Is it The Beast in The Beast?

I do wonder

When I wrote “Is this this man?” [1] last June, I was thinking aloud whilst trying to be circumspect wanting to avoid any controversy.

In fact, it was a comment left on that blog that let the cat out of the bag and unbeknownst to me many more people were thinking along those lines - crazy minds, I'll say.

The name that conjures the audacity of hope only needs to be Googled in close proximity to the name that signifies the end-game for the world and your search results are in a riot.

This is an unusual man with amazing talents brimming with confidence that is almost breath-taking; we are at a point where we all believe that he signifies a change in the world that would bring solutions to many problems.

This is probably a man of destiny, born in season to tackle the most intractable problems that seem to be pervading humankind relentlessly.

The irony is however not lost on me when some joker (surely, someone should have seen the connotations of this) inadvertently decides that the name of his official vehicle is “The Beast” [2] – is the world really coming to an end or are we being taken for a ride?

I won’t even dare check the number plates.

Sources

[1] Is this the man? [akin.blog-city.com]

[2] BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama's 'Beast' of a car revealed

Preparing for a one-party state

The numbers are dangerous

We can safely say that the numbers peddled as results of the Nigerian Election in 2007 would be the basis for a lot more than we reckoned.

Already, people are looking forward to 4 years time and I really think that is being naively optimistic.

The ruling party has just swept about 70% of the vote for both the Executive and Legislature which gives them the ability to enact incumbency laws, gerrymandering commissions and change the constitution probably without the help of any member of the opposition.

You only have to look at the type of person who is going to the Nigerian Senate, the son, the assistant to the son and the son-in-law of Chief Lamidi Adedibu, the stark illiterate and celebrated hoodlum from Oyo State.

It only takes one idiot to look at the might of the PDP to start advocating a one-party state and that would go through the House and Senate in a breeze; just like the incoming President was able to spearhead the institution of Sharia Law in his state and the follow-ons in other Northern States.

Our Mark of the Beast

If we do not sort out this charade that is masquerading as democracy now, be prepared to be a card-carrying member of PDP to get anything done in Nigeria. We would have signed up for the proverbial "Mark of the Beast" and there would be no April 2011 for multi-party elections.

Four years is a long time in politics and plenty of time for a overwhelmingly powerful party to subscribe to the cult of eternal incumbency.

The examples of lame oppositions are rife in Africa and Nigeria is about to join that list. Africa used to have the most one-party states most of which went into decline in the 1990s giving birth to pluralism and multi-party politics, but if the state apparatus is so engrained in the ruling party it would be impossible to effect change except through revolutionary means.

We might all read this in denial, but just as sure as night follows day, we are already on that slippery slope to a one-party state, it would take a seriously disciplined executive and legislature to prevent that, if the Judiciary does not rise to claim our democracy from the tyranny of megalomania.

If I am just being a Prophet of Doom, please forgive me.

The Mark of the Beast

Vorsprung durch Technik

We all got familiar with the German punch line Vorsprung durch Technik in the Audi adverts of the early nineties – whilst it means Progress Through Technology, it has also become representative of German efficiency.

This weekend, I witnessed two perspectives of this generalisation that has been contestable and can be easily debunked by views of other people, but I stand my ground.

Yesterday afternoon in the Kreuzberg district, there was a whole parade of floats representing all countries contesting in the World Cup.

Sweep them away

Even cynics have to agree that the German do have a word for fun – spass – and they do have fun, flag waving, load chants, friendliness and camaraderie.

Unfortunately, this about to be destroyed by another poorer sight of Germany – adherents of National Socialism who in their quest for racial purity, take civilisation and civility out of humanity and send the human race back to Gorillas in the midst. Regrettable!

Anyway, I walked up the road towards the tail-end of this procession and there, people were sweeping, cleaning as road sweepers moved in tandem clearing up after the procession.

Basically, behind those trucks it was like nothing had ever happened before. I had seen this activity once before as I watched a pride procession of floats disappear towards the East, now, I know that it is all part of the arrangements for street parades. That is efficient.

Leaving on a train again

So, on my way back from Berlin, I got to my seat just in time, which was occupied by a couple who should have been in an entirely different part of the train, but as the doors had closed, and there was no interconnecting link between the joined-up trains, they had to wait till the next stop.

I tried as much as I could to find them alternative seating arrangements, but in the end, they walked the length of this end of the train to bring them into proximity of the other to be able switch trains at the next stop.

There are probably 8 or so stops between Berlin and my change-over station Duisburg. However, in a journey of the duration of just about 4 hours, it is reasonable to have ones tickets checked twice.

But just as we approached Duisburg and we were quite close, because announcements for the station had been made and everyone stopping off had already moved towards the exits, along comes a third conductor.

Miffed with Jobsworthy

I remonstrated, I have already shown my ticket twice from Berlin, but he insisted on seeing them regardless, I could have just refused and had him get off with me at Duisburg, but I could not be bothered anymore, so I opened my bag retrieved my ticket and had it stamped again by Conductor Jobsworthy.

Suffice it to say, I was quite miffed, but this not my idea of efficiency nor is it the right way to go about massaging employment figures. Well that is another side of German efficiency.

Convenience is what I need

However, it then struck me that I would prefer to have a situation when my ticket was checked once and soon after that, any subsequent conductor just knows it has been done.

The convenience of not being bothered by anyone and ensuring everything is just so, like, walk into a shop, purchase whatever you want, the till is your exit with the tags on your goods charged to the account read from the chip embedded in you.

Instant identification for the ultimate convenience and computers churn away in global data warehouses linking your whereabouts to your lifestyle, your purchases to your purchasing capability and your life risk ratio is computed against your health data to ascertain your comprehensive insurance premium automatically charged at the computer’s discretion.

The global Patriot Act

Who you meet; what you say and wherever you do is private; until you hit an inconvenience threshold. That brings on the scrutiny of eyes bigger than Jupiter.

The product is complete convenience driven by unsurpassed efficiency, everyone wants it, not knowing that the Mark of the Beast it the hallmark of convenience – we are not far from that day.