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.

Monday, April 25, 2022

IT'S A DEAL AS TWITTER SIGNS OFF ON ELON MUSK'S OFFER.

ICHEOKU says congratulations are in order here, both to the tech gazillionaire and Twitter, for finally sealing the deal of the century on free speech. It is not freedom when others decide your fate and that was the Achilles heels of Twitter as it then was, as its woke-centric management censored contents which they did not like, approve or which did not agree with their ultra subjective liberal community's viewpoint. It was a bummer and it degraded the original intent and purport of founding such a portal.

Finally, we shall have a town-hall styled communication platform that is indeed truly free, where everyone can freely express themselves without fear of being censored and/or canceled for merely having a different opinion on issues. Anyone who doesn't like it can always opt out and not participate in a discussion, but that is a decision for them to make and not the other way round. It is akin to television programming, change the channel if you don't like what is showing. 

Let freedom finally reign at Twitter. Let free speech finally ring out on Twitter. Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty Twitter is a free portal at last and will henceforth serve as an equal opportunity portal for all viewpoints. To hades with all the woke police at Twitter who abused their authority at Twitter, silenced participants who refused to be emasculated, suspended contrarians  and oftentimes completely canceled the opposition and banned from such a quasi public platform. 

Hopefully, former President Donald John Trump and all those other free speech loving people who were formally marginalized, excluded and banned from Twitter will return and re-engage on Twitter. It will help to bring back Twitter's vitality and bona fides as a public forum and all those other people protesting Twitter's communist-tinged ideology of muzzling free speech by personally boycotting Twitter will now readily return to the forum. 

ICHEOKU knew that it was an irresistible deal that Elon Musk made to Twitter when he offered to purchase Twitter for $43 billion. A sort of offer, paraphrasing The Godfather, Twitter "can't refuse" and that Twitter had no real choice in the matter other than to say yes, we accept your offer to buy Twitter and it became a done deal. Simply wonderful.

As Elon Musk rightly said, 'free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy' and he hopes that 'even his worst critic can remain on Twitter as that is what free speech means'. let's hope he stays the course of fighting for freedom of speech as he revamps Twitter and revitalizes it into an all participants free portal. Once again congratulations to Elon Musk for finally liberating Twitter. ICHEOKU prays that he will also set his eyes on Facebook as well as Directv for future acquisitions as both companies suffer from the same woke-malaise as Twitter. Way to go Musk!

HALYNA HUTCHINS' KILLING GOES UNPUNISHED?

ICHEOKU says why Alec Baldwin is still walking the streets a free man and not yet been charged for the killing of Halyna Hutchins is beyond comprehension. What is causing the delay in prosecuting the gunman or forestalling the process of finding criminal responsibility against Alec Baldwin in the case? It is over six months now since the former SNL's Trump impersonator shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Her body is probably decayed by now in her lonely cold grave or in an advanced state of decay, yet her killer, Alec Baldwin, has not been indicted for killing her. 

Someone died through the action or another, regardless of intent or premeditation; there should be at least some degree of responsibility for what happened no matter the form including giving him the barest minimum punishment possible. The degree of the charge that should be brought against Alec Baldwin in this matter is not necessarily important, but there should be some consequence for his reckless endangerment which caused grave bodily harm on Halyna Hutchins, resulting in her death. If he did not intend to kill Halyna Hutchins or did not point the gun at her, at least he held the gun in such a negligence and/or reckless manner that when it discharged, it hit her and killed her. 

But for Alec Baldwin's action, Halyna Hutchins would still be alive today. So, what is holding up the wheel of justice from grinding a dough of justice for Halyna Hutchins by punishing her killer Alec Baldwin? The only possible explanation is that the woke-centric culture perversion is once again protecting one of their own. They have jammed the process by clogging the wheel of Justice and impeding its motion against their beloved Trump's basher/imitator. If the delay in prosecuting him was caused by investigation, what exactly is there to investigate when there is no debate in whose hands the gun was that discharged and killed Halyna Hutchins. 

Enough of the delay or apparent disposition to let the killing slide into oblivion. Her family wants and deserves justice. At least charge Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter or reckless endangerment or criminal negligence or reckless behavior in handling firearms, a lethal weapon, which resulted in the death of another person. It is the right thing to do for the victim, whose bereaved family, including a husband and a daughter, are still grieving her loss. If it was OJ Simpson that killed another person, would he not have been since led out in handcuffs for the world to see another black perv in America. Charge Alec Baldwin for the killing of Halyna Hutchins and do it now. #Justice4Halyna

Friday, April 22, 2022

UKRAINE WAR: SYMBOLISM OF THE VOICE OF JACOB AND THE HANDS OF ESAU.

ICHEOKU says it is so obvious that even Ray Charles and Steve Wonder could easily see it. America is now waging a long planned and overdue war against Russia, fronting Ukraine as the face of the war while surreptitiously doing all the heavy lifting. In armament, logistics and supplies, tactical maneuvers, precision targeting and intelligence gathering; as well as actual  unofficial boots on the ground, instructing and directing the Ukraine defensive war effort against Russia, one can smell American involvement and participation everywhere. 

But America would rather the world and Russia believe that it is only helping Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression with some defensive capabilities. If American weapons are flowing into Ukraine, it is also possible that some other form of American human weapons are also making the trip into Ukraine's theater of conflict. There is presently no Russian Customs to interdict either shipped American weapons and soldiers entering Ukraine or any other method of ensuring that the manifest corresponds exactly with the shipment and that nothing else accompanies the shipped weapons. 

It is a laudable objective and those courageously sacrificing to save democracy and freedom in Ukraine should be commended. ICHEOKU wishes America and the West could do more to protect lives and properties in Ukraine, but the much they are currently doing is good enough as the alternative would have been an easy walkover of Ukraine by Russian invaders. Hopefully America will stay the course and use this God given indirect opportunity to finally humble Russia and bring President Vladimir Putin to books. A direct involvement would have completely destroyed Ukraine and caused more deaths, so the proxy war is still a good way to go. 

Russia deserves everything that is currently being thrown at it, sanctions and military; as it defied the plea of the entire world and invaded a country which did not do it any harm just because Vladimir Putin felt that he could get away with it. Thankfully President Joe Biden said no to Putin's creepy arrogance and is cleverly managing America's involvement and participation in the war without America being officially engaged in it, while meticulously bleeding and decimating Russia, economically and militarily. 

Russia cannot sustain a protracted war in Ukraine against America's led West's invisible hands choking him and his country off. Russia will someday flee Ukraine in the same manner the former Soviet Socialist Union Republic army fled Afghanistan, forced out by Stinger missiles in the hands of Mujahadeens and direct covert CIA operations. The humiliating history will repeat itself in Ukraine, a bargain which President Putin foolishly made when he invaded Ukraine, aware that such would create an opportunity for America and Europe to carry out a long awaited war of attrition against Russia. We shall live to see what eventually happens but surely, it will not be a Russian victory in Ukraine. 

Thursday, April 21, 2022

WILL SMITH: JUST ANOTHER ANGRY BLACK MAN IN AMERICA - JAY LENO.

To me, the thing that’s most disturbing wasn’t the slap, because he was kind of smirking after he slapped Chris Rock. It was the yelling of the obscenities. Then you go, ‘Whoa. What’s going on here? This is real anger. The Academy said they were investigating the slap and it took them many days to complete their investigation. You ask yourself, what are they investigating? It had to be the most recorded assault in history. I saw the back of his shoe, I saw Chris’ ear. There were so many cameras on this incident. What are you investigating? I know sometimes things are just what they appear to be.” - Jay Leno.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

RUSSIAN CRUISER MOSKVA: SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLACK SEA.

ICHEOKU once thought that President Vladimir Putin was smarter until he foolishly fell into the trap of the Ukraine war. A trap set for Russia by the West led by America, which has been long itching to humiliate Russia and reduce Putin to size. He egotistically sprung the trap and is now ensnared in it. Now, the West will bleed Russia into bankruptcy and with it, possibly end President Vladimri Putin's reign as president of Russia. It is most likely that any negotiated future normalization of relations between the West and Russia will be made pursuant to a condition precedent of his removal from office.

As America's Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Miley recently indicated, the Ukraine war will not end in a matter of months but could go on for years. In his words, the Chairman said: "It is a very protracted conflict which will be at least measured in years. This is a very extended conflict that Russia has initiated and I think that NATO, the United States, Ukraine and all of the allies, and partners that are supporting Ukraine are going to be involved in this for quite some time." The implication being that ending the war is not even a decision in the hands of Ukraine or Russia, the reason their peace negotiation has stalled; and will only be decided in some foreign capitals including Washington DC and London. 

The question now is how does Russia plan to carry on with the war and where will Russia find the huge resources necessary to sustain its war effort in Ukraine, and for the several years which the West has already planned for the war to last. Russia's economy is already taking a serious hit and if the plan to completely ban Russian oil goes into effect, how else will Russia earn income to pay for the war? The toll is heavily mounting as Russia has been suffering heavy losses, both in manpower and equipment losses. They have lost many commanding officers as well, and who knows if they are paying their soldiers or leaving their families in Russia stranded and seeking help? 

The latest of these Russia's mounting losses in Ukraine now being the sinking of their flagship cruiser named Moskva, which now sits at the bottom of the Black Sea, cavorting with marine lives and providing them shelter and a port of call as an artificial reef. It is a big punch in the guts and a direct smack on the nose of Russia, losing such a pride of Russia's Navy, regardless of the narration as to how it made its tragic rendezvoused with the rock bottom of the Black Sea. When in the Godfather, Clemenza explained the message sent by the wrapped two fishes in Luca Brasi's bullet proof jacket which was delivered to the Corleone's, as an indication that Luca Brasi is now sleeping with the fishes, dead and dumped into the deep ocean, no one in Russia or the Kremlin or Russia's navy top brass knew that a day would come when their pride cruiser Moskva would suffer a similar fate. 

A highly priced naval asset of Russia at $800 million cost, a symbol of Russia's technological prowess and naval capabilities was sent into its watery grave, ruined by two Ukrainian made and fired Neptune anti ship missiles. Although Russia, in order to save face from such a humongous humiliation, is trying to sell a different alternative reality that their prized cruiser suffered a tragic on-board explosion which incapacitated it, compromised its stability and foiled an attempt to tow it to naval repair yard and sank deep down into the dark bottom of the Black Sea. The Russian account is in fact very "Russian" as they are often very economical with the truth, otherwise why did they bomb the Neptune missiles manufacturing factory near Kyiv in retaliation?

Anyway, irrespective of which country's account of what happened to the Moskva cruiser one chooses to believe, the fact of the matter is that the menace of a cruiser has been totally and completely decommissioned. It cannot ever pose any future threat to Ukraine or any other country which Russia might decide to aggress in the future, pursuant to their imperialistic adventurism as well as other probable adversaries of Russia. It was a big maritime loss which has entered the annals of history as it compares to such other notable ship losses and wrecks in the world, including the Titanic which was doomed by an iceberg, the Lusitania which was sunk by German U-boats during World War 1 and the British war ship HMS Sheffield which was sunk by Argentina during the Falklands war using France supplied Exocet missiles.  

What Russia's exit strategy from Ukraine is and how they plan to eventually extricate themselves from the obvious quagmire which they have entangled themselves in Ukraine, nobody can safely and correctly predict. It was an avoidable miasma which President Joe Biden succinctly described as a "premeditated war of choice" by Russia. Unfortunately Russia went into Ukraine by choice, but leaving Ukraine might not be a choice which they can make by themselves alone, at least not any more, unless they want to tuck their tail in between their legs and shamefully scurry out of Ukraine in the dead of the night. Did ICHEOKU hear somebody say that America did a similar thing with their Afghanistan withdrawal? 

President Vladimir fetched for himself the ants-infested firewood and now lizards have come to  feast in his household. It is a reasonable inference that so many paramilitary agencies of the West are on the ground in Ukraine fighting and directing affairs of the Ukraine defensive war against Russia. Hopefully they will help Ukraine to courageously repel those Russian invaders and aggressors and force them to retreat back to Russia. More Russian ships should be targeted for destruction and sinking. Russia's military formations and operational bases throughout Ukraine should also be fair game for destruction as Ukraine has been destroyed and has nothing to lose any more. Let anarchy be brought down upon Russian troops in Ukraine and bleed them into abandoning their foolish military adventure in Ukraine. Enough of the hedging of bets.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

FRANK ROBERT JAMES: DOES HIS BLACK LIFE STILL MATTER?

ICHEOKU says just wondering if Frank Robert James is still down with black people, particularly the Black Lives Matter anarchists, following what he did in New York City. A fat slob black terrorist, who held New Yorkers captive to fear for several hours until he was taken into custody. His act of terror inside New York underground, exploding smoking grenades and shooting indiscriminately inside a packed subway car, hitting ten people and injuring many others is simply unforgivable. 

When will Black Lives Matter take to the streets of New York and other American cities to voice their condemnation of one of their own or is it only when a black George Floyd is shot and killed by a Minneapolis policeman that the black anarchists take streets of America hostage? A fair minded group of people should have equally vociferously condemned a black terrorist who committed such a dastardly act of deprave mind on New York commuters, but so far, it has remained crickets; forcing some people to wonder if what the fat disgruntled lowlife black New Yorker did was acceptable to Black Lives Matter. 

Anyway, he wanted to be gone for good and the justice system will grant him his wish accordingly. At 62 years old, a likely sentence for terrorism and other related charges, of not less than thirty years, will find him eventually being removed from his prison cell in a pinewood card box coffin. The black terrorist deserves any sentence which will be imposed on him as no decent society should accept or tolerate such an excessive act of violence against members of its society. Black terrorist Frank Robert James is a disgrace to the black community of America, his family, friends and everyone who knows him. He deserves no mercy and should be shown none. He should be put away to rot in prison for the good and for the rest of his natural life. 

Monday, April 18, 2022

ELON MUSK'S BID FOR TWITTER IS GOOD FOR TWITTER: SELL TWITTER TO HIM.

ICHEOKU says the liberal on steroids city of San Francisco based woke-centric social media platform Twitter is long overdue for a new management and ownership. The platform has since deviated from its original purpose of providing a community town-hall styled space where everyone can freely communicate their views on issues. But the leftist lunatic fringe of the political divide have hijacked the platform and now uses undue pressure of threat to induce advertisers' boycott of the platform to force Twitter's management to exclude anyone who dares deviate from their stipulated talking points. 

So, it was a great relief when the news filtered through that Tesla/SpaceX mogul Elon Musk wants to reposition the social media platform and restore it to its original glorious intent by purchasing the platform and taking it private. It is a decision which time has come and ICHEOKU commends Elon Musk for boldly taking the initiative, regardless of the current effort to sabotage his effort and stop him from acquiring the platform. ICHEOKU prays that Elon Musk will pull all stops to actualize his objective, including bypassing the directors and reaching out directly to the shareholders and making them an offer they cannot refuse, provided the end justifies the means. 

The current bid by Elon Musk to acquire Twitter and the so far strewn obstacles reminds ICHEOKU of when Oracle's Larry Ellison made a bid for Peoples Soft. The directors refused to accept his deal and Larry Ellison took his offer directly to the shareholders of the company who lapped up his juicy offer and Peoples Soft's acquisition by Oracle became mission-accomplished history.  So, poison pill or no poison pill, the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk is still doable and should be pursued with every vigor and zeal that could be mustered as it is a noble cause, worthy fighting for in the interest of preserving freedom of speech. 

No side of the ideological and political divide in America has a monopoly of good ideas or sound knowledge and judgment to warrant their lording it over the other side and impose their thinking and sometimes basal feelings on them. It is therefore fair that a town hall platform such as Twitter should independently exist without much noticeable bias for one side.  It should a place where both sides can freely opine and elucidate their positions on issues without fear of being canceled or denied the opportunity to air their own views by being banned just for airing contrary opinion or viewpoints considered as not in conformity with "our community"; and you wonder whose community is it anyway and who constitutes the membership of this "our community" so called. 

Anyway, as ICHEOKU awaits the outcome of the Twitter bid, will use this opportunity to urge Elon Musk to also consider buying Facebook and DirectV because both organizations are as guilty as Twitter in severely abridging freedom of speech in America. They are not impartial, they have shown serious bias against conservative viewpoints and they have become too woke-centric that every non conforming opinion is censured. DirectV has been yanking off from their platform media broadcasts that do not do as told, One America Network being the latest victim of their intolerance. This is a DirectV that could keep CNN which practically nobody watches, yet had the audacity to take OAN off their platform just because they refused to be dictated to. 

Woke culture of intolerance is destroying everything once held sacrosanct to and sacred for the sustenance of freedom of speech in America. What is having a freedom of speech when contrary opinions are muffled and oftentimes, completely muscled out; their propagators canceled, their voices killed off and permanently silenced from ever being heard. The move by Mr Perfection Elon Musk to acquire Twitter and reposition it to its original ideals is definitely a smart good move in the right direction. ICHEOKU welcomes it as It will surely make Twitter better if not perfect and in the likeness of other Elon Musk's perfect products, Tesla and SpaceX. God's speed Mr Tesla/SpaceX in your bid to snatch up Twitter. #SellTwitterToElonMusk.

Sunday, April 17, 2022

POPE FRANCIS "EASTER OF WAR" MESSAGE: PEACE BE WITH YOU.

ICHEOKU says the political pope has excoriated President Vladimir Putin as a Cain who saw Ukraine not as a brother but a rival and seeking to eliminate it. The pope also took a jab at woke cancel culture for canceling things they cannot put up with instead of working to get along with them; and he also denounced abortionist for denying children of their right to be born alive. It is vintage Pope Francis and he is bold and audacious, only that he failed or rather, refused to call President Vladimir Putin and Russia by name. It is possible that the pope's distaste for the brigandage which Russia is perpetrating in Ukraine left such a sour taste in his mouth that prevented him from mentioning the two culprits by their names. Anyway, happy reading:-
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Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!
Jesus, the Crucified One, is risen! He stands in the midst of those who mourned him, locked behind closed doors and full of fear and anguish. He comes among them and says: “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19). He shows the wounds in his hands and feet, and the wound in his side. He is no ghost; it is truly Jesus, the same Jesus who died on the cross and was laid in the tomb. Before the incredulous eyes of the disciples, he repeats: “Peace be with you!”.

Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. We struggle to believe that Jesus is truly risen, that he has truly triumphed over death. Could it be an illusion? A figment of our imagination?

No, it is not an illusion! Today, more than ever, we hear echoing the Easter proclamation so dear to the Christian East: “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!” Today, more than ever, we need him, at the end of a Lent that has seemed endless. We emerged from two years of pandemic, which took a heavy toll. It was time to come out of the tunnel together, hand in hand, pooling our strengths and resources... Instead, we are showing that we do not still have within us the spirit of Jesus, we have within us the spirit of Cain, who saw Abel not as a brother, but as a rival, and thought about how to eliminate him. We need the crucified and risen Lord so that we can believe in the victory of love, and hope for reconciliation. Today, more than ever, we need him to stand in our midst and repeat to us: “Peace be with you!”

Only he can do it. Today, he alone has the right to speak to us of peace. Jesus alone, for he bears wounds... our wounds. His wounds are indeed ours, for two reasons. They are ours because we inflicted them upon him by our sins, by our hardness of heart, by our fratricidal hatred. They are also ours because he bore them for our sake; he did not cancel them from his glorified body; he chose to keep them, to bear them forever. They are the indelible seal of his love for us, a perennial act of intercession, so that the heavenly Father, in seeing them, will have mercy upon us and upon the whole world. The wounds on the body of the risen Jesus are the sign of the battle he fought and won for us, won with the weapons of love, so that we might have peace and remain in peace.

As we contemplate those glorious wounds, our incredulous eyes open wide; our hardened hearts break open and we welcome the Easter message: “Peace be with you!”

Brothers and sisters, let us allow the peace of Christ to enter our lives, our homes, our countries!
May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. In this terrible night of suffering and death, may a new dawn of hope soon appear! Let there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering. Please, please, let us not get used to war! Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets! Peace. May the leaders of nations hear people’s plea for peace. May they listen to that troubling question posed by scientists almost seventy years ago: “Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?” (Russell-Einstein Manifesto, 9 July 1955).

I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground. I see the faces of the orphaned children fleeing from the war. As we look at them, we cannot help but hear their cry of pain, along with that of all those other children who suffer throughout our world: those dying of hunger or lack of medical care, those who are victims of abuse and violence, and those denied the right to be born.

Amid the pain of the war, there are also encouraging signs, such as the open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe. May these numerous acts of charity become a blessing for our societies, at times debased by selfishness and individualism, and help to make them welcoming to all.

May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget.

May there be peace for the Middle East, racked by years of conflict and division. On this glorious day, let us ask for peace upon Jerusalem and peace upon all those who love her (cf. Psalm 121 [122]), Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. May Israelis, Palestinians and all who dwell in the Holy City, together with the pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, dwell in fraternity and enjoy free access to the Holy Places in mutual respect for the rights of each.

May there be peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and in particular for all the Christian communities of the Middle East.

May there be peace also for Libya, so that it may find stability after years of tensions, and for
Yemen, which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims: may the truce signed in recent days restore hope to its people.

We ask the risen Lord for the gift of reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists, and for Afghanistan, where dangerous social tensions are not easing and a tragic humanitarian crisis is bringing great suffering to its people.

May there be peace for the entire African continent, so that the exploitation it suffers and the hemorrhaging caused by terrorist attacks – particularly in the Sahel region – may cease, and that it may find concrete support in the fraternity of the peoples. May the path of dialogue and reconciliation be undertaken anew in Ethiopia, affected by a serious humanitarian crisis, and may there be an end to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. May prayer and solidarity not be lacking for the people in the eastern part of South Africa, struck by devastating floods.

May the risen Christ accompany and assist the people of Latin America, who in some cases have seen their social conditions worsen in these difficult times of pandemic, exacerbated as well by instances of crime, violence, corruption and drug trafficking.

Let us ask the risen Lord to accompany the journey of reconciliation that the Catholic Church in Canada is making with the indigenous peoples. May the Spirit of the risen Christ heal the wounds of the past and dispose hearts to seek truth and fraternity.

Dear brothers and sisters, every war brings in its wake consequences that affect the entire human family: from grief and mourning to the drama of refugees, and to the economic and food crisis, the signs of which we are already seeing. Faced with the continuing signs of war, as well as the many painful setbacks to life, Jesus Christ, the victor over sin, fear and death, exhorts us not to surrender to evil and violence. Brothers and sisters, may we be won over by the peace of Christ! Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyone’s primary responsibility!

Thursday, April 14, 2022

UNDERSTANDING VLADIMIR PUTIN, THE MAN WHO FOOLED THE WORLD - GIDEON RACHMAN.

Vladimir Putin was annoyed – or maybe just bored. The Russian leader had been patiently fielding questions from a small group of international journalists in the restaurant of a modest hotel in Davos. Then one of the queries seemed to irritate him. He stared back at the questioner, an American, and said slowly, through an interpreter: “I’ll answer that question in a minute. But first let me ask you about the extraordinary ring you have on your finger.”

All heads in the room swivelled. “Why is the stone so large?” Putin continued. A few of the audience began to giggle and the journalist looked uncomfortable. Putin took on a tone of mock sympathy and continued: “You surely don’t mind me asking, because you wouldn’t be wearing something like that unless you were trying to draw attention to yourself?” There was more laughter. By now, the original question had been forgotten. It was a masterclass in distraction and bullying. 

The year was 2009, and Putin had already been in power for almost a decade. But this was my first encounter with him in the flesh, during his visit to the World Economic Forum. Putin’s ability to radiate menace, without raising his voice, was striking. But so was the laughter of his audience. Despite the violence of his Russian government – as demonstrated in Chechnya and Georgia – western opinion-formers were still inclined to treat him as a pantomime villain. 

I was reminded of this just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a televised meeting at the Kremlin with his closest advisers, Putin toyed with Sergei Naryshkin, the head of his foreign intelligence service – making the feared securocrat look like a stuttering fool. The pleasure he took in humiliating somebody in front of an audience was once again on display. But this time, nobody was laughing. Putin was about to plunge Europe into its biggest land war since 1945. Russian troops launched a full-scale invasion on 24 February. Within a month, more than 10 million Ukrainians had fled their homes, thousands of troops and civilians had been killed and the coastal city of Mariupol had been destroyed. 

Even though western intelligence services had warned for months that Russia was poised to attack, many experienced Putin-watchers, both in Russia and the west, refused to believe it. After more than 20 years of his leadership, they felt that they understood Putin. He was ruthless and violent, no doubt, but he was also believed to be rational, calculating and committed to Russia’s integration into the world economy. Few believed he was capable of such a reckless gamble. 

Looking back, however, it is clear that the outside world has consistently misread him. From the moment he took power, outsiders too often saw what they wanted and played down the darkest sides of Putinism. 

In fact, the outside world’s indulgence of Putin went much further than simply turning a blind eye to his excesses. For a rising generation of strongman leaders and cultural conservatives outside Russia, Putin became something of a hero and a role model. As his admirers saw it, the Russian leader had inherited a country humiliated by the breakup of the Soviet Union. Through strength and cunning, he had restored its status and global power, and even regained some of the territory lost when the USSR broke up. And he had delighted nationalists and populists the world over by successfully defying self-righteous American liberals such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, was not simply spouting propaganda when he said in 2018: “There’s a demand in the world for special, sovereign leaders, for decisive ones … Putin’s Russia was the starting point.” 

The Putin fanclub has had numerous members in the west over the years. Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s close adviser and lawyer, expressed admiration for Putin’s annexation of Crimea, remarking: “He makes a decision and he executes it, quickly. That’s what you call a leader.” Nigel Farage, the former leader of Ukip and the Brexit party, and a friend of Donald Trump, once named Putin the world leader he most admired, adding: “The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant. Not that I approve of him politically.” Matteo Salvini, the leader of the populist right Northern League party and a former deputy prime minister of Italy, flaunted his admiration for the Russian leader by being photographed in a Putin T-shirt in Red Square. Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, has said, "My favorite hero is Putin."

Most important of all, Xi Jinping is also a confirmed admirer. A week after being appointed as president of China in early 2013, Xi made his first state visit overseas – choosing to visit Putin in Moscow. On 4 February 2022, just 20 days before the invasion of Ukraine. Putin met Xi in Beijing for their 38th summit meeting. Shortly afterwards, Russia and China announced a “no limits” partnership. As the joint Russian-Chinese statement made clear, the two leaders are united in their hostility to American global power and to the pro-democracy "color revolutions"  they accuse Washington of stirring up around the world – from Ukraine to Hong Kong. Putin and Xi are both strongman rulers who have centralised power around themselves and encouraged a cult of personality. They are, as Alexander Gabuev, a Russian academic, puts it, “the tsar and the emperor”. Whether this partnership of strongmen will survive the Russian invasion of Ukraine is now one of the most important questions in international politics. 

Putin was sworn into office as president of Russia on 31 December 1999. But at first it was not obvious that he would last very long in the job, let alone that he would emerge as the most aggressive challenger to the western liberal order and the pioneer of a new model of authoritarian leadership. As the chaotic Yeltsin era of the 1990s drew to a close, Putin’s ascent to the top job was eased by his former colleagues in the KGB. But he also had the approval of Russia’s richest and most powerful people, the oligarchs, who saw him as a capable administrator and “safe pair of hands” who would not threaten established interests. 

Viewed from the west, Putin looked relatively reassuring. In his first televised speech from the Kremlin, given on New Year’s Eve 1999, just a few hours after taking over from Yeltsin, Putin promised to “protect freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the mass media, ownership rights, these fundamental elements of a civilized society”. In March 2000, he won his first presidential election and proudly asserted: “We have proved that Russia is becoming a modern democratic state.” When Bill Clinton met Putin in the Kremlin for the first time, in June 2000, he declared his Russian counterpart “fully capable of building a prosperous, strong Russia, while preserving freedom and pluralism and the rule of law”. 

Yet while Putin may initially have found it convenient to use the rhetoric of liberal democracy, his early actions as president told a different story. In his first year in office, he moved immediately to rein in independent sources of power, to assert the central authority of the state and to use warfare to bolster his own personal position – all actions that were to become hallmarks of Putinism. The escalation of the war in Chechnya made Putin seem like a nationalist hero, standing up for Russian interests and protecting the ordinary citizen from terrorism. In an early move that alarmed liberals, the new president reinstated the old Soviet national anthem. His promises to protect media freedom turned out to be empty: Russia’s few independent television networks were brought under government control. 

As Putin established himself in office, the image-makers got to work crafting a strongman persona for him. Gleb Pavlovsky, one of Putin’s first spin doctors, later described him as a “quick learner” and a “talented actor”. Key images were placed in the Russian media and around the world: Putin on horseback, Putin practising judo, Putin arm-wrestling or strolling bare-chested by a river in Siberia. These photographs attracted mockery from intellectuals and cynics. But the president’s handlers were clear-eyed. As Pavlovsky later told the Washington Post, the goal was to ensure that “Putin corresponds ideally to the Hollywood image of a savior-hero” 

In any case, Russians were more than ready for a strongman to ride to their rescue. The collapse of the Soviet system in 1991 had allowed for the emergence of democracy and freedom of speech. But as the economy atrophied and then fell apart, many experienced a severe drop in living standards and personal security. By 1999, life expectancy for Russian men had fallen by three and a half years to below 60. A UN report attributed this to a “rise in self-destructive behaviour”, which it linked to “rising poverty rates, unemployment and financial insecurity”. Under those circumstances, a decisive leader who promised to turn back the clock had real appeal. 

Long before Trump promised to “make America great again”, Putin was promising to bring back the stability and pride of the Soviet era to those Russians who had lost out in the 1990s. But his nostalgia was not restricted to the social cohesion of Soviet times. Putin also yearned to restore some of the USSR’s lost international clout. In a speech in 2005, Putin labelled the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century". As the years have passed, he has become increasingly preoccupied by Russian history. In the summer of 2021, he published a long essay entitled "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" – which, even at the time, some saw as a manifesto for invasion. Delving through centuries of history, Putin attempted to prove that Ukraine was an artificial state and that “Russia was robbed, indeed” when Ukraine gained independence in 1991. 

Fyodor Lukyanov, an academic who is close to the Russian leader, told me in 2019 that one of Putin’s enduring fears was the loss of Russia’s status as one of the world’s great powers for the first time in centuries. His resentment at what he regarded as American slights and betrayals set Putin on a collision course with the west. A landmark moment came with a speech he gave at the Munich Security Conference in 2007.That speech was a direct challenge to the west and an expression of cold fury. He accused the US of an “almost uncontained hyper use of force – military force – in international relations, force that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts”. The Putin of 2000, who had expressed pride at Russia’s transformation into a modern democracy, had given way to a man who denounced western talk of freedom and democracy as a hypocritical front for power politics.

The Munich speech was not just an angry reflection on the past. It also pointed the way to the future. The Russian president had put the west on notice that he intended to fight back against the US-led world order. It foreshadowed a lot of what was to come: Russia’s military intervention in Georgia in 2008, its annexation of Crimea in 2014, its dispatch of troops to Syria in 2015, its meddling in the US presidential election of 2016. All of these actions burnished Putin’s reputation as a nationalist and a strong leader. They also made him an icon for strongmen throughout the world who rejected western leadership and the “liberal international order”. 

This indictment of the west goes back to the 1990s. It is argued repeatedly in Moscow that the expansion of Nato to take in countries of the former Soviet empire (including Poland and the Baltic states) was a direct contradiction of promises made after the end of the cold war. Nato’s intervention in the Kosovo war of 1998‑9 added to the list of grievances proving, in the Kremlin’s eyes, both that Nato is an aggressor and that western talk of respecting sovereignty and state borders was nothing but hypocrisy. Russians were not reassured by the western riposte that Nato was acting in response to ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses by Serbia. As one liberal Russian politician put it to me in 2008, in a moment of frankness: “We know we have committed human rights abuses in Chechnya. If Nato can bomb Belgrade for that, why could they not bomb Moscow?” 

Putin’s case against Nato also takes in the Iraq war launched by the US and many of its allies in 2003. For him, the massive bloodshed in Iraq was proof that the west’s self-proclaimed pursuit of “democracy and freedom” only brings instability and suffering in its wake. If you mention the brutal behavior of Russian forces in Chechnya or Syria in Moscow, you will always have the Iraq war thrown back in your face. 

Crucially, the west’s promotion of democracy has posed a direct threat to Putin’s own political and personal survival. From 2003 to 2005, pro-democracy “colour revolutions” broke out in many of the states of the former Soviet Union – including Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. If demonstrators in Independence Square in Kyiv could bring down an autocratic government in Ukraine, what was to stop the same happening in Red Square? In Russia, many believed it was a “fairytale” that these were spontaneous uprisings. As a former intelligence operative whose entire professional career had involved running “black operations”, Putin was particularly inclined to see the CIA as pulling the strings. The goal, as the Kremlin saw it, was to install pro-western puppet regimes. Russia itself could be next. 

The shock of the Iraq war and the colour revolutions were the recent experiences that informed Putin’s Munich speech in 2007. And, as the Kremlin saw it, this pattern of western misdeeds continued. Putin points to the western powers’ 2011 intervention in Libya that resulted in the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi – something he believes they had promised they would not do. 

That episode is a particularly sore spot for Putin, since it took place during the four years from 2008 to 2012 when he was serving in the lesser job of prime minister, having stepped aside as president in favour of his acolyte Dmitry Medvedev. As Putin’s supporters see it, a naive Medvedev was duped into supporting a UN resolution that allowed for a limited intervention, only for western powers to exceed their mandate in order to overthrow and kill Gaddafi. They have no time for the response that the Libyan intervention was made on human rights grounds, but that events then took on a life of their own, as the Libyan rebellion gained steam. 

Medvedev’s alleged naivety in allowing the Libyan intervention proved useful for Putin, however: it established the idea that he was indispensable as Russia’s leader. Any substitute, even one chosen by Putin, would leave the country vulnerable to a scheming and ruthless west. In 2011, Putin announced that he intended to return as president, after the potential presidential term had been extended to two consecutive periods of six years. This announcement provoked rare public demonstrations in Moscow and other cities, which again fanned Putin’s fears about western schemes to undermine his power. I was in Moscow in January 2012 and witnessed the marches and banners, some of which carried pointed references to Gaddafi’s fate. Putin understood the parallels. He commented publicly about how disgusted he had been by the footage of Gaddafi’s murder – which perhaps reflected a certain concern about his own potential fate. The fact that Hillary Clinton, then America’s Secretary of State, expressed public support for the 2012 demonstrations was deeply resented by Putin and may have justified, in his mind, Russia’s efforts to undermine Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. 

Putin secured his re-election, but his sense that the west remained a threat to Russia was further stoked by events in Ukraine in 2013-14. The prospect of that country signing an association agreement with the European Union was seen as a serious threat in the Kremlin, since it would pull Russia’s most important neighbor – once an integral part of the USSR – into the west’s sphere of influence. Under pressure from Moscow, the Ukrainian government of President Viktor Yanukovych reversed course. But this provoked another popular uprising in Kyiv, forcing Yanukovych to flee. The loss of a compliant ally in Kyiv was a major geopolitical reverse for the Kremlin. 

Putin’s response was to dramatically raise the stakes, by crossing the line into the use of military force. In February 2014, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, a region that was part of Ukraine but had belonged to Russia until 1954 and was populated largely by Russian-speakers. It was also, by agreement with the Ukrainians, the home of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. In the west, the annexation of Crimea, along with Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine, was seen as a flagrant violation of international law that many feared could be the prelude to further acts of aggression. 

But in Russia, the annexation was widely greeted as a triumph – it represented the nation’s fightback. Putin’s approval ratings in independent opinion polls soared to over 80%. In the immediate afterglow, he came closer to achieving the ultimate goal of the strongman ruler: the complete identification of the nation with the leader. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian parliament, exulted: “If there’s Putin, there’s Russia. If there’s no Putin, there’s no Russia.” Putin himself crowed that Crimea had been taken without a shot being fired. 

The west’s response was to slap economic sanctions on Russia. But western indignation did not last long. Four years later, Russia hosted a successful World Cup. At the final, Putin sat with the presidents of France and Croatia, two EU nations, in the VIP box in Moscow. 

The ease with which Putin annexed Crimea – and the swiftness with which the west seemed prepared to forgive – may have laid the ground for an unjustified confidence that led to the invasion of Ukraine. His overreach is also a reminder of the flaws in the strongman model of leadership. Decades in office can cause a leader to succumb to megalomania or paranoia. The elimination of checks and balances, the centralization of power and the promotion of a cult of personality make it more likely that a leader will make a disastrous mistake. For all these reasons, strongman rule is an inherently flawed and dangerous model of government. 

Tragically, that lesson is being learned all over again – in Russia and Ukraine. An invasion that was meant to secure Russia’s place as a great power and Putin’s place in history has clearly gone wrong. Putin is now involved in a brutal war of attrition. Western sanctions will see the Russian economy shrink dramatically this year, and the Russian middle-class is witnessing the disappearance of many of the consumer goods and travel opportunities that emerged with the end of the cold war. 

The unofficial goal of western policy is clearly to force Putin from power. But the endgame may not come as swiftly as we would like. Deeply entrenched in his decades-long mission, Putin is now even less likely to give up power voluntarily, since his successors might repudiate his policies, or even put him on trial. 

The prospects for popular uprising are equally poor, despite the many brave Russians who have indicated their disgust over the war. Any protests are likely to be swiftly crushed with violence and imprisonment, as they were in neighboring Belarus in 2020 and 2021. A third scenario – the possibility of an enlightened group within the elite seizing power – seems out of reach, too. Organising a palace coup against Putin will be very difficult: all dissenters were purged from the Kremlin long ago. Putin also takes his personal security very seriously:several of his former bodyguards have become rich in their own right. While there will be many within Russia who are dismayed by the course that events have taken, orchestrating that diffuse discontent into a coherent plot looks like a formidable challenge. 

The difficult truth is that Putin’s strongman style has defined his rule over Russia – and despite his many crimes and misdemeanours, those same strongman tactics may preserve him in power for years to come.

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

THE ACADEMY CHOKED ON WOKE: ATTEND FUTURE OSCARS FOR WHAT?

ICHEOKU says the woke-centric Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science has indeed outdone itself, clearly affirming that the destruction which woke culture has wrought in Hollywood is real. How else would anyone explain or rationalize the implicit condonation by the Academy of the brazen assault on Chris Rock by Will Smith during the Oscars, the so-called punishment which the Academy meted out to the offender considered. A mere ten years ban from physically being present at future Oscars and you wonder who in Will Smith's shoes will not be laughing their head off at the stupidity or lack of seriousness on the part of the Academy. 

A person who the Academy contracted to host the Oscars was publicly assaulted on the stage in front of the live audience in attendance, on a live television being beamed across the world with millions watching, both in the United States and across the world. The academy failed to provide security for the host and watched as Will Smith breached every security protocol and decorum, strode onto the stage, slapped the host and arrogantly, leisurely walked back to his front row seat, sat down, screamed obscenities and enjoyed the remainder of the ceremony. He was given an Oscars and got a standing ovation despite what he just did, and only a ten year "do not attend the Oscars" was all the Academy could come up with as punishment? Really?

The academy couldn't get themselves to punish one of their own as they are all mired in the same Hollywood sleaze that produced the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Phil Spector, Roman Polanski and now the irredeemably damaged Will Smith. Why didn't they do something that will actually impact Will Smith by going after something which he has already earned or have, to in fact make him suffer some real detriment? What if Will Smith was not planning to attend any future Oscars because of the shame he brought on himself? What if no future Oscars ever were held due to some intervening circumstances as was shown possible by the coronavirus pandemic or any other act of God? 

But an incestuous Hollywood wants the world to believe that they have sufficiently punished Will Smith by asking him not to attend the Oscars for the next ten years. Big deal. Will Smith committed such an egregious act of public disrespect to the Academy, the audience in attendance, the worldwide audience who tuned in to watch on their televisions, including millions of Americans, as well as other fellow Oscar winners, he brazenly assaulted Chris Rock and all the Academy could do was to ban him from attending the Oscars for only ten years. Really? What a punishment, indeed. 

Attending the Oscars is no big deal as many do not attend it and many more don't even bother to tune in. It is a mere discretionary privileged pastime, usually accommodated by individuals if their convenience accommodates it. It is not an obligation nor something which adversely impacts a person if they did not attend it. So, where exactly is the punishment for not attending the Oscars, and what will Will Smith suffer or lose by not attending the Oscars for the next ten years? Yet, the Academy wants us to believe that they have punished Will Smith enough for his idiotic brazen act of physical violence on Chris Rock by banning him from attending the Oscars for ten years.

The Academy by not really punishing Will Smith or seriously showing a great disapproval for his thuggish conduct, has by necessary implication, given a tacit approval to acts of violence being perpetrated on their guest and host of the Oscars Chris Rock. How about the ripple effect in the wider society, as a French tennis player recently and following Will Smith's oddity, slapped another tennis player who just beat him in a tournament. Did the Academy not take into advisement such copycat behavior following what Will Smith did and figured how to deter such misbehavior by levying very severe punishment on Will Smith. 

What detriment will Will Smith actually suffer by not attending any future Oscars for the next ten years? What deprivation will Will Smith suffer from not attending any future Oscars for the next ten years, after-all attending the Oscars is by choice and not obligated. A mere privilege, not a right and even if he has the right to attend future Oscars as a member of the Academy, such a "right" has to be first freely exercised; and one cannot exercise a right which has not vested. What forbearance exactly would Will Smith suffer for not attending any future Oscars for the next ten years. How is this "do not attend" a punishment and if, enough and sufficient for what he did?

Punishment connotes a deprivation of something one already has or infliction of hurt or pain to a person. So how exactly is a ten year ban from attending the Oscars satisfied as a punishment as it neither deprived Will Smith of anything he already has nor caused him present pain, hurt or discomfort? There is no guarantee that Will Smith will be impacted by the prescribed punishment. What if Will Smith does not live to see another Oscars? What if Will Smith is imprisoned before another Oscars? What if Will Smith is bedridden or hospitalized during any future Oscars? Any of these is ordinarily capable of preventing Will Smith from attending the Oscars, so how is the Academy's decision to not let Will Smith attend the Oscars, punishing him for the violation of decorum which he committed at the Oscars? 

Can anyone imagine what would have happened had somebody like Kid Rock or any other person for that matter who is not fully down with the woke culture madness, slapped the host of the Oscars. Just think about the tizzy which Hollywood would have gone into, while insistently demanding that the head of such a person be chopped off and served them on a platter, the John the Baptist style. Why did the Academy not take Will Smith's Oscars away? Why was the "best" in his award not downgraded to the "worst" as a "best" person does not exhibit such a thuggish conduct as was fully displayed to the world by Will Smith at the Oscars? Why did the Academy not apologize for the standing ovation which was given to Will Smith and condemn the same as not merited or deserving following his violent conduct?

The Academy knows that they dropped the ball bigly and will be lucky if Chris Rock does not sue them for a negligent failure to provide adequate security for him and at an event which they organized in which he hosted the Oscars on their behalf. That the Academy allowed Will Smith to carry on with the Oscars after what he did and did not summarily bundle him out of the venue is another indication of sloppiness on their part. They were lax and it showed. It is the same arrant nonsense that made the Academy refuse to punish Will Smith as was expected. Their woke sensitivity is alarming. 

Like the Western world which stood aside and watched as Russia pummeled Ukraine into the Stone Age, the Academy stood and watched as WiIl Smith assaulted their guest and host of the Oscars, Chris Rock. They did nothing then to protect and save Chris Rock from the mad Will Smith choler and they did nothing now to punish Will Smith maximumly. They choked on their woke-ism, transfixed and paralyzed by indecisiveness and fear of what their woke lunatics base would do or that punishing Will Smith will bring the anarchists Black Lives Matter back on the streets. Millions of people whose sensibilities were violated by what Will Smith did expected more from the Academy but regretfully, the Academy failed them. It is sad.

GILBERT GOTTFRIED: DEAD AT 67, ADIEU.

ICHEOKU says the man with the guttural voice, whose uniquely sounding voice precedes him, enabling him to star in many voiceovers, has died. He finally succumbed to his long running illness. Gilbert Gottfried was 67 years old. May his soul now rest. Adieu Gil.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

PAKISTAN"S PRIME MINISTER OUSTED: SO LONG IMRAN KHAN.

ICHEOKU says he naively thought that his celebrity status in Pakistan could shield him from exposure to international political intrigues; and that he can stand up in the world to open his mouth, say what he likes and do whatever the heck he wants as Pakistan's Prime Minister. He thought that because Pakistan has some nuclear weapons that it gave him the same right as major world powers and that his position as Pakistan's prime minister was securely intact and not open for debate or negotiations. He foolishly dared to walk where other smaller world leaders feared to venture unto and he was severely burnt as a result. 

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been removed from office, effectively immediately by the country's parliament. He was masterfully yanked out of power by forces far greater and mightier than him, from outside Pakistan for crossing the line in international political wheeling and dealing. He failed to know his place as a junior member in the ranking of world political power players and he paid a hefty price with losing his office. He defied Washington DC, opened his mouth loudly against America and to add insult to injury, cavorted with Vladimir Putin and paid him a visit in Moscow despite being advised by America not to do so in order to avoid such a toxic exposure by association. 

Like the stubborn housefly which usually follows the corpse into the grave, he was summarily  retributed with the severest punishment. He was removed from office as Pakistan Prime Minister through a well engineered and masterfully crafted plot, orchestrated through the Pakistan parliament. His indictment for which he was found guilty and removed from office simply read: "economic mismanagement and mishandling of Pakistan’s foreign policy." 

Hopefully, the now former Prime Minister has realized that International politics is more complex than just being the prime minister of a nuclear armed 200 million people Pakistan. He has probably also learnt the tragic lesson that venturing off too far in international politicking from a leader's pay grade could sometimes cost the leader his office. And that smarter leaders of smaller countries do walk the international turf rather tepidly and that openly taking sides against America, speaking against America or directly confronting America is never a smart move as it always ends in a head scratching regret. So long Imran Khan!

Monday, April 11, 2022

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON CONFIRMED: CONGRATULATIONS TO HER.

ICHEOKU says she was a sure beneficiary of an impending electoral defeat of the Democratic Party in the forthcoming November 2022 midterm elections. They had to quickly process her through to the Supreme Court now when they still enjoy their paper-thin majority in the Senate before November comes and a most likely new majority Republican Senate does a "Merrick Garland" on her, frustrates her from securing the lifetime job at the highest court in the land by not giving her even a hearing opportunity. 

First, they had to lean heavily on age-implicated Justice Stephen Breyer to give up his seat so that they could fill it with another but much younger Democratic Party's operative in a black robe. As a good party man he took one on the chin for leftism and did exactly as was demanded of him. He announced his retirement, with a caveat that he will serve out his current term, thus paving the way for the quick nomination and confirmation hearing process of his successor. 

Assured of the confirmation, provided the radical left wing of the party supports the candidate, the administration had to field a candidate that had the most backing of the leftists to avoid splitting the Senate Democrats votes or even entirely frustrating her confirmation. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson won the leftists' approval and is today the confirmed successor to retiring Stephen Breyer's seat at the Supreme Court; otherwise Judge Michelle Childs was the preferred choice of many people. 

Anyway, the matter is now moot as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is the new associate Justice designate of the Supreme Court. Her 53-47 bipartisan votes for the vacant seat was also a very good thing as she anchored her seat at the Supreme Court with support from both political parties. The Judge has a good set of teeth and a smile that is also riveting. ICHEOKU says congratulations to her Honor and wishes her the best throughout her tenure at the apex judicial temple in the land.

Thursday, April 7, 2022

VLADIMIR PUTIN IS WEST'S FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER: THEY CREATED HIM.

ICHEOKU sometimes wants to celebrate President Vladimir Putin for being a thorn in the flesh of Western countries. Other times, ICHEOKU wants to say that what goes around comes around as the West finally got what it deserves in a Vladimir Putin gone ballistically anti West. The West thought that once they allowed Putin to keep his Russian people captive and held hostage to his caprices, that his behavior towards the West would be manageably cordial. 

Boy, was the West wrong as President Vladimir Putin turned out to be the cold wounded and hungry poisonous snake which an old woman took home to nurture back to health, which later turned around to bite her, leading to her death from venom poisoning. Instead of reciprocating the "love" which the West showed to him by tolerating him in power for as long as they did, over twenty years in office, he morphed into the West's worst nightmare, a Frankenstein monster of some sort. 

President Vladimir Putin has a deeply entrenched hatred and animosity against the West and  he is venting this out through the vicious war he is waging against Ukraine, destroying Ukraine, one city at a time. In his mind, he is fighting the West by making an example out of their beloved Ukraine and daring the West to do something about it, the embedded atrocities being parceled out by Russian troops in Ukraine. He is thus goading the West to engage in a fight with Russia. He is ready, willing and able to fight the West and wants to fight the West so badly, only that the West is being circuitous and unwilling to fight Russia, no matter how Putin tries to bait them into a fight. 

The United States of America and Europe, for several decades, cuddled President Vladimir Putin. They wined and dined him; did billions of dollars worth of business transactions with Russia; tolerated his excesses, massive abuse and violations of human rights of Russians. They looked the other way while Vladimir Putin smothered democracy in Russia, killed the opposition and imprisoned many of his critics and literally turned Russia into a one man's fiefdom. Yet he was celebrated by the West and allowed to operate freely within international circles as a recognized preeminent world leader. 

It was convenient for the West to let Vladimir Putin be as they did not want him rocking anyone's boat in the West. They assessed that tolerating Vladimir Putin was the surest bet to achieving peace in Europe as that will help keep war out of the European continent. The thought that Africa, the Middle East and some parts of South Asia are the only places where wars should be fought, people killed, maimed and displaced. That those regions of the world are more suitable for wars and they can sell them as many weapons as they want, provided they remain restive, depopulating themselves and destroying their countries. Anything that will keep war out of Europe is good for them. 

They conveniently forgot that Vladimir Putin is a ruthless dictator possibly because his skin color is white and not black or somewhat yellow or tinged by a hue. They refused to brand him a monster who has repressed democracy, imprisoned and killed his opponents, poisoned critics and suppressed freedoms of all kinds, including freedom of the press, in Russia. The West continued to deal with him despite provable acts of egregious violations of things considered sacred to a civilized behavior, leading many to ask, how exactly is Vladimir Putin different from Saddam Hussein, Moummar Gaddafi, Robert Mugabe or even Kim Jong Un? 

These are despots whom the West branded evil and hunted throughout their reign of terror. Except for North Korea's Kim Jung Un, the other three are now deep-six and the West is still gunning for and can't wait to see Kim Jong Un gone as well. If all these former leaders of their respective countries did all the things which the West accused them of doing, and Vladimir Putin also did and is still doing the same things plus more, why then is the Russian strong man still breathing? Why has he not been hunted down, removed from power, summarily tried and executed like the rest of other dictators. 

Why was Saddam Hussein's noose not good enough for Vladimir Putin's neck? Why was hunting down Moummar Gaddafi and killing him like a common thief not a good measure for Vladimir Putin? Why was sanctioning Zimbabweans to starvation and abject deprivation, in an attempt to discredit and remove Robert Mugabe from power, not also a good strategic pressure to be similarly put on Russians? It only reaffirms the thinking in some quarters that the West's pretentious righteous indignation is usually selectively applied and according to who they determined has fallen out of line and out of their "do what we tell you" orbit. It is a control joystick and they use it as they pleases, not as merited or warranted, simply subjective. 

It is either the West is afraid of Russia and scared of invoking the ire of Vladimir Putin, or they do not want to pick on a fellow white man or show him in a light not so favorable for the image which they usually portray of themselves. Can anyone please tell ICHEOKU what Saddam Hussein was accused of doing which Vladimir Putin has not done ten times over and is still doing? Can somebody in the West please explain to ICHEOKU how Vladimir Putin is different from Moummar Gaddafi or Robert Mugabe. But as with everything the West does, it is always tailored to suit their particular narrative at a particular time, and they protect their own while vilifying others who do not conform to their dictates. 

The Russian strongman has fallen out of favor of the West because he fell out of line and is no longer controllable, so the West decided to use the proxy war in Ukraine to humble and humiliate him. They want to diminish him and show the Russian army as not worth its hype. But how the crisis in Ukraine between the West and Vladimir Putin eventually resolves remains to be seen, as there is no current reasonable roadmap anywhere in sight. For 22 years the West cuddled Putin and now they are crying foul because their Frankenstein monster has become uncontrollable. The West knew, but chose to pretend that the longer a person stays in power the more the person becomes conflicted, power drunk and with the feeling of invincibility, begins to do terrible things. 

This is the case which the West is belatedly now making against Putin. Why did they not make the case much earlier when it could have easily resolved Putin's question. Why did the West not know that one man remaining in power for 22 years is a recipe for a disaster. Why were they forcing other countries to democratize and other leaders to conduct elections and discouraging sit tight leaderships in other places, but allowed Vladimir Putin to remain in power for as long as he has been in office since 1999? President Vladimir Putin's metastasizing problem would have since been proactively nipped in the bud had the West done the same needful with Russia as they frequently do in some other countries; and discouraged a sit-tight leader from clinging onto power in Russia for far too long. It is sad they did but hopefully, President Vladimir Putin's era in Russia will end with the Ukraine war, one way or the other.