As I look down upon American society…literally and figuratively… from my perch up here in Canada, I must admit that it’s politics and political figures fascinates me to some extent. The higher up the political ladder one goes, its becomes more and more like following a t.v. reality show, where as we know, “style over substance” is the premise of all the various plots. The continuing drama surrounding U.S. presidential politics is the highest stage where this phenomenon plays itself out. Where “American Idol” meets “America’s Top Model”, to create figuratively, “a perfect storm”.

What I had found most fascinating about the 2008 U.S. presidential election but for whatever reason didn’t feel moved to comment on at the time, was the treatment that Sarah Palin received from the so-called “mainstream media”, made up primarily of the so-called “liberal” participants. For me, it was an intriguing contrast when compared with the A-list starlike adulation “Manchurian candidate” Obama received. Maybe because the difference was so blatant I didn’t feel the need to state the obvious… and not surprisingly a year later, it still continues. 

Obama has always been the media’s “guy”. They created, nurtured, directed, marketed and protected, “The Obama Brand”. When he first popped up on the national scene during the 2004 Democratic convention, I remember saying to myself, after listening to the t.v. commentators heaping praise on his speech, that this dude is a media creation. However, let me be clear: Barack Obama was and is no mindless stooge. As a political strategist, the man is brilliant. He used them also for his political advantage. I saw during the 2008 campaign how, depending on the audience he was catering to, he would mesmerize them with conflicting speeches… and the “mainstream media” would fall all over themselves saying how inspiring he was, while never calling him out on his inconsistencies. Sure, the right-wing zealots over at Fox News like Sean Hannity and radio talkshow personalities, like Rush Limbaugh would rail against him, but outside of their diehard supporters, their rantings fell on deaf ears. No-one took them seriously… especially the majority of those within the Republican Party itself, much less the majority of Americans as was proven at the end of the election.

Obama’s greatest political feat was not winning the Presidential election against John McCain. That was a given. Whoever won the Democratic nomination was going to be the next President of the United States of America. Obama’s greatest political triumph was defeating the Clinton machine, (in February 2008 I wrote this post predicting that he would beat her). So after he won and Hillary got onboard “The Obama Train”, it was pretty much smooth sailing for the Obama campaign. Not only did he have the overwhelming majority of Democratic base in his corner, but more importantly, the Independents, primarily moderate conservatives, were supporting him. 

All was well until… “uh-oh!”… John McCain picked a nationally unknown female Alaskan Governor, a Sarah Palin, as his running mate. Although everyone was lambasting McCain on this choice, I saw it as a clever political move on his part. I still didn’t think he would win, but it was a choice he needed to make to put some life… to give his sinking campaign a boost… which it did! For a time at least. He desperately needed someone to galvanize the Republican base, especially the social conservatives. McCain is a moderate. He therefore appealed primarily to moderate Republicans and Independent conservatives, so having Joe Lieberman as a running mate would not benefit him much, plus it would alienate him even further from the more right-wing segment of the Republican base. There was no way he was going to get the Black vote, so asking Colin Powell would be a waste, plus there were already indications that Powell was going to support Obama. Mitt Romney’s religious beliefs would further alienate the more right-wing segment of the Republican base, so who was really left? 

Well as the saying goes: “desperate times call for desperate measures”. By choosing Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign hoped to solidify the support of the more right-wing elements of the Party, such as the social conservatives; gain the support of White middle and upper class women who felt betrayed by the Hillary loss; and win over the “Walmart” constituents, who were primarily conservatives, if not necessarily Republicans, but weren’t being inspired enough by the campaign to vote for John McCain. Most importantly however… and I don’t know if during the vetting process of Sarah Palin they took this into consideration… she was very photogenic! This added greatly to her appeal. Ever since the Kennedy-Nixon television debate in 1960, it is a given that within Presidential campaigns, being “camera friendly” is more important to getting elected, than any policy position a candidate may have! 

So it was very interesting observing how, as the “Palin phenomenon” took hold and gained momentum, the “mainstream media”, although rattled in the beginning, got it’s “shit together” to make sure that this upstart wouldn’t derail their guy. Did they really believe that Palin could seriously spark enough excitement into the McCain campaign to pull off the upset? I doubt it… but they weren’t going to take the chance! In the beginning no one gave the relatively unknown junior Black Senator from Illinois a chance against the Clinton machine… and look what happened! The lesson was learnt:
“Never underestimate your opponent!”

So the attacks started. Fast, furious and relentless! It became a fascinating case study of the media utilizing a strategy of war by “style over substance”. I’ll just highlight some of the things I observed that made me… well go “umm”. First, the belittling of her political achievements. Out of the four finalists: Obama and Biden vs McCain and Palin, she was the only one with any actual political “executive” experience. She had run two administrations, i.e., campaigned and won at both the municipal and state level, yet this was dismissed and even ridiculed. Now if someone was applying for a job and they had proven they had the ability to successfully perform the requirements of that job, in a similar albeit lesser position, wouldn’t that count as an advantage in some way over other candidates without any experience!? Well not for her. The media effectively…and brilliantly I will add… turned this into a disadvantage.

I also remember watching a part of the Katie Couric interview with Palin and at the time I thought that Couric so was condescending and obviously biased against Palin, that I changed the channel. I found the question and subsequent badgering of Palin by Couric to name a newspaper or magazine that she reads insulting and demeaning. Although it was portrayed by the media as “see she is ignorant, illiterate and uninformed”, I wouldn’t have answered that question either. Furthermore, the fact that in her speeches she was light on specific policy positions (like Obama), made numerous gaffs (like Obama, Biden and McCain) and appeared ill prepared in some of her interviews, as well as debates, (like Obama, Biden and McCain) these were all used to discredit her more intensely than the other candidates.    

The attacks against her family, especially her daughters were in a word: despicable! The media and late night talk show hosts, made the most inappropriate comments in reference to her children, especially her teenaged unwed daughter who was pregnant at the time. Even her down-syndrome son was the target of rumours… and by then America was “conditioned” to laugh and feel that it was “okay” to attack her in this way! In contrast, it was understood that Obama’s daughters were off limits. If there was even a hint of any negative comments or connotations, real or imagined, however small, directed towards the chastity of their image, the Obama-ians were willing to call down the wrath and fire of God from heaven against those inhuman demons from hell, who threatened the sanctity of their innocence.       

The most effective part of the strategy though was comparing Palin with Obama, while in fact his actual opponent was McCain. Obama never really ran against McCain, since in reality he was no threat. Obama ran against the Bush-Cheney legacy, primarily the Iraqi war and Gitmo. The threat however became Palin’s popularity… not Palin herself… as she wasn’t the Republican presidential candidate. However… and this was slick… the media made her appear to be the opposing candidate by stressing the fact that if McCain won the election, she would be “a heartbeat” away from the Presidency! Brilliant!

Unfortunately for her, she played right into their hands. Although she opened this “can of worms” herself with her statement referring to candidate Obama as “just a community organizer” with no executive experience, the comparison of her as a Governor… in the same vein as Pontius Pilate… and Obama as a community organizer like Jesus Christ was… well… laughable… but again a brilliant move by the media. Without a doubt it is true that the words and life of Jesus has inspired men and women throughout the ages to be “community organizers”, however Jesus himself, according to the Gospels at least, never was one! In fact, nowhere is it recorded that he ever organized a rally, a march or any other event against the government of the day or in support of the disadvantaged. When his enemies tried to trick him into taking a political stand against the Roman empire he stated: “Give onto Caesar what is Caesars”. It is written that when he was accused of being a “community organizer”  and therefore a political threat to the status quo of the day, both King Herod and Pontius Pilate stated that they “found no fault in him”… i.e. he was not a community organizer in any way or form! However, “style over substance” loss that round for Palin.

Palin’s problem as I see it was this. First, she was certainly over her head in the national political arena. She wasn’t a Washington insider like the other three candidates. Second, she wasn’t media savvy enough (at the time), especially being in the national spotlight. Third, she didn’t know how to play the political game on this national stage and said what she truly believed. She needed to learn how to be more of a chameleon… a politician… like Obama.

Regardless of these experiences, just like I stated above that Obama wasn’t a “mindless stooge” of the media, in no way do I believe that Sarah Palin was an “innocent naive victim” of the media. She made the decision to get into the ring and run with the big dawgs, knew the risks and got beat down! What I have come to admire about her though, is that although she was beaten, she didn’t consider herself defeated. She learnt from the experiences and like Obama, now uses the same media to her personal advantage. She has become a lot more media savvy and maintained her popularity with a large segment of the American populace.

Palin has just released a book on her life, focusing on her experiences and the issues which she faced being John McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate. I recently watched her interview with Oprah. What I found interesting was that although Palin is first and foremost a (controversial) political figure, Oprah didn’t ask one question about Palin’s policy agendas on particular issues nor even her political beliefs in general. She did ask if she was considering running for President in 2012. It was obvious (to me at least) that although Oprah appeared to be magnanimous, what she was actually doing was calling into question Palin’s credibility as a successful woman and her commitment and integrity as a mother. Palin never seemed fazed, didn’t let it rattle her, as it may have before. She played along, answered the questions with confidence, stayed on script and appeared genuinely appreciative of  the opportunity to be on the greatest stage in the world on which to peddle her book. Yep… she’s learning.

My wife bought and has read “The Audacity of Hope”. When she finished it she asked me if I wanted to read it. I declined as I have no interest in reading about the life of Barack Obama. I know all I need to know about him… and this may surprise some of you… I actually do admire the fact that he played “the game” at a highly unscrupulous level and won. He’s a master at the strategy of “style over substance”. That is what politics… and American politics in particular… is all about. I fully acknowledge that for most Black people, those of African descent worldwide… and for others… Brown, Yellow and White alike… he is a cultural icon. As I stated above and before in other posts, as a political strategist, I consider him a genius and the most influential political figure of the 21st century (so far).

However, I will be buying and reading Sarah Palin’s book. Regardless of her politics, as a person, I find her more of a “kindred spirit” than Obama. I got a little “rogue” in me myself.

“RogueLife!”

Commentary submission by Project 21

One word comes to mind for describing Barack Obama’s tenure since last year’s election: indifference.

It’s a vast contrast from the “hope” and “change” Obama peddled to voters on the campaign trail. It’s not that he doesn’t aspire to hope or change. It’s just that his definitions seems to have little to do with the desires most of the rest of the American people.

He knows his ideas are unpopular, yet President Obama remains stubbornly indifferent to the voices of his consituency. He is petulant toward dissenting voices.

Whether it is health care reform, the chase for the Olympics, the war in Afghanistan or the “stimulus” package, Obama clearly believes his agenda is more important than the will of the American people.

Health care reform is the most obvious example. Satisfaction in personal health care quality and coverage ranges between 88 percent and 67 percent in recent polls. Yet Obama wants to fundamentally change it under the guise of making it better. And, despite health care falling behind the economy and the war in Afghanistan in public importance, Obama puts it at the top of his to-do list. He also appears nonchalant about the huge deficits and peril such a plan will inflict on our economy.

Obama ignored the rallies and town halls where so many Americans loudly spoke out against a costly and untimely government takeover of a sixth of the economy. It is not the change he craves.

Then there is Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan. After campaigning on a platform of making Afghanistan a priority, it was recently revealed he met only twice with his commander in the field there during the first six month of General Stanley McChrystal’s tenure. He gave a thumbs-up to the fraud-plagued presidential election there. Commanders now wait for Obama to decide on a request to send in reinforcements.

It makes Obama’s recent late-night trip to Dover to meet returning caskets seem callous. He must work with General McCrystal as often as necessary, support the mission wholeheartedly, and protect the soldiers already there.

Finally, Obama’s quest to bring the Olympics to his adoptive hometown of Chicago seemed more personal than altruistic. With the public already skeptical of “stimulus” spending, why did he believe Americans wanted to subsidize an international sporting event as well?

As the International Olympic Committee was coming to its decision, 16-year-old Derrion Albert was savagely murdered as he walked home from school on Chicago’s South Side. He was beaten to death by fellow students for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Classmates stood and watched, failing to help or even be mortified. Some even cheered.

Michelle Obama is from the South Side. President Obama has implied he cares deeply for the area where he began his community oranizing career. So why did he show such grave indifference by flying off to Denmark to sell Chicago when Chicago needed him?

Shouldn’t a President who preaches hope and change have recognized the fierce need of his very own community for his presence and involvement? Instead, too late, the White House dispensed Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to meet with local leaders at the ritzy Four Seasons hotel downtown.

Americans admire the symbol of hope and change our President portrayed on the campaign trail. Americans respect his path to the presidency. More and more, however, this respect seems one-sided.

A love affair should always have two sides, not just one. How much longer do the American people have to wait for this President to actually fall in love with us?

Lisa Fritsch is a member of the national advisory council for the Project 21 black leadership network and a writer and radio talk show host in Austin, Texas.

Excellent article by STRATFOR Global Intelligence: “Obama and the U.S. Strategy of Buying Time”.  

Civil servants created false identities to send CVs to hundreds of employers in sting to uncover discrimination.

Hat tip to Angela Shaw who sent me this article from the guardian.co.uk.

A government sting operation targeting hundreds of employers across Britain has uncovered widespread racial discrimination against workers with African and Asian names.

Researchers sent nearly 3,000 job applications under false identities in an attempt to discover if employers were discriminating against jobseekers with foreign names. Using names recognisably from three different communities – Nazia Mahmood, Mariam Namagembe and Alison Taylor – false identities were created with similar experience and qualifications. Every false applicant had British education and work histories.

They found that an applicant who appeared to be white would send nine applications before receiving a positive response of either an invitation to an interview or an encouraging telephone call. Minority candidates with the same qualifications and experience had to send 16 applications before receiving a similar response.

Read the full article on the Guradian website.

Commentary for submission by Brother Pruitt. 

By booting Kenya down and preferring Tanzania, the US proved to be as goofy as divorcing a gator to end up in bed with a croc! This is the second time the US has slammed a door on Kenya. It’s sad that even Tanzania imbibed this scornful humiliation as a big deal. But by avoiding Kenya is the world leader helping it to solve its problems?

To add insult to injury, the US denied visas to some Kenyan top corrupt official as it turned a blind eye to Tanzania’s same bêtes noix. Tanzania was elated to step in. Sadly, it’s become a norm for African rulers to depend on rich countries to prove their “manhood and worthiness”. Had it not been for their malady of sitting on their heads, African rulers do not need such cheap exculpation.

Tanzania recently shone at the 64th General assembly session. Thanks to this serendipity, its president Jakaya Kikwete, was seen happily doing things that were expected of Kenya’s PM Raila Odinga, thanks to what observers termed as US’s punishment to corrupt Kenyan current regime under Mwai Kibaki. What’s more, what’s the rationale in this if Tanzania is filthier than Kenya? This take shocked and dismayed many that know how corrupt Tanzania currently is. For those in the know, comparably, Kenya is even better than Tanzania. Thanks to its vibrant economy.

This turn was visibly seen on PM Oginga’s impromptu removal from the list of dignitaries that were to attend luncheon with US president Barrack Obama. As per the media, Kikwete was asked by Obama to initiate discussion at this luncheon, the chance that was thought would be taken by Kenya . In his reciprocation, Machiavellian Kikwete showered the US with praises for its generosity thanks to Tanzania being the recipient of a five-year development package of $ 700 million, through the “Millennium Challenge” programme.  But this huge sum of money did nothing substantially. Refer to Tanzania ’s poor performance economically and developmentally. Its MDG performance is spooky and poor altogether. The government of Tanzania is currently laden with scandals involving millions of dollars.

Kikwete scored higher especially when he reiterated Tanzania ’s commitment to peace in Africa, thanks to sending peacekeeping troops Darfur. The irony though is, the same supports Sudanese dictator Omar Hassan el Bashir in his useless attempts to avert being submitted to The Hague to answer chargers related with crimes against humanity he committed in Darfur! 

Recently the media in Tanzania published the report by the National Statistic Bureau (NSB) showing that under Kikwete, the nation is in economic hardship thanks to inflation hitting at 12.1 compared to single digit under former President Benjamin Mkapa, who’s currently facing many scandal allegations including his inner sanctum and relations. However, this contradicts the prediction and projection by the London-based Economist magazine which ranked it the ninth-fastest growing economy behind China but ahead of India this year. Yet still there are many doubts. How can the regime with fiscal indiscipline and nose-length policy enhance this growth?

Despite this rosy picture, I dare say, corruption is hugely surging compared to Mkapa’s era, in spite of siring the currently surfacing scandals. What tarnishes Tanzania ’s image even a lot more is the fact that most of the scandals already reported involve top officials of the current regime… Kikwete included. And this has made it harder for him to take on corruption or keep tabs on his friends and accomplices save for a few make-believe cases dragging legs before the court. This latency gave Kikwete a name of “Msanii” or “a liar” or “a conman”. So this second-hand recognition is a big boost for embattled Kikwete come next elections. Pro-government media are now awash with photos showing him with various American top dogs.

We all know Kenya’s image was tarnished by post-poll, rumpus-cum-bloodbath, that culminated in tribal crashes that left many innocent Kenyans dead.  But looking at the same, Tanzania can not escape. Currently, albinos are killed indiscriminately and the government does not arrest this accordingly. In Pemba, many people are brutalized and their properties vandalized by government agents thanks to their opposition to a doctored voter’s registry.

By and large, what tantalizes even more is the fact that the US did urge Kenya to sack its Chief Justice Evans Gicheru and Attorney General Amos Wako, whilst Tanzania has a more corrupt AG, Johnson Mwanyika and head of the anti-corruption body: Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), Edward Hosea. The duo is alleged to have benefitted from British connected radar and presidential jet scandals among others.

Whilst Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki is openly known to have stolen his presidency, Kikwete as well, faces the same thanks to robbing the Central Bank under External Payment arrears Account (EPA), to raise money for bribing voters who ultimately voted for him thanks to this inducement.

Generally speaking, there’s no clean government in the duo. Kibaki sheathed his predecessor just like Kikwete is doing. The difference is Daniel arap Moi caused much deeper hole on Kenya ’s economy than Mkapa did to Tanzania’s. But in principle, corruption is corruption. It robs the common man and woman their rights to wellbeing and development.

Regarding the projection by the Economist magazine, this is a hoax rich countries use to fool poor countries. The World Bank used to do this during the cold war. When things turned out to be different, it used to blame failure on poor countries. Refer to many economic adjustments and structural what not that did not bear any fruits.

All in all, US’s shying away from Kenya and preferring Tanzania in lieu, is but a goofy and vexatious step. The good thing is this time, Kenya did not complain but soldiered on.

Though all was well for Kikwete, I don’t know how he took the words of President Obama when he urged African rulers to stamp corruption out so as to attract sound investment. Though Tanzania can superficially be seen as a hub for international investment, in the core, it is but rotten. For the touted investments have nary helped the common man, save to create a blink future for him. Refer to oft-reported killings of innocent mineral diggers in Mererani Arusha and environmental degradation among other.

Nkwazi Mhango is a Tanzanian living in Canada. He writes regularly for “The African Executive” and also has a blog entitled “Free Thinking Unabii”. He is a regular contributor to AfroSpear.

In its efforts to return the genie back into the bottle, EU decided to come forth and stand to be counted.

Recent heroic and encouraging remarks by EU’s development Chief, Karel de Gucht sound cool and cannot pass without being enlivened. He said that Guinea head of Military junta, Cpt. Moussa Dadis Camara, who took power on the wake of the death of Guinea’s dictator Lasane Konte, be arraigned in connection with crimes against humanity.

If anything, shall this be effectuated, it is but good and calculated move especially at the time after toothless and goofy AU has been dragging its feet since the brigands illegally came to power. The world, with fresh memories, still remembers horrendous killings of innocent 157 protestors in the streets of Conakry on September 28.

This should not be erroneously confused by interfering internal affairs or colonialism or tutoring Africa, as African potentates normally claim when either they are, or one of them is cornered.

Gucht did not languish in diplomatic jargon. He termed the bone-chilling killings as an act of brutality never seen before. He was quoted as thus: “This is a crime against humanity. It is a crime against the citizens of Guinea. In law and morality these killings were indeed a crime against humanity perpetrated by the man calling himself a leader of the people.”

Apart from being the very right thing to do, this overture is but litmus test on the seriousness of international community. By arraigning Camara, justice will be served and the clear signal will be dispatched for all winos dreaming about taking power to abuse. It will make more sense than ever. How can, for example, the same international community squeezes Kenyan authority to bring the perpetrators of post-poll killings to book and turn a blind eye to this barbarism?

For the stint Camara has just been in power, he goes down annals of history as one of the modern mad men of Africa . His erratic behaviour has chagrined very many… if not all. More often than not, Camara has proved to be a mad man and an accident in the office of the president.

By taking the bull by horn, EU has set a precedent that if upheld, may balk military regimes in Africa for once and for all. All those day dreaming to come in and plunder will have to rethink their take. When he took power, without being forced, Camara told the world that he’d pave the way to democracy. He said: “We are patriots, not hungry for power. We don’t intend to stay in power forever.”

But as days went by, Camara proved to be even more a chameleon and megalomaniac. Contrary to his cross-gained vows of returning Guinea to democratic path, he was quoted as saying: “I have nothing more to say, except that I might or might not stand. No-one can stop me.” When he said this and his true face revealed, people’s power tried to stop him. They did not want to let him continue with his megalomania. The results were surreal. Hundreds were butchered on the bloody daylight. After the massacre, once again Camara proved to be behind all machinations. He was quoted saying that if he is not allowed to stand for presidency another dam honcho will take over!  Gosh! All these are but a bit more of puerile lies and rubbishes. And mark my words once more, much is to come after the tyrant is squeezed even more.

To jump a smoking gun, Camara was quoted contradicting himself as saying that he was a prisoner of his own army especially those that ordered the shooting. But by all implications, Camara is the one that ordered the killings. He prior said that nobody would stop him from running for presidency. It is childish to say he was a prisoner. France knew his tricks. It was the first country to propose that the tyrant be arraigned. Now that EU has stepped in, surely the genie may be returned to the bottle. Nobody knows. How can the head of the junta become a prisoner of his own army!

And mark my words. This time, the lame duck AU won’t step in or bleep to back the tyrant. Its mess of supporting Sudanese butcher, Omar Hassan Bashir is enough.

Being rabid, if Camara like a serpent is not conked, he is likely to become suicidal so as to commit even graver crimes against humanity. All maniacs Africa has witnessed in Idi Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko, Sani Abacha, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Samuel Doe, Charles Taylor, Robert Mugabe, Yahya Jammeh, Fodday Saybana Sankor, Jonas Savimbi, and what not started this way.

Were he not a maniac, he had no reason to spoil his coup that was termed as bloodless. Now that his barbarism has turned his bloodless coup into a bloodbath sort of stuff! What else is he asking for?

The best gift-cum-aid the international community could offer Guinea is to pressurize this tyrant and his cabal of killers to step down, so that democratically elected government can come in. Why was it possible to disarm and thwart Charles Taylor, who was a bit smarter than this stinking yokel? Good news is that ICC has already zeroed in to see if charges be laid.

Though AU has its wing of Human Rights, the fact of the matter is: it is as useless as AU itself! Thus, Human Rights activists wherever they are must stand together and support this bold move by EU with regards to prosecuting Camara and his cabal of killers in uniform. Guinea tyrant must face charges resulting from committing crimes against humanity. And this must be done while the injuries are still fresh in the minds of the world.

Seriously, time for bringing Camara to book is now… just now.

Nkwazi Mhango is a Tanzanian living in Canada. He writes regularly for “The African Executive” and also has a blog entitled “Free Thinking Unabii”. He is a regular contributor to AfroSpear.

Commentary submission by Project 21

After being ousted from a group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams, Rush Limbaugh has a duty to punch the media in its collective mouth.

Not literally, of course. What Rush must do is sue the mainstream media for damaging his reputation. His earning potential in not being able to buy into the football team was clearly hurt when the media helped create a firestorm of controversy based on out-of-context or completely made-up statements.

By definition, the Merriam-Webster dictionary says “libel” is “a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression… published without just cause and tending to expose another to public contempt.”

That seems to be what happened here.

For example, CNN’s Rick Sanchez and several sports columnists relied on an undocumented quote found on Wikipedia attributed to Limbaugh that allegedly lauded slavery. Rush denies it, and no one can produce evidence to the contrary.  Likewise, football player Mathias Kiwanuka’s assertion that Rush is racist went unchallenged in the New York Daily News.

After failing to filter out untruths or challenge wild assertions – something the media has criticized bloggers for – Rush has reason for redress. And it’s not just for himself.

No one is safe when the media can pull incendiary remarks out of thin air and allow them to be assumed to be true.

Think of the potential damages. The Rams may now be derided as the “St. Louis Lambs,” but they were “The Greatest Show on Turf” not too long ago. It’s cyclical.  Think of the team’s ticket sales, merchandising and broadcasting rights potential.  Even as a minority partner, Limbaugh stood to make a lot of money.

Who’s at fault? CNN’s Sanchez and those who fabricated the slavery quote in the first place, among others, certainly share moral culpability.

In the end, Limbaugh could end up owning portions of the networks that have been on a virtual crusade to destroy him.

Rush also has a bone to pick with non-media types such as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay for taking the media’s cue and branding Limbaugh an enemy of the league.

Al Sharpton also cannot be allowed to continue dictating public sensibility without effective rebuttal. Just the fact that Sharpton said he was going to talk to Goodell is laughable. Why does he merit an audience? Could it be because Sharpton is a darling of the race-obsessed media?

If Rush doesn’t take the lying slanderers out back once and for all, they will do it again to anyone right-of-center who dares to open his mouth.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism professors who moonlight as cable news experts should not go to any old website and use a post with no attribution as the basis for character assassination. Likewise, partisan pundits shouldn’t hide behind freedom of the press to repeat false quotes.

Race hustlers should not be allowed to interject themselves into a false controversy and anoint themselves as speech arbiters.

News anchors similarly should not be allowed back on set after knowingly reading a false quote. And the players, who laughably claim to be victims, shouldn’t just go to the media and repeat false quotes.

The media in general also has to really believe in fairness and equality.

Now’s the time for those who willingly perpetrate smears to find out what it’s like to have their lives destroyed.  It’s time for the message to be sent that the arena of ideas is just that. Should they decide to play fast and loose with the rules, they must suffer the same consequences as the common man.

I believe Rush Limbaugh has an obligation to sue everybody involved in this sham.

Bob Parks is a member of the national advisory council for the Project 21 black leadership network and operates the website: Black and Right.

Let’s keep it real for a hot minute re: Balloon Boy. You know if the parents were poor & Hispanic or Black, the state would have taken all them kids pending an investigation. I’m just saying.

A Mexican woman recently had one of her children kidnapped from her home & was stabbed 8 times in the process. The state quickly came in & took the rest of her children then threatened to deport her.

I know, I know, apples & oranges, but still. My mini rant is over.

On the 10th Anniversary of the death of Mwl. Nyerere (Tanzania’s founder-cum-thinker).

My name is Glutton, son of Conman.

Though as I’m jolting this down, 166 youths are toiling to track from Mwanza to Butiama, as the commemoration of your historic journey to support the late Arusha declaration, I won’t emulate you at this 10th anniversary of your heroic death. Hereunder are the reasons:

Firstly, I am light ‘hearted’ especially when I see money and power. I am a hypocrite, even a stinking materialist. I am corrupt through and through.  

To be honest with you, I stink like a pig. My colleagues call me a liar and conman. I, therefore, am not supposed to get near your grave, wife, kids even your nation that I am sabotaging.

So too, which declaration am I to support, if at all I am ensconced amidst those that felled Arusha declaration?  How will I commemorate you whilst human rights, equality have varnished as corruption, daylight robbery, and lies have taken over?

Good teacher, I don’t want to cheat you and myself. You fought for freedom based on self reliance. All these are long gone. Instead, there’s self-inflicted slavery and underdevelopment. You shaped socialism and self-reliance. We now are doing self-serving and nihilism. Yours was the future of the nation. Ours is to place these goodies in the hands of mighty investors, donors and those that run errand for them. You fought for and preserved our land and its minerals. Currently we’ve small gulf emirates amidst us. You know what, go to Loliondo. You’ll be welcomed to Gulf Emirates as if you’re in the Gulf of Arabs. Truly, they’ve engulfed us thanks to their sweet ten percent.

I’ve no qualms to emulate and commemorate your legacy. Do you know that all minerals you preserved for future generations are gone thanks to the quacks you accidentally backed?

Mwalimu, I can not honour you whilst I abhor and look down at you. Had I loved and honoured you, I’d have abided by your will that we love and help each other. I help nobody except my family and my stomach. You died grieving for your people after discovering you entrusted them to hyenas.

To say a least, your Mara region has already witness live bullets being fired to kill trespassers. When it comes to environmental degradation, God only knows what is on the offing. With all these blunders, do I’ve deserve to emulate and commemorate your legacy? Is emulating you words or deeds? I am afraid. I’m not a parrot that says what it doesn’t do and does what it doesn’t say.

Though you are no more Mwalimu, you still do our nation better posthumously than the living ones that bring shame and miseries to us. They’ve privatized us including themselves and their heads. What’s more, your stint in power proved how selfless you are. You did not survive any kids in high echelons of powers like it is currently, where every who’s who is mentoring his kids to take over after most of them are done. We now have kid presidents, wife presidents and whiz kid presidents almost everywhere.

All was done. One thing will nary be forgiven by your suffering people. This is the taking of Kiwira charcoal mine that was built by Chinese, thanks to the friendly hand extended by your best friend Mao Tse- Tung.

Mwalimu, the bête noix you left behind cheated us. They told us that investment and privatization are the sole means of revamping our all-time-sick economy. They promised better life for all little knowing, ‘all’ means all of them not all of us! We’re now vending each other. There’s no difference between a police man and the thief. We recently witnessed police killing innocent businessmen they called thugs whilst the truth was the difference.

During your stewardship everybody was protected. Currently albinos are killed indiscreetly. It is believed by some goons that their body parts bring luck to their business! At your time, leadership meant service to the people not self serving. Ikulu was the holy of the holy, not a deal-making place. Leadership meant truth not lies. Politics was blessings not like now. It is a curse.

Thanks to dirty politics all those sons and daughters of stinking paupers you enrolled in free schools are now super rich. There’s one goon among them that called one billion shillings just mere peanuts! Even those thieves you cursed for amassing ill-gotten wealth came into the play. Their colleagues backed them so as to end up becoming biggies before they’re booted down, thanks to their evil desire of stealing from your people.

Mwalimu, I won’t emulate you. How could I whilst my bread comes by the way of selling drugs, receiving kickbacks, lies, empty promises, sabotage and whatnot as opposed to your teachings?

Is it possible for rats to emulate the cat instead of enjoying freedom thanks to its absence? Can a tick live without sucking blood? Isn’t the tick wicked even if it is fat and shiny?

Mwalimu, I’m even afraid to come to Butiama or stand before people on the tenth anniversary of your demise. How could I eulogize you whilst my deeds dress you down? I am afraid. Your wife Maria, even your children, might feel bad and tell it to my face. They know me well. I don’t want to be degraded by any of them that would be annoyed by my lies despite the fact that my deeds degraded since long.

Mwalimu, you’re bright. I am but dull and Tabula rasa. You were clean. I am dead dirty. Your wife did not use your office to steal from your people. Even your kids did nary vie for high offices as it is now. I’d like my kids to become presidents just like those of others I see being mentored.

Mwalimu, you introduced free education. To the contrary, I am the fan of cost sharing and bearing for poor all aimed at fattening the purses of those in power. You fought for the land and minerals. I wish I were president. I’d sell the all land and privatize minerals. You’re not in bed with thieves concealing themselves behind business. They’re my best friends and donors.

Mwalimu, you fought for equality of human beings. To me, equality is an archaic thing. Human value depends on his purse. And all human beings are not equal.

In a nutshell, I won’t emulate or commemorate you Mwalimu. For whatever I do and believe in is contrary to what you did and believed.

Nkwazi Mhango is a Tanzanian living in Canada. He writes regularly for “The African Executive” and also has a blog entitled “Free Thinking Unabii”. He is a regular contributor to AfroSpear.

Afrospear receives a number of correspondance with links to various sites and information. Here is one that would certainly be beneficial to our readers from Online Colleges:

100 Open Lectures All About Africa

In an article for The Guardian, Hannah Pool explains Why blacking up is the worst kind of fashion crime.

If the images are supposed to be an artistic form of social commentary, they have pitched it badly wrong.

she says and goes on to ask:

If they were after a young gun, why not use Chanel Iman or Jourdan Dunn instead of painting Stone, a white woman, black?

Read Hannah’s story and determine for yourself if this is indeed a crime against fashion.

Since the 26th January 2003, I have been dealing with an issue which has recently come to dominate my life. Every year it is my hope that I can get through this season without facing this dilemma, but I have to finally face the facts. This issue has reared it’s ugly head again within the last month and I need to confront it. It is said that the first step to recovery is to admit that you have a problem and need help. So here goes… ahemm… “The Oakland Raiders Suck!” There I said it. I have released my demon.

For those who truly know me, this is no minor announcement on my part. I am not a Raider fan. I am a Raider fan-atic! I am a proud citizen of the Raider Nation. I bleed silver and black. I probably own the most Raider gear, paraphernalia and other crap in Canada… in Ottawa for sure! In December 2001, right after September 11th, when air travel into the USA was a major pain in the azzz, I went through all the indignity and stress of airport security questioning, probes and searches and made the pilgrimage to Oakland California to watch my beloved Raiders play their conference rivals, The Kansas City Chiefs. As I engaged in the tailgate festivities over in the “Black Hole”, as I entered from the light of day into the proverbial darkness of the Oakland Coliseum, as I looked around and saw a ring of silver and black all around me, as I watched people fighting and being dragged out of their seats by the po-po before the teams even took to the field for warmups, I knew I was home. If this wasn’t heaven, then hell ain’t so bad a place.  

Long ago I accepted that my love of the Oakland Raiders is a sickness. However, believe it or not, the sickness isn’t as pronounced as it was a few years ago. Hell not so long ago I regularly ended relationships because of the Raiders! I had more than a few conversations that went something like this:

Girlfriend (Gf): Hey baby, it’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon, let’s go out for a walk and enjoy the day. The leaves look so pretty as they are changing for the Fall.
Me: No can do. The Raider game is about to kickoff.
Gf: The Raider game!? What’s more important, staying in and watching a football game or going out and spending some quality time together.
Me: You know I love spending time with you… but it’s the Raiders! After the game, we’ll see. 
Gf: Well you need to make a decision now… me or the damn Raiders!
Me: Don’t let the door hit your azzz on the way out.

Or like this one:

Gf: Baby, turn off the T.V. for a minute. We need to talk about us.
Me: The Raider game is on and you’re standing in front of the T.V. and your lips are moving!
Gf: We need to talk about our relationship and where it’s going and…
Me: The Raider game is on and you’re standing in front of the T.V. and your lips are moving!
Gf: Fine then. If that’s your attitude… if you care more about your damn Raiders than about us… then I’m outta here!
Me: Don’t let the door hit your azzz on the way out. 

Sick huh?!

Now I’ll admit that I like watching other teams play, such as the Patriots, Steelers, Eagles, Colts, Giants and Ravens. However, I’m not a “fan” of those teams. In fact, I’m a “fan” of no other sports team period! There are only 2 teams a true Raider fan will ever cheer for: the Raiders and whoever is playing the 49ers! My first wife was a 49ers fan… which explains why she became my “first” wife. (nuff said… don’t wanna violate any court orders).

One of the worst days of my life was on 26th January 2003, when the Raiders played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 37. Leading up to that game, I was talking smack to anyone with 2 ears about how the Raiders were going to crush their former coach, John Gruden, and his current team, the Buccaneers. I was laying it on thick too for a couple weeks before the big game. I was strutting around like a peacock, wearing my Raider gear everywhere I went. Now I have watched some Super Bowl blowout before, but this was a beat down! The Buccaneers whipped the Raiders like a rented mule. The Raiders quarterback at the time, Rich Gannon, threw a record 5 interceptions, 3 of which were returned for touchdowns. I was stunned for weeks. I can tell you, I was quiet for a couple months when it came to the Raiders… and I took some. I was crucified unmercifully by my colleagues and friends… and I had no retort… especially after all of the smack I had dished out.        

The Raiders have never recovered from that loss. Since then they have had 6 straight losing seasons and became the first team in NFL history to lose at least 11 games in each of those seasons. This year they are well on their way to extend that record. Every Sunday I don my Raider gear… shirt, pants, socks, cap… with hope in my heart and a smile on my lips… and by bedtime I have a headache and red glassy eyes.  

So I have finally had to admit that The Oakland Raiders suck. I have finally come to terms with the fact that they will never get better until the owner Al Davis dies, they get a professional management team in place, they hire a real Head Coach, they get rid of the poser JaMarcus Russell and get a competent QB, and start performing up to their motto: “Commitment to Excellence”. 

Until then, I guess… no… I know that my hope… that same hope which “springs eternal” at the start of every season, that gets grinded down by week 4, will spring up again next year.   

I read this story over at my yawdie’s place, The Field Negro, about a (White) woman who decided to give up her (Black) adopted son after several months. 

 “The first time I considered giving up D. I was lying alone in my oversized bed. It was about midnight, my children were asleep and my husband was deployed. I was so taken aback by my thoughts that I bolted upright, ran to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. It was dark, but I could see my silhouette in the mirror and I stared to see if I was looking at a demon instead of D.’s mother.” Read the rest of the story here.

We live in a disposable world. Our senses are bombarded everyday with stories and images of how governments, rebels, insurgents, terrorists… featuring the “Browns and Blacks” of this planet… casually dispose of each other. We watch and read about how at home… whether that home is in America, Europe and even Canada… similar “Browns and Blacks” are disposed of in a variety of ways, by the hands of their own or by the agents of the State. We watch and read… being almost deaf, blind and numb to these incidents… as our main concerns are focused on acquiring more, and more, and more… of our hearts’ desires.

However, we place no lasting intrinsic value on anything we have been blessed to acquire into lives, including people. Regardless of how easy or difficult it has been to acquire, we dispose of things and people even easier. Relationships, marriages and anything else which we valued at one time but now consider to be garbage, is now easily separated and placed into it’s proper bin for disposal and recycling… and some else picks it up for us on it’s specified date… and our lives continues uninterrupted.

My wife and I are in the process of adopting a daughter and sister to our (biological) son. We have always wanted to adopt a child and we decided to wait until we had our first child, and then adopt one of the opposite gender. I will admit the process is a lot more involved than I had anticipated. I thought it would be easy to adopt, as we sincerely want to… and have the resources to… provide a loving and stable home for an “unwanted” child. We have gone to a number of informational sessions in regards to domestic and international adoptions. The one thing that has stuck with me is the words of one of the counselors that impressed upon us that once you adopt a child, it’s no longer about you! Once that child enters into your care, their well-being is now your primary responsibility and you must be committed to deal with “the good, the bad and the ugly”. They are not disposable, like a family pet that is returned to the pound after a few months because no one wants to be bothered to care for it.

What disgusts (and I do mean “disgust!”) me most about this story, is how according to this woman, “after waiting many long months” to “finally hold and kiss my son”, it took only “several weeks” for her to dispose of him… put him out to be “recycled” by another (albeit better) family. Her depiction of how her own 5 daughters… Baby D’s sisters… were more attached to Spongebob… a cartoon character… than to acknowledging the imminent loss of “their brother”, says to me that they also learnt to consider him to be disposable like the trash they easily put out once a week and never give a second thought.       

On the surface it may appear that I am criticizing or condemning the actions of this woman or her family, but in reality that is not my intent. This is not about her, although I did find that her article is all about her and her feelings. This is also not about her family. It’s about ‘Baby D’ and other children like him, who become innocent victims, (who have already been victimized I will add), of our society’s addiction to acquiring the latest fad, the “newest” and “coolest” trinket, without any true appreciation of its actual value. 

Although we may not be able to afford the expensive material things or have the glamorous lifestyle of our beloved celebrities such as Brangelina or Madonna, in this way we can be like them. We can acquire people like they can… little Brown and Black people… who come cheap and are fortunate that a White American family wants to own them, so they can be added to the collection of “stuff” to show off to families, friends, neighbors and strangers… until the thrill wears off and reality sets in. Then comes garbage day.