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

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

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

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

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

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

A HERO IS BORN.

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

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

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

WORD!

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

NOW, YOU KNOW.

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

JUST THE FACT.

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

DO YOU?.

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

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

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

PROBLEM SOLVED.

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

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

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

WORDS ON MARBLE.

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

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

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

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

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


WORD.

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

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

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


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

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


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

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

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

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


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

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

Sunday, April 25, 2021

UFC 261: USMAN KNOCKS OUT MASVIDAL.


ICHEOKU says a Round 2 knock out it was as Kamaru Usman confirmed his superiority over Jorge Masvidal, having defeated him previously in their first meet. Usman knocked him out cold and the referee had to physically intervene to save Masvidal from further punishment in the hands of Usman. ICHEOKU says congratulations to the Nigerian Nightmare. 

UFC 261 was also a testament that America has finally turned the corner and has emerged from the cold doldrums where the lockdown held it. It showed that the coronavirus scourge now in their rearview mirror, as a 15,000 person packed VyStar arena in Jackson Florida with a real live crowd, physically cheered on throughout the night. What a big relief from the over one year debilitating lockdown. 

UFC President, Dana White, has shown how to successfully manage sports activities through the coronavirus crisis and he has helped bring America back, from the zero person Abu Dhabi Yas Fight Island to few spectators in Las Vegas and to now a completely sold out full VyStar arena in Jacksonville Florida. What a successful come back kid America is and hopefully every other sector of the economy and life as we know it, can now begin to return back to its pre-coronavirus activity level. Dana White has shown the way and others has no choice but to follow. What a night to was. Once again congratulations to Kamaru Usman and the rest of participants in UFC 261, both winners and losers. It is sports and fans were entertained. 

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE NOTED: HOW ABOUT BIAFRAN GENOCIDE AND OTHERS?

ICHEOKU says the United States of America has finally acknowledged that former Othman Empire, the present day Turkey, carried out a genocide against the Armenian people. It was a long overdue admission of a historical fact of that  heinous man's inhumanity to man; an evil, which was supposed to be called by its rightful name a very long time ago. However, it is still better late than never and for this, ICHEOKU commends Joe Biden for rising up to the occasion, 106 years later. 

So with the Armenian genocide now finally given its deserving place in the annals of historical genocides, alongside the Jewish Holocaust and Rwanda Tutsis ethnic group cleansing, two other widely acknowledged genocides, when will the other similarly deliberate attempts at exterminating other various ethnic groups around the world be given their rightful names. When will their own similar circumstances be given their proper names too, as in to call a spade a spade and damn the consequences just like Joe Biden did with Armenia. It was a bold move and one day has passed following the pronouncement and the sky is still holding up firmly in the sky and the earth is neither rumbling or boiling as a result. 

The aboriginals of Australia were nearly wiped out in order for the British and other Europeans to settle on their land. The Maoris of New Zealand were similarly nearly killed off before the British and other Europeans displaced and replaced them in their motherland. The Portuguese did the same thing in Brazil and of course there was the 1967 to 1970 Biafran genocide in Nigeria wherein over 3 million Biafrans were slaughtered by the Nigerian government, aided by Britain, Russia, Egypt and America to some extent. When will all these genocides be also similarly acknowledged for what they were so that the real healing can indeed begin. Then add the Indians of America who were hunted to near extinction by the same European settlers as well. 

So, there is enough blame to go round and Turkey reserves the right to also call the Indian American experience a genocide as well if Recep Tayyip Erdogan so choses. Although nobody is seeking retribution, but it is the right thing to do to properly acknowledge these tragedies as doing so will provide some succor to the victims' surviving descendants and help them in their healing. A skewed history is better righted and it is good that Armenia eventually got their awful experience finally rightfully acknowledged by the United States of America. It gives hope to these other victims of similar experiences that some day their own horrible experiences might see the light of the day and also be properly identified for what they are, pure evil. 

ICHEOKU says it was another right step in the right direction and it will favorably count in the column of Joe Biden's legacy, provided it is properly gazetted as law and not subject to a next president's executive order override, whenever that may be. Armenia have something significant to celebrate on the occasion of the 106th anniversary of the infamy which claimed 1.3 million of their people. It is an anniversary gift of inestimable value. Now, let the Armenia slaughtered finally rest. If such pronouncement will help thaw the relationship between Turkey and Armenia, that will be an additional gift, admitted it is a tall order which will be difficult, if not impossible, to realize. 

But hey, Joe Biden braved it and the deed is done and that was the only thing that counts here; every other thing now is but the shouting. It was a good gesture, regardless of how Ankara feels about it. Germany is not fretting that Adolf Hitler's nearly wiped out the Jews, so Turkey should not sweat that part of their ignominious history that rightly belongs in their rearview mirror. It is time to move on and everybody and every party involved should look on to better days ahead and leave the past alone. Enough of the bitter clinging to what happened more than one century ago. It was a good right move by Joe Biden. Well done Joe.

Saturday, April 24, 2021

GEORGE FLOYD'S WRONGFUL DEATH SETTLEMENT: WAS HE WORTH $27 MILLION?

ICHEOKU says what is a life really worth afterall, especially the life of a drug addict who was ordinarily nearing his death before finally dying in the hands of the police or rather under the knee of a police officer. But a political correctness City of Minneapolis, in furtherance of being Woke, decided to enrich his family to the tune of $27 million. The City  wanted to make his family whole because of the trauma they suffered from the manner of his death. They also wanted to appease Black Lives Matter and their ANTIFA collaborators in order to get into their good book, so they made it rain for George Floyd's family and it poured $27 million into their coffers.

In short, the City literary emptied it's treasury as Minneapolis is not all that a very big city and could not have such a deep pocket where the removal of a whopping $27 million will not be felt. Now you understand why so many American cities are perpetually broke and always hand in cap seeking funds from Washington DC; it is because they mismanage their resources. If the City of Minneapolis could dole out such a staggering amount of money to settle just one man's wrongful death, imagine how much they have doled out in the past, will dole out in one year and will dole out in many more years to come. A wrongful death lawsuit was threatened by George Floyd's family and it was immediately settled and for such a very huge amount of money, begging the question, what is the legal department and City attorney of Minneapolis doing; or is it to just collect salary and allowances and speedily settle cases. 

ICHEOKU says if a case merits to be settled instead of being litigated, are there no longer acceptable capped ceilings for what a reasonable amount of compensation should be? Was it the manner of his death that was settled or his actual death that commanded such a huge amount of money? What indices were used to calculate his life's worth? Was it his net worth or life expectancy? How much was his last IRS filed tax, if indeed he even filed one? Was there any financial statement on record attesting to his worth that made the $27 million payment appropriate? How much support did he provide to his children and baby mama; or was he a debit dad? What type of luxurious life were his family used to as a result of what he provided for hem which they will miss and be deprived of by reason of his death and for continuity necessitated the huge amount paid? 

He was a drug addict and from the autopsy report was literary a dead man walking until the intervention of now convicted murderer Derek Chauvin promptly ended it for him. Like a catalyst, the former police officer merely quickened George Floyd's death as he would have died ordinarily within a short future time due to his complicated health condition exacerbated by his excessive drug use. Even in the video of him which the world saw preceding his death, he was not looking too good health-wise and he did not look like a financially stable person, talkless of being a rich or wealthy individual. So, on what basis was his life determined to be worth so much that $27 million was assessed as its fair value, admitted some punitive damages may have come in addition. What was his ability and capacity, which wrongful death cut short, that weighed so much in reaching the amount handed to his family. 

But the City of Minneapolis is not telling us; rather they told the world that they have settled the wrongful lawsuit with George Floyd's family in the amount of $27 million dollars. ICHEOKU says really? If George Floyd could fetch $27 million for his family, what then will the family of Duante Wright ask for, $54 million? Afterall he is much younger, much healthier and had much more potential for future earning capacity than George Floyd, who had nearly spent all his credit on earth and was already on his way out when Derek Chauvin fast forwarded it and brought his life  to immediate end. According to his necropsy, his heart was bloated, he was hypertensive, his kidney had problems and his lungs too, all in part due to his excessive drug use which had damaged them. Yet his life was determined to be worth $27 million?

All it will do going forward is to put an idea into some knuckleheads and encourage them to get creative and invest for their families through police confrontation. People who typically have nothing to provide their family and loved ones while they are alive or things to bequeath them upon death, might decide to take a shortcut at making the impossible, possible; by providing for them bountifully, posthumously. What stops a crackhead with nothing to lose deciding to intentionally confront the police, forcing them to shoot, aware that some lawyers will hustle some large amounts of money for their families through a threat of a wrongful death lawsuit. If George Floyd could fetch such an amount of money in his state of affairs at the time he died, it will automatically open a whole lot of possibilities for others out there to try and cash in.

ICHEOKU is not saying that when a person is wrongfully killed by the police officers of a City that the City should not pony up. No, only that they should seriously determine what a fair amount of compensation is or the reasonable value of the life taken before cutting that check. But they are often too quick to reach a settlement because it is the public's money and Uncle Sam is always there in Washington DC to bail them out if need be. Some might argue that a jury can never be predicted and that they might decide to empty a City's coffers through a giant pay day award if the matter goes to trial. But this is exactly the reason that should force Cities to always take such cases to trial, especially when the family is being too unreasonable with their demand amount since the jury is unpredictable. They could go either way, too.

Most times wrongful death lawsuit lawyers bluff with their threat to sue, aware that Cities frequently settles such cases rather than going to trial. These lawyers are not usually ready or prepared to invest the amount of time and resources which such trial normally demands. They only want to hustle out as many settlements as possible to keep their practices going and will rather not be bogged down in a lengthy expensive trial. So, it is in their interest to settle as many such lawsuits as they could possible gather, instead of being mired down with trying them in the court at cost, both financially and time; since most family retain them on a percentage, recover and get paid, basis. So, yes, even where an unreasonable jury awards an excessive damages, such decision could still be appealed right up to the Supreme Court if need be, for a reduced judgment amount. 

If the City of Minneapolis had called the bluff of George Floyd's family and at best offered them plus minus $5  million, they would have accepted it; and if otherwise, the City could have spent $2 million with a defense lawyer and defended the lawsuit. At most, the jury could have awarded the family about $11 million and thus saved the City about $16 million; and in any other event, the City could have spent additional $3 million in appealing the jury's award. So, no matter how it was diced, including the matter reaching the Supreme Court, a lesser amount than the $27 million would have in the end been paid to George Floyd's family. But they choked in cowardice and handed $27 million public money to the family and have now opened the door for more lawyers to begin to set a new benchmark of what their clients will settle for in any future wrongful death lawsuit. It may also lead to more crackheads playing chicken with the police in the hope that their family and loved ones may become rich following their death at the hands of the police. 

And yes, what Derek Chauvin did was horrible but it was not the entire City of Minneapolis that did it, admitted he was their agent. The people of Minneapolis collectively own the money which was doled out to George Floyd's family and they are the ones who would have sat in the jury, had the wrongful death lawsuit proceeded to trial. They would have been more frugal in disbursing their commonwealth than what the managers did. Even the fact that the City did not wait to first see how the criminal prosecution went before settling the lawsuit is by itself very perplexing. If this pattern of rushed settlement of wrongful death lawsuits continues and Cities continues to recklessly dole out their funds in this manner, they will eventually all go bankrupt as Uncle Sam cannot continuously be expected to come to the rescue each time they recklessly spend themselves into pennilessness. There will be more lawyers threatening such lawsuits and there will be more people dying in the hands of the police and their families, as clients.

Such a huge settlement amount is capable of influencing behavior, especially with people who have nothing more to look forward to and have somewhat become suicidal and have chosen the police as their executioner. Cities should start defending all these cases and where they must  settle, start their offer from the lowest figure possible. If the City's insurance forces their hands to quickly settle only to later turn around and increase their premiums, they should threaten a change of insurance company and see what happens. There should be a value attached to every life, but a drug addict and a medical doctor or a Rocket scientist's life should not command the same settlement amount. 

ICHEOKU therefore is emphatic that George Floyd's life is not worth $27 million, admitted that the agony which he was put through before he died could have weighed towards a high settlement amount, but it should never have been this high, regardless. Anyway, his death has brought his family a fortune, a financial windfall sort of and for it, there was something somewhat positive that came from his death. It is also worth noting that all those his family members who suddenly showed up following his death, apparently were not very much in his life while he lived. Judging his haggardly appearance and the fact that his drug addiction reached such a life threatening peak, a crisis level, it is rather surprised that he had that many well to do looking family members. 

ICHEOKU wonders the type of relationship which they had with him before his death. If he was down on his luck like many people often times are, how much help did he get from them. Did they assist him before and eventually gave up because he was not forthcoming? Was it that he was an adult and should take care of himself, when they were aware that drug addiction is a disease and that a sick person is not left on their own to take care of themselves because they can't. Why did they not pull together to help set him free of his drugs demons through treatments and rehabilitations; and finding him a real job with which to support himself and family. But immediately he was killed and sensing a moment in the sun, everyone of them crawled out from whatever burrow they were inside to declare me too, I am a member of his family member. Although they did good by fighting for their brother, but it should have been before the fact and not after the fact. Life is cruel. May George Floyd's soul continue to rest. 

Friday, April 23, 2021

KRI NANGGALA-402: INDONESIA DOES NOT NEED SUBMARINES?

ICHEOKU says what does Indonesia need submarines for. Who are their rivals in their archipelago neck of the wood that they want to spar with underwater? Are they planning on taking on China by firing missiles from under water into Beijing?  Why do they need submarines in addition to other water going surface vessels which are not as risky to operate as submarines. 

But like people, some countries too sometimes have their priorities screwed up big time. Now they have sent 53 of their Naval personnels to their early watery graves and it was an otherwise avoidable human toll. Before asking Germany to build them the 44 year old submarine KRI Nanggala-402, didn't they also ask them how to ensure that it performs its maneuvers safely, diving and rising from deep waters without any glitches. Why is the old submarine still ocean worthy and it was recently refitted in South Korea and you wonder why they did not send it back to Germany, the builders, to do the refitting. Anyway, may the souls of the now presumed dead seamen now rest. It is sad.

VLADIMIR PUTIN BEATS A RETREAT: SHOW OF GOODWILL?

ICHEOKU says is it a case of the calm before the storm or the ocean suddenly receding before the tsunami strikes. What made Russia Vladimir Putin to suddenly order his troops to withdraw from the Ukrainian border where they had amassed and so soon after he had threatened the world with a redline which must not be crossed. Is he up to another surprise or did he just cave in to international pressure or acted as a show of good will. 

As the world awaits his next move, ICHEOKU says kudos is in order to Vladimir Putin for at least bringing down the temperature which he raised by sending his troops to the Ukrainian border through the latest retreat. But the Kremlin strongman usually has a bag of tricks, so we can only wait, watch and pray. 

THROW THE GUY SOME BONE OF RECIPROCITY.

ICHEOKU says German Chancellor Angel Merkel reportedly helped broker the Russia withdrawal of its amassed troops from the border with Ukraine. She should be commended for doing this; and of course, for agreeing to it the Kremlin strongman also deserves commendation as well. By doing it, at least the rising tension in that part of the world which would have bode nobody any good has been deflated. 

Like a puppy which is intermittently rewarded with a treat each time it behaves well or complies to an instruction, Vladimir Putin deserves to be acknowledged for taking the first step towards deescalation. The West, especially the United States of America, should consider reviewing some of the sanctions which it recently imposed on Russia as a reciprocal gesture of their goodwill too. That way the message will be strongly reinforced that only good behavior from Kremlin will be rewarded and it will also encourage the continuing thawing of the now almost refrozen relationship between both parties. Please America, throw the dog some bone as Vladimir Putin deserves some credit.

LATEST WITHDRAWAL DATE FOR TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN: SIMPLY WISHFUL.

ICHEOKU says it would have been a very good thing if only it could, be at last, finally achieved.  But it will not happen because the same Deep State which installed Joe Biden in the White House are deeply invested in the weapons and war economy and Afghanistan is one heck of a profitable venture. They are used to their mouth watering omelette and they will not just stand idly by and watch Joe Biden kill the golden goose that lays the necessary eggs. The over twenty years running military adventure in Afghanistan is very good for business and the return on investment is profitably quite high too. So, suddenly drying up such a juicy source will not be tolerated by those fat cats who binge on American taxpayers money, spent on weapons and wars. Their appetite is greedily huge and they need to continuously feed it 

Joe Biden will not be the first White House resident to set such a benchmark date of complete and total withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Recall that one other president even added the closure of Guantanamo Bay in his to do list, but he was not allowed to do any of them throughout his eight years in the White House. Even President Donald John Trump wanted to do it but even the generals he put in positions in the Pentagon bucked him on that. So, Joe Biden will not be an exception as he too will fail because the forces amassed against closing the Afghanistan money maker are far greater than just one man in the White House. It cuts across a very large swathe of American Deep Staters, including members of both Democratic Party and Republican Party, as well as the retired and serving military and security community. Moving against them will be a very uphill task for Joe Biden to successfully accomplish and they will use every means necessarily possible to force him to back down or they will actively frustrate it. 

Therefore the September 11th 2021, 9/11 anniversary, newly set date for the final return of American troops from Afghanistan will not be mission accomplished. As other previously similarly set dates came and passed, so will it also come and pass and American troops will still be stationed in Afghanistan. The Deep State will muscle Joe Biden into submission and force him into not fulfilling that promised withdrawal and in the alternative, to just dilly-dally and tarry along until he leaves office. ICHEOKU says Joe Biden will, some time very close to his September 11th 2021 set date, appear on television to tell Americans and the rest of the world that certain developments in Afghanistan has made it imperative that American troops extend their stay in the country. That his well intended decision to have all American troops withdrawn from Afghanistan has been frustrated by some unforeseen circumstances beyond his control and that in the interest of America's security, he has decided to defer the withdrawal date until further notice. 

The total withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan would have happened a very long time ago if indeed the Deep State and the Pentagon wanted it to happen, immediately following the killing of Osama Bin Laden when America would have declared a real "mission accomplished" and beat it out of the desolate parch of earth. In fact, Afghanistan has no viable utility to America as to warrant the expenditure of the humongous amount of American blood and treasure that went into it. So, the withdrawal decision is a good and commendable thing which time came a very long time ago, even though it has remained unfulfilled and hopefully this time will be different. If Joe Biden can pull it off, it will count favorably in his column as the fella who finally accomplished what many before him only dreamt they had achieved. It will bode well for his legacy and will definitely win him some converts, especially among military families who will be relieved from their wards' over extended stay in that part of the world has finally come to end.

ICHEOKU says no amount of time spent in Afghanistan will ever be enough to accomplish whatever "mission goals" that demanded it, because it is the Afghani society that is troubled and not necessarily the Talibans or any other terrorist groups operating there. If the society was functional enough, those terrorists groups will not find it such a conducive place for their operational base. But it is a permanently failed State and no amount of American presence there, no matter how elongated, will ever right their ship of State. It has everything to do with the brand of ultra conservative Islamism being practiced there, which is entirely anti Western civilization. This makes it difficult if not impossible to have a safe workable tradeoffs that will be acceptable to America and the mullahs in charge of the Islamic orthodoxy to warrant a safe  withdrawal. America wants a Western value based Afghanistan, but the mullahs of Kabul prefer the country's full return to their annihilistic Islamism and nothing else.

So, as long as the breeding madrassas which churn out millions of Islamist fanatics, who are completely brained and steeped in their brand of ancient Islamism, continue to thrive in Afghanistan, that long will Afghanistan be burrowing deeper into absolute Islamic orthodoxy. A matter made worse because nearly the entire population want it that way and majority always carries the vote. Whether America leaves on September 11th, 2021 or one hundred years later on September 11th, 2121, Afghanistan will still revert to their brand of extreme Islamism and also instal a Taliban government in Kabul. There is no other way around it. So, unless America is ready to completely annex Afghanistan as a territory or have an irrevocable permanent military base there built there to guard them in perpetuity, it will be better to cut the losses now and beat it. Afghanistan will never change or abandon its ideological extremism and will forever remain  an extremists infested parch of desolate earth. 

If Afghanistan's neighbors and other countries around that hemisphere are comfortable with it becoming a failed state in the event of American troops final withdrawal, so be it. If Afghanistan implodes, it is a crisis which America can watch from a afar and can always timely mount a response should America become threatened as a result. American troops were not in Afghanistan before September 11th, 2001 and they can always go back to kill off any terrorists should they ever threaten or dare strike at America again. America has been defending itself from so many foes including Russia, North Korea and Iran without American troops being stationed in those countries. So, the argument that terrorists from Afghanistan will strike at America again if the troops are withdrawn is simply a hogwash and not a reason to station them there indefinitely. But if not now, when? If not in September 11th 2021, when? Will September 11th, 2121 be any better? Just bring the troops home and September 11th, 2021 will be just fine.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

CAN WE PLEASE NOT MAKE VLADIMIR PUTIN MADDER: ENOUGH ALREADY.

ICHEOKU says the West should and must introduce a new approach in their dealing with Russia's Vladimir Putin as what is, seems not to be working so well or well enough. This is in order to avoid an un-bargained for sudden cataclysmic event which might prove very fatal to mankind. So yes, Vladimir Putin is a dictator but so also are China's Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. But the West is not threatening them as they seem to repeatedly often do with Vladimir Putin. Why is Vladimir Putin being singled out particularly in this manner as there should have been a one cap fits all approach to all dictators, but not one special cap for Vladimir and different caps for Jinping and Jong Un. 

At least, Vladimir Putin's Russia is somewhat free, with limited opposition and limited press freedom, unlike Xi Jinping China and Kim Jong Un's North Korea with absolutely zero freedom for the opposition and the press. In North Korea, such attempt is ruthless put down by feeding suspected non compliant people alive to purposely starved rabid wild dogs. China also ruthlessly puts them down and have now crushed democracy in Hong Kong and menacingly threatening to do the same in Taiwan. So why single Vladimir Putin out for a separate treatment. He is still European, a white man; and has more to gain with a peaceful Europe than an Europe devastated by fissile materials. He is apparently fully invested in the preservation of the white race and their continuous survival as a people. Therefore, he will be more amenable to reaching a detente with the West and such opening should be exploited for good. 

America and other Western European nations as well as Australia and New Zealand should explore some ways to meet Vladimir Putin half way and see how to provide him with some necessary accommodations in order to sooth his ego, towards achieving a more peaceful, non confrontational, co-existence with Russia's Vladimir Putin. The approach of the last two decades of constantly pillorying Vladimir Putin does not seem to have worked or at least worked as anticipated. He has been in power since 2000 and nothing seems to have changed in his operational behavioral pattern and mode of conduct. So, why continue on the same pathway that has led to no where with a change in his behavior; or must the West be so stubborn,  continuously powering along a pathway to no where, except of course their primary intention is not to reform Vladimir Putin but to continuously portray him in the light which he seems to now relish and glow.  

ICHEOKU is emphatic that it is about time a different solution is put to the problem in order to bring Vladimir Putin closer than to continuously scare him off and eventually back him into a corner, where feeling trapped and left with no option he might spring like a cobra and ask out angrily and devastatingly. Although the West might think that they can win a full scale shooting war against Russia, which is debatable; but it will come at a very grave cost which the West might not be prepared to pay. This begs the question, why not explore the less expensive option, a way to achieve a more acceptable result which will forever free the world of the never ending phobia of Russia and what possibly Vladimir Putin is up to and might do if push ever comes to shove. 

But it seems that the continuous hot rhetorics and sanctions against Russia and Vladimir Putin is the agreed upon accepted template and the West latches unto it for a reason, to maximize an agenda. They want to continuously make out Vladimir Putin as the bogey man who the rest of the world must be wary of and in order to protect themselves from him, they need to continuously stockpile up weapons of war to defend themselves from Vladimir Putin's possible invasion of their territories. A signature of the military industrial complex, their tried and tested modus operandi, since fear always works. They love stoking it, so that they can continue plying their weapons sales and war trade. 

It might not end well for everyone should Vladimir Putin feel seriously threatened and forced to snap. His latest State of the Russian Nation address to his people seems to suggest that he is trending this way. He seems to be steadily getting very anxious and agitated, feeling about to be ensnared and being gradually boxed in. He has warned against the West crossing certain redlines but failed to describe which things constitute the deadlines which the West must not cross, thus making them his sole exclusive determination as what they are. Such open ended threat is ominous as nobody knows what in particular will trigger his reaction. It is a fluidly developing situation and it does not bode well for world peace. Mankind's survival is at stake as a reactionary Vladimir Putin will readily first explode those stockpiled nuclear weapons in his arsenal than succumb or marched out from Kremlin in handcuffs. 

But all these angst can easily end today if the West will allow Russia to be fully integrated into Europe as a bona fide member of the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization as well as other world and regional bodies as an accepted, equal and full partner. Thereafter, he could be made to conform with existing norms within those bodies which sustains peaceful neighborliness. With that, he can also be made to disarm since he will no longer feel threatened and the need to defend himself and protect his position. It is worth exploring and in fact, the West owe the world the duty of peace to explore this solution. ICHEOKU strongly believes that it is exactly what Vladimir Putin is waiting for and there is no harm in trying everything and anything that would ensure that nuclear bombs are not ever dropped again on the humanity which inhabit this world. Enough of the avoidable tensive world of confrontation against Russia and they Vladimir Putin. 

PANTAMI: A NIGERIA MINISTER IS A TERRORISTS SYMPATHIZER.

"We are happy whenever unbelievers are killed. September 11th was a good thing. I mourn Osama Bin Laden and Abubakar al Baghdadi. They are martyrs and my heroes. All those fighting are not terrorists, they are fighting for the cause. I will volunteer to fight jihad against the West." - Ali Isa Pantami, Nigeria's Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. 

ICHEOKU says these are some of the things said by this man who is currently serving in Nigeria's government as a Minister or as America would call it a Secretary. So, what is Washington DC waiting before sanctioning Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria for providing safe territory for terrorists and terrorists sympathizers in his government? When will Joe Biden read the riots act to Muhamadu Buhari for parleying with terrorists sympathizers by allowing them to serve in his government. Better still, let the CIA just drone him and get it over with. Three thousand Americans lost their lives on 9/11. Never Again! #ResignNowPantami.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

DEREK CHAUVIN'S CONVICTION: AMERICA WAS SAVED BY THE BELL OF A CORRECT VERDICT.

ICHEOKU says no other outcome would have been accepted or sufficient to save America from disastrous riots which would have engulfed the country and possibly rocked its foundations. But the jury rose up to the occasion, did the right thing by returning the correct and right verdict of guilty. Now, America lives to fight another day in the never ending battle of racial discord afflicting America. ICHEOKU says the verdict is evident that never again would an OJ Simpson style of "not guilty" verdict or a Rodney King's type of police brutality and the "not guilty" verdict of the police officers involved be tolerated or accepted in America. 

It is also a testament that violence induced fear always works in some situations to achieve a desired outcome, as those who make peaceful change impossible often times make violent change inevitable. Yes, black folks have been taking it by the chin and stoically for so long, but they have risen in unison to say not any more. They took to the streets last summer following the murder of George Floyd and America took notice. America became really afraid of the level of violence which black people were capable and able to unleash; and they do not want a repeat of that experience, not any more. The jurors are representatives of the American society and they took that specific knowledge with them into the jury room and came out, ten hours later, to say "Yes, we got it" by handing Derek Chauvin a guilty verdict on all the three counts charge. 

Their verdict is a strong message to all the police officers in America that their brutality will no longer be tolerated nor go unpunished. Hopefully, it will help moderate their interactions and encounters with the general public going forward, particularly black and colored people of America. Last summers George Floyd's death triggered riots cost 12 Americans their lives and caused $2 billion in property damages. This figures would have tripled had a wrong verdict been rendered in this case, triggering yet another riot. So, the juror somehow saved America much pain and agony, both in human toll as well as an otherwise cost overruns. Their guilty verdict was balmy and it helped soothe and calm down frayed nerves. ICHEOKU says America would have burned, but thankfully, it was spared the nightmare, saved by the bell of a right verdict. 

The case was an open and shut one anyway, as there was no better, more credible and stronger witness in the case than the video recording which captured Derek Chauvin in the act. The murder was captured on video and it took a long nine minutes to fully execute. The video could have easily successfully pass for a "res ipsa loquitur" and sufficient by itself to persuade the verdict. The rest of the presentations, witnesses and testimonies, were mere prosecutorial formalities, just extras and add-ons. Nobody is to blame for the verdict but Derek Chauvin himself, who arrogantly and intentionally murdered George Floyd in front of a recording video camera. The whole world watched the traumatizing gory spectacle as it unfolded and agreed in unison that the then Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd. Thankfully, the jurors have concurred and the matter should now rest. 

ICHEOKU says kudos to the no nonsense Judge Peter Cahill for studiously managing the case to its very successful conclusion. He was exceptional in making sure that the case does not run off course or morph into a theater of absurdity. He avoided unnecessary delays by denying the defendant's motion to dismiss and refusing their motion for a change of venue, as according to him, even the residents of Mars, if any, were aware of the case and there is no safer place to move the trial to than in Minneapolis Minnesota. Boy that judge was right, he is simply magisterial and he is a very stand up umpire in the temple of justice. Neither the prosecutors nor the defense made any special impact on ICHEOKU, so no opinion about them. 

Now, as the nation awaits Derek Chauvin's sentencing, lets hope that the judge will be mindful by giving him a commensurate lengthy prison term, otherwise the bullet which was dodged now might ricochet to strike America following a slap on the wrist sentence. ICHEOKU says kudos to the jurors for saving America further pains from the George Floyd's saga, which hopefully now ends. May his soul continue to rest. 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

DEREK CHAUVIN: IT IS NOW UP TO THE JUDGE.

ICHEOKU says after the verdict, now awaits the sentence. Judge Peter Cahill must also come through with justice for George Floyd, otherwise there may still be riots. The judge should at least meet the public's expectation half way by imposing at least half of the maximum allowed sentence for the highest convicted charge of second degree murder. 

40 years is the prescribed maximum sentence, so he should divided by 2 and give Derek Chuavin a 20 years sentence for everything since the three can run consecutively. At worst, the judge could settle for the ten years maximum sentence allowed for manslaughter; but in no other event must he make it lower than 10 years, otherwise the public anger might switch over against him. The George Floyd murder video is so horrible that only an animal is capable of so viciously, publicly, executing a fellow human being and very arrogantly too. Such a animal in human skin does not deserve pity. Therefore, the message sent by the public through the jurors needs to be strongly delivered by the judge to Derek Chauvin. #10YearsMinimumSentenceFor DerekChauvin


DEREK CHAUVIN: IT IS NOW HIS TURN TO BE HANDCUFFED.

ICHEOKU says he handcuffed George Floyd and now it is his turn to be handcuffed by the society. Karma is ugly and it never forgets nor ever forgives. Justice served when cold is the best, so said the good old wise men of Sicily. George Floyd's spirit can now finally move on. Hopefully, Derek Chauvin will be placed in a protective custody during his time in the big house otherwise he might be served yet another form of justice from inside the high walled off nation. The type that will automatically transport him to where George Floyd will be waiting to welcome him with a clenched fist with which he will knock him out cold. What a despicable humanoid, an animal in human skin Derek Chauvin really is. He is a sad memory.

MURDERER!


DEREK CHAUVIN, GUILTY!

ICHEOKU says it was the right and correct verdict as not even the legendary Johnnie Cochran could have sprang him out of the jaws of a guilty verdict. He did it and he also had the necessary intent to do it, two riyal elements required for a finding of guilty. America was saved by the verdict as untold disastrous riots would have destroyed a lot. What a relief as former police officer Derek Chauvin is convicted for killing George Floyd.

ADEQUACY OF POLICE TRAINING IN AMERICA: DOUBTFUL AND QUESTIONABLE.

ICHEOKU says certain developments during the past few weeks necessitated this appraisal of police training in America, to see if it is in fact adequate and professionalized enough as should be expected.  Could a better trained police, with the right mindset and disposition, have avoided some of the incidents which occurred this past weeks. Could a reimagined police outfit act in a manner which would avoid the frequent triggering of public dissatisfaction against the police, expressed in riots, protests and vandalism. 

Other professionals in other fields of life are usually held to a higher standard and when they err in the execution of their profession, are held responsible for professional malpractice and misconduct because of a breach of the professionalism which they hold out to possess. So, why not police professionals too and why are they not held to the same standard of higher expectations, such that whenever they fail to live up to it, they are similarly held to account for breaching their professed professionalism. What causes the constant failure to act professionally by the police or is it the inadequacy of their training that is to blame or what?

On February 4th 2021, a police officer Darrian Jarrott was gunned down during a traffic stop on Interstate-10 highway in New Mexico by an AR-15 assault rifle wielding criminal Omar Felix Cueva. The whole incident was captured on the police officer's dash cam which ICHEOKU has viewed several times, trying to figure out what exactly led to what. In conclusion, ICHEOKU says that the police officer was partly at fault for at least not having a fighting chance when the confrontation  erupted. He was too lackadaisical and carefree in conducting the whole exercise and thus compromised his safety by being so cavalierly in dealing with the driver. 

First he made a traffic stop of a completely unknown driver in a truck, he proceeded to the passengers side of the vehicle where the driver informed him that he has a firearm which would have set off all red alert alarm in his head. But instead of ordering the driver to remain put inside his vehicle and rushed back to his squad car to call for backup, he asked the driver if he could take the firearm off him for his own safety. Then he watched the driver alight from his vehicle as he casually walked back to meet with the driver towards the tailgate of the pickup truck. At which time the mad criminal raised his assault rifle and point blankly shot and killed the officer from across the bed of the truck. 

Everything was captured on the cop's dashboard camera and it could have been prevented or at least the police officer would have had some time to react and space to return fire in defense of himself. But he was caught unawares and he put himself in that dire straits by the manner he conducted the traffic stop encounter with an unknown driver in a pick up white Chevy truck. Why would a well trained police officer conduct a traffic stop in this manner; of a completely unknown stranger who was driving a truck and whose background he does not know. 

What if he was an armed and dangerous wanted criminal, a murderer or violent rapist. Why did the police officer take matters concerning his safety for granted and not effectively police the driver while he was exiting his vehicle with the usual command of show me your hands, gradually open the door with your right hand and slowly alight from the vehicle. Why did the police officer put himself in the defenseless position he was in by walking back to his squad car in tandem with an unknown driver who has already admitted to having a firearm was coming out of his pickup truck. Where was the police officer's backup officers and why did he allow the driver to exit the pickup before he could have his eyes completely affixed on the driver. 

ICHEOKU has been pulled over before but the experience was definitely different from what was seen in the video out of New Mexico. So, is it possible that the officer was a new recruit with no real experience on how to properly protect himself while conducting a traffic stop. Even when he sighted the rifle, instead of reflectively beating a quick defensive retreat, he became transfixed, as he looked at the pointed barrel and it was seconds too late. A better trained and experienced police officer would have ducked and ran back towards the front of the pickup truck in a life saving lightening speed mad dash. But it is now Monday night quarterbacking as ICHEOKU is not particularly blaming the police officer for his death, but that his lack of sufficient alertness possibly due to inadequate police training could have contributed to his killing. 

First he did everything wrong in the manner he handled the traffic stop, as police officer do not normally leave the driver's side of a vehicle unattended to while they approach the passenger's side. Second, they do not allow a driver to exit the vehicle without being totally in charge and completely focused on the driver. He had no complete visual on the driver to ensure that he had no pointed weapon in his hands, which of course proved fatal as he had one and it ended the officer's life. 

There are several commands which precedes the exiting of a driver from a traffic stopped vehicle which the police officer did not implement, which if he had done would have made a whole lot of difference. If his training was adequate and he was not a newbie, them he unreasonably exposed himself to the danger which took his life.  He let his guard and it proved a very costly mistake. May his soul now rest.

The other case which ICHEOKU wants to discuss pertaining to this topic, the adequacy of police training in America, is the latest shooting and killing of an unarmed black man in Brooklyn Minnesota. A white police officer Kimberly Potter shot and killed Duante Wright and claimed that she mistook her gun for a taser; and this police woman has been with the Brooklyn police department for more than 25 years, but wants people to believe her tall tale. She is an experienced police officer by all standards imagined and must have pulled her gun and taser several times in the past.  She is therefore well acquainted with the feel of the butt of gun and taser or at least is affixed with it, assuming she sincerely believed her own sect of peculiar facts.  

She must also have fired both weapons and is aware how their triggers respond including difference in their heaviness or weight. A matter made worse because she was even on a training drive beat of a new police recruit when they made the traffic stop leading to the killing too Daunte Wright. So, to believe her explanation is to accept that she herself was not a properly trained police officer as that is the only other thing which could possibly explain the gravity of her mistake, assuming she indeed made a mistake. 

It is therefore evident from the circumstances that there is no adequate training or continuing education or assessment retraining going on at various police departments where police officers are constantly updated and upgraded in the knowledge of their profession's best practices. It is also possible that she was simply overworked, tired and not functioning at the highest level of required alertness when she discharged her weapon killing the young black man. 

It is unfortunate that another black man has to die in the hands of a white police officer because of lack of proper diligence in the handling of a police gun. It might also be a willful indifference on her part with regard to a black person's life that made her not to be overly conscious of which of her two weapons she actually pulled out and fired. All these suggests that some of these police officers are not well prepared through adequate training, both mentally and psychologically, for the duty which they are asked to discharge. 

Any well trained and experienced police officer should automatically, like a clock work, know which holster he or she puts the gun and taser and which side of the harness the teargas, handcuffs and baton are. It is just like having the mouth, the nose, the eyes and the ears and nobody mistakenly puts food in the eyes or hurriedly puts eye drop into the nose or a vaporizer into their eyes. Certain things come to us sort of naturally because of their repetitiveness and a police officer of 25 years experience should have become so acquainted with her weapons not to just mistakenly shoot somebody to death with her gun which she allegedly mistook for her taser. 

Therefore, it is about time police academies in America rejig their training to ensure that every officer they graduate understands the burden of the badge they were. They are professionals just like other professionals in the country and they cannot be allowed to make mistakes which ordinary lay persons might be excused for. The message needs to be continuously driven into the men and women in blue that there will be consequences for their unprofessional behavior and that they will be held accountable for any poor judgment on their part in conducting their duties especially those resulting in death or which caused serious bodily harm to any member of the public which they swore an oath to serve and protect. 

Most of these cases that result in the shooting deaths of people in America by the police or the killing of police officers as well in America are somewhat otherwise avoidable deaths. Every effort should be made to prevent such deaths whenever possible as the ensuing resignations of such involved officers is no longer enough. Proactive measures to prevent deaths from occurring is better than the after the fact blame game including destructive riots and protests which always follow. The police should exercise additional caution and restraint before they pull the trigger, except in a life and death threatening situation when they have no meaningful alternative. 

The police should also protect themselves better and always be on alert non stop while on clock in order to prevent suffering such fate as befell the officer in New Mexico. Enough of the never ending police grabbing news headlines about police killings and police being killed in America. An extended training and continuing training and retraining of police officers might help in mitigating this ugly never ending damaging police tale in America which is now a readily recurring decimal. 

Monday, April 19, 2021

KAMALA HARRIS AND MEGHAN MARKLE: TWO OVER ENTITLED QUEENS.

Like Meghan Markle who wanted to be a real life princess but loathes the responsibilities which come with it, it seems that Kamala Harris only wants the perks which come with the office which she occupies in White House but is not ready for the duties which come with it. 

It is over four weeks now since Joe Biden appointed her the Immigration Tsarina in charge of the Southern border illegal immigration boondoggle, but it appears that she is not ready to do the heavy lifting required in tackling the problem. She also seemed to have shirk the responsibility and have buck passed it back to the Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and you wonder whether she did not know that the Homeland Secretary's office was in existence when Joe Biden asked her to do the job. 

But no, it is such a dirty, mean, low life job not befitting her Queenly status and she turned it down without even visiting the ground zero for a first hand assessment. ICHEOKU says is there a problem in the contraption which the Deep State clobbered together and foist on the nation? Only time will tell. 

DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS WRONG: DEREK CHAUVIN HAD INTENT.

ICHEOKU says former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin will be convicted, period. There is no other acceptable alternative to his conviction. There is a disturbing video and there is also the wishes of Black Lives Matter and their ANTIFA collaborators that he should be convicted as a tradeoff to their destroying Minneapolis, its surrounding cities and more other cities throughout America. 

His conviction will be a far less price to pay in exchange, so he will be thrown to the dogs in order to keep them quiet. The defense counsel raising the issue of his lack of intent to commit murder is sort of silly because although Derek Chauvin did not have the mens rea when he began the kneeling, but he formed it automatically when he heard George Floyd say "I can't breathe" and continued to kneel on his neck. So, the two necessary elements for a guilty verdict are present: the required intent to murder George Floyd and the act of murdering George Floyd. The verdict: GUILTY!