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Kiva 1 - unity, acting in unison.
Kiva 2 - mouth of wicker fish trap.
A
fish enters a wicker trap very easily in a unidirectional manner guided by the
well weaved and unified reeds tapering into the kiva (mouth/port) which
is the entrance into the trap. Once inside of the trap, the fish experiences rangaito
(confusion) because the dimensions of the space look opposite and different from
those it saw while entering trap. The words kiva and rangaito are
merged to form the compound word kivangaito as a reference to this
phenomenon.
Kivangaito - confusion, disorder, chaos.
Rangaito - chaos, confusion, disturbance, mess.
A
wicker fish trap is shaped like a barrel or cylinder at one end and takes the
shape of a cone as it goes out the other way. The end of the cone-shaped part
is either woven with rings or tied up. The mouth is fitted with a separate
funnel for the fish to enter through one tapered, focused direction. Once inside
the basket, the fish finds it very difficult to get back out because the shape
and dimensions of the space become complex from the inside. This is unlike the
unidirectional, tapered, funneled dimensions that led it inside.
EU – a fish wicker trap
After
its loss of colonies in Africa mainly to England and some to France, Germany waged
a war to capture lands in Europe to compensate itself. This culminated in the
eventual defeat of Germany in WW2, its occupation and integration into a European
economic community, later EU, under the Bretton woods agreement whereby Germany
was promised access to European markets as compensation for losses in Africa
and guarantee to maintain peace. However, the European market has increasingly
come under Chinese and Russian trade with China providing finished industrial
goods and investments while Russia providing raw materials and investments. At the
same time, in Africa, Russia is doing to France what England did to Germany by
flipping their colonies. Also, Germany and France are being provided with some access to English
colonies in Africa for investment as palliative for their losses. Consequently,
both France and Germany are experiencing rising jitters from losses in their extraction
domains. Their inability to cooperate against England (with its UK) - which cunningly left the EU
to free itself from legal encumbrances - makes them prey to manipulation by their
offshore cousin who would again stand to benefit by the time they buckle-up and
it’s too late when even war won’t salvage solid guarantees. They have been
trapped in a wicker fish trap called EU and they have to find a way out to be worthy
challengers or forever hold their peace.
MGCS
failing cooperation.
The
Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) is a project launched in 2017 by Germany and
France, aiming to replace their current Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks.
The MGCS will not be a single armored fighting vehicle, but a system of systems
conceived around said vehicle. This is something akin to the weapon development
standards that guide production of weapons and ammunition among NATO countries
so that they can be able to share parts, trade parts, determine capability and
prevent collaboration with external arms producers who usually have different
standards. Looking at the example of ammunition standards, the two primary
calibers for small arms that are NATO standards are the 5.56 x 45mm and the
7.62 x 51mm and they have their civilian equivalents. The civilian 5.56 x 45mm
is the .223 Remington while the civilian form of the 7.62 x 51mm is the .308
Winchester, and though they share cartridge dimensions they are not necessarily
the same.
1.
First there is the concept of the chamber
design and part of that specification is free bore. Free bore is the distance
between the ogive of the bullet and where the rifling starts. In most civilian
commercial designs, the bullet is in very close proximity to the rifling with
little free bore. Not so with the NATO military firearms. Both NATO rounds are
designed with some free bore. Military weapons must accommodate different
bullets, generally tracers are longer than the standard ball ammo in the smaller
caliber.
2.
Point two is that most military loads operate
at higher pressure than their civilian counterparts. Therefore, you can shoot
your civilian loads in a military rifle, but not the NATO rounds in a civilian
gun, unless you have a gunsmith add some free bore.
The
Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) is to be developed and manufactured by KNDS (a
holding company founded in 2015 by German arms producer KMW and the French
defence firm Nexter Systems). The KMW+Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS) is a
European defence industry holding company, which is the result of a merger
between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter Systems. The joint holding
company is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
In
June 2018 the German and French ministries of defence signed a letter of intent
for KNDS to develop the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), a common main battle
tank, and the Common Indirect Fire System, a common 155mm self-propelled
artillery gun. One of KNDS's first projects was upgrading the Leopard 2, with a
focus on increasing effectiveness against contemporary threats like anti-tank
guided missiles and the Russian T-14 Armata tank. German automotive and arms
manufacturer, Rheinmetall joined the project in 2019, and this addition to the
MGCS did not go without tensions between Paris and Berlin as development
leadership on the various pillars of the program as well industrial production
were supposed to be equally split between the two countries.
In
KNDS' exhibition at Eurosatory 2018, the hull, engine and entire chassis of a German
Leopard 2A7 which can carry 68 tons were modified to host the lighter, more
compact, autoloader-equipped turret of the French Leclerc. According to
Nexter's head of tracked and armour programmes, Francois Groshany, the benefit
of the tank is the combination of the "very high capability" Leopard
2 chassis with the lighter Leclerc turret. The 2-man Leclerc turret is
approximately 6 tons lighter than the 3-man Leopard 2 turret. The lower weight
of the vehicle enables it to traverse bridges that might not be able to support
heavier tanks. What he did not mention is the ability to freight lighter tanks
by plane to Africa.
However,
in September 2023, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt, Berlin has
reportedly agreed to make a Leopard 2 replacement with Italy, Spain, and
Sweden, after the project with Paris stalled. German arms manufacturers
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall will work with Italy’s Leonardo and
Sweden’s Saab, Handelsblatt said, without naming the Spanish partner. The
franco-German MGCS project has reportedly stalled due to disagreements over
specifications. The French military is seeking to obtain lighter vehicles more
suited to air transportation, and thus better for operations in Africa,
Handelsblatt said. Germany reportedly wants better protection for a potential
standoff with Russia.
What
do all these portend for Africa?
References
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/leopard-2-nachfolger-deutschland-startet-neue-kampfpanzer-allianz-/29374860.html
08 September 2023
https://www.rt.com/news/582509-germany-new-tank-france/.
07 September 2023
TUKI (2001), Kamusi Ya
Kiswahili-Kiingereza; Swahili-English Dictionary. Published by Taasisi ya
Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI), Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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