Thoughts Poetry Anything

dance with a siren by stani

2012-01-09T22:22:00.007Z

On January 09, 2012 © Stani. All rights reserved

i dreamt i danced
with a siren
in the lashing rain
forgot all the hurt within
risen from the earth
trembling all over
quivering in anticipation
pleasures promised untold

twin towers' enticing nipples
invitinlgy beckon
essence of paradise
within quivering mound's pleasuredome
hypnotized, catch me now
hold me rock me
flight to the milky way
take me take you

soothe my pain
quivering mound
over my face
quench my thirst
world beneath shimmering bodies
universes floating past
possibilities numerous
fleeting ephemeral reward

the unraveling by stani

2012-01-09T21:09:00.003Z

image by cewoldt

On January 09, 2012 © Stani. All rights reserved

the unraveling begins
the inches we need
at the tip of our finger
reach for them too far away

this heavy load
weighs on me
weighs me down
rolling waves of despair

wake up in the morning
rumbles of war
look around you
world in turmoil

this search goes on
what you seek lies
in plain sight
sightless eyes see nothing

running helter skelter
living a lie
living within dreams of inceptions
castles built on sand

on and on and on
come away and see
over and over again
mistakes of the past repeated

A Visual Guide to New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-03T11:22:00.002Z

by visually via

Of Spiritual Charlatans and Salvation - Stani

2011-12-19T21:44:00.003Z

I came across this video today and got to thinking about how easy it is to deceive people in the name of religion. It got me thinking about who really will go to heaven, and even, is there a heaven? If there is a heaven, are these the kind of people who have being assured of a place, people like this pastor Oyedepo who, according to this video, is obviously a child molester and abuser? I mean I am not calling him a child molester or abuser, the video is.

There is something absolutely distasteful about how these so-called men of God take others and their feelings for granted. Here is a man who should know better, attacking a child in full view of thousands of people, yet the idiots are clapping and screaming praise the Lord. I have read the Bible over and over, and I still cannot find an example where Jesus got physical with anybody possessed of a demon or demons. Jesus never condemned anyone, yet here is this ‘man of God’ condemning somebody to ‘hellfire’ simply because he is too dense and illiterate to understand what the girl is saying.

People will always find something or someone to believe in. You just have to be charismatic enough to sway people and they will flock to you like bees to honey. This is just a first part in the whole ‘fleecing of the people’ process. Once some abracadabra miracle is thrown in, the sky is the limit for the pastor. There have always being allegations of how these ‘miracles’ are perpetrated. Someone, usually very close to the pastor and in his pay, always comes out to get ‘healing.’ For the people, it does not matter really that they are being hood-winked, they simply love it, for if they are being deceived in God’s name, surely He would welcome them into heaven with open arms?

A friend once came to me, when I still attended the Redeemed Christian Church of God. He told me that the pastor’s car got stolen and so the whole congregation has being ‘challenged’ indeed, mandated to contribute fifty Euros towards buying a new car for the pastor. I felt extremely disappointed when I heard this. So I asked him why I should donate this amount of money, does the pastor not have insurance? Why should I contribute a hard earned fifty Euros towards buying a new flashy car for the pastor, what if I gave this money to some charitable organization instead? My friend did not have an answer for me, he hemmed and hawed and the conversation ended there. By the way, my friend is a pastor now as well in the same church.

Becoming a pastor is now a career choice for some, with or without a calling. A frat brother of mine once told me, ‘ Omo, we for go join this pastor bandwagon O! Those boys, them they rake in money like no man’s business, come London make you see the kind cars them they drive.’ I replied that I did not have the calling and really did not want to deceive anybody in God’s name as I would be heaping condemnation on myself. His response was chilling. ‘Omo, leave that thing, the money too easy and we gat to pick from them people o!’ He is also some sort of pastor or elder in one of these churches now and it seems the pickings are really quite good.

I am not saying people should not be pastors, what I am sad about is the fact that they use their pastor or priestly cloaks to commit evil deeds and sometimes they get away with it. Priests in the Catholic Church spent years raping little boys and girls, sometimes peoples’ wives and when the allegations came out there seems to be no desire on the part of the Church to own up to the evil within or the cover-ups that accompanied those misdeeds. It is almost as if they are living in a planet different from ours and yes, more revelations are coming to light everyday. It is baffling, really, how grown men condescend to taking the innocence of so many and yet they stand on their altars of iniquity day in day out, pontificating about God’s love.

Some hide their predilections behind the cloak. They hoodwink others into believing that satisfying their (pastors’) weaknesses amounts to an open passport to heaven. So while some battle with their sexuality, others brazenly take matters in their own hands and satisfy their urges. I got nothing against anybody’s sexuality, it is a whatever-floats-your-boat world so anything goes. What makes me mad, however, is people wanting to eat their cake and have it. Take as an example, the Catholic Church stipulates that, as a priest, one should be celibate. People go into this knowing this rule, they also know what urges drive them and how hard it is to fight them, yet they go in and become priests. Well, we all know about the various scandals through the years. I believe there will be more revelations.

If those who preach ‘salvation’ and ‘heaven’ are themselves wreaking hell on earth, what hope then for us all? Some of the most heinous crimes in the history of mankind have being perpetrated in the name of religion. Some other pastors allegedly live false lives while leading others to believe all is well in their homes. The amazing thing is that people still find it in their hearts to believe, sometimes believing with all their worldly possessions. No matter what allegations are made, people continue to believe blindly, almost as if they have come this far and only the end matters. The sad thing, however, is that in a lot of cases, the end involves penury for those who give and give and give. The pastors, on the other hand, smile all the way to the bank, with their collections of private jets and luxury cars.

So what then is this salvation? What is it all about? Is it about our souls and the need to go to heaven? Why must we be mean to one another to get there? Why allow charlatans to deceive us of our hard earned cash in order to be assured a place in heaven? Must we have the ear of a pastor before we can approach God? Why can’t we approach God on our own, after all, the pastors are human just like us and they make the same mistakes we make, so why do we place them on so high a pedestal that we end up trying to justify their evil ways when they show their true colors? Why allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking that killing others will get us into heaven and into the arms of a number of virgins? Questions, questions and more questions, no answers in sight.

Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (FULL ALBUM STREAM

2011-12-06T12:22:00.001Z

Massive..........

Man unleashes snakes in Indian tax office

2011-12-03T15:49:00.001Z

<a href='http://video.uk.msn.com/browse/news/week-in-video?videoId=2gatzud4&from=null&src=v5:embed::uuids' target='_new' title='Man unleashes snakes in Indian tax office'>Video: Man unleashes snakes in Indian tax office</a>

After the rains……..

2011-10-19T19:47:00.001+01:00

Bouncing Creature

2011-10-16T20:56:00.001+01:00

misery

2011-10-12T23:52:00.003+01:00

stormy weather
weary all over town
old man
insanity in the air

laughter, forced
from within
misery cold jangled
pursuit of happiness

another day, another penny
political elite
financial elite
colluding to enforce economic slavery

take to the street
the street of walls
sit-ins, lie-ins
taunts from the ivory towers

breathtaking depravity
young and fresh
enjoy while it lasts
icing on cakes

past meets the present
future reflects both
nothing changes
it's all being done before

lip-service
payment for loyalty
hatred deceit
reward for good-naturedness

see me standing alone
long tall one in my hands
cocktails of agadagba mixed shots
heads bob with no understanding

runaway, runaway
where there any where
here almost all gone
oblivion obscurity

Nigeria

2011-10-12T22:51:00.001+01:00

Random

2011-10-12T18:15:00.003+01:00

vSpere Wordle

2011-10-12T13:38:00.000+01:00

http://www.wordle.net/gallery?username=stani

Wordle on Racism

2011-10-12T13:35:00.003+01:00

http://www.wordle.net/gallery?username=stani

Blog Wordle

2011-10-12T13:32:00.000+01:00

Fan

2011-10-05T14:47:00.001+01:00

Some newbie graphics I programmed in Processing

2011-09-22T17:49:00.004+01:00

http://www.openprocessing.org/portal/?userID=13674

Shame of a decadent society - boy robbed while injured in London

2011-08-11T21:06:00.004+01:00

the night before

2011-07-30T22:56:00.001+01:00

Image @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/62487307@N07/5853080248/

the night before
hot takeaways
quick trips to the bathroom
nsa on my mind

mercy mercy me
frolics and romps
not in the hay
mind-blowing.

sashay up with a simple hello
codes and signs
deciphered by like minds
promises of magic.

street corners
twists and turns
all night bumps grinds
strangers the next day.

the inside man

2011-07-13T23:15:00.002+01:00

Image is from

On July 13, 2011 © Stani. All rights reserved

thrown a bone
the inside man
thought he knew it all
straight into despair's jaws.

things don't come easy
but need to be done
blood on my hands
ears ringing.

said it would be
still isn't
dreams born everyday
walking on clouds.

decisions and solutions
problems in between
cranium buzzing
trust misplaced.

reaching out
looking within
phoenix stirring
burn as ordained.

Marriage Acrostic

2011-07-04T15:56:00.001+01:00

By Stani

Made in heaven

All you ever hoped for blissfully unaware

Rumblings await not in the jungle

Reasons quickly found for weaknesses

Indifference sets in

Awareness plays on the fringes

Gradually all you ever hoped for

End game awaits.

The Dog Meat Mafia

2011-07-04T10:17:00.000+01:00

Source:

Bruno Merz - For you now

2011-07-03T00:33:00.003+01:00

The New Faces Of The Nigerian Student Fraternity In The Diaspora

2011-06-23T08:52:00.003+01:00

The New Faces Of The Nigerian Student Fraternity In The Diaspora

By

Roy Chikwem

rchikwem@yahoo.com

The Nigerian student fraternities have been imported over the years into countries such as United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, and other European mainland territories. These Nigerian student fraternities operating in the Diaspora have been able to successfully market and sell themselves to their respective host communities through charity work, community development and other social programs. It is not uncommon to notice the physical structures of the Buccaneers Confraternity and Pyrates Confraternity in notable American cities and states such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Oakland, Kansas, Houston, Maryland, Florida, Washington DC, New Jersey, New York, Chicago, and Wisconsin. The Nigerian student fraternities are well organized, managed, and controlled by graduate fraternity members that have since relocated to the Diaspora because of a better standard of living and other personal reasons. These fraternity graduates are made-up of professionals ranging from medical doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, bankers, certified accountants, civil servants, teachers, religious leaders, information technologists, professors, politicians, law enforcement agents, engineers, and other noble professions.

These Nigerian student fraternities have been able to provide their members with communal resources they would not have access to as individuals. These include planned events; investment opportunities, membership discount programs, newsletters, mentorship programs, job coaching programs, and acculturation for the new arrivals into the America society, membership directories, and financial aids. These initiatives enable members to accomplish their personal and professional goals and to meet other fellow professionals across the country. They encourage and foster close association and fraternity among members. Fraternities can mean many things to many people. They can mean academic benefits, varied social life, personal involvement with others, chances to develop personal and group leadership capabilities, the opportunity to make friends for a lifetime, or a balanced combination of all these elements. Fraternity life offers the types of social living you have looked forward to in school, the companionship of close friends, the feeling of "belonging," a home away from home, and many other benefits.

But a fraternity is much more than simply a feeling of belonging. A fraternity is a way of life. Sharing common experiences in the pursuance of a college education can be fun but the first job at college is academics. While other factors, both of social and academic nature, are of value in your development into a well-rounded individual, it is the knowledge gained through diligent study, which can reap the greatest rewards. In most national fraternities, each in-take has at least one mentor, commonly known as a "big brother," whose responsibility is to help provide the confidence and influence in making the college experience successful. In many cases, your "big brother" will become one of your closest friends and someone you can always count on being there when you need him. Fraternal brotherhood is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to meet a lot of different people who have varied views, maybe like your own, and maybe completely different. Brotherhood is being able to get along with various people and appreciating each person for his own opinion.

Recently, the Buccaneers Confraternity - United States Chapter known as the Alpha-Beta Galleon hosted by its branch in Dallas, Texas held its 2007 Annual Convention. The occasion lasted the entire weekend and it attracted Buccaneers and non-members from every part of the United States of America. The Buccaneers, who referred to themselves as “Sealords” were composed of highly educated professionals and their spouses and/or their significant partners attended the occasion. They were all dressed in business suit and tie including their yellow berets as they made their way to the 5-star hotel. They exchanged complimentary greetings among each other as fraternity handshakes were freely given and the introduction of their spouses was the order of the day. They joked about life in general and their school days in Nigeria. On that Friday, they had a get-together referred to as “Shiptail”; drinks and food were all in the surplus. The Buccaneers sat in small groups with their spouses as they laughed and talked about diverse issues ranging from family life, fatherhood, marriage life, health, business, politics, and especially the brutal and senseless violent activities of student fraternities in Nigeria. Many Buccaneers openly condemned the violence in Nigerian campuses by so-called fraternity groups. They expressed how shameful and embarrassing, it has been to read about the negative fraternity stories coming from Nigeria because they strongly believed that fraternity is all about brotherhood and bond of friendship of people of like minds coming together to fight the ills militating against the society and they resounded that violence should not have any part in fraternities.

They openly shared with non-members and spouses about the “good old days” on campus as Buccaneers and how it was all about social justice, academic excellence, friendship and brotherhood. They added that violence was never a part of their operations and they shared mutual inter-fraternal relationships with other fraternities without any bloodshed. They discussed what they needed to do as an organization and individuals in fighting the cursed menace called “student cultism”. The Buccaneers ranged in age from their twenties to sixties and they were all proud to openly and freely wear their yellow berets. Many Buccaneers were busy sharing their fraternal experiences with non-members while they talked about the history of the organization and its evolution within the years. They exhibited utmost maturity, professionalism and respect as they carried themselves around the hotel. Literally within hours, the hotel was filled with hundreds of Buccaneers including their spouses and family members.

After the said “Shiptail”, the Buccaneers Confraternity hosted their members including friends and spouses to all night party at an elegant banquet hall. An executive bus shuttle was freely provided to transport Buccaneers including friends and spouses to the party. The party was attended by hundreds of guest from the American, African, Nigerian, Caribbean and Spanish community including community leaders and local politicians. The DJ played Nigerian music mixed with 70s, 80s, and 90s urban songs. The dance floor was totally filled, food and drinks were in abundance and all hands were on deck, as Buccaneers volunteered in coordinating the event. Professional caterers, photographers, bartenders and security officers can be easily seen around the event. During and after the party, no single Buccaneer was seen drunk or misbehaving; truly “Odas is Odas” as one of the Buccaneers Confraternity mottos says was fully observed and followed. Friends and spouses were freely seen as they showed off their dancing moves on the floor and others were busy with sidebar discussions. Especially spouses, they were truly proud to be seen and associated with the Buccaneers because many non-members were impressed with the ways the Buccaneers conducted themselves and the good public services, they stood for. The party ended successfully and gracefully.

The next day, Saturday, the Buccaneers Confraternity hosted all members, friends and spouses to a free breakfast buffet. Many sat down at the breakfast buffet talking about their school experiences as Buccaneers and the atmosphere was much relaxed and calm. Later, in the afternoon, Buccaneers Confraternity held a closed-door meeting and presentation strictly for Sealords, where important issues affecting the organization was debated and discussed. Also, they had a solemn Requiem service to honor and memorialize their fellow Buccaneers who have sailed to the land of the great beyond. Towards, the evening, Buccaneers Confraternity transported their members including friends and spouses to the shipyard to set sail into the sea to celebrate the end of their annual convention. The ship hired by the Buccaneers Confraternity was the biggest and most expensive ship docked at the shipyard. Buccaneers including spouses and friends boarded the multi-story ship. The Buccaneers were fully dressed in their traditional yellow regalia’s and berets. Then, the ship did set sail but not after the Buccaneers Confraternity Flag was flown at full mast. They sang their traditional songs while spouses and friends were busy in the lower deck enjoying the music and the all Nigerian style dishes from fried rice, moi-moi, vegetable soup, suya-meat, fu-fu, goat-meat, fried chicken, fried turkey, bitter leaf soup, egusi soup and all brands of beer and tropical wine. At the end of the voyage, Buccaneers including friends and spouses were transported back to the hotel. The next morning, Sunday, Buccaneers Confraternity hosted Buccaneers, friends and spouses to a free breakfast buffet while many others had to board flights at the Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport to their respective destinations. There were exchange of business cards and Buccaneers Confraternity Souvenirs were distributed at the end of the convention.

Nevertheless, the National Association of Seadogs (NAS) known as Pyrates Confraternity also celebrated their 11th Annual Area Zero convention. The event was tagged UNO Memorial Tribute to celebrate the lives of three fallen Pyrates, Umeadi, Nwachie and Oji. They lost their lives to an auto accident while traveling to Oakland from Southern California 10 years earlier on their way to a NAS meeting. The three-day convention included a memorial for the lost Pyrates, a dinner dance, a colloquium discussion and the group ceremonial “sayling” a boat trip where Pyrates members pass on the heritage and tradition of the organization. The event was hosted by the NAS branch located in Inglewood, California (8Quake Zone).

However, the Buccaneers Confraternity has evolved into an international organization with branches in Africa, Europe, Asia, United States of America and Canada. Today, the Buccaneers Confraternity - United States Chapter known as the Alpha-Beta Galleon have become a well-known organization in their branches for their charitable giving’s and noble contributions to societal development. They donated over two thousand U.S. Dollars to the Katrina victims when the deadly hurricane went through New Orleans, Louisiana. Their current project is a book drive to freely supply Nigerian tertiary institutions with over one hundred thousand text and reference books as well as other school supplies. At the Dallas Annual Convention, they raised over one thousand dollars towards the shipment cost of the books to Nigeria. The Buccaneers Confraternity was born in University of Ibadan (Modaship) with Dr. Bolaji Carew as its first head in 1972. The confraternity remained in the University of Ibadan from 1972 till 1976 when the idea of a national outlook was conceived. This led to decks being established in various institutions of higher learning around Nigeria and aboard.

Roy Chikwem is a member of Amnesty International, American Civil Liberties Union and the Executive Director of Chikwem Foundation, Inc that is dedicated to the communities we live and work. We believe in the education of every Nigerian and African child and the mantra that “Education is the key to success”. E-mail: rchikwem@yahoo.com.

Why Millions Are Fleeing Facebook

2011-06-14T20:51:00.001+01:00

Bankole, The EFCC and the perennial hypocrisy of the fight on corruption by Stani Slaus

2011-06-08T14:16:00.002+01:00

Picture taken from

Reading through the news the past weekend, one of the mega headlines was the arrest of the former speaker of the House of Reps over allegations of fraud and other corrupt practices. Mr Bank-ole tried with the aid of his security detail to fob off the EFCC operatives but sadly for him, their bosses had to intervene to withdraw them and forestall any bloodshed.
Some have decried the manner of his arrest. Why the urgency, why the sudden rush to arrest this young former lawmaker? They forget that he has refused to honor the invitation of the EFCC on two occasions and this time around, the EFCC have claimed that they heard from very credible sources that he was about to scamper and hightail out of the country.
Some on facebook and other social media voiced their anger over the arrest of Dimeji Bank-ole. A good friend of mine made bold to claim that EFCC was carrying out its job in a selective manner. In my friend’s opinion, Bank-ole was only trying to ‘empower’ himself just like those before him did. According to my friend, Bank-ole should be left alone in peace.
I initially thought that he was being sarcastic and I tried to read between the lines but I could find nothing to read there. I have read subsequent updates from him regarding his thoughts on this issue and I see clearly now that he is serious indeed. Bank-ole has done wrong, but since people have done the same thing in the past before him, he should be left in peace to enjoy the fruits of his wanton behavior.
On the other hand, there are others who are happy over the turn of events and hope that a statement would be made regarding Bank-ole, if he is found guilty. This school of thought, however, is not holding its breath regarding anything cogent coming out of this. In their opinion, this is just grandstanding on the part of EFCC and it will return to business as usual very soon.
People can be forgiven for their cynicism, after all, this is a country of the ‘anything goes’ fame. People can loot the treasury all they like and nothing gets done. But I believe this is a dangerous cynical though that should not be encouraged. If the EFCC has decided to pursue this man, then they need our encouragement to see that the right thing gets done.
People need to know that attaining an elective position is not an automatic passport to riches, rather it is a call to duty, to serve and not be served, to protect the interests of the electorate that voted them in. The situation is so dire these days that the aim of an average young man looking for elective position is to go in there and siphon public funds.
The callousness displayed by these people should be abhorred and not encouraged. There are bad roads everywhere; there are youths everywhere engaging in armed robbery and other crimes against the society. If people spend public funds on the normal things they should be spent on, education, good roads, social awareness, health , security and light, then the ills that trouble the society today would be solved at least by half or even more.
Unfortunately, the jackals don’t think like normal people. These people are carefully groomed from generation to generation, corrupt practices are passed on from parents to children and the vicious circle continues. I agree with my friend who would like bigger thieves to be pursued rather than just going after Bank-Ole.
After all, there have being allegations floating around for more than a decade now about a former military head who stole $12 billion from the coffers of the nation. A mind boggling sum indeed! The pertinent detail here is that no successive government till date has had the balls, the gumption to investigate these allegations. If I am not mistaken, a panel of inquiry under a respected Judge was set up to look at this and that panel recommended the prosecution of this former leader. Has any successive government bothered to prioritize these recommendations? No. Is the EFCC interested? Well they haven’t made any mention of that, so we know where their loyalties lie on the issue.
Paying lip-service to corrupt practices will continue to encourage people to come out and steal public funds. The EFCC itself must try to be steadfast in seeking punitive measures for these alleged thieves. The judiciary also has to show some spine, as the EFCC cannot do the job alone. There is no point is somebody stealing about two hundred million naira or so and at the end of the day they get only 6 months jail time and that spent in the hospital bed!
Putting the foot down on corruption requires strong leadership which GEJ should strive to provide. Nigeria is a great nation with vastly intelligent people, unfortunately this intelligence is concentrated or rather dedicated to ripping off the nation, 419 or armed robbery. This should not be the case. The time has come for us all to be vigilante and try to cut off this hideous ‘gorgon’ head.

Conologue

2011-06-08T10:43:00.001+01:00

Conan on Weinergate and other jokes

Nintendo unveils the Wii U system

2011-06-08T10:01:00.000+01:00

Europe alert Levels by John Cleese

2011-06-01T09:40:00.003+01:00

ALERTS TO THREATS IN 2011 EUROPE : BY JOHN CLEESE

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Libya and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "P*ssed Off" to "Let's get the B*stards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France 's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels .

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be alright, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is canceled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

John Cleese - British writer, actor and tall person

Comics take on Arnold…………

2011-05-19T22:52:00.001+01:00

Technorati Tags: comics,arnold,love,child,nanny,schwrzneger,terminator,geminator,sperminator

Sarah Palin is Profoundly Stupid - Chris Matthews

2011-05-19T07:15:00.001+01:00

Jon Stewart making Bill O'Reilly look Stupid...Again

2011-05-18T00:26:00.003+01:00

So Common got invited to the White house? Who gives a crap really? talk about the issues that matter, like people with no jobs, no food, no medical insurance.........

Quakes Hit Spanish Town

2011-05-12T13:06:00.000+01:00

Christians and Moslems fighting in Egypt

2011-05-11T12:21:00.001+01:00

Mississippi Floods

2011-05-11T12:13:00.003+01:00

How not to load a car on to a truck

2011-05-10T23:20:00.001+01:00

Video: Barack Obama 'passes secret message'

2011-05-10T22:06:00.000+01:00

Beyonce and Jay Z booed at MET Gala

2011-05-08T14:47:00.001+01:00

Bin Laden video

2011-05-08T12:24:00.001+01:00

Source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/itnheadlines-6037627/new-bin-laden-video-25156109.html

Baby born with two faces, four eyes, two noses, two mouths

2011-05-07T08:11:00.000+01:00

Collective Intelligence by John Cardiff

2011-05-04T18:15:00.001+01:00

Posted from https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8OtOU-V1YgcNGQ0ZmM3ZTgtZGE3OS00MzBjLTk4YjEtM2EzYzk5MzVlM2I3&hl=en_GB&authkey=CM2swKYC

Osama bin Laden................picture

2011-05-03T09:21:00.001+01:00

Racism in Cuba

2011-05-02T16:57:00.003+01:00

Courtsey of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i18Z16lLpLA

Images of a Fragmented Nation

2011-04-21T15:14:00.005+01:00

Images from http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Nigeria-Election-Violence-People-demonstrate-Nigeria39s-northern-city-Kano-running-battles-broke-out/ss/events/wl/122106nigeriaoil/im:/110419/photos_wl_africa_afp/4b3602d340ad311675c8ce665dba571a/#photoViewer=/110416/ids_photos_wl/r3295587365.jpg

REVOLUTIONARY TSUNAMI by Stanislaus

2011-03-08T09:04:00.003Z

This image is being used under Creative Commons licensing. The original source can be found here.

I find it a bit of a marvel, how certain innocuous events tend to result in sometimes catastrophic events which just like a tsunami have a way of shaping the future for a long time to come. Who would have thought that a Tunisian street vendor could become the fuse that would set in motion the revolutionary events sweeping North Africa and parts of the Middle East.

A "common" man, perhaps one of the perceived, "rejects of society", going about his daily tasks. Maybe all he has left is this wheelbarrow of produce, that he needs to sell and make some money from. Maybe he has a sick wife, sick children, who knows really? The most important thing here is when this one wheelbarrow was forcibly taken off him, something was on already on the verge of snapping. Then they decided to beat him up as well, probably because he protested at the injustice of relieving him of his wheelbarrow.

The public beaten was just the final straw that perhaps broke Mohamed Bouazizi's back. He would have gone home that day asking himself, "How long? How long can this continue? Am I a man? What powers do I have? How can I fight these tyrants who prey on human blood? These tyrants who are ready to push a man through the wall?" If he had children and a wife, he would have looked at them and thought to himself, "Now that I have lost it all, how can I face these loved ones everyday knowing that I am powerless to protect them, to provide even the basics of life for them? How can I come back home so meekly and say 'Insha Allah' it will get better someday? When will it ever get better? When?" Who knows really what questions passed through his mind that day? Perhaps nothing passed through his mind, maybe he just snapped.

Mohamed Bouazizi was 26 years old. The regime of the dictator was 23 years old. Mohamed had spent the better part or almost all his life under a dictatorship that had no regard for the yearnings and aspirations of its subjects.

The step of self-immolation which Mohamed took was perhaps a long time coming. This singular action of desperation has culminated in the 'revolutionary tsunami' sweeping the Middle East today. It is not surprising anyway. What is surprising is how long it took. That in itself is also not surprising. Borne out of the need for self-preservation, people will always go for the option of suffering and smiling. It is not often that they will actually take the step and look for the means to free themselves from tyranny.

These dictators spend a long time in power. They become deeply ensconced in the citadel of control and they find it difficult to let go. In the process, like vampires, they suck their countries dry of their sovereign wealth. They siphon these monies to various 'safe havens' all over the world. Their actions are so pathetic and laughable that one can only feel pity for them. What is the essence of stealing 30 billion dollars from your countries coffers, stashing it in some account in Switzerland or the likes, meanwhile, your people whom you claim to represent to serve, to rule, are suffering and wallowing in the depths of poverty?

They live under the assumption that the countries they rule are fiefdoms that need to be controlled with iron fists. If not with iron fists, then with misinformation, misrule, and suffering. They do not hesitate to go to the Western nations and buy up properties there as a way of laundering this ill-gotten wealth. They siphon their countries' external reserves and use this to open accounts in the names of their children, wives, concubines, and cronies.

I wonder if they have ever asked them selves this question. When was the last time a Western leader came to Africa or the Middle East for a holiday or to buy some property? Western leaders know that taking the money out of their economies would not be good for the countries they lead, so they don't do that. Western leaders, when on holiday, take pride in holidaying in their countries, because it is a matter of pride for them. African leaders when on holiday, travel all over the world, to Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bahamas, and other countries in Asia where they can easily stash monies stolen from their countries coffers.

A lot of leaders from the so-called Third World have died and left their monies in the Western economies. Yes, they invariably steal so much that it is difficult to find out where it is all stashed. Sani Abacha of Nigeria stole so much that till date, nobody knows exactly where it is all stashed. The little that was supposedly repatriated from the West was in turn misappropriated by those who could have used it for the betterment of Nigerian masses.

On the eve of being toppled from power, there are rumours that Mubarrak of Egypt and his family did all they could to convert as much as they could into gold which they could then flee the country with. This is just so pathetic and contemptible. After a well contested, free and fair election in Ivory Coast, Gbabo clings to power effectively splitting his country in two, but does he care? Even in the face of world ridicule and contempt, he clings on, knowing that once he leaves the corridors of power he would not be able to enjoy the trappings of power, which sadly, translates to siphoning wealth out of his country.

Muamar Ghaddafi clings to power too. He clings on, desperately, swearing with flecks of spittle flying off his lips, that he is ready to die a martyr's death to remain a leader of his country. In the process, he is ready to kill as many of his compatriots as possible to remain in power. Indeed, there are claims that many have died as a result of a burning desire for change. Ghaddafi's actions are so reprehensible that a fellow dictator, or rather the face of dictatorship in Iran, Ahmedinjad, is said to have mused in horror at what sort of leader can kill his people this way! Ahmedinajd! Ha! I am sure that all those who have died to bring change to Iran would be turning in their graves over his musings over Ghaddafi's actions!

What Mohamed set in motion in Tunisia simply represents the fact that people are tired of the "e go better" attitude (that comes from Nigeria, it means 'things will get better'). People are tired of the suffering. People want to live the good life also. People don't want to prostitute themselves to get the good things of life. People don't want to become armed robbers to be able to enjoy good things. People want their children to have a meaningful life, a life of abundance not one of suffering. People are simply beginning to realise that the status quo could remain the same forever for all these selfish dictators care, so if they do not wrest power from them, then it would be the same story for generations to come. This is a fundamental message to sit-tight African leaders, 'Your time is almost over….better shape up or ship out'

What country are you from? Quebec or Canada?

2011-02-03T08:27:00.002Z

This got sent in by Jeff...........

In a busy Parisian cafe, a tourist is sitting alone, enjoying a crème caramel.

Another tourist approaches:

Me sit here? No problem... Thank you, very nice...

Are you on vacation?

Me, I arrive yesterday...

What country are you from?

Norway. You?

From Quebec.

Quebec? Me not know Quebec...

Quebec... near the Atlantic, next to Ontario, the Great Lakes...

No, me not know these places.

Never mind then, I'm from Canada...

Ah! Canada! Canada I know! So why you tell me you come from Quebec?

Because, my first country is Quebec!

Oh, you were born in Quebec and immigrated to Canada....

No, no, I was born in Quebec and I stay in Quebec...

Oh, then your father is from Canada?

No, no, my father, my mother, my wife, my dog, everybody, they come from Quebec....

So why you say Canada?

For Christ sake, because you say you don't know where is Quebec!

OK, but if you say you not know Norway, me I not say that my country is Japan...

Shit! Canada isn't Japan. Canada, it's my country.

Oh, your country not Quebec anymore?

My country is Quebec. But my country, it can be Canada too, if the person I speak to not know where is Quebec, Tabarnak!

Me not understand...

Look, it's simple: I come from the Province of Quebec, in the country of Canada.

Ok! But me not ask you what province you're from, I ask you what country. Me, I come from Lofoten region in Norway, but answer you Norway when you ask me what country I come from...

I know, I'm not stupid, Calisse! But me, when they ask me what country I come from, I answer Quebec. Even if it's the name of my province. For me, it's my country.

Oh, now I understand. You are a separatist; you want your Quebec province to be your country...

Are you crazy, Hostie? I don't want to know nothing from that shit!

Me, I not understand anything anymore.

I tell you before, it's simple! You ask me what country I come from, I answer Quebec because Quebec is my country, but I don't really want it to be my country, it would be too much trouble. I just want to say it.
So, why don't you just let me say it?

Me all mix up. You have passport from what country: Quebec or Canada?

CANADA, Hostie!

So why you not tell me Canada right away?

Because it don't feel right. For me, Canada is Anne Murray, the Calgary Stampede, the Mounted Police, SARS, it's not my home all that. Home, it's La Famille Plouffe, Seraphin Poudrier, La P'tite Vie, Felix Leclerc, La Poune, Les Canadiens de Montreal, Les Bougons...Do you understand???

Less and less...

Listen, forget all that shit. Ask me another question.

Ok, what town you come from?

Mmm..., I don't know anymore...

You not know what town you come from?

Yes, yes, I know what town I come from, but my town it merge with another town, but soon it is going to demerge from the town that was supposed to be my town...

Oh, that very complicated! When you write your address, what do you write?

I don't know anymore. Before, I used to write Hull, but Hull changed to Gatineau, but they tell us to wait 3 years before stopping to write Hull to not mix up the mailman. But now, the Liberals they pass a law that make it ok for Gatineau to be Hull again, but I don't know if we have to wait 3 years to be able to write Hull, or when the 3 years are passed, if we have to write Gatineau for 3 years, and after we write Hull. Unless, of course, the PQ come back in power and we remerge with Gatineau, then we'll have to write Gatineau for 3 years.

I leave now; I have hurt in my head...

It's so simple, Tabarnak: My town is Hull, my country is Quebec. But if you prefer, my town is Gatineau and my country is Canada.

OK, I think I understand!

It's about time. Anyway, it was fun talking to you, if you come around where I live; maybe you come and see me...

OK, but where? Hull in Quebec or Gatineau in Canada?

You're a pain in the ass. Forget the whole thing...

Bear Blank..........

2011-01-31T08:13:00.001Z

Some joke that got sent to moi...enjoy...have a happy day.............

Dear Noah,
We could have sworn you said the ark wasn't leaving till 5.
Sincerely, Unicorns

Dear Twilight fans,
Please realize that because vampires are dead and have no blood pumping through them, they can never get an erection.
Enjoy fantasizing about that.
Sincerely, Logic

Dear Icebergs,
Sorry to hear about the global warming. Karma's a bitch.
Sincerely, The Titanic

Dear J.K. Rowling,
Your books are entirely unrealistic. I mean, a ginger kid with two friends?
Sincerely, Anonymous

Dear America,
You produced Miley Cyrus. Bieber is your punishment.
Sincerely, Canada

Dear Boyfriend,
I can make your girlfriend scream louder than you can.
Sincerely, Spiders

Dear Voldemort,
So they screwed up your nose too?
Sincerely, Michael Jackson

Dear Yahoo,
I've never heard anyone say, "I don't know, let's Yahoo! it..." just saying...
Sincerely, Google

Dear girls who have been dumped,
There are plenty of fish in the sea... Just kidding! They're all dead.
Sincerely, BP

Dear 2010,
So I hear the best rapper is white and the president is black? WTF happened?!
Sincerely, 1985

Dear Justin Bieber,
Ariel would really love her voice back.
Sincerely, King Triton

Dear Rose,
There was definitely room on that raft for the both of us.
Sincerely, Jack

Dear Windshield Wipers,
Can't touch this.
Sincerely, That Little Triangle

Dear Taylor Swift,
If it is of any interest to you, Romeo and Juliet both kill themselves in the end.
Sincerely, Shakespeare

Dear Soccer Fans,
B B B B B B Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z!
Sincerely, Vuvuzelas

Dear Saturn,
I liked it, so I put a ring on it.
Sincerely, God

Dear Rubik's Cube,
Done!
Sincerely, Colorblind

Dear Santa,
Please tell me how you managed to stop at three Ho's.
Sincerely, Tiger Woods

Dear Boys Wearing Skinny Jeans,
I. Can't. Breathe.
Sincerely, Your Balls

Dear Martin Luther King Jr.,
I have a dream within a dream within a dream within another dream... What now?
Sincerely, Leonardo DiCaprio

Dear Sleeping Beauty,
I had to join the army, dress up like a man, defeat the hun army and totally save China for my man.
All you had to do was wake up.
Sincerely, Mulan

Dear Romeo,
My death isn't the only thing I've been faking...
Sincerely, Juliet

Dear Fox News,
So far, no news about foxes.
Sincerely, Unimpressed

Dear Sex Educators,
Abstinence is only 99.99% effective.
Sincerely, The Virgin Mary

Dear Toaster,
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?
Sincerely, Toast

Dear Edward,
I really hope that one day, I can find my way into your heart.
Sincerely, a stake

Dear Prince Charming,
You've got some explaining to do!
Sincerely, Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty

Interesting Facts | Useless facts

2011-01-23T22:31:00.001Z

Culled from Interesting Facts | Useless facts: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

# The term rule of thumb comes from the old English law that men couldn't beat their wives with anything wider than their thumb.

# Less than one percent of people who entered Germany's Auschwitz concentration camp survived, after being liberated by the Russians in 1945.

# American poet Edgar Allan Poe was once thrown out of West Point Academy in 1831 after showing up for inspection stark naked.

# A monkey's skull wrapped in leather and paper was used as a soccer ball in the very first World's Cup Soccer Championships in Uruguay.

# Ants never sleep in their wholelife.

# A reward of $1,000 was offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of a man robbing taxi drivers. The man turned himself in and demanded the reward as a result. He received a 20 year sentence for aggravated robbery instead.

# The "pound" key on your keyboard (#) is called an octotroph.

# Elvis Presley's hip-wiggling started out as a stage fright. He was so nervous, that his legs would shake.

# Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

# A man was arrested and charged with the robbery—of vending machines. The man posted bail, entirely in quarters.

# TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

# Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

# The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

# Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were freshman roommates at Harvard.

# Abdul Kassam Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia in the tenth century, carried his library with him wherever he went. Four hundred camels carried the 117,000 volumes.

# Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula"

# The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

# A polar bear's skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear.

# Experts at Intel say that microprocessor speed will double every 18 months for at least 10 years.

# Hitler and Napoleon both had only one testicle.

# Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

# Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

# In 1386, a pig was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.

# 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

# All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20.

# Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

Happy New Year Blogosphere!!!!!!

2010-12-31T23:53:00.002Z

Image is from -- http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/12/31/chilled-out-cheery-a-last-second-guide-to-new-years-eve/?hpt=C2

Lexicon

2010-12-19T08:10:00.001Z

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,686799521001_2033081,00.html

The Sail is on………………..

2010-12-04T23:28:00.001Z

Image is culled from:

http://www.africa.com/travel/

And The big freeze still ahead……

2010-12-01T22:26:00.001Z

Still snowed under…….

2010-12-01T22:14:00.001Z

Pictures by Stani

It came early…………..

2010-11-28T10:00:00.001Z

Pictures by Stani

Thought for today

2010-11-25T18:04:00.001Z

After 50 years of economical, political, socio-cultural stupor, we continue to cling to the farce that has left us wallowing in a quagmire of political filth.....50 years after and we still define governance in terms of where one comes from, zoning and all that crap that they have sold us in the past....we still fail to recognize people for what they can offer to the growth and stability of the nation...instead we are content to remain in a state of constant stasis.....look at Edo state.....it's taken Oshiomole to show the people that it is not where you hail but what you
can offer..........orientation continues but time, time is waiting for no one....ZONING and all the blah blah blah associated with it, crap and the like, should be scrapped and thrown into the bin..............say no to ZONING...

Reality bites

2010-10-02T00:20:00.002+01:00

Image is from http://picturesofdespair.blogspot.com/

so you think you've got it bad?
look around you, pen your eye
try to see the big pictures
look, see, so many with different stories.

here, take my hand
let me take you on a journey
through the dark, winding
maelstrom that lies ahead, around, within.

tormentor, demented, tormented
you with your silver spoons
ivory towers built on fragile clouds
life, one roller-coaster jamboree.

for every action a reaction
a pound for a pound
an eye for an eye
a prick for a prick.

another day, another year
in the life of a little giant
living in past, short-lived glory
basking in long-forgotten importance
a long slip from obscurity to oblivion.

brood of cowards
hands seemingly tied
spineless cretins
hoping for a better day.

so you want to be in heaven?
ready to take the flight,
walk the walk along the,
long winding road of those who know?

it is amazing, really
rich and poor afraid of the same thing
the whole world erupting
dark storms brewing.

what we do for fun

2010-09-17T13:19:00.004+01:00

Image is taken from:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/eritrea/5173129/US-threatens-Eritrea-over-support-for-al-Qaeda-linked-terrorists.html

On September 17, 2010 © Stani. All rights reserved

what we do for fun this ways
skulls to kick around
carcasses to play with
awful smell of carrion.

what we do for fun
in war-ravaged climes
burning, looting, raping
havoc let loose all around.

what we do for fun
what fun we can get in desolation
fun in the obscure
veering to oblivion.

what have we become?
living among the dead
now no better than the dead
living mummies wrapped in foulness.

eyes wide-open
eyes that cannot sleep
sleep deprived on purpose
afraid to dream dreams of desolation.

yes, what we do for fun around here
we sit, we wait and we watch
we play games of the grim kind
for we live devoid of hope.

Building VMWare team based on linked clone in 5 minutes

2010-09-14T21:15:00.000+01:00

Building VMWare team based on linked clone in 5 minutes: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Adding a new disk to a VMWare Virtual Machine in Linux

2010-09-13T21:19:00.000+01:00

Adding a new disk to a VMWare Virtual Machine in Linux

Infidelity

2010-08-17T23:00:00.003+01:00

Image is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/selvin/2692620890/lightbox/

Minutes down the drain
Plumbing done for so fleeting gain
Uptime, blood rush
Head thick, throbbing body engorged.

Seconds, minutes, time stands still
Swimming in pink juicy tides
Settled between twin peaks
Rocked to and fro within giant waves.

Gold services, gold member, underhand passes
Out of the way stops,
Romps, bumps and grinds
False road to utopia.

Exhilarating
Taste the forbidden
Fireworks in the wind
Culmination of messages sent and received.

Those left behind to pick up the pieces,
Clinging on to dreams long lost
Misery filled
No impaling, no thrusting.

Moaners and groaners
Through and through
No winners, only losers
In this game of deceit.

Between Tangled Lines

2010-08-17T22:18:00.001+01:00

Image is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixandahalfstitches/3580595853/

Make rules ,
That bind
In the night prowls
Those that sail with the wind.

Careful what you wish for
Thoughts buzzing within
Not right in the within
Drifting, moving with the flow.

The burning man comes
Thriving in pain
Destruction his middle name
Living it up, living a lie.

Careful what you wish for
Just might get it
Not right always
Sometimes wrong.

Howls in the night
Hoots in response
Call to arms
Rise and fall.

Careful what you call for
Rising from quagmire of silt
Fangs, bangs, snaps
Angling for bared throat.

Backplanes and side planes
You make no sense of this
Read between, look within
Deep lean lines.

Careful what you wish for
Ignore misunderstood machinations
Look between the lines always
See the big picture.

Fish against fish
Blind leading the blind
The one-eyed is the king
Deep pits before narrow paths.

How the French police deal with women, and children

2010-08-03T11:51:00.002+01:00

This is a video showing how the French police deal with women and children. One of these women looked pregnant....

Evacuation de familles sans logement à la Courneuve
Uploaded by Mediapart. - Up-to-the minute news videos.

Sedlec Ossuary

2010-07-22T12:35:00.004+01:00

Picked up John Connolly's Black Angel the other day. Must confess it made for very interesting reading. There was quite a lot mentioned about the Ossuary in Sedlec, Prague (an ossuary is used for the storage of human bones). Pictures below:

Images from http://www.sterf.be/photos/sedlec-ossuary

under our noses

2010-07-12T13:17:00.001+01:00

under our noses

jaw-jaw with the grim one
a grim grin in return
your time is not now
neither is it nigh

bounce, bounce, bounce
bumping, grinding
gyrating in flight of terror?
nay, fantasy!

had a chat with the man
from the DC
spoke about hidden obsessions
different ideas, cynical rants.

did it because i could
remorseless, no regrets
chest beating, will do again if i could
feel me, fear me!

bounce, bounce, bounce..
bumping, grinding
gyrating, grating

a yacht, a trip
a holiday, pleasure myself
black gold gushing
heartless response.

livelihood lost
threatened,
robots work away
caps failing.

happens in the delta,
south of the niger all the time,
of no import, death has no meaning here
in the delta nobody cares, nobody fights the cause.

bounce, bounce, bounce
cynical wink from the grim one
my arms are wide open
come in all who are lost.

a chevron, a beepee,
total, final elfins
all caught up, rubbished
in corruption..

Images culled from http://www.flickr.com/photos/amnestyitalia/3597015609/

Poor dude…wanted to run around naked..had to settle for this

2010-07-06T16:28:00.001+01:00

Technorati Tags: maradona,naked,argentina,fountain

Echoes of Despair

2010-06-25T21:47:00.001+01:00

Image is from http://picturesofdespair.blogspot.com/

everything ends
someday, somehow
soon, maybe
who cares, who dares?

who shares, the scares
the hurts, that lie
deep within inner sanctum
shaken, stirred, trials?

so there, he goes
a walk, the wild
a bride, so young
so scared, deep mess?

so what's to do
in the here, the now
there, where, anywhere
to be with you.

Technorati Tags: despair,echoes,scares,sanctum

Where Love Has Gone

2010-06-06T17:51:00.002+01:00

Image is by @Nicocu

Where Love has gone – A short story by Stani

I remember vividly the day I received the news. It started out like any other and now i think back on it, I still get goose-bumps all over my body. I never could get my head round it all and I believe I will go to my grave still trying to figure it out. I suppose it makes sense if I start from the beginning, the days before the news and take you through, all the way to the end.

People always said Flora and I would end up as man and wife, our destiny was that predictable. We hit it off right from when we met in junior infants. Well, to be honest, i was the one who ‘hit it off’ initially. To my young mind, I had finally set eyes on an angel, albeit a rude one, for Flora could not stand me initially. She thought I was a pesky little brat and she said as much to me whenever she could.

I persevered though, and I gradually won her around. I still remember the first time she kissed me in second class, after I gave a wonderful account of myself in Mrs. O'Dea's play. Okay, okay, it was not really a kiss, just a peck on the cheek, but to my wildly imaginative and over-active mind, it was a kiss and nobody was going to take that away from me.

So we progressed on in life, having great fun, enjoying each other’s company and before we knew it, it was time for college. It was not such a big deal anyway, she was going to Trinity and I would be just around the corner, so to say, in UCD, so we could always arrange to meet for drinks and lunches. We also went for walks as well, it was all very well and nice.

We were both in final weeks in college when she got pregnant and we decided to move in together. It was a plan that was a long time coming. I had being begging for over two years that we deserved to live together and probably start a family but she was of the opinion that we needed to be financially balanced to do all that. Well the pregnancy took care of that.

We both got good jobs, but all that euphoria and happiness was dashed when she miscarried and she never really got over that. She could never forgive herself for what she thought was failure on her part to take better care of the baby. She threw herself into her job and no matter what I tried we could never make another baby. We continued to love each other though.

Three weeks ago, she had to go to Cork to see her parents. She had not seen them for sometime. I was supposed to take her but somehow, a last-minute deadline at work that had to be met, meant that i could not go. She got to Cork safely and she called me to say she was going to spend the weekend. On Monday, I took the last few hours off work. i got home around 4:00pm. She had called to say she was on her way home and I wanted to make something real nice for her.

When I got home, I took a shower and while i was drying myself up, i got a big scare when I raised my head up and there she was standing right in front of me!

“Oh! Dammit, Flora, you scared the hell out of me!”

She laughed, '’Thought I’d surprise you baby'.’

I hugged her and told her how much I missed her. I said, ‘I did not hear you drive in though?’

‘I left the car at the mechanic’s, some funny noise I thought they should look at. Hey! Forget about all that. What do you think about taking some days off work? I already arranged with my office. I was thinking we should work on making that baby we both want so much! What do you think?’

i was speechless for a little while, but I agreed and called my office immediately. I presented something about some family issue i had to take care of and my manager was okay with me taking about five days off!

Suffice it to say, those were the most beautiful, wonderful, exhilarating days we ever spent together. Just loving ourselves, giving and taking. It did occur to me that we should have at least kept the phone on-hook, but Flora was adamant about our spending quality time together after such a long time of being apart emotionally. She did not want any phone calls coming in, no TV, nothing. I was enjoying myself so much and I thought nothing of it.

I was due to go in to work on Monday. On Sunday we talked about stuff, just lazed around in bed drinking ourselves in. We talked about everything and anything.

She said, ‘If you died tomorrow, I would always love you and I would never get you out of that special place in my heart’

I was a bit taken aback by that and I told her I would always love her and even if she died I would go on loving her. i held her, oh, I held her to me and she started crying. i asked why she was crying, she said, ‘I just love you so much, babes, I really do, and never having to hold you again will kill me and I don’t know if I could ever take that.’ I whispered endearments in her ears and and told her not to worry, I was not going anywhere. We made love, sweet love and she promised me that baby again.

At that point, the bell rang. She asked me not to go. I said, ‘Honey, I gat to get the door, it might be important.’ She looked so sad, she looked at me so longingly and I almost didn’t go, but I had to. I went to the door, peeped out the keyhole and some a couple of Gards outside. i yelled to her, ‘Honey, it’s the gards, be with you in a moment.

I opened the door.

‘Hi’, I said, ‘How can I help you guys?’

The female garda introduced herself to me, ‘Garda O’Loughlin and Garda Mooney. Was wondering if we could have a few words with you?’

‘What’s it about?’ I asked

‘We are sorry to have to tell you this, but your wife has being involved in an accident and we would like you to…….’

That’s as far as they got before I lashed out and asked if this was some sort of sick joke? How could my wife be involved in an accident when we have being cooped up all weekend together?

‘Look my wife is inside right now, and this cannot be possible. I mean, we have being together all week long. When did this accident happen?’

‘From what we can gather, the accident happened on Monday morning. Seems her car flew off the road. It has only just being discovered because it happened on a lonely stretch of the Cork road and some farmers only reported this today.’

I laughed, ‘But my wife is inside. her car has being at the mechanic’s since Monday, so you must have the wrong address. Hold on let me get Flora.’

i asked them in. I went into the bedroom to get Flora…….she was nowhere! I couldn’t find her, not in the bathroom, kitchen or any place. I was like a mad man, I was in a frenzy! How could this be?

‘Sir, we are going to have to ask you to come with us to identify the body. Would you like us to call an ambulance?’

I refused the ambulance and went with them to the morgue and there she was, my sweet, sweet Flora, dead as dead can be! I couldn't understand it. Who did I spend the past week with?

I woke up later in a room at the hospital. Apparently, I fainted after identifying my wife. I woke up to see her parents and my parents at my bedside. Grief-stricken though her parents were, they could not accommodate the thought of losing me also.

We buried her a few days later. I still shudder when I think about all that happened. Was it really Flora I spent those days with? Was it just a piece of her that did not want to let go? I don’t know, and I don’t know if I will ever know. I cry myself to sleep every night. i pray and i beg for her to come back, even if she is a ghost I don’t mind.

She has not answered me yet. Maybe she has crossed over? I hope not, i hope she is still around. Maybe she can even come and take me with her? That would be a blast, our love continuing on the other side. So many questions, so few answers, no answers at all. I am still waiting though, hopefully, i won’t wait in vain.

lake of blood

2010-06-03T22:44:00.002+01:00

Image from http://www.eyefetch.com/image.aspx?ID=754679

lake of blood
cover of darkness
slide, glide, slime
innocents cry, whine, die.

God's people come
with fire and brimstone
hatred the reward for love
everybody is God's people.

What god do you serve?
a god without love?
a god in need of blood?
spill, spill, spill!

analyze, try to comprehend
falseness spread from times past
truth slowly coming to light
now we see you for what you are?

war-mongers! true infidels!
mephitic hearts, cold, implacable

Technorati Tags: lake,blood,people,God

FIFA OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate release

2010-04-25T20:02:00.001+01:00

This one is for your ATTENTION all ladies!!!!

Image gotten from http://cempaka-belanda.blogspot.com/2009/12/netherlands-seeded-for-2010-world-cup.html

Dear Wife / Sweetheart / Girlfriend / Partner / Whomever it may concern,

1. Between 11 June and 11 July 2010, you should read the sports section of the newspaper so that you are aware of what is going on regarding the South African World Cup, and that way you will be able to join in the conversations. If you fail to do this, then you will be looked at in a bad way, or you will be totally ignored. DO NOT complain about not receiving any attention.

2. During the World Cup, the television is mine, at all times, without any exceptions. If you even take a glimpse of the remote control, you will lose it (your eye).

3. If you have to pass by in front of the TV during a game, I don’t mind, as long as you do it crawling on the floor and without distracting me.

4. During the games I will be blind, deaf and mute, unless I require a refill of my drink or something to eat. You are out of your mind if you expect me to listen to you, open the door, answer the telephone, or pick up the baby that just fell on the floor….It won’t happen.

5. It would be a good idea for you to keep at least 2 six packs in the fridge at all times, as well as plenty of things to nibble on (excluding your body parts), and please do not make any funny faces to my friends when they come over to watch the games. In return, you will be allowed to use the TV between 12am and 6am, unless they replay a good game that I missed during the day.

6. Please, please, please!! If you see me upset because one of my teams is losing, DO NOT say “get over it, it’s only a game”, or “don’t worry, they’ll win next time “. If you say these things, you will only make me angrier and I will love you less. Remember, you will never ever know more about football than me and your so called “words of encouragement” will only lead to a break up or divorce.

7. You are welcome to sit with me to watch one game and you can talk to me during halftime but only when the commercials are on, and only if the half time score is pleasing me. In addition, please note I am saying “one” game; hence do not use the World Cup as a nice cheesy excuse to “spend time together”.

8. The replays of the goals are very important. I don’t care if I have seen them or I haven’t seen them, I want to see them again, Many times.

9. Tell your friends NOT to have any babies, or any other child related parties or gatherings that requires my attendance because:

a ) I will not go,
b ) I will not go, and
c) I will not go.

10. But, if a friend of mine invites us to his house on a Sunday to watch a game, we will be there in a flash.

11. The daily World Cup highlights show on TV every night is just as important as the games themselves. Do not even think about saying “but you have already seen this…why don’t you change the channel to something we can all watch?” because, the reply will be, “Refer to Rule #2 of this list”.

12. And finally, please save your expressions such as “Thank God the World Cup is only every 4 years”. I am immune to these words, because before and after this comes the Champions League, Premier League, Italian League, Spanish League, KPL, FA Cup, Euro Cup, etc.

P/S

By the way if you get stuck on the road call the Police or AA.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Frankenstein

2010-04-24T04:58:00.001+01:00

Image is by Budzi Graphic Design

My little son and I were ‘brainstorming’ over what it would be like to have Frankenstein and the Big Bad Wolf in the same story. We had quite a blast and here is what we came up with:

There once lived a scientist who wanted to create a person. He started out by collecting lots of body parts from the cemetery.
One day he put all the parts he had collected together and using his science skills he was able to give life to a living being and he named it Frankenstein.

There was a problem. What he created was not actually human, but a monster. He was ugly and looked bad. The scientist looked at him and thought, 'What a mistake! What a waste! I have created something bad!'

He decided he had to kill Frankenstein the Monster. He wanted to kill him by poison, then he changed his mind and decided to let it go into the wild where he would be torn apart by wolves and lions.
So he drove Frankenstein away into the cold and wild night. Frankenstein went into the wild and was immediately attacked by some wolves and lions but he was too strong for them all and killed them and they left him alone after that.

Frankenstein kept getting drawn to the scientist's house and the scientist kept driving him away. The scientist had a little girl called Kiera. Kiera had grown up all by herself with no mother, as her mother ran away and left them when she was born. One day, Kiera, was out playing all by herself and out in the forest surrounding their house, a big bad hungry wolf was out stalking Kiera.

The wolf came up with a plan to deceive Kiera into thinking that it was her long lost mother! So the wolf looked for human clothes to put on. She put on a nice looking frock, a nice looking blouse and got some perfume for her body and some mint for her bad breath.
The wolf came walking by and said, 'Hello Kiera! How nice it is to see you at last! Oh, how I have missed you!' Innocent Kiera asked her, 'Who are you?' and the wolf said, 'Why, I am your long lost mother!' Kiera said, 'My mother? We all thought you were dead!'
The wolf said, 'No! I am not dead, I was out looking for some berries when you were born and some outlaws in the woods kidnapped me! I have only managed to escape and I came straight away to look for my little darling!'

Innocent Kiera was overjoyed. At last, she had a mother to look up to, a mother all of her own! She could not wait to share this news with her father, the scientist. So she said, 'You must come with me at once to look for father, he will be absolutely delighted to see you after all these while!' The hungry wolf thought fast and sharp and said, 'Oh! I would love to see my darling husband but first I need to rest and take the load off my feet. Take me inside and I will rest awhile then we will set out and look for your daddy.' This sounded good to Kiera and she decided to take her indoors.

Meanwhile, in the surrounding bushes, Frankenstein was watching this exchange and he thought to himself, 'The scientist has never done right by me, maybe now I can finally have revenge and watch his little girl, the light of his eyes get torn to pieces! Then again, what good would that do me? This little girl never hurt me, she has never done anything to make life miserable for me. Perhaps I should save her and in the process teach the scientist a greater lesson, that of LOVE!'

So Frankenstein slinked into the house and searched for Kiera and the big bad wolf. Just in time, Frankenstein came upon the big bad wolf about to eat Kiera alive. Frankenstein charged into the room and shouted, 'Why, you little rascal, get away from the little!' The wolf bared her fangs and rushed at Frankenstein, but this was a mistake because Frankenstein grabbed her and flung her out through the window. It was a long fall and the wolf died immediately, smashing to pieces! The scientist happened to be at the gates at that very instant and he rushed up the stairs, shouting, 'Kiera. Kiera!'
Kiera said, 'Hi dad, thank God you are home. Frankenstein just saved me from the big bad wolf! I owe my life to him' The scientist was touched by this and he felt sad at having treated Frankenstein badly. He took Frankenstein back in and they all lived happily ever after.

The driver

2010-04-18T14:04:00.001+01:00

This is a funny one, I just had to share. I found it over at http://pinoyborian.blogspot.com/

After getting all of Pope Benedict's luggage loaded into the limo, (and he doesn't travel light), the driver notices the Pope is still standing on the curb.

'Excuse me, Your Holiness,' says the driver, 'Would you please take your seat so we can leave?'

'Well, to tell you the truth,' says the Pope, 'they never let me drive at the Vatican when I was a cardinal, and I'd really like to drive today..'

'I'm sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! What if something should happen?' protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone to work that morning..

'Who's going to tell?' says the Pope with a smile.

Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 205 kms.. (Remember, the Pope is German..)

'Please slow down, Your Holiness!' pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.

'Oh, dear God, I'm going to lose my license -- and my job!' moans the driver.

The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.

'I need to talk to the Chief,' he says to the dispatcher.

The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he's stopped a limo going 205 kph.

'So bust him,' says the Chief.

'I don't think we want to do that, he's really important,' said the cop.
The Chief exclaimed, 'All the more reason!'

'No, I mean really important,' said the cop with a bit of persistence.

The Chief then asked, 'Who do you have there, the mayor?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Chief: 'A senator?'

Cop: 'Bigger..'

Chief: 'The Prime Minister?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

'Well,' said the Chief, 'who is it?'

Cop: 'I think it's God!'

The Chief is even more puzzled and curious, 'What makes you think it's God?'

Cop: 'His chauffeur is the Pope!'

in the dark

2010-04-16T22:17:00.002+01:00

image is by retrodiva photography

a place so dark, no end in sight
stood in line for so long
glimmers of hope slowly faded away
now i see through you.

this, this place, my descent
this is me all alone
in my head, all that i want to say
what i need you to know

paranoia your legacy to me

everything, everyone falls apart
shaky, trembling center
associated images fizzle away

tear me down, what is left of me
nothing ever changes, same old same old
the cross gets heavier
weighing me down.

Yar Adua’s first press conference after ailment!

2010-04-12T19:14:00.001+01:00

Saw this at www.nigeriancuriosity.com

Very funny spoof of presido!

Some Optical Illusions

2010-04-05T14:24:00.001+01:00

Images from http://www.opticaliillusions.com/

Check out more "@ http://www.opticaliillusions.com/

On Racism and Hate

2010-04-04T19:12:00.001+01:00

Image is taken from here

Toyosi a young man with a very bright future must have woken up a Friday morning thinking about the future and how much he could contribute to it. little did he know that at about 7PM that same day he would be lying in a pool of his blood – a victim of an alleged racist attack.

Today his mother wails in agony, in pain, in her mind she cannot and will never get used to the fact that this young man she nurtured for 15 years is suddenly no more, a huge hole will remain in her heart forever, she will never be able to get over this loss.

Sadly, this is the sad reality facing us here today, we who are not originally from this land, this land which we have come to love so much, but which at the end of the day offers us no protection against racist bullies who operate under some form of constitutional protection.

Every day, every hour of every day, perhaps, a racist offense is being committed in Ireland, be it the taunts which we face, the stone throwing, the name calling, the inadvertent urge to put us in our place, every day, we wake knowing that we have no one to turn to, for if they strike, nobody will protect us.

The government hides its head under the sand thinking that there is no problem or rather they probably have no desire to stem this ill. A government minister said a couple of years ago, that there was no racism in Ireland because he had not witnessed race riots! Very funny you might say.

Sadly again, racism and other types of hate crimes are not synonymous with Ireland alone. Indeed, all over Europe, the USA, the rest of the Western world, Africa, Asia and the rest of the world, a type of hate crime takes place everyday. This could happen in form of homophobic attacks, or attacks on foreigners in South Africa.

Today we hear reports from South Africa of a White Supremacist who got bludgeoned to death, probably as a result of race hate. The man himself was a virulent racist who urged no quarter in the zeal to either exterminate the blacks in SA or subjugate them to the level of having no rights, yet his death serves no purpose at all. It only buttresses the fact that hate only breeds hate and violence.

When will it all stop? Maybe never. It is sad to think that way, but history does not shed an encouraging light on issues of this kind. Someone once said that governments around the world should try to dedicate a lot more resources to educating people about the ills of racism and hatred in general.

I don’t believe that is going to work anyway. These racist attitudes are deeply entrenched in our psyche, passed down from fathers and mothers to their children and in turn to their own children. It is a sad, vicious circle really and it leads to so much waste, waste of so much potential,

Every culture is guilty of this. While it might seem like an uphill task, while we might believe that there is no solution, still we cannot sit and fold our hands and watch our children kill themselves over some stupid and irrelevant matter such as racism and hatred. The world could be a better place if we could only extend some love to all men.

The shoes could turn on you tomorrow. you have taken the life of someone because they are not of your race, your own life could be taken tomorrow as well, or the lives of your own children. Would you like that? You who are a cop and refuse to come to the aid of a foreigner, are you doing your job?

You, the politician, who campaigns on racial platforms, encouraging people to hate, how do you sleep at night, when you think of the innocent people who have lost their lives as a result of your evil rhetoric? How do you even look at your own children, when you may have being responsible for the loss of other children’s lives?

Today, let us think of Toyosi, and the pain which his family has being subjected to for the rest of their lives. Think of the millions who lost their lives in Hitler’s purge. Think of those who lost their lives in xenophobic riots in South Africa. Think of the void which has being created in the world.

We can live together in peace and tranquillity. It is not so hard. We just need to let go of age-old beliefs that serve no real purpose in these civilized times. We just need to try as much as we can to spread a little love and maybe someday soon, We will be able to walk down the streets and not fear for our lives.

Easter Pics

2010-04-03T19:25:00.001+01:00

Don’t know the artist(s) but these look nice…….

My Blog is Carbon neutral

2010-04-03T12:26:00.001+01:00

Make it Green, a German team has created the ‘My blog is carbon-neutral’ buttons to help in combating the effects of global warming. Apparently, blogs have yearly carbon emissions which are generally not good for the environment. At www.pensivethoughts.com I read that a blog with 15,000 visits a month can cause a yearly carbon emission of 8lb!

What the team aims to do is this. for every blog that installs the ‘My blog is carbon neutral’ button, they will plant a tree to neutralize the carbon footprint of said blog. They are doing this in conjuction with the Arbor Day Foundation in Plumas National Forest in California.

So get cracking bloggers. Let’s do our little bit to save our planet. Here is a link that explains how you can participate http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/carbon-neutral/how-you-can-join

Waiting

2010-04-03T10:36:00.001+01:00

Image is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/somerandomdude/1427448518/

I still come here often, just to sit on that same bench we both loved to sit on, while savouring our togetherness.
Remember? Of course you do! When I sit here, the memories come flooding in. I remember the fist time you kissed me.
Oh! How sweet it was! How you laid your head on my shoulder, your arms round my waist, promising me it would never end.

I thought it would never end myself, I thought we would go on forever, drifting along in innocent reveries. What did we know?
Nothing really, we were just two innocent bystanders about to get caught in events not of our choosing. Maybe if we
could have found a crystal ball, who knows, maybe we would have seen the future and what it held.

Do you know, I saw him yesterday? Him, the one who tore us apart, the one who could not stand to see how happy we were.
He looked right though me, as if I did not exist. My blood boiled over, my heart bled! I remembered all the evil he
did to you, I wanted to end it all there, but I held myself back. I heard your voice telling me, 'Wait! soon!'

I have everything prepared now. This space that used to be ours, now mine alone. Needles and knives sharpened. Shackles
prepared. Your father is on the way now. Soon the waiting will all be over! Who knows, maybe I will be with you soon
holding you once more in my arms, the way i sued to...

Google Translate for animals

2010-04-02T13:13:00.001+01:00

Take a tour of Translate for Animals!

Step 1: How to begin

On your Android phone, go to Android Market and search for "Translate for Animals" to download the app.
Step 2. Opening the app

Once the app is installed, touch the "Translate for Animals" app icon from the handset's main menu to open it.
Step 3: Selecting your animal to translate
Once the app has opened touch the ‘translate from’ box. You will see a drop down menu open up. Choose from cat, dog, bird, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, tortoise, horse, chicken, sheep, donkey, and pig.
Step 4: Selecting your language

Touch the ‘translate to’ box to open English as the choice of language.

Only English is available currently.

Note: We are currently working on this. You will soon be able to translate to most languages including Mongolian, Hindi, Cantonese, and Pig-Latin.
Step 5: Recording your animal

Make sure the animal you'd like to translate is calm and at-ease. Depending on the animal in question, you may wish to stroke or pet it as you bring the handset close to its mouth. Press the "Press to listen" button to record as it woofs, meows, neighs, oinks...
Step 6: Processing the data

Please be patient whilst the voice recognition software checks the recorded pet sounds against the millions of stored noises in the Animal Linguistic Database. This should only take a few seconds.
Step 7: Transcribing the translation

Once the data has been processed you will see an English transcript translation of what your animal has said. If you wish to hear it spoken press the speaker button to hear an audio version.

Note: It is not Google’s responsibility if you are offended or disappointed by what your chosen animal may say. Also please note, we do not guarantee stimulating conversation.
Step 8: Rewarding your pet
Give your pet a treat to say thank you for the conversation and provide encouragment for all the ones you'll have in the future. Good luck!

Pro Tip: As a general rule the higher up in the food chain an animal is, the better a communicator it will be. So if you are after quick witted banter it’s best to select cats and dogs rather than rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs.

(Herbivores and omnivores are not known for their linguistic ability. Although it has been discovered that tortoises have expansive general knowledge.)

LINK: http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/landing/translateforanimals/tour.html

In the news today

2010-04-01T13:18:00.001+01:00

A Lebanese man convicted in Saudi Arabia of the crime of ‘sorcery’ is scheduled to be be-headed. Ali Hussain Sibat is a former host of a popular call-in show aired in Lebanon, in which he ‘predicts’ the future and advices callers on what to do. He was arrested in Saudi Arabia when he went to perform Umra. I don’t believe this man is sorcerer or that he can predict the future. Come on, if he could see into the future, would he have travelled to Saudi Arabia in the first place? I get confused, no frustrated, when people carry out actions based on religious zeal which beclouds their normal thinking abilities! This should not even have gone to court, it is so simple! Now he is to be be-headed based on some wacky, religious reason? Please!

Moving on, still on the same fundamentalism, but good news anyway, a Malaysion model who was supposed to have being publicly caned for drinking alcohol in public, has had her sentence commuted to community service instead. Well, I see common-sense prevailing somewhere! There is a level of hypocrisy here that I don’t understand or maybe I am the one who is cuckoo. You don’t want people in your country drinking beer, but you allow beer to be sold in the same country! Wow! What a load of crock! If you You probably delude yourself when you imagine that nobody who is a muslim drinks alcohol in the country.

In other news, a former high school teacher in facing criminal charges on five misdemeanor charges of contributing to the depravation of a minor, has been acquitted on all counts. Nathan Grigsby was elated by the news, hear him, ‘"I'm very excited and glad to see justice prevailed," Grigsby said. "I put my faith in God that the jury would see the truth, which is the way I told it." Why this case went to court in the first place I do not know nor understand, I mean this days all sort of stuff is taught in school, sex education being one of them. Anyway, kudos to the jury for keeping a cool head. See the video here.

Be warned! A new deadly ‘legal drug’ is about to flood the markets! This warning is coming from the manufacturer of such ‘legal drugs’ like mephedrone. Listen to him, "This stuff is absolutely evil - it's going to cause all sorts of psychological problems, It will cause long-term brain damage from the very first hit and eventually it's going to end up with bodies." The drug is called NAPHYRONE. I guess once it hits the UK markets, it would only be a matter of time before it hits Ireland! It makes my skin creep when I think about the hurdles the governments face to ban these legal designer highs. One gets banned and another hits the market almost immediately. Don’t be fooled though, it’s all about filthy lucre and the guys who manufacture these drugs do not care except at the end of the day they get paid, that is all they care about!

Should the Pope resign?

2010-03-29T14:46:00.002+01:00

A very interesting question and one that I have being asking myself since reading calls for his resignation through the weekend and today. Being a Catholic and one brought up in the catholic tradition of the Infallibility of the Pope, the question set my mind racing.

The pope himself has responded through his spokes men that he would not succumb to pressure. What has led to this call for the Pope’s resignation? The child abuse scandal of course. As Cardinal Ratzinger he is alleged to have facilitated the moving around of pedophile priests.

The Catholic church has through the years being the perpetrator of or has being alleged to be the perpetrator of some of the most heinous crimes in the history of man. the Inquisition, silence over persecution of Jews , and so on. In recent times it is the child abuse scandal that has come to bite it.

One has to bear in mind that the Catholic Church is an institution run by humans, and like all such institutions, it is always subject to human errors and mistakes. A lot of mistakes were made regarding the child abuse and other forms of abuse that may come or have come to light.

In transferring pedophile priest all over the place, did the Church believe their sickness would disappear? There seems to have being a concerted effort to hide heads under sand and pretend the evil was not there. Was it just simply because number of priests were on the decline and all available had to be kept?

What caused the decline in the number of candidates entering into the priesthood? A lot of people had sat down over the years and decided it just was not worth it anymore. The Church seemed to have being blinded by hypocrisy and was content to let the truth slide in anyway possible.

Well that was my take on it anyway. I was so disillusioned by this hypocrisy that I left the Church for about eleven years. My sojourn led me to various other churches, they were not much better anyway, in fact, my dissatisfaction only increased and I went back to being a Catholic, Anyway, that’s a story for another day.

The Church, in my view, needs to take a pragmatic look at the way it currently operates. Why is it that women cannot be Priests? Why were there no women among Christ’s disciples? Was it probably due to the fact that in those times women played a minimal role in activism?

Talking about issues like this could lead to a bit of digression, so back to my question. Should the Pope resign over recent allegations leveled against him? I don’t know. i believe he should listen to his conscience and what it tells him. As a Catholic, I believe and hold firm the Churches dogmas, infallibility, etcetera.

That not withstanding, i would be very uncomfortable in knowing that my bishop knew about a priest guilty of pedophilia, and instead of getting such a priest off the priesthood, he was simply transferred to some other parish were it would be okay to molest little children.

By allowing pedophile priests to roam free, the Church gave tacit approval for their behavior. Thank God, times have changed and people are a lot more assertive than in the past! A lot more children would be in trouble today from priests with pedophilic tendencies.

bishops who are guilty of this tacit approval do not belong in the Church. Cardinals also should not be if they have being guilty of this. Before he became Pope, he was a Cardinal, and if he is guilty of the allegations leveled against him, then let him follow his conscience and do the ‘right thing'.’

The time has come for the Church to start living up to what it teaches. You cannot teach Love and turn around and commit heinous crimes or allow such crimes as pedophilia, where is the love in that? That in my opinion is HYPOCRISY of the highest order and it is time for concise change. Change that would mean millions of disillusioned Catholics will take the step to love the Church again, like they used to. Change that would make us proud to shout out loud that we are CATHOLICS!

Interesting………

2010-03-23T21:05:00.001Z

I read this little article today and I still can’t stop laughing. The story relates to a school in Nigeria, YabaTech, which has apparently decided to enforce some sort of dress code for its students. According to the news article, “The Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, has made a resolution to take a stiff disciplinary action against students who wear indecent apparels in the school premises. This was disclosed by the rector of the institution, Mrs. Margaret Ladipo…..” I am just a bit confused as to why an institution of higher learning, at this day and age, should concern itself with the dress code of its students. I believe this is absolute rubbish and this emphasis again a culture of misplaced priorities in a nation which has simply lost the plot. Students in this school are undergraduates and should not have to worry about stupid and illiterate policies that stipulates what they have to wear. In a country where a lot of graduates are simply unemployable, the rectors and the like should be worried about improving the quality of education they provide rather than concern themselves with the see-through apparels of some female students. Then again, one is not surprised at news like this anymore. A Judge recently dismissed a juror for wearing an FCUK t-shirt! The puritanical judge probably thought FCUK meant something else!

So the Pope finally apologised to the Irish catholics for years of abuse suffered at the hands of pervert priests! The abuse was described by the Pope as ‘’shameful and hateful’’ While the apology has being largely welcomed, there is still a lot to be said about the Church’s years of silence regarding this issue. Abuse claims were simply swept under the carpet, where they could not, a lot was done to pervert the course of justice. It still makes me feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg, more revelations are still out there waiting to burst forth. A lot of these paedophile priests were transferred probably to Africa to spread the ‘Good News.’ With the African culture, I am quite sure a lot of allegations of child abuse were probably swept under the carpet and allowed to fizzle out. Ah, well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Better be careful the way you flaunt your wealth. A Belgian judge has being accused of supporting hooligans by claiming that an attack victim was to blame, apparently, for drawing attention to his wealth in a poor area! Wow! Next time you fat cats are driving around poor areas in Belgium in your Jags and Rolls, better pray that some hooligan doesn’t attack you and claim what you own, you might not get any justice.

MAKING A BABY

2010-03-16T14:50:00.001Z

This joke is just too good not to share! Enjoy!

The Smiths were unable to conceive children and decided to use a surrogate father to start their family.

On the day the proxy father was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said, Well, I'm off now. The man should be here soon.'

Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale. 'Good morning, Ma'am', he said, 'I've come to...'

'Oh, no need to explain,' Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, 'I've been expecting you.'

'Have you really?' said the photographer. 'Well, that's good. Did you know babies are my specialty?'

'Well that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat'.

After a moment she asked, blushing, 'Well, where do we start?'

'Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the
living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there.'

'Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn't work out for Harry and me!'

'Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.'

'My, that's a lot!', gasped Mrs. Smith.

'Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to be In and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed with that.'

'Don't I know it,' said Mrs. Smith quietly.

The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. 'This was done on the top of a bus,' he said.

'Oh, my God!' Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.

'And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with.'

'She was difficult?' asked Mrs. Smith. 'Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look'

'Four and five deep?' said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.

'Yes', the photographer replied. 'And for more than three hours, too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could hardly
concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had
to pack it all in.'

Mrs. Smith leaned forward. 'Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh...equipment?' 'It's true, Ma'am, yes.. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up my tripod and we can get to work right away.'

'Tripod?'

'Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's much too big to be held in the hand very long.'

Mrs. Smith fainted !

the day i died

2010-03-10T11:24:00.003Z

Image is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/44216394@N00/

This image was taken after the recent massacre in Jos.

On March 10, 2010 © Stani. All rights reserved

the day that i died
started off like any other day
i lay in mother's arms
getting to know her, bonding

the day that i died
they came like thieves in the night
bows and arrows, machetes
guns no roses

the day that i died
gunshots reverberated
screams cries of the forlorn
people running helter-skelter

just the day before
as i lay in my mother's arms
i had visions of the greatness
i dreamt of mighty deeds

the day that i died
hours before the harrowing death
i laughed and cackled happily
to my mother's tickles

the day that i died
i met those for whom the sobriquet 'beast'
would not be fitting
a better word for describing such evil has not being found.

the day that i died
my sisters and bothers
woke in the night to sing me
beautiful lullabies.

the day that i died
while i dreamt of greatness
also i had palpable feeling of the doom
that awaits my land.

hold me mama
don't let me go
bad man is here
where are you mama?

there goes my sister to her death
raped and defiled
hacked to pieces
future snuffed out with multiple stabs\

oh! mama! there you are
bad man got your tongue
bad man raped you
bad man killed you.

the day that i died
i lost it all before i even got

the angel of sadness
beckoned to me
'come' she said 'come'
rest your head on my bosom.

i saw the angel of death
gory faced as usual skulking
waiting patiently to receive
charred pieces of my soul.

the day that i died
dreams of liberation died
plans hopes for the future
all blown away with the wind

the day that i died
just four days old i was
four hours and four seconds
all it took to lose it all

life’s street

2010-02-18T03:37:00.001Z

Image is by flydime

existing barely in the street of life
looking at you looking at me
wings plucked and broken
scattered in the wind.

life is just a journey
it is what you make of it
ephemeral fleeting swiftly passing by
wrong choices remaining long after we are gone.

win or lose who cares?
bleakness of the future weighs me down
empty ache in my bleeding heart
drowning within shattered dreams.

wreckage washed ashore
i find myself longing for what might have being
what is that i hear?
a knock on the door hope for a second chance.

hobbling across the desert
in the wasteland of my fall
distractions weigh me down
drowning feet coated in concrete.

crawling in vomitus
long past caring
let me be let me be
bacchus has a hold on me.

floating in lala land
sweet escape from reality
building castles in cloud cuckoo
crumbling like a pack of cards.

Bloggers I love... | The Talkaholic

2010-02-17T23:03:00.000Z

Bloggers I love... | The Talkaholic

love lost

2010-02-16T02:03:00.002Z

Image is by Zitaaa

another time, another place
the same way down through the ages
yin and yang conjoined
inseparable sailing soul to soul.

rhyme and reason to my existence
my buffer there to hold me
when sometimes i fall
weak-kneed by the vagaries of life.

worth more to me than gold and diamonds
bringing brightness to my life
my happy arms holding you everyday
never wanting to let go.

easy on the eyes
reflection of true beauty inside and out
a sight truly to behold in the mornings
nightmares driven away vanquished.

look at all the the time
we have being around each other
aeons spent loving blissfully
past lives intertwined.

through thick and thin
through trials and persecutions
sorrows stumbling blocks thrown at us
you always stand by me and i you.

here's to you my love
what the next age, the next aeon brings
who knows? who cares really?
as long as you and i remain one.

Some pics…………

2010-02-09T15:05:00.001Z

Some funny pics I came across today……

Nostalgia

2010-02-07T11:01:00.002Z

Image is by antitude.

days and nights go by
flashes of misspent youth
assailed with hopelessness
relentlessly befuddled in a
constant state of stupor.

look at the one who had it all
lost in a maze of confusion
jumbled thoughts, mashed up collages
fighting for space in an intellect
long deprived of loving sensations.

arms folded, heads bowed
looking in from the outside
outstretched hands unable to
reach in to resolve mistakes
atrocities committed in years of falsehood.

repressed thoughts flash by
splish splash splosh
where are you now?
where am i now?
what have i become?

no better than a zombie
a lot worse than imagined,
mangled, twisted and wasted
wallowing in an endless stream
of claustrophobic pain.

awaken

2010-02-02T18:43:00.003Z

Image is by antitude.

sailing on cloud cuckoo
thinking about all they
have sold us in the past
the lies, the heartbreaks.

come to me all who are weary!
repressed, terrorized, left shaken
sold an idea that has left us
behind, drifting away in their tide of silt.

what an opium!
all that is left is the high
that has held us captive
blinded with false promises of utopia.

those we opened our doors, our hearts to
all they took from us, our sanity
what they left us with
imbecilic cretins with no sense of morality.

time and tide awaits us not
wake up from the high of falsehood
raise your heads up from the sand
face the reality that stares you in the face.

Technorati Tags: awaken,stupidity,high,cretins,false,promises,colonial,slavery

Music Sunday: Stone and Jezreel - Tales

2010-01-31T12:11:00.001Z

Technorati Tags: stone,jezreel,naija,hip-hop,dublin,ireland

Beer troubleshooting chart

2010-01-14T11:03:00.001Z

beer troubleshooting chart

A Muttalib joke to laugh over

2010-01-14T10:49:00.001Z

I found this a bit funny, thought you might also, anyway, enjoy!

A new word has been added to the Oxford Dictionary:

Muttallib<mut-ta-lib>;n : A rich kid who attempts to throw his life away for silly reasons. Synonyms- 'Idiot, Ode, okpetu'

Origin: Nigerian local slang

Usage Examples: 'Are you a Muttalib?'

‘You fucking, stupid muttalib’

'Oh! For fuck sake, stop being a Muttalib!'

'Get out of the road you Muta-Muta.’

' Local Dialect Use: 'Wo ma Muttalib ori e',

'Commot for......diaaaa! Mutallab oshi',

'Aga ma Mutallab isi gi kita kita'

accepted abbreviation: Mu-Mu

Odd news: Man with genitals in pipe cut free

2010-01-14T09:39:00.002Z

A man had have his penis cut free from a steel pipe to which it got stuck. I cannot for even begin to imagine why his penis got stuck in a steel pipe, my head is too frazzled this morning to imagine that far. Anyway, read the full story here.

Picture from http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100107/tuk-man-with-genitals-in-pipe-cut-free-6323e80.html

Technorati Tags: man,genitals,penis,stuck,steel,pipe,idiotic

Nigerian President, His Excellency Umaru Yaradua is dead

2010-01-12T09:03:00.001Z

Image is taken from http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-380636

The above heading is how a report on CNN’s iReport is headed. It is a sad reflection of the times. At this moment, nobody knows what has happened to the President of Nigeria, a country that touts itself as the ‘Giant’ of Africa. It is almost fifty days now or more since the President went ‘missing’ and still no clarification as to the status of his health – is he dead or is he alive? Those who seek to take advantage of this situation and use it to cause problems in Nigeria would tell you that he is still alive and well and they are in constant touch with him. But I fear that the opposite might be true, he might be dead and gone to the great beyond – who knows? Anyway, read the report and see what you make of it here.

‘Nigeria becoming irrelevant in the world’ By Ambassador Princeton Lyman

2010-01-06T23:25:00.001Z

Culled from http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/6/312.html

It is such a privilege to be here in a conference in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe, an inspiration and teacher to all of us.

I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I, an Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges, etc.

And, I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. And, I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friends from the legislature; because I have a feeling that we both Nigerians and Americans may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favour by stressing Nigeria’s strategic importance.

I know all the arguments: It is a major oil-producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peace-keeping, and, of course, negatively if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects would be tremendous, etc. But, I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria’s importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria’s opinion of its own invulnerability.

Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have,many of which we have talked about: disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy; and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically impor-tant.

And I am not sure that that is helpful.

Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria’s importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.

One in five Africans is a Nigerian, so…

We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.

What does it mean that one in five Africans is Nigeria? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used?

And the answer is “Not really”.

And oil. Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world.

And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.

And Angola is rivaling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.

So if you look ahead ten years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer, or just another of the many oil producers while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?

How influencial is Nigeria?

And what about its influence and contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.

Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or, after making many promises, any contributions to Somalia?

The answer is no. Today Nigeria is not making a major impact on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa.

What about its economic influence?

Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialisation going on in Nigeria— lack of infrastruc-ture and power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing and more people are becoming unemployed. Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and exports and lives off the oil, which does not make it a significant economic entity.

Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically impor-tant?

Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s; and I remember in one meeting a Minister from a country not very friendly to the United States, came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in-things in Africa.

He was going on and on and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said, “You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant.”

Nigeria-America relationship

The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it when President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria. He was sending a message that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.

And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, “what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy? Would it be a model for good governance? Would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?”

No he would not, so he did not go.

And when Secretary Clinton did go, indeed, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a binominal commission in Angola?

So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.

What it means is that Nigeria’s most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.

That is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great.

It takes an enormous amount of commitment. You do not need saints, you do not need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.

South Korean example

I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was at the time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless. But she was turning around, later to become, to every person’s amazement, then the eleventh largest economy in the world. I remember the economist in my mission saying, it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15 to 20 per cent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one.

That was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korean and turn her economy around.

It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don’t need saints. It needs leaders who say, “You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it.”

Princeton Lyman is a former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa and Nigeria and former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-01T01:06:00.001Z

Images from http://www.hooverwebdesign.com

Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful New Year! To my blogging family and to all who read by blog – have a good one!!!!

Umar Farouk Abdul Muttalib: epitome of a coward

2009-12-30T22:20:00.001Z

Picture from www.saharareports.com

Looking back over the past few days, one cannot help but wonder at the craziness that abounds these days. Take Umar Farouk Abdul Muttalib for instance. This is a young man, handsome many would say, probably well-bred too, a lot of things going his way, the world at his feet so to say. Yet he decided to throw it all away on what? A whim or a desire to be recognized, acknowledged? I just can’t get my head round.

Here is some one who is a scion of one of the elite families in his country. His father, apart from being a just-retired chairman of one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, also owns his own bank! Yet reading through some of the posts he is alleged to have posted in the past on the internet, one sees a young man who has never being happy with his lot, always complaining of an emptiness he needed to fill.

I would say he epitomizes a true picture of one who has always being selfish. His actions also throws into the winds the misconception that those involved in terrorism are invariably from impoverished backgrounds, having never had things go their way. That illusion has somewhat being rubbished by the actions of this would-be terrorist. Where or upon whom can we lay the blame for his stupidity?

There are a lot of selfish young men like this today, walking about with empty hearts, dreaming of glory and the rewards in heaven, the forty or so promised virgins who would welcome them with open arms and give them the sexual delights they refused themselves in this life. Don’t get me wrong, I would not mind getting to heaven and being welcomed by same virgins, but I sure won’t blow myself up to get there!

One of the scary things about this is the fact that you could live with people like this for years and never know their mind-set. You could be married to them if you are that unfortunate. They are just like chameleons, able to blend into any setting without being detected. They go through most of their deranged life with only one goal – spreading terror, shedding as much blood as possible.

What sort of a person sits down everyday, hatching plans to kill multitudes for the reward of going to heaven to f***k virgins? A totally brainwashed, mindless and stupid individual. The question they should ask themselves at times is this, ‘What about this mullah who is giving me this indoctrination? He does not seem to have any plans to blow himself up, why me?’

Another scary thought that occurred to me as well is that of the ordinary Nigerians out there who are going to be stigmatized over this crazy person’s actions. Your neighbors are going to start giving you the once-over as much as possible now. The cops will stop you for no reason other than to check if you Nigerian and if you are in the bomb making industry.

Of course, Nigerians won’t be the first to be stigmatized in this manner. After 9/11 a lot of people got mistaken for terrorists even when they were not Arabs or Muslims. You just need to be in the habit of wearing some sort of turban and you were termed a terrorist. When a similar incident happened in the UK, a Brazilian national was trailed from his home by cops and killed simply because looked like an Arab!

Umar Farouk Abdul Muttalib, in carrying out this action, has proven what a waste of space his family actually thought he was. After all, his own father took the first step of showing us what a coward he was destined to be. This father deserves kudos anyhow, and i daresay, this indoctrination of mindless evil did not emanate from his father. Umar’s father would be looking inwards now and wondering where it all went wrong.

Above all, one is thankful that the bomb did not go off as the coward intended. Hundreds, if not thousands, of parents, wives, brothers, sisters and children would be crying tears of sorrow now. This does not mean that the authorities every where should become complacent. There has never being a more dangerous time for fundamentalists than now. They have bags of tricks off their sleeves and they will not hesitate to strike if they have the opportunity, so let us all be vigilant!

Technorati Tags: terrorist,umar,muttalib,evil,coward,stupid,nigerian joke,nigeria

Seasons Greetings = 20 EC Credits!

2009-12-25T22:36:00.001Z

Just would like to use this opportunity to wish every one who passes through these pages, anyone who has and who will drop by for a visit, all the best of this season and a wonderful new year up ahead!

Hopefully the worst of the recession may have passed us by, so let’s give thanks, for it could have been worse than it is now! I mean I can think of a lot of reasons why it could have being worse than it is now:

1. One could be dead (ain’t nothing worse than that, holmes!)

2. Well I could be somewhere without an internet connection. (Hmm sounds a bit selfish)

3. I could be homeless, but am not.

4. I could be hungry, but am not.

And on and on and on! I could go on, but all I got to say is, i am thankful just being alive, breathing in the sweet, fresh air of the winter mornings here.

Still here? Well if I have held your attention for so long, why don’t we have a little game. I am giving away 20 EC credits for any one who has an Entrecard account and who carries out the task below.

Why not read this, then let us know what you are thankful for? How did the recession affect you, we know it’s not over yet, but what are your thoughts about it? Thoughts of angst, despair, hope? Just leave a comment here, with a link to your blog. If you like write about it on your blog, but link to my post. I will visit your blog, drop some EC love and also send you some 20 EC Credits. You need to to notify me though by leaving a message on this post.

Happy writing then!

P.S.

I will keep this open for as long as I have credits to give out, but I might also pull it at anytime :)

Hypocritical Values

2009-12-15T11:09:00.001Z

It sometimes amazes me the propensity we have for ascribing certain values to certain people and to others, well we just smile and say, ‘ Oh! He/she is at it again.’ Take Tiger for instance and what is happening to him at the moment.

Endorsements are flying out of the window, right, left and center. Suddenly, Tiger is not a suitable person to represent certain interests. He befouls American/World family values. Certain interests would lose tons of money if the face on their products happens to be Tiger. Tiger is pariah.

There are other people as famous and rich as Tiger, even richer who carry dalliances worse than Tiger, but for some reason whatever they do, they end up getting forgiveness. Yes, these are the ‘untouchables’, whatever they do can be explained away, if they are caught out, they get only the odd tap on the hand and then they are allowed to carry on.

I am not saying here that whatever Tiger has done is okay or permissible, I mean, how could a man do such a thing to wife? All I am saying is that the press/public should take a step back and stop this hypocritical show that is put on every time certain celebrities are caught with their pants/bras down.

Take the uproar that welcomes the exposure of Janet Jackson’s boob sometime ago. So she decided to expose her boob or it happened accidentally, I still can’t understand the media uproar that followed. Suddenly Janet Jackson became a threat to the so-called American family values. Madonna and a lot of other female stars like Janet, have being exposing themselves for years but they were idolized and placed on a pedestal of infallibility.

Michael Vick got caught arranging dog fights or whatever and he had to go to jail! Wow! Michael Vick is just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to animal cruelty. Don’t get me wrong, animal cruelty in whatever fashion is wrong, all I am saying is, a lot more people than Michael Vick should have gone to jail. Somebody said the other time during a presidential campaign, that they enjoy the thrill of shooting moose now and then, yet they are not in jail! If you shoot moose or any other animal for sport then you should be answerable.

Michael Jackson, bless his soul, got done in by some random (or was it habitual) crotch grabbing! The same people who spear-headed his fall from grace are now coming out to claim he was a saint, he was this, he was that. Hypocrites! All their after now is milking the inevitable cash flow that is the fallout of his death.

The Nobel Prize committee for some weird reason or the other decided that President Obama was deserving of the Nobel Peace prize. For the life of me, I cannot fathom the reason behind such a hair-brained, inane decision. What has Obama contributed to world peace? He has just approved sending of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. He is on a collision cause with Iran and North Korea. Morgan Tsvangirai and a lot of other people like him have done more to hustle for peace and achieving of objectives through peaceful means, were they considered for this award? Probably, but because of the hypocrisy that surrounds the award now, they were also probably overlooked.

Bill Clinton was almost done in because he was getting head in the White House. Come on, if he was getting it from the right quarters he probably wouldn’t have fallen for ‘that woman’. Unfortunately, he did fall and the hoopla that followed it all is now the stuff of legend. Should he or shouldn’t he have? Did ‘that woman’ actively pursue or give him ideas? Who knows really? Who cares?

These are funny times really, when the famous can be brought to their knees, unjustly, by some media hysteria whipped up by some crazy, hypocritical fanatics who have nothing better to do than to destroy people and their careers. The girls who have being sleeping with Tiger are probably all smiling to the banks now. they won’t tell their stories without ‘getting paid’. Sadly, they also are pawns in this sad and twisted game.

Living as an Immigrant in South Africa – Nigerian perspective

2009-12-11T13:10:00.001Z

The video is culled from www.9jatube.com