For weeks, from CNN through BBC to Al
Jazeera, we are fed the same diet on a daily basis. We run the
risk of being victims of intellectual kwashiorkor. Hence some of us have to cry
out! This exercise is not in defence of President Vladimir Putin, a
dictator of no mean measure. I reject fascism, communism, Nazism, militarism,
sit-tightism and all forms of tyranny. Putin epitomises monocracy.
*Zelensky
I like
democracy of the Westminster model. The United States presidential system of
government is fascinating. When it comes to the rule of law, freedom and right
to dissent, I belong to the West (the US). I reject the strangulating, despotic
governments in China and Russia. They are an open sore on our humanity. The
Kim Dynasty in North Korea must fall. Everything must be done to bring down
autocracy everywhere in the world. The world must stand shoulder to shoulder
with the people of Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso,etc. and
take all legitimate measures, including use of force, to remove the unconstitutional
governments and usurpers of political power.
Besides its entertainment value,
another use the unfolding Panama Papers scandal evidently serves providing us a
barometer to gauge the shame index across the universe. Shame is no sign of
weakness, mind you. When evinced timeously, it brings out honour. Shame speaks
to an inner strength to recoil in the admission that violence had been done to
the normative value that defines society; hence the penitent cessation of that
course of action.
*Fayose and Aluko
What is despicable, let it be noted, is
shamelessness. To become dishonorable is to lose the sense of shame. The freer
a society is, the more leaders would then appear predisposed to show shame when
caught pants down.
But in a closed society, they live in denial, thus forfeiting the
chance of self-redemption.
The nobility in shame would be demonstrated Tuesday when Iceland's Prime
Minister, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, resigned once leaks linked him to the infamy
of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm specializing in helping world
celebrities and politically-exposed persons to either launder fortunes or
shield investments from tax. The PM and his wife owned an offshore company
registered by the Panamanian firm to conceal million dollars worth of family
assets. Their shell company, Wintris, had significant investments in the bonds
of three major Icelandic banks that collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.
Long before an angry mob of Icelanders began to occupy the
parliament's gate, Gunnlaugsson did the honorable thing in the circumstance by
throwing in the towel.
Elsewhere in London,
Prime Minister David Cameron practically turned himself in for thorough body
search at the British parliament Tuesday. He had to reveal personal
secrets to prove he had nothing to do with his dad's shell company exposed by
the Panama Papers.
Addressing a charged chamber, he listed all his earthly possessions
to include "My salary, of course, the house we lived in before moving to 10 Downing Street
(which now yields additional income as rent) and savings I've from which I earn
interests."
Though the details of their own dealing are no more graphic than
those of the Icelandic and British leaders, Russian and Chinese authorities
have expectedly been in denial. The Panama Papers listed Russian President
Vladimir Putin's friends as operating dozens of companies through which
billions of dollars had been laundered. Moscow's
response? It conveniently dismissed the reports as another show of
"Putin-phobia"! No further comment.
“…Today we have again come face to face with
a destructive and barbarous ideology, and we must not allow
these modern-day dark forces to attain their goals.
“We must stop our debates and forget our differences
to build a common anti-terrorist front that will act in line
with international law and under the UN aegis.
“Every civilised country must contribute
to the fight against terrorism, reaffirming their solidarity, not
in word but in deed.
“This means that the terrorists must not be given
refuge anywhere. There must be no double standards. No contacts with terrorist
organisations. No attempts to use them for self-seeking goals. No
criminal business with terrorists.
“We know who are stuffing pockets in Turkey and letting terrorists prosper from
the sale of oil they stole in Syria. The terrorists are
using these receipts to recruit mercenaries, buy weapons and plan
inhuman terrorist attacks against Russian citizens and against people
in France, Lebanon, Mali and other states. We
remember that the militants who operated in the North Caucasus
in the 1990s and 2000s found refuge and received moral
and material assistance in Turkey. We still find them there.
“Meanwhile, the Turkish people are kind, hardworking
and talented. We have many good and reliable friends in Turkey. Allow
me to emphasise that they should know that we do not equate them with
the certain part of the current ruling establishment that is directly
responsible for the deaths of our servicemen in Syria.
“We will never forget their collusion with terrorists. We
have always deemed betrayal the worst and most shameful thing
to do, and that will never change. I would like them
to remember this – those in Turkey who shot our pilots
in the back, those hypocrites who tried to justify their actions
and cover up for terrorists.
“I don’t even understand why they did it. Any issues
they might have had, any problems, any disagreements even those we knew nothing
about could have been settled in a different way. Plus, we were ready
to cooperate with Turkey
on all the most sensitive issues it had; we were willing to go
further, where its allies refused to go. Allah only knows, I suppose,
why they did it. And probably, Allah has decided to punish
the ruling clique in Turkey
by taking their mind and reason.
“But, if they expected a nervous or hysterical
reaction from us, if they wanted to see us become a danger
to ourselves as much as to the world, they won’t get
it. They won’t get any response meant for show or even
for immediate political gain. They won’t get it.
“Our actions will always be guided primarily
by responsibility – to ourselves, to our country,
to our people. We are not going to rattle the sabre. But,
if someone thinks they can commit a heinous war crime, kill our people
and get away with it, suffering nothing but a ban on tomato
imports, or a few restrictions in construction or other
industries, they’re delusional. We’ll remind them of what they did, more
than once. They’ll regret it. We know what to do.
“We have mobilised our Armed Forces, security services
and law enforcement agencies to repel the terrorist threat.
Everyone must be aware of their responsibility, including
the authorities, political parties, civil society organisations
and the media...”
–Russian
President VladimirPutin in his State of the
Union address on Thursday, December 3, 2015
A personal note. I’m not writing from my usual location, comfortably at home on my desktop - currently hospitalized, hopefully released soon.
I’ll be briefer than usual, conserving strength - thankful to maintain daily communication with readers, best as able when less than par.
*Obama and Putin (pix: vox)
Let’s not mince words. Washington is no Russian partner. Its policy is adversarially hostile, notably during the Cold War, especially throughout Putin’s leadership years - a preeminent world leader/peace champion polar opposite rogues running America, perhaps one day able to turn the tide against their hegemonic agenda.
Saving humanity from the scourge of another devastating global war - potential nuclear armageddon - depends on his efforts to prevent it.
Washington’s rage for endless wars threatens world peace, security and humanity’s survival. Bipartisan US policymakers tolerate no independent countries, especially Russia, China and resource rich ones like Iraq, Libya, Iran and Venezuela - two down, two to go plus others.
