Saddam's death - No open and shut case

One verdict before elections

And so they herald the sentencing of Saddam Hussein to death for the atrocities committed in Dujail, this as it appears would be by hanging when the military man would have preferred death by firing squad.

Though, cynically, this sentencing is quite aptly delivered just 2 days before the mid-term elections in the US, but it is unlikely to deliver the Republicans from the fate they would suffer in 48 hours, a possible loss of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Death before justice

As the rules of the court dictate, this sentence might be carried out in 30 days though allowing for appeals, it is unlikely that the sentence would be overturned.

The travesty of this whole matter would be that Saddam Hussein might be turning to dust long before all other atrocities are examined in the presence of the perpetrator.

Cynically, again, the people who helped draft the modus operandi of the court and its sentencing have primed this to just get rid of Saddam rather that get at the whole truth and help lead to the reconciliation of the Iraqis.

International crime in a national circus

This whole tripe about this being the ascendancy of the rule of law and the triumph of the Iraqi people cuts not muster, as one commentator said, the crimes Saddam committed were international crimes which can have been tried anywhere in the world, especially the Hague.

The charade and circus that the court had become could easily have been reminiscent of a kangaroo court, the quality of management in the court was for all intents and purposes below par, and it is arguable that any deliberation in a court where the country is in complete turmoil is tantamount to a miscarriage of justice.

All chaos after Saddam

The tyrant has been out of power for over 3 and half years, but that has not changed the life of Iraqis in terms of security, safety, infrastructure, stability or terror.

All George W. Bush has done is find another place where American blood can be shed by terrorists but not on American soil – this place is Iraq.

And I tell you this much, the death of Saddam Hussein would not quell things, before things get better, it might be that the gate of hell would be swung wider open and we all know Pandora’s box is not an open-and-shut case.

References

Saddam Hussein sentenced to death

Saddam verdict date 'rigged' for Bush

The death of Nigerian Culture begins

A man of no honour

All the clamour for the sacking of the Nigerian Aviation Minister must have been too loud for the president to ignore.

The minister himself who lacks any kind of integrity or appreciation of responsibility depicted in what others might regard as “the buck stops here”, had before the launching of an investigation into the Sunday aircrash already blamed it on pilot error.

For someone who has the academic qualifications that seems to make a mockery of anyone who deigns to call themselves a professor, it is amazing that he has no inkling of what his brief is about and how to handle his office with the panache expected of a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Obviously, I am raising the bar too high by that turn of phrase in the last paragraph because it would appear there has only been one minister ever in that country who has had the dignity to resign an appointment on a matter of principle talk less of dereliction of duty or possible criminal culpability.

Presiding over the damage of education

The problem really is that the hapless, incompetent, bumbling and sycophantic professor who as the Education Minister presided over great unrest in our education system that universities were closed for months on end due to arrant arrogance rather than conciliation and negotiation probably contributed in no small measure to ruining an already debilitated condition in our educational services.

How is it that a professor, a leader in a tertiary institution, accorded the honour of managing the educational system and raising the standards of the same; cannot seize the opportunity to make a difference for the positive?

You have to ask Professor Babalola Borishade, he must have an answer to that question.

Yet, the president kept faith in this failure and apology to progress, so rather than calling time on him, moved him to the Ministry of Aviation.

The grim-reapership of Borishade

A ministry that was in the throes of death, where the national carrier had been discredited internationally and a cabal of former ramshackle bus transport (molue – a transport contraption with a name that is the corruption of “maul it down” – depicting a lack of brakes, service or safety) entrepreneurs had moved up-market by adding wings to their molues such that they could masquerade as aircraft – aircraft rejected by madmen in the West with over 20 years service.

A molue courtesy of etomi - Just imagine this with wings

As it transpired the lack of accountability, reform, managerial responsibility and oversight under the grim-reapership of Professor Borishade created four mass coffins in 1 year and 6 days – it had become completely untenable to keep that harbinger of death in the Aviation Ministry – he just had to go – he has gone.

The death of our culture

Well, not really, he has now been moved to the Ministry of Culture – Here is to the death of culture in Nigeria – the bearer of the death mask just arrived.

I can say no more, whatever is between the president and this rotten man is definitely in need of serious scrutiny – it is more than meets the eye.

Reference

Nigerian aviation minister sacked - well, not really

Need a good joke to bury - give it to John Kerry

Education or possible cremation

Sometimes the truth is too bitter a pill to swallow. As the electioneering for the US Congress hots up and gets deep down dirty.

Senator John Kerry, the failed presidential candidate in 2004 was out campaigning and happened to be in a school where he deftly mangled what would have been a perfect criticism of the President by saying – “You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.”

Well, that does cut both ways depending on the sword and who you allow to take advantage of that weapon.

Ouch! Swing it the other way

For now, the cut which was supposed to cut down the President as being stuck in Iraq because of his inane policies is looking like the blunter edge, whilst that which portends to show soldiers being stuck in Iraq as cannon fodder because they have not been smart and well educated seems to deliver a mortal blow.

So, it has gotten downright emotive as John Kerry is getting disparaged for denigrating the service and patriotism of people serving America in an unholy war that they are not winning that has generated over 2,000 body bags and much more of the native Iraqis.

We are on the verge of trying to pull out but without the graceful means of extricating ourselves from the quagmire we willingly and consciously offered to wallow in.

Smart soldiers? Give me a break. Just a few of these smart soldiers have done well to secure the reputation and safety of our men in Iraq with Abu Ghraib and many other human rights abuses that cannot be tried by independent international courts.

The albatross of Vietnam

Well, it would appear John Kerry is not going to run into a corner and hide; he has come out firing all guns and ‘Vietnamised’ the retort.

Having expressed disgust about “Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country” [Meow!!!], now, Kerry who has served his country in uniform, with distinction and honours, he goes on to say, it is Bush and Cheney the draft ‘dodger’ who “owe our troops an apology having misled America into war”.

It is going to get awful, and it appears the first cut would probably not be the deepest, at all.

References

Bush on Kerry remark: U.S. troops are 'plenty smart'

U.S. is recruiting misfits for army / Felons, racists, gang members fill in the ranks

Ditch the plane and catch the Nigerian Choo-Choo train

The minister and the aftermath

It would appear the Nigerian Minister of Aviation who by now should have been pensioned off for incompetence at best and culpable homicide at worst has found a scapegoat for the air crash that occurred on Sunday – the pilot.

Apparently, the pilot took off against the advice of other professionals like the air traffic controllers or weather analysts.

This allows me to advance the theory that the pilot probably took off against other professional advice because of the influential passengers he was carrying who might have coerced him to move or be reported – anyway, one can only still speculate till the flight recorder black boxes reveal the conversation between cockpit and controllers as well as conditions that lead to the crash.

The carrier has lost its license to operate, even though the last time there was a crash bearing the flag of this carrier was 10 years ago.

This just would not do, we need radical action that would put the aviation industry back to a safety driven footing that instils confidence to fly in any prospective customer. It goes without saying that Professor Borisade, the Aviation Minister is incapable of pushing the necessary reform to avoid tragedies of this sort, how many more crashes caused by incompetent pilots can we afford before that reality dawns.

However, as we mourn the loss of the departed and attempt to give succour to the survivors, there seems to be some good news on today.

Choo-choo coming home

Nigeria has signed an $8 million contract with the Chinese to design, construct and maintain a 1,315km/822 mile railway line from Lagos to Kano – God knows that having this kind of infrastructure would do wonders for the Nigerian economy.

A second phase would be a line from Port Harcourt to Jos, this would appear like a second line without a link to the first.

I remember that the existing railway system was like an inverted Y, with people going to the East of Nigeria having to travel up North to Kaduna and then down to the South-East.

From the map below, I have suggested a better plan.

Map of Nigeria - Courtesy UNODC - unfortunately.

I think we need a triangular system which has Lagos, Kano and Calabar as the termini, then an inverted triangle which has Port Harcourt, Sokoto and Maiduguru as the other termini. Minna and Jalingo could then be at the intersections, if not a direct line between those two cities that would go through Abuja and Jos.

This is a simple serviette paper design of a system that could become the engine of development, if the politics is kept out of the need for the rail to pass through the hamlet of some influential man whilst it would be better for it to pass through a town of less influential people.

The news takes the weekend off in Nigeria

News takes the weekend off

What really goes on in that country? That is the question I had on my mind this morning as I looked for local information about the air crash that took the lives of prominent citizens of Nigeria; the spiritual head of Nigerian Muslims and his son and grandson.

Going to the Nigerian government website, the latest press release is dated the 27^th of October, in the midst of the fact that we had a major tragedy on the 29^th of October – the news probably takes the weekend off and does not get paid overtime.

The Ministry of Aviation has no news on the crash the page about the Aviation Industry in Nigeria shows a blank – I am not surprised, there is nothing to write home about with the incompetent professor in charge who has had nothing to show than preside over the increase of flying coffins masquerading as aircraft.

Then, I clicked on the link to the NTA, the premier television and news station, whilst expecting what they published as Click here to Watch the most current NTA network news, only to end up with a News Extra programme recorded on the 25^th of October, 5 days earlier.

Whilst we wait for the governmental news services to catch up with events, those who died, especially the Muslims are long dead and buried.

No voting advice for our Dear Dutch Leader

Tell me who

The Dutch political season in readiness for the November 22^nd elections continues apace with the launch of StemWijzer (Dutch). StemWijzer is an online voters’ advisory that poses questions to the participant to help them determine if they are conservative, liberal, libertarian, socialist, communist or whatever political shade you might be, it now has a more European outlook called VoteMatch.

Then it advises on which of the 26 or so parties the participant should vote for at election, offering second and third choices depending on how the questions are answered.

As I have lamented before, our Western democracies are failing because of the failure of education and the lack of understanding of how to read party policies and ideologies and how to match that with personal political slant and thinking.

People think they are liberal and end up being classified as intolerant and right-wing, some who are right-wing end up in another political spectrum, how does one begin to appreciate ones political temperament and convert that into an effective democratic voice?

Bad system or lacking an ideology

Worse still is when StemWijzer cannot offer an opinion as what party you can vote for, when this happens to the person who has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands for the past four years, questions should be asked.

The Prime Minister is leader of the right of centre CDA, which would be nominally conservative, could it be that Stemwijzer is seriously flawed or we have a leadership without an ideology?

I do not have to answer that question because the Prime Minister himself says and I quote, “StemWijzer provided good support for people in making a well-motivated choice”. But for some reason, StemWijzer could not even find a neutral or nonchalant choice for our Dear Leader.

Other leaders like the leader of the Liberal party (VVD) was advised to vote for the progressive-liberal D66. The leader of the Labour Party (PVDA) however, was true to his party and ideology – he probably should be the next Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

References

Dutch election news - Part I

The veil amongst Christians

The head scarf debate

As we settle into what would be a debate for a long time in the West about head scarves, veils, the hijab, coverings and exposures, I remember quite poignantly that this debate has been around for quite a while.

Some 20-something years ago, this debate was going around in evangelical circles, this was not just contentious but frustrating that what was so explicitly discussed in the Bible still left some selecting what they wanted to believe to support their prejudices.

Not, only so, people of other religions also select portions of biblical scripture to support their views completely out of context of the truth that was being portrayed.

Selecting Bible choice cuts

In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:3-16 (King James Version), gives the complete low-down on this issue, but it would take an open mind and fresh eyes to appreciate the context and direction of this passage.

The keys to this discourse are in verses 3 and 16, but the 3^rd verse usually gets misunderstood and the 16^th verse conveniently left out of the discourse for reasons I can never understand.

I would take particular verses and break them down for the purposes of furthering this debate, there are other meanings with regards to relationships in here, which I would not cover, but I would clearly contextualise because it is used to foster abuse.

Separating every man from the husband

3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

What we need to note here is the article and possession, it says the head of every man is Christ, however, NOT that the head of every woman is man.

The woman using the definite article pertains to a single woman in relationship to a man, her husband. Every man anywhere cannot just lord it over any woman, he can only do that, in a relationship that is a marriage.

In another blog, on the more emotive issue of wife-battering, I covered how the husband has to be as selfless as Christ to be able to exercise any kind of authority where they believe themselves to masters of their homes and be able to throw their weight around the place.

What is clear is a woman outside the relationship of marriage automatically has Christ as her head, when she has her man, the dynamic of headship changes to her husband.

It is a difficult one, but man in general consists first of male and female; in this case, there is no conferment of the complete servitude of the female sex to any to every man born on earth – it would be illogical.

Traditions and customs might support this dynamic of making all women in society less of the male, but it is not supported in Christianity to give man husband-status to every woman except his truly wedded wife.

Who covers whom?

4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

Here, it is clear that this refers to man as male.

5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

This uses every woman, but the possibility of two heads, if unmarried, her head is Christ and if married her head is her husband – NOT every man.

6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

If a woman would not cover her head, she should shave, but if shaving is considered a shame, she should then cover her head.

7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

Once again, the definite article is here, the woman (wife) is the glory of the man (husband). We do not go around presenting every woman as our wife, rather, there is one woman who takes that pride of place, and we adorn her and present her with pride and honour her with love and devotion.

8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.

9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

This takes us back to the Adam and Eve story, where Eve was crafted from the rib of Adam as his helper and companion. The definite article also features here – the man (husband) and the woman (wife).

The woman’s prerogative

10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

Now, this fouls up every authority man tries to exercise over the woman because it says it is the prerogative of the woman to decide on whether to cover her head or not. There is no duty of man to impose this on the woman.

This is usually read as the man ought to have power of the head of every woman and force them to appear in a wifely role or subservient role.

For many, the Scripture ENDS here, reading any further is too inconvenient.

Co-dependence of the sexes and equality

11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

Equality in the church and equality before God, so where did all this male domination come from?

So, no one would like to read beyond verse 10 because to serious home truths break down the male domination fortress.

13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

Well, this is question of traditions and customs; there are places where women can be covered and others where woman do not get covered – debate.

The long hair day

14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

Touché – men with long hair have no say in this matter, they need to deal with their issues.

15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

Oh! Apostle Paul does begin to complicate issues by clarifying them. There is a separation between the head and the hair introduced from verse 14 and the reference is now to long hair.

It appears, if a woman has long hair, she already has a covering for her head – it is a no-brainer that hair does grow out of the head - she does not need an artificial covering like a scarf.

Well, why do we have all this fuss about scarves when the hair already covers the head?

16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

If this becomes a contentious topic, drop it, we have not taken on any traditions or customs of head covering, hair covering or even male domination – it is not the way of the church.

And all the men say … Amen!