know what to do with my mother-in-law.  Then I need to advise my male candidates who are about to get married. Or who are married? Not who are about to get married. Who are about to? Yes. If they come across this challenge in the future of the children and what have you, then you need to take the wife to be, take her to a training, maybe you give her to another man. And the training, apart from your daughter, you can marry a person who is able to get married. You know what? Are you saying apart from your daughter-in-law? Give her time, give her time. I'm writing a point for you.  I was not in a training, you've not done rehearsals. Yes, rehearsals, so that you can be able to be, you know you can see a hen and is able to get children. Then if that one is allowed, then the question should arise. I get you now. You get. I almost, I miss out on something. I don't even say, ah, my goodness. No, even now it is becoming hard on you. Then the question of when will you give me a kid should be as hard as that. Because this girl was not married. This girl has never had children. Therefore, the love was based on me and my husband. Not about the children. I was listening to classic FM, is it classic or something? And it was an issue of the same. This guy was approached by the mother and the father-in-laws and the brothers-in-laws and like.  And the guy was like, I think I'm okay because I got married, I had two, three, four children out there. So I don't know why he has seen that. So when the lady was brought in for talk, the lady opened up and said, every time my husband pronounced me, I aborted. What? And she was asked, why? And she said, she just doesn't want to have children. So at times we can be blaming or pushing these people to the corner. Yet there is one that is not one. There is one party that is not one. So you're saying sometimes it is not, you may be putting yourself under pressure. Yes. But it is your partner who is not giving you children. Exactly. And you see, that's where the problem is because now a man will tell the woman, when he knew the party was over. But now one. By the way, man of God, can I tell you something? When God said, a man shall live to live. When he said that, Kwanzaa, there was only one thing, these people to be one. That's it. So the issue of children will come later on. He's only by died, those are fruits of the marriage. But the first thing is these people to be one. When they are one, they can give back. They will be fruitful. It is automatic. Saved or not saved, children are blessings from God. So there are times that we meet such a situation or a condition that the man of God is talking about. But there's a time that we have this condition, either in a man or a woman or both. And whenever a couple finds themselves in such kind of state, they need to believe God and trust God for children. I've seen God doing that separately. Two, I believe in what the apostle said. The concept of marriage, the idea of marriage came number one for two people. God wanted to bring us together as one in an institution called marriage. Having children is just but part of so many other reasons or any other benefits of that union. What do you do when your mother-in-law now gets in, father-in-law gets in and they ask you, what do you tell them? The question of what I do only comes the moment I begin to mourn to my mother or to my parents that you know I'm bothered about children. But if I know that I and my wife are one and we are trusting God that one day we'll have a child, then that question will not even arise from them, actually. But now we have some more, they're not bothered. It is actually the peer, the pressure from the family. Yeah. When it comes, parents are very clever. The moment they realize that you are able to accommodate such kind of questions, they'll really flock your house with such kind of questions. But some of them know, if you want to stop everything, they'll agree with the wife. Try to ask everyone about that. And you see, your stand should be very strong from the word go. To protect that from you. I'm told we need to take a short commercial break. But after this break, we'll be back. And I wanted to tell me, what do you do when you realize that there is this secret your partner has been having? You've been married for a given number of years. Nandu may realize, Saizi, can that break up marriages?  What do you do? What else are you hiding? What else are you hiding from me? I cannot trust you. In Akuwacha. Remember you realize that Kumiakonam Toto. Yes. Now I'm working with Uncle. And today Ram, we need to tie the concept of intimacy, because that is also another area. We will come there. Yeah. I'm going to bring Ram. He's just in the match. She will come. Let's take a picture, we'll be back in a bit. This is part of keep engaging with us. The hashtag is part of that Ram Maguko at Y254 Channel, Secrets to a Successful Marriage. What are they? This is part of. Y254. Imagine. Welcome back. This is Power Talk. As always, it is a pleasure being with you. It's all about understanding the secrets to a successful marriage. If you're all, you're having any struggles in your marriage. We have people here who are experts. If you can hear what they're saying, they can be able to help you out. So engage with us. The hashtag is part of Sean Twitter at Ram Maguko at Y254 Channel, so you can be able to find us. I'll tell us why you're watching us from and we shall sample your feedback a bit later on as you continue with today's conversation on a successful marriage. So before we took that break, of course we were talking about children. And I want us to finalize on that bit by you telling me how, and I believe it was your post-host talking, how can, what responses should couples harm themselves with when they are faced with this battle and these questions of when are you going to get us children? The man should play his role. The man's role is to protect the wife. And protecting the wife is just not all the things dealing physical. It's also verbal and emotional. And so the lady should feel secure whether they are fertile or not. They should feel secure with the man that this man loves me for better, for worse. For better for worse. That word for better for worse must be included because when it is not there, any other thing can come in the place. So the man must play his role. Number one, he must stand so strong that any outside voice will know in that place there is only one voice that speaks and that's the voice of the husband. The man. Let me give a final word in regards to that before I move to the final thing. Because sometimes we blame women when we are faced with such kind of things. Sometimes the men are also to blame, but we don't touch deep on that, but have a final word. The Bible says that men should love their wife as Christ loved the church. I understand that Christ loved the church until he died for the church. And therefore it should not be known outside your marriage, it should not be known that your wife is infertile, that my husband is infertile. Therefore the man has to protect the wife if she is infertile and believe God that he is able to give children. Then the one protection, I think in marriage there is a condition which should be broken. Love should not be under any condition. Even in those deepest things that you are dealing with, come as a kukusawa toto, a man should remain strong and do as per the word of God. All right. Yes. You have a word? Let me put the... Okay. Briefly. Love is the cure of all of those things. When I'm going to do what God asked me to do to my wife, love your wife as you love yourself. Okay. That will be the cure. I want to touch on this angle. A man has, of course, different families. Come from different marriage techniques, backgrounds, affiliations, belief systems, and all orientation. Yet at the end of the day, we have things called secrets that affect families. What should a couple do when they all of a sudden come across information about their spouse that they never knew all along? And this information can be about anything.  And that can even lead to divorce because you never knew this thing about this person and you no longer feel like you trust them. What do you do? Helen. I believe in courtship. In courtship is whereby you deal with the foundations because I come from a different foundation, he comes from a different foundation. And therefore the beliefs in the other family should also be opened up before we get married. And that's why I'm... But there's some things that people are afraid of saying because they're in courtship that people are afraid of exposing themselves too much that you may, you know, lose, you may even chest them away.  It's not just like a visitor. You're not visiting the marriage. You're not just getting in and getting out. No, this is a person of your lifetime. So during courtship, tell him or her everything about yourself? Open up, let him know that when my father is hungry and anichapanga, so when you took your own, and we knew him or her, your father used to do this. But to care, I'll let you know that this should not be done. You know, open up. Open up. I have question marks on that. But let me hear what you're saying, and because of that. I want to give my personal story. Yes. On that. Because when you are dealing with marriage, we are not just picking ideas everywhere. We are dealing with things that we have dealt with, things that we have gone through because somebody else is going through the same. When I was a single man, I kept a lot of secrets to myself. And those secrets made me strong. When I am facing the opposite sex. Why? Because they don't know nothing about me. So whenever we are dealing, we just say, oh, yes, I am good. Yes. Oh, yes. Oh, good. Yeah. Superficially, we are there. We are just knowing each other superficially. But not too much information. But not too much information because the more you open up, the more you become weaker. A man, when a man opens up to a woman, they become weak. And so if the woman is not the right one for you, my dear, you have sold yourself. You will be like Samsung. Exactly. That's exactly my problem.  It's not to have a successful marriage without any secrets. But now, you are a man. And now this person knows everything about you. And they can say or do anything concerning about you. That is where I come in and I say, before you open up to everything, before you open up and dig out everything that you have as a secret. Like, for example, I was a chokora, you know? I'm raised in a, before I was a chokora, my father and mother were lovers. You know, I was raised in a family that my father used to play kalongo-longo with my mother, Britisho in the house. And we are watching and they are carrying each other. So I was raised from that kind of a family. Or the open love. It was open love. And I went, I went, I was almost three kilometers away. I went, I didn't even talk to anyone. I was just a little girl, I didn't even talk to anyone. I was just a little girl, I was just a little girl. Some of them always are you in a merchant, you know? Those were love terms. Love, okay. You know, and the love in between them was so strong. Why? Because she opened up to the right man and the man opened up to the right woman. Now, the question is, if you were to open up as a man to this woman, make sure that this woman is the right woman, not a delilah looking for information from you. Now, this is a case where a couple is having a fight because one has just gotten new information about this other person that they never knew. That's why we are saying Ram, before you say I do, please, put everything in black and white.  And therefore I knew I will be sharing my husband with my mom. Yes, because now the husband is the protector to the mother and I cannot deny that. You see, these are the things you need to open up. If maybe my husband knew how many boyfriends I had before, I told him I had this and that, he knew, I knew, he told me, Helen, I had this and this. So before we get into that, there is nothing I will be looking for as a new information. For example, let me give an example here. A lady has had multiple sexual partners before marriage until at some point she had to abort and this process had affected her womb. An example, and now because that womb is affected, now she's gotten married to a particular man and many years down the line, this man is not running, bone-hunting party or whatever, but she knows that there is something that happened to me when I was young that can make me not have a child now. And she has kept it a secret. Now the man is just finding out secrets that can break marriages. Can I ask you a question before it gets clear? Can I ask you a question? What if Ram you've married and you realize that the wife has seen a scar somewhere that you have never told her about? And now the scar is scaring in something like that. But now does it mean the wife should leave you? No, remember when you married, you became one. We've seen God who has restored uterus. We've seen this God. And therefore if such a secret happens and you see it, there is a God who is able to mend it. I want to say something before this. You don't need to depress. There is something burning out here. There is something burning out here. You see, when such a scenario happens, the Bible says true love covers a multitude of sins. True. A multitude. True. But awakened love before its time will end up into disaster. These are secrets to a successful marriage. Now, if you find out that one and you truly love this person, there is an approach. The approach is like that one of the prophet, the prophet who went to David. And he knew David has done this and that. And he went with the story. You know, there are things you can approach your wife in a story, you know? And you bring her not even directly to the church. You are chatting her and you're talking to her and you're like, babe, there is some honey, darling, there is somebody who has done this and this and this. Imagine, I want to go and give them counsel. But I want to get your idea. What do you think? What can I go and tell them? And then you engage, work at your main gear. And then you say, no. If it were you, what would you have done? And then you bring her into it. She will be rightly open. Why be true? True love. True love, man of God. See that's not of her own. It seeks not of itself. And it keeps more record of us. Never, never, never. There are two biblical principles. Number one, the Bible says that both were naked and were not ashamed. Yes. And this is when now a husband and a wife, Adam and Eve, I agree that it is good to open up to your partner. But you need to be very sure this is the right partner. Exactly. Because if you do a mistake to opening to every Tom, Dick and Harry, you will find yourself in a big mess. Correct. You will be divorced on a night to your wedding. The lady will run away from you. Because she's told much about you. So I want to advise our young people who are just starting relationships. The Bible says that he who finds a wife, not a woman, not a girl, he who finds a wife. Meaning being a wife is a deeper level of commitment that somebody has entered your trust. Somebody has worn your love and you are able to trust this person with all your secrets.  Marriage is a union of two forgivers. Any time you find yourself in such a mess, remember that institution is not high school or college. This is a union ordained by God and it is a union of two forgivers. Meaning, I accept that this woman I'm married, maybe I don't know 100% about her. Maybe she doesn't know 100% about me. What happens if one day I will know the bit of the percentage that was remaining? What will I do? What if these things are not perfect things or not good things? I will understand that I myself am not perfect. Neither is she. And if I know something about her that is not OK, I remember one thing, two things. Number one, marriage is a union of two forgivers. Two forgivers, union of two forgivers, not one forgiver. Two forgivers. Number two, I know that there is something called love. Love covers, as the man of God said, covers all things and love wins.  I was a pastime commieger and a young girl was not able to open up so well to this young man. And you know, one of the things that brings these problems is when we hurry up things. When we are in a rush, and when we are in a rush, I am also connected, I know this. At least when we are in a rush, we taste bad things. But I want to say that is where people make mistakes. Don't rush things. And that is, and if you rush, you are married, you want to be sustained. When you rush things, you are not giving this woman to tell you much about her. I'm not giving this woman time to tell her about me. So which time is the best time, averagely, at least how long before you get into marriage? The things I've experienced about helping people in marriage and other friends that I've seen, I made a vow that I will never be involved in a marriage that these two people have known one another, each other for one year, for more than one year. I will never be part of it. Exactly, more than one year. I cannot appreciate such a marriage that you've not, you just knew each other in December. Then in February, you're taking dowry. Then in April, you're doing your wedding. I'm not part of it. I will not officiate it. I will never be in the committee. I will never advise. I will never do counseling because those people are too strangers. One year. Take, yeah, more than one year. Smaller. No, no, no. No, why? Come at least. There is nothing. The benchmark is at least. So this is the secret of the dowry, date for one year before marriage. Ram, there is nothing expiring in this woman. That's nothing expiring in me. And we can wait. Don't even use the word date. The word date means kuwaja. The word date. It is a secular word, yeah. It is, it, it, it, it, it's, it, it, it, it. It is a kuwaja. A kuwaja. So don't use it. Let, let, let me put this. I want to smooth something up. Let me add this, let me add this. Yes. So this young girl was sort of able to open up to this man. This, the man hurried things and the girl wanted things to be fixed quickly. On the day of dowry payment, They, the boy met his four children. Daddy, you know what I'm talking about. Daddy, you know what I'm talking about. Daddy, you know what I'm talking about. Daddy, you know what I'm talking about.   These people left that home. And that's why we are saying people shouldn't open up. We need to open up. If you know this one is the right person's marriage. There are some, okay, someone will forgive. There are some things that when you just hear them, you take time to heal. Yeah, let's not take things casually. Open up because when God will confirm to you the person you are getting married to. To a virgin, you know what I'm talking about. To a virgin, you know what I'm talking about. They, if we get married, this is not good. At least, at least one year. At least one year. At least, at least one year. At least one year. No, no, no, no, no. Even more. And don't get married to a person. That you've just been meeting in happy moons. Sometimes just do it intentionally to see the character of this person. The other side of that. I'm not sure. And see how. I sent a couple away when they were asking me to officiate their marriage. Then I had to ask them questions as I was taking them through first counseling. Then I realized these people are only knowing each other for three months. I told them, please wait until the end of this year. And if you can't wait, please. There are so many pastors on hire. Go hire them. Let them officiate your wedding. But me, I'm never part of it. I want us to touch on something that is quite sensitive. And I know that it can help somebody somewhere. Remember we're talking about secrets to a successful marriage. Social orientation. What do you do when you find out that at some point you are not as intimate as you used to be before? But you no longer feel your partner as you used to be before. But nowadays even some go outside now the marriage. So that they can be able to feel contented. So that when you get married, you can have a child. And you know finally, some spouses also allow their spouses to go to the house. Because if they go to the house, they have to go to the house. I don't want to go to the house. I don't want to go to the house. I don't want to go to the house to get a child. That's a lie. What do you do? Intimacy is a problem in marriage. How? How is it becoming a problem? Tell me, give me an example. How? Why? How is it becoming a problem? I've been married for 14 years. There is no single day a year to say that I'm married. How? Because what are you doing in two months? So far, from five months. This man is anakuna. When do you expect him to be married? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. A man should not go beyond three days. I always make sure that my husband is empty. Empty, such that at the end of the day, there is no one who can help me. You know what the support is. Empty. Empty. Empty. It is not about feeling. It is not about feeling. I have to make it intimate. I have to make my marriage intimate. I want to ask you this. I don't know if you've heard of this particular terminology. When people talk about an open marriage, it's open, not closed, open, where you are allowed to go outside. Because it's open.  As long as we know that we, since we're really, we are allowed to go outside of marriage. When we end our relationship, when you attack me sour, it's not a marriage. That's not marriage. That's not marriage. Totally, that's not marriage. And it is not in the concept of the Bible. It's not in the concept of the Bible. It's not a marriage. It's not a marriage. They call it open marriage. No, it's not open, it's not closed. It's not open. Those are cultures that have come from outside. That what we are dealing with, how do you deal with what comes from outside. So those are things that are coming outside to just satisfy three things. One, infatuation. Because there are people who have infatuated each other, and they think they love each other. It was just infatuation. Infatuation dies with time. So you will find at first sight it is hot, and then it goes like that. Last is like a heat and run.  Infat I'll block you. And because, the third one, just because I just needed to show culture. Man, that I mean as a wide rainbow. And my sister also will go outside there and tell me, you know, you're not the only hands of man. I can also get hands of men out there. That's not marriage. That is not marriage. Now, how you deal with it, is when you realize this is happening, and it is entering your marriage, as born again, brothers and sisters, born again or not, bring each other to a talk. Talk. Talk it out. That there's a problem in regards to bedroom issues. You talk about it. Talk about it. Be open to the answer from 6 to 6 p.m. So is it first, second, 0 seconds to second, we are done to go in. What is happening? Let me get your point. What is called intimacy in quotes for sex was ordained by God in a set up of marriage. It is allowed in marriage. It is a gift God has given to people who are married. Now, one thing we need to understand, marriage is not a such touring thing or marriage is not come with stay. Marriage is a lifelong term union. And therefore to spice it up to make it real, to make it good, intimacy is part of it and has to be part of it. And therefore I want to say this. There is no marriage if there is no intimacy. There is no. It does not exist. There is nothing like, you know, these things that are coming from the West and people are bringing cultural ideas and all these things are there to talk about Bible standard marriage and when you talk about God being the foundation of marriage it has to be between two people. And now the concept of intimacy must be there and must be done regularly and must be protected. Must be enjoyed. In fact so many people think bedroom is a place where you bring shoes and or that is not a place to solve issues or issues or church or that is an altar. If we have issues we can serve them outside somewhere. Outside the house or outside somewhere. But bedroom is an altar. Let me finish this. Let me finish this. That is an altar. Have you ever seen pastors bringing beds on top of the altar sleeping there? Have you ever seen them playing games there? When they stand there they don't play with my brother. They do what they were called to do. They are preaching Christ. The same way bedroom is not a place to joke.  So that is not a place to joke. I am two times better on our side. We need to touch on some of the girls.  It is your rights. If at all we cannot do our issues outside the bedroom let's not go to this thing at me. It is a duty. It should be enjoyed. That is what dilutes us in the long run. We cannot be enjoyed. But it will be enjoyed. Come to Tarekebisha. I want to say this one word Briefly. When you are married and you are having your intimacy it is not you are doing it for the favor of the other you are not doing it for the favor of anybody. There are women whom even if you do for ten hours they will not appreciate them. Even if you give your husband for two days he will not appreciate. Work back in learning. I want us to wrap up with this comment. Briefly. What do you do when it comes to money issues in a marriage? How do you do financial planning? Should couples share everything about their finances, bank details every financial plan that they have every investment with their partner even if it includes registration of your names. How can couples protect themselves and protect their marriage in regards to their money? There is a problem. In society everyone is in fear. If I open up to my husband and he happens to know ABCDXYZ what I have at some point he might come against me to own what I have opened up. We need revival in our marriages. Briefly, Prince. That's why this thing you should not take it in a hurry but if it comes to that point please from the word go are you still one? The concept remains. Are you still one to the financial investments in everything? Don't keep secrets. We cannot only be one in marriage or in bedroom but if it comes to money we are two. My money is my money. My money is our money. Your money is our money. So we are one. I want us to finish. Let me not end the show without saying this comment. It does not matter whether it is one year, two years or not. It depends on how you love one another. I took four months up to now we are together with my wife in marriage. Let me talk. Anointing alone does not sustain a church or a ministry. I will say again love does not maintain a marriage. Love alone cannot sustain a marriage. Let me just say this. Let's finish this. This is banning. When Adam looked at Eve, he said born. Of my flesh. That is a personal flames. Personal flames. You are married this year. We will live again. We will live again. Time will live again. I want to end with a quote. Remember whether you agree with this quote Remember that creating a successful marriage is like farming. You have to start over again every morning. Very true. May God bless you. May God bless the work of your hands. May God bless our marriages. My name is Ram Maguko and this is Power Talk.


Well, staying with or your state, the police command has berated three men in connection with the EWARWOOD clash between the state park management system officers and phone traders. The incident that happened on Thursday in EWARWOOD actually claimed the life of one rock man, popularly known as Jago and Properties. The development has led to members of the public pointing their cues and fingers at the officers of the park management system for mastermind and to crisis. Hello, hope you enjoyed the news. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.


thinkTek Hawaii. Civil engagement lives here. Aloha, and welcome to Hawaii Together on the ThinkTek Hawaii Broadcast Network. I'm Keeley Ikeena, and today we're going to talk about a measure that will be on the Hawaii ballot on November the 6th, 2018, during our general election. It's an important measure from the point of view that it deals with education. And yet it may not be everything that meets the eye. Today we've got two people who actually have studied it very carefully and they're deeply concerned about it and want to communicate to the public that we've got to be very, very careful. My guests today are old friends and I'm so glad to have them here. Randy Roth needs no introduction. He's a true public intellectual. He's someone who has been in the academic world at the University of Hawaii Law School and retired, but has also been involved in public policy and has been in a sense a legal watchdog for the state of Hawaii. My other guest is Stanley Lau, someone who's been an up-and-coming entrepreneur who operates a business that employs people here in the state of Hawaii and he cares deeply about his employees as well as the consumers here in the state. Please welcome to the program Randy Roth and Stan Lau. Randy, welcome to the program. Thank you much. Good to have you. Stan? Thanks for having me on the show. Thanks so much. You know, right at the outside, let me ask you this question. I'm going to start with Stan here.  You've got food to put on the table for your lovely family. You've got a lot of employees and so forth, but you're taking off huge amounts of your time right now to get involved in a public policy matter, a ballot measure. Why are you doing that? It's one of the biggest concerns that I have as a, like you mentioned, a father of a young family and having spent time on the mainland. One of the concerns is, especially moving back to Hawaii, with the cost of living here, how can we as a young family and others in a similar situation continue to stay here to thrive here? And I think that's a big concern. I'm sure there are a lot of people who've had thoughts of moving away to the mainland and with a measure, a proposed constitutional amendment stated this way. I think one of our concerns is we already have such a high burden in terms of taxing and cost of goods, homes. What can we do to make sure that people here can continue to stay here? So we're going to get into the details of that later on, but you obviously feel that if this measure is passed, it's going to be bad for the consumers here in the state and maybe bad for the very people it's intended to help the teachers and the children. Let me ask Randy, you know, you're basking in your retirement. You've had a wonderful career. I've discovered that I'm very good at retirement. And yet you've been passionate about this ballot measure called the CONAM, the Constitutional Amendment. What drives you to get back into the fray? Several things. My background includes tax policy and I've been on the state tax review commission and I care about the integrity of our tax structure. And I think this proposal would be very bad from that standpoint. But more importantly, I've worked very hard for a long time, 27 years as an advocate for public education in Hawaii. And I think there are major problems with public education as a system in Hawaii right now. Unfortunately, I think this constitutional amendment issue is a real distraction on its face. It's all about helping public education, but I think that's just a facade. And I think that if it were to pass, it would actually be disadvantageous to public education. And I hope to explain why I feel that way a little bit. Well, we'll definitely hear from you on that. Maybe you can help me out at the very beginning here. Let's take a look at the actual ballot measure that will be voted upon by Hawaii's voters on November the 6th, 2018. From my understanding, it's very short, very simple. It says that the legislature, if it is passed, would be allowed to add a surcharge to property taxes for the sake of education. Is that basically it? That's basically it. It doesn't use the word tax. Obviously, we're talking about the authority for the state to tax real property. That's absolutely right. Pause there for a moment, because it does talk about placing a surcharge on property, but property taxes that would be there. But you're saying this is actually a tax? What is a tax? Well, a tax is a forced exception. Okay, so that's the key. To where property owners have no choice, they're given a bill. Currently in Hawaii, we have real property taxation, but it's done by the counties. And so somebody like me who cares about the system, we like that there's political accountability. That if taxpayers think that there's no need for an increase in real property taxes, but the county's increased real property taxes, the taxpayers know who to hold accountable. And accountability is critically important in a representative democracy like we have. But once the state also has the authority to tax real property, so that some of that bills, because of what the county's doing, some of what the state's doing, you lessen political accountability. It makes it harder for taxpayers to hold anyone accountable. So one of the concerns you have is that we're taking power away from the counties, which is the most local level at which we can hold people accountable in terms of political power. And we're giving it to the state. We're allowing the state to dip its hand into the pot that really the counties have. And it's even worse than that. Not only do you lessen political accountability, but this would immediately adversely impact the counties because their bond ratings would go down. The bond rating agencies right now, they say, you know what, when the county wants to borrow money to put in new water lines or sewers or what have you, we're pretty confident that they can tap the public, they can raise real property taxes as necessary. So the bond rating is really quite good. The interest that the counties have to pay is really quite low. But once the state has authority to start imposing real property taxes, the bond rating agencies are over here saying, wait a minute, now it's anything but a given that the counties are going to have room, if you will, to increase taxes in order to pay for some bonds. And so the bond rating would change immediately. We would hurt the counties and slowly but surely the counties would find it harder and harder and harder to pay for the basic services that they provide, police, fire, etc. So what you're saying basically is that there would be unintended consequences. Things that don't appear on the surface when you mark your ballot on the polls, but ultimately could hurt our economy and not only our economy, but the very teachers and the KK that are purportedly the ones that are going to be held. Let me just add that unintended consequences obviously can be very bad just in and of themselves. But this would be predictable, predictable negative unintended consequence. So whether it's intended or not isn't the issue. We can see if this passes sooner or later it's going to have a major impact on the counties and it would start to have an impact right off the bat because of how the bond rating agency is. In other words, it's not just a far-fetched interpretation you're making. You're saying you do this action, you're going to get this consequence. If I drop a rock it's pretty sure it's going to head toward the earth. We'd have to close our eyes, which is part of the problem. Stan, some of those unintended consequences translate into problems for everyday residents, many of whom are renters in our state. How does that affect you as a business owner? So we, our business took an informal poll and about 75% of our employees rent. A lot of them rent walk-up apartments that are easily over a million dollars. Currently there is no threshold. The HSTA reports that there's a one million dollar threshold and even if that existed we'd find that in running some of the studies for internally of what this would cost us as a business, we see that those employees their rents will go up because as a homeowner landlord they're going to pass that on. We can expect that to happen. Stan, you know a lot of teachers as well. Are many teachers renters? I can't, I don't have any statistics on that but I can imagine that there are teachers who rent, especially if you're starting out. You know that wouldn't be out of the question. I think there are teachers who rent. And even homeowners you had mentioned something earlier that there is a million dollar threshold that is mentioned. In other words this would only be a quote-unquote tax upon people who have that extra million dollar property but that's not really in the measure is it? I didn't see it written in the measure. No not at all. That's not on the ballot and that will not be on the ballot. You know that brings us to some of the techniques if we will that are being used to promote this measure. One is to say we can trust our legislature because their intention is only to tax people who are very wealthy. What do you think about that Randy? I think it's real clear what the language says and even if the legislature had an unwritten intent history tells us that sooner or later with a new taxing authority they're going to use it and to the extent they can broaden who it applies to they're going to broaden it. You know when I was describing the language earlier I said a tax on real property viewers might say wait a minute wait a minute says investment real property. Well the word investment doesn't limit what the state could tax in any way. When somebody buys their own home and lives in their home that's an investment. And I'm not stretching the word to get there. You've got probably your biggest investment in your home. So the way it's written never mind what somebody may have intended the way it's written and the way future legislators will look at it is that the state could impose any rate of tax on any real property including owner occupied homes with no thresholds whatsoever and that's very different than what the proponents are describing but I'm just telling you what's there in writing and the history is if the state has the authority to tax a lot of people sooner or later they're going to tax a lot of people. In other words what you're pointing out is that in addition to renters who will be impacted terribly by this it would also be homeowners of average middle-class homes. A million dollars is a fairly moderate home here in the state of Hawaii and it's possible that just the average homeowner will be hit. You just think about it if they started out just taxing rental properties so it only adversely affected renters people would say wait a minute that's not fair why would rich people who can afford to own their own home not have to pay this additional amount where less rich people who are over here renting are going to have to pay it because it's going to be passed on by the landlords as you indicated. So sooner or later if this were to pass I'm pretty confident it would be brought down to affect every owner of real property and people who rent from owners of real property. What you're saying is that we would be giving the legislature a blank check to expand those who are affected by this. I wouldn't call it a blank check I'd call it a blank check book or a box of blank check books because every year year after year they would be using it and the last two tax review commissions have said to the legislature you're going to have to raise a lot more revenue and cut spending because of the 25 million billion dollars of unfunded liabilities things that have already happened in the past that haven't yet been paid for so if you're saying oh the legislature would never go after homeowners the tax review review commissions have looked at this and said they have to cut spending and increase revenues if they're going to balance the books going forward. Well obviously then those who are making the argument for it are basing their their case on what the legislature might do or might not do but voters are not going to have that guarantee in front of them. There's one other thing Stan this may impact you because you have a little young Kiki but this is we're told is for the Kiki and very often that is the most powerful language that is used what do you think about that as an argument? Wow. Don't you let Stan love the Kiki? Absolutely I have young children that are in the public school system and I think one of the concerns that I have is really if you look at on the surface what this constitutional amendment is about it's not necessarily just about teachers and and Kiki right there are no guarantees that the money will actually end up being diverted to an educational fund without any kind of back out of what the state is currently funding in the DOE I think that's one of the concerns that there would be no net gain from this tax to the kids but if we take us a couple steps further back is I think one thing that people don't really think about is that this is a constitutional amendment it is something that we are voting for to fundamentally alter our state's constitution and I know there are a couple ways that this can be done but this is something that would if passed will be something that would be very hard to remove or to take away. Well those are some real concerns that we're going to come back to and amplify in just a moment my guests today are Stanley Lau and Randall Roth and we're talking a bit about what is not really there that meets the eye in this constitutional amendment that is being proposed at the upcoming elections. Don't go away we'll be right back on Think Tech Hawaii's Hawaii together in just a moment. And Aloha my name is Calvin Griffin a host of Hawaiian uniform and every Friday at 11 o'clock here on Think Tech Hawaii we bring in the latest in what's happening within the military community and we also invite all of your response to things that's happening here for those of you who haven't seen the program before again we invite your participation we're here to give information not disinformation and we always enjoy response from the public but join us here Hawaiian uniform Fridays 11 a.m. here on Think Tech Hawaii. Aloha. Welcome back to Hawaii together on the Think Tech Hawaii Broadcast Network I'm Kaley Ikeena and you can see this program on ThinkTechHawaii.com I hope you'll watch it and send it to some friends because it's very informative now back to Randall Roth and Stanley Lau as we're talking about the ballot measure coming up on November 6th 2018 called CONAM the constitutional amendment that would allow legislature legislators in our state to actually take funds from real property to use purportedly for education. Now Randy that whole concept has an understated premise which is simply this the problem with our schools is a lack of money we need to go out and get more money and throw it at that problem what is your assessment of that I think there is a crisis of sorts with public education in Hawaii I think there are some glaring problems the national assessment of education progress the NAIP the nation scorecard put us once you adjusted for demographic factors which the experts say you need to do in order to have a fair comparison we're last in the nation in every category fourth grade reading fourth grade math eighth grade reading eighth grade math last in in the nation so doesn't that make the case that we just need to put more money out there in order to get a higher ranking or are you suggesting that money is not the problem I'm a proponent of public education and I'm never going to argue against more money what's been proposed I think wouldn't result in more money going there but to understand the situation you begin to say well what is our current level of funding on a per pupil basis which is the only way to make sense out of how we compared other places the last year that we have data that can be compared to other states is two years ago and we're spending on operations alone about $14,000 per student that's the 15th highest in the nation so is that adequate or inadequate the question isn't answered by that but we're toward the top we're 15th in in the nation the dollar amount is 17 percent higher than the mainland average on a per pupil basis is 17 percent above the mainland average enough opinions will differ according to the U.S. commerce department the cost of living in hawai statewide it's higher on oahu but statewide and we have a statewide department of education the cost of living is 18.4 percent higher than the average on the mainland so if our per pupil expenditures put us at 15th in the nation and they amount to 17 percent above the mainland average and the cost of living statewide in hawai is only 18.4 percent more than on the mainland i'm not arguing that the current funding is sufficient i'm simply saying there's a real issue as to whether the legislature has really provided what they think is adequate uh or not i believe what they've been providing reflects their opinion of whether more money to the DOE would be wasted or not i think they view this DOE as a bucket filled with holes and they're hesitant to put money into that bucket that's going to go through holes in other words not be used effectively i believe strongly what the governor's been saying now for nearly four years and the current school board chair has been saying for quite a while and i'm told the superintendent is saying we need to radically change this top-down overly centralized bureaucratic department of education into a school-centered or school-empowered system and it's doable it's not a silver bullet it wouldn't happen quickly it wouldn't be easy but it's an initial essential first step toward having a system where teachers will decide what the priorities are where teachers will have some control over who their principal is where teachers will have that flexibility to focus on the kids that they don't have now and that's what it's all about is creating a system that supports teachers so that they've got the freedom they've got the resources and they've got the encouragement to focus on the kids that's quite a comprehensive overview in short you're saying that even if we raise money with this constitutional amendment when we put it into the DOE we have no assurance whatsoever that it's actually going to result in a better system because what we really need is to change the system that we already have and you've suggested some of the measures by which that's and let me just say if if this passed and and even if more money went into public education and like i say i think money is green i think if more were coming in from a special fund from the new tax they would just allocate fewer general funds so i don't think it would really increase the money but even if it did we've got a system that is is dysfunctional it's not the people it's it's the structure and you've got to change that structure and then when you're beginning with the teacher's priorities and that's what's driving this whole thing to the extent that it turns out that the current level of funding isn't sufficient to do what we as a people want our public education to do then we can support it see one thing i can guarantee is that if this con-am passes it's not going to change the legislature's priorities and so if the priorities next year are the same that they are this year they're not going to want to put money into the DOE more money into the DOE any more next year than they do this year right so you've got to get them to look at the DOE as having changed to where it would be a good investment and i'm afraid this con-am is simply distracting from the issue that really needs attention and that is transforming the Department of Education the way the governor has said the school board chair has said i'm told the superintendent has said the public needs to support that and with the focus on this con-am it's like that's being lost so the constitutional amendment is really the wrong medicine we need a different fix all together and that fix is available even without this draconian measure now stan you represent a group of community leaders and business people who've come together what's the name of the organization the affordable hawaii coalition and and what is the basic game of this group well so the basic game is really to educate the public about the downfalls and why this is bad policy why this con-am is so bad for the public and i'll be honest when i first read the measure even being a part of the ahc i thought this was a great idea but it's not until looking at it further what is what is a surcharge what is being imposed what is being taxed where's the money going and you start to realize that there are so many holes with the language and what is being proposed that like randy said what is an investment what is investment property what is qualified is it my primary home which like randy said that's the largest investment that most people make well we talked earlier about the fact that what is touted is the fact that it's supposedly for the keiki for the teachers so on an emotional level it's very hard to stand against but do you think people are starting to get the message that we have to really think about this it can't be a case of the ends justifying the means absolutely and and you know for people who say you know i want teachers to make more money you know right now we've got some real shortages in certain areas primarily in special education and in certain rural areas and some high school specialty classes math and physics and that sort of thing but what hsta the teachers union in effect says is let's pay everybody more and let's um let's not distinguish between those teachers who are doing an especially good job on the one hand and these other teachers that wouldn't have a job except the union contract requires principals to take them if they want to work at that school the whole structure is that the the hsta in terms of how it focuses on protecting the weakest teachers as opposed to providing added value to what the the vast majority of teachers are doing is as broken i think as is the government structure of the department of education so what you're talking about is that we are looking at a case where the union may not be able to help the members of the union as well as it used to in the past the union could be out of the touch with union members this has been a tough year for the union in some senses recently there was a decision at the united states supreme court called the janice versus the afsc me in which unions were basically told no they they can't just take union dues out of the paychecks of workers what what do you think this portends for union responsiveness to its members yeah public sector unions and right now we're talking about the teachers union whether they like it or not are going to have to change a lot the department of education the governor's structure has to be transformed but it has to be transformed in order for the system to get better the teachers union to survive is going to have to radically alter how they approach things because in the past they could count on union dues or agency fees now because of the supreme court decision you mentioned sooner or later their members are going to figure out that giving anything to the union whether you call it agency fees you call it union dues giving anything to the union is like going to church and putting money in the collection basket you do it if you want to and the amount you put in is what you want to put in frankly the public sector unions in hawaii i think have not been honest with their members yet and i think sooner or later they're going to have to be there's a law in hawaii right now that basically says the workers only have a limited period of time once a year in order to to try to get out of paying union dues and then it's a process where they're in effect going to be shamed by other people the law of the land now that that janice decision has been made is that at any moment this afternoon if they want to call up their union and say i'm not going to pay any more money then the union cannot take another penny of their money and once the members get it the unions and now we're talking about the teachers union are going to have to figure out how do i add value how does the union add value to these teachers in a way that they appreciate so much that they contribute that they continue to give us a thousand dollars a year or whatever well union you would seem that we've come to a time when the general public the voting public as well as union members can send a strong message to union leaders as to what they want in hawaii and that's what this ballot initiative is all about and the teachers union is in a difficult position on the one hand they're saying we're doing a great job for our members on the other hand they're saying that public education and teacher pay has been grossly below what is you know what it should be for for decades well how can the teachers union both have been doing a good job and funding and teacher pay be ridiculously low there's there's something not quite squaring in that to put two and two together so to speak i want to say thank you for being on the program today randy you've added a lot of good insights to this issue thank you thank you so much uh as well stan thank you we're going to wrap up right now and i hope that you've heard from two gentlemen who've really studied the matter that there's really a great deal of concern about this conam measure and it's important to tell people this isn't necessarily going to help the teachers at all in fact it actually may hurt teachers and keiki as it raises rents as it raises the cost of being a homeowner as it damages the economy and more than that as it gives incredible power to the state government to come in and do something that may damage the role of the counties if this concerns you stay informed and to get a hold of let me ask stan again the name of the organization and the affordable hawaii coalition and we have a website at affordable hawaii.org go very good i'm kelly akina and this is think that kawaii is hawaii together until next time aloha


This is TFNN, the Tiger Financial News Network Update. Good morning, everyone, Basel Chapman here on this Wednesday, 25th of October for the 10 o'clock Tiger Financial News Network Market Update. The Dow had early in the futures been up quite a bit because Microsoft and Boeing were doing well, even triple M yesterday held its gain. We're looking at the Dow now down at 90 points at $33,050. What's intriguing about this is that the arch formation is persisting to the downside and it really looks like it wants to test the $32,846 level. Here we are at $33,025, a little bit of a way to go there. S&P, though, did take out the left side low on Monday, had a balance yesterday and now it's down $43,4203. Google's part of that, a number of stocks actually are part of that. Very weak and the S&P weekly chart is continuing with this nine-period moving average now negative. But wait a minute, we were waiting the NDX futures when negative, but the actual QQQ weekly chart still remained positive. But today, we're seeing an S. That S doesn't mean to say that it's going to be a negative nine-period moving average under the 14-period moving average at four o'clock on Friday, but we're watching to see if it holds all week. But we are down $5.5 at $353.70, IWM, the Russell 2000 small caps down sharply, almost taking out the low from 2022, very, very ugly, down $2.5 at $163.90. Gold is holding very nicely here. Gold is up $8.994, the go-to area in Middle East conflicts. And we're looking at the dollar. Now this is going to be fascinating. Has the dollar given anything back? Well, it's at $106.45, right at that inside track repellent line, holding well, the nine-period moving average is still positive. They're two different animals right now. Gold is for the fear of geopolitical fear, and the dollar is the financial currency fear. Looking at crude oil, let's just go to crude oil quickly. Crude oil is down a little bit at 83, and we're looking at bonds, the TLT. Aye, aye, aye. The TLT is down, yields up. I'll be back for the target technicians hour. Check out more people. They can use that to see you in a few moments. Very important session, just like us, with this even point in each pattern.


Nugasa chi bega Mama iya mama iya E baba kani e pusha e baba Toka nanami tego, mi tego ya kemoho Afrika online vocalist is an online singing competition under the guidance of Helen Utawali Afrika singer and vocalist In our interview today, we speak to two of the contestants who participated in the third season of the competition that kicked off at the beginning of 2020 My name is Mbaire Kamau. Those are not my full names. My full names are Caroline, Nyambura, Mbairengema Kamau But for today I'll just go with Mbaire Kamau. I like to think of myself as a multi-potentialite I have varied interests in life Skills, talents and interests in life Because when you look at what I do at work and what my hobbies are, they are completely different and I enjoy all of them So professionally I work with an organization called Amani Institute We are a training institution for people who want to create social impact So we concentrate on their knowledge, skills and expertise so that they can come out to the world and create social impact Now when it comes to my hobbies, I am an artist or I can sing, dance, act Let's just keep it to the three threads, sing, act and dance And I enjoy all of these and it's something that is inherent in me, something I enjoy deeply And now what leads to what we're going to be talking about today, the Africa online vocalist With singing, I can't say I'm an accomplished singer, I call myself a bathroom singer If there's anything of the sort because people just tell me you have a good voice You actually have a good voice, you can do something about it but I've never embraced that Except for when you called up in church to come and who will lead us in praises? By right we'll do it, that's the match I've done with singing And except in 2016 when a friend called me to help them feature in a song So I did one verse in the chorus and they were like you see you can do it But again because I was trying to still nurture my career My career goal in teaching and development, the world of development I again abandoned the singing because of that It's so sad that we have to make these decisions when it comes to art We don't fully embrace art as the one thing that I'm going to pursue You have to always have a backup plan on the side that will help you sustain Because of the bills and what not But thankfully for me it was not apart from me Like I said in the beginning, I'm a multi potentialite I have varied interests and I have varied passions So they all married And people would tell me I think you're a superwoman Because how are you able to do all this And I'm like I'm not a superwoman, I just love what I do I love when I'm teaching and when I'm actually singing or dancing or acting I love that too So the only time that I've taken my singing seriously was in 2020 Katasi of a competition called Africa Online Vocalists So I was born and raised in a very beautiful, beautiful town In the Savannah lands called Maralal in Samburu District So when I went to primary school in the same area called St. Mary's That's my alma mater And then went to high school in St. Trisa that is located in Samburu West Wamba I don't know if you've heard of those places Yes, yeah So that's where my childhood has been Born there, raised there And then I only came to Nairobi in 2010 Because of looking for opportunities I didn't again know what my varied interests, skills and passions are in life And that's when I was doing my low degree Slowly by slowly I started discovering or going back in time Retrospectively looking at what gave me so much energy when I was young When I was in high school what did I enjoy doing most And I noticed that all of the time I was really gravitating towards the art I loved singing or I would stand on top of the desis And then I would sing dance to everybody the Shakira song or whatever And that was when I was in primary school And I would love acting, I just liked organizing stuff And besides that I also loved teaching I had a passion for teaching whatever it is And especially teaching people things that help them become better versions of themselves And that links very well to what I do currently professionally with Amani Institute Because we train people on having the knowledge, skills and expertise to drive social impact And because I like teaching so much I remember this time in primary school We didn't have that concept of remedial classes in primary schools I only came to know the term in high school But that's what I was doing, I would organize my fellow classmates And I'll tell them today we're going to revise mathematics And we're going to learn and I would transfer the knowledge again from class to them And then going back to high school I did the same thing And now retrospectively started realizing slowly by slowly That I'm really attracted to the world of teaching And the world of art as well The competition provided a platform For the participants to not only showcase their talent But also an opportunity to grow their musical skills Fast forward to August There's a student of mine I taught So I got to exchange contact with her And then after her year she became an alumni She kept on sending me, please vote for me I'm taking part in this competition It became my interest on what's happening And then she mentioned this thing that is being led by Helen Tawali And I'm taking part in it And then I remembered the goal I had made in December 22nd And I was like, yeah, this is one of the opportunities for me To actually do something about my singing So what's the Africa Online Vocalist? Africa Online Vocalist is a training That's how I like to think about it That is mode of delivery is a competition And why it was founded by Helen Tawali Is to identify the authentic African talent Nature it and expose it to the world And how they do this is by bringing together Vocalist through an audition They select them into the program Or into the academy, it's actually an academy And then in the academy Now that's when the competition happens There are series of challenges that the contestants are taken through And all these at the end of the day They have the purpose of nurturing everybody who walks into the academy To embody five elements That is, and this is something that Madam President We call her Madam President Helen Keeps telling us that we don't want you just to be a singer Who can sing well Or a vocalist who can just hold a microphone And then you wow people with your voice We want you to be all round And thus you have to understand the five elements of a performer And those are singing, drama, dance, creativity and writing So throughout the academy there are ways in which All these five elements were brought out of us Sometimes you would be told You're going to do a mind challenge On a song or a topic of your choice And then you sit and wonder What does this have to do with singing But then again when you remember the purpose Of Africa Online Vocalist Is to nurture you to not just be a great singer But to be an all round performer Who can go out there and entertain people Because if you look into And that's why the tagline for Africa Online Vocalist Is authentic African talent If you really go into the roots of an African Whenever there was singing It was not just singing seated down There was dancing involved There was drama, there was a lot of creativity We didn't write but we did the oral narration And that represents great composition And she wanted all of us who go through the program To really come out of the academy With all that in us So that's what the African Online Vocalist is all about Despite the challenges The participants are grateful for the opportunity I took part in Season 3 But it started sometimes in February Initially it was being called Facebook online competition But because of copyright issues You can't call it Facebook something So they changed it in Season 2 To Africa Online Vocalist I knew about it when Season 3 Was beginning through one of my students Who actually became a second runner up In Season 2 Balancing that with a full time job So you had to make some sacrifices Of sleeping at 2am Because you have assignments You have challenges to do And you know you will not be able to do them During the day because you're working Or you're in a meeting Thankfully they would record all the classes So if you miss a class I would sacrifice and watch it in the night And catch up with everything Sometimes I would go through 2,000 messages on WhatsApp Because I have not been online the whole day And it's really taught It taught us very Significant skills that you might disregard For instance the value of patience Patiently scrolling your phone To go through each message Because if you don't go through a message Information will be lost And I can't put that burden On another contestant to tell me Oh I didn't attend the class What went down They're also struggling with the same thing And struggling with they have work Or they have chores We even had contestants that had Toddlers One was just a month old Child and she's still competing So you can imagine all that So it really taught me a lot On how to depend on myself How to be patient How to be intentional about what I want And I can't pinpoint one thing But it is a series of cumulative things That happen that Just made this one of the best experiences While I may have joined us For the name of it And to prove to myself At the end looking in retrospect It's just like the best thing That happened to me in 2020 I'll say this training The academy and the competition So it's slash training Academy competition Gives every contestant An opportunity To really showcase their character If you understand the rules Of group dynamics The forming, numbing Explosion and all that So there's no way in three months That you can hide your true character So if you are driven It's going to show at some point If you are lazy Unfortunately it will show If you are used to depending on people It will again show In the many ways you interact And I'm just so glad that I have had a very good background From my primary school High school The church I go to All these are bringing And these character Of always showing up Being committed, dedicated And authentic in everything that you do And I'm glad I was able To bring all these into the competition And I think the hallmark of all this Was in the finals When I was given the judges award And what that means is The judges were Ian Bogwa, Tabitha Ogango Naima Murundi And Madam Helen Tawali They all felt that I embodied What the competition should have been about That my work ethic Throughout the competition was outstanding And I showed potential with my voice So that was like a culmination Of the very many things That happened in the three months For instance if an assignment Was to be done I would do it before time And I would dedicate myself If it was creativity I would really look what is around me What can I do with it And come up with something magical That would owe people If it was about teamwork Again it's a character Or a value that has been ingrained In me from the multi-cultural experiences I've had And I was able to do it so well Because I noticed that one thing In the competition We needed to have strong teamwork For it to work Especially now after I reframed My mind said that This is more than a competition It's a training So I realised that we have to hold hands With each other And I would I was sort of like The focal point for most people If you would look at my inbox During that time I would be at work They don't know that I have not checked My WhatsApp messages But they would be like Bayre What are we supposed to do In that assignment I would be like hold up I've also not checked What their assignment is all about So I'm so glad The fellow contestants trusted me To the level of We know she knows What's happening She can guide us Or she will help us And she will do it openly And it's just a I'm humbled And I'm taking that with grace That they were able to see That trait in me And actually give me an opportunity To be that for them When every given chance Is used wisely The end results are always good I started singing when I was very young And I just had that heart to just sing Whenever I got an opportunity to sing I would just sing in the house Or in school In primary school As young as I was in class 3 I would just come out In front of people in a hall And just lead people During the Christian Union services That we have in school And I would just lead people And I just loved it When I was in Sunday school The same thing I would just love my teacher Just to live on Come and lead people And I would just come out Like that So there's one day My dad I used to like the way he used to draw So I told him I want a drawing books That I can help him I can just learn about drawing So he bought me that book And I started drawing Then one time I was just sitting And I just had some songs in my mind I just started writing songs In the drawing book So yeah I started writing songs And I was quite young So growing up It's when I realized I just had that desire Of singing since I was very young It was just in me So I started now School has really helped me The schools that I've gone to I've gotten the opportunity To just sing Especially because I've grown up As someone who knows God I've been taught about God I just In Christian Union Services All those things in school I've been given the opportunity Most of the times I'll just be given an opportunity To be the prison worship leader So in high school Yeah I've been doing that Even in college My performance At African online vocalist At first You wouldn't have noticed me Because I was quiet Very reserved I was trying not to I just wanted to be at the Back seat When people are just continuing But in African online vocalist You can't go that way You have to push yourself And go Or you'll miss it So you don't have to lose it Don't lose it I remember them Coach Reginery saying We are together Don't lose it So it's very interesting So yeah So you don't have You have to bring yourself more And see What is inside you Because the moment you just At the back You won't really give out What is required So slowly by slowly I started coming out Coming out So through these challenges We were told Sing a song Send a video That's what I used to do So one time I was told Even here You have a great voice But we want to see more of that We want to see more Of you doing your stuff You just can't Just do it once And then you take a break And then you come once No, you have to do it So I tried my level best to do it So I've won couple of challenges Inside the house Even without even me Expecting to win such challenges And I was so grateful There is a tarab challenge That I won I sang a tarab gospel song There is a dance that I dance I'm not even good at dancing But I got an opportunity to win That challenge And I was so grateful for that So yeah It was very interesting And now this other one The finals I got the opportunity to be The second runner up Which I'm so grateful for Because it wasn't even I wasn't even seeing it To say the truth I was just I knew I could sing Yes, yes But I wasn't so confident To see myself as Among the top three people Who were chosen So for me that Was I was grateful for that Yeah It's just better to go Just deliver out whatever you have inside you Than at the end of it all Dime with what God put inside you You need to bring it out Be grateful for that gift Or that little thing that you have Don't say this is too small For me to do Or this in the world It doesn't seem like it's something great You can make it great Because it's what God has deposited inside you You can make it great And people will realize That this is something great That people can do So just never Never look down on yourself Kulini tesa Oka ni nyanyasa Oka ni fanyasinema E ama gira ni Ma pensi una Horum Kazi ako Kuiba na kuchinja Kazi ako Kuiba na kuchinja Nimem pata bwana wa Kwakeni mewe kanangasito Banduka Nimem pata bwana Kwakeni mewe kanangasito Banduka


Classifying There are five kinds of There are five kinds of There are two types of There are two types of There are three categories of There are three categories of We can divide this into three parts We can divide this into three parts This can be broken down into four sections. They are This can be broken down into four sections. They are


Relay for Life is also a time for us to come together and bond with one another to recognize survivors and those fighting and those that honor those that we've lost. So I think we will lose that support system that we have for our survivors and for those who's lost loved ones. The field event which is what they consider the traditional Relay for Life event I always considered it was not just about the money it was about the community coming together and showing support and love for one another.


Hello everyone, welcome to a brand new episode of how to run on Zwift today. We are talking about Running Kit. Yes, Zwift Running Kit. Many of you who watch the channel regularly will recognize me in this gear. The old Blue Zwift Top and the old white cap. It's not a Zwift white cap. This Blue Zwift Top isn't available anymore It was originally made for the launch of Zwift over a year ago now. However, there is now brand new Running Kit. Want to see it? So four different tops, a cap and we've even got some socks as well, which I'll show you in a second. In fact There they are orange with the little white Zwift logo on the back. The cap is soft and light. It's a bendable peak with the Zwift logo on the front and the Zwift logo on the side white band at the back and some Zwift symbols like the pizza and the thumbs up on the inside of the cap. So you could wear it up if you want to like Jordan Maddox or you can wear it down like that. The tops are really nicely designed. To start with you've got this tiny little logo here of the mountains of Watopia and the words designed in Watopia. Just in a tiny little logo there on the side. Also, you've got a picture of the volcano here. Look. Smoke coming out of the volcano there. What've we got on the back? And we've got the mountain and the fairground and the balloon on the back there. It's a kind of a mesh material, so you can see if you look carefully, you can see my hand through the design. There are tiny holes there for breathability. It's stretchy fabric and it feels comfortable. Obviously, I've not run in them yet. I don't know whether there would be chafing on a long run. Hopefully not. It does feel like a much better, much more expensive, elaborate material than the blue vest that I usually wear. Obviously, you've got the Zwift logo here, the white trim and then on the back. So that's the orange singlet. Here's the orange t-shirt. Exactly the same design. So again, you've got the volcano on the front, the mountain on the back. You've got the Zwift logo here, white trim around the neck and the words, the words Zwift on the back. It's the same stretchy breathable fabric that was on the orange singlet. So this is the orange t-shirt. And then we've got the white t-shirt, which is exactly the same, but white. On the back, the Zwift logo is there and you've also got the words Zwift in black. Nice design, comfortable to wear. It feels light and I think it looks great. And finally, the singlet version of the white t-shirt. Again, same design with the logo and the words Zwift in black on the back. Volcano, stretchy fabric, very nice and comfortable. I really like the singlets. Both the singlets feel really comfortable, really cool. I think I'm going to enjoy wearing these over the next few months. So these tops are available for men and for women. They're in the shop right now. So go to the Zwift store and pick up your cap, your t-shirts and your socks, all available right now in the Zwift store. And that's it. Take care. See you again for another How To Romans with Very Soon. Bye.


Hi there and this is my review on this new garden kneeler chair that I just received. So right now as I'm filming this review, it is the dead of winter where I live. So I'm not going to be able to do any demonstrations outside right now, but I have found a lot of good uses for this inside my home. So as you can see, it comes all assembled here and you can quickly get it into place wherever you need it. It has thick pads here as you can see so you can either use it as a kneeler to get it right on top of here and you got these handles to help you get up and down which is the best feature of this. It's really helpful if you have bad knees or you just have mobility issues and can't get up and down easily out of the kneeling position. This is a great thing to have in the garden and in the house. So then you can easily just flip it over and it turns into a bench. You want to be sitting at a garden bed or raised garden bed to do some gardening. You can sit on it. It's very portable. You can take it to sporting events to use as a bench as well. So I do a lot of growing indoors. I have a grow tent that I have to do a lot of kneeling on. I'm down on my knees on hard cement and up until getting my garden kneeler here I was using pillows but finding it really hard to be able to get up and down from that kneeling position. You can also use this for cleaning purposes say your tub or your shower where you need to get down in your hands and knees and scrub out a tub or scrub a stand up shower. I found that this also works great for that. So this easily folds up just by pressing the spring with your hand at each end and folding it down. And she's easy to hang up in your garden shed to put in a vehicle if you want to take it somewhere as a seat. Very transportable, very lightweight. So I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of my garden kneeler here and highly recommend this product.