Misfits
of Road Construction - Liberian Style
This is the Jallah Town road.
The Liberian people just accepted the road as is, because it
is better than it was before and is cool with them. The
disabled and handicapped people are the ones who have the
most difficult time trying to navigate the road. Who speaks
for them?
The
War Lord's 23rd Psalm
The war is my shepherd, I
don't give a damn. It takes my body miles over the Atlantic
- It fills money in all my pockets, for my own name
sake.
Dilemmas
of Dealing With Guinea's Military Junta
The
saying goes: "the reality is that there are two parties
in Africa - the political and the military" . And so it
has come to fruition and no surprise that the military has
again forcibly taken the reins of state power with the
declaration by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara as President of
the Republic of Guinea, following the death of longtime
strongman General
Lansana Conte over a week ago.
FrontPageAfrica's
Right to Publish Audit Reports
Aloysius
Tarte Togba's " Letter of the Day: FPA Crosses Line in
Releasing Sensitive Govt. Document" posted on
FrontPageafrica, December 21, 2008, is wrong and misleading.
From what is written, it seems the writer has no clue of the
topic because FrontPageafrica is right under the
constitution to publish the Government Audit report.
Civility,
Lawfulness, and Tolerance Taking Backseat in Liberia
Government
officials are supposed to be nominated or appointed to
positions based on competence, trust and morality as a way
of showing good examples for the people to emulate. The
collapse of law and order, civility, and human rights in
Africa has always been the abuse of power by government
officials who go unpunished by the judicial branch of
government.
Corruption:
A De Facto Way of Life in Liberia
Liberia, the West African
country, which is roughly the size of the State of
Tennessee, is more than 161 years old. Liberia is one of
Africa’s oldest independent nations. The tiny West African
state gained its sovereignty on July 26, 1847; and has a
population of 3.3 million people with a literacy rate of
approximately 58 %.
Auditor
Flogged: Public Works Expresses Regrets - Star Radio Monrovia
- The Public Works
Ministry has expressed regrets for the flogging of Deputy
Auditor General, Winsley Nenka by officials of the ministry.
End
of An Incredible Football Journey - John "Monkey"
Brown - 1940 - 2008 -
A Tribute
He never said much on the
football field, but his legs did all the talking. He did not
say much at all off the field, either, but his name – one
of the most recognizable names in the history of Liberian
football told the story about the man and his game.
Community
Organizations in Diaspora Face Serious Leadership Deficit
I often wonder whether
Liberians are honest in their quest to assume leadership
roles in their community organizations. Over the years, I
have seen a number of failure in almost all of our community
organizations including the Sinoe County Association, the
Sarpo Association, and recently the Union of Liberian
Associations in the Americas, Inc.
"Caricature
of A Failed State and Not A Real State"
If
he ever wanted a national debate to further cement his
activist image and enhance his future bid for a presidential
run in 2012, he did not do a good job, and I don’t think
he expected his words to generate such negative sentiments
the way it did, but Samuel Kofi Woods sure is generating the
debate he sought when he reportedly referred to Liberia as a
“Caricature of A Failed State and Not A Real State,” and
that “Liberia Needs No Army,” and that the “state be
dismantled and re-conceptualized.”
World
War II: 63 Years After
Since
World War II, many things have changed in the world both in
economy and warfare. Post-World War II atmosphere initiated
competition for the world's true hegemony. This competition
brought us good and bad things; one of the good things is
the rapid development of technology, science, medicine,
among many other things.
Charles
Brumskine is Wrong to Embrace Lahai Lasanah, and Shouldn't
Encourage Any Ludicrous Gesture From Him
I
must confess I am one of those people who applauded the
Liberian Legislature months ago, after that body garnered
the courage to suspend one of its own in the person of Isaac
Nyenabo, then-President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate,
who was punished by his colleagues for constantly siding
with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when the body did not
agree with the president on key national issues.
The
$100,000 PUL Presidential "Buyout," and A
Directionless ULAA
The
Press Union of Liberia (PUL),
and the Union of Liberian
Associations in the Americas (ULAA)
are two embarrassingly corrupt
and inept organizations that
operate in name only, even as
the people they supposedly
represent are having
difficulty pinpointing major
accomplishments that stands
out as monumental between the
two groups.
Peace
Corps Reopens Program in Liberia
Peace
Corps is pleased to officially announce its return to
Liberia. On Monday, October 27th, in a ceremony
attended by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Peace
Corps Director Ronald A. Tschetter will swear in 12 new Volunteers
to work on education and health projects.
Environmental
Crisis Demands Urgent Answers
We once
again want to comment on how we can best participate in the
National Reconstruction Process in our homeland. In so
doing, we must first identify and isolate the cause of the
problem, then suggest practical solutions to effectively
solve the nagging problems.
Calling
for Another Religious Holiday? Why not "National
Religion Day," and "President's Day?"
One of the ways anybody can
get Liberians to talk these days is when the topic is about
religion, religious differences and which religion is
considered dominant in a country where Christianity is not
only a leading religion but is seen as state-sanctioned,
since the Church and State don't seem to separate the way
they work together.
Amos
Sawyer's "Pathological Liar" Public Outburst Not a
Winner
The cheapest way to untangle oneself out of a crisis that could
potentially destroy an image
supposedly built around
populism and progressive
politics is to call the other
person who accused you of
possible wrongdoing during a
national hearing intended to
bring peace to a dying nation,
a “pathological liar.”
Mittal
Steel Donation to National Legislature: Ethical Implications
Front
Page Africa (FPA), a US-based Liberian online media outlet
in a September 18, 2008 publication captioned,
Inducement or Generosity? Mittal Steel Donation Ruffling
Feathers in Liberia, reported about an on going
controversy at the Capitol Building, seat of Liberia’s
National Legislature.
Failure
of International Law, and Tyranny at The Security Council
In relation to recent
global events; wars, invasion of countries, conflicts
between states, political scandals and recognition of new
states, there is one phrase that everybody like to use. That
phrase is called international law.
Can
Barrack Obama Ever Be President?
Can Barrack Obama ever
be president of the United States of America? This is a
question I would like to answer with a resounding yes.
However, with the historical realities hanging over the
human race over the past 1500 years, I have my doubts. And
please understand that I am not helping to cost Obama the
White House.
What
is the Value of a Liberian Legislator - A Mitsubishi Pickup?
The present Liberian administration
has in recent times been buffeted on all sides by
allegations of corruption, malfeasance and "crocrogee"
dealings involving some former and current government
higher-ups; and in some instances, trusted associates of the
president.
Russian
Recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia: New Political
Reality
On
August 25, 2008, the Federal Assembly of Russia unanimously
voted to urge President Medvedev to recognize Abkhazia and
South Ossetia as independent states. The following day,
President Medvedev agreed and signed a decree in which
Russia officially recognized the two entities.
The
TRC Comedy Hour Now Playing At a Pavilion Near You In
Monrovia
I
don’t know if I have any
more tears left to cry, or any
reasons to cry, to get angry
or laugh at the mockery and
ubiquitous circus-like TRC
events on display in Monrovia
that parades one monster after
another on the “judgment”
stand in what has become the
most sensational,
publicity-driven stunt and
one-sided non-judicial spectacle
to ever occur in
the history of the Liberian
nation.
Georgia
vs. South Ossetia: From Conflict to War
On
August 8, 2008, South Ossetia attracted the world's
attention when Russian military forces entered Georgian
territory, and seriously interfered in the Georgian-South
Ossetian unresolved conflict. This conflict is well known to
the world, yet, current Russian military intervention helped
amplify the dispute.
"Vote
of No Confidence?" Richard Tolbert Ought to Take His
Arrogance Elsewhere
In the wake of the sudden
suspension of Senator Isaac Nyenabo, President Pro Temporo
of the Liberian Senate for six months, for constantly siding
with President Sirleaf when he should have been trumpeting
the ideas of his hard-line colleagues, the Liberian
Legislature once again showed strength and courage recently
when they declared a ‘vote of no confidence’ in the
leadership of National Investment Commission Chairman
Richard Tolbert, whose naked arrogance and disrespect of the
body led lawmakers to do the unthinkable, unheard of in the
history of the Liberian nation.
We
Cannot Allow Death Penalty to Silence the Past
One of the worst evils
emerging in present day
Liberia
is rampant armed robbery.
The inability of government to create innovate
durable solutions to minimize armed robbery in
Liberia
is threatening the very existence of a peaceful Liberian
society.
"Rename
Stadiums After Wannie Bo Toe and George Oppong Weah,"
The Prejudice in Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh's Commentary
I
just read a Sunday, August 03, 2008 editorial/commentary, by
the editor/publisher of this web magazine“Rename
Soccer Stadiums after Wannie Bo-Toe and George Oppong Weah.”
After a thorough reading, I
have used all of the different critical analyses, including
theories, school of thoughts, such as psychoanalytical,
structuralist and post-structuralist, and Marxist readings.
Rename
Soccer Stadiums After Wannie Bo-Toe and George Oppong Weah
If
one were to take a random poll of soccer enthusiasts in
Monrovia about the most dominant player ever to grace the
Liberian sports scene over the years, probably George "Oppong"
Manneh Weah would be selected unanimously.
Liberian
nominated for European Commission Award
Francis Nyepon, an
environmental-cum-social, economic and political analyst,
and a prolific online media commentator has been nominated
by the European Commission’s Lorenzo Natali Prize for his
stupendous article on poverty reduction in Liberia.
Radovan
Karadzic: One Way Ticket to The Hague
On
21, July 2008, former 1st President of Republika Srpska,
Radovan Karadzic, was arrested in Belgrade by the Serbian
authorities after an alleged tip-off from a foreign
intelligence service. He was a fugitive since 1995 after
having been indicted for war crimes by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
On
Liberian Philosophy - Part I
This article is
an attempt to contribute to how Liberians philosophize.
Liberia has had many of its own people who study Philosophy
as their way of life, or for professional purposes. I am not
one of them. With their knowledge, I have not read any
philosophy books - not just a book that discusses philosophy
as an area of scholarly inquiry - but a philosophy that
helps us live and survive.
Deceptions
of Elections
Election
is a decision-making process in which a population chooses
an individual to hold formal office. This is the usual
mechanism by which modern democracy fills offices in the
legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and
for regional and local government.
Now
That Sudan's Pres. Bashir is Indicted, He Must Be Arrested Immediately
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
is an African despot whose claim to fame is the 1989
Islamic-backed coup he led that overthrew Prime Minister
Sadiq al-Mahdi, the dissolution of political parties, the
introduction of Sharia law opposed by a cross section of his
people in the south, and the terror campaign he allegedly
fueled in Darfur since 2003.
Time
for Accountability: Sudanese Pres. Omar Al-Bashir Up Next
The International Comity of
Nations and the United Nations have increasingly turned the
heat on despots and their machines of war in recent times
and using the International Criminal Court, the ICC and
Interpol to indict some of these war criminals from every
corner of the globe.
Sinoe
County Ass. in the Americas: Convention '08 Should Be About
Financial Accountability, Transparency and Finding Lasting
Peace
In the beginning, there was
one Sinoe County Association in the Americas representing
the people from that part of Liberia residing in the United
States. Years later, it became two associations with
co-presidents, (Elijah Tarpeh and LaVerne Jones-Williams),
and two annual conventions, a result of a bruising and
almost non-stop fight over money, which started many years
ago and continue to this day.
