Are They Going to be Fired Too?....Don't be Too CNN!!

Over the weekend, Richard Quest, the business traveller correspondent on CNN is arrested at Central Park, New York (USA) with meth in his pocket (?), a sex toy in his car boot and a rope round his genitals and neck. He had violated a curfew [in short, he was not supposed to be at that place at that time].

He goes to rehab to get over his substance abuse problems...

Jack Cafferty, a show host on CNN, earlier this month, said the United States imported Chinese-made "junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food" and added: "They're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years".

CNN says Cafferty was expressing an opinion about the Chinese government......Now they are being sued for US$ 1.3 billion. [An aside here: A Chinese singer has released a song titled "Don't be too CNN" in response to the biased reporting of the protests in a number of European cities to the Olympic Torch relay].

In 2007, Marianne Briner, a 66-year-old Swiss businesswoman, published email exchanges between her and Jeff Koinange on a blog. She also sent a complaint to his boss at CNN's Atlanta headquarters, claiming that Koinange had admitted to bribery and hoaxing an exclusive report from Nigeria.

He was fired.....

Am I the only one who thinks this is unfair? Or even subtly racist?

Newsflash: The first two cases involve white men, the third is a black [a matter of fact, an African].

Barclays Banks Fucks Its Valued Customers

Ever since I came under the wing of this otherwise reputable financial institution, Barclays Bank, as a result of the buy-out of the friendlier Nile Bank, I moved from happy to sad to frustrated. I have never wanted to put my money in a foreign-owned bank as a principle [what Capitalist Nigger author terms as 'Spider Web Doctrine']; but now, it is in there and have had to endure with their highly inefficient service.

The Barclays Bank that I'm talking about is the one in Uganda [bearing in mind that it is spread all over the world]. There seems no adequate reason why customers cannot get their ATM cards [those who were previously with Nile Bank], access their money or wait for about 20-30 minutes at the counter for a transcation to go through. To add to our irritation, there seems no credible explanation to what the trouble is or at least a statement from the Bank Management to its customers to sooth the ruffled feathers. There are as many excuses for this incompetence as there are staffers in that fucked-up Bank [which according to their website, are 779 permanent staff and 117 temporary /contract staff].

What is most annoying for me is the recent meaningless adverts that the Bank has put out in the media addressed to "Our Valued Customers". I don't think so, if these fuckers valued us at all, they would have treated us better than this.

I don't think 120,000 retail customers and 570 corporate clients are anything to mess with the way they are doing. Sometimes, that is why I support Mugabe-style takeovers.....many times, I wish we could storm the Bank and bash their heads in, get our money and fire-bomb the place [Ooh...have I committed an act of terrorism in that last part.....forgive me but understand my anger].

FUCK BARCLAYS BANK

Tears, Prayers....and What Next?

The media is awash [to use the cliche phrase] with stories of the fire that gutted a girls' dormitory at Budo Junior School, that is located in Wakiso district, Central Uganda. So many questions, so many speculations, so many theories....but very few answers about what actually happened on that fateful night of 14 April 2008.

As usual as with all tragedies in Uganda, we see the big people [that is the politicians and government officials] "express sadness" [or even "cry"] about the event, "console" the bereaved and "mourn" the dead [which is, in my view, are crocodile tears meant to show the gullible public that they care]. Inevitably, thereafter, there are prayers to pray for the souls of the dead and public shows of sympathy from different people and organisations or associations or whatever group that wants to be seen to be 'caring'.

Oh...I almost forgot...there are also promises from the government authorities to do everything possible to get the bottom of what caused the tragedy. Someone, in almost all cases, the President, "orders a probe" [a very common word in our news media, I wish "findings" was even more common]. And that is the last you hear of it.....over time, the initial grief pales and is soon forgotten as the issue falls off the radar. Eventually, it is only among the bereaved that the pain is still fresh; in this case, the parents.

According to The Daily Monitor, there have been 33 fires at educational institutions since 2003!! Where are the findings of those probes, reports, etc.

That is why I hate these prayers for the souls of the dead when I know that another similar disaster is waiting to happen in another school before this year ends. We need to address the fundamental issues that breed the conditions for such tragedies to happen than just to cry and pray...and not answer the questions that continue to linger.

The way we, Ugandans, act makes the saying [was it Karl Marx?] that religion is the opiate of society even ring more true.....Now, the opiate has been administered [memorial prayers] and we are going back to sleep [reports shelved and the issue forgotten].

Sorry Pastor......But That Was Foolish

Just as I thinking about a plethora of issues to address like Robert Mugabe's move to claim a chunk of foreign investments in Zim for his people, the retirement of Fidel Castro and his contribution to Africa [this is long overdue], the Obama-mania, a pastor writes an article that smacks of bigotry [defined by the Anti-Defamation League as "prejudice and/or discrimination against one or all members of a particular group based on negative perceptions of their beliefs and practices or on negative group stereotypes"].

Now. I will have to put in my two-cents on this. Firstly, I believe and have come to a conclusion that some of these Pentecostal [or Evangelical, Born Again] preachers are many times bankrupt on the philosophy that their religious establishments are based on or what they stand for. FYI: Joshua Mugabi is a preacher in Kampala Pentecostal Church and pens a regular column in The Sunday Monitor called Fourth Dimension.

The article entitled "The Gadaffi truimphal entry" [disregard the spelling error] was full of unfounded fears, bias and bigotry. The good man (sic) virtually promoted discrimination, anti-Islamism [if there is such a word] and to some extent, racism!!

I will highlight some of the statements in what he wrote about the visit of the Libyan Leader Muammar el Qadhafi [the spelling varies depending on where you are or who is writing]. Franky speaking, at first I was shocked...then it just made me laugh [not funny ha ha but a deep sacarcastic one].

I want this to be about the content and not about the man who wrote it [one of the persons I know referred to him as anointed one of God...(hero worship?) so I will steer clear of that]. My comments are highlighted in red.

The opener reads like this "While Palm Sunday should come with great anticipation of great Christian advancement, in Uganda today the spiritual atmosphere of light is quickly turning into darkness."

When was there an atmosphere of light yet some of these churches are run like business exploiting the gullible Ugandans that flock there in hope of miracles and change in the status of their lives. In fact, there is more darkness now than even before Qadhafi set foot here!

"the opening of the mosque that stands like Goliath against the dwarfed historical Namirembe Cathedral and the unseen Rubaga Cathedral."

Is this man serious? Uganda is home to many religions including his. Namirembe [for Protestants] and Rubaga [for Catholics] occupy prominent positions on the hills around Kampala. I don't think the new mosque dwarfs these religious building, the only thing is that they are far from each other. Take note: that this mosque has only been completed after about three decades.

Of course Uganda’s historical site was desecrated in the process of setting up the mosque.This meant that our history is of no value to our nation where new money making ventures are esteemed over what would be of national historical value to the nation.

Let me remind him that his church was once Nommo Gordinho Cinema, another historical building in Kampala. The Lugard fort that was destroyed is just one of the many historical sites that we as Ugandans have not taken care of as the craze of putting up modern architecturally ugly structures consumes us. We are all guilty...has he been to the Uganda Museum of late? Why is it that his consciousness for preservation of historical monuments wakes up when a mosque is built.

Considering the fact the Islamic conference and mosque official opening have been placed at the climax of the Christian faith festival, I’m tempted to think that all this is part of an insidious agenda to surrender our nation to Islam.

The nation will no longer celebrate Easter but the opening of this mosque. Uganda’s history would be changed from the British inheritance to Libyan influence.

I think the Christians who are the majority in this nation will eventually be the financiers of this mosque, which will forever taunt their faith.

It’s imperative that we call on all the sons of the faith to stand and be counted for their faith first and then the world.

The above statements prove why I called this bigotry (see the definition highlighted in green [which incidentally is the national colour of Libya, the pun and symbolism were intended.

Palm Sunday needs to remain a day we bring in the glory of Jesus into the nation and not any other human being.

There are many other things that take place in a single day, please don't look at the world through a tunnel vision but a 40,000 foot view, it will help your ministry.

If It Wasn't for Fear of Libel, I Would Have Called Him an Asshole

Recently, one of the many forgettable junior ministers in our government here made an insensitive remark about a sickle-cell baby in relation to a badly run over-funded and incompetently managed textile factory. He likened the fresh infusion of funds and entry of a strategic investor into the establishment to a lease of life for a sickle-cell baby who had gotten a blood transfusion.

This factory was one of those grandiose projects that are initiated by the government as part of the drive to get the nation out of the economic doldrums to the take-off stage and a better life for its people. It was one of the initiatives crafted to benefit from the Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) passed by the US Congress [is there anything initiated by African leaders for African people?]

The gist of his presentation to the Parliament was that the venture was a sickle-cell baby that had been saved from a certain death because of a timely transfusion.

Coming from a leader in a nation where a significant part of population are either carriers or sufferers of the sickle-cell anaemia condition, it was definitely out of line. If I remember right, the statistics put the figure at 5 million carriers and sufferers.

In many of our communities, there is a particular stigma attached to the condition, ranging from it being a result of witchcraft to it being a generational curse. But science shows that it is a question of genetics, if two carriers have children, there is a one-in-four chance that the baby will be a "sickler". If a sufferer and a carrier have children, the likelihood is similar but in these two scenarios, the possibility of carriers also rises. So the minister's remarks definitely hurt a lot of people

The Sickle-Cell Association had something to say about it and host of other people especially parents of "sicklers" who made their feelings known in letters of the newspapers. A few days later, he issued a terse apology which I think was inadequate. Inadequate because therein he said he made the remark in jest [let him try his joke in relation to HIV/AIDS....so you know what I mean?]

To redeem himself and to help highlight the plight of sickle-cell sufferers, he should visit the only facility for treating and managing sickle-cell anaemia at the National Referral Hospital. It is neglected and badly in need of support and the services should be extended to other areas of the country. In this way, we could turn a bad remark into a beneficial act.