RUN CLEAN

            It should not come as a surprise that Kenya a country is riven with corruption could not have avoided the accusation of doping of its top long-distance runners arguably the best in the world. In a sport where large sums of money can be made, the temptation to take Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) must be irresistible. The drug testing laboratories must be under enormous pressure to massage the results particular those of the top performers who are able to give substantial backhanders to the testers.

            That it has taken so many years to come to light may reflect the incompetence of the International Association of Athletics’ Federation (IAAF). The new President, Sebastian Coe has accepted a poisoned chalice. He comes as a white knight bent on cleaning up the mess but is he street-wise enough to untangle the web of lies and deception which has grown over the years under the leadership of the previous bosses, one of whom Lamine Diack is under investigation by the French police.

            Recently President Uhuru has been quoted as saying that he backs the efforts of the Kenya National Sports Council to clean up their act. Does his support mean anything or will it just push under the carpet any evidence that could smear Kenya’s reputation? With the spectre of Rio looming like a cobra over the sport and with the recent revelations from Russia, the 2016 Olympic games promises to be more than a sporting event.

                                                                                                February 12^th  2016

Feminism

            I am a feminist an unashamed supporter of a woman’s right to be treated as equivalent and equal to men.  I can see no physical, psychological or intellectual reason why that is in doubt. On the contrary the evidence from all societies is that given equal opportunity, women are as good if not better than their male equivalent at every level of business, commerce or professions.

            It is often cited that the biological difference between men and women creates an unavoidable barrier to this, but the evidence does not support that view. Many women choose not to engage in the competitive world and therefore there are fewer women in these pursuits but that does not mean that they, given their wish are not equal. There is growing evidence that what holds women back is not their ability but the opposition of men many of whom feel threatened by a woman in a position of power and responsibility.  They use the myth of inferiority to justify their choice of male colleagues or assistants.

            In many cases women are compounding the problem by not applying for the more prestigious posts but accepting the more menial roles. In so doing they perpetuate the myth.

Powerless-ness

            That is the feeling I have as once again I sit in the dark experiencing another power outage. The constant drumming of the generators is a reminder of the appalling state of energy production here in Kenya where a monopoly controls its production. Since 7 am this morning the power has been out. It is now 10 pm, 15 hours without electricity. Nobody complains, nobody rises up in outrage, no one objects and demands a better service. There is a placid acceptance of the unacceptable. Why are the people so pathetic, why so long-suffering?

            It’s a fatal weakness in the ordinary man, which allows the government to ride rough shod over him knowing that he will accept everything without lifting a finger to complain.

            What would happen in other countries? There would be a public outcry. Crowds would assemble and march to the company headquarters demanding a better service. Government would intervene and engage with the company. An enquiry would be set up to look for the reasons and to correct it. Heads would roll. Management would be required to answer and present plans to avoid it in the future.

            Why doesn’t that happen here?

      Belgium Blames its Government

      The tragic events in Brussels have prompted a backlash against the country’s Security forces. It is apparent that the three men involved were known to the authorities yet were being allowed to travel in and out of the country without difficulty. The public, in a state of shock are asking for explanations and accusing the government of failing to maintain a high enough level of vigilance. It is the first occasion that Belgium had experienced a terrorist attack of this magnitude although as a neighbour of France they were well aware of what had befallen Paris not such a long time ago.

            Should they have been more prepared?  Do we learn from the experiences of others and can we know what we didn’t know.

These and many other questions will be asked over the next few months.  In this blog I would like to deal with the two questions I posed.

1 Do we learn from the experience of others? 

History is full of examples where governments have failed to learn from the past and have repeated the same errors. The UK’s failure to act when Hitler was rearming Germany contrary to the League of Nations and their 1918 agreement, the USA invasion of Afghanistan, the removal of dictators without having any structure to replace them, etc etc

So why are we surprised if the Authorities in Belgium did not react to the attack on Paris.

2 We don’t know what we don’t know or the wisdom of hindsight?

If a thing hasn’t ever happened to you before why should you prepare against it?  In theory there is no limit to the things you should prepare against. 

So much as we want to blame those who govern us, we must I think recognise their limitations.

            Their silence is deafening.

            As France and the free world come to terms with another monstrous act of meaningless violence in Paris, and the world’s leaders condemn the bestiality of the killers, the Muslim communities in these countries remain singularly silent.

            Where is their unified outcry? The rejection by their leaders; marches in the street decrying what is being done in their name; the public insistence that this is not a Muslim fight but an aberration of Islam.

             Nothing is heard from them. Why? 

Their silence is not innocent. It plays into the hands of the terrorist. It tells them that their fellow Muslims who number many millions in western countries such as the UK, Germany, France and the USA will not oppose them;  they will be their silent allies. 

            ‘This is not Islam,' they insist. 'The Koran preaches peace. Don’t label us with the action of an aberrant few,’ they repeat.

            That is not good enough. To show that Islam is truly a peaceful belief, a way of life that deplores violence, the moderate Muslims must speak up. We must hear their voices of protest, we must see their visible rejection of the violence, which is being meted out in their name.

             If they continue to remain silent, ordinary men and women will conclude that they are complicit in the atrocities.

            Now is not the time to remain silent.