UVALDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: MASS SHOOTING NOT EXCLUSIVELY A WHITE SCOURGE.

ICHEOKU says every too often white people are singled out and pilloried each time a white knucklehead loses his mind and murders people, branding such an incident as evidence of white supremacy hate-filled rage against the unfolding displacement of white people in "their" own America. Why does the media selectively deride white shooters and somewhat tepidly mention the color of the skin of other shooters who are none white. Why are these colored shooters, including Asians, Blacks and as in the case of the Uvalde elementary school mass shooter, Hispanics, usually given a near pass in media chastisement, while their white counterparts are repeatedly singled out for sledge hammering. 

An agenda driven media bent on pushing their "hate white people" narrative, thus pushing Americans further apart and into their respective corners and enclaves where they usually retreat for safety and succor. How can we continue to maintain the "United" in the United States of America when the media continuously polarizes us and pitches other races against just one other? To these anti white people biased media, ICHEOKU says white people are not the only mass shooters in America, so please stop demonizing them.   

The fact of the matter is that guns do not fire themselves to kill people, demented people pull the triggers of guns to kill people. Therefore, instead of always complaining about guns or the need to unravel our constitutional right to bear arms, we should refocus our anti mass shootings effort at finding these threats before they actually take place. Like Trevor Noah once said, Americans are angry people; but why are they so angry and why does some of them take their anger to such a despicable level of heartlessly committing mass murders? Why are these irate Americans not discovered before they put their evil machination into action; and are there subtle warning signs which are too often either ignored or not seen as actionable threats which would have otherwise led to preventing these hurtful acts.

ICHEOKU does not own a gun and never liked nor desired one, admitted having handled guns way back, many moons ago. But the right of those gun loving Americans to bear arms should never be compromised simply because of the devious acts of a very negligible few who chose to put guns into a wrong use. It is akin to attacking the messenger instead of the message as guns do not fire by themselves. The issue is not the guns but those who misuse guns; and we should refocus our attention on the fight against gun violence on this particular distinction. It is a more sensible path to follow if we sincerely and honestly hope to, some day, find a resolution to the never ending cycle of gory gifts from hell which nobody ever seeks nor welcomes; but which are frequently dumped on our laps, leaving a brooding nation which appears to be hopelessly without an answer to them.

Since the Buffalo Top's Grocery Store shooting by a demented 18 year old white guy, there has been several other shootings in America which were perpetrated by other races. There was the Southern California church shooting by a Chinese American lunatic; there was the New York subway shooting by a black American reprobate and of course the mother of all these latest shootings being by a Hispanic malcontent in Uvalde Texas which claimed the lives of 19 elementary school children and two of their teachers. 

But regardless of the number of casualties involved in each mass shooting or the prevalence of a certain race in committing these mass shootings, the unlawful taking of another person's life is callous and evil. It is condemnable and should be condemned by all, regardless of their politics or stand on gun availability in America and whether a revisit should be made to the 2nd amendment. ICHEOKU heretofore condemns gun violence in America and calls for a more meaningful approach towards ending it or at least curbing it. A wholesome and concerted focus should be placed on finding these animals before they unleash their mayhem on innocent American people, particularly kids sent to school to learn and grow. 

The media should also endeavor to curb their enthusiasm of sowing discord and chaos in America, and stop holding out only white people as the reason for the season of gun violence in America; or portraying white people as the people who use gun to kill other people in their rage against a threatening white displacement in America. People are angry, discontent, anxious and afraid; and many are walking gingerly on a hair-trigger, ready, willing and able to lash out at the slightest tip over and unleash heart-wrecking havoc on people. How we can find these people who are already dangling on the edge before they finally tip over should be our collective concern and responsibility, instead of needlessly stoking the already charged atmosphere of our competitive living together as Americans from diverse backgrounds, politics, race and religion. 

It is sad that another senseless mass shooting took place in America and sadder that innocent elementary school children and two of their teachers have now been another statistics to Americans who lost their lives to a fellow citizen through gun violence. May the souls of those killed, including that of the restless gun man, now rest; and to their families, the fortitude to cope with such a humongous tragic loss. ICHEOKU says cannot even imagine the gravity of the trauma of dropping one's kids off at school in the morning, only to be hit with such devastating news that one imbecilic monster came into the school and killed them. 

A country which is currently spending so much to stop Russia's mad Putin from killing Ukrainian children, cannot show the same urgency of now to help stop the carnage of gun violence killing their own people, particularly innocent school children. A misplaced priority indeed, thanks to the Military Industrial Complex which profits like bandits in a more elaborate oversea's enterprise of selling and supplying their weapons of death in foreign wars. But hey, it is America and it is all about the Benjamins, as we now wait and brace ourselves for another one of such incidents before too long. Buffalo just happened and now the Uvalde Texas, and there will be many more as those looking into the mystical glass telescope sees no end in sight. It is quite unfortunate indeed. 

SHIREEN ABU AKLEH: WHY SHE WAS KILLED.

ICHEOKU says the Al Jazeera veteran reporter was not killed because she is a Palestine or because she is a female journalist. No, she was killed for the same reason journalists are killed all over the world, be it in Nigeria, Cyprus, Malta, Mexico, Ukraine, Russia or in the case of Wikileaks Julian Assange who is desperately wanted by the American government for a elimination, albeit technically, through a long prison sentence. Shireen Abu Akleh was killed to silence her, period. She was a threat to what is, an establishment increasingly feeling threatened and vulnerable to her reportage and they marked her for elimination. Time and opportunity perfectly intersected and she was summarily eliminated, case closed. 

The cardinal rule of life is to endeavor to stay alive no matter what because when one is dead it is over. Dead people do not bite nor threaten anyone, the reason adversaries are always quick to eliminate their foes in order to solve their problem of insecurity. Shireen Abu Akleh was speaking truth to power and the power were feeling discontent with her stories about the unending struggle, repression and near complete paralysis and asphyxiation of life in Palestine. The world was listening and paying attention to her stories and was beginning to seek the most effective solution a problem, which many have described as and likened to the then South African apartheid which eventually tumbled down. 

So, naturally, any seriously minded government of Israel will not stand hands akimbo and watch as an "ordinary" journalist, whose weapon of war were merely her voice and camera which were wreaking havoc to the structural fabric of what is. A decision was reached that a calculated risk of her elimination will be better than to continue suffering the hemorrhage which her reportage is causing to Israel's government's reputation and image. She is now dead and buried and gone and her voice permanently silenced forever and no more a threat to what is. 

The message has been effectively delivered, communicated to all other journalists who might be thinking about following in her footsteps that a similar fate awaits them should they dare. Now, they would be constantly shadowed by the fate which befell her and will most likely cautiously hedge their reportage accordingly in order to avoid meeting the same fate. It is the hazard of the profession, especially when one wants to live true to the tenets of the profession by treading where angels fear to walk. Not even her United States citizenship could protect her from harm for her sin of being a journalist speaking truth to power.

In Mexico over one hundred journalists have been killed in the recent past. In Nigeria, journalist Dele Giwa was blown up with a parcel bomb. In Cyprus a female journalist was blown up in a car bomb and in Russia, journalists are eliminated in various ways. In Malta journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was blown up in her car. In Kiev a journalist Pavei Sheremet was blown up in his car. In Jenini Shireen Abu Akleh was eliminated through a well placed sniper's bullet to the forehead, admitted, the story making rounds was that a Palestine's militant bullet killed her and that she died in a crossfire shootout. But whether the fatal bullet came from one side or the other, the fundamental is that she has been silenced and cannot pose any threat anymore, mission accomplished. 

ICHEOKU says it was laughable hearing Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas' statement that he will drag the Israeli government to the World Court in The Hague for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. Except that it is a pep talk to a grieving nation of Palestine and the bereaved family of the slain journalist in particular, what does the Palestine leader expect would be the outcome of such a wasteful exercise. Does the Palestine president expect Israel which does not even care about the United Nations and their resolutions to now tremble because of a threat to drag them to the World Court. 

The Israel/Palestine conflict will outlive the world as it is intractable and unresolvable. It has been around for thousands of years and it is not going to simply disappear now. The only meaningful opportunity for a final resolution of the conflict came following the Oslo Accord in 1993 when former President Bill Clinton successfully brokered a deal between then Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzahk Rabin but which was eventually reneged on. The Israel leader was later assassinated by an Israeli extremist as a result and Arafat was also allegedly assassinated through radioactive poisoning. 

A two States solution is not agreeable to Israel which also rejects a one State solution that will see Palestine fully integrated into Israel. While the fear of Israel of becoming a minority in a fully integrated Palestine Israel is obvious and meritorious, Israel's also rejection of a two States is somewhat irrational as Israel, by necessary implication of rejecting the two proffered solutions, apparently does not want to see the problem solved. The fact of the matter is that the two nations are here to stay as none of them can completely eliminate the other or deprive each other the right to co-exist alongside. 

The only decision available to both of them is to decide how they will continue to live, either peacefully or in a constant state of apprehension, restiveness and periodic skirmishes and wars. The Bible placed both of them in that region and none of them is going anywhere soon or yielding the place for the other. Israel is having their way currently because of their military superiority and Washington DC support. But do Israelis want to live their lives forever like this because as for the Palestines, they have resolved to dig in and have somewhat grown used to their suffering deprivation. They have practically lost everything and have nothing more to lose but their Palestine identity. 

Only Washington DC could pressure Israel into a concession that would yield a final resolution but the Jewish lobby is too powerful and easily strong-arms any politician who dares to assert the need for reaching a final resolution; and the voice of the SQUAD and particularly, member, radical Palestine Michigan Congresswoman Rashib Tahlaib is rather too shrill to move anything. Anyway  may the soul of slain Al Jazeera journalist and reporter extraordinaire Shireen Abu Akleh now rest. She is probably at peace now that her torture, seeing the suffering of her Palestine people, is finally over for her.  It is sad.

A SACRED OATH BY MARK ESPER: JUST ANOTHER BOOK OF DISTORTED FACTS.

ICHEOKU says ironically he titled his book "A Sacred Oath" but purposefully forgot or rather chose to ignore that his oath of office as Secretary of Defense included an implicit obligation to keep sacred all private and personal communications which his privileged position availed him. But he is another rat who wanted to profit from the Trump-bashing business and has now ratted against his former mentor and boss for a mere 30 shekels of silver. 

His greed for quick bucks and the crave for his own fifteen minutes of fame or rather shame made him join other despicable former Trump appointees by publishing his own version of regurgitates. By so doing, Mark Esper has now added himself to the trashy heap of disgruntled, fired, former employees who were out to get even with their former boss. Like others before him who have since fizzled out following their outing of shame,  his latest enterprise will also meet the same fate.

ICHEOKU says does not care a hoot whether or not his trashy recollections contain some modicum of facts and  truths; the fact that such a person, who enjoyed such a highly privileged position under a president who trusted him enough to so appoint him, could not contain himself and curb his enthusiasm of joining the wanna-be Trump-bashing leeches is rather very disgusting. It is sad but sadder that America politics has become such a cesspool of back stabbers who do not keep confidences. How does the Mark Espers of this world expect any future American president, particularly a Republican president since Democratic presidents do not usually suffer similar betrayal, to trust anyone to share confidences. 

Anyway, the best treatment for such ratatouilles is to ignore them, boycott their piece of trashy book and abort their quest for fame and/or notoriety by not doing them the honors of buying their book. ICHEOKU will neither waste a dime on the book  nor spend any valuable time reading it; and wishes every decent American not to enrich the ratty former defense secretary with their hard earned money buying the book. Such an action would go a long way in deterring and discouraging any such future betrayal of confidence and prevent rats from profiteering from their time in office by revealing private confidences shared with them by a president who trusted them enough to appoint them into office. It is very unfortunate indeed. Et tu Esper!

PUTIN PUNCTURED THE BUBBLE OF RUSSIA'S INVINCIBILITY: RECOVERY WILL BE ARDOUS.

ICHEOKU says it reminds one of the biblical lamentations of David in 2 Samuel 1:20 following the slaying of Saul and Jonathan on the mountains of Gilboa. Is "tell it not in Garth, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph", the fate which now awaits Russia? Has Russia been slain, lost its former glory as a worthy military adversary? Are foes of Russia and those in competition for world domination with Russia now about to rejoice in their triumph over Russia? 

Where is Russia's David that will mourn since China's President Xi Jinping is not ready to play the role? A cunning, very shrewd man who is more worried about his 1.6 billion domestic troubles and possible confrontation with America's led West over Taiwan than to spend his capital on being in lockstep with Russia. President Vladimir Putin thought that he had a friend in Beijing but has since sorely found out that self preservation is the first rule of nature, and that in international relations, every country places their own wellness above any other thing including having friendly relations with other countries. 

As a result, Putin has found himself all alone on the lonely highway of world's isolation as a pariah and he must be privately regretting his obtuseness in proceeding with the invasion of Ukraine, admitted, he maintains a straight face when the camera is recording. It is now he against the world and as an African proverb or saying goes, when a single person cooks for the public they can easily finish the meal; but when the public cooks for a single person, it is extremely difficult and an impossibility to finish the meal. This is the fate of Putin and he is no longer smiling. His end is near, very near indeed. His presidency, freedom and/or even his life are all at stake because going back to the default status-quo ante is not an option. 

More than 78 days into the war, the story does not look good for Russia as it is unable to conquer and vanquish its smaller neighboring country Ukraine, leaving many pundits wondering how Russia would otherwise fare in a war with a much stronger formidable adversary such as the United States of America or the coalition of the willing nations aka NATO? If its performance index in the current war with Ukraine is so glaringly below par, imagine what the ratio would be in a war with America or the broader NATO, including such countries as Turkey, Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, as well as other smaller countries that constitute NATO joining forces to fight Russia. 

If there is anything known as a clear case of an "ass whooping", such a war would eminently so qualify as the balance of hostilities would be greatly tilted against Russia. Even their nuclear arsenal will not be able to save them as they can only destroy so much before they are completely wiped off the face of the earth in a collective retaliatory strikes by all the nuclear power countries that make up NATO. So, conventional weapons it will be and the unfolding evidence in Ukraine shows that they are not heavily adept and fares badly in that department. 

In fact, it does not even really matter what they called it, whether a "Special Military Operation" or by its correct name, WAR; their weapons are being destroyed and their soldiers are being killed in unfathomably very large numbers, both indications of a war which is not going so well for them. They have not shown any special skills in the fields of battle nor displayed stellar ability as a fighting military force to reckon with. Ukraine is still standing tall fighting, regardless of their obvious  disproportional deficits in military personnel and weapons, and faced with a hitherto much touted "world military superpower".  But not anymore as Russia has been unmasked by the current war in Ukraine as a great pretender and at best, a hollowed out, spent-force of its former reputation as a military superpower. 

Was this loss of fortune avoidable, you bet they were. But an egotistical maniac who thought that he has intimidated the West into a cowering corner and that an abandoned Ukraine would tremblingly surrender to his columns of armored tanks, rudely found out that things are not always what they seem; and that war fortunes could easily turn on a dial and mire a once "superpower" in a quicksand, staring at a defeat. As development shows, the war in Ukraine might eventually swallow the once reputed mighty army of the world and consign Russia into history as a "once upon a time" military might. 

Regardless of how the hostilities in Ukraine eventually conclude, Russia has been demystified as not as strong militarily, as it was once feared. It is a great disservice to mother Russia's military veil and only President Vladimir Putin is to blame for piercing it; and by doing so, he brought a great odium to mother Russia's reputation and respectability as a military force to fear. A smarter Putin would have yielded to the world's plea not to invade Ukraine or beaten a fast one thereafter, so soon following the first wave of attacks, hanging such a decision on the peace talk it held with Ukraine. He did not listen and now he is going down with the sinking Russia into the abyss of a despicable human.

President Vladimir Putin miscalculated and it has backfired. He took off the mask of the masquerade and revealed that Russia is but a clay-foot military giant. This will haunt Russia for many years to come and like Germany's forced surrender, the terms of forgiving Russia will be very steep. It might also include getting rid of Vladimir Putin as Russian leader, prosecuting and locking him away for good as a bloodthirsty vampiric war criminal. It is sad how Russia has been demystified and sadder that it was a self-inflicted hurt and only one man named Vladimir Putin was responsible for it. What a shame. 

VLADIMIR PUTIN HAS ALREADY LOST THE WAR IN UKRAINE - YUVAL NOAH HARARI

Less than a week into the war, it seems increasingly likely that Vladimir Putin is heading towards a historic defeat. He may win all the battles but still lose the war. Putin’s dream of rebuilding the Russian empire has always rested on the lie that Ukraine isn’t a real nation, that Ukrainians aren’t a real people, and that the inhabitants of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv yearn for Moscow’s rule. That’s a complete lie – Ukraine is a nation with more than a thousand years of history, and Kyiv was already a major metropolis when Moscow was not even a village. But the Russian despot has told his lie so many times that he apparently believes it himself. 

When planning his invasion of Ukraine, Putin could count on many known facts. He knew that militarily Russia dwarfs Ukraine. He knew that NATO would not send troops to help Ukraine. He knew that European dependence on Russian oil and gas would make countries like Germany hesitate about imposing stiff sanctions. Based on these known facts, his plan was to hit Ukraine hard and fast, decapitate its government, establish a puppet regime in Kyiv, and ride out the western sanctions. 

But there was one big unknown about this plan. As the Americans learned in Iraq and the Soviets learned in Afghanistan, it is much easier to conquer a country than to hold it. Putin knew he had the power to conquer Ukraine. But would the Ukrainian people just accept Moscow’s puppet regime? Putin gambled that they would. After all, as he repeatedly explained to anyone willing to listen, Ukraine isn’t a real nation, and the Ukrainians aren’t a real people. In 2014, people hardly resisted the Russian invaders. Why should 2022 be any different? 

With each passing day, it is becoming clearer that Putin’s gamble is failing. The Ukrainian people are resisting with all their hearts, winning the admiration of the entire world – and winning the war. Many dark days lie ahead. The Russians may still conquer the whole of Ukraine. But to win the war, the Russians would have to hold Ukraine, and they can do that only if the Ukrainian people let them. This seems increasingly unlikely to happen. 

Each Russian tank destroyed and each Russian soldier killed increases the Ukrainians’ courage to resist. And each Ukrainian killed deepens the Ukrainians’ hatred of the invaders. Hatred is the ugliest of emotions. But for oppressed nations, hatred is a hidden treasure. Buried deep in the heart, it can sustain resistance for generations. To reestablish the Russian empire, Putin needs a relatively bloodless victory that will lead to a relatively hateless occupation. By spilling more and more Ukrainian blood, Putin is making sure his dream will never be realised. It won’t be Mikhail Gorbachev’s name written on the death certificate of the Russian empire: it will be Putin’s. Gorbachev left Russians and Ukrainians feeling like siblings; Putin has turned them into enemies, and has ensured that the Ukrainian nation will henceforth define itself in opposition to Russia.

Nations are ultimately built on stories. Each passing day adds more stories that Ukrainians will tell not only in the dark days ahead, but in the decades and generations to come. The president who refused to flee the capital, telling the US that he needs ammunition, not a ride; the soldiers from Snake Island who told a Russian warship to “go fuck yourself”; the civilians who tried to stop Russian tanks by sitting in their path. This is the stuff nations are built from. In the long run, these stories count far more than tanks. 

The Russian despot should know this as well as anyone. As a child, he grew up on a diet of stories about German atrocities and Russian bravery in the siege of Leningrad. He is now producing similar stories, but casting himself in the role of Hitler. 

The stories of Ukrainian bravery give resolve not only to the Ukrainians, but to the whole world. They give courage to the governments of European nations, to the US administration, and even to the oppressed citizens of Russia. If Ukrainians dare to stop a tank with their bare hands, the German government can dare to supply them with some anti-tank missiles, the US government can dare to cut Russia off SWIFT, and Russian citizens can dare to demonstrate their opposition to this senseless war. 

We can all be inspired to dare to do something, whether it is make a donation, welcome refugees, or help with the struggle online. The war in Ukraine will shape the future of the entire world. If tyranny and aggression are allowed to win, we will all suffer the consequences. There is no point to remain just observers. It’s time to stand up and be counted. 

Unfortunately, this war is likely to be long-lasting. Taking different forms, it may well continue for years. But the most important issue has already been decided. The last few days have proved to the entire world that Ukraine is a very real nation, that Ukrainians are a very real people, and that they definitely don’t want to live under a new Russian empire. The main question left open is how long it will take for this message to penetrate the Kremlin’s thick walls.

IT'S TIME TO BOMB MOSCOW: IT WILL RESONATE.

ICHEOKU says with nothing more to lose, Ukraine should fire some of their Neptune missiles right into Moscow and in that way, effectively communicate to Russians that a war is going on between their two countries. If Ukraine could sink the Russian cruiser Moskva, they can also similarly do some substantial damage inside Russia, including in Moscow and the Kremlin. All Ukraine has to do is to direct as many random missiles as possible into Russia and let them fall wherever they may, kill as many Russians as possible, destroy and damage as many Russian buildings and other infrastructures as possible and that way effectively communicate to Russians that they are at war with Ukraine. 

It definitely does not make any sense whatsoever that Russia is destroying Ukraine and all Ukraine could do is whine about it, giving speeches, begging for weapons and not directly taking the war to Russians. What else do they have to lose when practically all their major cities have been consigned to ruination, completely destroyed by Russian bombardment? Russia has already done worse, so what else is Ukraine afraid of by maintaining their gun-shy reluctance to take the war to Russians inside Russia? That is the only natural way the ongoing war will ever be effective as both sides should feel the pain in equal measure.

Such action will send a strong message to those Russians trapped behind the newly drawn shut Putin's Iron curtain and living in limbo of information blackout, that a real hot war is going on inside Ukraine between Russia and Ukraine. Also, that their government in the Kremlin is lying to them about the nature of their so-called "Special military operations" in Ukraine as thousands of people are being killed and billions of dollars worth of properties and infrastructures are equally being destroyed. Further, that the war was unprovoked, premeditated and otherwise avoidable, but was forced upon Ukraine by President Vladimir Putin.

Russians inside Russia should be made to experience the same pain and suffering, mental anguish, frustration, trauma and anxiety which Ukrainians are presently living with. They should be made to taste the pudding which the Kremlin is serving Ukrainians as that will make them to know and appreciate what Ukraine has been forced to live with since February 24, 2022. It is the only meaningful way to drive the message home to Russians since their government would not allow them to know the true nature of their special military operations in Ukraine. Ukraine should destroy buildings, bridges and other public infrastructures inside Russia; kill some Russians and also create panic and anxiety among the Russian public. 

But as long as Ukraine is playing the victim and on bended knees, begging Russia to show them mercy and stop killing their people and destroying Ukraine, that long will Russia remain embolden to continue to take liberty at what they are doing in Ukraine, ruthlessly and heartlessly killing Ukrainians and destroying Ukraine, one city at a time. Ukraine is dangerously hamstrung in their response to the Russian aggression by indecisiveness and overthinking of possible Russian reaction, should they adopt a more aggressive posture towards Russia. This hedging of bets posture is not good for Ukraine because in war, making decisions is imperative as everything is fair that leads to a resolution of the conflict. 

The moment Russia begins to take casualties and watch their buildings and infrastructures destroyed inside Russia, they will be forced to a quick negotiated resolution of the conflict. But if the balance of terror remains one sided, they will not be incentivized to seek an immediate resolution of the conflict. The idea that one country will be destroying another country and the victim country cannot or at least try to destroy any reachable part of the aggressing country, simply dumbfounds many people including ICHEOKU. What else would such a bullying country Russia fear that will force them to change course if their citizens are shielded and protected from the vagaries of the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

Even those who planned the Ukraine response to the Russian aggression failed to take into cognizance that the best defense is a well orchestrated offense. Ukraine has nothing to lose at this stage of near complete annihilation by Russia rockets, bombs and missiles. Ukraine should therefore up the ante, escalate the conflict by firing their Neptune missiles and whatever other ballistic projectiles that are available to them right into Russia. Just take the war to the next level and let anarchy be brought down on Russians. Hopefully one of such missiles would hit a very consequential target inside Russia just like the cruiser Moskva and let the balance of terror gap between the two countries begin to close up a little bit. 

Ukraine has thus far practically lost everything to Russia's destructive missiles and unceasing bombardments and should therefore fear nothing more going forward. They should now possess the mindset of a suicide bomber and adopt terror as their best instrument of warfare in reteriating against the Russian aggression. If they could muster the courage, they send suicide bombers into the streets of Moscow and Saint Petersburg to detonate themselves, killing Russians and creating uneasiness within Russia. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are being killed by Russians, tens of thousands of buildings and other infrastructure in Ukraine are being destroyed by Russians; and all Ukraine could do is to second-guess what Russia could possibly do in reaction to Ukraine taking the war into Russia. Really? 

ICHEOKU associates with the statement of encouragement that Ukraine should start striking assets within Russia's mainland as legitimate targets of a war. If Ukrainians civilians are dying, being killed by Russian artillery and bombardments, Russian civilians inside Russia should also be legitimate marked targets for being killed as well by Ukraine bombardments and air strikes. If Ukraine infrastructures are being destroyed by Russian bombardments, so should Russia infrastructures also be targeted for destruction as well. Ukraine has nothing to lose and they should strike at the heart of Russia now when they still has Western support

There is nothing wrong in such a response to Russia's continued bombardment or that would suggest that it will amount to testing Russia's patience. If Russia drops the n-bomb as a result, there will be repercussions. Hiroshima and Nagaski survived and so will Ukraine. If Russia targets decision making centers in Kiyv with missile strikes, let their own decision making centers in Moscow and the Kremlin be similarly targeted. Enough of the Ukraine victimhood and being needlessly at the receiving end of Russia's destructive bombardments. What other response from Russia would be worse than what Ukraine has already been subjected to. What Is the use of the $3 billion security assistance from the West if Moscow has not come under scorching fire from the skies above. #BombMoscowNow!

WHITE HOUSE HAS A NEW PRESS SECRETARY, KARINE JEAN PIERRE: HURRAY!

ICHEOKU says in addition to whatever other qualifications she might parade which made her the most qualified and the best choice to replace the outgoing and MSNBC bound "circle-back" Jane Psaki, she also checked all the relevant boxes necessarily required by the far left liberal anarchists for securing a job and such a job in particular. She is black, a homosexual lesbian and possibly a female, since ICHEOKU does not know particularly her pronouns and how she identifies, her sexual orientation and positional preferences. 

Therefore, her appointment cannot be challenged nor in any other way be criticized by anyone as her background makes her  immune from any such forensic examination to determine her true fitness for the office. She has an army of loyalists including the far left liberal attack dogs, the Move-On group which, ironically has refused to move on from the fact that former President Donald John Trump was duly elected president in 2016; from the January 6th Capitol miasma and the fact that some over exuberant patriots acted out of passion and not hatred for America. But if it involves any matter concerning the left and their Democratic Party, they will vehemently tell the country to move on like the hypocrites they are who command obedience on others but not on themselves. 

She also has an army of feminist liberals who shout on roof tops for women's emancipation while also advocating for gender neutrality, bathroom laws and the need to synchronize society into a genderless entity. She also has an army of homosexual community, being one of them, the ombudsman LGBTQ plus association of minority but highly vocal and visible people trying to force their queer lifestyle on the majority. She also has an army of immigrants and their harried immigrant stories including those who finally achieved the almighty American dream where she eminently now belongs. 

Finally, she has an army of black feminist females who now claim and protect her for having won the struggle against being pushed aside and told to know your place and did so while wearing high heels because of her petite size. Then throw in the greater black community in America which has now finally seen their color-kind speaking for the White House. Haitian Americans and the broader Caribbean black community in America will proudly follow her into battle against those white oppressors holding black people down for such a long time. She will be protected and therefore safely anchored in her new position.

ICHEOKU will make a safe bet that President Joe Biden was once again pushed into signing off on her candidature for the position in the same way Vice President Kamala Harris was pushed on him against his will and conviction. Today, that decision to pick the least qualified of all the potential candidates has led to disastrous consequences including her inability to help shore up a presidency teetering on the precipice. Her performance so far or rather lack of performance shows clearly that incompetence cannot be whitewashed or masked behind a guttural laughter and seductively smile or hidden under a continuously involving racial and/or gender balancing maneuver. 

Anyway, ICHEOKU wishes her the best and hopes that she succeeds, at least to prove many of us wrong who would rather verify her ability and qualification before trusting her capacity and ability to do the job. Provided ICHEOKU will not be accused of being a sexist chauvinist, I would like to add that she is indeed a pretty sight for sore eyes. Her perfect white teeth smile is simply mesmerizing, unlike the mechanical robot "circle-back" Jane Psaki who now goes to add to the chaos at MSNBC which nobody really watches. Congratulations Mademoiselle Karine Jean-Pierre, the Press Secretary designee of the White House. She is so frenchie!

AALAFIN OF OYO JOINS HIS ANCESTORS: ADIEU HIS ROYAL MAJESTY.

ICHEOKU says he raised a harem, which, relatively speaking, nearly rivaled Biblical King Solomon's in this modern times. He was rich, flamboyant, a fashionista who also bleached his skin and dyed his hair, he had an eye for yellow skinned women and took many of them into concubinage.  

Some of these women were too young for him and some were barely old enough that they could easily pass for his grand daughters. He lavished them with money and in turn ravished them. He was also very powerful and women love men with money and power, and they flocked to him in their numbers, literally begged and auditioned to be taken into his harem as one among many Iyoris or Queens of the palace.  

Any man with power and money always became nectar to the bees and they flocked to him in large numbers. In short, he somewhat purchased many of these women, some of whom were young enough to pass for his granddaughters. But these women did not mind nor cared about the gaping age disparity between him and them. They call it culture and you wonder if a woman were to be the Aalafin whether she would be allowed to take many men as husbands?

These women also did not care that they had to share him with so many other women and they apparently did that with a straight face. What a life they lived in concubinage that even late Princess Diana's anguish that there were three of them in her marriage to Prince Charles did not deter them.

The late Aalafin was an embodiment of power, money, privilege and groin prowess. He was an evidential testimony that women sometimes do not really mind sharing a man with other women provided he provides them their needs, plus more. He was a fashionista who refused to acknowledge that time was doing a number on him as he bleached his skin, dyed his hair and was somewhat indifferent that such a day as this would come when he made his exit from this world. 

Why any person, especially a man his age still dyed his hair is simply vanity defined. He was a boxer growing up and that possibly helped him with his heart health as his sexual exploits with his many wives or more appropriately captured, concubines, was legendary. 

May the soul of the departed Aalafin now rest as the battle for his successor will soon rage on. Possibly too, some of his numerous wives especially those without personal income, will now seek another harem to join for their upkeep. What a life they chose, largely in part for the gold which they dug from him and not necessarily that they were in love with him nor would have  shared him had he been a poor man without power. 

But hey, it is what it is. Life goes on for the living as the king is now abandoned in his lonely, dark and dank cold grave to rot in order to complete his life's cycle. Aalafin of Oyo Lamidi Adeyemi was 83 years and died of old age related infirmities. Adieu His Royal Majesty.

CNN+ CATASTROPHIC FAILURE TO LAUNCH: A REJECTION OF FAKE-NEWS CNN.

ICHEOKU says it literally  barely lasted as long as it took for someone to inhale and exhale a breath. It was not a good commentary for the once celebrated cable news network, CNN, that its streaming service or rather attempt to also become a paid streaming service provider, petered to an inglorious end so soon following launch. 

And yes, it shows that American viewers have rejected CNN and all it stands for. They did not  welcome its attempt to go into streaming service through its CNN+ which summarily led to its demise. It also did not matter that the liberal mole Chris Wallace who hitherto pretended to be objective and on the right side, working for CNN rival FoxNews, was poached to the now dead on arrival streaming service. It is rather interesting that not even Chris Wallace could save a streaming service owned by the fake news CNN, the reason CNN sucks.

CCN+ was a total failure to launch, a victim of its parent CNN's liberal woke-centric idiocy. An imbecilic move by any media and it triggered its rejection by millions of American viewers who felt scandalized by CNN morphing into a purveyor of fake news and a propaganda network for acute liberal woke idiotic agenda nonsensical. CNN+ failure is another indication that were CNN to be unbundled from service providers' packaged programming that it would since have gone under and extinct. 

Anyway, hopefully the fate which befell CNN+ will send a strong message to CNN that it has been rejected by the people and that in order to soar again or roar back into contention as a trusted news media source in America, it needs a serious rethinking of its programming choices as well as its moderators/presenters if it seriously wants to survive. Until then, so long CNN+ and there continues the sad saga of a gradually dying cable network; can't wait. 

PUTIN COST Le PEN FRANCE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: A TOXIC ASSOCIATION DID IT.

ICHEOKU says President Vladimir Putin's vagrant violation of the sanctity of Europe's long running peace, safety and security through his needless invasion of Ukraine has made him a pariah in the West. He is now so loathed in the West that anyone who is closely associated with him, even by a fathom of the imagination or necessary implication, stands to be shunned by the West as well. 

It is a problem which former President Donald John Trump is most likely to face in his reelection bid in 2024. The West is spooked and presently deathly afraid of the Russian strong man's erratic behavior, and they will punish anyone who reminds them of the reason and cause of their current state of trepidation and unbearable anxiety. 

Madam Marine Le Pen is the face of President Vladimir Putin to French people and they yoked her together with the Russia strongman as enemy of their peace, security and progress. They saw her as Putin and wanted to keep Putin as far away as possible frpm their Elysee Palace. But for Putin's scaring Europe, Madam Le Pen would have coasted through into the French presidential palace, the unpopularity of the boy-president who married his mother, considered. President Emmanuel Macron is not liked by the majority of French people and it showed in the percentage margin loss he suffered in this election, plunging down from his 2017's 66% to now 58% electoral win. 

President Vladimir Putin was the gravitational force which pulled down Madam Marine Le Pen and prevented her from surging into Elysee` Palace. He also helped propel President Emmanuel Macron to his second term reelection victory as many spooked French voters found succor in maintaining the course rather than cast their lot with a known Putin acolyte. Many too, who would ordinarily have voted for LePen decided to either sit out the election or cast anti-Putin's vote against her. Some who were planning not to vote at all or not to vote for Emmanuel Macron found themselves at the last minute, covering their nostrils to vote for him out of fear of Russia. 

French voters wanted a more assured pro European hand on the tiller of the French state who can continue to secure France and by extension the wider Europe from the unfolding aggression of President Vladimir Putin's Russia. French voters would rather trust someone who has already proved his anti Putin and pro Europe bona fides, rather than someone who is closely and inarguably a lackey of Putin. Someone whose policy objective was to withdraw France from Europe and move it closer to Vladimir Putin's Russia. Which right thinking person would not have voted as the French voters did when the security of France as well as the greater Europe is being threatened by Russia. 

So yes, President Emmanuel Macron won a second term and yes, it was with a big fight for his political life with Madame Marine LePen, the insurgent. But the result shows that Madame LePen really showed up in the fight for Elysee` Palace. Her spectacular performance, 41%, is a much improvement from her other previous runs for the office, an indication that she has gained more acceptability in France. Her position on issues and overall message resonated in France and the French would have voted her into office had it not been for the strategic blunder of President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine which violated the sanctity of entire Europe's security. 

If the result of the French presidential election is the canary in the coal mine, then American presidential election in 2024 might not afterall favor former President Donald John Trump as he makes a comeback bid for the White House. What derailed Madam Marine Le-Pen's quest in France might similarly puncture the former president's tires and stop him from reentering the White House and taking up residence there in 2024. He might be found guilty by association, of "sleeping with the enemy" of the West, by public opinion and many American voter will not readily vote for an acknowledged Putin's ally as president come 2024. 

It is therefore in the former president's 2024-comeback interest that the Ukraine war ends long before 2024. Unfortunately, it might not be the case as America is trying to impose its will on Russia and cause the Ukraine war to last as long as America desires, and possibly beyond 2024. America's stated objective in the war is now quite clear, to drastically degrade and weaken Russia in order to prevent it from imposing any future threat to its neighbors. To achieve this, America will need to stretch the war for as many years as possible, so that they can methodically bleed Russia into bankruptcy. Two years might not be enough to accomplish this, which means that the war will last beyond 2024 which will not be good for the former president's planned rerun for the White House. 

Madam Le Pen would have become the first elected female president of France. She has the presence and carriage and poise of a leader. She is affable and captivating, and would have easily been the France answer to former German Chancellor Angel Markle. ICHEOKU admires her and wishes her well, but she did not pass the Putin's smell test and was rejected by her French people due to her close association with Vladimir Putin, the butcher of Moscow. A thoughtless gnome whose reckless gamble in Ukraine spooked the entire European continent who now detest him and anyone identified or identifiable as his close associate. 

Madame Marine Le Pen's Putin's scarlet letter was the poison dart which thwarted her storied presidential ambition, which would have most likely come through in this election. Her Putin's madame sobriquet is a permanent stain on her reputation which will have a lasting effect on her electability as French president. In fact, she may not have another chance ever again at being elected president, as she has transitioned now to the France's equivalent of America's Hillary Clinton, always running for president but always being rejected by the people as simply unelectable. Speaking of when the gods are against someone and hounding their move every step of the way.

Anyway, despite her defeat, she had a successful outing with a very strong showing, capturing 41% of the total votes cast in the election. It was quite a remarkable feat but that is where the story ends as she is now completely done and out of any future contention. Looking for who to blame for her loss, she should look East, to the Kremlin, to see a bloody vampire named Vladimir Putin. It was Putin's aggression in Ukraine which pierced the peace and tranquility bubble of Europe and with it, swept Madame Le Pen off into the dustbin of history as the best female president which France never had nor will ever have. Hers was a case where association with somebody irrecoverably damages someone. Au revoir Madame Marine LePen. What a run!

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