GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

NAOMI OSAKA SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACCOMMODATED BY THE FRENCH OPEN.

ICHEOKU says by forcing her out of the French Open tennis tournament, the organizers have shown that they really do not care about the welfare of players but only cares about promoting their event through media publicity. Why should Naomi Osaka not have the power to refuse to speak with the media or simply reserve her right not to engage with them. Majority of them are fake news anyway and will as always partially report what she says, regardless; just to remain sensational and keep their bottomline healthy. 

Why should any reasonable person, including someone who is ordinarily not comfortable with speaking with the media, be compelled to face her worst fears and when she couldn't, was fined and threatened with more sanctions, which forced her to excuse herself from a tournament which she could have won handily, thereby foregoing millions of dollars in winning prize money, loyalties and advertisements fees, which would have come her way as a result Why did the organizers of the French Open respond the in the manner they did and not try to first find out why she is not comfortable with speaking with the media once she announced the planned boycott. Instead, they proceeded to fine her and threaten her with other punishments, including disqualification and a permanent banned from all future competitions. 

What if she is camera and publicity shy and would rather not be caught flatfooted, mumbling words in front of the world or even completely freezing up in front of the media. What if she has some speech disorder such as glossophobia, selective mutism or even social/media anxiety disorder which she has not previously disclosed. What if none of the above was the case and a pure desire not to engage with the media informed her decision to boycott them. Why must it be an added responsibility for an athlete to speak with the media, what if the athlete does not know how to speak in public before so many cameras and lights; or does not want to speak at all or is  not in the mood to engage the media. Why the media engagement compulsion?

ICHEOKU says the tournament should have focused more attention on an athlete's performance rather then her thought process as the French Open competition is to showcase her prowess and not to psychoanalyze her. Why is what she would have said more important than how she would have played in the competition, her first game considered. Why was the media not made to figure the rest out and treat it like beauty which is in the eyes of the beholder. Now that she has been forced to come out as a mental health sufferer and tell the world that her decision to avoid the media was mental health based, what will the organizers who boxed her into the corner, say to millions of people world over who are afflicted with one form of mental health challenge or the other. That they should not participate in tournaments simply because they cannot simultaneously be public relations experts for the tournament. 

Why do companies and corporations have PR departments instead of their CEO always opining on matters affecting companies in their interactions with the media on how their companies are faring and performing? To compel someone who prepared and trained for the French Open to abandon ship just because she is not comfortable speaking with the media is too drastic and callous. Why punish such a superstar who would have delivered her A game simply because she cannot stand the media, which increases her anxiety disorder. Then to add insult to the injury, the heartless French Open fined her thousands of dollars and threatened her with disqualification and permanent ban from all future tournaments which forced her to withdraw from the tournament. 

That the French Open could be so mean speaks volume about who they are and what they really care for. They have warped priorities and they are definitely not mental health friendly. Why did they go so hard on Naomi Osaka or is it possible because she does not have the "right" skin color? If she were white, would they not have done everything possible to meet her half way to explore possible accommodations? Afterall she announced that she will be boycotting the media ahead of the competition and provided the organizers with ample time to explore what is possible under the circumstance. They could have found her a psychologist to evaluate her and then determine what other options are available. What if she has aphasia or is even dumb? Does it mean that a person who is speech impaired cannot be a tennis player. They could have had the media submit their questions in advance and have her submit her written answers as handouts. 

It is unfortunate that the French Open have lost its best promise for a great competition and with her now gone, the light has dimmed on the tournament. ICHEOKU and millions of others, especially in Japan and other Asian countries who were previously rooting for their own Naomi Osaka and enthusiastically watching and following the French Open, will now definitely tune off as the reason for the season has been canceled out of the competition. It was such a disgrace that the organizers of the French Open did not to do all they could have done to mitigate the Naomi Osaka's media problem and instead, went the harshest route possible to punish her with fines and threats of disqualification and ban from all future competitions. It is not the right way to go and their approach and methodology are cruel and lacks a human face. In short, they are heartless. The French Open is anti disability and punishes mental health issues. It is sad. #StandWithNaomiOsaka.

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