MaStory Moto

18/03/2026

17/03/2026

The country we call Israel today was established on 14 May 1948. Before this day, this land was part of a region known as Palestine. That means before 1948, there was no modern country called Israel anywhere on earth.

So the question is: where did the Israelites come from?

Because we know that the ancient Kingdom of Israel existed about 3,000 years ago. It was established roughly 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus, and it existed in the same region where Israel is located today.

The other question is where did the name Palestine come from and how did the land of Israel become Palestine.

What happened to the ancient Kingdom of Israel?
How did we end up with so many Arab Muslims living in a land that was historically associated with the Jews?

Well, you see:
About 4,000 years ago, the land that is now called Israel, together with Lebanon, Jordan, and parts of Syria, was known as Canaan.

Canaan is mentioned in several ancient records from Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Throughout its history, the region of Canaan was inhabited by different nations like
▪️The Philistines
▪️The Phoenicians
▪️The Arameans....and of-course, Israelites.

After living in Canaan for centuries, the Israelites later established a kingdom in that region. It became known as the Kingdom of Israel and its first King was Saul.

However, this kingdom later split after the death of King Solomon.

The split created two separate kingdoms, the northern kingdom and southern kingdom.

The northern kingdom kept the name Israel, and its capital was Samaria.

The southern kingdom became known as Judah, and its capital was Jerusalem.

The Northern Kingdom was the first to lose its independence. It was conquered by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BCE, more than 2,700 years ago.

The Southern Kingdom remained independent for more than a century after that, but it eventually lost its independence in 586 BCE, when it was conquered by the Babylonian Empire (modern-day Iraq).

After this, the land of Judah (Southern Kingdom) came under the control of several empires:

▪️ Babylonian Empire (Morden day Iraq)
▪️ Persian Empire (modern-day Iran)
▪️ Alexander the Great and his Greek successors.

However, during the rule of the Greeks, the Jews revolted. They launched an armed struggle and managed to regain independence over much of their ancestral land in both Israel and Judah.

This event is known as the Maccabean Revolt, and it is well documented in history.

However, their independence did not last very long. They were soon conquered by the Roman Empire in 63 BCE. This was less than 60 years before the birth of Jesus.

The Jews tried to resist Roman rule but they were not successful. So after several Jewish revolts against Roman rule, the Roman authorities renamed Israelite land to Syria Palaestina.

Many historians believe this name was chosen partly to erase any Jewish connection to the land, but this is debated. However, what is not debated is the FACT that the Romans renamed the the land of Israel to Syria Palaestina around 136 AD. That's about 2089 years ago.

Over time, the name Palestina evolved into the name Palestine, which continued to be used for the region for many centuries.

After Roman colonial rule, the Jews never again regained full political independence in that land until 1948. The region remained under the control of different empires for nearly two thousand years.

These Empires included:
▪️ Roman Empire 63 BCE – 324 CE
▪️ Byzantine Empire 324 CE – 638 CE
▪️ Rashidun Caliphate 638 CE – 661 CE
▪️ Umayyad Caliphate 661 CE – 750 CE
▪️ Abbasid Caliphate 750 CE – 969 CE
▪️ Fatimid Caliphate 969 CE – 1099 CE
▪️ The Crusaders 1099 CE – 1187 CE
▪️ Ayyubid Dynasty 1187 CE – 1250 CE
▪️ Mamluk Sultanate 1250 CE – 1517 CE
▪️ Ottoman Empire 1517 CE – 1917 CE

From the beginning of Roman rule in 63 BCE to the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1917 CE is almost 2,000 years.

That means the land once known as the Kingdom of Israel remained under the control of foreign empires for nearly two millenniums, continuously.

During this long period, the name Syria Palaestina gradually evolved into the name Palestine, which was used to refer to the region for many centuries. I must emphasize that Palestine was never an independent sovereign state. Throughout its history, the region was ruled by various foreign empires listed above.

In the comments section, I will now explain where the Arab Muslims came from and how they ended up being the majority in Palestine. I will also explain how the modern state of Israel was created in 1948.

11/03/2026

In 1987, 26-year-old Barack Obama traveled to Kenya to explore his father’s Luo heritage.

With his half-sister Auma as his guide, he visited Nairobi and then Kogelo, meeting relatives including his grandmother, Sarah.

The trip, marked by family stories and a visit to his father’s grave, left a lasting impression that would later influence his memoir.

MaStory Moto

11/03/2026

How Arabs invaded Palestine claiming to be theirs.
Jews too claimed the holy Land.

MaStory Moto

11/03/2026

Franco Luambo Makiadi's first born daughter Marie Helene Mbonga Makiese, went to be with the Lord on Monday, 9th March 2026.

According to her son, Rudy Luambo Makiadi, Marie died in a hospital in Kinshasa on March 9, where she had been hospitalised.

Marie Helene Mbonga Makiese was the eldest child of the late Grand Maitre Franco Luambo Makiadi. She was born on March 1, 1957.

Franco had 17 children; sixteen daughters and one son, Yves Luambo Emongo.

Marie Helene was married to musician Prince Youlou Mabiala, and the couple were blessed with five children, among them Rudy Luambo Makiadi, who is the second born.

Prince Youlou Mabiala is also currently ailing.

Marie was named after Franco's mother, the matriarch, who is credited with raising Franco as a single mother after the death of her husband.

MaStory Moto

10/03/2026

This is Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. He has dominated Russian politics for 26 years.

Putin is the definition of “started from the bottom, now we are here.”

He started his career as a KGB agent. The KGB was like the FBI and CIA combined. It was the main intelligence and security agency of the SOVIET UNION, dealing with both domestic and foreign issues.

The Soviet Union was a union of 15 republics, namely;

■ Russia
■ Ukraine
■ Belarus
■ Uzbekistan
■ Kazakhstan
■ Kyrgyzstan
■ Tajikistan
■ Turkmenistan
■ Azerbaijan
■ Georgia
■ Lithuania
■ Moldova
■ Latvia
■ Armenia
■ Estonia

All these republics were part of one large country called the Soviet Union. It was MASSIVE and became America’s biggest rival after World War 2. This rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union became known as the Cold War.

America promoted CAPITALISM , while the Soviet Union promoted COMMUNISM. But that is a subject for another day.

Vladimir Putin joined the KGB in 1975, after finishing law school. He was only 23 years old. He served in the KGB for about 16 years.

In 1991, shortly before the Soviet Union officially collapsed, Putin left the KGB.

The Soviet Union formally ended on 26 December, 1991. After that, the republics that had been part of the Soviet Union became independent countries.

Putin then entered public administration in his hometown of Leningrad, which is now called Saint Petersburg. He became an adviser to the mayor and later rose to the position of Deputy Mayor.

In 1996, Putin moved to Moscow and got a job in the presidential administration. His job involved managing government property. At the time, the president of Russia was Boris Yeltsin.

Working in the presidential administration brought Putin closer to the center of power, where senior officials around the president could notice his work.

His skills were quickly recognized. Putin was appointed Deputy CHIEF OF STAFF to the President.

A Chief of Staff manages the president’s office. When I say the president’s office, I do not mean the physical room where the president works. I mean the team of aides and officials who support the president.

The Chief of Staff coordinates this staff and controls the president’s schedule, often deciding who gets access to the president and which issues reach the president first. It is therefore a very influential position.

As Deputy Chief of Staff, Putin was now inside the president’s inner circle. His work became visible directly to President Yeltsin.

In 1998, Putin was appointed Director of the FSB, Russia’s main intelligence agency and the successor to the KGB. He was also appointed Secretary of the Security Council.

These positions gave Putin access to key security and political networks across the government, which became an important step in his rise.

In August 1999, President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin as Prime Minister. Russian prime ministers have limited authority. The president runs the show.

On December 31, 1999, President Yeltsin resigned. Putin automatically became Acting President.

Three months later, Putin won the 2000 presidential election and became president.

He was re-elected in 2004 for another four-year term, serving until 2008.

At the time, the Russian constitution said that presidents could NOT do more than two consecutive terms. I must emphasize that presidents were allowed to serve more than two terms, but NOT two terms in a row.

By 2008, Putin had already served two consecutive terms, so he could not run again.

To remain influential, Putin supported his close ally Dmitry Medvedev, who ran for president in 2008 and won. Medvedev then appointed Putin as Prime Minister. During this time, Putin was the one truly in charge even though he was no-longer president. He continued to influence things. Infact, when Medvedev was still president, the constitution was changed so that future presidential terms would last six years instead of four.

In 2012, after the end of his term, Medvedev stepped aside inorder for Putin to run again for president. Putin ran and won, beginning a six-year term from 2012 to 2018. He was re-elected in 2018 for another six-year term that would end in 2024.

However, having done two consecutive terms, Putin was not eligible to run again in 2024. In order to get around this complication, his government brought a new amendment that said a president could now only do a maximum of two terms only. However here is THE CATCH. They said that this change did not apply to anyone who had previously served as president. This meant that Putin's earlier terms were no longer counted under the new constitutional rules, allowing him to run for two more six-year terms.

The amendments were approved by parliament and later confirmed in a national vote (referendum)

This allowed Putin to run again in 2024 for another six-year term, which runs until 2030.

If he chooses, he can run again in 2030, which would allow him to remain president until 2036.

By 2036, Vladimir Putin would be 83 years old. Given the constitutional changes that have already taken place, it is possible that the rules could be amended again in the future. If that were to happen, it could potentially allow him to remain in power beyond the current term limits, or possibly make himself life president.

06/03/2026

How Jordan lost Judea and Samaria in the 1967 war

King Hussein of Jordan described in his own memoirs how he joined the war to his own detriment.

He made a deal with Nasser, the Egyptian leader, to join the fighting even though he personally did not want to.
Nasser promised him:
“We are going to finish them.”

Then the war started.

Hussein was at his home in Aqaba.
He writes that he went outside and looked west toward Eilat and saw many fighter jets flying from Egypt toward Israel.

He thought to himself:
“Wow. Nasser was right.”

What he was actually seeing were Israeli Air Force jets returning after destroying the Egyptian Air Force in Operation Moked.

At the same time, Nasser, already knowing that Egypt had lost almost all of its planes, called Hussein and told him:
“We are crushing them. Come join.”

Believing Egypt was winning, Hussein ordered Jordanian forces to bomb West Jerusalem and Netanya.

This was after Israel had sent him a clear message: Do not join the war. If you stay out, we will not attack you.

But once Jordan attacked, Israel had no choice but to respond to those attacks out of self defense.

That is how Israel ended up controlling Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.

Not by plan.
Not by conquest.
By self defense.

A protective war under international law.

Adapted from King Hussein’s memoirs and later analysis by Chanan Amiur.

06/03/2026

Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman - The legendary limousine used by Kenyan first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

Over a nine-month period in 1963, Kenya’s Prime Minister Kenyatta acquired three of the most expensive limousines in the world (a Lincoln Continental, a Mercedes 300 SE and a Rolls Royce-the price of these totals $55, 000).

04/03/2026

High Court quashes corruption case against Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya; awards him Sh2.5 million for breach of his constitutional rights.

MaStory Moto

04/03/2026

The Reason Why Russia & China BETRAYED Iran:

Russia, which had signed a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with Iran just 13 months earlier, offered nothing but words of diplomatic condemnation from Moscow. China, which had signed a sweeping 25-year cooperation agreement with Thran in 2021 and purchased over 90% of Iran's oil exports, called for an immediate ceasefire, and went silent.

Two of the most powerful nations on earth, both of which had spent years building deep military, economic, and strategic ties with Thran, simply watched as their partner was dismantled in real time. This is the story of why Russia and China abandoned Iran when it needed the most and what it reveals about the cold, calculating nature of great power politics in the 21st century.

To understand this betrayal, you have to go back decades and trace the tangled web of alliances that brought these three nations together in the first place. Russia's relationship with Iran stretches back to the Cold War when the Soviet Union cultivated ties with regional powers to counter American influence across the Middle East and South Asia.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the Americanbacked sha, tan found itself isolated from the western world and desperate for new partners willing to sell it weapons and technology. Moscow obliged, becoming a primary supplier of military hardware, from tanks and fighter jets to the sophisticated S300 air defense systems that formed the backbone of Iran's protective shield.

But the relationship was never one of equals. It was transactional from the very beginning, built on mutual convenience rather than genuine strategic alignment or shared ideology. China's engagement with Iran followed a similar pattern, rooted not in ideology, but in Beijing's insatiable hunger for energy to fuel its explosive economic growth through the 2000s and beyond.

In March of 2021, the two countries signed a landmark 25-year cooperation agreement under which China pledged up to $400 billion in investments in exchange for heavily discounted Iranian oil. The deal was hailed by Thran as proof that the East was rising and that Iran had powerful friends who would stand by it against American pressure and Western sanctions.

But behind the grand announcements and ceremonial handshakes, the reality was far less impressive. Cumulative Chinese investment in Iran over the previous 15 years had totaled only about 27 billion. Iran was getting cheap Chinese consumer goods, flooding its markets and destroying local industries

MaStory Moto