France Helping the Libyan Rebels?

I was not surprised when i heard that the French Government was actually helping the Libyan rebels by air dropping weapons to them. This has truly brought out the motive of the French and the west in the ongoing conflict in Libya. The Americans are also said to have CIA Operatives on the ground in Libya and they are also helping the rebels with intelligence. Is this not an infringement on the sovereignty of another country? The Libyan people should beware of people who come bearing gifts. They did it to Saddam Hussein for him to fight on their behalf against the Iranians and they later turned against him to accuse him of keeping weapons of mass destruction. Now, we all know why NATO is making sure that Gaddafi leaves Libya by every means possible. Whilst this is going on, innocent civilians are the ones bearing the brunt of the wrongly targeted buildings, and as usual, they will come out and apologise to the families of the bereaved. Why should a country kowtow to the whims and caprices of another country because it has the power to make and unmake the leader of that powerless country? They did it in Afghanistan and later this so called ally turned against them and they branded him a terrorist. Dont be surprised when after the exit of Gaddafi, for some years to come these same weapons that was given to the rebels will be termed as weapons of mass destruction, and whoever will be in power will be called upon to allow the French and other western powers to get access to the sites of these weapons for them to be destroyed. If we can all recall, any country that had western help in overthrowing its leader never enjoy's peace for a long time as those dislodged will not let those in power to rule. They will also use all means possible to make that country ungovernable. The AU is holding a summit in Equatorial Guinea and they have condemned NATO'S military action in Libya, lets wait and see how far that condemnation will go, as usual it will be brushed aside by the western powers.

ICC Arrest Warrant for Gaddafi?

Once again, the International community is doing what it knows best, indicting African leaders and sending them to the ICC.We as Africans will want to know what Gaddafi did that has necessitated this current move by the ICC. Is it true that most of the European countries are not signatories to the ICC Convention? Why is it that most of their leaders are not taken to the ICC when they leave office since they are the ones who sanction most of the wars on the African continent in which innocent women and children are killed unjustly. Why is it that Tony Blair and George Bush be hauled before the ICC to answer charges of committing crimes against humanity. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were created by these western countries in the name of fighting terrorism, but what did we see in the end, innocent civilians always dying and all they could do was just apologize and the families of the victims would just forget about the death of their loved ones. Why cant these leaders also be held accountable for these deaths. Do you remember the over two hundred civilians who were killed by NATO bombs during the war in Yugoslavia. The reason given by NATO was that they mistook the train full of civilians to be carrying soldiers, what a shame. Nobody called for the leaders of NATO to be indicted for any war crime. Time will tell if the Libyan leader will submit himself to such an indictment. It was done to Charles Taylor of Liberia who was betrayed by his own African brothers. Will Gaddafi also face an act of betrayal? It seems the ICC was set up just to try African leaders. When Gaddafi is eventually sent to the ICC, that is if only they will be able to lay their hands on him, because he will not be easily arrested. This is an unfair world. The Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir is also facing a similar indictment, so when will a western country's president would be made to face the ICC?

Ai Weiwei.

What a wonderful world we live in. A sovereign state or nation applies their laws to the letter and the Americans cry foul. What sort of hypocrisy is this? Ai Weiwei admitted that what he did was against the laws of China and he was imprisoned for some time. Why cant the West accept it that way and they keep on trying to impose their type of governance on the Chinese people. The man has been freed together with some of his associates who have all admitted their offenses. The Americans always tout themselves as the bastion of democracy, but what do we see, they detain people in the name of National Security for longer periods and when others do the same thing, they call it a human right abuse. The soldier who allegedly leaked information to wiki leaks is still in detention and his health condition is deteriorating by the day. Is this soldier not allowed to a fair trial. Is he not innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law. We will like to know why he is still being kept in detention. We should live in a world where every country applies its laws as written down in their constitution and not an imposition from another country. The Chinese authorities i know are not moved by the attempts by some western countries to influence their people so as to protest against the government. This they are doing through their various media houses whose names i will not like to mention. They are known all over the world for propagating the west's agenda and they make sure that every news item is moved in a certain direction to project and protect the interest of the west. I think this behavior on the  part of the west stems from the fact that the Chinese economy is growing at a faster pace than the west anticipated, so they have to do everything to make sure that it is truncated. If the west has got anything to think about, they should learn from the Chinese. For now Ai Weiwei is just refusing to be drawn into any unnecessary talk with the media as the will want him to say somethings against the Chinese Government, but i will say to him that no matter what happens to him, his country should come first and not the selfish interest of the so called bastion of democracy. Every country must be allowed to practice the type of governance as prescribed by its people and not a type imposed by another country.

The Abyei Conflict

Once again the whole world is watching as events unfold in the Abyei region in Sudan. Bashir's troops are bent on ensuring that the South does not get access to the region as they are due to be independent in July. More atrocities are being committed there and all that the International community could do is to make statements condemning  the forceful seizure of the region by Sudanese Government troops. What a shame. Why cant concrete action be taken against the Sudanese president so that he withdraws his forces from the region. Women and children are the ones bearing the brunt of the fighting. This is all because it is an oil rich region and Northern Sudan would not like to loose control over that area. Thabo Mbeki is doing his best to mediate between the two parties so as to bring an end to the conflict in Abyei. The people in that region should be given the opportunity to decide whether they will join the South when they eventually gain their independence. This i think will be a fair representation of the rights of the people, but right now, the Sudanese Government has resorted to intimidation just to prevent the people of Abyei from making a choice to join the South. The UN Security Council should take action against the Sudanese president and not just make statements on the conflict in the Abyei region. Both the North and the South should be allowed a fair share of the oil revenue so as to develop their countries. Looking at the Abyei region itself, it lacks good drinking water, electricity, food and other basic social amenities. The African Union must also move quickly to avert a civil war from erupting in the region and if it does the whole of Sudan and most countries around Sudan will face dire consequences. We as Africans should learn to solve our own problems without any help from outside the continent. 

NATO's Apology.

Once again  innocent civilians have been killed in a NATO airstrike in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and all that NATO could do is to render an apology. This has been happening in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan on numerous occassions. Are these also not war crimes? Why dont they indict the NATO commanders and haul them before the ICC? Normaly, children and women are the worst affected when civilian casualties mount in supposed UN sanctioned aggressive force on a sovereign nation. The explanation given was that the weapons system failed to locate or hit the target, what a shame. What happened to intelligence gathering before launching an airstrike just to determine the correct location of a target? We now live in a world where a group of people are so right that they can get away with killing innocent civilians in the name of protecting them, but another group of people do not have the right to fight or kill rebells who are trying to destabilize a country, and these rebells are recognized as the legitimate government by the western powers. Human rights activists all over the world should sit up and condemn this latest airstrike which has killed innocent civilians. What will happen to the families of the dead, nobody cares, i suffice it to say that NATO thinks that the apology is enough and are syaing that it will not happen again.We have heard this mantra several times. But go to Pakistan and you will be shocked at the devastation caused by drones on the civilian population. At times like these, they always have a prepared speech to deliver and they do it with the most solemn voices as usual. There should be an investigation into this and targets must be crosschecked before attacks are launched. My deepest  sympathies go to the families of the innocent civilians who have been unjustly taken off this earth by an unnecessary show of aggression that has no basis.

Africans must reject Gaddafi?

Did i hear Hillary Clinton ask the African Union to reject Gaddafi and sever all diplomatic ties with the Libyan Government headed by Gaddafi? What at all is happening in this our world of  today? I  saw the AU diplomats applauding and smiling. This is a betrayal at the highest level. I dont see this attitude helping promote African Unity. If this request is carried out by the member nations of the African Union, the much touted unity needed to develop the African continent will elude us, and it will take only God's intervention to achieve that. Liberia today annonced that she was recalling her ambassador from Tripoli, very soon other countries will follow suit and the already divided African continent will be fragmented into various blocs. Dont these our leaders see that the west has no good plans for the African continent? They ask us to reject our own brother and we are happy about it and we clap our hands for them. They are using their method of "divide and rule" on us again. What happened to Africans solving their own problems with their own methods, should we wait for an outsider to come and tell us what to do? I am very sad for my continent, oh my Africa, i cry for you, your children are being forced to drink 'dirty water'. In fact, they have no choice as this 'dirty water' is being forced down their throats. We have now gotten to a point where rebells take up arms against a government and they are recognised as the legitimate government. Let me ask, can this happen in the USA and Europe? Germany today took a bold decision to recognise the rebbels as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people. There is this African proverb which says that, 'the child who will not allow the parents to sleep will also not sleep'. Say a prayer for Libya anytime you pray folks.

Post-Gaddafi Libya?

The international coalition have extended their military campaign in Libya for another 90 days. They have tried all options but Gaddafi is not leaving. All his military defences have been crippled and most of his trusted aides have left him. Gaddafi sya he will die in Libya and no where else. The west should be careful of what they are doing in Libya becuase they are creating enemies for themselves. They are now saying that the international community should brace itself for a possible post-Gaddafi Libya. The whole world is watching if after the extension the international coalition will be able to kick out Gaddafi. It will be very embarassing if they are not able to kick Gaddafi out. Mark my words, the rebells will be manipulated by the west, no matter how independent they try to be. More civilians are still being killed in the conflict. It is time we heard the voice of the African Union coming out strongly to condemn the attacks on Libya but they have decided to keep mute and betray their African brother Gaddafi. They were showering praises on him when he used to be the main financier of most of the conferences held by the AU. Gaddafi is facing an imminent departure from his motherland and his peers are looking on unconcerned as if he was never prominent in the affairs of the continent. Libya might just turn into another Iraq or Afghanistan when Gaddafi is forcifully removed from office. This is because his followers will not like to leave without putting up a fight till the last man dies. There is this African proverb that says that 'When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers'. Innocent civilians will face the brunt of both the rebells and remnants of Gaddafi's forces. We are all watching and waiting for what will happen during the 90 days and after that if Libya will come back to being a stable country or left with tribal and ethnic conflicts as it is being done in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Saleh is gone?

What is happening in Yemen has taken a new twist as the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh has been flown out to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment as a result of injuries he suffered when his presidential compound was heavily attacked by local tribesmen and opposition forces. Will he return back to Yemen? I think that will be unlikely. He should have listened to the people when they gave him the opportunity to leave in a dignified manner. After staying in power for more than 30 years what again does he want to achieve? His exit will be exploited by the terrorist organisation Al Qaeda who have Yemen as their main base of planning attacks against the west. Will Saleh's forces turn against him and prevent him from returning back to Yemen or capitulate to the demands of the opposition and the tribesmen who sometime ago were the main backers of Saleh. Yemen was seen as a hotbed of Al Qaeda activities so Saleh was being supported by the Americans to fight the Al Qaeda elements and some successes were achieved. Will the US get another ally in Yemen to fight the terrorists, thats a question that needs a careful analytical answer, because it will be based on who assumes the reigns of power in that country. If care is not taken the gains made by the Yemeni government under Saleh's reign will go down the drain and they will have to start from ground zero. This will be very embarrasing to the US as they have put in a lot of resources both in monetary terms and military hardware. But  Saleh should have left earlier on the moment the protests started. He is likely to be tried for human rights abuses as a lot of the protesters were tortured and killed by his security forces. I hope by now the ICC is drawing up charges against Saleh, it si just a matter of time before these charges will be amde public and they will haul him before the ICC to answer for the atrocities committed during his stay in power. It is now becoming a norm where every leader who does not leave power in a good way is accused of committing crimes against humanity and extradited to the Hague to face criminal charges. So all leadres should make sure that they leave power in a dignified manner. Ali Abdullah Saleh's return to Yemen will not be possible as a result of the wild jubilations going on in Yemen, he should just stay put in Saudi Arabia and keep quiet, that will help him.

World Environment Day

Once again the world is celebrating World Environment Day. But have we been able to keep our envirnment clean and habitable. Big multinational companies still polute the environment without thinking about the repercussions on the human beings and animals living in it. People still dump waste in gutters, mining companies and illegal miners still pollute our water bodies, and toxic fumes are also released into the atmosphere by the big companies. What happened to the Kyoto Protocol? This is being flouted with impunity all over the world. The environment will one day be destroyed and humankind will be left without any natural resources. Our rivers, lakes and streams are fast drying up. The tree population in the world keeps on dwindling by the day as a result of illegal felling and the complicity of politicians. A case in point is the Amazon forest and if care is not taken as the saying goes, 'when the last tree dies the last man dies'. People pollute the environment and they easily get away with it, meanwhile we have laws to regulate their activities. Our politicians only make sure that they benefit from where their interests lie. The sea level keeps on rising by the day as a result of global warming and within a few years to come, most coastal cities will be washed away. When nature decides to take care of itself, humankind will have no answer to its wrath as it will unleash havoc and destruction as a form of punishment for how badly it (nature) has been treated. This will be at a high cost both in human casualties and monetary. We should try our best to prevent the destruction of the environment and preserve it for our own good. The various agencies in charge of the regulation of the environment should sit up and ensure that the right thing is done otherwise disaster will befall humankind.

More Fire Power

Now the international coalition has deployed more fire power against Gaddafi. This has been done in the form of Apache Attack Helicopters. Russia has vehemently criticised this latest move by the international coalition in Libya. Lets ask ourselves. Who is going to pay for the cost being incurred by the international coalition. Last week, i heard the US Defence Secretary say that the war in Libya has so far cost them about $70 million. Dont you think they are going to take the cost of the war back from the Libyan people in the form of oil and other resources in the country? The actions of the rebbells are not reported by the international media, because they are being paid to make sure that they report negative things from the side of the Libyan government. As usual, Gaddafi is still defiant and has resisted every move to have him kicked out. His Oil minister has defected, and i know more of his close allies will leave him very soon, the whole world is watching how the whole drama will end. Why cant the international coalition do the same thing in Yemen and Syria where government forces are openly shooting innocent civilians. Children are being tortured and more human rights abuses are being committed in these two countries but the whole world is behaving as if Yemen and Syria does not exist, what a pity. Is it because there are no oil resources in Yemen and Syria or these governments protect Western interests. The world is gradually turning into an Animal Farm, where some animals are better than others. There is no equality in this world. Who is going to pay for the rebuilding of all the bombed infrastructure in Libya. The African Union must sit up and be pragmatic. Now that the British have deployed their Apache Attack Helicopters, the international coalition is gradually getting involved in ground operations and they know the consequences of that, Afghanistan and Iraq are two examples the Americans have found  difficult to crack as their casualties keep on mounting. 

Money Galore

All African leaders when they assume power promise not to enrich themselves, but what do we see. They later create foreign bank accounts and loot their country's coffers and stash these monies over there. Countries where these monies are stashed are Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Hon Kong and many more. Former presidents such as Gbagbo, Mobutu, Mubarak, Ben Ali, in fact the list is endless. These monies on ly come to the public domain only if these leaders are violently overthrown or when they lose elections and nothing can be done to rig those elections. I keep on asking myself, dont we have banks in Africa, why save all your stolen cash in the foreign countries? This still baffles me and what intrigues me is that, the governments of these foreign countries closely monitor the accounts of these African leaders. The moment they are kicked out of power, and it si found out that these leaders illigally aquired these monies, the accounts are immediately frozen. Mubarak's accounts have been frozen by the Swiss authorities likewise Ben Ali and Gaddafi. The moment Gbagbo refused to leave power, the American government tld him that he could move to any of his 'multiple homes ' in Europe and America. This meant that Gbagbo had properties all over in Europe and America. He also had his private jet grounded by the Swiss authorities. What sort of greediness is this. Whilst most Africans on the continent wallow in poverty, these African leaders dont care a hoot about the suffering masses and they keep on looting state coffers, awarding juicy contracts to their cronies and taking kickbacks. Our educational sysytem on the African continent is nothing good to talk about, poor access to good drinking water, erratic supply of electricity, bad roads yet the natural resources are always arted away to Europe and America. We in Ghana cant even to buy our own chocolate made from our own cocoa. What a pity? We need to change this system, because Africa is the richest continent in terms of natural resources, yet it is the poorest when it comes to infrastructural development and manpower. Everybody graduates from the university and wants to travel to Europe or America for greener pastures. Our African leaders have not hel;ped the continent at all. Lets keep our fingers crossed and believe in God for the best for Africa and its people, because the forces hampering the continent's development are both internal and external, we need a drastic change.

The True Mother of Nursing

Mary Seacole was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1805. Her father was a Scottish army officer and her mother a free black woman who ran a boarding house in Kingston. Mary's mother also treated people who become ill. She was a great believer in the herbal medicines. These medicines were based on the knowledge of slaves brought from Africa. This knowledge was passed on to Mary and later she also become a 'doctress'.

In 1850 Kingston was hit by a cholera epidemic. Mary Seacole, using herbal medicines, played an important role in dealing with this disease. She also dealt successfully with a yellow fever outbreak in Jamaica. Her fame as a medical practitioner grew and she was soon carrying out operations on people suffering from knife and gunshot wounds.

Mary loved travelling and as a young woman visited the Bahamas, Haiti and Cuba. In these countries she collected details of how people used local plants and herbs to treat the sick. On one trip to Panama she helped treat people during another cholera epidemic. Mary carried out an autopsy on one victim and was therefore able to learn even more about the way the disease attacked the body.

In 1853 Russia invaded Turkey. Britain and France, concerned about the growing power of Russia, went to Turkey's aid. This conflict became known as the Crimean War.

Soon after British soldiers arrived in Turkey, they began going down with cholera and malaria. Within a few weeks an estimated 8,000 men were suffering from these two diseases. At the time, disease was a far greater threat to soldiers than was the enemy. In the Crimean War, of the 21,000 soldiers who died, only 3,000 died from injuries received in battle.

When Mary Seacole heard about the cholera epidemic she travelled to London to offer her services to the British Army. There was considerable prejudice against women's involvement in medicine and her offer was rejected. When The Times newspaper publicised the fact that a large number of British soldiers were dying of cholera there was a public outcry, and the government was forced to change its mind. Florence Nightingale, who had little practical experience of cholera, was chosen to take a team of thirty-nine nurses to treat the sick soldiers.

Although Mary Seacole was an expert at dealing with cholera, her application to join Florence Nightingale's team was rejected. Mary, who had become a successful business woman in Jamaica, decided to travel to the Crimea at her own expense. She visited Florence Nightingale at her hospital at Scutari but once again Mary's offer of help was refused.

Unwilling to accept defeat, Mary started up a business called the British Hotel, a few miles from the battlefront. Here she sold food and drink to the British soldiers. With the money she earned from her business Mary was able to finance the medical treatment she gave to the soldiers.

Whereas Florence Nightingale and her nurses were based in a hospital several miles from the front, Mary Seacole treated her patients on the battlefield. On several occasions she was found treating wounded soldiers from both sides while the battle was still going on.

After the war ended in 1856 Mary Seacole returned to England. She hoped to work as a nurse in India but she was unable to raise the necessary funds. Mary Seacole died in London on May 14,1881.

This post is meant to show who the true mother of nursing was and not the well known version that it was Florence Nightingale. I hope the up and coming generation will learn more about the true founders and inventors of certain machines and gadgets. Nursing owes a lot of gratitude to Mary Seacole who pioneered the profession and it has grown into the modern era.