Freedom, the prison of civil society

Where freedom is not liberty but taking license

In the free world, there are many protagonists of freedom. The one that features most is the freedom of speech or the freedom of expression.

Strangely, this freedom by nature is now the pre-eminent right above other rights, most especially the right to life. As many have lost the right to life through their freedom of expression.

The free world however is governed by socially acceptable norms and morass, which are dictated through tradition and imposed by law. What then becomes acceptable is either weighed on the balance of the interpretation of law, the application of commonsense or the abuse of both by an enforcing authority.

In the end, freedom is not necessarily the absence of restraint but an understanding of where one's contribution to society is beneficial to all who might be affected by that individual's use of freedom.

To that purpose, it is clear that the exercise of freedom does carry responsibility and where that responsibility is not understand, it leads to sanctions, censure or even proscription.

Liberty depicts a state of freedom or being free. It appears one gets given liberty by some instrument of free enterprise or freedom of expression in whatever sense, one does not take liberty which connotes the abuse of understanding the responsibility of freedom.

Then the commonly known situation arises where freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license.

Freedom, Liberty and License are synonyms but can never in reality be used in place of the other. Rather they represent varying degrees of freedom and the responsibility that governs a quality of restraint.

The news

Two stories are breaking the news, the first being the article in a British newspaper making overt or alleged racist commentary on the Arabs and the second being the imprisonment of French journalists in Pakistan.

A politician turned talk-show host for the BBC had written an article in the Sunday Express newspaper under the title "We Owe The Arabs Nothing" in which he made some unprintable observations, which have resulted in his talk show being taken off the air temporarily.

The amusing but interesting twist to this story is that the first publication in April 2003 went unnoticed and now some cack-handed editor either deliberately seeking to cause mischief or inadvertently sanctioned the copy for a second publication eight months after.

Herein, is the reason why the public freedom of expression must have a purpose, a context and a timing.

In April, the world was in the throes of the Iraqi war and any anti-Arabs sentiment to boost the flaky reasons why we went to war was welcome. The Arabs not being part of the Coalition of the Cajoled were then fair game.

In January 2004, we are no more at war, though the body bags returning with regularity. That is a completely separate issue. The article might still have a purpose and context but the time was off by eight months.

The article creates both consonance and revulsion amongst the citizenry; the reactions of the writer's employers represent both sides all too clearly. The Sunday Express has condemned the BBC from over-reacting by taking the writer's programme off the air.

Hardly six weeks ago, the writer hosted a programme on racism in Britain and loudly proclaimed the multi-cultural nature of the British society debunking the racists and their supporters.

Having been caught in the act, they who live in glasshouses and throw stones risk breaking the glass in their own houses.

I hear a shattering sound.

Nowhere has the freedom of expression become a forum for taking liberties and license than in the work of journalism.

The journalist is the beacon of freedom in repressive regimes and the scourge of excess in the free society. The journalist can also represent whatever perspective serves their best purpose in any news or documentary piece.

In that case, they are either a welcome insight or a bloody nuisance. The point in the Pakistani case is, just because one is a journalist you do not automatically have a diplomatic passport to visit any place in the search of a scoop.

There are many instances where breaking the rules have produced new stories that should have been aired to create positive and necessary change but the risks abound and understand those risks are part of a journalist's occupational hazard.

The main charge against the French journalists is the violation of visa requirements in visiting a particular region. The concealed charge, which might as well have exacerbated the gravity of the punishment, is the view that they were trying to portray Pakistan as a Taliban haven.

Pakistan borders Afghanistan and that border is literally impassable terrain. More so, the states boundaries outside Europe were not drawn by the locals but by colonialists.

The tribes at the borders share a common culture, heritage and society. Unlike the West, those cultures are not given to surrendering relations or abrogating ethnic ties for the benefit of others.

If the Taliban find refuge and succour in Pakistan, it is because the trust their people to give them protection as part of a sworn allegiance of tribal affinity.

For the West to seek to destroy that, only creates a Pariah of tribesmen who succumb to the temptation of reward for breaking age-old traditions.

It is the reason why the Americans are yet to get a full park of cards of Iraqi culprits.

Finally, in the words of Benjamin Franklin "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

It appears accepting the Patriot Act, the functions of the Department of Homeland Security and people who deign to travel to America for humiliating inspection in the name of security deserve no liberty in every sense of the word.

Tardy as it goes

One had just noticed that no blogs were published on this day.

A blog-a-day is still a discipline to be properly cultivated, writer's block just like tennis elbow happens to every practitioner of their various pursuits.

One would still try to keep up as much as one can; the novelty has not worn off.

Urging urgency urgently urges on

Work not urging enough

As patron to the Insomniacs Anonymous, one was up again at 02:30 hrs by the captain's log and found some work to do.

Harking back to the blog on customer requirements, one had to finish the report on one's findings, which had been delayed over the holidays for the reasons that holidays are supposed to be holidays and not workdays.

Therefore, the concluding parts were written as indications of what had to be done to alleviate the sufferings and solve the problems the customer highlighted. The topical issues covered performance, ease of use and communication, one felt quite gratified by the work.

By 05:45 hrs on the captain's log, a little lie-in with the week's Economist to serve as sheep-counting, one caught the slumber train and arrived at about 09:37 hrs. Late, late, what would one do?

One of the great successes of our team is the remote access via the Web to our Citrix environment, which gives a geek like one full access to all systems one has regimen over.

So, rushing in to work was not an option for a planned delivery of shortest shadow. Crumbs! After all done, the spell-checker in Outlook freezes, and all work is lost. No help could retrieve that laborious out-pouring of prose, forlorn but not hopeless, another opportunity beckoned through an alternative email interface.

Hardly, had the report landed on the boss's desk, a meeting to assemble at 13:30 on the vaguest agenda though referring to the report but covering a wider issue. Accepted and was at work for 12:15.

Urgency of personality psychology

During the holidays, the CEO had formally asked for information about the customer issues raised and wanted a reaction as soon as practicable. In a one-off response having checked one's office email on that day, one urged that political expediency should take not the place of carefully laid out plans to resolve a number of those issues.

Well, the boss had convened the meeting to arrive at ideas of what needs to be done to solve these problems. We were at pains to stress that we had started on this weeks before and had plans which were underway, and that the report needed discussion that is more technical before any conclusions could be reached.

Nay, said the boss, with the mercurial ability to belittle the critical for the sake of getting his own way.

However, seeing that the thought waves would not converge, the meeting attracted a lot more input from other interested parties, the kick-off managed excellently by the Operations Director who doubles as second-taker - since minutes mean nothing in our organisation - and consequently secretary - bless him!

Anyway, where one could not concur was where the boss being an expert in situation clairvoyance was of the opinion that the CEO's mind would be amenable to a particular slant in our presentation rather than the presentation as we saw it.

Well, where would we be without the benefits of that kind of profiling?

In fact, the driving factor was the urgency urged on us by the CEO through the CIO and when that wind blows, all trees bow and some get felled.

Not impressed, said one, but one has to gel at times in teams that seem to be going the other way. One is not the sole source of objectivity, at the risk of arrogance.

Urgently deploy

Just as the Goosy Gander in the nursery rhyme met the old man who would not say his prayers, it became apparent that the last year did not inspire positive New Year's resolutions in the office lives of certain well-known colleagues.

Once again, a major change to a critical application needed an urgent deployment and this by Monday. One checked, today is Thursday and one does not do weekends without duress.

This change happens to handle a rather less critical daily workaround and satisfies the requirement of certain regional sites to take no record of staff who work out of hours.

One is at times caught up in the unethical and downright nasty in the execution of management policy.

The user base on which this update was tested was one expert application analyst with a sign-off by the manager of the project. One can only portend that this clique had moved from bad to worse.

This rollout goes to over 600 computers in five regions and one is to roll this out on the wing of one non-representative user and the prayer of the manager, propped up by directorate escalations. I think not and one is not that easily scared either.

Containing the urges to rebuke

Being one who does not suffer fools gladly to a searing fault. Restraint and patience when one encounters those catalysts are a weakness almost too great to overcome.

In not too many words, one rebuked lightly stating that the test base was too insignificant to be of value, that the deployment would not occur for a week allowing for prudent deployment and that this presented an opportunity to collate all pending actions for this application.

One received thanks for the prompt response, whilst the scolded recoiled to lick wounds, though not mortal by any standards that one is wont to inflict.

By the way, another urge to deploy the urgent lost urgency when one of the protagonists was reportedly indisposed and it was reckoned that no tests had been done for that request to deploy by Sunday.

The New Year hardly brings the change one envisages in others, rather one just has to learn to grin and bear it more.

Applying to the Corporate Masochists Anonymous - the urge is compelling.

Cellophane skinned lion hearts

Historical inferiority complexes

The prominent international news from Zambian concerns the abuse of both opportunity and privilege by all concerned leading to the proffered deportation of a white journalist.

Country Profile: Zambia

The Zambian Bookmark - Zambia by Zambian intellectuals

After 40 years of independence, at least on the surface, independence is supposed to mean no dependence on the colonialists for the governance and destiny of the land and leaders of people who have sought this freedom.

The 1960s heralded the collapse of the original British Empire where the Queen was sovereign over lands that reached over up to 25% of global land mass, typifying an empire on which the sun never set.

However, the collapse of the empire heralded the advent of the Commonwealth of Nations; a grouping of nations who have the common history of having been or still are members of the "British Empire". Mozambique is the only member without this historical tie.

The independence struggles increased in violent intensity as you moved from Sub-Saharan West Africa northwards or southwards.

Northwards it was the French and Italian struggles of Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. Southwards the British handled the upheavals in Kenya, Uganda, the Rhodesia and finally South Africa.

Nigeria and Ghana were in comparison very peaceful transitions. Unfortunately, Africa the land of potential and promise of the 1960s is hardly what it offered then.

Most especially the Southern African states which struggled through more uncivilised actions of Western émigrés who introduced positively racist segregation policies very much like the publicised civil rights wrongs of America.

Web Compendium of Africa

Those years etched indelible marks in the psyche of the majority of racial inequality, superiority, abuse and lack of opportunity.

These colonials had free rein such that they were literally above the law for offences that drew the full force of the law and sanctions in the home country.

How else would the longest served senator in the United States who ran on a segregationist ticket in 1948 have secretly fathered a child from a liaison with a black maid of which we all had no knowledge until after his death?

Strom Thurmond's love child

The censorious press and foreign journalists

Well, so many years after independence that division of black and white still exists, in the South African sub-continent with examples of Zimbabwe with respect to the botched land reform and seizing of farms and Zambia where press criticism by other races is frowned upon.

In fact, it is any criticism, no matter how constructive. This time a journalist had compared the president of Zambia to a foolish elephant and two other ministers to baboons.

Zambia has had a coterie of defamed, insulted, slighted, slandered and libelled leaders.

However, it is a moot point to suggest that the Home, Foreign or Information ministers have any other function than to promote security and international prestige.

They usually are pre-occupied mostly with the sensibilities and biorhythms of the president rather than the country and people they represent.

The use of onomatopoeia, allegory, analogy, and simile or even in this case, animal metaphor exemplifies the richness of language and expression.

However, perception of the metaphorical object and the accompanying adjectives can create adverse reactions.

Figures of Speech

Biblical Figures of Speech

An elephant typifies size and strength, but a white elephant is something that involves lots of expense yielding little value.

A foolish elephant might in one refer to the President's size [I have no stand against natural obesity] and how his size or prestige has suffered due to some unwise act on his part.

The President had visited a game park, and that presented the opportunity for satire, it is no surprise that the ministers having lost their sense of humour and irony have played the gallery allowing for what was inconsequential to become an international news story.

Now we have expository focus on the presidency, the rule of law and the indolence that characterises their pre-occupation with image over policies that help the Zambian people.

More so, it would appear that the circulation of the besieged "The Post" newspaper is wider than is accepted if so many are going to read the slur on the president and think less of him.

One wonders if the reaction from the ministers would have been salutary if the president were compared to a wise lion, agile tiger or wily snake.

The speed at which African democracies censor, proscribe or ban the press in their countries only highlights weaknesses in legitimacy of the governments and the absence of adherence to the rule of law and process.

Media Institute of Southern Africa

Zambian court blocks deportation

Fortunately, the courts are speaking up for the journalist's rights, this time.

The Communism of Capitalism - American Paranoia

Loving American and leaving her

Flight BA 223 is the byword for the intelligence that now typifies the paralysing fear of another jet-fuelled attack on American soil by terrorists.

Cancelled, delayed and grounded for security reasons because the passenger list possibly contains the name of a toddler terrorist ready to blow up the flight with Farley's crusts dipped in milk formula.

Well, that farce accompanied the cancellation of six flights between Paris and Los Angeles over Christmas.

With all the fanfare that greeted the establishment of the mammoth department called Homeland Security, one would think the Americans have returned to their Native Indian roots.

Chief Long Tom [read as euphemism for Tom Ridge] sweeping the air waves with America's rights of sovereignty to refuse permission for flights to land if not accompanied by air marshals has also advocated screening procedures more intrusive than typical of endoscopies.

Well, one can think of over 20 places of interest in the whole wide world to visit that does not feature America. If they want to be unilateral and insular, why bother going there?

I have no sympathy for the inconvenienced so much that they express such stoicism for improved security measures at the expense of dignity, respect, courtesy and freedom.

I am having none of that.

In fact, commend Brazil for advocating retaliatory measures of screening Americans with the same ferocity. Do not forget that full-blooded Americans perpetrated the Oklahoma bombing.

That foreign terrorists abound does not mean homegrown terrorists cannot create the same havoc as September 11 and they do not have to go through airport security.

It is all a Red Herring, it is unlikely that the terrorists would attack using the same Modus Operandi, low level techniques that could easily fox the greatest intelligence collaborations do not require the sophistication of weaponry if the perpetrator is ready to give up life and livelihood.

The Petty Tyrants again

Well, nine units in five departments have yet to coordinate their watch lists of shady characters so that the child's name was confused with that of a terrorist. So, cancel six flights to press home the disarray.

Once again, what it highlights is departmental rivalries constituting little empires working against the interests of the state they represent in the quest to assume more influence.

What the simple sharing of information would save in a coordinated list approach is lost to the work of those ubiquitous petty tyrants who have no purpose than to propagate the cult of bureaucracies and red tape that infuriates right thinking people.

Hence, Senator Chuck Grassley's comments:

“Information sharing among federal agencies remains inefficient and without clear direction or leadership. Different computer systems in five departments with nine agencies and twelve watch lists have trouble exchanging information. State and local law enforcement only have about half of the information in watch lists.”

Grassley Comments on GAO Watch Lists Report

GAO Watch Lists

The threat of terrorism seems to be as effective as the act itself. The acts prove they are still about, but the threats are a life-giving force that perpetrates fear and insecurity.

Well, that is what terror is all about, inspiring fear; where fear reigns; courage, love, boldness and sound minds are slaves. [Second Book of Timothy chapter 1 verse 7 – The Bible].

One believes that reciprocity on the part of the nations of all nationals affected would expose the absurdity of the American Paranoiac age that characterizes the second Bush era reminiscence of the McCarthy witch-hunt of the 1950s.

McCarthyism and the Cold War

Joseph McCarthy

McCarthyism

The war on terrorism on American soil however typifies a witchhunt with the primary purpose of harassing and weakening the entire political opposition on the premise of protecting the citizenry. The rights forfeited in the Patriot Act are case in point.

If everyone introduced stringent security measures of screening, air marshals, no-fly zones and fully documented passenger details available to all levels of law enforcement, the might of democratic Capitalism would have succumbed to the strictures that typified Communism.

History has a way of repeating itself.

The bears are a-stirring

Back to work in 2004

Erratic sleeping patterns sometimes makes one consider vying for the helm of the Insomniacs Anonymous.

Where we can discuss all sorts of remedies for sleep or rather ways to occupy one's time once that horrid nightmare or physiological condition has jerked you awake for the fourth time in 3 hours of chicken coup head nodding slumber.

Having no screaming toddlers in the house, the annoying situation of sleep deprivation without external influence hardly prepares one or allows one to empathise in truth with regular parents who incessantly complain of sleepless nights brought on by restless sprogs in the teething stage of life, which lasts for 4 years and then another 14.

Self-medicated slumber

In years gone by in Africa, self-administering Valium as a soporific agent with aplomb raved only to arrive in the West and realise it was considered a social malady worthy of more therapy, sympathy and treatment as an addictive condition.

Sleep whilst it is good for restfulness and restoration has it dangers if one needs to escape from one's dreams. In a drug-induced state, one loses the motor functions to come out unscathed, suddenly sitting upright and breaking out in a sweat to rival Niagara on a wet morning.

Anyway, one was up at 03:00hrs by the captain's log and saw no more respite for the rest of the day. So, starts an early day when some outrageously rude ticket counter attendant tries to impose linguistic superiority on one as one asked for a monthly pass.

Modern Dutch

Dutch is hardly the language of oppression for this age, having given us the word apartheid; the proponents of the 'speak Dutch' campaign at times really expose their inability to speak English ignorance.

Bless their hearts, people need refuge where they are strong, but Amsterdam Centraal Station is hardly the Dutch outback, anyone employed at those counters should be multi-lingual or be sent to tend sheep in the far North.

Beginning the working day at 07:00hrs, two of the early-shifters were already at the call desk, and the chorus of Happy New Year greetings becomes the theme of the day, apart from recounting what one did over the holidays - at least the presentable and decent parts - too many unspeakable secrets in this life to shock the Puritans with.

Caffeine managed

By 10:00hrs, the results of a sleepless night were struggling to gain ascendancy over the awakening effects of caffeine. Caffeine advocacy by intravenous injection is becoming a marketable prospect.

Suppose each office had a Caffeine chair, very much like the chair of American expression - the Electric Chair - only this time one convulses to the influx of caffeine as it hits the heart and turns you into an a hyperactive misfit ready to wreak havoc on the day's duties - deal with the effects later.

Well, gladly the Pen Pushers Posse were not subjected to the caffeine chair, they were just coming out of hibernation, three questions in all with one email requesting information by accusing one of inaction.

Hey! Everyone wants an update, I have been away for two weeks and one is trying to catch-up with the dregs that should have died with the year just dead and gone.

Gladly, one was back home by 19:03 on the bus that detoured because, help me again, they are constructing something on that road that has seen more makeovers than a Dallas belle has.

The first working day of 2004, passed without much event, but I am glad it started with restraint.

World-stage village politics

Taking yourself off the social map

Gaining independence from the 4th of October 1830, this country struts the world-stage in many significant areas.

Initiated through their monarch the Scramble for the Partition of Africa; an historical term dignifying the 19th Century Europeans with the poise exhibited in carving up Africa.

This country now offers its capital city as the headquarters to a number of world and European organisations, a bilingual little-Stan with a big voice and presence, welcome to Belgium.

Village politics

This piece of news or rather gossip may not have made front covers but it made such interesting reading that one had to comment on the underlying issues that create such a farce.

The punch line goes "It's sad that because of village politics, the country gets ridiculed". How two senior diplomats with 37 years of combined experience could resort to this sort of petty tyranny is unfortunate but signals an opportunity for change before it gets out of hand.

Nadine Goertz reports in the New Year's print edition of Wall Street Journal Europe with the by-line "Tiff Between Belgian Diplomats Leaves Party Guests a Bit Frosted"

Diplomatic squabbles

The Kingdom of the Belgians has two top diplomats in the United States, the UN Ambassador Jean De Ruyt and the Consul General Stephane De Loecker.

It so happens that the ambassador was once the CG's boss at the UN with both of them having 20 and 17 years respectively in the Belgian diplomatic corps.

By circumstance, when the former Consul General left her post in October 2002, the ambassador who lived in an apartment near the UN moved into the more spacious Fifth Avenue location in December 2002.

This location happened to be the swanky location where the Belgians entertained important guests as is customary for its status.

Conflicting receptions

On instruction of the Belgian Foreign Ministry, the current CG was advised to organise a reception for the 15th of November commemorating the King's Day held annually in honour of the king.

Therefore, invitations went out concerning that event to the business, political, important and good friends of Belgium, and 75 in all.

As it transpired, the office of the Ambassador tried in vain to rescind all those invitations without offering an alternative venue.

On the night, being the first cold night of the winter the guests who did not receive the cancellation notice were stood at the locked gates of the venue. The doorman sticking out his head announced, "No party is going on".

Not a party to attend

Typical of what might be announced to one if trying to gatecrash a private party in some rundown location, but not when invited to a grand occasion like the Belgian King's Day in Upper East side New York offering impressive views of the Central Park from large windows.

Anyway, the guests received a letter of apology at the gates and the representatives who were summoned by the Foreign Minister to explain this debacle have since returned to their posts.

One is surprised that the real and underlying issue has not been addressed. A case of petty tyrants who having represented their country for so long, have evolved beyond understanding the privilege of representation into an embarrassment.

No scruples should have been pulled in serving them their golden parachutes and allow others who would pride themselves more in serving the country selflessly to mend the fences in this regard.

Egg on faces

The CG even had the integrity and dignity to offer his resignation, however, one's view is the Belgians are worthy of better.

We see the poise and dignity of Justine Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters and Xavier Malisse, who as individual lawn tennis sports personalities have done a lot representing their country that these diplomatic dinosaurs seem ready for fossilisation.

One has liberally quoted from Nadine Goertz's news piece, and there might be a lot more to this story than we both have access to. However, the King's Day should have been celebrated and the guests feted by both representatives at the customary venue.

It also transpires that it is in the office of the CG to invite guests to such an event, so for the ambassador to attempt rescinding the invitations was at worst cack-handed and uncivil.

Failing the first test

Whenever the differences were between the ambassador and the CG, even though the ambassador's residence is used to host these parties, which he would well be aware of, they should not have been played out on an important diplomatic occasion as this.

In fact, with 37 years between them, they had failed the first test of diplomacy or rather tact, which by the Merriman-Webster dictionary definition is - a keen sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations with others or avoid offence.

If on such a small issue they have not acquitted themselves well, they cannot handle the bigger issues of world stage politics with the panache that equates the status of Belgium.

Back to Diplomacy 101

Having served as ambassadors to Poland, NATO, Ethiopia and some other African countries between them, this one misdemeanour is too great a faux pas in these times of delicate diplomatic relations with the United States and on the issues of NATO to go without a re-schooling on what diplomacy is all about.

They have served and they should now go. It is unlikely; the renown of Belgian parties in New York would have recovered sufficiently for the same guests to grace the next King's Day celebration.

The representatives have taken Belgium off the social calendar.