Most Liberian experienced yesterday the Town Hall Meeting that NEVER was. Indeed a golden opportunity for genuine dialogue was shamelessly sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
From the initial interviews conducted by the http://www.radiolib.com correspondents, with sections of the "purported" attendees outside of the venue, any reasonable individual could have seen through the veneer that overshadowed President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Town Hall Meeting held yesterday, 05/21/2010 at the Morgan State University in Maryland, USA.
I was shocked to hear a number of the interviewees, including a non-citizen who claimed he was there to SUPPORT the president simply because he has business interest(s) in Liberia. An interviewee referring to himself as a member of the leadership of the shadowy group Liberians for Ellen unknowingly spilled the beans when we mentioned that his group was THERE in their NUMBERS basically as a show of strength and support for their Queen.
Did any of the loud PRAISE SINGERS remember the hardship the ordinary Liberians face on a daily basis ? The extreme lack of the very basics of life? The widespread poverty, lack of sanitation and absence of JUSTICE !
One must give credit to the folks at http://www.radiolib.com for the live stream. It brought to life the callous sycophancy and giant show of shame.
When the reporters entered the building we, the listening audience, were greeted by repeated battle cries and loud praise-singing even before the programm began.
The Unity Party must be very desperate to put up this GIANT show of SHAME so far away from the Homeland. The praise-singers gave ordinary Liberians a realistic taste of what “purchased support” actually is.
If indeed the praises heaped on Ellen, for virtually resuscitating Liberia, were deserved why are thousands of Liberians annually crying for the extension of DED just to remain in the USA ? If conditions are right and the Unity Party is the best thing that happened to Liberia since “palm butter” why the annual pleas to stay here in the USA? Why not go home in our numbers and enjoy the FRUITS of Queen Ellen's work(s) !
This giant show of shame must be roundly condemned by ALL well meaning Liberians. These town Hall Meetings are meant to be a forum for realistic dialogue that are intended to resolve the many problems facing our nation. It was wrong and callous for the Unity Party and her HACKS to hijack this meeting and turn it into a mini political rally.
Except for the lone voice who raised concern regarding the shortcomings judiciary, where Queen Ellen was forced to admit the shortcomings of the judiciary and proclaimed her intention to seek reform that will introduce the “jury system” into the Liberian legal system, this was everything but a Unity party rally - clearly meant as an emotional exercise - for MOST of the praise singers ARE non-voters.
We roundly condemn this show of shame and lay the blame at the feet of overzealous UP partisans who denied Liberians a valuable opportunity for GENUINE dialogue with their leader.
In the cause of the people, the struggle continues.
Benjamin Kofa Fyneah
Gainesville, Florida
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( 2.9 / 14 )Mr Rufus S. Berry II and FrontPage Africa - a brewing conspiracy ?
I do not know if I am the only one to notice this but the tangent where Mr Rufus S. Berry II and FrontPage Africa intersect is becoming more and more apparent and leery.
Ordinary Liberians can try only to decipher if this relationship is based on friendship, family ties, BUSINESS INTERESTS or a representation of a political convergence.
Mr Berry’s article titled “Liberia Needs Fresh Young Leadership in 2011: Two Women that are Right for the Job” was strangely published yesterday, 05/20/2010, simultaneously on the Coalition of Concerned Liberians (CCL) website and the Frontpage Africa website.
To say the least we can all wonder aloud how that piece, clearly lacking substance and depth, was able to breeze through FrontPage’s editorial judgment and got published almost akin to obeying orders from above.
This is NOT a case of conspiracy theory but in politics he who controls the news and other forms of the media to a large extent have significant influence over public perceptions and understanding of the issues at stake.
Mr Berry’s piece could at best be described as either praise-singing, unwarranted canvassing or political cacophony.
This is no attempt to curtail Mr Berry activities - business or otherwise - our collective democratic beliefs guarantee “freedom of association“, but we would ALL appreciate if his apparent distinctive relationship with FrontPage Africa is qualified in the public square.
Until FrontPageAfrica can publicly spell out its relationship with Mr Rufus S. Berry II we all will remain suspect of their “special relationship” - which, for now, is obviously shrouded in DEEP secrecy !
Benjamin Kofa Fyneah
Gainesville, Florida
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( 2.9 / 22 )Charles Brumskine's naked AMBITION
It is apparent that the song birds of the Democratic Alliance (DA er DoA) have become the official ventriloquists of the Liberty party. Their vain and pugnacious rhetoric has all but foul the political air in Liberia! Charles Brumskine must be a very disconcerted man nowadays.
One can only imagine the level of embarrassment he is currently experiencing simply by making the wrong choice. It is obvious that his NAKED ambition and quest for the presidency of Liberia has consumed him. His aspiration has now reached the “be all or end all stage.
Liberians are no more at a loss as to why he opted to align with the DA. This is a movement that is NOT only over exposed but offers nothing of substance politically. Filled to the brim with failed politicians, die-hard communism apologists and so-called modern day reactionaries it is amazing how this bizarre mixture of scoundrels could have suddenly overwhelmed the Liberty Party.
The parrots of the DA have also heralded themselves as a group that is dedicated to the unity of the Liberian opposition parties. What they fail to realized is that mergers are strategic political moves that are based on numerical strength, TANGIBLE resources and future potentials. Not simply bland NOISEMAKING !
Why would ANY politician or political organization in their right mind merge with the DA ? What do they bring to the table ? What are their strengths both numerically and politically? What political capital, if any, do they possess ?
From my stand point I seen nothing that will attract a merger. Perhaps Brumskine's Liberty party plans to take advantage of this vile propaganda vehicle to boost his standing with the Liberian electorate.
What Brumskine failed to realize is that the "larger than life" persona of Dew Mason holds sway over the DA. This failed politician of very questionable character has all but turned this organization into a personification of his ego. His antiquated communist ideology holds sway over it. No wonder the unnecessary and unwarranted belligerence.
During the mid seventies, when Dew Mason and his ilk were in full fervor via their vociferous agitation for so-called change and equality in Liberia, everything and everyone that represented western styled democracy was an anathema. They sought to “overthrow” the system and replace it with a communist-style regime. A negotiated settlement was OFF the table. They had no USE for dialogue and or constructive engagement with their political opponents.
Mr Mason, for your information contemporary politics is NOT a game of death. It is centered around the differences of ideologies. Many ordinary Liberians, alive today, have witness and suffered INCALCULABLY from the mindless violence that befell Liberia as a result of your incendiary agitations.
I do NOT speak for the CDC but I believe it is in their best interest to work with the current government of Liberia with the interest of Liberia being the substratum of that partnership.
Between the CDC and the Unity Party, there exist MARKED political differences regarding the strategies been employed to resolve socio-political and economic issues currently plaguing Liberia. While the Unity party zest for thievery has made her current tenure untenable, an antagonistic and or belligerent stance will do nothing meaningful in terms of finding a solution. This is NOT about the CDC, it is about Liberia.
Mr Brumskine, the “Good Book” says “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you“. You have made your bed, now lie on it in comfort !
Benjamin Kofa Fyneah
Gainesville, Florida
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( 3 / 15 )The Democratic Alliance (DA er DoA) - Seeking relevance at what cost ?
Come to think of it anyone would be hard pressed to find a rightful description that applies to the so-called Democratic Alliance (DA) in its current composition. Is this a political party ? A pressure Group ? An assembly of failed, questionable and corrupt politicians? Or a hydra-headed monster ?
As I ponder the right description for this “motley crue” I am of the opinion that most of its very FEW members are consumed by “delusion of grandeur” and believe that Liberians are still awestruck at the mere mention of their names.
How can a troupe of such questionable characters comprising of the likes of Edwin Snowe and Dew Mason provide any sense of CREDIBLE alternative leadership in contemporary Liberia ? Their checkered antecedents leaves very much to be desired.
Under Edwin Snowe’s leadership LPRC experienced its “dead years”. Marked by zenith ineptitude, corruption and out and out failures. His legacy, though brief, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, left much to be desired and the least said about it will suffice. We can all understand his rush to the university of Liberia to legitimize his status as an “educated man”.
Dew Mason on the other hand is a very despicable individual who was recommended for public sanction by the Liberian TRC for his devious role in the loss of thousands of Liberian lives. He currently showcase himself around the west African coast as a “business man” while his business specialty and acumen remain both shadowy and suspect.
While politics is a game of numbers the DA has found a cunning way to circumvent this reality. Make a lot of insipid noise in the public square, attract attention and hope that you will reap the UNDESERVED benefits of a merger or mergers.
Well, to some extent they have achieved results. Here we have an infantile political institution that mostly exists on paper swallowing up Brumskine’s Liberty Party while daily belching out bellicose rhetoric ! This obviously DOOMED merger, to a large extent, exposed Brumskine’s gullibility and stark immaturity as a leader.
Currently, the DA possesses no structures, no published political agenda, no solid footing on the Liberian political landscape but yet imagines itself as a political force - clearly a farcical institution that operates in an almost illogical fashion.
As the saying goes, EMPTY drums make the most noise. The DA er DOA officials and acolytes are free to continue their riotous noise making. I will always be here to remind them of the fact that they remain a bunch of "EMPTY" drums !
Playing the perfect role of the fetid CADAVERS that they are, the DA is indeed DEAD on ARRIVAL (DoA)!
Benjamin Kofa Fyneah
Gainesville, Florida
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( 3 / 5 )The PRS road show is all but completed. The so-called “high-power” GOL delegation came to the United States armed with a selected batch of power point slides that they hoped could convince Liberians in the Unites States of the sincerity of their desire to really “lift” the Liberian nation.
They, I believe, also deliberately employed a strategy of “two hours lateness” at every venue to limit the question and answer segment. While several attendees raised concerns about the structure of the meetings the GOL is heralding the obvious fiasco as a success.
I fail to see the accomplishment(s) if any of this practical WASTE of time and money.
It is also public record that Finance Minister Agustine Ngafuan cut short his trip to return home to present the budget to the Liberian senate. In the mentioned interview Mr Ngafuan claimed the “president does NOT know I am here”!
For me that raised a lot of questions. Was this trip planned by the fraudulent Sebastian Muah ? How can a very important minister travel out of the country supposedly on a "high-power government delegation without the president’s knowledge ?
How was the trip financed ? From whence did the funding come ? Was it from “over-budgeted” sources within the government ? Someone please clarify.
Benjamin Kofa Fyneah
Gainesville, Florida
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