A faction of DP delegates had gathered to choose, among other officials, the person who would lead them to the Promised Land—State House—a piece of real estate that is the sacred symbolism of Uganda’s presidency. The choice of the party’s flag bearer was between an ambitious convicted thief and a slick chameleon—not much choice for the oldest party that aspires to shed its old skin and become competitive in the scramble for state house.
Would we have been treated to more drama and might we have had different outcomes had the principals of the other faction been in the fray? I feel cheated! For now, however, we wish Mao well and not rain on his parade. He is a formidable orator, and his heart is in the right place despite behaviors that at times suggest an opportunistic flimflam.
It is suggested that Mao’s selection heralds DP to a new era—a more national character since Mao is a northerner by paternal heritage. This kind of reasoning is flawed in explaining the prevailing DP’s current tepid character. UPC of long ago and the NRM today, while being regional in their core leadership structure—the kitchen cabinet of sorts—, managed to capture the imagination of the humblest in the remotest parts of Uganda. While it may have been Buganda based in the last few decades, DP’s failure to reach out nationally has been more a function of lack of organizational ability of the leadership. They lacked the wherewithal to get into the mud and get dirty even as various population centers were in anguish. Besides, DP was nearly dead in Buganda as a consequence of Kabaka Yekka’s hijacking of the region’s plebiscite earlier on. It was the other regions of Uganda that carried some semblance of a DP in comatose to be revived post-Idi Amin under a different sets of circumstances and realities.
Uganda has not yet been able shake off the tendency of centrifugal forces to throw political parties to the periphery of the center, and may never. The present weird man of the house preaches non-sectarianism, but his house is packed only with his kind. Mao’s coziness with his wayward uncles in power may be out of filial imperatives, but may also show a tendency to compromise and bring people together. Let us see if Mao, who touts a mission for those born after independence, can build a party organization that is worthy of our vote.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Who Is the Real Killer?
The 2011 election campaign is already underway in earnest. The prospective candidates are out and about “consulting” with the electorate across the country. As a signal of what lay ahead one dude was refused radio airtime lest he sensitized the hapless peasants recently back home from Museveni’s concentration camps. Of the candidates none is busier than His Excellency Mzee Yoweri Museveni. He is out in the country pitching and hoping to resuscitate his moribund flagship cockamamie Let-Them-Become-Rich voodoo economics. (If this reminds you of Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake," you are not alone). As he walks the banana and pineapple plantations and hands out vehicles gratis, he is also throwing some darts: DP is a dead party, and the inter-party opposition thing is packed with killers of yesteryears.
The last time the Mzee used the guilty-by-association stratagem was in 1996 when DP’s Ssemogerere was the victim. The southern population was reminded of the 5-year war by macabre displays of heaps of human bones harvested from the Luweero triangle. The blame for the war was pinned on the Obote regime—the very same regime Ssemogerere was allegedly in cahoots with. Moreover, the hated Obote was on his way just across the border. The peasants panicked. But wait—there was a “warrior” who could save them—the one and only, Museveni! Who won?!
A great warrior avoids war as much as possible. That concept presupposes taking-whole as propounded by the great masters of antiquity. Completely winning a conflict is rarely possible. Since conflicts occur in relationships of some sorts—be it with government, spouse, employer, siblings, etc—,to insist on no compromise is to destroy the relationship. The mindset of the psychotic Museveni, a man with multiple personalities, is to win completely (and also, as per Idi Amin!). Thus, because he wanted the throne of Uganda so badly, he had to go to war and thousands died. Rather than make political settlements in the North he waged a twenty-year war in which additional thousands perished. God only knows how many millions lost their lives in the forests of Congo and the grasslands of Sudan because of the man’s default penchant for war.
The opposition should be wary: the real killer is on the prowl and he is framing the debate. He will try to portray them as associated with the dark periods of Uganda, and brainwash the population that he is their Knight-in-shining-armor destined by God to save them. The trick works otherwise he would not be revisiting it. If the opposition can’t blunt the assault, they are as good dead before it has even begun. To keep quiet when he pummels them is to be defined by him, and that means political death. There are plenty of ammunitions, viz. safe houses, cases of torture, the September 2009 massacre, etc.
---------
It is a pleasure to watch the Chinese kids practice democracy in selecting a class monitor in this film, Please Vote for Me. Emotions, tricks, cold feet, etc are in display.
http://www.pleasevoteforme.org/index.html
The last time the Mzee used the guilty-by-association stratagem was in 1996 when DP’s Ssemogerere was the victim. The southern population was reminded of the 5-year war by macabre displays of heaps of human bones harvested from the Luweero triangle. The blame for the war was pinned on the Obote regime—the very same regime Ssemogerere was allegedly in cahoots with. Moreover, the hated Obote was on his way just across the border. The peasants panicked. But wait—there was a “warrior” who could save them—the one and only, Museveni! Who won?!
A great warrior avoids war as much as possible. That concept presupposes taking-whole as propounded by the great masters of antiquity. Completely winning a conflict is rarely possible. Since conflicts occur in relationships of some sorts—be it with government, spouse, employer, siblings, etc—,to insist on no compromise is to destroy the relationship. The mindset of the psychotic Museveni, a man with multiple personalities, is to win completely (and also, as per Idi Amin!). Thus, because he wanted the throne of Uganda so badly, he had to go to war and thousands died. Rather than make political settlements in the North he waged a twenty-year war in which additional thousands perished. God only knows how many millions lost their lives in the forests of Congo and the grasslands of Sudan because of the man’s default penchant for war.
The opposition should be wary: the real killer is on the prowl and he is framing the debate. He will try to portray them as associated with the dark periods of Uganda, and brainwash the population that he is their Knight-in-shining-armor destined by God to save them. The trick works otherwise he would not be revisiting it. If the opposition can’t blunt the assault, they are as good dead before it has even begun. To keep quiet when he pummels them is to be defined by him, and that means political death. There are plenty of ammunitions, viz. safe houses, cases of torture, the September 2009 massacre, etc.
---------
It is a pleasure to watch the Chinese kids practice democracy in selecting a class monitor in this film, Please Vote for Me. Emotions, tricks, cold feet, etc are in display.
http://www.pleasevoteforme.org/index.html
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Elders Are God's Creation; Are They Not?
The bishops of Church of Uganda gathered at the multi-million dollar presidential palace in the dirt-poor nation of Uganda—a nation which depends on nearly fifty percent of its national budget from its colonial master and associates.
First of all, Uganda has no state religion. Why then “Church of Uganda?” Some wonk once stated that how you phrase a thing or an event matters. So, is it surprising then that a rogue scholar would opine that the British couldn’t have allowed the Catholic Kiwanuaka to become the first independence prime minister? According to him the protestant Anglican Britain engineered the cynical disenfranchising of the Buganda populace by allowing the corrupted selection of Buganda MPs by the Lukiiko (parliament) of Buganda. This move essentially chopped DP’s legs in Buganda, giving a leg up for the protestant-leaning UPC in alliance with the protestant dominated Kabaka Yekka(KY) to win. Thereafter the Anglican Church became Church of Uganda. Wink, wink, wink!
Back to our bishops: here they were paying homage to the president, a son of a savedee mother and married to a savedee woman—enough cover to fool the gullible. The bishops blessed the president and minister wife, and at the same time brown-nosing him as they congratulated him for his piety. You want to hold your nose!
Nobody ever faulted Museveni for his adept at using symbolism. Here were a dozen or so old men—princes of the church—trooping like schoolboys to the headmaster’s office to be lectured on how to be self-sufficient. The bewildered peasantry sees that in terms of boss and subjects, as well as an endorsement by the church. That is the subliminal message of the whole exercise.
The bishops are the spiritual leaders of their church. That is a very grave responsibility not to be taken lightly. It is a sagacious office that carries weight. It can shift gravity. In obsequiously herding themselves to the presidential palace rather than have the president make a trip to their gathering, the bishops have done the nation a disservice and served mammon. What would Rabbi Jesus have done?
To add insult to injury, the bishops’ head honcho deplored our penchant for dissing elders since “elders were created by God.” Supposedly, isn’t everyone? Bling, bling, bling!
You cannot force respect—fear may be—, but you earn it. What have the elders done on their watch for the last forty plus years? They have sent the country to the dogs with intrigues, murders, theft and, even today people are anxious about what tomorrow will bring. Look at that lonesome woman stranded in Museveni’s camp in Acoli. By their one act the bishops have shown how unskillful they are in the use of their power. They effectively endorsed the status quo. Respect? No way Jose'. Nada!
First of all, Uganda has no state religion. Why then “Church of Uganda?” Some wonk once stated that how you phrase a thing or an event matters. So, is it surprising then that a rogue scholar would opine that the British couldn’t have allowed the Catholic Kiwanuaka to become the first independence prime minister? According to him the protestant Anglican Britain engineered the cynical disenfranchising of the Buganda populace by allowing the corrupted selection of Buganda MPs by the Lukiiko (parliament) of Buganda. This move essentially chopped DP’s legs in Buganda, giving a leg up for the protestant-leaning UPC in alliance with the protestant dominated Kabaka Yekka(KY) to win. Thereafter the Anglican Church became Church of Uganda. Wink, wink, wink!
Back to our bishops: here they were paying homage to the president, a son of a savedee mother and married to a savedee woman—enough cover to fool the gullible. The bishops blessed the president and minister wife, and at the same time brown-nosing him as they congratulated him for his piety. You want to hold your nose!
Nobody ever faulted Museveni for his adept at using symbolism. Here were a dozen or so old men—princes of the church—trooping like schoolboys to the headmaster’s office to be lectured on how to be self-sufficient. The bewildered peasantry sees that in terms of boss and subjects, as well as an endorsement by the church. That is the subliminal message of the whole exercise.
The bishops are the spiritual leaders of their church. That is a very grave responsibility not to be taken lightly. It is a sagacious office that carries weight. It can shift gravity. In obsequiously herding themselves to the presidential palace rather than have the president make a trip to their gathering, the bishops have done the nation a disservice and served mammon. What would Rabbi Jesus have done?
To add insult to injury, the bishops’ head honcho deplored our penchant for dissing elders since “elders were created by God.” Supposedly, isn’t everyone? Bling, bling, bling!
You cannot force respect—fear may be—, but you earn it. What have the elders done on their watch for the last forty plus years? They have sent the country to the dogs with intrigues, murders, theft and, even today people are anxious about what tomorrow will bring. Look at that lonesome woman stranded in Museveni’s camp in Acoli. By their one act the bishops have shown how unskillful they are in the use of their power. They effectively endorsed the status quo. Respect? No way Jose'. Nada!
Friday, February 12, 2010
The NRM that Could Have Been
*It doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white, so long it catches mice.
--Deng Xiaoping
*The rabbi of Lublin said: “I love a wicked man who knows he is wicked more than a righteous man who knows he is righteous. But concerning the wicked who consider themselves righteous, it said: ‘They do not turn even on the threshold of hell.’”
--From Tales of Hasidim: Early Masters
*If we had ministers sporting French suits and gold watches, and squalid slums up against garish mansions, we would have another revolution in twenty-four hours.
--Chinese official (on Africa) to Robert Calderisi, a former World Bank official
--------
TimothyKalyegira was an earnest Sunday Monitor columnist who was quite controversial as he delved in an amalgam of sorcery, witchcraft and magic for his sources. At one time he ruffled my feathers when he made a reckless statement that some young Acoli men were filtering into Kenya to fight alongside their Luo brethrens in the 2008 Kenya post-election debacle. This kind of irresponsible reporting could have jeopardized the lives of many I know who were resident in Kenya or who might have been visiting.
When Mr. Kalyegira, who was sponsored by a local mysterious millionaire, returned from the Beijing Olympics, it was as if he was possessed by the glitter he witnessed in China. Impressionable as he was, we were to suffer weekly barrage of China having already effectively surpassed the US and its western cousins. Many probably did not take him seriously because of his historical hyperbolic embellishments. Soon after, his column disappeared—probably courtesy of directives “from high above.”
The fact of the matter is China has made a quantum leap in the last twenty plus years under the aegis of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a Marxist outfit gone capitalist without the yoke of so-called freedom the west preens itself about. In about the same period Uganda’s National Resistance Number (NRM), a similarly Marxist gangster by virtue of its impatience with opposition and criticism, assumed and consolidated power. The question then is: why has the CCP achieved much and continues to evolve, while the NRM is on a downward slide and on the verge of imploding with nothing to show for it but corruptions and haphazard development?
Let us give it to the Chinese for having been prepared with a history that spans four thousand years, and influenced by such masters as Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius) and Lao Tzu, let alone the elegant Zen Buddhism. It is a relatively homogenous and well-disciplined society. Culture matters in development. If you don’t viscerally know who you are, how can you know where you are going clearly? Granted, however, the NRM simply did not practice what it preached. Since Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of the new China the CCP has had three presidents. The NRM has had one—one Museveni who increasingly has become the definition of the NRM. The CCP is evolving, even as we speak, what it calls vertical democracy, which is a top-down-bottom-up communication channels. Increasingly policies are tested regionally before floating it nationally as the kinks are ironed out.
The NRM is practically a top-down gang outfit. The mushrooming number of districts and the LC system is sham decentralization for a top-down control at the grassroots. Widows may wail and are handed cash-stashed brown envelops in the perpetual campaign tours. A region may threaten votes to blackmail for paved roads. But that is as far as the down-up functions in Museveni’s fiefdom.
The essence of vertical democracy would have been a natural for many Uganda societies. While many of the major players have histories of feudal top-down kingdom model, there is no reason why, equipped with the goodwill, the gun and the smarts it had, the NRM could not have persuaded these remnants of ancient legacies. But, it was not to be: the desire to be a feudal King was part of Museveni’s DNA, hence the oft-quoted self-declaration of King of Kings.
The umbrella government and the individual merit regime seemed quite elegant and appealing, but it fell short of its logical conclusions. It was a half-hearted tact to buy time and consolidate personal power. Soon people who were lulled into sleep woke up hog-tied with little political space. Hence, the chorus for multiparty democracy, which the west meekly encouraged with the slick cunning caveat that it is for Ugandans to decide, when they could as easily have pulled the plug of aid that props the regime.
No one in Africa wants multi-party democracy for its own sake or for just aping the west the way we do in many ways. China, despite some shortcomings, is showing that there is an alternative functional model which could have been the NRM legacy but for greed and egos of the architects.
--Deng Xiaoping
*The rabbi of Lublin said: “I love a wicked man who knows he is wicked more than a righteous man who knows he is righteous. But concerning the wicked who consider themselves righteous, it said: ‘They do not turn even on the threshold of hell.’”
--From Tales of Hasidim: Early Masters
*If we had ministers sporting French suits and gold watches, and squalid slums up against garish mansions, we would have another revolution in twenty-four hours.
--Chinese official (on Africa) to Robert Calderisi, a former World Bank official
--------
TimothyKalyegira was an earnest Sunday Monitor columnist who was quite controversial as he delved in an amalgam of sorcery, witchcraft and magic for his sources. At one time he ruffled my feathers when he made a reckless statement that some young Acoli men were filtering into Kenya to fight alongside their Luo brethrens in the 2008 Kenya post-election debacle. This kind of irresponsible reporting could have jeopardized the lives of many I know who were resident in Kenya or who might have been visiting.
When Mr. Kalyegira, who was sponsored by a local mysterious millionaire, returned from the Beijing Olympics, it was as if he was possessed by the glitter he witnessed in China. Impressionable as he was, we were to suffer weekly barrage of China having already effectively surpassed the US and its western cousins. Many probably did not take him seriously because of his historical hyperbolic embellishments. Soon after, his column disappeared—probably courtesy of directives “from high above.”
The fact of the matter is China has made a quantum leap in the last twenty plus years under the aegis of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a Marxist outfit gone capitalist without the yoke of so-called freedom the west preens itself about. In about the same period Uganda’s National Resistance Number (NRM), a similarly Marxist gangster by virtue of its impatience with opposition and criticism, assumed and consolidated power. The question then is: why has the CCP achieved much and continues to evolve, while the NRM is on a downward slide and on the verge of imploding with nothing to show for it but corruptions and haphazard development?
Let us give it to the Chinese for having been prepared with a history that spans four thousand years, and influenced by such masters as Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius) and Lao Tzu, let alone the elegant Zen Buddhism. It is a relatively homogenous and well-disciplined society. Culture matters in development. If you don’t viscerally know who you are, how can you know where you are going clearly? Granted, however, the NRM simply did not practice what it preached. Since Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of the new China the CCP has had three presidents. The NRM has had one—one Museveni who increasingly has become the definition of the NRM. The CCP is evolving, even as we speak, what it calls vertical democracy, which is a top-down-bottom-up communication channels. Increasingly policies are tested regionally before floating it nationally as the kinks are ironed out.
The NRM is practically a top-down gang outfit. The mushrooming number of districts and the LC system is sham decentralization for a top-down control at the grassroots. Widows may wail and are handed cash-stashed brown envelops in the perpetual campaign tours. A region may threaten votes to blackmail for paved roads. But that is as far as the down-up functions in Museveni’s fiefdom.
The essence of vertical democracy would have been a natural for many Uganda societies. While many of the major players have histories of feudal top-down kingdom model, there is no reason why, equipped with the goodwill, the gun and the smarts it had, the NRM could not have persuaded these remnants of ancient legacies. But, it was not to be: the desire to be a feudal King was part of Museveni’s DNA, hence the oft-quoted self-declaration of King of Kings.
The umbrella government and the individual merit regime seemed quite elegant and appealing, but it fell short of its logical conclusions. It was a half-hearted tact to buy time and consolidate personal power. Soon people who were lulled into sleep woke up hog-tied with little political space. Hence, the chorus for multiparty democracy, which the west meekly encouraged with the slick cunning caveat that it is for Ugandans to decide, when they could as easily have pulled the plug of aid that props the regime.
No one in Africa wants multi-party democracy for its own sake or for just aping the west the way we do in many ways. China, despite some shortcomings, is showing that there is an alternative functional model which could have been the NRM legacy but for greed and egos of the architects.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
To Be Married or Not to Be Married
Some have opined that the hullabaloo about the marriage status of Mr. Olara Otunnu, the UPC presidential aspirant, is some conspiracy to derail the man’s political ambition. Outside the motives and tactics of his detractors, the marriage status of someone seeking to run a country matters.
We men are simple creatures: feed us, give us sex and stroke our fragile egos and we are good to go. All other prancing and posing—wars, theft, cheating, lying, etc—are geared to these needs. Once we have had enough at chasing illusions we may delve into philosophy sizing, religion, arcane cultures, etc. or become bitter old goats with no wisdom.
While all humans are affected by hormones and survival instincts, women are ruled by them. The result is a complicated creature that can play a man like a yoyo. From time immemorial the African has understood this characteristic of the woman. The Shakespearean Taming of the Shrew tells us that the pale man up North also has an inkling. And so, in nearly every African society marriage and ability to manage a woman is a mark of maturity. It follows then that the litmus test for leadership is marriage. A litmus test is just that: it tests the acidity of a substance, the same way a married man is presumed capable of taking greater responsibilities. It is a given.
Of course, and rightly so, we can argue that logically a man’s marriage status is not decisive leadership quality. However, the fact of the matter is that the peasants may gape in awe of PhDs and international jobs. So what? Give them what they understand as the quality of a real man who is a strategist and tactician who has successfully run the basic political domain of a household.
Mr Olara Otunnu is unmarried. Those who grew up in the sixties and seventies can understand him, but that is the subject of another story. Mr. Otunnu can argue and look defensive. Or he can pick up one of those nubile Banyankole or Bakiga girls and head to the altar. Soon the story will leak in the Red Pepper about his awesome member and how he never lets Memshahib sleep whenever he comes home from sojourns in the far reaches of Uganda. Nine months down the line there is junior, just as the campaign season is at its boiling point. And miracles do happen—next year we would be talking about president Otunnu of the United States of Uganda.
-----------
The writer is, inter alia, a social critic and a confirmed bachelor. He believes that the keys to the fountain of youth and longevity are: great sex, good sleep, and good bowel movements. Everything else is chasing after the wind.
We men are simple creatures: feed us, give us sex and stroke our fragile egos and we are good to go. All other prancing and posing—wars, theft, cheating, lying, etc—are geared to these needs. Once we have had enough at chasing illusions we may delve into philosophy sizing, religion, arcane cultures, etc. or become bitter old goats with no wisdom.
While all humans are affected by hormones and survival instincts, women are ruled by them. The result is a complicated creature that can play a man like a yoyo. From time immemorial the African has understood this characteristic of the woman. The Shakespearean Taming of the Shrew tells us that the pale man up North also has an inkling. And so, in nearly every African society marriage and ability to manage a woman is a mark of maturity. It follows then that the litmus test for leadership is marriage. A litmus test is just that: it tests the acidity of a substance, the same way a married man is presumed capable of taking greater responsibilities. It is a given.
Of course, and rightly so, we can argue that logically a man’s marriage status is not decisive leadership quality. However, the fact of the matter is that the peasants may gape in awe of PhDs and international jobs. So what? Give them what they understand as the quality of a real man who is a strategist and tactician who has successfully run the basic political domain of a household.
Mr Olara Otunnu is unmarried. Those who grew up in the sixties and seventies can understand him, but that is the subject of another story. Mr. Otunnu can argue and look defensive. Or he can pick up one of those nubile Banyankole or Bakiga girls and head to the altar. Soon the story will leak in the Red Pepper about his awesome member and how he never lets Memshahib sleep whenever he comes home from sojourns in the far reaches of Uganda. Nine months down the line there is junior, just as the campaign season is at its boiling point. And miracles do happen—next year we would be talking about president Otunnu of the United States of Uganda.
-----------
The writer is, inter alia, a social critic and a confirmed bachelor. He believes that the keys to the fountain of youth and longevity are: great sex, good sleep, and good bowel movements. Everything else is chasing after the wind.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Only Museveni Could Pull It Off
I first saw Bebe Cool when he was in town, like many peddlers of various trinkets and may be even flesh, to cash in on a gathering of Ugandans. It was at a third-rate watering shack. He jumped on stage and began belting something, which I learned later on was his latest hit song. From the faces and reactions, nobody cared. I can’t remember when he left the stage. So, another “superstar” fell flat on his butt—never making it in the big easy. Tabu Ley, a.k.a Rochereau, could not even sell more than ten tickets in the Kilimanjaro in its heydays. He had to go back and become a mere minister (a downwardslide by his creative standard) in his native dysfunctional country. Only Miriam Makeba could have made it had she not married the telegenic firebrand Black Panther Carmichael. The white liberal establishment abandoned her like a black child would do to a black doll.
Seriously, I wish Bebe Cool a quick recovery from the wounds inflicted by a police state, out of control. Especially when his dad is such a cool dude who, unfortunately will never be president of United States of Uganda even if he tries.
The poor policeman who shot Bebe Cool and his hangers-on reacted according to script created by the state, a.k.a. Museveni. Just imagine: If Bebe Cool & Co had balls laced with star-power and marched down-town demanding civilized politics, what would happen to them? Unlike Kanyaryeru heroes,you don’t get a medal for guessing. Blood would soak the streets. That, my friend, is the message that has seeped into the minds of anybody with any semblance of power—including access to sulfuric acid. Mind you, the unconscious doesn’t need overt instructions. It absorbs messages even when one is asleep and stores it somewhere. When the condition is ripe, you just carry on the instruction as dictated as the right thing to do. This time it said: shoot Bebe Cool and the robot did without winching or second thought.
Then we have Mr. Museveni, the ever resourceful opportunist, visiting the “superstar” in his hospital bed. This is a busy executive, who never sleeps, squeezing in the time and spending scarce resources for a picture opportunity when a phone call could have done—all to score points for the coming elections. Only Museveni, in spite of the stench, could pull it off and look shamelessly genuine. The man is reaching for straws as Mugisha Muntu and Besigye are making points up country. And, of course, don't discount the ambassador whose contribution, if any, will be sensitizing the hapless population.
Seriously, I wish Bebe Cool a quick recovery from the wounds inflicted by a police state, out of control. Especially when his dad is such a cool dude who, unfortunately will never be president of United States of Uganda even if he tries.
The poor policeman who shot Bebe Cool and his hangers-on reacted according to script created by the state, a.k.a. Museveni. Just imagine: If Bebe Cool & Co had balls laced with star-power and marched down-town demanding civilized politics, what would happen to them? Unlike Kanyaryeru heroes,you don’t get a medal for guessing. Blood would soak the streets. That, my friend, is the message that has seeped into the minds of anybody with any semblance of power—including access to sulfuric acid. Mind you, the unconscious doesn’t need overt instructions. It absorbs messages even when one is asleep and stores it somewhere. When the condition is ripe, you just carry on the instruction as dictated as the right thing to do. This time it said: shoot Bebe Cool and the robot did without winching or second thought.
Then we have Mr. Museveni, the ever resourceful opportunist, visiting the “superstar” in his hospital bed. This is a busy executive, who never sleeps, squeezing in the time and spending scarce resources for a picture opportunity when a phone call could have done—all to score points for the coming elections. Only Museveni, in spite of the stench, could pull it off and look shamelessly genuine. The man is reaching for straws as Mugisha Muntu and Besigye are making points up country. And, of course, don't discount the ambassador whose contribution, if any, will be sensitizing the hapless population.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Design Flaws
So God created human beings in his image. He created them man and female. God blessed them and said, “ Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over birds in the sky. Rule over every living thing that moves on earth.” Amen.
My qusetion is: If we are created in the image of God, should we not be perfecto?!
Take the example of woman. Down there are orifices that are compacted near or into one another that are recipe for disasters. Among them is childbirth. Before the advent of science and the helpful elixirs, millions of women faced horrible pains and even deaths.
In his/her/its wisdom, if ever s/he/it did it, he put the prostate gland just on top of the bladder. And when that prostate enlarges, as it does in some men, it means frequent goings to the John. Thus the six or so hours of sleep that you enjoyed in your youth is gone.Capiche?! And that is just the beginning of the prostate woes that could get worse. Cancer. Incontinence. And lord behold, impotence. What can spoil a man’s day than inability to get up!
Now s/he/it says: Amor vincit omnia. Love conquers all. Or something to that effect. Tell that to those who have been betrayed, cheated or abused in love. Do Haitians not love? What of the children who are traded, molested, or otherwise go hungry in a world of plenty?
Okay. You say you are civilized. Thanks to one of the newest part of your brain, the prefrontal cortex that made it possible. On top of the good stuff like planning, forethought, judgement, organizing, or impulse control you can also pass through this brain all kinds of negatives to the other less intelligent primitive parts of the brain. It is like creating a village path by continual walking through the same track. Soon your escape route will be this path when you are caught in the bush with the village tramp. Unless you understand this, no force in the world or other-worldly can pry you out of say, the track of addiction or angry outbursts.
The point here is that, if there is a designer , then s/he/it might have just only triggered the Big Bang and left nature to its own course according to precise cosmic algorithms in the larger schemes of things. But in the subroutines of our finite selves, we are stumped—bewildered and confused because of our misguided consciousness. S/He/It is probably watching in amusement: Look at man. He gets this magnificient evolutionary brain, better than any other creature's, and he messes everything up. Aahaahaah!
My qusetion is: If we are created in the image of God, should we not be perfecto?!
Take the example of woman. Down there are orifices that are compacted near or into one another that are recipe for disasters. Among them is childbirth. Before the advent of science and the helpful elixirs, millions of women faced horrible pains and even deaths.
In his/her/its wisdom, if ever s/he/it did it, he put the prostate gland just on top of the bladder. And when that prostate enlarges, as it does in some men, it means frequent goings to the John. Thus the six or so hours of sleep that you enjoyed in your youth is gone.Capiche?! And that is just the beginning of the prostate woes that could get worse. Cancer. Incontinence. And lord behold, impotence. What can spoil a man’s day than inability to get up!
Now s/he/it says: Amor vincit omnia. Love conquers all. Or something to that effect. Tell that to those who have been betrayed, cheated or abused in love. Do Haitians not love? What of the children who are traded, molested, or otherwise go hungry in a world of plenty?
Okay. You say you are civilized. Thanks to one of the newest part of your brain, the prefrontal cortex that made it possible. On top of the good stuff like planning, forethought, judgement, organizing, or impulse control you can also pass through this brain all kinds of negatives to the other less intelligent primitive parts of the brain. It is like creating a village path by continual walking through the same track. Soon your escape route will be this path when you are caught in the bush with the village tramp. Unless you understand this, no force in the world or other-worldly can pry you out of say, the track of addiction or angry outbursts.
The point here is that, if there is a designer , then s/he/it might have just only triggered the Big Bang and left nature to its own course according to precise cosmic algorithms in the larger schemes of things. But in the subroutines of our finite selves, we are stumped—bewildered and confused because of our misguided consciousness. S/He/It is probably watching in amusement: Look at man. He gets this magnificient evolutionary brain, better than any other creature's, and he messes everything up. Aahaahaah!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Son of Peasant
“It is too good to be true. Behind its glittering mask [Uganda] wears a sinister aspect----a sense of indefinable oppression------a cut will not heal, a scratch festers.
“[A] garden of sunshine and deadly nightshade”
Winston Churchill
---My African Journey, 1907
“Hard though it is to imagine now, Uganda was becoming self-sufficient -----It aimed to be self-reliant, free of aid by 1974.
“It was not policies that messed up Africa. It was politics. A deadly combination of internal competition for power and outside interference wrecked Africa.
“In the end, the greatest impact of European imperialism in Africa may have been neither political nor economic. It may have been psychological: the destruction of African self-belief.”
Richard Dowden
---Africa
Altered States, Ordinary Miracles, 2009
Son of peasant rises to the top
Or rather,
Bulldozes to the top
Rails against
Predecessor sons of peasants:
You killed recklessly
You killers
You hoarded power
Ruled with iron fists
Not unlike colonial overlords
Brought shame and miseries
No alternatives but
Mighty Kalashnikovs
To rid off pests
Son of peasant becomes hero
Grateful peasant brethrens’ adoration
Can do no wrong
Has the Midas’ touch
Every touch turns to gold
Tries this
Tries that
On the fly
Son of peasant hooks up with the devils
The perennial world masters for five centuries
Becomes their errand boy
The more things change
The more they stay the same
Sings their songs
Promotes their agenda
Natives’ interests are secondary
Lulled by sweet-nothing slogans
Son of peasant is put for life
Propped up by the devils
In the name of stability
Families and hangers-on
Assured luxury and privilege
His fall is their fall
Must maintain the gravy-train at all costs
But history repeats itself
All will peter and wane eventually
But for now
The sycophantic fawning
The rage in town
Another son of peasant goes off
The big city beckons
Thanks to missionary schools
Earns degrees
Lands a juicy job
Relatives flock from the woodworks
Allure of modern gadgets also calls
All chasing the relative meager wage
The shortfall pegged by bribes
Shameless dipping quivering hands in public coffers
All in all
Where is the compass?
A ship needs a compass
Lest lost at sea
Observe:
In the lands of the rising sun
The yellow peoples
In the Yangtze
Can run astray
But remember the compass
Rectify and prosper
In this dance
Rituals give guidance
Where are the rituals for adulthood?
For coming of age
Where are the rituals for honor betrayed?
Where are the rituals for conflict resolutions?
Individually and collectively
Where? Where? Where?
There are the Christian rituals
Islamic rituals
Religious images
Designed to affect consciousness
Have they sunk?
Will they ever?
Meanwhile,
Mayhems
Lying
Corruptions
Double-talks
Cruelty
Intolerance
Greed rule
A people sans organic culture
Radar less
Floundering
Desperate
Easy prey
Manipulated
Cheated out of resources
The dredge of human kind
Living in the immediate
Ensuring perpetual bondage
That’s son of peasant’s legacy
The first generation of post-independence
Operators spanning forty plus years
What’s the prognosis for the next?
Grandsons of peasants
Sons of presidents
Doctors
Teachers
Lawyers
Generals
Can the papaya fall far from the tree?
“[A] garden of sunshine and deadly nightshade”
Winston Churchill
---My African Journey, 1907
“Hard though it is to imagine now, Uganda was becoming self-sufficient -----It aimed to be self-reliant, free of aid by 1974.
“It was not policies that messed up Africa. It was politics. A deadly combination of internal competition for power and outside interference wrecked Africa.
“In the end, the greatest impact of European imperialism in Africa may have been neither political nor economic. It may have been psychological: the destruction of African self-belief.”
Richard Dowden
---Africa
Altered States, Ordinary Miracles, 2009
Son of peasant rises to the top
Or rather,
Bulldozes to the top
Rails against
Predecessor sons of peasants:
You killed recklessly
You killers
You hoarded power
Ruled with iron fists
Not unlike colonial overlords
Brought shame and miseries
No alternatives but
Mighty Kalashnikovs
To rid off pests
Son of peasant becomes hero
Grateful peasant brethrens’ adoration
Can do no wrong
Has the Midas’ touch
Every touch turns to gold
Tries this
Tries that
On the fly
Son of peasant hooks up with the devils
The perennial world masters for five centuries
Becomes their errand boy
The more things change
The more they stay the same
Sings their songs
Promotes their agenda
Natives’ interests are secondary
Lulled by sweet-nothing slogans
Son of peasant is put for life
Propped up by the devils
In the name of stability
Families and hangers-on
Assured luxury and privilege
His fall is their fall
Must maintain the gravy-train at all costs
But history repeats itself
All will peter and wane eventually
But for now
The sycophantic fawning
The rage in town
Another son of peasant goes off
The big city beckons
Thanks to missionary schools
Earns degrees
Lands a juicy job
Relatives flock from the woodworks
Allure of modern gadgets also calls
All chasing the relative meager wage
The shortfall pegged by bribes
Shameless dipping quivering hands in public coffers
All in all
Where is the compass?
A ship needs a compass
Lest lost at sea
Observe:
In the lands of the rising sun
The yellow peoples
In the Yangtze
Can run astray
But remember the compass
Rectify and prosper
In this dance
Rituals give guidance
Where are the rituals for adulthood?
For coming of age
Where are the rituals for honor betrayed?
Where are the rituals for conflict resolutions?
Individually and collectively
Where? Where? Where?
There are the Christian rituals
Islamic rituals
Religious images
Designed to affect consciousness
Have they sunk?
Will they ever?
Meanwhile,
Mayhems
Lying
Corruptions
Double-talks
Cruelty
Intolerance
Greed rule
A people sans organic culture
Radar less
Floundering
Desperate
Easy prey
Manipulated
Cheated out of resources
The dredge of human kind
Living in the immediate
Ensuring perpetual bondage
That’s son of peasant’s legacy
The first generation of post-independence
Operators spanning forty plus years
What’s the prognosis for the next?
Grandsons of peasants
Sons of presidents
Doctors
Teachers
Lawyers
Generals
Can the papaya fall far from the tree?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Let It Go!
*What is past is over. It cannot be changed. We will inevitably receive the results of our past intentions and actions. Our freedom lies in how we respond to these results. Our response creates new karma, new patterns that will eventually bear fruit. By creating a healthier future we can redeem the past.
--Jack Kornfield
------------
A tumor had developed, so one of her wombs was cut out. The doctor said she could still “see the moon.” But as fate would have it, the whole system shut down prematurely—no moon, no nothing. How could it be? Did the doctor cut all her wombs? What man would want her now—a hag unable to bear fruits. That was not in the script. The pain, only a woman could understand, was so excruciating. She walked about like a zombie. The sight of pregnant women sent chills through her spine.
That was suffering added to pain. Sometimes pain hits like a tone of brick out of the blues. How we deal with it is another matter. Pain can be a given—coming from the vagaries of the human condition that, at times, seems to have no rhythm and rhyme on the surface.
Who has not been betrayed? Wicked calumnies have been floated about us at one time or another. At one time or another we lost this or that which was very dear to us. Do we cling to the pains of these events and play it over and over again like a broken record, while plotting revenge, lawsuits, suicide, or plain old feeling hopeless? That is undulterated suffering.
The problem with suffering is that it has mental and other physical consequences. When we nurture the pain—that is, suffer—we send all kinds of electrical signals and secrete chemicals that debilitate our well-being.
So, what to do? Just let go! But from experience, we know it is not that easy, let alone forgive and forget. How then do we do it? That is the million-dollar question. It is in the mind and its many states. Good luck in your quest. Sometimes one needs an expert for help. And, last but no least: time is of the essence.
---------------
Soko’s Classic Movie Pick: The Page Turner: Melanie schemed and got her revenge. But at what cost? The movie only gives a glimpse on the destruction of her nemesis. What about her? We are not told.
--Jack Kornfield
------------
A tumor had developed, so one of her wombs was cut out. The doctor said she could still “see the moon.” But as fate would have it, the whole system shut down prematurely—no moon, no nothing. How could it be? Did the doctor cut all her wombs? What man would want her now—a hag unable to bear fruits. That was not in the script. The pain, only a woman could understand, was so excruciating. She walked about like a zombie. The sight of pregnant women sent chills through her spine.
That was suffering added to pain. Sometimes pain hits like a tone of brick out of the blues. How we deal with it is another matter. Pain can be a given—coming from the vagaries of the human condition that, at times, seems to have no rhythm and rhyme on the surface.
Who has not been betrayed? Wicked calumnies have been floated about us at one time or another. At one time or another we lost this or that which was very dear to us. Do we cling to the pains of these events and play it over and over again like a broken record, while plotting revenge, lawsuits, suicide, or plain old feeling hopeless? That is undulterated suffering.
The problem with suffering is that it has mental and other physical consequences. When we nurture the pain—that is, suffer—we send all kinds of electrical signals and secrete chemicals that debilitate our well-being.
So, what to do? Just let go! But from experience, we know it is not that easy, let alone forgive and forget. How then do we do it? That is the million-dollar question. It is in the mind and its many states. Good luck in your quest. Sometimes one needs an expert for help. And, last but no least: time is of the essence.
---------------
Soko’s Classic Movie Pick: The Page Turner: Melanie schemed and got her revenge. But at what cost? The movie only gives a glimpse on the destruction of her nemesis. What about her? We are not told.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Follies of Integration
• Only the wild beasts can live without company of their own.
• A serpent once had an egg pure and white, while that of the bird was speckled and dirty. The bird gave up the speckled egg to lay on the white one. The egg cracked open and out came a snake. The bird was eaten by the snake it hatched.
----Movie RAN, a Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear
Martin Luther King typified the Black American middle class. It marched and demanded to have what the white man had—the good life, meaning thinking white, going to white schools, living in white neighborhoods, dressing white, marrying white—basically, being white with the impossiblity of changing the various dark hues, big noses, kinky hair (which is straightened by several billion-dollar chemical industry), and the wailings in christian churches of refuge.
What the middle class fought for they they got. Thanks to affirmative action, the size of the Black middle class has grown. Various government set-asides has created some pseudo businessmen who are one government contract away from the poor house. Where are the artisans, the roofers, the dry goods mom-and-pop stores, and the carpenters who are the backbone any ‘hood? The most viable business now in the Black community is the hair salon and the barber shop. These are the only places where the so-called Black middle class come from suburbia to recycle the dollar with their own. Otherwise, their wages hardly spend a day in the community. If so, how can a people prosper from the bottom up?
That is the question Africa has to tackle if it is to go anywhere in its quest for development. If development merely means putting on a tie, driving sleek four-wheel vehicles, owning mansions, huge tracks of land, and otherwise mimicking wholesale the mindsets of the west, we will pay dearly in time. What is needed is building viable communities with sustainable values. The rest will come based on a strong foundation. The alternative is perpetual knee-jerk reactions and development by trial and errors on a journey to nowhere pleasant.
----------
Soko’s Classic Movie Pick: Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man. Sankara was a good man with good intentions for Burkina Faso and Africa. But the ends do not justify the means. Thus the imperialist agent in the guise of his friend, Blaise Compaore, had to liquidate him.
• A serpent once had an egg pure and white, while that of the bird was speckled and dirty. The bird gave up the speckled egg to lay on the white one. The egg cracked open and out came a snake. The bird was eaten by the snake it hatched.
----Movie RAN, a Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear
Martin Luther King typified the Black American middle class. It marched and demanded to have what the white man had—the good life, meaning thinking white, going to white schools, living in white neighborhoods, dressing white, marrying white—basically, being white with the impossiblity of changing the various dark hues, big noses, kinky hair (which is straightened by several billion-dollar chemical industry), and the wailings in christian churches of refuge.
What the middle class fought for they they got. Thanks to affirmative action, the size of the Black middle class has grown. Various government set-asides has created some pseudo businessmen who are one government contract away from the poor house. Where are the artisans, the roofers, the dry goods mom-and-pop stores, and the carpenters who are the backbone any ‘hood? The most viable business now in the Black community is the hair salon and the barber shop. These are the only places where the so-called Black middle class come from suburbia to recycle the dollar with their own. Otherwise, their wages hardly spend a day in the community. If so, how can a people prosper from the bottom up?
That is the question Africa has to tackle if it is to go anywhere in its quest for development. If development merely means putting on a tie, driving sleek four-wheel vehicles, owning mansions, huge tracks of land, and otherwise mimicking wholesale the mindsets of the west, we will pay dearly in time. What is needed is building viable communities with sustainable values. The rest will come based on a strong foundation. The alternative is perpetual knee-jerk reactions and development by trial and errors on a journey to nowhere pleasant.
----------
Soko’s Classic Movie Pick: Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man. Sankara was a good man with good intentions for Burkina Faso and Africa. But the ends do not justify the means. Thus the imperialist agent in the guise of his friend, Blaise Compaore, had to liquidate him.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Silent Mystery
A man thanks God that he was spared in an accident in which many were killed. An athlete makes a sign of the cross before lining up for a race in which she comes fifth at the other end. A flood washes out a village killing hundreds. Villagers, with their worldly goods on their heads, march hundreds of miles to escape warring warloads. The people of Haiti are asking: Why us? Then a deranged American christian televangelist says the Hatians have had a pack with the devil. Nothing needs commenting on the equally ignorant, crude and inelegant comment by Russ Limbaugh.
In all these, God, that we have been told is kind, loving, omnipotence and omniscience, is silent. In all these, he, she or it is a mystery—hidden and inaccessible. Yet others claim they communicate with him, her or it. At times he/she/it asks the “knights of the roundtable” to wage wars and kill others who have different takes and approaches.
Meanwhile we observe around us and see births, growths, declines, deaths. Seasons come, seasons go; nations rise, nations decline; mortals are lifted and brought down; some have smiles and peace that never fade; some have gloom and frowns that never go away. Do these give clues about reality? In all these he, she, it is silent. Yet there are some who are presumptous enough to claim they hear him, her or it. Are they for real or are they selling us a bill of goods (especially when they are so dogmatic about it)?
All along, the perpetual metaphysical questions persist: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? Having not explored these questions we flounder, bewildered by natural and man-made disasters, cruelty, greed, rejections, deprivations and similar ills. And when fortune comes in our favor, we cling to it and appropriate it as coming from our own prowess. Our heads swell until unseen forces sneak up on us. The fortunes are gone, and we flounder, bewildered.
Soko's Classic Movie Pick: Four Minutes. A reviting German movie that will keep you glued to the screen.
In all these, God, that we have been told is kind, loving, omnipotence and omniscience, is silent. In all these, he, she or it is a mystery—hidden and inaccessible. Yet others claim they communicate with him, her or it. At times he/she/it asks the “knights of the roundtable” to wage wars and kill others who have different takes and approaches.
Meanwhile we observe around us and see births, growths, declines, deaths. Seasons come, seasons go; nations rise, nations decline; mortals are lifted and brought down; some have smiles and peace that never fade; some have gloom and frowns that never go away. Do these give clues about reality? In all these he, she, it is silent. Yet there are some who are presumptous enough to claim they hear him, her or it. Are they for real or are they selling us a bill of goods (especially when they are so dogmatic about it)?
All along, the perpetual metaphysical questions persist: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? Having not explored these questions we flounder, bewildered by natural and man-made disasters, cruelty, greed, rejections, deprivations and similar ills. And when fortune comes in our favor, we cling to it and appropriate it as coming from our own prowess. Our heads swell until unseen forces sneak up on us. The fortunes are gone, and we flounder, bewildered.
Soko's Classic Movie Pick: Four Minutes. A reviting German movie that will keep you glued to the screen.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Who Is Mugisha Muntu?
We were driving down the street as he walked on the pavement down to the meeting venue. I waved and shouted his name. He turned towards us as others also waved. He looked surprised but sauntered on with his walkmate. That was as close as I came to Major General Mugisha Muntu, one of the leaders of the NRM military who faught and failed to wipe out the LRA, thus extending years of horrors.
In that first chance street encounter and seeing him operate through news reports, Mugisha Muntu is a telegenic, mild mannered and unconfrontational dude, who seems to have it together in his head. But is he what FDC needs against the wily owner of the NRM?
For Mr. Museveni politics is contact sports where you have to rub your opponent’s nose in the sand until he calls “Uncle.” What has Mugisha Muntu exhibited that will stand up against the NRM juggernaut? So far I have seen nothing. If he says he will bring more voters to the FDC fold, why can’t he do it now in his role as national party organizer? What is so special about him that will send many clamoring to FDC once he becomes the flag bearer? His handlers claim he will work with the NRM. What does that mean? Was his visit to state house such an indication?
If Ugandans have their marbles together, at this time Dr. Besigye is the best bet against Museveni. When it wasn’t Kosher and many would have quaked in their boots, Besigye stood up against the increasingly autocratic Museveni. So what if it’s personal as some detractors claim? In the history of Uganda he is already a giant whatever the outcome of 2011. He is described as loud and confrontational. But who needs a sissy against Museveni? As long as he still has fire in his belly, can organize while holding the party together, the man can run as long as he wishes. Party leadership is not country leadership. In the latter, term limit is imperative as antidote against autocracy.
In that first chance street encounter and seeing him operate through news reports, Mugisha Muntu is a telegenic, mild mannered and unconfrontational dude, who seems to have it together in his head. But is he what FDC needs against the wily owner of the NRM?
For Mr. Museveni politics is contact sports where you have to rub your opponent’s nose in the sand until he calls “Uncle.” What has Mugisha Muntu exhibited that will stand up against the NRM juggernaut? So far I have seen nothing. If he says he will bring more voters to the FDC fold, why can’t he do it now in his role as national party organizer? What is so special about him that will send many clamoring to FDC once he becomes the flag bearer? His handlers claim he will work with the NRM. What does that mean? Was his visit to state house such an indication?
If Ugandans have their marbles together, at this time Dr. Besigye is the best bet against Museveni. When it wasn’t Kosher and many would have quaked in their boots, Besigye stood up against the increasingly autocratic Museveni. So what if it’s personal as some detractors claim? In the history of Uganda he is already a giant whatever the outcome of 2011. He is described as loud and confrontational. But who needs a sissy against Museveni? As long as he still has fire in his belly, can organize while holding the party together, the man can run as long as he wishes. Party leadership is not country leadership. In the latter, term limit is imperative as antidote against autocracy.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Is It So?
*In Greek mythology the gods quickly punished those mortals who dared to ascend to Mt Olympus and taste devine power. However, if you had the courage to cross to their realm, you were rewarded handsomely. The likes of Hercules and Pysche did just that.
---------------------
To the light-weight simpletons that are some of Uganda’s journalists all is now well with the NRM in the Acoli subregion now that the LRA has self-destructed and relative peace has come to the region. This is either a form of denial or a calculated effort to promote the NRM. It is a cynical insult to the intelligence of the people.
That peace now reigns in the region is a welcome respite from the twenty or so years of hell. The people clearly remember how the owner of the NRM, by his own account, was dragged screaming to the negotiation table. The people surely remember the series of altimatum that dogged the NRM in its protracted wish to finish off the LRA. Moreover the hangovers from that hell do not suddenly disappear with a magic wand overnight. There are the traumatic memories of being forced into concentration camps. There are the memories of civilian abuses by the NRM military. Then there is the continued choking abject poverty. The NRM will have to be held accountable for the twenty years plus of deliberate, intentional and cavalier neglect.
In addition, while it has been watered down by shameless materialistic desires as well as basic unadorned survival instincts untamed by cultural heritage, there is still a strong streak of individualism that shuns authoritarian excesses. A rwot ki i oda (I am chief in my own house) is still the prevailing operative psyche for some. And so the modus operandi of the NRM go against the grain of many who are true to their egalitarian heritage. However, politically, this may only affect the national flag bearer. Whether it plays out into the localized parliamentarian polls remains to be seen as such factors as personality and clan dynamics may outweigh such nebulous concepts as freedom and fair play. The NRM might also pump in a few token goodies to enhance the NRM candidates’ chances to the refrain that “there is more where that came from.” Other largesse from so-called development partners will also help paint the NRM candidates beautiful prospective suitors. Even so, however, the dice is still loaded in favor of the opposition. The region is theirs to lose. The opposition just needs to play it steady, smart and hold the NRM to its dismal records.
Soko’s movie classic: Adanggaman.
---------------------
To the light-weight simpletons that are some of Uganda’s journalists all is now well with the NRM in the Acoli subregion now that the LRA has self-destructed and relative peace has come to the region. This is either a form of denial or a calculated effort to promote the NRM. It is a cynical insult to the intelligence of the people.
That peace now reigns in the region is a welcome respite from the twenty or so years of hell. The people clearly remember how the owner of the NRM, by his own account, was dragged screaming to the negotiation table. The people surely remember the series of altimatum that dogged the NRM in its protracted wish to finish off the LRA. Moreover the hangovers from that hell do not suddenly disappear with a magic wand overnight. There are the traumatic memories of being forced into concentration camps. There are the memories of civilian abuses by the NRM military. Then there is the continued choking abject poverty. The NRM will have to be held accountable for the twenty years plus of deliberate, intentional and cavalier neglect.
In addition, while it has been watered down by shameless materialistic desires as well as basic unadorned survival instincts untamed by cultural heritage, there is still a strong streak of individualism that shuns authoritarian excesses. A rwot ki i oda (I am chief in my own house) is still the prevailing operative psyche for some. And so the modus operandi of the NRM go against the grain of many who are true to their egalitarian heritage. However, politically, this may only affect the national flag bearer. Whether it plays out into the localized parliamentarian polls remains to be seen as such factors as personality and clan dynamics may outweigh such nebulous concepts as freedom and fair play. The NRM might also pump in a few token goodies to enhance the NRM candidates’ chances to the refrain that “there is more where that came from.” Other largesse from so-called development partners will also help paint the NRM candidates beautiful prospective suitors. Even so, however, the dice is still loaded in favor of the opposition. The region is theirs to lose. The opposition just needs to play it steady, smart and hold the NRM to its dismal records.
Soko’s movie classic: Adanggaman.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The Secret of the HoP
To demonstrate or not to demonstrate, that is the question the Uganda opposition might have been wrestling with and scratching their heads over the week-end. The usual strategy behind demonstrating in a dictator’s fiefdom is to precipitate discontent locally and sympathy internationally as the state coercive forces are sure to break some limbs or even kill. So, what does it mean when you threaten a demonstration and then back down? Do you lose face (if there is any such a thing in the African context)? Will you ever be taken seriously?
One of the most potent tool for African dictators is the use of unabashed force against their own people. Museveni calls it one of the cooking stones that has helped sustain the NRM (a.k.a himself) in power uninterrrupted for this long. An overwhelming show of force, rather than alienating, in fact garners support and endears the dictator to the uninformed masses who are basically peasants in their outlooks even if they have Phds after their names. It would therefore seem that if you get physically abused in public by the power that be, you lower your esteem, credibility and prospect in the eyes of the peasantry. So, it is likely that the opposition made a correct calculated call to call off the demonstration. Now, what next?
The opposition needs to apply strategic thinking ahead of the obsessed Uganda’s premier political strategist of all times. The secret of the Hop may provide a model of how to operate smartly against the entrenched system. The Hop is a movie depicting a son, Justin, whose father was deported back to Africa. Justin escapes the snare of the police and immigration and meets a former anarchist with whom he journeys through very facinating events.
Clue: How does a pigmy overpower the untamable African elephant? Check out the Hop.
One of the most potent tool for African dictators is the use of unabashed force against their own people. Museveni calls it one of the cooking stones that has helped sustain the NRM (a.k.a himself) in power uninterrrupted for this long. An overwhelming show of force, rather than alienating, in fact garners support and endears the dictator to the uninformed masses who are basically peasants in their outlooks even if they have Phds after their names. It would therefore seem that if you get physically abused in public by the power that be, you lower your esteem, credibility and prospect in the eyes of the peasantry. So, it is likely that the opposition made a correct calculated call to call off the demonstration. Now, what next?
The opposition needs to apply strategic thinking ahead of the obsessed Uganda’s premier political strategist of all times. The secret of the Hop may provide a model of how to operate smartly against the entrenched system. The Hop is a movie depicting a son, Justin, whose father was deported back to Africa. Justin escapes the snare of the police and immigration and meets a former anarchist with whom he journeys through very facinating events.
Clue: How does a pigmy overpower the untamable African elephant? Check out the Hop.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Crossing the Rubicon Revisited
In the past we talked about Julius Caesar’s fateful crossing of the River Rubicon as the seminal act of “no-going back” that sealed the fate of Rome. Another fascinating character is said to have burned a bridge after his forces crossed a river.
In the African context what are the wider implications (beyond the predicted increased harassments of Africans at airports) in the recent young Mutallab’s misadventure in the skies? Is this a one-time shot, an aberration? In the collective psyche of the world the African is seen as a cowardly creature who would do anything to stay alive no matter what. Thus it was easy to bundle him up and sell him into bondage where he suffered quietly. To this day, on the continent, he continues to live in deprivations and squalor in spite of abundance of land and the wealth in it.
When the elder Mutallab went to the US embassy and the CIA about his radicalized son, they obviously did not take him seriously. Would you? Just picture what went through the minds of the sleuths in the air-conditioned aboard of the embassy: You are kidding us; an African to be a danger to us, the masters of the known world? The rest is history, a history which would have been devastating to hundreds of families and a shocker to the world.
But for his bumbling bungling (another African trait), Mutallab was willing to die for a cause—a feat few Africans would dare—,whatever the morality and the criminality entailed from others’ side of the divide. Would he become a legend among the few Africans who took violence to a new level—Chaka Zulu, Museveni, Mugabe, et al.? The rest of us would rather live in misery than lose a limb. To our chagrin, our oppressors know this and exploit it to scare the jibbers out of us just like the KKK used white sheets to terrify the Africans in America.
It is not inconceivable that, as a race, the Africans will become extinct in the not-too-distant future. Natural selection says it. What of famine, HIV-Aids, psychological traumas, climate change and all the other ills that disproportionately haunt Africa? Wailing in the name of Jesus all night long in make-shift churches will not turn the tides and deliver the goods. We need to cross the mind Rubicon because that is where God is.
In the African context what are the wider implications (beyond the predicted increased harassments of Africans at airports) in the recent young Mutallab’s misadventure in the skies? Is this a one-time shot, an aberration? In the collective psyche of the world the African is seen as a cowardly creature who would do anything to stay alive no matter what. Thus it was easy to bundle him up and sell him into bondage where he suffered quietly. To this day, on the continent, he continues to live in deprivations and squalor in spite of abundance of land and the wealth in it.
When the elder Mutallab went to the US embassy and the CIA about his radicalized son, they obviously did not take him seriously. Would you? Just picture what went through the minds of the sleuths in the air-conditioned aboard of the embassy: You are kidding us; an African to be a danger to us, the masters of the known world? The rest is history, a history which would have been devastating to hundreds of families and a shocker to the world.
But for his bumbling bungling (another African trait), Mutallab was willing to die for a cause—a feat few Africans would dare—,whatever the morality and the criminality entailed from others’ side of the divide. Would he become a legend among the few Africans who took violence to a new level—Chaka Zulu, Museveni, Mugabe, et al.? The rest of us would rather live in misery than lose a limb. To our chagrin, our oppressors know this and exploit it to scare the jibbers out of us just like the KKK used white sheets to terrify the Africans in America.
It is not inconceivable that, as a race, the Africans will become extinct in the not-too-distant future. Natural selection says it. What of famine, HIV-Aids, psychological traumas, climate change and all the other ills that disproportionately haunt Africa? Wailing in the name of Jesus all night long in make-shift churches will not turn the tides and deliver the goods. We need to cross the mind Rubicon because that is where God is.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
What Reconciliation?
Attaboy! What reconciliation? How can you reconcile with troublemakers? They must first apologize. That is to say, they must first lick my boots.
Are you having a vertigo yet? That was vintage Museveni in his raw elements as he supposedly refused to shake hands with one of his perennial nemeses, Mr. Otunnu. The story goes that the dubious Mao purportedly urged Otunnu to reconcile with Museveni. Otunnu is reported to have frantically tried to catch Museveni’s attention to no avail at the innauguration of an Anglican Church (also dubbed the Church of Uganda as if there is any state religion in Uganda) prince as bishop of Northern Uganda. Mr Museveni, to his credit, did not stoop to such groveling and, predictably, thumbed his nose at the ambassador.
It befuddles my mind when our supposed luminaries don’t think straight. What is there in the history of Museveni that is not crystal clear using simple inductive reasoning? Yet Mao has for years tried all kinds of somersaulting feats to coddle the man. If his effforts were not tragic to others at times ( as in Candide Lakony), one would leave Mao to his night dances with the devil. You don’t criticize Museveni and turn around and ask for reconciliation. The business of “we are all Christians” just muddles the water. The man takes things personally. Besides, even if he has whacked Acoli girls and boys militarily, he knows that some will never acknowledge or accept his oft-desired claims to superiority. This constantly gnaws at his every fibre—his essence. It must be hard for the poor man when he ventures into Acoliland. Even if he surrounds himself with 100,000 bodyguards, he will always feel insecure in these territories. It is a case of King Midas fearing his own shadows.
Here are my two cents: Forget the reconciliation mumbo jumbo. If desirable, that may only be possible after the man is gone. The fuzzy logic of fantasizing that may be—just may be—there is hope for sharing the high table with the man is for those living in la-la land.
In The Wise Heart, James Autry is quoted as saying: " If you think managing conflict and diversity are problematic, then you haven't thought through the problem of managing sameness. I'd would rather be faced with trying to achieve harmony and goodwill among people who are at one another's throats than try to squeeze
an ounce of innovation or creativity, or risk out of a group photocopies of each other."
In Museveni's Uganda photocopies are at a premium, and that is not the milieu that bodes well for enduring reconciliations. Disintegration is one solution. Continued dysfunctional confusion is another. Or we can just get along. Kumbaaya! Ugandans have to make hard-nosed choices. Doing nothing is also a choice.
-------Bonus Movie. The Moonstone is in the British tradition of "who-dunit." Very clever.
Are you having a vertigo yet? That was vintage Museveni in his raw elements as he supposedly refused to shake hands with one of his perennial nemeses, Mr. Otunnu. The story goes that the dubious Mao purportedly urged Otunnu to reconcile with Museveni. Otunnu is reported to have frantically tried to catch Museveni’s attention to no avail at the innauguration of an Anglican Church (also dubbed the Church of Uganda as if there is any state religion in Uganda) prince as bishop of Northern Uganda. Mr Museveni, to his credit, did not stoop to such groveling and, predictably, thumbed his nose at the ambassador.
It befuddles my mind when our supposed luminaries don’t think straight. What is there in the history of Museveni that is not crystal clear using simple inductive reasoning? Yet Mao has for years tried all kinds of somersaulting feats to coddle the man. If his effforts were not tragic to others at times ( as in Candide Lakony), one would leave Mao to his night dances with the devil. You don’t criticize Museveni and turn around and ask for reconciliation. The business of “we are all Christians” just muddles the water. The man takes things personally. Besides, even if he has whacked Acoli girls and boys militarily, he knows that some will never acknowledge or accept his oft-desired claims to superiority. This constantly gnaws at his every fibre—his essence. It must be hard for the poor man when he ventures into Acoliland. Even if he surrounds himself with 100,000 bodyguards, he will always feel insecure in these territories. It is a case of King Midas fearing his own shadows.
Here are my two cents: Forget the reconciliation mumbo jumbo. If desirable, that may only be possible after the man is gone. The fuzzy logic of fantasizing that may be—just may be—there is hope for sharing the high table with the man is for those living in la-la land.
In The Wise Heart, James Autry is quoted as saying: " If you think managing conflict and diversity are problematic, then you haven't thought through the problem of managing sameness. I'd would rather be faced with trying to achieve harmony and goodwill among people who are at one another's throats than try to squeeze
an ounce of innovation or creativity, or risk out of a group photocopies of each other."
In Museveni's Uganda photocopies are at a premium, and that is not the milieu that bodes well for enduring reconciliations. Disintegration is one solution. Continued dysfunctional confusion is another. Or we can just get along. Kumbaaya! Ugandans have to make hard-nosed choices. Doing nothing is also a choice.
-------Bonus Movie. The Moonstone is in the British tradition of "who-dunit." Very clever.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Case Against the World Bank
Small me, Soko, has done my part. I reduced my carbon footprint. Mostly riding my bike instead of driving. The temperature in my house is just above cold. I recycle. So, I qualify to have my say about global warming. The claim that the developed countries had abused the environment in the 20th century is correct. But to say that the roaring developing countries, led by China, should be given leeway is hogwash. What about the technologies that came out of the 20th century exploits that are now available to all and sundry? This time I go along with whitie. What would Lao Tzu do? Let us do the right thing, Chinaman.
---------
Is the Cablanasian (Caucasian, Black, Asian) a coward? What is he hiding from? The Caucasian and Black in him will probably not help him much—the respective slyness and freakiness have already landed him in hot water. He probably now need to call on the wisdom of his Asian heritage. What would Lao Tzu do? What would Sun Tzu do? What would Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius) do? What about Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha?
The Viking woman is gone. She went to Babylon as a nanny, and is going home a multi-millionaire. Who says sex was cheap? The only ones who have it free are the rapists who rob it. If you think I am a kukuhead, wait until you lose your job that you are convinced defines you. Memshahib will walk. If not, she will create so much chaos in your head that big John will be paralyzed , or you might lose it and kick her bleeding ass/arse. Either way you lose—she now has all the legal reasons to walk away with your children, house, half of your retirement account, and the cat!
-----------
Plegding a united front against the sly NRM (a.k.a Museveni) is one thing (and a good one); keeping focused and working skillfully is another. It is better to be proactive than reactive. I learned that a long time ago when playing in the sand and having my khaki school uniform caked with mago juice. You go home bloodied, but you have gained respect from the bully dude.
Let him go to the bush and stay there forever and see if anybody cares.
---------
A few Baganda MPs, with balls, voted against the NRM Land Bill. Dubbed as indiscipline, the boss warned of reprisals. That is soooooooo 19th century politicking. Will the "wayward" MPs fold? If history is any leading indicator, Yes. Surprise me, brothas and sistas.
---------
Buturo is no longer foaming at his mouth condemning "sex against nature." What[]up? Is the anti-gay NRM-Anglican alliance unravelling? Mr. Museveni is no fool. He knows which side of his bread is buttered. He will test the water. If it is scalding hot, he will pour some cold water lest he burns his Munyankole rear end. The throne has his soul--he is not going to mess with it just because of some fanatic christians who are not going to cause any seismic change in voter count. What if the law nails an American or European gay diplomat who has to be hanged in Kampala? Just imagine.
---------
As promised , this is another must see film. Bamako is the case of Africa against the World Bank and other Western institutions. Politicians, educators, and students will have a lot to talk about. Pay attention to the imageries and the nuances. Enjoy!
---------
Is the Cablanasian (Caucasian, Black, Asian) a coward? What is he hiding from? The Caucasian and Black in him will probably not help him much—the respective slyness and freakiness have already landed him in hot water. He probably now need to call on the wisdom of his Asian heritage. What would Lao Tzu do? What would Sun Tzu do? What would Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius) do? What about Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha?
The Viking woman is gone. She went to Babylon as a nanny, and is going home a multi-millionaire. Who says sex was cheap? The only ones who have it free are the rapists who rob it. If you think I am a kukuhead, wait until you lose your job that you are convinced defines you. Memshahib will walk. If not, she will create so much chaos in your head that big John will be paralyzed , or you might lose it and kick her bleeding ass/arse. Either way you lose—she now has all the legal reasons to walk away with your children, house, half of your retirement account, and the cat!
-----------
Plegding a united front against the sly NRM (a.k.a Museveni) is one thing (and a good one); keeping focused and working skillfully is another. It is better to be proactive than reactive. I learned that a long time ago when playing in the sand and having my khaki school uniform caked with mago juice. You go home bloodied, but you have gained respect from the bully dude.
Let him go to the bush and stay there forever and see if anybody cares.
---------
A few Baganda MPs, with balls, voted against the NRM Land Bill. Dubbed as indiscipline, the boss warned of reprisals. That is soooooooo 19th century politicking. Will the "wayward" MPs fold? If history is any leading indicator, Yes. Surprise me, brothas and sistas.
---------
Buturo is no longer foaming at his mouth condemning "sex against nature." What[]up? Is the anti-gay NRM-Anglican alliance unravelling? Mr. Museveni is no fool. He knows which side of his bread is buttered. He will test the water. If it is scalding hot, he will pour some cold water lest he burns his Munyankole rear end. The throne has his soul--he is not going to mess with it just because of some fanatic christians who are not going to cause any seismic change in voter count. What if the law nails an American or European gay diplomat who has to be hanged in Kampala? Just imagine.
---------
As promised , this is another must see film. Bamako is the case of Africa against the World Bank and other Western institutions. Politicians, educators, and students will have a lot to talk about. Pay attention to the imageries and the nuances. Enjoy!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Movie/Films to Die for: Soko's Classic Picks
You are tired of all the Amanda Knox stories. And you just shrugged off the news that Museveni rode economy on his way home. You are also bored by the Cablanasian, Tiger Woods' escapades of being pussy-whipped by white gals. Lucky for him his Viking wife didn't whack his head with a golf club. It is cold outside or it is unmercifully hot tropical December. What to do? Don't worry; Soko is here to help. I will from time to time pick up some Movie classics I have enjoyed. None of the trashy Hollywood, Bolywood, or Nollywood stuff. We are talking of well-crafted independent movies.
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
(Pakhita bonde ache)
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
It's feet bound by wordly chains
It tries to fly but fails
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
Rainbow colored birds
Circle freely in the sky
Their brilliant splendour
A rupture for the eye
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
It's feet bound by worldly chains
It's feet bound by wordly chains
The bird pines with longing
Yearns to spread its wings
It wants to join the joyful birds
Leaving its fleeting home
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
It's feet bound by worldly chains
It's feet bound by wordly chains
The clay bird laments:
Why did you infuse
My heart with longing,
If you didn't give my wings
The strength to fly?
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
Its feet bound by worldly chains.
------
This is a lyric to the movie T
he Clay Bird. Check this out!
Also in the same genre are Guimba the Tyrant,
A Man in Our House,
All are available in DVDs. Till next time, enjoy!
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
(Pakhita bonde ache)
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
It's feet bound by wordly chains
It tries to fly but fails
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
Rainbow colored birds
Circle freely in the sky
Their brilliant splendour
A rupture for the eye
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
It's feet bound by worldly chains
It's feet bound by wordly chains
The bird pines with longing
Yearns to spread its wings
It wants to join the joyful birds
Leaving its fleeting home
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
It's feet bound by worldly chains
It's feet bound by wordly chains
The clay bird laments:
Why did you infuse
My heart with longing,
If you didn't give my wings
The strength to fly?
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
The bird's trapped in the body's cage
Its feet bound by worldly chains.
------
This is a lyric to the movie T
he Clay Bird. Check this out!Also in the same genre are Guimba the Tyrant,
A Man in Our House,
The Night of Truth
All are available in DVDs. Till next time, enjoy!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
What is the Pomposity and Posturing All About?
I would ask the church men in their androgynous dresses and weird caps to tell me where their Jesus directly condemned homosexuality. Personally, I don’t understand how or why somebody is a queer. But then there are so many things in this world that I don’t understand. Do I have to walk on my head because these things are real to somebody?
At the bottom of the hullabaloo about homosexuality is the arrogant notion that man is the center of the universe against all logic. Not long ago the Christian Church insisted on the geocentric concept of the universe, and would hang anybody who disagreed. Thus Copernicus couldn’t publish his contrarian view until after his death for fear of being persecuted. It is now a scientific fact that the earth revolves around the sun, and not vice versa. So, if you still doubt evolution, then you are all wet.
In the complex evolution to consciousness man has been saddle with a myriads of challenges—the good and the bad. The genitals and their attendant emotional attractions were meant to perpetuate procreation. Thanks to the coded information in the genome that passes those instincts from one generation to the next. What if the random sequencing process of the four-bit nucleotides doesn’t go according to plan? Might it not be the reason why Johnny is attracted to Tommy, instead of to Mary? Why would it be of my concern when the two consenting adults fancy one another and do their thing in the privacy of their bedroom? I don’t question what the Bishop does to his wife. Moreover, the Bishops of my childhood world never sacked with anybody—at least officially!
Of all things evil—greed, obsession with power, uncontrolled anger, or distorted sense of self—,
homosexuality doesn’t come close to the destruction of society. The tale of Sodom is just some Jewish folklore. I would rather see the virile heterosexual MPs. and Bishops working on meaningful laws to curb life presidency or punish CHOGM cheats who sap the nation of its energy rather than wasting time on banalities.
At the bottom of the hullabaloo about homosexuality is the arrogant notion that man is the center of the universe against all logic. Not long ago the Christian Church insisted on the geocentric concept of the universe, and would hang anybody who disagreed. Thus Copernicus couldn’t publish his contrarian view until after his death for fear of being persecuted. It is now a scientific fact that the earth revolves around the sun, and not vice versa. So, if you still doubt evolution, then you are all wet.
In the complex evolution to consciousness man has been saddle with a myriads of challenges—the good and the bad. The genitals and their attendant emotional attractions were meant to perpetuate procreation. Thanks to the coded information in the genome that passes those instincts from one generation to the next. What if the random sequencing process of the four-bit nucleotides doesn’t go according to plan? Might it not be the reason why Johnny is attracted to Tommy, instead of to Mary? Why would it be of my concern when the two consenting adults fancy one another and do their thing in the privacy of their bedroom? I don’t question what the Bishop does to his wife. Moreover, the Bishops of my childhood world never sacked with anybody—at least officially!
Of all things evil—greed, obsession with power, uncontrolled anger, or distorted sense of self—,
homosexuality doesn’t come close to the destruction of society. The tale of Sodom is just some Jewish folklore. I would rather see the virile heterosexual MPs. and Bishops working on meaningful laws to curb life presidency or punish CHOGM cheats who sap the nation of its energy rather than wasting time on banalities.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Another One Bite the Dust
It was a sensational front-page story—the death of an NRM general, a killer machine whose raison d'être was to kill or be killed—moreover at the hands of a “mere” woman, a concubine at that, a spare tire.
My condolences to those who depended on him for their livelihoods and those who genuinely loved him and were loved by him. We all understand their grieve because we all have been there. But to see the pretenders shedding crocodile tears and the charlatans offering snake-oil expertise make me want to puke.
The man’s life was his uniform. Once his boss played his characteristic game against those who exhibit traces of independent trait, the redundancy had already killed him. He nursed himself with booze and the arms of women. Unfortunately for him he took his demon to a Northern woman. Northern women are known for their great passion. They will give you pleasure in bed the likes you have never known. The flip side, however, is that you mess with them at your own peril. And so when the Lugbara woman feared for her life—mind you, this is against a professional killer—she let it all out. When the rational brain is suspended and we employ the survival limbic system, the caveman comes out and the consequences can be devastating or heroic.
There was no conspiracy. The man died as he lived: Those who live by the sword die by the sword—we reap what we sow. That is the natural law of karma. And it does not help in any way when, in victory, we dehumanize the other. In the end we are all evolutionary biological substances that will be claimed by maggots, or face the holocaust at a funeral home, or get devoured by some wild animals.
My condolences to those who depended on him for their livelihoods and those who genuinely loved him and were loved by him. We all understand their grieve because we all have been there. But to see the pretenders shedding crocodile tears and the charlatans offering snake-oil expertise make me want to puke.
The man’s life was his uniform. Once his boss played his characteristic game against those who exhibit traces of independent trait, the redundancy had already killed him. He nursed himself with booze and the arms of women. Unfortunately for him he took his demon to a Northern woman. Northern women are known for their great passion. They will give you pleasure in bed the likes you have never known. The flip side, however, is that you mess with them at your own peril. And so when the Lugbara woman feared for her life—mind you, this is against a professional killer—she let it all out. When the rational brain is suspended and we employ the survival limbic system, the caveman comes out and the consequences can be devastating or heroic.
There was no conspiracy. The man died as he lived: Those who live by the sword die by the sword—we reap what we sow. That is the natural law of karma. And it does not help in any way when, in victory, we dehumanize the other. In the end we are all evolutionary biological substances that will be claimed by maggots, or face the holocaust at a funeral home, or get devoured by some wild animals.
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