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Friday, January 21, 2011

- Latest Ghana News of Thursday, 04 March 2010

Flash back! - Latest Ghana News of Thursday, 04 March 2010
Rawlings’ Fans Were Irresponsible…Plan To Raid Again – Kwesi Pratt
* Source: Alex Ofei/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has said that the behavior of the irate NDC youth at the Circuit Court in Accra on Wednesday was irresponsible and must be condemned with all the vehemence that could be found.

According to Kwesi Pratt, it was absolutely unnecessary for the supporters of the ex-President, Jerry Rawlings to have stormed the court to beat up the NPP activist, Nana Darkwah.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Enough of Kwame Nkrumah? REQUEST REFUSED AND RUBBISHED!

Comment on: Enough of Kwame Nkrumah


OFFICE OF THE ODIKRO.
a companion of the black star,

Subject: REQUEST REFUSED AND RUBBISHED!

Dear Mr. George Baah,

I have been instructed by the Odikro to extend to you the Season's greetings!

I have also been instructed to convey to you that you clearly have no idea what you are talking about! I shall make this very short.

You should have done your home work before coming out with such a piece (of nonsense). The reason why we honour Kwame Nkrumah is because of what he represents to us. We do not honour Nkrumah to make him "swollen-headed". The bloke died a long whille ago! We honour Nkrumah to celebrate and define our struggle and to seek inspiration to move on and finish the unfinished business of seeking the political kingdom and making sure that all other things are added unto us!

“We in Africa who are pressing now for unity are deeply conscious of the validity of our purpose. We need the strength of our combined numbers and resources to protect ourselves from the very positive dangers of returning to colonialism in disguised forms. We need it to combat the entrenched forces dividing our continent and still holding back millions of our brothers. We need it to secure total African liberation. We need it to carry forward our construction of a socio-economic system that will support the great mass of our steadily rising population at levels of life which will compare with those in the most advanced countries” - Kwame Nkrumah, "Africa Must Unite!", 1960.

We have a lot of job to do and we need a spiritual and ideological guide to see us through. The honour we do to Nkrumah is for our own benefit, not for Nkrumah, because of what he represents! The very thought that you mention Rawlings and Kufour means thaat you don't even your political left from your political right. Rawlings is a political assassin and an extrajudicial killer who saved his arse from going to prison with entrenched constitutional provisions in the current Fourth Republican Constituion of Ghana. How dare you suggest that we honour such a person?

As for your lizard-eyed Kofi Diawuo, the least said about him, the better. Is not not ironic that our president showed more dilligence in ensuring the interests of his E.O cronies at the contract level, more than even the Republic of Ghana? Was it not Kufour who, according to Asare Ochere-Darko, secretly went into an agreement with the US to establish US Africa Command Headquarters in Ghana? Why does he not go to America to be honoured by his owners? Some slave-masters do that regularly!

The history of the political leadership of this country has virtually been a history of class struggle. It took the formidable personality and stature of Nkrumah to dwarf the well-entrenched colonialist elites like J.B Danquah, Kofi Busia and the rest of them.

The differences between what these figures represent to the poor and the rich of this country is stark clear. Whilst Nkrumah would argue for universal adult suffrage for all the citizens of the Gold Coast to the Coussey Committee, the neocolonialist elites whose pervert desire was simply to establish a class of their own, a colonial reproduction of Master-Servant relations with the rest of the population who happen to be poor, for maximum exploitation for the purposes of private profit.

If Nkrumah had not appeared on the scene, the poor of Ghana could have rightly argued that God really abandoned them in their moment of greatest need!

Thank you very much for your reading the stuff and for informing yourself. And please, do not forget that the human mind is like a parachute, it functions better when it is open.

Take good care of yourself and enjoy your life!

Happy New Year!

I avail myself of this opportunity, to extend to you, on behalf of the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II, the assurances of our highest consideration.

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Sincerely,

Pur'gu Saarpe!
Secretary to the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II,

Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro,
Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com,
Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)
Your Comment

Monday, January 10, 2011

Comment On Ghana and The International Community Over La Cote D'Ivoire

Read Story:

General News of Monday, 10 January 2011
Source: Ghanaian Times

We won't fight in a needless war - Defence Minister

Comment: Re: That is the issue

Author: Office of Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odik
Date: 2011-01-10 06:44:15

OFFICE OF THE ODIKRO.
a companion of the black star,


I have been instructed by the Odikro to extend to you the Season's greetings!

The so-called international community does not look good at all in the Odikro's eyes! The President looks very good in the Odikro's eyes!


Relations With The AU, The UN and The US:

As for the AU and the UN, they are supposed to close ranks with us. We must definitely know a thing or two about this problem than they could ever imagine possible, simply because we are the neighbours! Is it not impertinent on the part of those trying to impose the military option on us, without our input, even though we are going to bear the brunt of such a monstrosity? When the US President, Mr. Barak Obama came to Accra, Ghana, he said:

"It is an honor for me to be in Accra & to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. I am proud that this is my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the US. The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra as well."

- President Barak H. Obama, Parliament House, Accra, July 11, 2009.

Here is an issue over life and death in which we have our own minds. We expect people of goodwill and not shaddy war-mongers to join us in our obvious eagerness to seek a lasting solution to a problem facing a very close and important African sister-country. In the absense of the US consulting us over this and supporting our efforts, the irony here is that the US is supposed to be angry because they wanted Ghana to think very differently about the problem in the Ivory Coast! USAfrica even reports:

"Ghana's president John Mills has expressed his opposition to any military intervention in Ivory Coast, led by the ECOWAS or the international community, seeking to force controversial incumbent Laurent Gbagbo out of office... He stated today January 7, 2011 that: ”I do not think the military operation will bring peace to the nation.” This was a jolt to many of the leaders of the west African regional bloc, ECOWAS and to the expectations of the U.S administration of President Barack Obama. Two days earlier, on January 5, 2011, the U.S Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs Johnnie Carson had called for increased pressure on Gbagbo with a stronger demand for him to leave and making the point it is broad fight by the region for democracy and should not be left as a domestic issue. President Mills is strongly arguing the opposite position — to the surprise of the U.S and the international community (supporting opposition candidate Outtarra against Gbagbo).

Mills who hosted the Obamas on July 11, 2009 in Accra, said today that “It is not for Ghana to choose a leader for Cote D'ivoire. I have spoken to both Ouattarra and Gbagbo and I cannot make it public.”

Diplomats, international security experts and interested parties are wondering: what informed Ghana's blunt and clear position against a forced, military attack against Gbagbo's outgoing, stalemated presidency?'"
- USAfrica, January 7, 2011.

I am sure the leaders of the world, including the ECOWAS are a little bit aware of the geography of West Africa, and have taken sufficient notice of fact that of the only three strong nations capable of mounting a military challenge to the Ivorian Army in West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal, only Ghana is a front-line state. If those who are clamouring for war have any respect for us they would also have come to find out our position on the matter before beating the war drums and taking us for granted.


President Mills is perfectly unassailable here. I command you to beat a retreat before you hurt yourself very badly by exposing your own naivety!

Thank you very much for your reading the stuff and for informing yourself. And please, do not forget that the human mind is like a parachute, it functions better when it is open.

Take good care of yourself and enjoy your life!

Happy New Year!

I avail myself of this opportunity, to extend to you, on behalf of the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II, the assurances of our highest consideration.

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Sincerely,

Pur'gu Saarpe!
Secretary to the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II,

Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro,
Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com,
Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Resisting Neutrality: Cambodia Day 7: The Re-Crucifixion of Christ

Resisting Neutrality: Cambodia Day 7: The Re-Crucifixion of Christ: "Let me preface this post by saying that I respect our guest speaker today for coming and spending time with our class. For all of my experi..."

Comment: Re: UNDERSTANDING MILLS' POSITION


Author:
Office Of Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odik
Date:
2011-01-08 16:26:54
Comment to:
UNDERSTANDING MILLS' POSITION


Read Article

OFFICE OF THE ODIKRO.
a companion of the black star,

My dear Oyokoba,

I have been instructed by the Odikro to extend to you the Season's greetings!

It is painful to see a very intelligent brain hell-bent upon mischief. If the reasons you yourself advanced earlier is enough for you to oppose the war, why should that not necessarily be the case of a peace-loving President, the Asomdweehene himself? Ha?

In the columns section of Ghanaweb General News of Thursday, 30 December 2010 Source: Joy Online, "Ghana opposed to force against Gbagbo", you wrote:

"Comment: I SUPPORT MILLS ON THIS 100%!!!!!

Author: OYOKOBA
Date: 2010-12-30 09:13:32
Comment to: N ON S E N S E

Those clamoring for combined military attack to remove Gbagbo are overlooking a lot of things.

First and foremost the ECOWAS and AU must clearly define and tell the people what "LEGITIMATE FORCE" means. Again they must tell us how and who will bear the blow back costs of such war.

It is very easy for those far removed from the theater of war to say let's attack Ivory Coast and remove one power-addict from power. But look carefully; there are many Gbagbos around Africa. Of the 53 African countries out there, less than 10 have democratically elected presidents. Most of them came by the barrel of gun, have metamorphosed to "civilian" presidents, and the new tact is change their constitutions to remove term limits to stay on for practically life-time. Are we going to attack them too? If not, then why the Ivory Coast? Who is driving this, ourselves or France and the USA? And for what reason, the oil of Ivory Coast?

Again where is the success of the AU and the ECOWAS? Stupid PM of Kenya was the first to call for military strike; however, his country is in a similar situation. He is power sharing with the incumbent why he wouldn’t call for a military strike on his country? Again next door to Kenya is Somalia. What has the AU been able to do in Somalia? Somalia is a failed state and that is exactly what we will get if we make the mistake of invading Ivory Coast. Gbagbo is not without support, he has the massive support of the south and the army. We might ignite genocide and massive bloodshed if we invade Ivory Coast and Ghana will not come off without a scratch, WE WILL BEAR MAJOR SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL COSTS for ourselves and our citizens in the Ivory Coast. Our oil rig and fields will be a fair game for the Ivorian military.

The Americans went into Iraq thinking it will be a piece of cake and they will be greeted with roses; ten years later it has taken a massive toll on their economy and lives running into billions of dollars and still counting. Today Iraq is ethnically and politically divided with no end in sight. Do we want such an outcome on our borders and not expect it will have impact on us?

War is very easy to start, but nobody has a control over how it will end and the shape it will take. The Ivory Coast is divided along ethnic and religious lines, practically down in the middle. Who are we to impose a new balance of power over there? It is not just about Gbagbo. It is the people stupid, and we must look before we jump. Dialogue is the way forward not invasion. Sanctions have been imposed on Gbagbo, why can't we wait to give it chance to work? Why are we rushing to invade the country when we have not even had chance to evaluate how the sanctions will work? France is the one pulling the strings here. They can't wait to get the Ivory Coast under their thumb again like it used to be. In Gbagbo they have run into a real Afrocentric individual who wants to break free from their neo-colonial yoke. This is what all these are about.

France’s failed colonial and post-colonial policies have come home to roost. We should not allow ourselves to be drawn to do somebody's dirty business. Their companies control the Ivory Coast to the hilt and they stand to reap hefty benefits at the outcome.

What is in it for Ghana? That is the question."

NOW COMPARE THIS SENSE WITH THE FOLLOWING NONSENSE:

"Author: OYOKOBA
Date: 2011-01-07 18:51:13
Comment to: THEY ARE "HIGH" ON COCAINE

I have read many of the comments so far offered on Mills' position but none digs deep enough.

I do not support Ghana joining the other Ecowas states to oust Gbagbo either. But the decision points sharply differ from that of President Mills.

I do think President Mills' position goes to the heart of voting irregularities in Africa and yes, Ghana too. Remember the heart of Gbagbo's intransigence is based on his deep belief that votes up north in his country, in the rebel held areas were rigged to favour Allassan Ouattara. Listening to Gbagbo's arguments has eerie resemblance and echo to charges often leveled at votes from NDC's World Bank in the Volta Region. Like the Volta Region the rebel held north of the Ivory Coast voted 96% in favour of Ouattara. In many places the number of votes cast far outweighed the number of voters in the voters register - a clear indication of ballot box stuffing in favour of Ouattara.

It seems to me Atta Mills is frightened by the prospects that the same arguments can be made against his party in the Volta Region. Should he agree to military intervention in the Ivory Coast he might be opening himself up to the same thing should the Volta World Bank "virus" continue to repeat itself.

This is my suspicion, and the reason why Mills is backing away from military intervention in the Ivory Coast. Our democracies are very weak at the foundations and the only way we can improve upon that is adopting high techs to ensure vote tempering do not occur."

President Mills is perfectly unassailable here. I command you to beat a retreat before you hurt yourself very badly by exposing your own naivety!

Thank you very much for your reading the stuff and for informing yourself. And please, do not forget that the human mind is like a parachute, it functions better when it is open.

Take good care of yourself and enjoy your life!

Happy New Year!

I avail myself of this opportunity, to extend to you, on behalf of the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II, the assurances of our highest consideration.

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Sincerely,

Pur'gu Saarpe!
Secretary to the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II,

Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro,
Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com,
Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)

Friday, January 7, 2011

ON THE MILITARY OPTION IN THE IVORY COAST: Comment: Re: MILL IS A ONE TERMER THEN! KONADU FOR 12


Comment: Re: MILL IS A ONE TERMER THEN! KONADU FOR 12

Author: Office of Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odik
Date: 2011-01-07 13:13:41

OFFICE OF THE ODIKRO.
a companion of the black star,

Hi Trueblack,

I have been instructed by the Odikro to extend to you the Season's greetings!

I have also been instructed to convey to you that you clearly have no idea what you are talking about! I shall make this very short.

We can hear your foot steps from afar and see where you are coming from, even before your appearance. That said, I am yet to see this form of cynical opportunism even here on Ghanaweb where we are discussing a simple issue of who must govern a foreign country that happens to be a neighbour. Our president is saying that it is not up to Ghanaians to choose the leader of any country anywhere. This is an extremely wise man!

The problem facing the UN today is that the much-talked about "legitimate force" was vetoed at the UN Security Council by Russia just a few days ago, and so even under International Law, the UN troops can ONLY intervene as an ILLEGITIMATE FORCE OF AGGRESSION AGAINST A MEMBER STATE OF THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION.

Not only that. Every wise person I know is calling for negotiations first, and then perhaps the use of force could be considered if the situation degenerates in order to protect life and property.

The silly calls by Ouatarra to use force to pave the way for his presidency is nothing but what he continued several years ago, to take over the country by means of illegitimate force. Before Ghanaian families begin to lose their fathers, brothers, and sisters in the Ghana Army to bring this man to power, we must also ask some pertinent questions about the role of the French, the Americans and what interests are at stake in all these and are there any explanations from the UN about accusations of voting results exceeding 200,000 votes in voting areas of less than 60,000 registered voters?

How do you accept the authority of the Independent Electoral Commission and refuse to accept the authority of the Constitutional Commission even though they both trace their authority to the same Constitution?

Rumours that someone is a friend of this and that is neither here nor there. When it became obvious that both the Electoral Commissioner and the Prime Minister were friends of the Ouatarra camp, no one complained.

It is not for us to poke our noses in the internal affairs of a sister country simply because the imperialists and their local agents want us to help protect THEIR interests!

We also have our interests! We want peace, security, democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and perhaps heavily subsidised petrol! Other governments are under similar pressures by multinational corporations who are salivating and having sleepless nights about our Light Sweet Crude Oil, the much coveted high quality, low sulphur crude oil!

The reason why you sound so naive must not surprise anyone. That is why you could not win any election and Mills won. That is why Mills is the President and you are not! I would think twice or more, before I personally endorse any of the guys offering themselves to lead the Ivory Coast today. They are certainly not worth it. Gbagbo's attempts to claim some territories in Ghana must not be so soon forgotten by Ghanaians. The same people who were behind him are now shifting their support clearly to Ouatarra. As a Ghanaian this makes me think deeply about its security implications on our new-found oil wells so close to their frontiers.

None of them is even a real friend of Ghana, so why should any Ghanaian die for either of them? We cannot tell Qadaffi he was not elected democratically and so we are not going to do business with them. We also have the fundamental right to follow our own minds and not the minds of the others! The whole world can be wrong and only one person right! It has happened before, several times in history. A quick example is the belief that the Earth was flat!

What is ECOWAS if we cannot speak our own minds? Some of these presidents probably have the list of their opinions e-mailed to them from elsewhere. Must our President necessarily follow whatever they say? "Go to war first, negotiate later!" What kind of nonsense is that?

You can also go to the Ivory Coast with Konadu to try your luck. After all, it is well-known that Ouatarra was a Burkinabe citizen, holding a Burkinabe passport until the age of twenty!

President Mills is perfectly unassailable here. I command you to beat a retreat before you hurt yourself very badly by exposing your own naivety!

Thank you very much for your reading the stuff and for informing yourself. And please, do not forget that the human mind is like a parachute, it functions better when it is open.

Take good care of yourself and enjoy your life!

Happy New Year!

I avail myself of this opportunity, to extend to you, on behalf of the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II, the assurances of our highest consideration.

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Sincerely,

Pur'gu Saarpe!
Secretary to the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II,

Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro,
Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com,
Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Comment: Re: KWASI PRATT

Comment: Re: KWASI PRATT

Author: Office of Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odik
Date: 2011-01-04 19:30:14
Comment to: KWASI PRATT

OFFICE OF THE ODIKRO.
a companion of the black star,

Hello Mike,

I have been instructed by the Odikro to extend to you the Season's greetings!

I have also been instructed to convey to you that you clearly have no idea what you are talking about! I shall make this very short. Please, below, find a statement issued by Mr. Pratt on the increase in fuel prices on the 8th December 2010.

Thank you very much for your reading the stuff and for informing yourself. And please, do not forget that the human mind is like a parachute, it functions better when it is open.

Take good care of yourself and enjoy your life!

Happy New Year!

I avail myself of this opportunity, to extend to you, on behalf of the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II, the assurances of our highest consideration.

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Sincerely,

Pur'gu Saarpe!
Secretary to the Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah II,

Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro,
Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com,
Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)

"STOP THIS NOW!

8th December 2010

The Masses Say No To Fuel Price Increases

By Kwesi Pratt Jnr

Technocrats around the Mills administration are doing irreparable damage to the integrity of the Government and firming up the notion that all Governments are the same.

Perhaps it is not their fault. They simply do not understand the passion and commitment which brought the Government to power.

Their approach to resolving problems is just technical and sometimes surprisingly mathematical.

They have no understanding of the social and political impact of policy.

Is it not surprising that even as the formal debate on the 2011 budget has not began, and just a few weeks to Christmas, these technocrats are all over the place urging the government to increase the price of petroleum products?

Even more surprising is the fact that they are using the same arguments which were used by apologists of the Kufuor administration to justify fuel price increases.

Listen to them; they say that the last time they fixed the price of petroleum products, the world market price of crude oil was US$75 per barrel.

According to them the world market price has now risen to US$85 per barrel.

These technocrats have forgotten that in the days of the Kufuor administration we argued very strongly that increases in the world market price of crude oil should not necessarily affect the ex-pump price of petroleum products in Ghana.

All the big wigs in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the cross party group, the Committee for Joint Action said the quantum of taxes and levies on petroleum products could be varied in order to secure some relief for the consumer.

It is important to state that all crude oil do not attract the same price.

The most expensive crude is the one which is described as “sweet and light”. This according to Mr. Ato Ahwoi is the “Mercedez Benz” of crude oil.

There are other qualities of crude oil which may be described variously using the Ato Ahwoi terminology or lexicon as “Opel”, “Mahindra” “Toyota” and so on.

So when the technocrats talk about an increase in the world market price of crude oil what are they talking about? Is it the “Mercedez Benz” of crude oil or the Mahindra type? In any case which of them does Ghana import?

To use a benchmark price to determine the ex-pump price of petroleum products is to deceive the people of Ghana.

The talk about subsidies on fuel products is ridiculous and must be stopped immediately. How can you be making profit on a product and still be subsidizing it?

In fact at some point in the early 2000s levies and taxes on petroleum products accounted for more than 50 per cent of the ex-pump price.

The point must be made that increases in the price of petroleum products have a direct and rippling effect throughout the economy.

They can lead to higher prices for all goods and services, job loses and stunted economic growth.

Are the technocrats who contributed nothing to the victory of Professor Mills and the NDC taking all of these into account?

Do they care whether Professor Mills wins the 2012 elections or not?

It is important for these technocrats to be creative and stop behaving like they have behaved under all previous administrations like “apampam store” operators.

The business of running a government is not like operating a profit and loss account of some table top business. Have they ever heard about cross subsidization in the economy?

Of course it is easier to collect taxes and levies on petroleum products But it does not alleviate mass suffering.

What happened to all the noise about widening the tax net as a means of generating more revenue? What about the abiding need to cut down on Government expenditure and the engagement of the state in direct productive activity?

If President Mills does not put his foot down, these technocrats will mess his administration up.

Somebody must stop these apolitical technocrats before they mess everybody up." Source: //www.insightnewspaper.com/content/stop-now