Friday, July 15, 2016
FRANCE UNDER SIEGE OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM, HOLLANDE CANNOT PROTECT THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND SHOULD RESIGN.
Icheoku says why French President Francois Hollande has not resigned his office yet for the triple terrorists attacks that have claimed so many French peoples' lives and destroyed so much in properties and psyche is beyond Icheoku's imagination.
The first job of any leader such as a president is to protect the lives and properties of the people he or she is leading; therefore a salt that has lost its taste is no longer salt and must as a matter of cause be dumped and thrown away. This is exactly what the French president owe to the people of France as these terrorism strikes in France is now three times three many. If he does not want to go by resignation, the parliament should impeach and remove him from office so that another leader who is equal to the task can step in and clean house, do the needful and save the French people from further deaths, trauma and agonies.
Icheoku refuses to accept that world citizens, particularly those who call France home, have now accepted Islamist terrorism and the frequency of ease with which they occur, destroying lives and properties, as their new normal. France could, for all intent and purpose, now easily pass for a proving grounds of Islamist terrorism, having suffered three deadly such strikes within a relatively very short period of time; that many are wondering whether the French president and his security team are indeed equal to the task of protecting the French people.
One attack is too many and three attacks of course are three times triple many; and must be brought to a swift end. Enough is and should be enough or have the French people given up on solving this problem that is continuously taking a toll on the French people. Icheoku says anything short of President Francois Hollande's resignation to make way for a fresh set of eyes and mindset to look into the problem and think out a solution should be unacceptable to the French people. Icheoku heretofore, once again, call on President Francois Hollande of France to resign his office forthwith and save France from all these embarrassments.
First was Charlie Hebdo; then followed by Bataclan concert venue massacre and now this Bastille day celebration massacre in Nice. Icheoku says another 84 French people dead, with several others wounded in just one day is rather too much to add to the toll which is already being exacted by Islamic terrorism on the French people, whose psyche must be greatly distorted by now. Extending the state of emergency is not the answer and will not solve the problem. An entirely new different approach is desired and is desirable at this stage and only the exit of the president would facilitate this and therefore President Francois Hollande has to go.
A more preemptory approach is needed which will meaningfully engage all Muslim countries in the fight against Islamic terrorism. These countries should be shamed into taking some responsibility for the lunacy of islamist terrorism, which is giving their religion a bad name. They should be ashamed that these hooligans have hijacked their religion and are wrecking havoc in their religion's name. At least they should be made to forcefully condemn these acts as they occur and align themselves to every effort being made to defeat it. But again, President Hollande has to go first before any meaningful solution-driven approach would effectively take roots. Enough of all these sanctimonious "Juis Charlie" or "Juis Bataclan" or now "Juis Nice"; time to do something to and that will end this madness is now. To the French people in Nice, Icheoku says our sympathies.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
BRITAIN HAS A NEW PRIME MINISTER THERESA MARY MAY, HURRAY.
Icheoku says life has a way of playing tricks with mankind; and so it is that less than four decades after, there is likely an encore with Britain having a female Prime Minister alongside America with a strong president. In 1979 to 1990, late Baroness Margaret Hilda Thatcher held sway in Britain as Prime Minister while Ronald Wilson Reagan was America's president within the same period from 1981 to 1989. That situation worked quite well for both countries as well as the world which witnessed a sure-footed leadership provided by both leaders.
Today with the emergence of Theresa Mary May as British Prime Minister and the very likelihood that Donald John Trump will be elected the next America's president, it seems the circle has now gone full cycle. Britain and America will both have leaders that will help the world find its footing. Icheoku congratulates Prime Minister Theresa Mary May and looks forward to a Donald Trump's presidency that will help provide PM Theresa May the necessary American muscle to back her up and the two will help with necessary restructuring and reestablishment of a new world. Congratulations Britain on your new Prime Minister.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Obama Full Remarks at Dallas Memorial Service
Icheoku says overall a good speech; admitted the president lost Icheoku the day his government refused to sell Nigeria weapons with which to fight Boko Haram Islamist terrorists under some inexplicable reasons.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
BOLA TINUBU, THE POLITICAL JUGGERNAUT OF NOW NIGERIA.
Icheoku says love his politics or not, one thing nobody would take away from Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu is that he is formidable and gets it. His a master in the art of politicking and navigating the fine labyrinths of politics. A political life which started a short years ago and has blossomed into a national following that is to say the least phenomenal.
He shot into the national limelight as a senator, then governor, morphed into regional organizer, king maker, astute opposition and crowned his effort recently when he defeated a sitting president and made another president through his political dexterity and sagacious maneuvering. He is courageous, foresighted, has terrific organizing ability and fearless, taking on Abacha through NADECO, Obasanjo as governor of Lagos State and Jonathan when they fell out. But he succeeded at the end of the day and today is the man sitting on top of Nigerian politics. Today, no one is more powerful in Nigeria political firmament that Ahmed Bola TInubu and they don't make his like any more, at least not many.
His diminutive rise not withstanding, he practically midwifed the current party in power in Nigeria APC, an amalgam of his AC and CPC as well as other mushroom parties. He fought off the government of President Jonathan and successfully led the effort that threw it out of Aso Rock. He single handily enthroned President Muhammad Buhari as the party's flag bearer, quashing all challenges the president had to emerge as a consensus sole candidate. He selected the vice president Bayo Osinbajo without any input from anybody. He choose several of current ministers including Minister of Finance whom he seconded from Ogun State to head Abuja money ministry.
People who tried to cross him did not fair very well afterwards and the current Minister for Power, Housing and Works could attest that it took his full prostration surrounded by several peacemaker before Asiwaju could forgive him after making him governor of Lagos State and the man thought that he has now grown enough wings to challenge his mentor. That Buhari's cabinet was delayed for nearly six months was a result of his unwillingness to forgive Fashola and Buhari wanted Fashole in his cabinet. The list goes on of people he has helped place in positions including the latest promotion of his erstwhile Commissioner of Finance Ben Akabueze who was promoted to Director of Budget in Abuja.
People who tried to cross him did not fair very well afterwards and the current Minister for Power, Housing and Works could attest that it took his full prostration surrounded by several peacemaker before Asiwaju could forgive him after making him governor of Lagos State and the man thought that he has now grown enough wings to challenge his mentor. That Buhari's cabinet was delayed for nearly six months was a result of his unwillingness to forgive Fashola and Buhari wanted Fashole in his cabinet. The list goes on of people he has helped place in positions including the latest promotion of his erstwhile Commissioner of Finance Ben Akabueze who was promoted to Director of Budget in Abuja.
This leads to the issue being articulated here, the loyalty he shows to his trusted and loyal followers, the disciples of Tinubu school of politicking. Icheoku says the man certainly know how to cultivate following and maintain it.He also knows how to reward loyalty and has consistently shown it these past decades. Unlike his other contemporaries of the 1999 school of democratic politics in Nigeria, many of who have since become persona non grata even in their communities, Bola Tinubu walks tall and commanding because he is not too selfish not to take care of his foot soldiers and it always pays off handsomely.
Bola Tinubu, simply put, is a larger than life political colossus of present day Nigerian. Regardless of the not so far good results of the government he helped instal, and in as much as many Nigerians are now saying buyer beware and regretting the decision they made listening to Bola Tinubu and his change mantra, the man from Osun Stateremains what he is, big political player. Icheoku says congratulations to a man who identifies political talents and uses them successfully. He knows how to cultivate power and maintaining it; and nothing more needs to be said except that Nigeria requires many more souls like him. Asiwaju, Icheoku says this one is for you.
Bola Tinubu, simply put, is a larger than life political colossus of present day Nigerian. Regardless of the not so far good results of the government he helped instal, and in as much as many Nigerians are now saying buyer beware and regretting the decision they made listening to Bola Tinubu and his change mantra, the man from Osun Stateremains what he is, big political player. Icheoku says congratulations to a man who identifies political talents and uses them successfully. He knows how to cultivate power and maintaining it; and nothing more needs to be said except that Nigeria requires many more souls like him. Asiwaju, Icheoku says this one is for you.
Monday, July 11, 2016
CROOKED HILLARY IS BEYOND CULPABLE, NO JUSTICE NO PEACE.
Icheoku says the director of the FBI, James Comy, told the nation that no one influenced the outcome of the investigation into the just concluded Hillary Clinton Email-gate scandal. He also reached a conclusion that no reasonable prosecutor would bring charges against Hillary Clinton based on discovered evidence, because Hillary Clinton lacked the necessary intent required of a crime. Also, he said that no reasonable person would under the circumstances not know that some of the emailed materials were classified. Icheoku's analysis therefore will accordingly be five prolonged - lack of influence; conclusion reached, the reasonable person standard test, intent or lack thereof and of course, the director interjecting himself into the matter.
Icheoku is emphatic that sometimes influence does not have to be overt or express; or necessarily verbally communicated or exerted. It could be covert, subliminally communicated and signaled through actions, body language, suggestions, comments or other mannerisms which telegraphs a desired outcome or expectation. As with the case of Personal Assistants, who could easily read the wishes and desires of their boss, so it is often with employees and political appointees, who hold their job at the goodwill and pleasure of their appointers. So when the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Comy tells American people that no other third party or any arm of the government influenced the investigation, as well as the conclusion he reached in the matter of investigation of Hillary Clinton's email-gate scandal, Icheoku understands that the director was but assuring the public on the "unbiased" decision of his agency.
The director is a civil servant, appointed by the president and holding his office at the pleasure of the president. It is natural that he has bills and other financial obligations to meet monthly just like every other Joe American, working for his or her paycheck. Like with every other decent hard working American, he would like to keep his job because those checks makes his life somewhat much easier. Nobody wants to lose his or her job or be fired from visor her job by an irate boss, whose expectations or desires from his subordinates were either not met, snubbed or not correctly read and interpreted. So is it possible that even without any direct instructions of any kind from either the White House or the Clintons, that the need to do what will be pleasing to the boss, weighted heavily n the minds of FBI investigators who worked on this matter, albeit subconsciously?
But like the director who did not find any "intent" on the part of Hillary Clinton to commit any crime in this matter, Icheoku did not similarly find the smoking gun of any arm twisting; but there is reasonable grounds to make an inference that some water probably passed under the bridge between the White House, The Clintons, the Attorney General and the FBI. This is the conclusion shared by many Americans, who after listening through the litany of prosecutable evidence of complicity against Hillary Clinton by the director, became somewhat bewildered about the irreconcilable conclusion reached. That everybody has a price is a fact of life and Don Corleone in GodFather emphasized this much when he said "I will make you an offer you cannot refuse." However, like the director who did not find Hillary Clinton's "intent" to commit any crime, Icheoku did not find any smoking gun evidence of a price paid or offered or received; but maintains that infallibility is only reserved for God as every human being's needle could be moved one way or the other.
The conclusion not to prosecute Hillary Clinton on the strength of adduced evidence does not pass the smell test; especially juxtaposed against the background of the labored analysis rendered by the FBI. The FBI had a choice not to delve into a detailed methodical rehash of their investigation; and could have generally told the American people that after a detailed investigation, they could not find any crime committed by Hillary Clinton worthy of prosecution. This would have sufficed; but to, after detailing their investigation, reach the conclusion reached, rubbishes every analytical thinking and logic. Many educated minds, especially those in the legal field, are scratching their heads in awe, wondering how could such two polar opposites cross paths. The detailed investigation can only conclude one way and one way only, an indictment; but not otherwise. So the director must understand why many cynic naysayers will ever remain skeptical that Crooked Hillary Clinton was found not culpable despite the mountain of evidence of her culpability, especially on the gross negligence grounds which were amply implicated by her gross reckless conduct.
Icheoku is emphatic that sometimes influence does not have to be overt or express; or necessarily verbally communicated or exerted. It could be covert, subliminally communicated and signaled through actions, body language, suggestions, comments or other mannerisms which telegraphs a desired outcome or expectation. As with the case of Personal Assistants, who could easily read the wishes and desires of their boss, so it is often with employees and political appointees, who hold their job at the goodwill and pleasure of their appointers. So when the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Comy tells American people that no other third party or any arm of the government influenced the investigation, as well as the conclusion he reached in the matter of investigation of Hillary Clinton's email-gate scandal, Icheoku understands that the director was but assuring the public on the "unbiased" decision of his agency.
The director is a civil servant, appointed by the president and holding his office at the pleasure of the president. It is natural that he has bills and other financial obligations to meet monthly just like every other Joe American, working for his or her paycheck. Like with every other decent hard working American, he would like to keep his job because those checks makes his life somewhat much easier. Nobody wants to lose his or her job or be fired from visor her job by an irate boss, whose expectations or desires from his subordinates were either not met, snubbed or not correctly read and interpreted. So is it possible that even without any direct instructions of any kind from either the White House or the Clintons, that the need to do what will be pleasing to the boss, weighted heavily n the minds of FBI investigators who worked on this matter, albeit subconsciously?
But like the director who did not find any "intent" on the part of Hillary Clinton to commit any crime in this matter, Icheoku did not similarly find the smoking gun of any arm twisting; but there is reasonable grounds to make an inference that some water probably passed under the bridge between the White House, The Clintons, the Attorney General and the FBI. This is the conclusion shared by many Americans, who after listening through the litany of prosecutable evidence of complicity against Hillary Clinton by the director, became somewhat bewildered about the irreconcilable conclusion reached. That everybody has a price is a fact of life and Don Corleone in GodFather emphasized this much when he said "I will make you an offer you cannot refuse." However, like the director who did not find Hillary Clinton's "intent" to commit any crime, Icheoku did not find any smoking gun evidence of a price paid or offered or received; but maintains that infallibility is only reserved for God as every human being's needle could be moved one way or the other.
The conclusion not to prosecute Hillary Clinton on the strength of adduced evidence does not pass the smell test; especially juxtaposed against the background of the labored analysis rendered by the FBI. The FBI had a choice not to delve into a detailed methodical rehash of their investigation; and could have generally told the American people that after a detailed investigation, they could not find any crime committed by Hillary Clinton worthy of prosecution. This would have sufficed; but to, after detailing their investigation, reach the conclusion reached, rubbishes every analytical thinking and logic. Many educated minds, especially those in the legal field, are scratching their heads in awe, wondering how could such two polar opposites cross paths. The detailed investigation can only conclude one way and one way only, an indictment; but not otherwise. So the director must understand why many cynic naysayers will ever remain skeptical that Crooked Hillary Clinton was found not culpable despite the mountain of evidence of her culpability, especially on the gross negligence grounds which were amply implicated by her gross reckless conduct.
As to the director's reasonable person's standards test, wherein he stated that any reasonable person should have known that many of the emails were classified or ought or should have be classified, Icheoku says can there be any other personification of a reasonable person than Hillary Clinton? If a lawyer with several years of practice experience, a former United States Senator, a former First Lady of Arkansas and former First Lady the United States of America is not qualified as a reasonable person, to know or have known that such materials were classified or supposed to be classified, who else so qualifies? Further the test of a reasonable person varies with the person's standing in life as well as knowledge and exposure. The bar is usually lowered if the person is just a person of straw or an ordinary Joe Blow or Jill Goofy American; but it is necessarily raised if the person is with stature, a bill which Hillary Clinton eminently fits into. Therefore, if any person ever qualified as a reasonable person, bequeathed of these expectations, Hillary Clinton perfectly fits that tab.
Delving into the main frame of his argument which persuaded the decision not to indict, Hillary Clinton's mens rea or "intent" or lack thereof, Icheoku says if a person of her status claimed lack of knowledge, of what appears to be a strict liability crime, such knowledge should, by necessary implication, have been affixed to her; by reason of who she is and her very unique background and knowledge. Crime of espionage for profiteering should as of necessity be unburdened by the requirement of overt intent. A former CIA top shot was once caught passing classified information; Pollack was once caught and sentenced too. The only difference here was that Hilary Clinton was not caught pants down passing information. She destroyed possible evidence of that, hence no one can authoritatively say the end use of those emails. Icheoku is emphatic that but for the 30,000 destroyed emails, a possible smoking gun would have been unearthed.
The act of diverting emails from their regularly secured government severs should have sufficed to indict her; and not necessarily the wrong use to which she put them or wanted to make of them. The crime should be in the doing the prohibited act and not what her underlying intention was or their planned end use. Rerouting these emails through her personal server is the key here; but not whether or not she intended to harm America. It is like Robin Hood arguing that he steals not for his personal use but to help the poor. But a bank robbery is consummated in the act of robbing a bank and not the end use the bank robber put his loot or wanted to put of the stolen money. What if all those allegedly "speaking fees" were money paid for information which were laundered back to the Clintons as speaking fees? No one knows for sure because Hillary Clinton cleverly covered up her tracks by the destruction of evidence - 30,000 emails destroyed.
Therefore the excuse of lack of intent should never have come up; she diverted or rerouted those emails and that is what is imperative. Further she took practically steps to destroy evidence and lied about it. Her intent should have been derived from her conduct and actions thereafter which were all geared towards suppressing investigation. Intent generally and in most cases is never expressed nor written down anywhere for investigations to stumble upon. No, as always, it is proved or established by circumstances and conducts which make its presence inferable. It is implied from pattern of conduct, which in this case include committing the act, lying about it and following through with trying to cover it up by destroying the evidence. A person who actively destroyed 30,000 involved emails cannot be said act out of goodwill or clear conscience; only a person with guilty mind acts to cover her tracts in this manner?
The other issue is the conduct of the director, who many people observed, appeared labored and laboring under a very strong internal conflict through his presentation. His impeccable character notwithstanding, Icheoku says saints reside in heaven but are not of this world. Why did the director publicly recommend that Hillary Clinton should not be prosecuted or rather cast doubt on the reasonableness of any prosecutor who dares to prosecute her. Ordinarily the FBI completes its investigation and internally make their findings known to the Attorney General who them proceeds to decide on the way going forward. But no, the Attorney General had indicated that she will abide by whatever recommendation the FBI makes and the telegraph was received and acted upon.
Icheoku says it is in the same manner Hillary Clinton hid her speeches to Wall Street and till this day has refused to let anyone see their content, the same pattern played out with her emails. It only goes to show that her Crooked alias is well earned and suited; as it sums up her total lack of honesty, transparency, trustworthiness and her penchant for deceitfulness and dishonesty. Yet she wants the American people to trust her with the highest office in the land by electing her to the White House? Query, if as a candidate, Crooked Hillary will not disclose her emails and speeches, imagine what she will get away with as president.
Icheoku says the imperative here is that Crooked Hillary diverted emails from authorized secured government servers to her private servers, had a reason for doing so and tried to cover up her action and severally lied about it. The intent to do harm should have been imputed by her surreptitious conduct, period. Deleting the emails and lying about them is obstruction as she intended to prevent the investigating authorities from ever seeing what they contained. Icheoku maintains that 110 classified emails are a lot of emails to be compromised and she should have been made to answer for her misdeeds and indiscretions.
Why would a supposedly innocent Crooked Hillary Clinton delete 30,000 harmless emails, lie to American people that she produced all her emails to investigating authorities and that none of them was classified. If those destroyed emails were innocuous as Crooked Hillary Clinton made everybody to believe, why did she destroy them? One thing and one thing only, she was hiding something which she does not want American people to know about her and her transactions. It is equally possible that some of them contained matters not favorable to American people's interest and she didn't want them to see the daylight.
Delving into the main frame of his argument which persuaded the decision not to indict, Hillary Clinton's mens rea or "intent" or lack thereof, Icheoku says if a person of her status claimed lack of knowledge, of what appears to be a strict liability crime, such knowledge should, by necessary implication, have been affixed to her; by reason of who she is and her very unique background and knowledge. Crime of espionage for profiteering should as of necessity be unburdened by the requirement of overt intent. A former CIA top shot was once caught passing classified information; Pollack was once caught and sentenced too. The only difference here was that Hilary Clinton was not caught pants down passing information. She destroyed possible evidence of that, hence no one can authoritatively say the end use of those emails. Icheoku is emphatic that but for the 30,000 destroyed emails, a possible smoking gun would have been unearthed.
The act of diverting emails from their regularly secured government severs should have sufficed to indict her; and not necessarily the wrong use to which she put them or wanted to make of them. The crime should be in the doing the prohibited act and not what her underlying intention was or their planned end use. Rerouting these emails through her personal server is the key here; but not whether or not she intended to harm America. It is like Robin Hood arguing that he steals not for his personal use but to help the poor. But a bank robbery is consummated in the act of robbing a bank and not the end use the bank robber put his loot or wanted to put of the stolen money. What if all those allegedly "speaking fees" were money paid for information which were laundered back to the Clintons as speaking fees? No one knows for sure because Hillary Clinton cleverly covered up her tracks by the destruction of evidence - 30,000 emails destroyed.
Therefore the excuse of lack of intent should never have come up; she diverted or rerouted those emails and that is what is imperative. Further she took practically steps to destroy evidence and lied about it. Her intent should have been derived from her conduct and actions thereafter which were all geared towards suppressing investigation. Intent generally and in most cases is never expressed nor written down anywhere for investigations to stumble upon. No, as always, it is proved or established by circumstances and conducts which make its presence inferable. It is implied from pattern of conduct, which in this case include committing the act, lying about it and following through with trying to cover it up by destroying the evidence. A person who actively destroyed 30,000 involved emails cannot be said act out of goodwill or clear conscience; only a person with guilty mind acts to cover her tracts in this manner?
The other issue is the conduct of the director, who many people observed, appeared labored and laboring under a very strong internal conflict through his presentation. His impeccable character notwithstanding, Icheoku says saints reside in heaven but are not of this world. Why did the director publicly recommend that Hillary Clinton should not be prosecuted or rather cast doubt on the reasonableness of any prosecutor who dares to prosecute her. Ordinarily the FBI completes its investigation and internally make their findings known to the Attorney General who them proceeds to decide on the way going forward. But no, the Attorney General had indicated that she will abide by whatever recommendation the FBI makes and the telegraph was received and acted upon.
Icheoku says it is in the same manner Hillary Clinton hid her speeches to Wall Street and till this day has refused to let anyone see their content, the same pattern played out with her emails. It only goes to show that her Crooked alias is well earned and suited; as it sums up her total lack of honesty, transparency, trustworthiness and her penchant for deceitfulness and dishonesty. Yet she wants the American people to trust her with the highest office in the land by electing her to the White House? Query, if as a candidate, Crooked Hillary will not disclose her emails and speeches, imagine what she will get away with as president.
Icheoku says the imperative here is that Crooked Hillary diverted emails from authorized secured government servers to her private servers, had a reason for doing so and tried to cover up her action and severally lied about it. The intent to do harm should have been imputed by her surreptitious conduct, period. Deleting the emails and lying about them is obstruction as she intended to prevent the investigating authorities from ever seeing what they contained. Icheoku maintains that 110 classified emails are a lot of emails to be compromised and she should have been made to answer for her misdeeds and indiscretions.
Why would a supposedly innocent Crooked Hillary Clinton delete 30,000 harmless emails, lie to American people that she produced all her emails to investigating authorities and that none of them was classified. If those destroyed emails were innocuous as Crooked Hillary Clinton made everybody to believe, why did she destroy them? One thing and one thing only, she was hiding something which she does not want American people to know about her and her transactions. It is equally possible that some of them contained matters not favorable to American people's interest and she didn't want them to see the daylight.
Icheoku says no indictment, no justice. No justice, no peace; as American people wait for the DOJ to decide on the way forward. There cannot be two justices - one for Hillary Clinton and one for the rest of American citizens who are not politically connected. Anything short of her indictment and full prosecution is unacceptable; moreso as many prosecutors disagree with the director that only unreasonable prosecutor will proceed with the case. At worse, let the court throw the case out but it is not the directors to recommend no prosecution.
The fix apparently was on, starting with the president endorsing Crooked Hillary Clinton without waiting for the investigation to complete; then the Bill Clinton meet with the AG leading to the AG saying that she will abide by whatever the FBI advises and now the FBI has advised and the AG has agreed that the matter be ended and is ended; thus lifting the fog of criminal prosecution off Hillary Clinton's shoulder. Only in America and they want the world to listen when they preach justice and fairness and equality for all. Please give Icheoku a break.
The fix apparently was on, starting with the president endorsing Crooked Hillary Clinton without waiting for the investigation to complete; then the Bill Clinton meet with the AG leading to the AG saying that she will abide by whatever the FBI advises and now the FBI has advised and the AG has agreed that the matter be ended and is ended; thus lifting the fog of criminal prosecution off Hillary Clinton's shoulder. Only in America and they want the world to listen when they preach justice and fairness and equality for all. Please give Icheoku a break.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
MICAH XAVIER JOHNSON BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS, AN ONLY OPTION?
Icheoku says when is a force too excessive or does it not matter if the person at the receiving end of the force is considered to be a society's pariah and deserving of any amount of deadly force whatsoever to put him out of commission? Does the gravity of the person's action, somewhat justifies whatever amount of deadly force that was deployed to take him out and end whatever disruption he was causing? If it was not right for an individual to explode an IED on a society; why is it then proper or acceptable for the government to explode and kill an individual with an IED?
What message was sent by the government when they decided to blow the Dallas shooter to smithereens, especially in this day and age when terrorists' bombings is saturating the airwaves and people are overly conscious and afraid of such bombings going off. Why use bomb when there are so many other less explosive deadly force alternative that could have been first deployed and which are very effective? Even drones could have been deployed to stagger him and force him out. Why such an excessive use of brute force, bombing; to terminate a man's life who was already cornered and who could have been waited down until he finally breaks down and surrenders. But no, he killed police men and hence his life has to be summarily terminated.
Icheoku says such a tit for tat can only make any would be future actor more vicious, knowing fully well that the end will not be kosher but violently reached. Query, did the Dallas police authorities act too quickly to bring the standoff to an abrupt terrible end? Was their action a result of their jittery and the need to bring the situation under control fast and without prolonging what proved to be a very bloody violent day in Dallas. Icheoku does not know the answer to some of these posed questions, but believes that other less violent ways would have been first deployed and used to end the standoff. The government must not be seen as being pharisaic in his method; preaching no terrorism and acting like terrorists. Why kill an American with a bomb and right here inside America? It does not make sense and it is very callous.
Instances abound where holdout individuals have been waited out for days until they are worn down and out. Instances abound where such individuals were swarmed by police dogs and then overpowered by officers and arrested to face trial? Instances abound where such individuals were bombed with tear gas and pepper spray, their hold out so saturated with gaseous irritants that they had no choice but to crawl out with their hands in the air? Instances abound where such people had negotiators talk them down and out, negotiations which sometimes last for several hours and days? Instances abound where such people were stunned by flash bang grenades to put them temporarily out of their mind while the police swarm them and arrest them? Why did the police not try to smoke him out of his hold up or even start a fire to force him out? But no; they did not try hard enough to arrest him nor did they even want to take him alive? They had to end it quickly and it has to be through bombing him to pieces with a C4?
Icheoku says what is done is done but certainly it looks too excessive a force as other less lethal or less devastating options were not first fully explored before the robot bearing the deadly payload crawled into his hold up area and the rest became history. Anyway, Micah Xavier Johnson is dead, bombed to pieces after killing five police officers and wounding seven. His death did not a thing solve and instead, has now cemented his name in history and future generations will hear and read about him; how he single handedly held Dallas hostage and caused so much panic within its police community. That he alone acted out the mayhem is also something to ponder about because he set a new precedent that just one person is capable of causing such grievous harm and damage. It is quite unfortunate that these five police officers have to die due to the provocations of other police officers, many of whom are thousands of miles away from Dallas.
Icheoku prays that the situation, especially the underlying conditions festering such lack of trust and hatred between some communities and the police, could be brought under control. If the fallout from the Dallas executions succeeded in stopping more of the Minnesota and Baton Rouge incidents, as well as several hundreds others which take place throughout America, then those officers did not die in vain. But should the nation and the police later revert to the same statuesque ante, then we as a people did not or rather failed to learn a thing from the ugliness of the Dallas shooting. Once again, Icheoku prays for the repose of all the souls lost in Dallas - the five police officers, the shooter that was blown to pieces; as well as the two black men from Baton Rouge and Minnesota whose deaths probably pushed the Dallas shooter over the edge. Adieu.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
DALLAS SHOOTER MICAH XAVIER JOHNSON, A HERO OR VILLAIN?
Icheoku says it depends on who is making the narrative and through whose lens his action is being viewed. In many Black American communities, especially those still trapped in abject poverty in their concentration camps called HOODS, Micah Xavier Johnson is being hailed as their knight in shinning armor who rose up to say enough. It goes without saying that White people are wishing they had captured him alive so that the can drag him through their justice system and eventually give him the death penalty; but he denied them that opportunity when he died.
It is not always often that one sees an individual rise above personal self preservation, convinced on apparent wrong being meted to a people he identifies with, and decides to do something about it, including risking it all just to make that emphatic statement that enough is enough and that no justice, no peace. Icheoku likens it the jungle of Serengeti in the war of the worlds between African Water Buffalos and the Lions. They are always at each other's butt. The buffalo does not like the lion and it is for a reason as the lion always want to kill and feed on the buffalo. Could anyone imagine the peace there would be in the jungle had all the animals therein inhabiting, settled on a vegetarian diet? But no, some feel so special that they would rather feed on others and this is the reason why the buffalo never likes the sight of its predator.
This analogy describes the present relationship existing between African Americans and White people and their White police officers. Like the Water buffalo, African Americans are increasingly growing very resentful of a police which they see represents oppression; and which symbolizes death, destruction, assaults, arrests, persecution and imprisonment. So who wouldn't be resentful faced with such constant harassment, intimidation and violation of their basic human rights without any reasonable cause or basis.
All Icheoku can add is that if any lesson is learnt from the Dallas incident, it is that African Americans are complaining loudly and are getting closer to their tipping point. The earlier the White people, who control their affairs and somewhat subjugate them, starts to seriously pay attention to their grievances bubbling underneath their breath, the better everyone will come out of it at the end. But like a rumbling volcano, waiting to go off, it will be a sad day in America, the day African Americans decide that they have finally had it and that a life not worth living well is not worth living at all.That is what these White people should be worrying about and not who is arrested or who was killed either in Baton Rouge or Minnesota or Dallas.
But the injustice in the land is excessively skewed against African Americans and it seems to have gotten worst since the currency of Obamsa's administration. It would seem that a resentful White population, who are mad that a black man is occupying their White House, is visiting their anger on black people in general. Icheoku says that just one man could do this much damage, killed 5 and wounded 7 police officers, simply shows the amount of damage which is possible should 30 million people ever declare enough and chose to die in the process instead of continuing in the situation in which they are forced to live with.
Hopefully the Dallas incident will be a watershed in race relationship in America and trigger a real conversation towards finding meaningful solutions to remedying what is broken. But instead, people are digging in in their positions and neighborhoods and nobody seem to be listening to what each other has to say. Icheoku hopes it will not ever boil over.
The White people must and should read the situation correctly and honestly tell themselves that there is a real problem of race in the land. Their usual indifference will not cut it; neither would their armed police force or armed forces solve the problem, regardless of how many black people they kill or imprison in their effort or attempt to intimidate and subjugate them. They must stop and smell the coffee as there is a growing resentment in communities of color which need to be nipped in the bud by addressing the issues concerning these minorities before it is too late.
White people cannot afford to have an outright war or total breakdown of law and order inside America. The other alternative that is not equally palatable is to do nothing and watch these deprived minorities get so despondent that they become militant like the IRA or even worse still ISIS. The problem is that minorities have acquired the skills of weapon handling and weapons are readily available in the country. So anarchy will not be better defined than a day the situation will tip over or shove comes to push.
Icheoku says as for all those White people who usually mouth off that African Americans have become a problem in the country; query: were their forebears not minding their business in the jungles of Africa when the white people came and forcibly abducted them, shipped them to foreign strange lands to till their lands and water their crops? They did not ask to be put in ships, chained and shackled, and transported to America. Now over 200 years since slavery ended, no meaningful steps have been taken to rehabilitate or reconcile these descendants of slaves and truly make them believe the ordeal of slavery is finally over in America. The after burners of that tragedy continues to linger till today.
In black communities, churches, schools and every place they could call theirs, the issue is occupying their mind, wondering when will their ordeal actually end. A feeling of not being wanted nor being really part of America is pervasive in these communities and the White people are not doing anything to assuage this fear. This feeling intensifies as they see their White counterparts living large and in a country built upon the backs and sweats of their forebears.
Anyway, nothing is worth nor warrants the taking of any innocent person's life, be it police or black Americans. For the tragedy that took place in Dallas, Icheoku mourns the loss of those five police officers alongside their bereaved families. In the same vein, those two black Americans killed in Baton Rouge and Minnesota have a companion in our soul. To Micah Xavier Johnson, Icheoku says an eye for an eye will make the world go blind. To our enemies, we should pray for forgiveness of their ignorance which make them to sin. Killing of those Dallas police officers solved no problem nor were they the answer to police brutalizing of innocent black Americans. Moreso, they did not pull the triggers that cut down the lives of the two African Americans that triggered this mayhem.
Icheoku has no opinion however about how history will treat the Dallas shooter Micah Xavier Johnson; but knows that the carnage of Dallas will live forever in infamy. It is regrettable and it is condemnable and it does not matter how displeased anyone is with anybody nor their intentions to kill any people or their police officers, it should not be the way out. Icheoku says America, can we please stop killing each other so that we may see our tomorrow together in peace and prosperity. But let everyone know that things cannot continue as is and as if some lives or even black lives don't matter. Black lives should matter just like any other life in America and may the conversation begin and seriously begin now in all honesty. To all the dead killed, the police and black Americans including the bombed Micah Xavier Johnson, Icheoku says may you all rest in peace. Hopefully there is no colors in heaven. Adieu.
Friday, July 8, 2016
COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU, THE CLINTON EMAIL-GATE THEATRE GROUP.
Icheoku says in the spirit of the latest political-drama, the conclusion of the investigation of the Crooked One over her email-gate scandal, a little performance have been put together to satirize it. It is a short play performed by four actors and actresses as well as a supporting actor that make up the troupe. Members of the cast are President Barack Obama; Hillary Clinton; Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI director James Comy and of course Bill Clinton.
ACT 1: SCENE 1 - (Hillary Clinton enters the stage speaking)
Hillary - I did not do anything wrong. I did not send any classified emails using personal server. I have turned in every email that is work related to the investigating authorities.' (Hillary exits and in comes President Obama)
ACT 2: SCENE 2. - (President Obama enters the stage speaking)
Obama - Hillary is the most qualified person to be president. I will do everything within my powers to stop Donald Trump from ever becoming president. Hillary couldn't have done anything wrong and if she did, she did not have the required necessary intent to find her guilty. I hereby endorse Hillary Clinton for president. (Obama exits and in enters Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton)
ACT 3: SCENE 3: - (Bill Clinton in a dialogue with Loretta Lynch)
Bill - Loretta I happened to be passing through when i learnt you will be this way and I decided to wait to say hello.
Loretta: - "Hello Mr President, that was nice of you, Thanks for doing this; it means a lot to me that My President could find the time to do me such a great honor.
Bill - 'Not to worry Loretta; the pleasure is entirely mine.
Loretta - Of course Mr President, the pleasure is shared equally by me. So, how can I help you or is it your wife's matter?
Bill - Yes, Loretta, but before we get there, have you seen my grand kids? They are simply marvelous (pulls out his phone camera and scrolls to his grand children's pictures) Yeah, here is grand child 1 and the other just arrived a few short weeks ago. Aren't they awesome?
Loretta - Mr President they are indeed absolutely beautiful. I too have grand children or don't you know about that. (Loretta pulls her own picture phone and shows Bill her own grand kids)
Bill - Loretta, they are absolutely the epitome of black is beautiful. They are adorable. Now do you play or like playing golf?
Loretta - No Mr President, golf is not my thing. I am too busy to pay attention or learn; although I do still find time to attend my sorority meetings.
Bill - Loretta, anyway, the main issue that made me risk it all to see you is the she thing. Hope things are under control.
Loretta - My President, you need not worry as we got the telegraphed signal and things are under control.
Bill - Ok, thank you Madam Attorney General. My wife and I will remember this when we eventually make it back to the White House, if ever we make it. Thanks, I will be dashing out now. Later. (Kisses her on the cheek)
Loretta - Mr President , have a safe trip. Bye. (Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch exit stage and sound of their plane engines taking off are heard) Then reenter Loretta Lynch with a drawn face, annoyed that the press found out about her meeting with Bill.
ACT 3: SCENE 4
Loretta - Yes, it is true, I met with former President Clinton for only 30 minutes. We talked about our grand children and golf. I will not do it again and I will follow whatever the FBI recommends. (Exits stage and in comes director James Comy)
ACT 4 : SCENE 4
Comy - " the FBI have concluded their investigation of the email-gate scandal and despite the mountains evidence, the bureau have decided that Hillary Clinton should not be indicted. She did not have the "intent" required to commit the crimes, which she actually committed as I marshaled out here. However, no reasonable prosecutor will indict Hillary Clinton based on our findings. (Questions shouted across but the director will not answer as he leaves and in reenters Attorney General Lynch)
ACT 5: SCENE 5
Loretta - Yes America, as I said the other day that whatever the FBI recommends I will abide by it. Now they have recommended that there will be no indictment of Hillary Clinton. I respectfully adopt their recommendation because I don't want to be seen as an unreasonable prosecutor and in honor of my former promise to so do. Hillary Clinton will therefore not be indicted and the matter is hereby closed.
(Loretta exits and Obama and Hillary reenter the stage holding hands and singing kumbaya, free at last, free at last; at last I can now concentrate on beating Trump. Obama assures her that he will be with her all the way and will try to win back African American voters for her. The play comes to an end, lights goes out followed by rounds of applause. Feet shuffling and people talking in small voices).
Icheoku says only those unthinking 'Super Predators' will buy into the photo-op camaraderie between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and vote for Obama's third term through Hillary Clinton. Icheoku says enough; as it is time to punt to a different direction. Go Trump; Vote Trump and help make America great again.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
DALLAS POLICE OFFICERS KILLINGS, NOT THE ANSWER.
Icheoku says Mahatma Gandhi once said that 'an eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind,' therefore, we as people must try to stay advised of this by not always carrying out revenge, no matter the provocation. The killing of police officers in Dallas Texas is not the answer to the problem of police killing of innocent unarmed Americans, particularly black American males.
Icheoku is emphatic that the Police is not the problem, rather bad cops are and unfortunately, like a rotten apple that spoils the rest, they are giving the entire men and women in blue uniform a very bad name and it hurts their overall image. In the words of Bon Jovi of giving love a bad name, these rogue cops are certainly giving the police a bad name. This is the problem facing the police and this is the problem they have to facedown and solve.
Icheoku says the police need a lot of public relations work to do in order to improve its image and rebuild trust with the public it serves. However this will not be possible until they do some serious retraining and reorientation of their entire police force, to help turn around some of these trigger-happy, anti-people cops among them; and help make them adopt a more civilized behavior required of police officers dealing with the general public. People tend not to trust people they don't feel at ease with and this permeates every society including the police society.
It is unfortunate that 11 Dallas Police officers have been shot with 4 of them now confirmed dead; but how do we, as a people, move on with lessons learnt here, towards becoming a better people than we were yesterday. This is the million dollar question and hopefully this Dallas killings as well as the two black men murdered in Baton Rogue and Minnesota within the last few days will be a turning point for all Americans to come together and fight the scourge of our society that is increasingly becoming very divisive and antagonistic of each other. May the souls of the 4 Dallas police officers and also those two black Americans killed by police now rest. Adieu.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
DONALD JOHN TRUMP WILL BE THE NEXT POTUS.
Icheoku says anyone still in doubt about who will be the next president of the United States of America should take a hard look at the recently released polls, especially those from the make or break states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. It is obvious from the polls that Donald Trump did not suffer so much from his ruckus with the "Mexican" judge as well as other negatives of preceding weeks; thus formally handing him his accolade, the teflon moniker, that he is not deflatable, nor can he be damaged by pinheads establishment conspirators.
The closeness of the polls shows that his ruckus with the Mexican judge did not do much damage in addition to all other negatives of the few weeks preceding. It all shows that Crooked Hillary is irredeemably damaged and as flawed as as the worst flawed candidate ever to run for office. The mood in the country is definitely to pivot from the preceding eight years of knee jerk policies of governing by deferring and American people are tired of indecisiveness and will not vote for an Obama's third term in office, no matter the subterfuge of a Hillary Clinton's presidency.
Icheoku had always warned that if a grey-haired 75 year old hippie grandfather Bernie Sanders could give Crooked Hillary this much run for her millions and name recognition, that a more energetic energizer bunny Donald Trump will take her to the cleaners and lay her bare to waste. So far, Donald Trump has been trudging in his campaign solo, without the necessary backing and support of the Republican Party muscle. If he could stand toe to toe, as man alone and this close in the polls with Crooked Hillary Clinton, imagine the tsunami it will become once the Republicans are fully behind his candidacy alongside their financers and backers.
Icheoku does not know about you, but looking at the place Donald Trump's campaign currently stands, and despite the hiccups of the past weeks and the millions already burnt by Crooked Hillary with barrage of negative advertisements against him, November looks very good for a Donald Trump's presidency. Icheoku calls on the Republican Party not to bite the bait of Team Crooked Hillary Clinton, who knows that their only chance this fall is to divide and conquer the house of the Republican Party, trying to divide the party or foist them against their candidate. So provided the Republican Party comes home to their candidate, the mood in the country does not and will not accept another democrat in the White House; especially not after the last eight years of President Barack Hussein Obama.
America wants to resume their rightful place in the world, providing unapologetic leadership of a world in dire need of American leadership. Donald Trump has the presence and personality to lead America and by extension the world in crisis. Donald Trump has created thousands of jobs and knows what he is talking about, when talking about the economy; unlike the Crooked Hillary, parroting written talking points and who has personally confessed her deficiency when she stated that she will parcel out American economy to her husband Bill Clinton to manage. Query, if as president you don't understand how the economy runs, what then is your job being president? Donald Trump will also be tougher on national security and will show ISIS hell as well as protect the homeland.
Icheoku affirms that in every presidential election, national security and economy trumps every other consideration for a preferred president. So without further ado, Icheoku emphatically states that come November, Donald John Trump will trump Crooked Hillary Clinton and will win the presidency as the 45th President of the United States of America. Go Trump; Vote Trump and together help make America great again. Trump will also build that Great Wall of America and Mexico will pay for it. Trump will also give ISIS hell and our national security will be assured and unlike President Barack Obama, will not try to try to be professorial in explaining Muslim Islamic terrorism but will hunt them down and destroy them.
Crooked Hillary has nothing new she is bringing to the table; only that she wants to break her proverbial marble or steel ceiling by becoming the first female president of America. Unfortunately, she is not the type of female Americans will elect their first because she will not get their backs, having since been purchased and waiting to be delivered to special interests as well as her Arab financiers and backers. No more free loading on the backs of American taxpayers and every benefit conferred will begin to attract some responsibility or payment in return. It is good policy and it is wise policy and America needs to recover from its bludgeoning debt. To the question about American future, Donald Trump is the answer.
Icheoku had always warned that if a grey-haired 75 year old hippie grandfather Bernie Sanders could give Crooked Hillary this much run for her millions and name recognition, that a more energetic energizer bunny Donald Trump will take her to the cleaners and lay her bare to waste. So far, Donald Trump has been trudging in his campaign solo, without the necessary backing and support of the Republican Party muscle. If he could stand toe to toe, as man alone and this close in the polls with Crooked Hillary Clinton, imagine the tsunami it will become once the Republicans are fully behind his candidacy alongside their financers and backers.
Icheoku does not know about you, but looking at the place Donald Trump's campaign currently stands, and despite the hiccups of the past weeks and the millions already burnt by Crooked Hillary with barrage of negative advertisements against him, November looks very good for a Donald Trump's presidency. Icheoku calls on the Republican Party not to bite the bait of Team Crooked Hillary Clinton, who knows that their only chance this fall is to divide and conquer the house of the Republican Party, trying to divide the party or foist them against their candidate. So provided the Republican Party comes home to their candidate, the mood in the country does not and will not accept another democrat in the White House; especially not after the last eight years of President Barack Hussein Obama.
America wants to resume their rightful place in the world, providing unapologetic leadership of a world in dire need of American leadership. Donald Trump has the presence and personality to lead America and by extension the world in crisis. Donald Trump has created thousands of jobs and knows what he is talking about, when talking about the economy; unlike the Crooked Hillary, parroting written talking points and who has personally confessed her deficiency when she stated that she will parcel out American economy to her husband Bill Clinton to manage. Query, if as president you don't understand how the economy runs, what then is your job being president? Donald Trump will also be tougher on national security and will show ISIS hell as well as protect the homeland.
Icheoku affirms that in every presidential election, national security and economy trumps every other consideration for a preferred president. So without further ado, Icheoku emphatically states that come November, Donald John Trump will trump Crooked Hillary Clinton and will win the presidency as the 45th President of the United States of America. Go Trump; Vote Trump and together help make America great again. Trump will also build that Great Wall of America and Mexico will pay for it. Trump will also give ISIS hell and our national security will be assured and unlike President Barack Obama, will not try to try to be professorial in explaining Muslim Islamic terrorism but will hunt them down and destroy them.
Crooked Hillary has nothing new she is bringing to the table; only that she wants to break her proverbial marble or steel ceiling by becoming the first female president of America. Unfortunately, she is not the type of female Americans will elect their first because she will not get their backs, having since been purchased and waiting to be delivered to special interests as well as her Arab financiers and backers. No more free loading on the backs of American taxpayers and every benefit conferred will begin to attract some responsibility or payment in return. It is good policy and it is wise policy and America needs to recover from its bludgeoning debt. To the question about American future, Donald Trump is the answer.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Monday, July 4, 2016
JUNO VISITS JUPITER, THE BADDEST AND BIGGEST PLANET
Icheoku says please give it up to science, especially rocket science. There is a reason why rocket science occupies a preeminent position among sciences and other human callings. There is also a reason why it is the benchmark for comparing other things such as saying something is not a rocket science? It seems to be the it of all, the apex science. That rocket scientists are very well respected is also a fact,
After 1.74 billion miles, traveling at 60,000 miles per hour, a planetary journey through space, which lasted five years, finally ended as NASA's Space craft Juno pierced the atmosphere or rather orbit of Jupiter. It was launched on August 2011 and rendezvoused on July 4 2016, giving Americans another thing to celebrate and added reason to be thankful on their independence day. Icheoku says this is quite a very impressive wow-feat, of unimaginable proportion; and Icheoku is amazed. Icheoku wishes Juno well and hopes all the planned scientific discoveries that founded it would be achieved. Congratulations to NASA.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Saturday, July 2, 2016
LORETTA LYNCH IN A BIND, BILL CLINTON'S MEET A CATCH-22 HELLUVA?
Icheoku says Attorney General Loretta Elizabeth Lynch has only one option, only way out of the hole in which she dug her self by her meeting with Bill Clinton. She should have known better as to the optics which her meeting with the husband of a woman under investigation by her justice department would cast and advised herself accordingly. But no, she forged ahead and now wants American people to believe that their meeting was merely innocuous. Icheoku says believe that at your own detriment to common sense reasoning, inference and deduction.
The Attorney General must now have to assuage American peoples' fear that she and her department has not been compromised in their investigation of Crooked Hillary Clinton's email-gate scandal. She has to as a matter of fact bring an immediate indictment of the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and do it now. Nothing else will suffice and it does not even matter whether or not Hillary Clinton was found culpable or not prior to the meeting of Bill Clinton and the AG in Phoenix last week. What is more important now is the shadow of doubtful credibility which the meeting has cast on the ongoing investigation and the Attorney General must now act to clear that fog, including its apparent likelihood.
The appearance of impropriety is the controlling consideration now and anything short of Hillary Clinton's indictment will be interpreted by the watching public as a necessary outcome of the pressure Bill Clinton brought to bear on the Attorney General. In law it is trite saying that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be apparently done; and this case is looking fogged up with every day passing by. Icheoku would be satisfied if an indictment was brought and the matter dismissed by the court for insufficiency of prosecutable evidence or overreaching. But to not indict Hillary Clinton will be an unacceptable outcome, especially since this ill advised infamous meeting of the Attorney General with Bill Clinton.
Further Icheoku is not buying into the explanation by the Attorney General that their meeting was just to talk about their grandchildren and golf playing? Such fabulous story should be better left for the marines where they belong, as no rational thinking person would readily believe that Bill Clinton met privately with the Attorney General merely to exchange banters about family and pastime hobby. Were that the case, why did they seek an exclusive rendezvous in the confines of an airplane, instead of just doing so on the tarmac; and why did such exchange of pleasantries last for so long. What were they talking about and how long does it take to inquire about families and hobby?
Anyway and regardless of the actual purpose of the meeting, Icheoku says it does not look good that a woman who is being investigated by the Justice Department had her husband meet with he head of the Justice Department and privately too. Nobody was there to attest to the veracity of the Attorney General's explanation and she was not under oath to speak truthfully when she gave her version of what transpired. Icheoku says it looks bad and if Hillary Clinton is not indicted, the inference would be there that justice was perverted. Conversely if she is indicted merely to satisfy the current hysteria created by the meeting and there is no grounds to otherwise hitherto do so, then an injustice would have been done to her. This leaves the Attorney General in a quandary, a sort of Catch-22 situation. However doing the later would be a more tolerable cost to the meeting with Bill Clinton, rather than the former, which will scream to high heavens that the Justice Department was compromised. So, Loretta Lynch, how do you plea?
Friday, July 1, 2016
HILLARY CLINTON, A COUNTERFEIT SUPERFICIAL PERSONALITY. - BRIAN BROWNE
Hillary Clinton’s words profess compassion. Her long resume pretends competence. Her deeds are the problem. Her accomplishments are more hollow than she would rather they be. This relegates her to argue the mere holding of office is sufficient accomplishment regardless of what occurred while there.
Because she has been around so long and has held many posts, we have been induced to believe her and believe in her. Yet, to believe in her is to believe she is what she is not. Secretary of State was the last major office she held. She turned the State Department into a place of erroneous policy as in Libya, Syrian and Ukraine. She treated the august department as her personal fiefdom. She proved to be a sly manager who mishandled sensitive public resources as if they were her own and treated the public trust as if nonexistent.
While Trump is a daylight assault with an axe, Clinton is a nocturnal bacillus whose attack comes subtly from within while our defenses are down and slumbering.
Hillary Clinton’s run for office has now become a moral dilemma for her allies. One cannot back her yet support good governance and the rule of law at the same time. In clinching the Democratic Party nomination, Clinton has achieved two firsts. She is the first woman to clinch the nomination of one of the two major parties. That a woman has done so is long overdue. That it is Clinton will be recorded as one of America’s bittersweet occurrences. It is to bestow a true honor on one of the most counterfeit personalities of this or any era.
She is also the first presidential candidate of any major party to enter the election race under criminal investigation for serious breaches of national security. As to which ‘’first’’ will history lay her greater remembrance looms as an open question.
For those unversed in diplomacy and national security matters, the storm about her use of a private email account and server seems unintelligible or petty. For those knowledgeable about American national security matters, what she did is of utmost seriousness; it was criminal in nature and should disqualify her for office. It reveals a frightening disdain for the rule of law and the intelligence of the people, both warning signs that democratic good governance may not be Clinton’s strong suit. I consider myself in this latter group.
This is important to all. If she can be so callous regarding the nation and the constitution she professes to love, grave dangers lurk for those nations that win her ire. Remember Clinton publicly joked about how Qaddafi was tortured and killed as if sodomizing then illegally executing an opposing leader is the stuff of jokes instead of the crime that it was. Such dark levity is unbefitting a world leader. In Libya, she pushed the Obama Administration to work in concert with regional terrorists to upend a secular leader who had long ago ceased being a threat to any measurable American interests. She championed this avenue more as a function of pique than of sage policy. After witnessing and joking about the destruction she, Clinton turned her back and left that nation to rot and ruin. If indicative of her purported competence, then we are in palpable trouble for the Libyan caper is a picture book example of foreign policy by guttural impulse.
Clinton has never encountered a war she did not like yet she has proven to be a truant housekeeper after the damage has been wrought. She has thirsted for every American war in the past twenty years. If she had her way, what happened in Libya would have repeated itself in Syria. Judging by her published emails, she pines for an excuse to war against Iran. Russian and American military might would be in nose-to-nose proximity on the steppes of the Ukraine due to her lack of geopolitical prudence and blind arrogance. A Clinton presidency is like to cart the world closer to a major war of untold consequence.
Because of the leadership and personality flaws the scandal reveals, perhaps a bit of explanation about the national security and legal implications underlying her email scandal may help the reader understand the gravity of Clinton’s derelictions. For this is not an artificial fuzz over the sloppy handling of inconsequential emails such as what friends exchange between themselves. This concerns the wanton and perhaps willful misuse of emails that contained some the nation’s most closely guarded national security considerations.
As Secretary of State, her official communications belong to the people and to the United States government, not to her. They were meant to be restricted to encrypted official channels for archival purposes and, more importantly, to safeguard information from foreign snooping. The use of a private server trashed both goals.
Clinton acted as if her want to control access to her official communications was of greater weight than the true ownership rights and national security concerns of the government that employed her. She acted as if the government was her agent and servant instead of the other way around. In treating sensitive government documents and work product as belonging exclusively to her, she behaved imperiously, like spoiled royalty doing the nation a favor rather than a citizen grateful for the privilege to serve her country. The lack of character which she has exhibited in the matter is revealed in a quick examination of the claims she has made to dance around her culpability.
Claim 1: The State Department approved the private setup. This claim has proven bogus. In an official report, the Department claimed it never was asked to approve the private server and if so would not have done so. Clinton lied.
Claim 2: Her private arrangement was consistent with those of her predecessors. The only other Secretary to use a private email account was Colin Powell. However, he never contemplated a private server and did not exclusively use the private email account for official business. He also had the imprimatur of the Department for his limited use of private email. His rather limited official use of that account came during a completely different era regarding the use of emails for government business. At that time, the Department did not have an unclassified email system as during Clinton’s tenure. Again, she lied.
Claim 3: The private server and account were done merely for convenience purposes.She did not want to have to constantly flip between a government and a private system. This does not wash. If she did not want to operate two systems, the wisest route would have been to opt for the government device solely.
For instance, she was prohibited from using her private device in her office because that office was considered highly classified space. Whenever she wanted to deal with emails during office hours, she had to leave her office suite. Thus, we are left with the incongruous sight of the Secretary walking about the building, followed by security and other officers, as she went to another room or floor to treat emails. This might have happened several times a day. This does not seem convenient. It does not even make sense. A government devise usable in the comfort of her office and at home would have been inherently easier and wiser.
Her staff even refused Department attempts to give her a government-issued secured device because they wanted to maintain Clinton’s privacy. The position is as indefensible as it is corrupt. She has no privacy right to hide official communications from the very government that employed her to handle those communications.
Even if she opted for the private route, convenience would have pointed to only the creation of a private account. Setting up a private server in her residence is actually significant extra work. There is only one plausible reason to resort to a private server: to control access to the material, in effect obscuring from government what belonged only to it. On this point, either she lied or her judgment is so obtuse that she should not be trusted again with high public office.
Claim 4: The server was secure because armed Secret Service men guarded the residence. Having an armed guard standing on the porch might prevent a physical assault against the location. Yet, it is beyond explanation how a gun at the front door deters a computer hacker who can accomplish his theft from the other side of the planet. A gun at the porch was no more a defense to hacking the infernal machine than putting an oar in the car helps a person drive cross a bridge over a wide river.
Sadly, her personal server was extremely vulnerable. Her network lacked encryption. For a brief period, it lacked even the firewall and other lower-level security features employed by medium and small private businesses that do not handle sensitive documents. Establishing her server in order to avoid government retention of her records seemed to be her sole concern. Her obligation to safeguard important information was treated as a damnable nuisance. Again, she has lied or exposed herself as a supreme dunce.
Claim 5: No wrong was committed because no document was marked classified. This is as disingenuous as an argument can get. When she became Secretary she underwent training about classified information. She signed a formal oath that classified information could be marked or unmarked and that the mishandling of such is a criminal violation. She went into the job with eyes open. She cannot now profess a dumb blindness.
What makes information classified are not the markings but the content. Documents are not classified just because they are marked so. They are marked so because they are classified. The classification arises from their substance. The markers just acknowledge what already exists.
Over 1000 emails she returned have been found to be classified. Refuting her claim that the documents were “retroactively classified,” there is no reasonable explanation that can be offered how such documents would be classified now but were not when initially transmitted. Sensitivity of a message generally moves in inverse relationship to the passage of time. The older the message, the less sensitive. For her to argue the emails were not then classified but now are lacks credence. She knows better than to make this argument but she makes it anyway.
Claim 6: She is innocent because she bore no criminal intent. Neither fact nor law gives her succor. Under the several applicable criminal statutes, she can be held feloniously liable for the wrongful and willful transmission of classified material or for being grossly negligent in the handling and storage of the same. There is ample intent of willful violations. Roughly 20 emails have a classification of top secret or higher and over 60 as secret. Unless all of these 20 documents fit into a mitigating narrow exception that grave emergency dictated the use of the unclassified system, then at least two people committed a crime, the sender and serial receiver thereof, the latter being Clinton.
The sender would have to deliberately transfer information from a secured device to put on Clinton’s unsecured private network. Such a deliberate trespass has almost no defense and is clearly punishable. Clinton would have known this criminal process was being done for her benefit if not at her explicit behest. She condoned the misdeed over the course of her tenure. This is an intentional breach of national security, a felony. The penalty for this is a fine or up to 10 years imprisonment for each violation.
She also kept these emails on her unsecure private server for several years. By any objective legal measure, this would have to constitute the grossly negligent storage of classified material. To compound this, she placed the material on an unsecure thumb drive which is another violation. She then gave the server and thumb drive to her attorney who lacked any security clearance. This comprises another set of violations. Worse, it seems that she also used two companies to monitor her server. These companies had no clearance, another set of violations. One of the companies made back-up copies of the emails and stored them in an unsecured location, two more sets of violations. Keep in mind that every email, ranging from the 20 top secret to the over 1000 classified, is a distinct violation that carries a potential prison term of 10 years. You can figure the potential maximum time behind bars. My calculator does not count that high.
If America seeks to continue to portray itself before the world as the land of the rule of law, then it must apply the law fairly and equally even against its most favored and privileged citizens. The Clinton national security scandal will test the legal system in an open and blatant way. If she is allowed to walk, penalty free from her misconduct, then you should realize that the American legal system is an object of barter and that justice is considered a rare but not a valuable commodity. Already the major media outlets have been found out. They downplay the scandal because they work for the same big money, vast military establishment that brings us the Clintons. If Clinton is called to answer for what she has done, perhaps just perhaps the United States would have taken an important step in reasserting the destiny its noble documents and republican doctrines claim for the nation. Next week, we explore how all of this may undermine President Obama’s legacy if he fails to exercise judgment.
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