Wednesday 30 June 2010
Tuesday 29 June 2010
HOW GOOD COMMUNAL EUPHORIA TASTES! By CAMERON DUODU
QUOTE: “Uruguay are a good team. But we are good too. We are capable of beating Uruguay. We are ready to live the ultimate dream." UNQUOTE -- Samuel Inkoom
That is the spirit, Sam. The victory over the US has come and gone. Now, our eyes must be on Uruguay.
They are not exactly second-class material. They beat South Korea 2-1,t Mexico 1-0, South Africa 3-0 and drew 0-0 with France.
I sighed after viewing those stats. The only comforting thing to find in them is the victory of Uruguay over South Africa.
Comforting?
Yes, in an ironic sense. That victory will guarantee Ghana a superior vuvuzela-decibel level when we play Uruguay. That is: if anyone can actually distinguish between whom the vuvuzelas are cheering, and whom they are trying to jinx.
It doesn’t really matter. The South Africans will know whom they are supporting. They would know that they are supporting Ghana, even if the Uruguayans had not whupped them 3-0.
Let Ghana beat Uruguay and our name will be written all over South African hearts for ever.
In fact, the process of Ghana becoming an icon in South Africa has already begun. The Washington Post reports that a cartoonist of the Johannesburg Times newspaper, Jerm, has, in tribute to Ghana as the only African country left to try and ensure that Africa stays in the tournament, redrawn Ghana’s flag, replacing the black star in the centre with -- a black map of Africa!
What a brilliant idea -- we are being told through football that indeed, we can be a United States of Africa. It is beautiful: you can see the new flag here on the Internet:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/
Indeed, were Uruguay to be able to drive Africa out of the 2010 World Cup tournament by beating Ghana, Uruguay’s name would become associated with what the South Africans call muti (malignant juju or African magic) for ever.
So a lot hangs on our match with Uruguay. Can home-grown ‘African electronics’, operating on a combined wavelength radiating from west to south on the African continent, outwit its Latin American counterpart -- or rather -- rival? That is the question! You think there are no 'boundaries' in cyberspace? You wait. Pity Okomfo Anokye wasn’t able to resurrect himself before cyberspace was invented!
But not to worry. We have something which wasn’t given to us by metaphysics in any shape or form -- the communal euphoria that our victory over the United States has transmitted into the soul of every Ghanaian alive. Especially the Black Star players.
The ‘viral’ nature that this euphoria has assumed on the Internet is breath-taking. Yet it is not as if we haven’t beaten the US before -- true, we gave them an identical walloping in the 2006 World Cup. But this year’s match had as much drama in it as if it were a contest between an unknown ‘Asteroids Eleven’ and a mystery opponent extruded by the Icelandic Volcano known as Eyjafjallajokull!
One pre-match report, no doubt calculated to strike fear into every Ghanaian, emphasised that “the Americans have come back twice in the tournament, to draw against England and Slovenia, and scored deep into injury time, against Algeria to win their group, ahead of England.” Whereas Ghana had actually been beaten (1-0 by Germany) and had drawn 1-1 with Australia, with its 1-0 victory over Serbia as Ghana's only notable achievement in the tournament.
And yet come the day and what do we see? The stats are shown to be irrelevant. Ghana’s forwards who, in earlier games, had appeared not to know how to shoot, have suddenly found their feet. First, Kevin-Prince Boateng works his solo magic past several Americans, and instead of passing the ball, releases a shot through the legs of the Americans opposing him. And in it goes -- sroh!
Yieeeeeeeeh! We shout loudly enough to burst our lungs.
But then, the Americans equalise with a penalty (which, as usual, creates controversy amongst us, the arm-chair players.) Anyway, they score. It is one-one.
And the feared words come into use again -- what we call “extra time” and the Americans call “overtime”. Oh no! Not penalties? The awesome word hangs over the proceedings like smog over a modern industrial city.
Play goes on. One can sense that this is the stage at which the men are separated from the boys. This is when men die fighting: ‘aduru mmarima wuo so!’ (as the Akans say).
We go forward and go forward. Nothing happens. Every Ghanaian fears the match will end in a penalty shootout, for the Americans match us in every respect, and with our poor shooting record, we aren‘t exactly expecting anything by way of a remarkable strike from one of our forwards. Boateng, our sole cannon-ball-footed genius, goes off injured anyway.
But then, penalty-specialist Asamoah Gyan gets the ball. He is tackled. He nearly falls over, but manages to right himself and stay half-erect. He goes forward, but has clearly lost his balance. However, instead of succumbing to all these assaults, or even waiting to straighten himself up properly, he shoots from his half-dangling position. Not only does he shoot -- the shot that comes from his left foot is a sputnik shot powered by the thrust of a multi-headed rocket. And in it goes -- wroh!
The vuvuzelas beep out. Ghanaians yell, shout and jump. We’ve done it, it seems. YIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Johannesburg goes wild. Accra goes mad. Africa -- the whole of Africa -- cheers and cheers and cheers-- from Cape to Cairo; from Bissau to Mombasa.
But there is one small detail we’ve all overlooked -- we have the clock to worry about. Five minutes to full time. Ohhhh! Go faster, won’t you, you damned clock? We count the seconds. We count the minutes. The Americans are playing their hearts out. And we know they are “come-back” specialists.
But for once, it is us that Lady Luck favours. We hold them off till the referee’s whistle blows full time.
And now, an amazing calm descends on our spirits. We have really done it. We realise the enormity of this event. It is not just a victory. It is a victory that was not expected. And that is why it is so much more sweeter -- if one may invoke poetic licence.
Let me not talk any more, lest I over-brag.
Let the opposition do the talking for me. The New York Times thinks it was the youthfulness of our players that did it for us. Asamoah Gyan’s shot, it said, “was the shot of a younger, stronger, faster man. The shot that finished America and liberated the hope all Africans can share.”
The paper further reported that “In a television studio, the former Liberian striker. George Weah, the only African player ever to win FIFA’s ‘World Player of the Year’ honour, was possibly a shade too excited when he suggested that ‘Ghana is a team that can win this World Cup.’ But Weah always did think the improbable. He once scored a goal for A.C. Milan by dribbling the ball past seven men of Verona in one mazy run. Africans of a free spirit may not know their limitations.”
Well now, suppose I had written that? You see why our elders say that “a good thing sells itself?” If you do it and it is good, even the most unwilling observer will give credit where credit is due.
I like this bit and so I shall repeat it: “Africans of a free spirit may not know their limitations!”
An absolutely profound observation. Didn’t our own Dr Kwegyir Aggrey say something about “nothing but the best” being good enough for Africa?
Asamoah Gyan’s winning goal was not only improbable; it was impossible, as far as his physical situation of the time he shot the ball into the American net was concerned. The shot came from his imagination, which took him back to his childhood, when he used to play on hard, gravelly ground, on which he tried all manner of tricks to make him the envy of all his playmates, and the darling of the watching damsels. It was a “gutter-to-gutter” shot -- you can’t shoot a football in that position if you have never played shabo-shabo or taken part in Saturday morning practice in the dust on the outskirts of Maamobi or Mallam or its equivalent somewhere in rural Ghana. It will be discussed and discussed and imitated and -- bettered!
That is what our foreign coach may not always appreciate. Yes, our boys should be tight in defence and technically proficient in ensuring that we do not allow goals to go in.
But after all, football is a game to be enjoyed. And for it to be properly enjoyed, it must produce spectacular, imaginative goals. I am sure that if Gyan’s goal had not liberated George Weah’s mind, Weah would not have remarked that 'Ghana
can win the World Cup.' And if George Weah had not liberated the mind of the New York Times reporter two or so decades ago, he wouldn’t have taken any notice of what George Weah said, but dismissed it as the hyperbolic rhetoric of an unrealistic political wannabe.
But the guy had seen Weah do the seemingly impossible once. Dribble everyone in his path, from his own side of the pitch, straight on and on and on and on and on -- past seven men till he shot straight into the net and scored.
Yes -- it can be done.
So do it Black Stars.
Do win the World Cup for Africa on African soil.
Go there and get rid of Uruguay. To begin with.
And then we shall see.
Remember -- Ghana did beat the soccer wizards, Brazil in the Under-20 World Cup. It is the youth who grow up to achieve the goals of MEN.
YOU can do it!
So go out there and do it.
THE "NEW" GHANA FLAG!
CAMERON DUODU WRITES: In The World Cup 2010, Ghana was left to carry the host continent, Africa, on her back -- all by herself -- as all the African countries, including the host, South Africa, were eliminated from the tournament. In recognition of Ghana;s heroic effort, the South Africa cartoonist, Jerm, redrew Ghana's flag to reflect this new reality, in the Johannesburg Times newspaper.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/article38818.ece
Tuesday 22 June 2010
GHANA HAS REACHED ITS FOOTBALL MOMENT
By CAMERON DUODU
GHANA beat Serbia 1-0.
Serbia beat Germany 1-0.
Germany beat Australia 4-0.
So, shouldn’t Ghana have beaten Australia? Yet Ghana could only draw 1-1 with them!
And even more troubling, Germany, which had been beaten by Serbia, which, remember, Ghana had beaten, may drive us out of the World Cup on Wednesday -- if they beat us by a good enough margin! I am not going into the mathematics of that, thank you very much.
All that I can say is that we should have beaten Australia well and good and made ourselves absolutely secure.
It is true that you can never play down the chances of any team in the World Cup. I mean -- the World Champions, Italy were shocked to go 1-0 down to
New Zealand -- yes them of the ferocious Rugby “Haka” performance fame -- in the seventh minute of their contest on Sunday 20th June 2010!
Man, I didn’t even know that New Zealanders played football; that is to say, non-Rugby football.
And now they’ve gone into the football quiz books for ever: “Which unfancied football team scored a seventh-minute goal against the World Champions in a World Cup tournament?” Answer: “New Zealand; World Cup South Africa, 20th June 2010, against World Champions Italy.”
No-one will ever ask for the eventual result of that particular match (1-1) in a quiz. It is the shock of the first goal that lingers in the memory.
By the way, I think the most hilarious headline to have come out of the World Cup, so far, was the one from the New York Post, a “newspaper” which, allegedly reporting on the day the USA drew 1-1 with England (13th June 2010) put on its front page in huge letters, white on black, the headline, “USA WINS 1-1”. You can see the front page for yourself at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/gallery/2010/jun/14/world-cup-2020-newspaper
That should impress you about World cup reporting -- unless you speak French -- in which case you will find a collector’s item in the choice words attributed to the French player, Nicolas Anelka, addressed to his coach, Raymond Domenech and splashed in huge letters across the front page of the French sports newspaper, L’Equipe.
Where in the world -- except in the super-charged atmosphere of the World Cup -- would a beautiful player like Anelka summon the anger to let go a tirade in which he told his own coach to go and “sleep with himself“, adding that the coach was the “offspring of a female dog?
The French team think that someone leaked the outburst to the newspaper, and they have been looking for the “traitor”. That’s one other thing: in the World Cup, you have teams, but hardly any team spirit at all.
Yet, in the mean time, in solidarity with the expelled Anelka, all the players refused to alight from their team bus when they got to their training ground on Sunday. Which means they think they were sold to a newspaper by one of their own officials. Usually it is the other way round: players blabber away and officials punish them when they are caught.
Really, what is the world coming to, when officials charged with keeping a tight lid on camp scandals, are those acting as moles for sensation-seeking journalists? In the current frame of mind in the French camp, it would have been a great favour to Ghana if we had been drawn to play them, instead of the Germans, who have, so far, had no scandal to endure. Unless you count the fact that they were beaten by Serbia. (Indeed, Germany and Serbia go a long way together -- read the history of the origins of the First World War here:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm
if you are really interested.)
Ha -- in fact, as we prepare to meet the mighty Germans, things do not look at all good in our own camp. Once again, Sulley Muntari and coach Milovan Rajevac are daggers drawn. What a bore!
According to the sports website, Kickoffghana.com, “Sulley Muntari's World Cup has gone from bad to worse, after he was ordered out of the Ghana camp by Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac.
“The Inter Milan player has cast a gloomy figure throughout Ghana's stay in South Africa, after he lost his regular place in the side, but things came to a head after the Ghana-Australia 1-1 draw on Saturday when Muntari felt he should have had a bigger role.
“KickOffGhana.com understands Rajevac felt insulted by the player's protests and on Sunday night, asked team manager Opoku Afriyie to facilitate his departure from the camp. Ghana Football Association officials, including its president and the Ghana captain, Stephen Appiah, tried to intervene but Rajevac made it clear he cannot work with the player. [The GFA later issued a statement confirming that the altercation had indeed taken place.]
“Muntari stayed over at the Sun City hotel base of the Ghana team on Sunday night, but there was no indication yet if he would have any further part to play in Ghana's campaign.
“Rajevac and Muntari have had a frosty relationship and it all now seems to be coming to a head at this tournament. The mid-fielder was omitted from Ghana's 2010 [African] Nations Cup squad after refusing to meet Rajevac twice during [Rajevac’s] visits to Milan. He was reinstated after apologising to the coach before scoring on his return against Bosnia in a friendly.
“But his problems began again when he asked to be given a separate room during Ghana's friendly against Holland, contrary to the practice in the team; [and then attempted] to seek medical attention [later] without consulting the Ghana medical team, when they arrived in London for a friendly ahead of the World Cup.”
Who leaked to the website, all this inside information about Sulley Muntari? Is it not a cardinal principle that at tournaments, no member of the team -- including officials -- should speak to the media, without being cleared to speak, and also, without being told exactly what to say, by the top officials? If it was Rajevac who spoke to the website, was the Ghana FA’s media spokesman aware that he was talking to the media behind his back?
It is the biggest sign that the coach -- if it was he who talked to the media -- does not know how to keep a team’s morale high when it is taking part in a tournament. If the Ghana FA officials condoned what he did, then they too are gravely at fault. Managing stars is not easy -- they probably wouldn’t be stars if they were docile sheep with no desire to distinguish themselves beyond the supine nature that can be expected of many ordinary individuals.
That sad rumpus aside, many Ghanaians are still calling for Milo’s head, principally because of the way he allowed his emotions to betray him when Ghana beat Serbia 1-0. Publicly brushing away two of his own “comrades” who merely wanted to share with him, their joy at winning, was an insult to the nation that, it is reported, is paying him $40,000 a month and a considerable sum also to his interpreter too. I am not myself worried about the pay, or the origins of the man. After all, there are many great coaches in Britain (for example) and yet they don’t mind hiring foreign coaches and paying them millions.
What is unacceptable is the coach’s apparent inability to empathise with our national enthusiasms. If he is not happy when his boys -- and his co-handlers of the boys -- are happy, then how can he expect to inspire all of them to achieve greater feats? Again, if he dismisses all their own ideas of playing football and imposes only his own, how does he expect to be able to mould them to his way of doing things, in the mere two months or so that the squad is in his hands? A marriage of ideas is surely the best way to go about matters?
When I watch our boys play, and find that their attacking machine is so weak, I simply lose hope. The other day, I was reduced to asking, “Where is Agogo?” until someone pointed out to me that the great, untiring attacker was on the injury list. And the one player who, on a good day, could have brought some vim into our attack, Sulley Muntari, is the one who has turned out to be a disgruntled nut who is too hot to handle, for Rajevac.
It is unfortunate beyond words, that we should be facing a clash of personalities of this sort, in a tournament where, so far, we are the only African side that has secured a victory for itself. Just that little bit more, and we could be in the last sixteen. Not beating an Australian side reduced to ten men was quite simply unforgivable. Rajevac brought on Muntari much too late for him to be able to do anything worthy of note.
Indeed, being an apparently spiteful person, it cannot be ruled out that our coach probably brought him on at that late stage, not in expectation that he would be able to change anything, but to “expose” his weaknesses -- bad temper and insubordination -- for all those who had been clamouring that Sulley should be brought in, to see for themselves. There is no-one in the world who won’t fail if circumstances are created for him to fail. And Sulley Muntari wouldn’t be Sulley Muntari if he just accepted the situation without making his feelings known to all and sundry.
Everything now hangs on how we perform against the Germans. And if the murmurs in the camp prove right, we shall be fighting them -- multi-champions of the world, no less
-- with our hands tied behind our backs.
Nevertheless, never say die….! Ghana Oseeee Yeeeeeei! No matter how hot the gun becomes, it still must be fired from the chest of a MAN!
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Monday 14 June 2010
ghana vs serbia minute-by-minute
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/13/world-cup-2010-serbia-ghana-live
World Cup 2010: deflated Serbia wheel out the excuses after defeat to Ghana - Telegraph
They would wheel out the excuses, wouldn't they?
World Cup 2010: deflated Serbia wheel out the excuses after defeat to Ghana - Telegraph
World Cup 2010: Day three action | Sport | guardian.co.uk
How the Serbian player, Lukovic got his red card
World Cup 2010: Day three action | Sport | guardian.co.uk
World Cup 2010: Day three action | Sport | guardian.co.uk
HOW GHANAIANS IN NEW YORK CELEBRATED OUR VICTORY -- NEW YORK TIMES REPORT
CAMERON DUODU writes: This report is so vivid that it brought tears to my eyes!
World Cup 2010 | Soccer at a Supermarket - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com
World Cup 2010 | Soccer at a Supermarket - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com
Sunday 13 June 2010
preview of the match
RATHER LONG PIECE BUT VERY INFORMATIVE. I DISAGREE WITH HIS SUGGESTION THAT
SULLEY MUNTARI SHOULD BE MARGINALISED, BUT THEN, I WOULD, WOULDN'T I, SINCE I "KNIGHTED" MUNTARI FOR HIS PERFORMANCE IN WORLD CUP 2006 IN GERMANY!! -- CAMERON DUODU
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/artikel.php?ID=184040
Ghana V Serbia: Sammy Bartels examines where the match could be won or lost.
Key Battles
DEFENCE
Zigic v Vorsah
This should be a battle to behold. At 2.02 metres or 6.75 feet tall Nikola Zigic is the tallest player at South Africa 2010. While the former Valencia man may not be the most prolific striker around he certainly has his way of disorganizing opposing defenses with his imposing bulk, taking out up to two defenders at a time. This creates space for his strike partners to utilize. He is the target of crosses swang in by Jovanovic and Krasic, but with and some skills at his feet he would be a handful for the Ghana defence. Vorsah at 6.5 feet is the Black Stars best bet of neutralizing Zigic. The Hoffenheim player has improved tremendously in both his skill and confidence as a stopper. Having sharpened his tackles with his feet for a man of his size he would be the Black Stars most reliable weapon at the rear especially with doubts over Mensah’s fitness.
Mensah v Pantelic
It’s been a season to forget for Mensah and his fitness is still a cause for concern for Ghana. His outing against Holland only exposed his lack of mobility and sharpness while he had very little to do against Latvia. But on his day John Mensah remains one of the best defenders in Africa. Marko Pantellic is not gifted with the pace the Dutch forwards tormented Mensah with however the experienced Ajax Amsterdam player combines a high work rate with predatory instincts. Described as “an intelligent frontrunner capable of bringing his team mates into play and finishing coolly” Mensah would have to be at peak fitness to neutralize the 31 year old.
Paintsil v Jovanovic/Tosic
Paintsil was poor against the Dutch; perhaps vestiges of his long injury lay off this season. There would be very little margin of error however when he comes up against Jovanovc (Antic would go for his experience over Tosic). The Belgian Player of the year in 2007 combines quick creative player with good delivery and goal scoring. His 5 goals in 8 games and several assists in qualifiers for Serbia is glaring testimony of his pervading threat to Ghana from the left. Paintsil has experience on his side in this his second world cup and some eye catching form in England. He would have to disrupt the supply line from Jovanovic and prevent him from even a whiff at the Ghanaian goal area. Thus Paintsil may have to be more cautious in joining the attack in order not to be exposed on the break. Tosic may be introduced in the second half to terrorise the Ghanaian with his pace -- Paintsil muat be up for a full day’s work!
Addy v Krasic
Lee Addy may be preferred to Hans Sarpei, despite only playing once on the left against a Latvia side that hardly tested the Black Stars' defence. The inexperienced youngster gets the nod given Sarpei’s lack of pace vis-Ã -vis the naked threat of Milos Krasic on the right. Krasic comes of a brilliant run up to the Champions league quarter-final with CSK Moscow, where he was second top scorer at the group stages. He set up three goals as Serbia romped to a 5-0 finish against Rumania to clinch South Africa 2010 qualification. Gifted with flight, skill and an accurate right foot, the blonde winger would be one of Serbia’s main threats. With a mere 10 caps Lee Addy is a novice at the biggest stage and probably a risk at left back. But he’s shown
cool-headedness before and would have to close Krasic down with urgency as Zanetti did with Applombe (sic)in the Champions league to snuff out the abundance of chances he creates. Addy would however have to guard against Krasic’s trickery in order to avoid unnecessary bookings or freekicks.
Kingson v Stoijkovic
This is a domestic contest between two Wigan Goalkeepers. Stoijkovic came from sporting Lisbon and pushed Kingson out of Wigan but none was able to displace Chris Kirkland. Serbia have not had much to complain about Stoijkovic. Kingson has, on the other hand, given Ghanaians nervous shocks. Question is which Kingson would turn up between the sticks on Sunday? It could make or unmake the Black Stars.
MIDFIELD
Annan v Stankovic
This is the biggest battle that Ghana’s “Pablo” has faced since breaking into the national team in 2007 and one that could decide who wins this game. With 88 caps, 12 years of international experience and numerous club titles with Lazio and inter Milan, Stankovic is the X factor in the Serbian midfield. When he gets going the 31 year old can undo any team with his intelligent passing, aggressive surges and
long-range shooting. His strikes from the distance and freekicks are no fluke as he’s repeated the dose several times in his illustrious playing spell in Italy. Annan would have to skillfully (with very few fouls) prevent “the Dragon” Stankovic from playing by giving him little space to distribute or shoot. Annan has endeared himself to Ghanaian fans with his no-retreat cover he provides for the backline of the Black Stars. Although Essien’s presence would [have] eased pressure on the diminutive Rosenberg player, if there’s anybody up for this duel it has to be Annan. Annan would have to make his quicker reaction and gait count against the ageing Stankovic. Annan would however require support from likely partner, Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Milijas v Kevin-Prince Boateng
Another Ghanaian experiment would be Boateng’s role alongside Annan in an expected
4-2-3-1 formation by Milovan Rajevac. The Portsmouth man is used to playing in a more advance role behind the lead forwards, but after impressing in his Ghana debut against Latvia, he’s jumped ahead of Derek Boateng as Milo’s preferred choice to step into Michael Essien’s big shoes. He showed appreciable telepathy with Anthony Annan. In Nenas Milijas, Boateng faces the creative play-maker in the Serbian engine room. Together with captain Dejan Stankovic the tall left footer who plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers, [the two] have struck something in the mode of the Essien-Appiah partnership of Germany 2006. Milijas also possesses strike-from-distance, but cannot be described as world class like his decorated partner. Boateng’s grit (not the one on Ballack in the ;British] FA final) must surface against this dangerous left-footer, added to his great technique and passing with an expected link-up with Kwadjo Asamoah in attack, the former German U-21 player should come up tops here.
Ivanovic v Dede
One of the most improved defenders in the world game, Branislav Ivanovic was one of Chelsea’s key fixtures in their run to the league and FA Cup double in [the] 2009/2010 season. FIFA.COM describes him as “an indispensable member of Serbia’s squad”. This is no over-statement, considering his ability to play effectively as both center-back and right-back. It is in the latter role that Radomir Antic is likely to deploy him against Ghana. Dede Ayew has shown enough fight, flight and ability to start on the left for Ghana (ahead of Muntari). The youngster’s maturation process has been phenomenal since his baptism of fire at the CAN 2008. The world under 20 championship announced his coming of age while his role in Ghana’s upset run to the CAN final at Angola 2010 cemented his abilities. He sometimes hangs onto the ball for too long or unleashes wasteful final balls. Dede Ayew is however relentless in going forward, can successfully take on opponents with his deft left foot and has an excellent recovery. Ivanovic wins on experience but Dede’s all action style would ensure the Serbian man of steel’s rigidness may be exposed and perhaps more importantly the Chelsea man would be restricted from bombing forward on the overlap. Dede must show variety in taking on Ivanovic since any predictability would leave him completely outclassed. He must also be given the freedom to switch wings occasionally if he gets too stuck.
Vidic v Gyan
A world class battle awaits us. Vidic would go into Sunday’s game with little training time after recovering from a virus. No doubt one of the best centerbacks if not the best in the world, the man united man is key to keeping out the Black Stars from getting a go. His physical Presence is combined with good ability with his feet and excellent aerial ability. Asamoah faces an uphill task in the aerial battle but the baby jet has sown a keen poacher’s instinct in his lightening quick reactions to opportunities (Ghana- Czech at Germany 2006, Ghana-Nigeria at Angola 2010). The inform striker’s knack to wear down attackers with his body protection of the ball and getting inevitably be fouled may create problems for Vidic whose frustrations with strikers of the sort produced successive red cards against Liverpool courtesy Fernando Torres! This hardly erodes much from a man of the class of Vidic who tips the balance in this duel. That notwithstanding, Vidic, from his “fantastic four” partnership in the Serbia qualification to Germany 2006 to his combination with Ferdinand at Man Utd, thrives on good support which may be lacking in the current Serbian set up. This may be a weakness Ghana can exploit by deploying a supporting forward so Asamoah could play decoy with Vidic and open up the Serbian defence.
Other Duels
Lukovic v Tagoe
Tagoe looks set to replicate role in the qualifiers against Mali and Sudan at the right side of midfield. The Hoffenheim striker is good in the air but his disciplined approach and ability to send in the crosses satisfies Milo more than the flashy Quincy Owusu Abeyie. It may not be his natural position but this system allows “the prince of goals” to join Gyan upfront to cause damage as he did with his flick on than caused Ghana’s solitary goal against Holland. His ability to provide cover for Paintsil would be the main grey area whether he comes up against Aleksandr Lukovic or Aleksandar Kolarov. Abeyie provides a much needed plan B for the Black Stars as a sub with his piercing runs at defenses. Kwadjo Asamoah v Serbian Defence This revelation of a player will mount the biggest stage of his young career when he takes his place in Ghana’s attacking midfield position (the former preserve of Stephen “the Tornado” Appiah). Strong, Skillful, able to split defenses and with feet packed with dynamite for long range shots Kwadjo Asamoah would hold Ghana’s aces at this world cup and especially in the opening game against Serbia. The irrepressible Kwadjo brings the much needed energy that Appiah has since lost and should excel as he alternates battles with Serbian new Boy Neven Subotic and midfielders Nenas Milijas and Dejan Stankovic.
Antic v Rajevac
This is obviously a mismatch on Paper. No doubt Milo would be carrying a lot of admiration for his illustrious colleague but maybe also relishing the prospect of getting one on the experienced Antic to announce his own arrival. Antic’s stints with Barcelona and Real Madrid are a Notorious fact, perhaps more stunning is his double with Athletico Madrid in 1996 at the expense of the two giants. He has certainly transformed the Serbian team with automatic qualification to South Africa 2010. On the other hand Milo’s biggest achievement remains his advance to the second round of the UEFA cup with FC Borat. But at the international level he comes off a surprising run to the final of the African Cup with a weakened Ghana team and a smooth qualifying campaign. Against Antic he must not tweak and more importantly must offer Ghana positive options with his substitutions and tactical shuffles-something he has not always impressed with.
POSTSCRIPT
Ghana’s winning mentality would be key on Sunday. Stunned by stage Fright against Italy four years ago, the approach this time around must be one of no mere also-rans.
I wonder how many goals Ghana can get from set plays! The play of the Black Stars has often unduly been limited to goals from open play. This is not enough. There would be free kicks and of course corner kicks. Are we simply going to do trial and errors? On the other hand we should be on the lookout (more like wary of) for the Serbian set plays, especially freekicks and corners (where Vidic, Ivanovic and Zigic are deadly)
Verdict: Ghana would start as underdogs. A scoring draw looks likely.
SULLEY MUNTARI SHOULD BE MARGINALISED, BUT THEN, I WOULD, WOULDN'T I, SINCE I "KNIGHTED" MUNTARI FOR HIS PERFORMANCE IN WORLD CUP 2006 IN GERMANY!! -- CAMERON DUODU
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/artikel.php?ID=184040
Ghana V Serbia: Sammy Bartels examines where the match could be won or lost.
Key Battles
DEFENCE
Zigic v Vorsah
This should be a battle to behold. At 2.02 metres or 6.75 feet tall Nikola Zigic is the tallest player at South Africa 2010. While the former Valencia man may not be the most prolific striker around he certainly has his way of disorganizing opposing defenses with his imposing bulk, taking out up to two defenders at a time. This creates space for his strike partners to utilize. He is the target of crosses swang in by Jovanovic and Krasic, but with and some skills at his feet he would be a handful for the Ghana defence. Vorsah at 6.5 feet is the Black Stars best bet of neutralizing Zigic. The Hoffenheim player has improved tremendously in both his skill and confidence as a stopper. Having sharpened his tackles with his feet for a man of his size he would be the Black Stars most reliable weapon at the rear especially with doubts over Mensah’s fitness.
Mensah v Pantelic
It’s been a season to forget for Mensah and his fitness is still a cause for concern for Ghana. His outing against Holland only exposed his lack of mobility and sharpness while he had very little to do against Latvia. But on his day John Mensah remains one of the best defenders in Africa. Marko Pantellic is not gifted with the pace the Dutch forwards tormented Mensah with however the experienced Ajax Amsterdam player combines a high work rate with predatory instincts. Described as “an intelligent frontrunner capable of bringing his team mates into play and finishing coolly” Mensah would have to be at peak fitness to neutralize the 31 year old.
Paintsil v Jovanovic/Tosic
Paintsil was poor against the Dutch; perhaps vestiges of his long injury lay off this season. There would be very little margin of error however when he comes up against Jovanovc (Antic would go for his experience over Tosic). The Belgian Player of the year in 2007 combines quick creative player with good delivery and goal scoring. His 5 goals in 8 games and several assists in qualifiers for Serbia is glaring testimony of his pervading threat to Ghana from the left. Paintsil has experience on his side in this his second world cup and some eye catching form in England. He would have to disrupt the supply line from Jovanovic and prevent him from even a whiff at the Ghanaian goal area. Thus Paintsil may have to be more cautious in joining the attack in order not to be exposed on the break. Tosic may be introduced in the second half to terrorise the Ghanaian with his pace -- Paintsil muat be up for a full day’s work!
Addy v Krasic
Lee Addy may be preferred to Hans Sarpei, despite only playing once on the left against a Latvia side that hardly tested the Black Stars' defence. The inexperienced youngster gets the nod given Sarpei’s lack of pace vis-Ã -vis the naked threat of Milos Krasic on the right. Krasic comes of a brilliant run up to the Champions league quarter-final with CSK Moscow, where he was second top scorer at the group stages. He set up three goals as Serbia romped to a 5-0 finish against Rumania to clinch South Africa 2010 qualification. Gifted with flight, skill and an accurate right foot, the blonde winger would be one of Serbia’s main threats. With a mere 10 caps Lee Addy is a novice at the biggest stage and probably a risk at left back. But he’s shown
cool-headedness before and would have to close Krasic down with urgency as Zanetti did with Applombe (sic)in the Champions league to snuff out the abundance of chances he creates. Addy would however have to guard against Krasic’s trickery in order to avoid unnecessary bookings or freekicks.
Kingson v Stoijkovic
This is a domestic contest between two Wigan Goalkeepers. Stoijkovic came from sporting Lisbon and pushed Kingson out of Wigan but none was able to displace Chris Kirkland. Serbia have not had much to complain about Stoijkovic. Kingson has, on the other hand, given Ghanaians nervous shocks. Question is which Kingson would turn up between the sticks on Sunday? It could make or unmake the Black Stars.
MIDFIELD
Annan v Stankovic
This is the biggest battle that Ghana’s “Pablo” has faced since breaking into the national team in 2007 and one that could decide who wins this game. With 88 caps, 12 years of international experience and numerous club titles with Lazio and inter Milan, Stankovic is the X factor in the Serbian midfield. When he gets going the 31 year old can undo any team with his intelligent passing, aggressive surges and
long-range shooting. His strikes from the distance and freekicks are no fluke as he’s repeated the dose several times in his illustrious playing spell in Italy. Annan would have to skillfully (with very few fouls) prevent “the Dragon” Stankovic from playing by giving him little space to distribute or shoot. Annan has endeared himself to Ghanaian fans with his no-retreat cover he provides for the backline of the Black Stars. Although Essien’s presence would [have] eased pressure on the diminutive Rosenberg player, if there’s anybody up for this duel it has to be Annan. Annan would have to make his quicker reaction and gait count against the ageing Stankovic. Annan would however require support from likely partner, Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Milijas v Kevin-Prince Boateng
Another Ghanaian experiment would be Boateng’s role alongside Annan in an expected
4-2-3-1 formation by Milovan Rajevac. The Portsmouth man is used to playing in a more advance role behind the lead forwards, but after impressing in his Ghana debut against Latvia, he’s jumped ahead of Derek Boateng as Milo’s preferred choice to step into Michael Essien’s big shoes. He showed appreciable telepathy with Anthony Annan. In Nenas Milijas, Boateng faces the creative play-maker in the Serbian engine room. Together with captain Dejan Stankovic the tall left footer who plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers, [the two] have struck something in the mode of the Essien-Appiah partnership of Germany 2006. Milijas also possesses strike-from-distance, but cannot be described as world class like his decorated partner. Boateng’s grit (not the one on Ballack in the ;British] FA final) must surface against this dangerous left-footer, added to his great technique and passing with an expected link-up with Kwadjo Asamoah in attack, the former German U-21 player should come up tops here.
Ivanovic v Dede
One of the most improved defenders in the world game, Branislav Ivanovic was one of Chelsea’s key fixtures in their run to the league and FA Cup double in [the] 2009/2010 season. FIFA.COM describes him as “an indispensable member of Serbia’s squad”. This is no over-statement, considering his ability to play effectively as both center-back and right-back. It is in the latter role that Radomir Antic is likely to deploy him against Ghana. Dede Ayew has shown enough fight, flight and ability to start on the left for Ghana (ahead of Muntari). The youngster’s maturation process has been phenomenal since his baptism of fire at the CAN 2008. The world under 20 championship announced his coming of age while his role in Ghana’s upset run to the CAN final at Angola 2010 cemented his abilities. He sometimes hangs onto the ball for too long or unleashes wasteful final balls. Dede Ayew is however relentless in going forward, can successfully take on opponents with his deft left foot and has an excellent recovery. Ivanovic wins on experience but Dede’s all action style would ensure the Serbian man of steel’s rigidness may be exposed and perhaps more importantly the Chelsea man would be restricted from bombing forward on the overlap. Dede must show variety in taking on Ivanovic since any predictability would leave him completely outclassed. He must also be given the freedom to switch wings occasionally if he gets too stuck.
Vidic v Gyan
A world class battle awaits us. Vidic would go into Sunday’s game with little training time after recovering from a virus. No doubt one of the best centerbacks if not the best in the world, the man united man is key to keeping out the Black Stars from getting a go. His physical Presence is combined with good ability with his feet and excellent aerial ability. Asamoah faces an uphill task in the aerial battle but the baby jet has sown a keen poacher’s instinct in his lightening quick reactions to opportunities (Ghana- Czech at Germany 2006, Ghana-Nigeria at Angola 2010). The inform striker’s knack to wear down attackers with his body protection of the ball and getting inevitably be fouled may create problems for Vidic whose frustrations with strikers of the sort produced successive red cards against Liverpool courtesy Fernando Torres! This hardly erodes much from a man of the class of Vidic who tips the balance in this duel. That notwithstanding, Vidic, from his “fantastic four” partnership in the Serbia qualification to Germany 2006 to his combination with Ferdinand at Man Utd, thrives on good support which may be lacking in the current Serbian set up. This may be a weakness Ghana can exploit by deploying a supporting forward so Asamoah could play decoy with Vidic and open up the Serbian defence.
Other Duels
Lukovic v Tagoe
Tagoe looks set to replicate role in the qualifiers against Mali and Sudan at the right side of midfield. The Hoffenheim striker is good in the air but his disciplined approach and ability to send in the crosses satisfies Milo more than the flashy Quincy Owusu Abeyie. It may not be his natural position but this system allows “the prince of goals” to join Gyan upfront to cause damage as he did with his flick on than caused Ghana’s solitary goal against Holland. His ability to provide cover for Paintsil would be the main grey area whether he comes up against Aleksandr Lukovic or Aleksandar Kolarov. Abeyie provides a much needed plan B for the Black Stars as a sub with his piercing runs at defenses. Kwadjo Asamoah v Serbian Defence This revelation of a player will mount the biggest stage of his young career when he takes his place in Ghana’s attacking midfield position (the former preserve of Stephen “the Tornado” Appiah). Strong, Skillful, able to split defenses and with feet packed with dynamite for long range shots Kwadjo Asamoah would hold Ghana’s aces at this world cup and especially in the opening game against Serbia. The irrepressible Kwadjo brings the much needed energy that Appiah has since lost and should excel as he alternates battles with Serbian new Boy Neven Subotic and midfielders Nenas Milijas and Dejan Stankovic.
Antic v Rajevac
This is obviously a mismatch on Paper. No doubt Milo would be carrying a lot of admiration for his illustrious colleague but maybe also relishing the prospect of getting one on the experienced Antic to announce his own arrival. Antic’s stints with Barcelona and Real Madrid are a Notorious fact, perhaps more stunning is his double with Athletico Madrid in 1996 at the expense of the two giants. He has certainly transformed the Serbian team with automatic qualification to South Africa 2010. On the other hand Milo’s biggest achievement remains his advance to the second round of the UEFA cup with FC Borat. But at the international level he comes off a surprising run to the final of the African Cup with a weakened Ghana team and a smooth qualifying campaign. Against Antic he must not tweak and more importantly must offer Ghana positive options with his substitutions and tactical shuffles-something he has not always impressed with.
POSTSCRIPT
Ghana’s winning mentality would be key on Sunday. Stunned by stage Fright against Italy four years ago, the approach this time around must be one of no mere also-rans.
I wonder how many goals Ghana can get from set plays! The play of the Black Stars has often unduly been limited to goals from open play. This is not enough. There would be free kicks and of course corner kicks. Are we simply going to do trial and errors? On the other hand we should be on the lookout (more like wary of) for the Serbian set plays, especially freekicks and corners (where Vidic, Ivanovic and Zigic are deadly)
Verdict: Ghana would start as underdogs. A scoring draw looks likely.
kevin boateng may turn up as good as essien -- milo
World Cup 2010 - Stephen Appiah tips Ghana to be in top form against Serbia
Ghana captain Stephen Appiah insisted his team will be playing the right beat when they begin their World Cup campaign against Serbia at the Loftus Versfeld stadium here on Sunday.
The Ghana players broke into song at the end of their last training session on Saturday ahead of their first Group D clash and Appiah says that’s all part of their preparation as Africans.
“In Africa it’s music that keeps us going. We’re always singing in the bus, that’s our spirit and we always want to keep that spirit alive,” he said.
Appiah played for Ghana in the last World Cup in Germany four years ago but said that this one feels different.
“Let me be honest, I was very, very happy at our first World Cup in Germany but this time I’m excited because we’re playing in Africa,” he said.
“The whole of Africa is watching and hoping that one of the African teams will go far.
“I think it’s a big challenge but our destiny is in our own hands and I’m really happy to be a part of this team. It’s going to be a historic World Cup.”
Appiah’s inclusion might be a surprise for some, though, as he has played only 10 club matches in the last three years.
He admits he may find the going tough early on but said he is ready to play his part.
“Last season I signed a contract with Bologna, I played many practice games and at the end of the season I played twice,” he said.
“I played in friendlies against Holland and Latvia and I thought I would play 90 minutes but I couldn’t and I only played 45 minutes.
“But the coach was happy with that, I’m fit, I’m ready to play, I don’t know if I’ll start but any time the coach calls on me, I’ll be ready.”
Coach Milovan Rajevac said the loss of Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien for the tournament is a big blow for the Ghanaians but he believes German-born Kevin-Prince Boateng, who plays for Portsmouth, is capable of filling his shoes having opted to represent his father’s homeland.
“Mike (Essien) not being with us is truly a great handicap but Kevin has come in as a new player,” he said.
“Certain other players who were injured have also returned and the young players have integrated well.
“He (Boateng) has adjusted well and he might be one of the most intriguing players at the World Cup.”
Appiah agreed that Boateng has fitted in well and said he’s been welcomed with open arms.
“He’s even cracking some jokes in our language, he’s happy in this team but it’s easy to adjust,” he said.
“The unity is there, we love each other and you can’t see any difference between the young players and the senior players, the locals or the ones that play abroad, that’s our secret.”
Comments:
Ghana captain Stephen Appiah insisted his team will be playing the right beat when they begin their World Cup campaign against Serbia at the Loftus Versfeld stadium here on Sunday.
The Ghana players broke into song at the end of their last training session on Saturday ahead of their first Group D clash and Appiah says that’s all part of their preparation as Africans.
“In Africa it’s music that keeps us going. We’re always singing in the bus, that’s our spirit and we always want to keep that spirit alive,” he said.
Appiah played for Ghana in the last World Cup in Germany four years ago but said that this one feels different.
“Let me be honest, I was very, very happy at our first World Cup in Germany but this time I’m excited because we’re playing in Africa,” he said.
“The whole of Africa is watching and hoping that one of the African teams will go far.
“I think it’s a big challenge but our destiny is in our own hands and I’m really happy to be a part of this team. It’s going to be a historic World Cup.”
Appiah’s inclusion might be a surprise for some, though, as he has played only 10 club matches in the last three years.
He admits he may find the going tough early on but said he is ready to play his part.
“Last season I signed a contract with Bologna, I played many practice games and at the end of the season I played twice,” he said.
“I played in friendlies against Holland and Latvia and I thought I would play 90 minutes but I couldn’t and I only played 45 minutes.
“But the coach was happy with that, I’m fit, I’m ready to play, I don’t know if I’ll start but any time the coach calls on me, I’ll be ready.”
Coach Milovan Rajevac said the loss of Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien for the tournament is a big blow for the Ghanaians but he believes German-born Kevin-Prince Boateng, who plays for Portsmouth, is capable of filling his shoes having opted to represent his father’s homeland.
“Mike (Essien) not being with us is truly a great handicap but Kevin has come in as a new player,” he said.
“Certain other players who were injured have also returned and the young players have integrated well.
“He (Boateng) has adjusted well and he might be one of the most intriguing players at the World Cup.”
Appiah agreed that Boateng has fitted in well and said he’s been welcomed with open arms.
“He’s even cracking some jokes in our language, he’s happy in this team but it’s easy to adjust,” he said.
“The unity is there, we love each other and you can’t see any difference between the young players and the senior players, the locals or the ones that play abroad, that’s our secret.”
Comments:
Friday 11 June 2010
Mandela misses Cup opener after relative killed - Africa - msnbc.com
Cameron Duodu writes:
TATA MADIBA,
A million Condolences! Our hearts go to you.
Mandela misses Cup opener after relative killed - Africa - msnbc.com
BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The World Tonight
I SHALL BE ON THIS PROGRAMME TONIGHT! --CAMERON DUODU
You can Listen live
BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The World Tonight
You can Listen live
BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The World Tonight
Thursday 10 June 2010
This attempt to rehabilitate empire is a recipe for conflict | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | The Guardian
Look oh -- the Neocon b/s has reached Britain! If you don't write in to the Guardian to add your voice to the
nay-sayers, don't complain if your kids come back from school and tell you you are a liar because teacher says the British did Africa nothing but good! -- CAMERON DUODU
This attempt to rehabilitate empire is a recipe for conflict | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | The Guardian
nay-sayers, don't complain if your kids come back from school and tell you you are a liar because teacher says the British did Africa nothing but good! -- CAMERON DUODU
This attempt to rehabilitate empire is a recipe for conflict | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | The Guardian
World Cup: South Africa Babes Bare It All | P.M. News Nigeria
"No sex before football," they say. Don they know what a
good ogling can do to a pair o tooball shorts?
Read on:
World Cup: South Africa Babes Bare It All | P.M. News Nigeria
good ogling can do to a pair o tooball shorts?
Read on:
World Cup: South Africa Babes Bare It All | P.M. News Nigeria
WORLD CUP FOOTBALL Q&A FROM BBC
A good discussion, generally. But no-one seems to have absorbed the import of the Ghana victory over the Czechs in 2006. --CAMERON DUODU
BBC - Piers Edwards’s Blog: World Cup Q&A
BBC - Piers Edwards’s Blog: World Cup Q&A
Sex & Alcohol Fueled Brazilian World Cup Victory, Winner Says
Is sex good for football or not? Please put your views in the Comment column below this article. Many thanks.
CAMERON DUODU
Sex & Alcohol Fueled Brazilian World Cup Victory, Winner Says
CAMERON DUODU
Sex & Alcohol Fueled Brazilian World Cup Victory, Winner Says
cocoa prices have hit their highest since 1977 -- FT
Crop failures push cocoa to 33-year peak
By Jack Farchy and Javier Blas in London
Published: June 4 2010 03:00 | Last updated: June 4 2010 03:00
Spot cocoa prices in London yesterday jumped above the £2,500 a tonne level for the first time in more than three decades as a disappointing crop in west Africa left cocoa buyers scrambling to cover their positions.
Liffe July cocoa rose 1.5 per cent to a peak of £2,558 a tonne yesterday, the highest front-month price since November 1977.
The price of the July contract has leapt 15 per cent in the past three weeks.
The second-front month contract, usually seen as the industry benchmark, rose 0.4 per cent to £2,402 a tonne - just below the near- 33-year high of £2,430 that it set in early May.
Traders said that cocoa inventories at exchange-registered warehouses had fallen to very low levels after a poor crop in the Ivory Coast, which accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the world's supplies.
The rally has being exacerbated by technical factors, traders said.
As prices rose, industrial consumers of cocoa, the bean used to make chocolate, bought protection against even higher prices by buying call options, which give the right but not the obligation to purchase the commodity at a predetermined price.
But as the price of the spot contract, which expires on July 15, continued to rise, the banks who sold those call options have been scrambling to hedge themselves by buying futures.
"There is a very large open interest in July call options," a senior cocoa trader explained. "The dealers who sold the options are now rushing for cover, buying futures."
In addition, some cocoa processors have been struggling to roll their hedges from July to the September contract. The processors transform cocoa beans into cocoa butter and liquor, the intermediate materials used to produce chocolate.
But since neither butter nor liquor can be physically delivered to settle the contracts, processors are forced to roll their contracts and settle the price difference.
Usually, the rolling process is an easy affair but it has been complicated by the low stocks and the high volume of options trading.
Beside the technical factors, traders said that supply and demand fundamentals are robust.
Years of poor crops in West Africa have been lifting cocoa prices from a low of less than £600 a tonne in 2000.
In Ivory Coast in particular, the trees are old and disease-prone and industry executives said that, without investment in new trees and fertilisers, production will continue to fall.
Many believe that, as demand for chocolate picks up, cocoa demand will outstrip supply for the fifth successive year in the 2010-11 season, putting further pressure on prices.
Elsewhere in commodities, the gap between the European and US oil benchmarks reopened as the US government reported an increase in inventories at the hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point of the Nymex West Texas Intermediate contract.
Stocks at Cushing rose by 270,000 barrels, reversing the previous week's drawdown, the US Department of Energy said.
But overall, US crude and gasoline stocks fell more than expected last week.
Nymex July WTI rose $1.75 to to $74.61 a barrel, while ICE July Brent advanced $1.66 to $75.41.
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cameron duodu: Ghana News: Accra Mail : Main News Chief of Defense Staff and IGP to appear before Parliament
cameron duodu: Ghana News: Accra Mail : Main News Chief of Defense Staff and IGP to appear before Parliament
See also
http://www.graphicghana.com/news/page.php?news=7926
See also
http://www.graphicghana.com/news/page.php?news=7926
Ghana News: Accra Mail : Main News Chief of Defense Staff and IGP to appear before Parliament
CAMERON DUODU writes:
The military's superiority over the police is a fact. It is because, of course, the military are provided with superior weapons and their training and deployment are all geared towards giving them "a monopoly of power" in society.
So long as there is no "mutiny" in the country, it is only the military administration can, uniquely, stop military harassment of the police and civilians. It can order the MILITARY police to enforce regulations regarding the movement of soldiers, either singly or in groups, both in and out of barracks. And it can strictly enforce discipline by the judicious use of guard-room detentions, followed by serious examination of the causes of detentions, and where necessary, the institution of courts-martial to try offences of indiscipline, as provided by the military's own "orders".
A soldier without the support of the military institution becomes mentally marooned, like a fish out of water. So the institution should use that psychological hold over soldiers to good effect for providing adequate protection to the populace against what the military themselves term "the mad dogs of war". That is what soldiers are, when the military administration refuses to control them, while mindlessly issuing them with superior weapons (over which they have a monopoly.)
Ghana News: Accra Mail : Main News Chief of Defense Staff and IGP to appear before Parliament
Wednesday 9 June 2010
What we learned about World Cup 2010 today | Paul Hayward | Football | The Guardian
CAMERON DUODU writes: The debate on the new ball should have begun a long time ago, so that people's views could have been taken into account before FIFA introduced it. As it is now, here is Gordon Banks, one of the most experienced goalkeepers of the 20th Century, dissing the ball -- only 48 hours before it is due to be kicked in anger. FIFA should learn to anticipate people's reactions to its far-reaching decisions, and make it possible or them to be taken into account. Dictatorship in any shape or form, in a matter affecting millions of people, should be eschewed.
a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jun/09/gordon-banks-world-cup-ball">What we learned about World Cup 2010 today | Paul Hayward | Football | The Guardian
curry chef charged with killing swan
CAMERON DUODU writes: Fair cop! The guy probably comes from a culture in which such a huge bird, which can yield several kilos of meat, might not be spared. And in the wee hours of the morning, the chef's mind did a double-take on him, and he thought he was somewhere else other than the British Isles. Good barrister ought to get him off, on the grounds of -- diminished topographical awareness.(!)
Allvoices.com - External Link
Allvoices.com - External Link
Tuesday 8 June 2010
DAILY MAIL REPORT ON GHANA CAPTAIN STEPHEN APPIAH
According to the London Daily Mail,
QUOTE:****************************
Ghana captain Stephen Appiah’s World Cup will be closely monitored by West Ham and Birmingham now he is a free agent.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a ruling that the 29-year-old midfielder must pay Fenerbahce £1.6million for walking out on his contract after they signed him from Juventus for £6.5m.
********************
QUOTE:****************************
Ghana captain Stephen Appiah’s World Cup will be closely monitored by West Ham and Birmingham now he is a free agent.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a ruling that the 29-year-old midfielder must pay Fenerbahce £1.6million for walking out on his contract after they signed him from Juventus for £6.5m.
********************
Group D: Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia - World Cup, Football - The Independent
The London Independent gives Ghana better odds than Australia, but puts us behind Serbia. It puts Germany out of sight!
Wait till we hit Germany with the "Czech" disease!
Group D: Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia - World Cup, Football - The Independent
Wait till we hit Germany with the "Czech" disease!
Group D: Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia - World Cup, Football - The Independent
why africans love football so much by CAMERON DUODU
There is a joke making the rounds of the Internet.
It shows a pregnant woman lying on a bed in a labour ward, trying to give birth.
The doctor sitting near her is wearing his white overalls. And he is staring at a computer screen. But the screen isn’t showing anything in connection with the woman, or child-birth.
It is logged into Youtube and is showing highlights of a football match. And so engrossing is it that the doctor has completely forgotten where he is or what he is about.
Another doctor comes into the ward to see how the doctor and pregnant patient are getting on. But one glance at the screen and he too is transfixed. The noise brings in the consultant… And other male staff, and so on….
The pregnant woman’s cries of pain are completely drowned by shouts at the players -- and the referee.
The caption to the video is “FOR WOMEN -- PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ATTEMPTING TO ‘BORN’ DURING THE WORLD CUP!”
However grotesque the video’s representation of the situation may be, that is the nature of the madness that is about to take hold of the male half of the world population -- and a few brave members of the opposite sex, too -- as from this coming Friday, 11th of June 2010, when the World Cup will kick off in South Africa with a match between the hosts, Bafana Bafana, and Mexico.
For non-football enthusiasts -- especially women who happen to be married to football ahem -- nuts -- the world as they know it shall cease to exist. Period.
They will be married and yet be single. Their house will cease to have a TV set because the machine in the sitting room will no longer be a TV set but ‘Daddy’s New Girl-Friend’. (I was going to say ‘new wife’, but that might not go down very well with some South African readers.)
The key to Daddy’s New Girl-Fiend’s wardrobe -- the remote control -- will be permanently commandeered by Dad. It were best he had it, for it will be smelly -- covered with kebab sauce, lightly wiped remnants of Macdonald’s giant sandwiches, and pizza and chips, probably dried palm and groundnut soup, as well as droplets of wine, beer and whisky.
To attempt to retrieve the remote control from the Madman’s hands -- even to give it a little antiseptic wipe, especially during a match, when it is needed to replay the replays -- will be construed as a declaration of -- war!
So, Lady-Of-The House, know thee that from 11th June 2010, the fridge will be constantly overfilled with Club and Star beer. And some Guinness, perhaps. If you want cokes and other soft drinks for yourself and the kids, get another fridge. And don’t park it near the old fridge, or that too will be filled with Club, Star and Guinness.
You see, it isn’t only Daddy who has a throat. His friends do too, and this will be the time they will visit interminably, at exactly the right time for pre-match prognoses, post-match analyses and post-analyses peregrinations into yoga-land, jazzmania and -- when you the Lady-of-The-House are safely out of earshot, apuskelekesia. I ain’t translating that o.
Know thee also that thou shalt be the only driver of the kids -- from school to home, at any rate. Tae Kwan Do classes duka (ditto). Ballet classes duka daaya. Piano classes (if applicable) duka. So are swimming and whatever it was that used to take him near to the kids after school, all of which now (in)conveniently happen to take place at a time that coincides with football kick-off times in South Africa.
I am sure you’ve got the picture of how your life is about to end. Hey, don’t listen o, if ‘That Man’ pretends that he is not ‘like other men’. Oboa! Eemaleor! (He's fibbing),
He may do some of the things I have said he won‘t do. But woe unto thee after the World Cup is over! He will have built up a reservoir of resentment housed deeper than the Akosombo Dam’s spillway, and one fine day, when you’re not on your guard, the torrent will burst forth, triggered by some minor squabble -- such as a wrong turning taken on a unfamiliar road -- and drag you all the way to the divorce court.
You see, to a Ghanaian, this World Cup is like no other. It is the second straight time his tiny, beautiful country has qualified to be on the same stage as the giants of the football world.
We had been striving to get there for years -- since the 1960’s in fact -- but we could never make it. Countries like Cameroon and Zaire, whom Ghana preceded into independence and international fame, pipped us to the World Cup, while we, who once beat Blackpool of England 4-0 in its heyday, and drew 3-3 with Real Madrid, with Di Stefano and Puskas playing, and won the Under-17 World Cup on top, could simply not make it.
There is also a second factor: the 2010 World Cup is being held on African soil for the very first time. In South Africa. Yes, the country which was once ruled by a bunch of cruel and brutal white racists, whom our tiny country seriously feared we might have to fight, in order to free our brothers from their grasp. We owe the existence of our Air Force -- and the emergence into our political life of a certain Flight Lieutenant -- to that country, South Africa. So the tournament has a particular resonance with those Ghanaians who know their history.
But above all, know thee that football brings the Ghanaian male, a special type of joy. Every full-blooded Ghanaian boy has a store of stories that explain why Sunday after Sunday, he will go and sit in the hot sun to see 22 men kicking a leather ball about.
The ‘sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the generations!’ says the Bible. Yes -- one of my own sons ran a completely fictitious football league, involving his school and other schools. He invented players and endowed them with special qualities which enabled them to frustrate his own first rate team. Except that he, as the goal-keeper, also frustrated their best goal-scorers.
Hmm, he built the whole structure up, and led it towards a grand final match. By this time, I was so into it that I made the mistake of saying I would like to go and watch the final and lend his team support, and where and when was it being played….?
Another of my sons was so enamoured of the Asante Kotoko goalkeeper, Robert Mensah, that on the day Robert Mensah died, after being stabbed with a knife in a bar-room brawl at Tema, I spent, several hours trying to devise a means of telling him the sad news without breaking his tiny heart. It was so traumatic for us all that up to today, I don’t remember exactly how I managed to deliver the sad, bad news. Yes,I recall telling him the news from the hospital was bad, and then gradually building up to a shake of my head when our eyes met finally.
Many of us also come from a background in which we were obliged to kick stones and pebbles about, whilst trying to turn ofuntum (gum tree) juice and other things into footballs, by trial and error (of which more later). The only refrain our mothers heard, over and over again, whenever they called for us, was “×›k×› b×› b×›×›l!” (he’s gone to play ‘ball’!) No matter whether the ‘ball’ was a only a crafting together of rolled-up ntomago (discarded clothing).
That was why when Ghana qualified for the World Cup 2006 competition, to be held in Germany, I had to pinch myself to believe I was dealing with reality. Of course, I knew that Ghana had been African Champions four times --1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. Even more important, as I have
indicated, Ghana had won the very first FIFA World Under-17 championship, in Italy in 1991 by beating Spain 1-0. And it won again, in Ecuador in 1995, beating the favourites, Brazil, by 3 goals to 2.
Now, I know that Under-17s grow up to be men! So, was there any particular reason why, what boys had done, men could not do? (Okay --I can hear the sarcastic chuckles to the effect that some of our “boys” were already “men”, really -- thanks to forged passports. But I shall let that pass. FIFA accepted them as boys, and boys they were.)
Let's leave conjectures and get back to facts: as I was saying, for most of us boys who lived in a village or even a suburb of Accra or Kumasi,let alone Tamale, getting a real leatheror even hard rubber football to play with was no joke. That is why many of us "made" our own. My age-group, or instance, took a cigarette tin into the bush and tapped the sap out of a gum tree called, as I said before, ofuntum. If you scraped off the bark of this tree, white gum came out of it which congealed into rubber when you boiled it.
It was a godsend -- literally -- and you would then find a round stone or orange and pour the rubber around it in order to shape it into a ball. The results were often pathetic. But so long as it was rubbery enough to bounce up and down, you had got a "ball". And you and your mates would go and find somewhere to kick it about.
Do the David Beckhams of this world know anything about such things? Has Christiaan Ronaldo any experience of how pebbles on the rough ground can tear one’s nails off our while one threw everything into one’s best shot, and give one a wound that had to be tied with a white bandage, and… and … that one bravely -- or stupidly -- continued playing with the wounded foot,in order not to let the side down, until the bandage turned brown, soaked with blood which had dried into an ugly crust, by dust?
We now often see vastly overpaid women in ponytails and beaded hair, on the field, pretending to be men: one small kick and they roll on the ground fifty times. Kai! -- we learnt our fortitude plying our trade with teams whose motto was, “If you miss the ball, don’t miss the man!”
That is why we can win the World Cup. We've bought it already with our blood! But we need to convince ourselves, and so we shall make ourselves inaccessible for one month. Is that too much to ask for? Kill our fantasies and you kill us,ladies. PLEASE!!!
It shows a pregnant woman lying on a bed in a labour ward, trying to give birth.
The doctor sitting near her is wearing his white overalls. And he is staring at a computer screen. But the screen isn’t showing anything in connection with the woman, or child-birth.
It is logged into Youtube and is showing highlights of a football match. And so engrossing is it that the doctor has completely forgotten where he is or what he is about.
Another doctor comes into the ward to see how the doctor and pregnant patient are getting on. But one glance at the screen and he too is transfixed. The noise brings in the consultant… And other male staff, and so on….
The pregnant woman’s cries of pain are completely drowned by shouts at the players -- and the referee.
The caption to the video is “FOR WOMEN -- PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ATTEMPTING TO ‘BORN’ DURING THE WORLD CUP!”
However grotesque the video’s representation of the situation may be, that is the nature of the madness that is about to take hold of the male half of the world population -- and a few brave members of the opposite sex, too -- as from this coming Friday, 11th of June 2010, when the World Cup will kick off in South Africa with a match between the hosts, Bafana Bafana, and Mexico.
For non-football enthusiasts -- especially women who happen to be married to football ahem -- nuts -- the world as they know it shall cease to exist. Period.
They will be married and yet be single. Their house will cease to have a TV set because the machine in the sitting room will no longer be a TV set but ‘Daddy’s New Girl-Friend’. (I was going to say ‘new wife’, but that might not go down very well with some South African readers.)
The key to Daddy’s New Girl-Fiend’s wardrobe -- the remote control -- will be permanently commandeered by Dad. It were best he had it, for it will be smelly -- covered with kebab sauce, lightly wiped remnants of Macdonald’s giant sandwiches, and pizza and chips, probably dried palm and groundnut soup, as well as droplets of wine, beer and whisky.
To attempt to retrieve the remote control from the Madman’s hands -- even to give it a little antiseptic wipe, especially during a match, when it is needed to replay the replays -- will be construed as a declaration of -- war!
So, Lady-Of-The House, know thee that from 11th June 2010, the fridge will be constantly overfilled with Club and Star beer. And some Guinness, perhaps. If you want cokes and other soft drinks for yourself and the kids, get another fridge. And don’t park it near the old fridge, or that too will be filled with Club, Star and Guinness.
You see, it isn’t only Daddy who has a throat. His friends do too, and this will be the time they will visit interminably, at exactly the right time for pre-match prognoses, post-match analyses and post-analyses peregrinations into yoga-land, jazzmania and -- when you the Lady-of-The-House are safely out of earshot, apuskelekesia. I ain’t translating that o.
Know thee also that thou shalt be the only driver of the kids -- from school to home, at any rate. Tae Kwan Do classes duka (ditto). Ballet classes duka daaya. Piano classes (if applicable) duka. So are swimming and whatever it was that used to take him near to the kids after school, all of which now (in)conveniently happen to take place at a time that coincides with football kick-off times in South Africa.
I am sure you’ve got the picture of how your life is about to end. Hey, don’t listen o, if ‘That Man’ pretends that he is not ‘like other men’. Oboa! Eemaleor! (He's fibbing),
He may do some of the things I have said he won‘t do. But woe unto thee after the World Cup is over! He will have built up a reservoir of resentment housed deeper than the Akosombo Dam’s spillway, and one fine day, when you’re not on your guard, the torrent will burst forth, triggered by some minor squabble -- such as a wrong turning taken on a unfamiliar road -- and drag you all the way to the divorce court.
You see, to a Ghanaian, this World Cup is like no other. It is the second straight time his tiny, beautiful country has qualified to be on the same stage as the giants of the football world.
We had been striving to get there for years -- since the 1960’s in fact -- but we could never make it. Countries like Cameroon and Zaire, whom Ghana preceded into independence and international fame, pipped us to the World Cup, while we, who once beat Blackpool of England 4-0 in its heyday, and drew 3-3 with Real Madrid, with Di Stefano and Puskas playing, and won the Under-17 World Cup on top, could simply not make it.
There is also a second factor: the 2010 World Cup is being held on African soil for the very first time. In South Africa. Yes, the country which was once ruled by a bunch of cruel and brutal white racists, whom our tiny country seriously feared we might have to fight, in order to free our brothers from their grasp. We owe the existence of our Air Force -- and the emergence into our political life of a certain Flight Lieutenant -- to that country, South Africa. So the tournament has a particular resonance with those Ghanaians who know their history.
But above all, know thee that football brings the Ghanaian male, a special type of joy. Every full-blooded Ghanaian boy has a store of stories that explain why Sunday after Sunday, he will go and sit in the hot sun to see 22 men kicking a leather ball about.
The ‘sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the generations!’ says the Bible. Yes -- one of my own sons ran a completely fictitious football league, involving his school and other schools. He invented players and endowed them with special qualities which enabled them to frustrate his own first rate team. Except that he, as the goal-keeper, also frustrated their best goal-scorers.
Hmm, he built the whole structure up, and led it towards a grand final match. By this time, I was so into it that I made the mistake of saying I would like to go and watch the final and lend his team support, and where and when was it being played….?
Another of my sons was so enamoured of the Asante Kotoko goalkeeper, Robert Mensah, that on the day Robert Mensah died, after being stabbed with a knife in a bar-room brawl at Tema, I spent, several hours trying to devise a means of telling him the sad news without breaking his tiny heart. It was so traumatic for us all that up to today, I don’t remember exactly how I managed to deliver the sad, bad news. Yes,I recall telling him the news from the hospital was bad, and then gradually building up to a shake of my head when our eyes met finally.
Many of us also come from a background in which we were obliged to kick stones and pebbles about, whilst trying to turn ofuntum (gum tree) juice and other things into footballs, by trial and error (of which more later). The only refrain our mothers heard, over and over again, whenever they called for us, was “×›k×› b×› b×›×›l!” (he’s gone to play ‘ball’!) No matter whether the ‘ball’ was a only a crafting together of rolled-up ntomago (discarded clothing).
That was why when Ghana qualified for the World Cup 2006 competition, to be held in Germany, I had to pinch myself to believe I was dealing with reality. Of course, I knew that Ghana had been African Champions four times --1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. Even more important, as I have
indicated, Ghana had won the very first FIFA World Under-17 championship, in Italy in 1991 by beating Spain 1-0. And it won again, in Ecuador in 1995, beating the favourites, Brazil, by 3 goals to 2.
Now, I know that Under-17s grow up to be men! So, was there any particular reason why, what boys had done, men could not do? (Okay --I can hear the sarcastic chuckles to the effect that some of our “boys” were already “men”, really -- thanks to forged passports. But I shall let that pass. FIFA accepted them as boys, and boys they were.)
Let's leave conjectures and get back to facts: as I was saying, for most of us boys who lived in a village or even a suburb of Accra or Kumasi,let alone Tamale, getting a real leatheror even hard rubber football to play with was no joke. That is why many of us "made" our own. My age-group, or instance, took a cigarette tin into the bush and tapped the sap out of a gum tree called, as I said before, ofuntum. If you scraped off the bark of this tree, white gum came out of it which congealed into rubber when you boiled it.
It was a godsend -- literally -- and you would then find a round stone or orange and pour the rubber around it in order to shape it into a ball. The results were often pathetic. But so long as it was rubbery enough to bounce up and down, you had got a "ball". And you and your mates would go and find somewhere to kick it about.
Do the David Beckhams of this world know anything about such things? Has Christiaan Ronaldo any experience of how pebbles on the rough ground can tear one’s nails off our while one threw everything into one’s best shot, and give one a wound that had to be tied with a white bandage, and… and … that one bravely -- or stupidly -- continued playing with the wounded foot,in order not to let the side down, until the bandage turned brown, soaked with blood which had dried into an ugly crust, by dust?
We now often see vastly overpaid women in ponytails and beaded hair, on the field, pretending to be men: one small kick and they roll on the ground fifty times. Kai! -- we learnt our fortitude plying our trade with teams whose motto was, “If you miss the ball, don’t miss the man!”
That is why we can win the World Cup. We've bought it already with our blood! But we need to convince ourselves, and so we shall make ourselves inaccessible for one month. Is that too much to ask for? Kill our fantasies and you kill us,ladies. PLEASE!!!
Monday 7 June 2010
All the president's emails | World news | The Guardian
Hey Guysl
Barack Obama is publishing his emails! And I mean as of now -- he's not waiting a thousand years after he's passed on! This is truly amazing. Obama anaaaaaaa!
All the president's emails | World news | The Guardian
Barack Obama is publishing his emails! And I mean as of now -- he's not waiting a thousand years after he's passed on! This is truly amazing. Obama anaaaaaaa!
All the president's emails | World news | The Guardian
Fred Hiatt - A modest proposal for Liberia
CAMERON DUODU writes: One wonders what the "anti-aid industry" would have to say about a sensible proposal like this? Just because a lot of the current types of aid IS misconceived, misdirected and badly supervised, it doesn't mean "good aid" is impossible to conceive and implement.
Fred Hiatt - A modest proposal for Liberia
Fred Hiatt - A modest proposal for Liberia
"PROF.OCQUAYE: RAWLINGS IS INCITING THE PEOPLE AGAIST MILLS SO HE CAN STAGE A COUP!
RAWLINGS CAN STAGE A COUP -- THE GHANAIAN CHRONICLE 4 JUNE 2010
Posted by salome on Jun 4, 2010 in News
2nd Deputy Speaker warns
RAWLINGS CAN STAGE A COUP
… Charges Mills to watch him carefully
“I am not happy with the former president [Rawlinjgs] always damning President Mills in public. A lot of the agitations started when he started insulting the President, and started inciting the young ones to rebel against him (President Mills).
Whilst the President was governing, Rawlings was going round the country, and gathering crowds to incite them on him. He did that to Limann, and can repeat the same to Mills. He will undermine the government aaaaaah, till it falls, in order to get nothing but power. Why does he have to do that?”
By: Stephen Odoi-Larbi
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, has warned Ghanaians to be wary of former President Rawlings’ continuous incitement of the youth of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to rebel against President Mills, saying “it has the tendency to destabilise the country,” as it happened during the Third Republic [headed by the late President Hilla Limann].
According to Prof. Oquaye, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, former President Rawlings’ action during the revolutionary days of June 4th and 1981 led to the overthrow of the then President Hilla Limann, a situation, he said, if not checked, could be repeated during President Mills’ era.
“June 4th is used as a destabilising movement today. It is a destabilising movement, because what former President Rawlings is doing now, he has done it before. His actions systematically undermined the Limann government, and led to its eventual fall in 19982.
"They did not want the government to succeed, hence the continuous incitement of the youth to rebel against the sitting president. If Rawlings gets the chance, he will stage a coup again, but I am telling you, he will never succeed, because Ghanaians will rise up against him,” he noted in an interview with The Chronicle in Accra yesterday.
Prof. Oquaye, however, advised President Mills, and all lovers of democracy, not to condone the ideals of Mr. Rawlings in celebrating June 4th in public, since it had the penchant to overthrow governments illegally.
“I don’t want our President to be removed unconstitutionally. Though I want the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to come to power, I will never undermine and betray the Mills’ government illegally.
"President Mills’ government is the will of the people of this country, and we must respect that as such. The business of government is not the business of one person, it is the business of the Republic. Therefore, we must stand up against what Rawlings is doing,” an emotionally charged Prof. Oquaye noted.
Prof. Oquaye expressed worry over the recent outburst of insults by Mr. Rawlings on President Mills in public, and warned, “such actions must be stopped.”
“I am not happy about the former president always damning President Mills in public. A lot of the agitations started when he started insulting the President, and started inciting the young ones to rebel against him (President Mills). Whilst the President was governing, Rawlings was going round the country and gathering crowds to incite them on him.
He did that to Limann, and can repeat same to Mills. He will undermine the government aaaaaah, till it falls, in order to get nothing, but power. Why does he have to do that?” Prof. Oquaye queried.
According to Prof. Oquaye, the actions of Mr. Rawlings point to the fact that he is someone who will “apply democracy and destroy democracy.”
He described the celebration of June 4th as improper, since according to him, the celebrant was someone who was given an indemnity from all the atrocities committed during the revolution days, in order not to inflame passions.
“June 4th was a very unfortunate and traumatic event, if I should say. A lot of people suffered. Later, the very Rawlings and his men asked for indemnity for all their activities during June 4th and 31st December.
"The indemnity provision constitutes one of t
he big issues of controversy in the country, because some people feel that he should not get away with it. Nevertheless, we all gave them the indemnity, in order to let sleeping dogs lie,” Prof. Oquaye stated.
Rawlings’ Indemnity
He added, “We gave indemnity to Rawlings so that we forget, forgive, and we go on with the future and think of the safety of our women when they are going to give birth; the health of our mothers; how to make the best of our oil revenue; how to feed our children when they go to school. Not always ‘yie yie’.
Not that it was good, because if it was good, then we don’t need any forgiveness. If someone charges you for court, you go and justify yourself there. Because they, themselves, know they cannot justify themselves there, they know they have done some wrong, that is why they asked for indemnity.”
The former High Commissioner to India, however, was astonished that in spite of the indemnity given to Mr. Rawlings, he has turned around to celebrate June 4th, an event, which according to him, led to the fall of the Third Republic.
“Ghana graciously gave you the indemnity so that sleeping dogs will lie, and now you’ve turned round to celebrate it with pomp and majesty in public, to the annoyance and chagrin of other members of society who feel the pains of the event.
Is it fair, is it justice, does it bring reconciliation, does it bring peace in the country? Prof. Oquaye queried.
Speaking with passion, Prof. Oquaye wondered what the situation would be, if one day the “sons of the Fellis, Afrifas, Odartey Wellingtons, the sons of one major who was coming from the mountains and who was taken to BNI and got lost, ‘besi nne’, no one has seen him, as well as Mr. Asiedu and Mr. Siaw, stand up and demonstrate against June 4th celebrations,” and however warned Mr. Rawlings about celebrating the event.
“I want to advise and warn Rawlings that he hasn’t got the monopoly of boldness, of TAKASHIEISM, if he will not ever, ever, learn, then he better stop. Because, someday, the Odartey Wellington’s and other children are also going to get up and confront them, and there will be bloodshed that he likes in this country, but we don’t like.”
He also recommended to the Constitutional Review Committee, and Parliament of Ghana, as well as opinion leaders, to ensure that coup makers were not given the right to celebrate that particular event in public, after having been granted indemnity, since it would be offensive to some people.
“Whether it is 24th February, Acheampong coup, or Rawlings coup, nobody in a constitutional order should be allowed to celebrate a coup in public. It should be abolished,” he noted.
Posted by salome on Jun 4, 2010 in News
2nd Deputy Speaker warns
RAWLINGS CAN STAGE A COUP
… Charges Mills to watch him carefully
“I am not happy with the former president [Rawlinjgs] always damning President Mills in public. A lot of the agitations started when he started insulting the President, and started inciting the young ones to rebel against him (President Mills).
Whilst the President was governing, Rawlings was going round the country, and gathering crowds to incite them on him. He did that to Limann, and can repeat the same to Mills. He will undermine the government aaaaaah, till it falls, in order to get nothing but power. Why does he have to do that?”
By: Stephen Odoi-Larbi
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, has warned Ghanaians to be wary of former President Rawlings’ continuous incitement of the youth of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to rebel against President Mills, saying “it has the tendency to destabilise the country,” as it happened during the Third Republic [headed by the late President Hilla Limann].
According to Prof. Oquaye, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, former President Rawlings’ action during the revolutionary days of June 4th and 1981 led to the overthrow of the then President Hilla Limann, a situation, he said, if not checked, could be repeated during President Mills’ era.
“June 4th is used as a destabilising movement today. It is a destabilising movement, because what former President Rawlings is doing now, he has done it before. His actions systematically undermined the Limann government, and led to its eventual fall in 19982.
"They did not want the government to succeed, hence the continuous incitement of the youth to rebel against the sitting president. If Rawlings gets the chance, he will stage a coup again, but I am telling you, he will never succeed, because Ghanaians will rise up against him,” he noted in an interview with The Chronicle in Accra yesterday.
Prof. Oquaye, however, advised President Mills, and all lovers of democracy, not to condone the ideals of Mr. Rawlings in celebrating June 4th in public, since it had the penchant to overthrow governments illegally.
“I don’t want our President to be removed unconstitutionally. Though I want the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to come to power, I will never undermine and betray the Mills’ government illegally.
"President Mills’ government is the will of the people of this country, and we must respect that as such. The business of government is not the business of one person, it is the business of the Republic. Therefore, we must stand up against what Rawlings is doing,” an emotionally charged Prof. Oquaye noted.
Prof. Oquaye expressed worry over the recent outburst of insults by Mr. Rawlings on President Mills in public, and warned, “such actions must be stopped.”
“I am not happy about the former president always damning President Mills in public. A lot of the agitations started when he started insulting the President, and started inciting the young ones to rebel against him (President Mills). Whilst the President was governing, Rawlings was going round the country and gathering crowds to incite them on him.
He did that to Limann, and can repeat same to Mills. He will undermine the government aaaaaah, till it falls, in order to get nothing, but power. Why does he have to do that?” Prof. Oquaye queried.
According to Prof. Oquaye, the actions of Mr. Rawlings point to the fact that he is someone who will “apply democracy and destroy democracy.”
He described the celebration of June 4th as improper, since according to him, the celebrant was someone who was given an indemnity from all the atrocities committed during the revolution days, in order not to inflame passions.
“June 4th was a very unfortunate and traumatic event, if I should say. A lot of people suffered. Later, the very Rawlings and his men asked for indemnity for all their activities during June 4th and 31st December.
"The indemnity provision constitutes one of t
he big issues of controversy in the country, because some people feel that he should not get away with it. Nevertheless, we all gave them the indemnity, in order to let sleeping dogs lie,” Prof. Oquaye stated.
Rawlings’ Indemnity
He added, “We gave indemnity to Rawlings so that we forget, forgive, and we go on with the future and think of the safety of our women when they are going to give birth; the health of our mothers; how to make the best of our oil revenue; how to feed our children when they go to school. Not always ‘yie yie’.
Not that it was good, because if it was good, then we don’t need any forgiveness. If someone charges you for court, you go and justify yourself there. Because they, themselves, know they cannot justify themselves there, they know they have done some wrong, that is why they asked for indemnity.”
The former High Commissioner to India, however, was astonished that in spite of the indemnity given to Mr. Rawlings, he has turned around to celebrate June 4th, an event, which according to him, led to the fall of the Third Republic.
“Ghana graciously gave you the indemnity so that sleeping dogs will lie, and now you’ve turned round to celebrate it with pomp and majesty in public, to the annoyance and chagrin of other members of society who feel the pains of the event.
Is it fair, is it justice, does it bring reconciliation, does it bring peace in the country? Prof. Oquaye queried.
Speaking with passion, Prof. Oquaye wondered what the situation would be, if one day the “sons of the Fellis, Afrifas, Odartey Wellingtons, the sons of one major who was coming from the mountains and who was taken to BNI and got lost, ‘besi nne’, no one has seen him, as well as Mr. Asiedu and Mr. Siaw, stand up and demonstrate against June 4th celebrations,” and however warned Mr. Rawlings about celebrating the event.
“I want to advise and warn Rawlings that he hasn’t got the monopoly of boldness, of TAKASHIEISM, if he will not ever, ever, learn, then he better stop. Because, someday, the Odartey Wellington’s and other children are also going to get up and confront them, and there will be bloodshed that he likes in this country, but we don’t like.”
He also recommended to the Constitutional Review Committee, and Parliament of Ghana, as well as opinion leaders, to ensure that coup makers were not given the right to celebrate that particular event in public, after having been granted indemnity, since it would be offensive to some people.
“Whether it is 24th February, Acheampong coup, or Rawlings coup, nobody in a constitutional order should be allowed to celebrate a coup in public. It should be abolished,” he noted.
15 injured in stampede at Johannesburg stadium | World news | The Guardian
CAMERON DUODU writes: decisions, decisions, decisions -- why go and play what was basically an "opening" World Cup match, with no entrance fee,in a stadium that canonly seat 12,000? Shouldn't these World Cup officials be consulting a little bit wider about some of their decisions that affect the public welfare? Football officials have always insisted that sporting matters should be left to them. But history shows that football is too important to be let to football officials alone.
15 injured in stampede at Johannesburg stadium | World news | The Guardian
15 injured in stampede at Johannesburg stadium | World news | The Guardian
The Associated Press: Obamas attend Ford's Theatre gala
CAMERON DUODU writes: Once again, Desmond Tutu speaks the truth to power -- by mentioning the Gaza atrocity in the hearing of the President of the United States, a country that bears almost as much responsibility for Israeli arrogance in the world, as Israel herself. Kudos to Tutu.
The Associated Press: Obamas attend Ford's Theatre gala
The Associated Press: Obamas attend Ford's Theatre gala
Sunday 6 June 2010
Ghana World Cup Team Blog - African Cup of Nations - World Cup 2010
Not too long a video, but the goal is there all right.--CD
Ghana World Cup Team Blog - African Cup of Nations - World Cup 2010
Ghana World Cup Team Blog - African Cup of Nations - World Cup 2010
After the flotilla attack, it's time for a new, kinder Israeli narrative
CAMERON DUODU writes: Below is an article by a former US Ambassador to Israel.
And it shows that the author is worried about the current position of Israel vis-a-vis its attacks on protesters in ships -- not because it is WRONG, PERIOD -- but because of the "un-empathetic" way in which Israel states its case and answers its critics. This, basically, is the official US line of the whole Gaza blockade saga i.e. Israel is making it difficult to support Israel openly! Snake oil of the best kind.
After the flotilla attack, it's time for a new, kinder Israeli narrative
And it shows that the author is worried about the current position of Israel vis-a-vis its attacks on protesters in ships -- not because it is WRONG, PERIOD -- but because of the "un-empathetic" way in which Israel states its case and answers its critics. This, basically, is the official US line of the whole Gaza blockade saga i.e. Israel is making it difficult to support Israel openly! Snake oil of the best kind.
After the flotilla attack, it's time for a new, kinder Israeli narrative
Jim Hoagland - Ex-president de Klerk teaches the inspiration of South Africa
Ex-President F W De Klerk of South Africa is not taken much notice of, these days. But He is an enormously important historical figures -- as Jim Hoagland of the Washington Post discovered recently in a chat with the ex-President. This one is worth filing to fill in a dew gaps in our knowledge of the processes that led to a Free South Africa -- CAMERON DUODU
Jim Hoagland - Ex-president de Klerk teaches the inspiration of South Africa
Jim Hoagland - Ex-president de Klerk teaches the inspiration of South Africa
Hit-hungry Hollywood gambles on litany of 'romaction' flicks
WHAT HAPPENS OFF-SCREEN WHEN A ROMANTIC MOVIE IS BEING SHOT? EVER SINCE ERROL FLYNN BEDDED -- OR DID NOT BED -- OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND IN The Adventures of Robin Hood and the amazing Swedish beauty, Viveca Lindfors, in The Adventures of Don Juan, there has been speculation about what happens between leading men and their co-stars offset during shooting.
What is the truth?
Who anything knows who only reads The National Enquirer?
Now, the mighty Washington Post itself has weighed in!
Maybe we shall know the truth at last? Don't bet on it! One reporter's 'facts' are as gossipy as another's. Take your pick. Really. -- CAMERON DUODU
Hit-hungry Hollywood gambles on litany of 'romaction' flicks
What is the truth?
Who anything knows who only reads The National Enquirer?
Now, the mighty Washington Post itself has weighed in!
Maybe we shall know the truth at last? Don't bet on it! One reporter's 'facts' are as gossipy as another's. Take your pick. Really. -- CAMERON DUODU
Hit-hungry Hollywood gambles on litany of 'romaction' flicks
World Cup ready to open in South Africa and vuvuzelas will make plenty of noise
Horns are seen at football pitches all over Africa. But nowhere else are they as long -- and noisy -- as in South Africa.
So, if you're going to the World Cup, and especially, if you intend to watch a match involving the home team, "Bafana Bafana", first get thee to a Formula One motor-racing circuit, and procure for yourself -- a pair of earplugs. Otherwise, you'll probably come back stone-deaf! You have been warned! -- CAMERON DUODU
World Cup ready to open in South Africa and vuvuzelas will make plenty of noise
the Guardian
WALTER CARRINGTON was US Ambassador to Nigeria during some of its most difficult years. Here, he offers his views to the Lagos Guardian about WHY AN OBAMA CANNOT RISE IN NIGERIA. It is a question of role models for the youth, he says. It is a very thoughtful interview, and -- of course -- very controversial. Please do not fail to give your views in the COMMENT SECTION (below) after you read the article. --- CAMERON DUODU
the Guardian
the Guardian
Daily Nation:�- Politics�|How President Kenyatta used British intelligence to spy on his VP Odinga
CAMERON DUODU writes: When Britain was "leading" Kenya to independence, after the terrible 'Mau Mau' war, it was assumed that it was doing so with an even hand, allowing the Kenyans to settle their internal politics by themselves.
But they were not. They were using their intelligence services -- MI5 in particular -- to spy on some Kenya politicians and providing the information obtained, to their rivals and even selected individuals within their own parties. When African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, denounced "neo-colonialism" in some of the mewly-independent African countries, some assumed that they were being over-dramatic or imagining things.
IN this report by THE SUNDAY NATION of Kenya, we get a first-hand account of how neo-colonialism-by-intelligence operated in one African country, Kenya.There is no need or me to tell the reader to extrapolate the Kenya situation to other African countries.
Daily Nation:�- Politics�|How President Kenyatta used British intelligence to spy on his VP Odinga
But they were not. They were using their intelligence services -- MI5 in particular -- to spy on some Kenya politicians and providing the information obtained, to their rivals and even selected individuals within their own parties. When African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, denounced "neo-colonialism" in some of the mewly-independent African countries, some assumed that they were being over-dramatic or imagining things.
IN this report by THE SUNDAY NATION of Kenya, we get a first-hand account of how neo-colonialism-by-intelligence operated in one African country, Kenya.There is no need or me to tell the reader to extrapolate the Kenya situation to other African countries.
Daily Nation:�- Politics�|How President Kenyatta used British intelligence to spy on his VP Odinga
Saturday 5 June 2010
Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range | World news | The Guardian
Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range | World news | The Guardian
KANTARAKAMARA WRITES:
The pretence by Western journalists that Israel -- and its backer, the United States -- are interested in a "negotiated settlement" with the Palestinians is so utterly disgraceful.
We all know it's a joke. Only one thing can change the situation: that a majority of Israelis wake up to the harm that their conservative government is doing to their country's image in the world, and throw it out.
The Palestinians may be weak today. But they won't be weak for ever. If Israel continues to be as intransigent as it is today, and shows the world an 'in-your-face' arrogance all the time, because of its undoubted strength, it is creating a scenario for doom for Israeli citizens of tomorrow. Remember the innocent Israeli athletes who were murdered in cold blood at the Munich Olympics, due to the immense hatred built up against Israel. Once you live in the world, you can't just ignore everyone else and tell them to "go hang".
KANTARAKAMARA WRITES:
The pretence by Western journalists that Israel -- and its backer, the United States -- are interested in a "negotiated settlement" with the Palestinians is so utterly disgraceful.
We all know it's a joke. Only one thing can change the situation: that a majority of Israelis wake up to the harm that their conservative government is doing to their country's image in the world, and throw it out.
The Palestinians may be weak today. But they won't be weak for ever. If Israel continues to be as intransigent as it is today, and shows the world an 'in-your-face' arrogance all the time, because of its undoubted strength, it is creating a scenario for doom for Israeli citizens of tomorrow. Remember the innocent Israeli athletes who were murdered in cold blood at the Munich Olympics, due to the immense hatred built up against Israel. Once you live in the world, you can't just ignore everyone else and tell them to "go hang".
Thursday 3 June 2010
THEY WANT TO 'NUKE' THE GUF OIL SPILL!l Spill? No Way, U.S. Says - NYTimes.com
CAMERON DUODU WRITEs: America seems to be full of nut-heads in important positions. People working in science in the US are, according to the article below, "chattering" about "nuking" the oil spill in the Gulf that BP has so far been unable to stop.
But must desperation and frustration lead to total madness? Nuking the spill would not only bring unknown consequences in relation to the release of radio-active "water-clouds", but could also trigger monumental earthquakes and tsunamis. Quite honestly. some of these scientists are too dangerous to be allowed to work in the science industry. Read for yourself:
Nuclear Option on Gulf Oil Spill? No Way, U.S. Says - NYTimes.com
Wednesday 2 June 2010
Tuesday 1 June 2010
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF STORY-TELLING? By CAMERON DUODU
QUOTE:
"And now a truly humbling moment: I was very pleased to receive, on 24 May 2010 (my birthday!) a document sent by email which shows that someone has been so impressed with my use of such devices in my columns in the Ghanaian Times that he has subjected my columns to serious study, in an M.Phil thesis, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and that he has passed with a mark of 75%!
To imagine that someone has become an M-Phil as a result of studying my writing, when I never went to University myself!
The scholar is called Nate Glover-Meki, and his thesis is entitled: “JOURNALISM, LITERATURE & CURRENTS OF THOUGHT IN MODERN GHANA - A CRITICAL STUDY OF CAMERON DUODU'S "LETTER FROM AFAR".
I am, candidly,quite simply chuffed by this. If any publisher -- or institution (such as the Ghana School of Communications at the University of Ghana, Legon) -- is interested in publishing it so that it can be made available to a wider audience, they can contact me at:
kantaraka@gmail.com
I shall be glad to put them in touch with the author."
UNQUOTE
The Ghanaian Times
HomeContact UsAboutForumGallery
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF STORY-TELLING?
Tuesday June 01, 2010
By Cameron Duodu
As some of you may have noticed, I often try to tell stories about the days when the Gold Coast was almost a paradise, compared to today.
I do this not consciously but vaguely in order that the young people of today will be inspired to help make Ghana regain its affections in the hearts of its people.
I have been labouring under the illusion that, as the Twi proverb says, “The good thing sells itself” (Ade pa n‘eton neho.) In other words, something that is inherently self-elucidating does not need to be explained further.
But I got a letter the other which clearly demonstrates that the letter writer has not understood the purpose of why I do this.
This is sad for a writer to admit, but I have been at this writing game for so long that I have come to realise it isn’t always the writer’s fault if he‘s misunderstood.
Some people are just -- ahem! -- thick!
For instance, this letter complained that I “bore” him with the stories I tell about my school days.
Now, I don’t mind the fact that he doesn‘t like my stories, for there is no way that one can please everyone who reads one.
But I do need to explain the idea behind the story-telling, so that in case others entertain the same idea, they might be put right.
You see, whenever I tell a story dealing with the past, I intend to use it to take my readers back, in their own minds, to their own school days. What my teachers did or did not do are meant to trigger stories of the “Me too!” type.
This is my culture: in a Ghanaian village, you cannot sit under, say, a neem tree and tell stories without inspiring -- or even provoking -- others to tell their own stories.
That is the whole purpose of people gathering under the tree in the first place, or if the story-telling occurs at home, gathering around the open hearth in the family yard at night.
As soon as one storyteller finishes his narration, someone else comes in with a story that might be as interesting, or more interesting, than the one just told.
In reality, such story-telling serves as an undeclared contest.
Even “interruptions-by-song” are welcomed -- as I pointed out in my story about the Sun, The Moon and Darkness.
These songs or mmoguo make story-telling more interesting than would otherwise be the case, and also help the story-teller to obtain whispered corrections from members of the audience, in case a faulty memory is making him tell the story wrong.
A Nigerian contemporary, Reuben Abati, has developed this idea of story-telling beautifully in an article in the Nigerian Guardian:
“One of the most basic rules of writing and journalism [Abati wrote] is that human beings like to read about other human beings -- their lives, successes, failures, pains and pleasures, doubts and anxieties, affairs, and occasions.
And as they read about others, people see their reflections in a hall of mirrors; they relive their own anxieties, and hopefully, they are entertained, or shocked beyond belief, or taught a lesson or two about life, society, being and nothingness.”
My friend, the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, also once used this “mirror-to-society” metaphor to explain why he often used satire to communicate his ideas.
My school mates are fond of saying to me: “But how come you still remember these things? I swear, if I hadn’t read what you wrote, I would never have remembered that funny incident, ever!” Others take great delight in contradicting my recollections.
School days are simply incomparable in terms of stimulation and enjoyment: you enjoy leaving home and going out to meet loads of strangers, some of whom become ‘enemies‘, but others among whom become new and life-long friends.
(Incidentally, talking if school days, what happened to the story of the little girl who sadly died, after being caned by her teacher? It is so typical of the Ghanaian media that I can’t remember reading of what happened after the teacher was arrested and taken to court.
This lack of interest in following up their own stories really demeans our media, I think.)
The report of the girl’s death conducted me into the “hall of mirrors” inside my head, where some bitter encounters with the cane were waiting to be ‘screened’.
One of the sources of the culture of caning in the Gold Coast of my early years, I regret to say, was the Presbyterian Teacher’s Training College at Akropong, Akwapim.
Although it was a very good institution (the teachers there included the famous composer and musicologist, Ephraim Amu, who refused to wear European clothes to preach in church and was censured as a result -- a very daring as well as talented man-- as well as that wonderful teller of stories, C A Akrofi,
http://www.dacb.org/stories/ghana/akrofi_clement2.html
Akropong was nevertheless notorious for inculcating the idea of caning and harsh punishment into the teachers it trained. The teachers who created its traditions were Swiss/German Calvinists, most of whose “hair-shirt” aspirations bore no relationship whatsoever to the Ghanaian’s freewheeling ethos.
(By the way if you follow the link I have given above, you will find that the biography of Akrofi does not mention his most enjoyable book, a collection of delightful stories entitled Mmodenbo Bu Mmusu Abasa So.)
Most of the pupils who were at the receiving end of the policy of caning now hold the view that caning can be stupid and sadistic.
I personally knew a girl who was clearly dyslexic but was continually caned by my grossly ignorant Class Three teacher (who, of course, was trained at Akropong!)
Caning her was an exercise in futility.
Indeed, if any teacher caned a pupil in England today for being unable to produce good work, because she suffered from dyslexia -- an illness that can be easily diagnosed and cured with skill -- not only would that teacher be considered woefully “uneducated”, but he would probably be sent to jail.
Sir Jackie Stewart, three-times World Motor Racing Champion, is dyslexic. But see what he achieved.
I realise, of course, that dyslexia may not have been discovered in those days, but what about the common sense of the teacher? He whipped her; but her work never improved; and yet he whipped her the more.
Bloody stupid, if you ask me. And a shame on Akropong as an institution, for not teaching child psychology to the teachers it was training.
One other device I like to use in my writing is the Akan proverb, which I try to explain to enable anyone reading to understand it. Such proverbs strike a special chord with readers who do understand the original language, because it gives them an extra insight into what my meaning.
And now a truly humbling moment: I was very pleased to receive, on 24 May 2010 (my birthday!) a document sent by email which shows that someone has been so impressed with my use of such devices in my columns in the Ghanaian Times that he has subjected my columns to serious study, in an M.Phil thesis, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and that he has passed with a mark of 75%!
To imagine that someone has become an M-Phil as a result of studying my writing, when I never went to University myself!
The scholar is called Nate Glover-Meki, and his thesis is entitled: “JOURNALISM, LITERATURE & CURRENTS OF THOUGHT IN MODERN GHANA - A CRITICAL STUDY OF CAMERON DUODU'S "LETTER FROM AFAR".
I am, quite simply chuffed by this. If any publisher -- or institution (such as the Ghana School of Communications at the University of Ghana, Legon) -- is interested in publishing it so that it can be made available to a wider audience, they can contact me at:
kantaraka@gmail.com
I shall be glad to put them in touch with the author.
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