MICHAEL BAXTON, A POLICE CHIEF BUSTED FOR THEFT?

It would appear that the saying 'it takes a thief to catch a thief' is really a truism as the police chief of East St Louis, hired to protect and serve, turned out to be the one society needed to protect itself and property from? The now awaiting trial former chief, Michael Baxton, was busted in a sting operation for stealing game-boxes(four Xbox360 consoles) and now faces about 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. 

Icheoku says this is what is inherently wrong in some police department hiring a supposedly repentant criminal as a cop thinking that having done his time in a previous crime that he has learnt his lessons. But unbeknownst to them, a leopard does not change its spots as this criminal former police chief who had two prior felony convictions including theft has once again turned to his old ways. Several decades later, he was now using his high office as a police chief to continue his nefarious activities or what Icheoku would term his undercover job as a thief; but good enough he will be going away for a very very long time and being a thieving cop will not help his case? 

Unfortunately, who knows how many innocent victims this bad cop had done in in the past - people who were wrongly framed for crimes they did not commit or pursued by him because they wouldn't play ball by cutting him a piece of their criminal booty pie? Anyway it serves bad cops better to know that once they cross-over to the other side of the law from their "protect and serve" side, the tendency of their being caught is as clear as day and night. They must and should therefore rise above board by avoiding such thieving temptations that come with their job, where they have to daily deal with all manners of criminals and their loot. Icheoku says, it is good to periodically make an example of any bad public servant; moreso a cop who turned out to be a criminal. 

KOBE BRYANT LOSES IT ALL TO EX-WIFE?

Icheoku once again asks, why do it when you know it is going to eventually hurt? While he toiled, the former wife spent lavishly like a drunken sailor - her husband's money that is. Now as if there is no too much hurt already, the divorcing wife have cleaned all that is left of the once great basketball MVP; taking all their three homes including a whopping $75 million in divorce settlement.

Icheoku says give it up to America, the land of women power where a man is literally forced against his will, to labor in vain just for the benefit of a gold-digging wife who knows that the law is so skewered against men and in their favor. Anyway, what can Icheoku say or tell you, except to be smart about it or simply and more bluntly put, DON"T DO IT.

What a sad day it is for Kobe that all he worked for all these years have gone in one fell swoop; but that is exactly what a kiss and tell does to diarrhea-mouth people. The rule of the thumb is, if you must cheat on your wife do not let any ear hear it as words travel and always be guided by the Mafia law of Omerta that two can only keep a secret when one has assumed room temperature.

Just some pieces of advise:- Kobe Bryant should consider moving to Kobe Japan where so many girl-fans still die for him and take one of them for a wife. Icheoku is optimistic they will not take him to the cleaners just for sharing his body with other women of easy virtue, who cared less if he was married or not? Further, Icheoku would like to know why Kobe did not consult Republican Newt Gingrich to advise him on "Open Marriage" or better still, had a present state of mind then during his marriage to have signed a pre-nuptial agreement with his then jobless high-school heart, now ex-wife, Vanessa? What a world we live in and what a good day it is to be a divorcing Bryant Kobe's wife in America!

IGP RINGIM AND COP ZAKARI BIU, MEMBERS OF BOKO HARAM?

When President Good(BAD)luck Jonathan recently cried out that some of his top officials are members of the Northern Nigeria Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, little did Nigerians know that it will not take long before some of their identities were revealed. Just a few short weeks thereafter, the Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim and his acolyte Commissioner of Police Zakari Biu have been unmasked as possibly active members and/or sympathizers of Boko Haram?

It would appear the duo actively facilitate the ongoing Boko Haram terrorist's bombings in Nigeria and have just staged an escape for their Boko Haram foot-soldier, Kabiru Sokoto, who was in their police custody? Icheoku says it is not surprising, since anyone who knows how down and dirty the Nigeria Police Force is and could be, would be surprised they have not yet quelled the Boko Haram intransigence. But it would seem that Boko Haram had and still have active collaboration at the highest echelon of the Nigerian Police Force; thus making it easy for them to freely operate, killing and maiming innocent Nigerians in the process while the police that is supposed to checkmate them looked the other way on the orders of their big boss.

But Icheoku blames President Jonathan for not summarily meting out to IGP Ringim, the disgraced IGP Balogun treatment of marching him out of the police headquarters in handcuffs, body-chain and/or leg iron. Anyway a weak and toothless bulldog of a president can only make hollow treats and sometimes irk out a faint bark but can never bite. Cry for thy beloved country Nigerians as the man supposedly in charge of national security, the IGP, is somewhat sympathetic and in bed with his supposed worst nightmare, BOKO HARAM. Such an enemy within should be immediately SACKED, FIRED, DISMISSED and/or RETIRED and made to face whatever other punishment his atrocious misbehavior commands. What a pity that a guard employed to guard the barn now facilitates thieves coming and going from the barn; only in Nigeria. Icheoku calls on the weak president to fire and arrest for trial today IGP Hafiz Ringim as well as the suspended Commissioner Zakari Biu for sabotaging his government - a case of TREASONABLE felony may be?

IRANIAN ACTIVIST SHOT IN HOUSTON-TEXAS, USA.

 

Icheoku asks is Iran possibly responding in kind to the alleged CIA mastermind of their nuclear scientists liquidation in Tehran with the latest killing of an Iranian student activist within the soil of the United States of America? Could Tehran be sending a message that not only one country has the ability to penetrate another's country and spill blood of anyone they consider a threat to their national security? Could Tehran have ordered or authorized or approved this murder of an Iranian activist right her in America just to prove a point? Just asking as Icheoku does not know the answer nor in any way seems to suggest anything but just curiously asking some questions; especially coming so close within the last nuclear scientist magnet bomb murder in Tehran and the victim's alleged anti-Tehran related activism? Iranian medical student and activist, Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting as she drove her car through her residential neighborhood in Houston by unknown gunmen. If Tehran is implicated in this murder, then it really marks the beginning of a new escalation in the current face-off between Washington and Tehran over the later's nuclear ambition. Tehran's version or idea of a counter-covert action right inside America, that is too provoking indeed, assuming they did it. Rest in peace Gelareh.

NIGERIA IS FALLING APART, WEIGHED DOWN BY SEVERAL BURDEN

When asked "whether he knew about the level of corruption in Nigeria before initially endorsing removal of fuel subsidy, which he later withdrew, Jeffrey Sachs said: “They didn’t have to tell me." Icheoku says corruption in Nigeria is of a general world-wide knowledge; what a big deficit to the country. Mr Sachs also said: “I’ve noticed how the politicians barely care about the universities. Sad and costly for Nigeria." To this Icheoku adds, most of those politicians are semi-illiterates who loathe education and begrudge educated people as they feel shortchanged by their own lack of education and/or proper education where applicable and do not understand the imperative of good sound education enough as to encourage one. (FYI: Jeffrey Sachs is special advisor to U.N. Secy General Ban-ki Moon on Economic matters)

MAGNET BOMB, A KILLER PACE-MAKER?

A device so little, the size of an average pace-maker or a tin of shoe polish, yet so lethal that its explosion instantly kills the targeted victim. Such is the awesome power of a Magnetic bomb that once nicely placed near the victim and remotely detonated, its consequences is so devastatingly effective in eliminating the victim instantly. It is a well-rounded tool in the arsenal of modern covert operations; dispensing the need of silencer guns or poisoned darts or such other manner of eliminating a target requiring closer proximity that risks exposure and being caught. Who would suspect two innocuous motorcycle riders, riding by without much than a closed fist, of being agent of death? Such is the beauty of this exploding pace-maker and secret agents cannot ask for a better weapon for their dirty-work.

The latest victim of this lethal pace-maker, Iranian Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan (pictured), a chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was murdered when two secret agents on a motorcycle drove near his moving vehicle and affixed the device by his car door. The rest as they say is now history as the fabled scientist now rests permanently in peace or should Icheoku say, in pieces and can no longer continue to be a threat to world peace as an asset to the Iranian nuclear weapons pursuit program. Although to the Iranian State, he might be a hero having lost his life in service of their nation, but to his family and friends, his death was avoidable and should have been avoided if only Iran was reasonable enough not to continue on the current trajectory where their action is infuriating the entire world. Icheoku asks what is the rationale of Iran developing or trying to develop a weapon that they can never deploy or use, since its deterrent is tantamount to the cessation of Iranian existence as a civilization? Which leader wishes his people a near complete annihilation, one may ask; being the consequence of Iran ever dropping the bomb anywhere including Israel or wherever, should they acquire it.

Icheoku's interest in magnetic bomb stems from the fact of its very miniaturized size and its devastating efficacy and efficiency; such that the several times it were deployed by successfully attaching it within the parameters of intended targets, that several times have the result been so devastating that such victims literally did not know what hit them or the vehicle that transported them outside this planet. It is the stuff science fictions are made of as made popular by James Bond 007 and Star wars; admitted that the world have seen cigar-bombs that explode upon lighting it, lipstick poison, etc but this magnetic bomb makes it very unsafe for any wanted or known enemy of any powerful government as his/her elimination is a matter of gathering a concise habitual data with a view to assessing the best way to get the bomb attached close enough for it to do its damage. Who knows what other gizmo is out there in the arsenal of these world powers and waiting to be revealed just like the other terrorist-nightmare, drones, which have turned every terrorist the world-over into restless nomads, just to avoid being incinerated  and vaporized from the sky within milliseconds of their target acquisition.

The latest Iranian victim of magnetic bomb, the fifth so far,  will definitely not be the last as the country's nuclear quest is still ongoing and many countries of the world want it stopped and will continue to do whatever is within their powers short of outright declaration of war, to in the interim sabotage or frustrate it. As usual in clandestine covert operations, the suspect countries or countries that has reason to kill the scientist have categorically denied their involvement with the murder. The other question rearing its head now is whether it is still cool to be a nuclear scientist in Iran or in any way trying to assist the government of Iran with its program when you know that you will be definitely targeted for elimination by agents acting under the cover and cloak of invisibility.  According to one analyst, "the ongoing series of assassinations in Tehran traffic strips key brainpower from Iran’s nuclear program, spreads fear among scientists, and undermines the security services, which seem unable to prevent the attacks;" and Icheoku adds palpable fear is one heck of a cloud to hang over a country or community of persons and bodes Iran no good. The only meaningful solution for Tehran, before the crisis escalates to shooting conflict, is to come to terms with the reality facing it - that on no account would the world stand by and watch it acquire nuclear weapons and so should do the realistic thing by verifiably abandoning the program. Anything short of this will only hurt the Iranian people either by procedural elimination of their best brains in their nuclear industry and the eventual collateral damage that will be caused its infrastructure and population when a retaliatory strikes take place following a declaration of war, likely coming very soon and may be before summer. However the dog the gods want to kill, they first make deaf, dumb and then mad so that they are not amenable to reason or thinking; otherwise Iran at this juncture should make a b-line retreat from a cause that can only spell disaster for the country. 

Finally, Icheoku says, realistically speaking, Iran can never win a shooting war against vested countries who would be coming with vengeance dating way back to the Embassy hostage taking as well as Iranian interference in the Hezbollah and Hamas nuisance in the Middle East to the bombing of the Marines Kobah Tower in Saudi Arabia as well as their most recent meddlesome interference in Iraq. Icheoku says a clever Iran should know when to beat a retreat and NOW is the time because once the first cannon of real war is fired, there will be no more discussions short of total surrender and on terms to be spelled out by the invading forces including regime change and eventual trial of the principals of the Tehran government and their forgone guilty verdicts and executions by hanging. A smart Iran should and MUST beat a retreat now before they cross the final rubbicon into fireball hostilities which one does not need a soothsayer to know that the hour is drawing near very closely. If Iran could not decisively defeat Iraq during their only known warfare in recent history, what makes Tehran think that when faced with the most fearsome awesome military and its allies known to the world, that it stands a chance? Worst still Russia and China will cleverly avoid direct confrontation and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is too cunning to place a cross-hair on his forehead by openly declaring support for Tehran. So what are the aces not known to Icheoku; so could Tehran or someone more informed with Iranian game-plan please throw more lights.

HAPPY B-DAY MLK

 

For your audacious sacrifice we are here today sharing the same space with them - "the they and that ones" of America. Before there were them only restrooms, them only restaurants, them only schools, them only buses and when allowed on board confined to the back seats until Rosa Park said enough, them only living neighborhoods, them only jobs, them only taxi-cabs etc. Things are definitely better now, admitted a lot still needs to be done. Anyway, we are still hanging in there waiting for another in your mold to lead the march to the full final and complete integration of America, where content of character and not the skin pigmentation really dictates things. Be that as it may, Icheoku wishes you happy posthumous 83rd anniversary! Your dream lives on MLK.

TERRENCE HOWARD, WHEN LOVE FLIES OUT THE WINDOW?

 

Icheoku says if you think your divorce was bad, imagine what forced actor Terrence Howard to write this email to his estranged wife Michelle Grant-Howard. According to the said email, Terrence wrote:- "Satan is taunting me and there is no rest for my mind. So I beg you not to exercise the right that you have, divorce me and do what you wish but do not crush my families. I can’t promise how I will respond. In Jesus’ name I am praying.” 

Icheoku says she must have pushed some very raw buttons to make this man pray that he does not know how he will react should she cross the final line by attacking his family. The solution is simple, just avoid the headache in the first place, don't do it. Marriage is so yesterday; moreso it is not a crime to be single. Although being sad and lonely are absolutely additional choices for you to make. 1/14/12

FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL, NOT THIS TIME JONATHAN..

Icheoku says President Good(BAD)luck Jonathan has defied analysis and only himself and/or his wife Patience are possibly capable of grasping the workings of his inner mind. A president who has not deemed it fit just yet to fire a none performing Inspector General of Police Ringim over the scourge of Boko Haram but who did not waste time in showing the previous IGP Ogbonna Onovo the door out just because of prevalence of kidnappers. Now the same president, despite the advise of his political godfather Obasanjo, has obstinately removed fuel subsidy without even having the decency of keeping the fate with the Nigerian people whom he had promised an April date for the removal. Icheoku queries, how can the Nigerian people be expected to still trust a president who says one thing and does another? As for Icheoku, we were never sold his candidacy like many gullible Nigerians; so technically, we have no sleep to loose over his blatant failure to lead; especially his lack of will to do the heavy lifting necessary to move the country forward.

Removal of fuel subsidy now, despite the best of intentions, does not seem to be the appropriate thing to do at this moment of great tension in the land. As a popular Igbo proverb says, the puppy which the gods want to kill, he first make it mad; so it would seem that a man who is chasing rats while his house is on fire has some loose joints upstairs that needs tightening or tying together. A country already clinging on the cliff due to the murderous activities of Northern Nigerian Islamic Terrorist group Boko Haram, needs no further provocative gasoline being poured on it. But an aloof and somewhat timid President Jonathan seems too far gone in lalaland to appreciate the magnitude of the doodle he and the country is mired in, hence the craving for yet another tinder. It is not wise, it is not smart and it is not intelligent to remove at this time, fuel subsidy; and if it must, then as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu articulated, it must be in a piece meal fashion and not in one helluva-bang style as the present. The masses, whose 18000Naira minimum wage are yet to be paid timely and in full are now being tasked with additional burden of expenses across the board. It is inhuman, harsh and irreconcilable with the "breath of fresh air" promised them by the president. Even in the United States, a bastion of everything capitalism, there is so many subsidies to make it livable for the downtrodden including agricultural subsidy, fuel subsidy, education subsidy, health-care subsidy as well as social security subsidy; so Icheoku is at a loss when the Nigerian government of President Jonathan decided to say to Nigerian masses, "you are on your own" and squeezed their belt much more tighter with the current subsidy removal.

In summation, Icheoku says the most militating problem now in Nigeria is BOKO HARAM and the president's attention and effort should be 1000% devoted and focused like laser thereat and nothing more including the present distracting fuel subsidy question. Seek ye first the kingdom and the rest shall be added unto thee' - so says the Lord and Icheoku does not expect any less from the president regarding the menace Boko Haram in setting up his priorities. Thereafter, let Nigerians decide the question of fuel subsidy and the manner of implementing it whether by increment or in one fell swoop. However, Icheoku still maintains that the principal problem facing President Jonathan is that he was not prepared for the job he is currently saddled with; hence had no clue what he is doing or the road-map to get him to any meaningful destination. Like a plague afflicting Nigeria, President Jonathan is yet another one of those reluctant president who was plucked away from his natural habitat, the academia, his perfect natural fit and mentored against his will to the presidency. If resignation was in the dictionary of Nigerian politicians, may be Icheoku would have added its voice to the growing legion of people asking the president to consider the option of stepping aside; but no such thinking ever cross their minds, so there is no need throwing that lifeline at his doorsteps. The Federal government should therefore and urgently reverse itself on the question of fuel subsidy and if it must. may be at a later date and gradually implemented and not otherwise. 

MITT ROMNEY, A VULTURE CAPITALIST?

 Employees beware, Mitt Romney is going to take your jobs! Pictures don't lie and what a perfect coincidence this picture is that depicts Mitt Romney, despite the sign "Employees only..," still rushing in to get hold of your jobs? Records are kept for a reason and Mitt Romney's Bain Capital records are there for you to decide what manner of anti-workers president he is going to be. Were Icheoku an employee or a working class American of any sort, the name Mitt Romney as president would be sending jitters down our spine. The reason being Mitt Romney's hatred and disdain towards people who earn living wages. Such is his notoriety for firing workers that even his Republican colleagues have described him as a "VULTURE"; equating his brand of capitalism as "vulture capitalism." 

According to them, Mitt Romney is not a job creator but a corporate raider who drives joy in taking over distressed companies and making a mince-meat out of their employees by handing them pink-slips in hundreds of thousands. Describing Mitt Romney, they said, "Like a vulture, he hunted for vulnerable companies. He took them over, loaded them with debt and collected whopping fees. He cut costs and cut jobs, and picked at the remains." In other words, they said Mitt Romney is involved in "vulture capitalism." 

Icheoku now adds, to before warned is to avoid being harmed America; so you have been put on notice what awaits every average-Joe and Jane American who works for a living under a Mitt Romney's "presidency" - your job is over. Mitt Romney will take your company apart and with it goes your job. Peradventure only an insane person sees an approaching freight train and not run for his dear life. So Mitt Romney is not good for your job security, if you still love your job, SAY NO TO MITT ROMNEY. 

MITT ROMNEY IS A MORMON, A CULTIST?

 Icheoku does not have any beef with this sign or the innocent child-victim made to hold a sign he neither wrote nor is able to read or comprehend. However, the words "Mormons rocks" seems to stoke religious bigotry and the last time Icheoku checked, the Southern Baptist Christians declared Mormon a CULT and who wants to be held under a spell of a cultic president? Definitely not Icheoku nor any other sane American. America is still a Christian country and cannot and should not be subjugated under a president who is not a Christian, quoting the Southern Baptists who declared Mormon a cult. Therefore, say no to a Cult, reject Mitt Romney for president. America could use Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry or even Rick Santorum who are all Christians so why settle for a non-Christian Mormon, Icheoku may ask? Just say NO to a CULT, say No to MITT ROMNEY. 1/13/12

IMAM ABUBAKAR SHEKAU, THE FACE OF NIGERIAN BOKO HARAM?

At last, the notorious Northern Nigerian Islamic Terrorist sect, Boko Haram has unmasked their leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau? Now the Nigerian security agencies have a face to track down and Icheoku hopes they will saturate the media in Nigeria with this terrorist image to help track him down and bring him to justice. What a sorry commentary that a group of mass murderers are killing innocent Nigerians and in Nigeria for so long without being brought to justice. President Good(BAD)luck Jonathan, please do something or at least shake up your security apparatus that more competent hands can come in and take care of business. This BOKO HARAM debacle is a national disgrace; especially lasting this long without any solution in the offing.

BOKO HARAM NOW RUNNING NIGERIA - PRESIDENT JONATHAN?

According to Nigeria President Good(Bad) luck Jonathan, the dreaded Northern Nigeria Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, has infiltrated every aspect of the Nigerian government from the executive to the judiciary to the legislature and the security agencies? In the president's own words, "some of them (BK) are in the executive arm of government, some of them are in the parliamentary/legislative arm of government, while some of them are even in the judiciary. "Some are also in the armed forces, the police and other security agencies." 

To this Icheoku asks, Mr President how then are you planning to take care of BK since the last time you said that their days are numbered; or are you going to dissolve your government just to get rid of its sleeper-cell Boko Haram members and sympathizers? Icheoku says Boko Haram must be the greatest of all the Goliaths starring down at President Jonathan, who seems now totally lost at sea on how to decisively deal Boko Haram the long-promised death-blow. But hey what does anyone expect of a president who was never prepared for the job - the onerous challenge which governing Nigeria is; moreso when he lacks the required backbone necessary to push and shove forward a citizenry with donkey-like obstinacy. Poor Jonathan, my heart bleeds for you and your lack of preparedness for the job. Icheoku asks, Mr President, have you considered throwing in the towel lately; it is always an option? 

WE ARE BACK FROM THE HOLIDAY, HELLO 2012.

To our fans and friends alike, we are glad to be back following a two weeks holidays, spent travelling abroad. Hope you had a nice holiday yourselves as we did. Our promise to you in 2012 is to continue to earn your readership by continually improving on our performance. Happy new year to you all and please welcome back; we are Icheoku and we are rested and ready for 2012. 1/9/12

OUR FREEDOM-THEMED HOLIDAY MESSAGE, BE THAT ONE !

Our Lord Jesus Christ self-exampled that you are guaranteed as much freedom as you are prepared to pay for,  hence he sacrificed himself to purchase mankind's eternal salvation. So as you continue to cower in fear of your fellow human-being, who peradventure, happens to be in a temporal authority over you today; and like a cry-baby, looking for someone to bell the cat for you, just remember that the slave-master thrives on intimidation; and until you rise up and say ENOUGH, he will continue to hound you down with his cudgel into slavish submission. 

Remember the saying that you get what you pay for and there is no free lunch anywhere in the world. If you want something so badly, then go get it, freedom included. If in doubt ask Nelson Mandela of South Africa what the price for freedom is all about. Martin Luther King Jr also bargained hard for minority freedom in America likewise so many world famous freedom fighters of this world. Myammar's Aung Sui Kyuu is also one such heroine who took it severally and in all forms including years of isolated house arrest in order to get it; and surely the country formerly known as Burma has progressed enough in allowing freedom for the people as to earn a recent visit by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Icheoku says such would not have been possible but for the selfless sacrifice of Aung, who by her unwavering resolve has earned freedom for her Burmese people. 

Mohamed Bouazizi purchased freedom for Tunisians by a selfless sacrifice of self-immolation, which led hundreds of thousands of Tunisians to claim it. Who could have previously imagined in their widest dream that an ordinary street vendor or hawker of wares named Bouaziz, was capable of bringing down the government of dictator Ben Ali of Tunisia? So as you ponder quiveringly about what difference you could make to effect change in the society, always look unto the Mr Bouazizi of Tunisia of this world to see what it takes to bring about a desired and desirable change - simply a will to make a difference. Following Mr Bouazizi's inspired Tunisian peoples lead, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians bought their freedom from Hosni Murbarak; which was copied in Libya and Yemen while the struggle continues today in Syria. Icheoku knows and believes that someday very soon, the Syrian people shall be free of Bashir Assad's shackles and so would all other freedom loving peoples of the world, currently living in tepid fear of a Lord of the Manor in their land. Even the Russians are now no longer intimidated by their petite spy-chief Vladimir Putin as they took to the streets to tell Putin that Russia is not his ordinary third world country where the dictates of just one man holds sway. 

Hopefully those two men, Medvedev and Putin, trading offices or places in Kremlin and toying with the people of mother Russia shall read the handwriting on the wall before a tornado of the peoples revolution sweeps them both into the abys of history. It has happened before in Russia with the Bolskevik revolution so the chances of it happening again is not too remote. Icheoku calls on Vladimir Putin to respect the top-ranking status of Russia among the comity of nations and just do the right thing for and by the people of Russia. Putin, a recycled leader of Russia, is not such a flattering name for him to possess; and should therefore avoid it at whatever cost to his ego. Better still, what did Vladimir Putin forgot inside of Kremlin president's office that he wants to now go get. Icheoku just finds it too hard to understand that Vladimir Putin thinks he is the it in Russia and the only thing good for mother Russia. Before Putin were so many leaders and long after old age or even death shall conscript him and force him out, there will still be several leaders to guide and pilot the affairs in Russia. 

It is usually not going to be easy but broken bones mend. As is usually the case, most always, you will survive to become a greater being, more than you were when they took you captive. And assuming the worse comes to worst, everyone dies and only once; so what if you pay the ultimate sacrifice for what you believe? As you celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and the expectant arrival of the new year 2012, please ask yourself how can you help tame or stop the oppressor holding you down today and stop waiting for another Jesus Christ to do it for you. One more thing, Times Magazine was coy in naming a faceless protester as its person of the year 2011 since Tunisia's Mohamed Bouazizi aptly qualified as such person of the year; the fact that his selfless act which triggered the Arab Spring revolution took place in late 2010, nothwithstanding. Therefore by the powers conferred upon Icheoku by our many visitors and admirers, as well as critics for good measure, Icheoku hereby names Arab Spring revolutionary, Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia, as Icheoku's person of the year 2011. He deserves a statute erected in his honor in Tunis's city center as well as have a national holiday declared and observed in his honor. Mohamed Bouazizi was made of a sterner stuff and by his selfless act, have triggered the transformation of the political landscape of the Arab world and have thus transmuted into a legend.

It is being an awesome ride so far, especially this year 2011 and we hope to continue to strive to earn your visits to Icheoku.com. in the new year and many years to come. We appreciate you dearly, inclusive our critics who sometimes are so damn brutal with their acerbic comments. But hey, out of the furnace comes the steel, so keep the darts coming. Happy Holidays and see you in the new year. Off to vacation!

Sincerely,

Facilitator, Icheoku.com

STOP PRESS, FEBRUARY 2ND IS OJUKWU'S INTERMENT?

The peoples General and Hero numero uno, Chief Odumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu will be interred to mother-earth on February 2nd, 2012. Please mark your calendar accordingly and if you cannot make it to Nigeria to participate in one of a kind send-off of a worthy son of Igboland, mark that day as the day the struggle begins anew. Like Martin Luther King, Ojukwu had a dream for a wonderland called Biafra, but genocidal Yakubu Gowon sabotaged the effort. Long live Chief Odumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu as he did not die but merely transited and now have transmuted into a LEGENDARY HERO. So long Ikemba, Dikedioranman of Igbo people world-wide; we shall miss your masculine presence in Igboland, oh defender of the people.

KIM JONG-IL OF NORTH KOREA IS DEAD!

 

Icheoku says 2011 will go down in history as the year which dealt many dictators world over, most fatal blows. Ben Ali of Tunisia, Moummar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and now Kim Jong-Il of North Korea, a member of the infamous Axis of Evil; alongside Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Ahmanejadi of Iran. 

Icheoku says the six blocs of US, Russia, China, South Korea, Japan and the European Union should use the window provided by the death of the former reclusive leader to try and resolve the North Korea nuclear crisis; and in as much as no one's death is joyous, Kim Jong-Il departure may be what North Korea needs at this time to free itself of the shackles of so many decades. North Korea's neighbor to the south of the demilitarized zone, South Korea, will also breathe a sigh of relief that the ever present threat of a nuclear nightmare is now over, at least for the moment. 

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, died on December 17, 2011 of "physical and mental exhaustion. He was 69years old. Hopefully there will not be a succession showdown between his heir apparent and the old generals who constitute the old guard of the late leader. Icheoku says may his communist soul rest in peace. Before Icheoku forgets, that brings to two, comrades of Russia's Vladimir Putin who had died this year, the other one being Moummar Gaddafi of Libya.