"Eza do keli"

We keep on waiting, Waiting, Waiting for the world to change.
My neighborhood has changed dramatically since November 27 2007 after i saw new street lights been fixed for the first time since Tema was built by the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
I was really stunned to the core of my psycho consciousness.
Who might have thought about this now?
Is it political or just pure coincidence that just about exactly 12 months to general elections, Tema has begun to see dramatic changes.
The garbage truck seems to be coming on time, less power outages and clean streets.
Are the gods to blame?
or are the politicians to thank...

Eih! Kweku Ananse, your old adage always stays the same ooh.
When you said" when the OWL leaves its nest at noon, DANGER is near".
Is "DANGER" really near?
Or are we going to see a windfall of "Kukrudu" money rainfall of the new Ghana or Ghanaian DOLLAR? (i don't know which of the adjectives is correct).

Somehow strange to note is the street lights that were hurriedly installed on the Accra- Tema Motorway before GHANA @ 50 celebrations which has never seen power running through them to light the ever dangerous motorway.
Is it deliberate of another case of corruption and abuse of power?

Ayooo.... In my native language (ewe) eclipse of the sun is called " Za do keli" literally meaning "night has come during the day"
Maybe we might never see another eclipse of the sun again in Tema.


Another travail of a modern city dweller of Accra, is the menace of unnecessary vehicular traffic which seems to have become an acceptable misfortune in recent days.
Maybe i have seen the other side of the world to know that the traffic we experience in Accra is just a case of neglect and stupidity on the parts of our leaders.
The same old roads in Accra for the past 16 years i first moved to the Metro area.
The Tetteh Quarshie interchange has become a white elephant that is slowly retarding the progress of our day.
The new Accra mall situated right at the corner of the choked Spintex Junction makes you wonder whether any feasibility studies were done before the approval of such a building.
Sometimes you wish you could stand on top of a Lighthouse and yell at these stupid vultures that keep feeding on the carcass of the average Ghanaian.
They drive in police escorts and sirens howling at you in the middle of a tropical hot day and you wonder whether we will ever have the chance to hold them to court to pay for their exploitation.
Maybe because i am a descendant of Germans and the Danes, that's why i see things differently.
Yahweh be our helper if we are serious about progress in our precious Gold Coast.

FALSE TEACHINGS

I write this in response to so called pseudo good luck email sent around the world in the name of bonding, unity, success and all other gibberish they propound.
Please read through it carefully and read the truth in response to these false teachings.
Yahshua said: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. JOHN 14:6
These false teachings were sent around the world by ANTHONY ROBBINS ORGANIZATION.
Here we go now with my responses.
REMEMBER! MY RESPONSES
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. (FALSE)
God did not say you should love your neighbour more than yourself.
[Mat 19:19 Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ]]

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other. (FALSE)
Does that mean any woman I love talking to like my sisters, I should marry?

[Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.]

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want. (FALSE)
Believe every word of the Lord and thou shall be saved. Walk in all His ways and thy days shall be prolonged.
[Deu 5:33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.]

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you ,' mean it. (FALSE)
When I say to an idol I love you, should I mean it?

[Deu 10:12 [….. and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,]

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye. (FALSE)
Looking into the eye of someone to say I’m sorry doesn’t mean anything at all. But true repentance comes from within.

[2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.]


SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married. (False). The Bible did not say that. Marriage is even not a prerequisite to salvation.

[Luk 20:35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: ]

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight. (FALSE)
When I see a demon should I believe at first sight and love it? It ‘s only God’s Love at first sight THAT saved us.

[1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. ]

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.(FALSE)
You have the right to laugh at the devil’s dream. For none of the devil’s dream can manifest against you a child of God so go on and laugh at the devil because through a dream our saviour was conceived and born to save us.

[Mat 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ]

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. (FALSE)
It’s not worth dying for anything of this world because Christ came to die for us because God loved us. Any passion you have in life must be towards doing God’s will.


TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling. (FALSE)
The battle we fight belongs to the Lord.

[Exo 14:14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.]

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives. (FALSE) Does it mean you can judge the people on other terms except by their relatives? The Word of God says :
[ Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. ]

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly. (FALSE)
Not all humans are created the same. Some are likely to be hyper and make a lot of sense and some may even be very slow but full of junk. Therefore the right answer to this is:
[Pro 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.]

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?' (FALSE)
Answering a question with a question rather shows disrespect and may lead to strife.
[Pro 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.]

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk. (TRUE)
[Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ]


FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze. (TRUE) Only let positive things come out from your mouth.

[Psa 145:21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.]


SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson ! (FALSE) When you loose, go to God in prayer and He will direct your path to recovery of your lost fortune)
[1Ki 20:25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.]

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions. (RELATIVE)

[(Rom 6:16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ]

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.( FALSE) when great friendship is at the expense of your life, you must let it go.

[Pro 22:24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: ]

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. (FALSE)

The Bible tells us to repent. When you try by your own efforts to correct your mistakes in life, you will never move forward. Repent and move on. It’s for repentance that Christ came and not for correction.
[Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ]

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. (FALSE)
It’s pretencious and deceptive when you are in a bad mood or angry about someone and pretend on the phone you are happy about that person is considered deceptive and evil. Let your true feelings be known.

[Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.]


TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

[Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.]



Now, here's the FUN part!

There is no THREAT by saying you should forward it to a lot of people to experience a miracle in your life.
If you want to spread it around, do so in believing that you are spreading the message of God and NOT in expectation of a miracle.
Believe me; your life is already a miracle because God chose you to be created in His image and likeness.
Believe in the Lord Yahshua (Jesus Christ) and give your life to Him.

©William Wilhelm Bedzrah
wbedzrah@gmail.com

ANDERSON COOPER 360

I woke up up 3 am GMT today November 14 2007 and turn on my TV to watch ANDERSON COOPER 360 on CNN.

I was stunned to hear the analysis of Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Oz on the issue of "PRAYER & HEALING"

Fascinating enough these two great intellectuals of our time from different scientific backgrounds admitted the evidence of effectual prayer and its evidence of working to heal the sick.

Deepak Chopra spoke on the topic in refering to energies around the human being and Dr. Oz believed Prayer gives a sense of communal sanity and reassurance that make a sick person feel more loved and accepted and eventually makes him/her whole.

Is beyond scientific analysis when you talk about PRAYER.

It's about your personal conviction and acceptance that there is a greater power than yourself.

When the first caller on the show narrated his personal experience with prayer and healing after praying (Psalms 51:10) "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me".

It seems as if i was woken up by God to watch the show because i had so much trauma about people having fights about whether Prayer is relevant in a scientific world of today.
My friend Nana Otu yesterday challenged the quest by the Governor of the State of Georgia,Purdue advocating for the residents of his state to pray for rain to avert a the serious drought.
Nana Otu thought it was irrelevant for a State Governor to ask for prayer instead of being proactive and realistic about solving the issue at hand.

Maybe Governor Purdue believes in prayer and has seen miracles born through prayer therefore his wish that all residents join him.

Watching Anderson Cooper really brought me back to the same question of whether i need to bother myself about the isue of prayer when someone challenges my thoughts.

Deepa Chopra in one of his examples during the program couldn't boldly claim there is heaven but rather said wherever people go when they die...

I thought that was funny because probably he is in denial or just wanted to be politcally correct.

Whichever reason he may have it's not relevant to an individual's personal belief.

Maybe there should be more than a discussion on TV to really prove the effectivenesss of Prayer.

SHAME ON YOU!!! BRITISH COUNCIL ACCRA

It is the appropriate time for me to boldly accept the old proverb of my great literary Hero OLA ROTIMI when he said in his play "KURUNMI" that
"WHEN ELEPHANTS ARE BEING SLAUGHTERED IN THE THOUSANDS, HOW COULD ONE NOTICE THE DEATH OF A HOUSE RAT?"

Anyone from the British council in Accra, Ghana should dare to answer me....
Was it just an appalling display of stupidity, ignorance, or spitefulness on Friday November 2 2007 @ the British Council in Accra or JUST a clean cut FRAUD?

As advertised,(if even they did) it was the night to select three TOP FASHION DESIGNERS and ACCESSORIES DESIGNERS for LONDON FASHION WEEK (1st Prize), SOUTH AFRICAN FASHION WEEK (2nd Prize) & NIGERIA FASHION WEEK (3rd Prize) under the title flagship called
"INTERNATIONAL YOUNG FASHION ENTREPRENEUR CATWALK PRESENTATION"
(Dumb name)

Mediocrity was at its best from the onset of this particular show where publicity was very very minimal to say the least.


The second sign of mediocrity depicted by the organizers was the location:
The backyard of the British council in Accra where a thin red carpet was crisscrossed as a runway on a pavement.(Is this where you select a designer to represent the whole nation?)

The grandest (if the word even exists) catastrophe of all was the panel of judges which comprised of Multichioce GH. PR Manager Anne Sackey, Paa John (Events Manager or something irrelevant like that), Ivana a "Fashion Designer" amongst others.

These folks have no freaking clue about what fashion entrepreneurship really is about because of their choice of the three top winners.

However, the Host MC of the night, Kofi Otchere Darko was fantastic as usual.He
handled the mess of the British Council to save them from further shame.

1st position NANA ASIHENE,
2nd Position OBJ (Accessories designer) and
3rd position went to another mediocre jewelry designer.

What is my "beef" you may ask?

My capital "BEEF" is that, when British council decides or decided to organize and select entrepreneurs to represent a whole country like my motherland Ghana, i believe it is an enormous task and obligation to be very analytical and very fair to publicize the event appropriately so as to garner maximum support for all participants nationwide.
In doing so, the show could claim it has or had National support for the eventual winners who will hold high the flag of Ghana.

In this case the British council FAILED MISERABLY.

Another case of my "BEEF" is the ISSUE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND AUTHENTICITY.
According to the profiles of the seven finalists, it was very obvious that the two most industrious and authentic designers were "KWESI NTI" and "ROYAL DENNIS" who every “fashionista” in Ghana can vouch for.

Interesting enough these two great designers of our contemporary generation were totally sidelined by these ignorant judges.

The Red Carpet placed on the pavement as a runway had no respect whatsoever as was evident when guests were crisscrossing the red carpet whilst there were models also on the other end of the red carpet.
Not once, but four times i counted one particular woman who had no shame nor decency, walked across the carpet. This woman's friends also crossed once each and also a young lady who was serving drinks also crossed several times.

Can't the British Council of Ghana afford to put up an elevated runway just for this show at least?
Oo hoo....

To this I say a BIG SHAME ON YOU ALL.

When "elephants" like "KWESI NTI" and "ROYAL DENNIS" are being slaughtered in our own hands and in our own country, how could we motivate the house rats (up & coming designers) to move into the forest?

ANSWER ME... BRITISH COUNCIL OF GHANA.

Can these selected designers be able to represent Ghana well on the International circus?

Do they have the capacity to contain commercial merchandizing?

I doubt.

However disappointing the show was, there was vindication for one of the two favorites; ROYAL DENNIS.
The next day at the MISS MALAIKA pageant he showcased his great handiworks on the bodies of the 10 final beauty contestants.

It was a sight to watch how a gifted talent and very humble gentleman put so much hard work and dedication to the crafting or gorgeous clothes and yet some have ignorant few have the guts to insult his creativity.

If i was the Director of the British council in Accra, I would have been really ashamed and disappointed by the organizers and the judges of the International Young Fashion Entrepreneur Catwalk show.

Go to hell i say to those judges.

Kudos to the hardworking young designers of Ghana and Kudos to Kwesi Nti and Royal Dennis in particular who stayed true to their integrity?

Sometimes it must take the courage of a Buffalo to overcome the hungry Serengeti lion.

Maybe when wrong people are in charge of great ideas abuse is inevitable. I really don't know what to say more but feel disappointed.
In a case like this.

I pause here with much contempt for the judges in particular and the organizers in general.

SHAME ON YOU ALL

Ghanaian MPs "ABUSE" Freedom & Justice

Freedom And Justice, originally uploaded by mensah joshua.

Freedom & Justice is what we Ghanaians claim to stand for...

However politically correct the slogan is, I think we as a nation, people, and culture are hypocrites in fulfiling its principles.

I watched the evening news on wednesday October 31st 2007 on TV3 (very unusual for me to watch local news) where the National Parliament was debating the "misuse" of our national ANTHEMS & COAT OF ARMS.

Accordidng to this "sordid" Member of Parliament whose name was not inscribed on the footage, there should be a new law banning the use of the COAT OF ARMS on private property and also a ban on the use of the National Anthem as ringtones on cell phones.

My assumption is, (if not WAS) that parliament is there to enact laws that will be of national interest . And not for "FRIVOLOUS, PITIFUL USELESS TIME WASTING TALK SESSIONS as most of the parliament sessions are becoming lately.

We have bad road networks in the city coupled with crippling unneccessary vehicular traffic jams, filth everywhere, worse and numerous deficiencies in our nation yet these "TAX SPENDERS" have they uncultured nerves to be wasting time and money debating trivial issues like cell phone ring tones and somebody deciding to show some sense of Patriotism by embassing the Coat of Arms on their private properties.

Ohhh how ridiculous we have become and how sullen our characters have become.

SHAME UNTO PARLIAMENTARIANS WHO WASTE TIME AND MONEY TALKING ABOUT GIBBERISH!!!

Remember Accra is Still a very DARK NATIONAL CAPITAL in the night due to inadequate street lights. Talk about things like this and not such silly ones you take pleasure in.

Remember when you waste too much time to resolve the conflict in a neighbor's house, be assured a spill over into your own backyard soon.
Therefore you guys should tackle the most important issues in our society before it matures into a "contagious cancer" to infect all of us.

Curtailing the use of the Ghana National Anthem and The Coat of Arms even VIOLATES the PRIINCIPLE OF " FREEDOM".

Suck it up MPs and wake to the sweet smell of Amelia Memuna's " HAUSA KOOKO & KOOSAY" that will energize your frozen minds to do due deligence to the office put upon your shoulders.

We don't want you guys to waste our taxes on stupid arguments and topics like cell phone ringtones and a richman's coat of arms metal gate.


SHAME SHAME, SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME!

For me writing makes me liberated therefore i am at peace with my soul.

Go find your Peace also and leave me and my Messiah alone.........
Adios.

The Living among the DEAD"

91-04, originally uploaded by World Picture Service.

Call me crazy…
When I saw a news feature on Aljazeera today about poor and desperate Egyptians who have taken over one of Cairo’s major cemeteries and made it their permanent homes, I was flabbergasted to the core of my young life…
Are we safe?
Should it come to this level of desperation and neglect by authorities that children are born in cemeteries, going to school in the cemeteries; people have shops in the cemeteries?
I thought I had it bad….
Poor things! The kids looked totally oblivious to their strange environment.
One young boy of about 12 years old has a dream of becoming a doctor one day.
Oh how HOPEFUL he is…
I do remember there was a similar feature on Sowetans living in the cemetery also, but what really took me aback about the Cairo cemetery was that, the inhabitants have established a community and a strong bond society as if there’s nothing wrong about living in the cemetery.
Artisan shops, schools, day care centers, what you can think of, Kids playing on the tombs without concern are all part of their chores in the graveyard.
Maybe cultural differences have made me too concerned about this feature.
In West Africa, we FEAR the DEAD more than the living.
It is usually assumed and believed that when one dies, it assumes a greater spiritual power than in life. The dead can either harm you for revenge or be your so called guiding spirit (personally don’t buy that crap anyway).
Fear of the dead I must say is very prominent in West Africa for that matter we don’t mess with cemeteries.
I cannot foresee any sane West African for that matter deciding to live in the cemetery because of lack of shelter.
We better of sleeping in store fronts and school campuses that in a cemetery….
I don’t blame the Egyptian authorities fully though, with an estimated 20 million residents in Cairo alone, it is inevitable to have congestion and shortage of housing for all.
May we never be found wanting to this extent in our lives…
Where is Amnesty international when they claim they fight for human rights for all?
I believe the people living in the cemetery even though by choice, their rights to shelter have been abused and the children have also been emotionally and psychologically drained.
Therefore AMNESTY International needs to wake up to this story.

So Racist and Funny???

So Racist, originally uploaded by YelmelNoBrainer.

A GNA Feature by Boakye-Dankwa Boadi

Accra, 19 Oct. GNA - One does not know how to thank the Nobel Prize winning DNA pioneer, James Watson for that great interview he granted Sunday Times, a British newspaper, in which he was quoted as saying Africans were less intelligent than Europeans.

Our Elders say "se biribi a nko ka papa a papa nngye grede!" to wit "there is always a trigger" and that is exactly what Watson has done for Africans. Indeed some Africans had given up the fight against the inferiority complex war with Europeans.

One dares any person to go onto the streets of Accra to ask the simple question. Are Europeans superior to Africans? One would be surprised about the type of answers one would get. Some would tell you that if you were going to church and you met a European you must go back home because you had already met God.

This mentality has translated into the situation where so called high class Ghanaian women do not feel ashamed to buy second hand braziers and panties imported from Europe to wear and feel proud in them. Highly educated Ghanaians buy and wear second hand coats that might have been discarded by toilet cleaners in Europe.

Just as the war against European superiority seemed to be coming to an end, this thunderbolt is heard and everything changes in favour of Africans. A pile of scientific knowledge that had been available to only a few is now awash for everybody's benefit. Thanks to Watson.
According to BBC website, Dr Craig Venter, the scientist/businessman who led the private effort to decode the human genome, was quoted as saying: "Skin colour as surrogate for race is a social concept not a scientific one. There is no basis in scientific fact as in the human genetic code for the notion that skin colour will be predictive of intelligence."

Another important fact that has been made available is that the structure of DNA, the molecule that lies at the heart of heredity in living organism, showed that there was no scientific basis for the concept of race. "People from different racial groups can be more genetically similar than individuals within the same group. Genetic studies indicate that there is more variability in the gene pool in Africa than outside."

Watson was quoted in the original interview as saying he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours- whereas all the testing says not really". He was further quoted as saying that his hope was that everyone was equal but that "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true". Watson has since said that the way the words were presented did not reflect properly his position. "I can certainly understand why people, reading those words, have reacted in the ways they have. To all those, who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologise unreservedly.

That is not what I meant. More importantly from my point of view, there is no scientific basis for such a belief".

Now that this knowledge has been made available, Africans should walk this planet with their chests out that they are equal to any other human being.

The Ministry of Information and National Orientation has a huge responsibility to instil in Ghanaians self-worth so that they would stop turning the country into the refuse dump for second hand clothes; second hand cars; second hand tyres; second hand refrigerators; second television sets; second hand cooking utensils and second hand everything.

The above article was written by my News Editing Lecturer GNA Feature Boakye-Dankwa Boadi and posted on Ghanaweb in reaction to the RACIST remarks by Dr. Watson about African being lesser human beings.

Like the Street signpost Photo , RACISM is a subtle undertone in most American societies if not all.....

Yeshua_IS_Messiah1

Yeshua_IS_Messiah1, originally uploaded by ginaowens3@sbcglobal.net.

SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

GREAT LOVE

yeshua, originally uploaded by navilos.

Woops... May be too painful to endure....

How Yahshua is spelt in Hebrew

yeshua, originally uploaded by B.G. Johnson.

You may be asking yourself: "How can I know God?" Man is able to know the true and living God through His Word (that is, the Bible). The Bible reveals God's character and His plan for mankind. It is through reading His Word that we come to a knowledge of the righteousness of God and that which He requires of us.

What is it that prevents us from personally knowing God? Our sin has separated us from God — our corruption is to such a degree that we cannot know Him personally and cannot experience His love. God's Word says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Man was created to have fellowship with God, but because of his sin (i.e., anything that is against the righteousness revealed in God's Law) he is prevented from that fellowship. This includes anything less than perfect obedience to God's commands.

"The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a). The ultimate result of this death is an eternity in Hell. This spiritual death forces a separation from God. Man is sinful and God is holy. This creates a gulf unbridgeable by man making that intended fellowship impossible. The only solution is a divine bridge — that bridge is Christ.

God created a way by sending His Son to pay the price for our sin. "God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). He died in our place; He who knew no sin became sin for us. This removed our burden of sin and allows us to enter into that desired fellowship if we follow His way.

He is the only way. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

It is not just enough that you know these truths. We must individually place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is by repenting of our sins and believing on Christ that we can know God personally and experience His love.

"But as many as receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12).
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
You can receive Jesus Christ right now by faith. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation" (Romans 10:9-10).

Harmony, by Owusu-Ankomah for Emporio Armani (PRODUCT) RED

Harmony, by Owusu-Ankomah for Emporio Armani (PRODUCT) RED, originally uploaded by (RED).

Fantastic symbols that speak to our HUMANITY as ONE PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT COLORS:

HARMONY: To bring meaning to our Conflicted souls.
FUTURE: Hope for it earnestly
FOUR CONERS OF THE WORLD: We all must come from different corners to make the box SQUARED Enough to contain our desires.
FLIGHT: Take Flight without Limitations and Boundaries.
FIVE: Continents of the World
EROTIC BALANCE: Needlessly Invaluable to our existence.
WORLDS: Worlds Apart, Yet JOINED together by RED to help each other.
UPLIFTED: Uplifted to look forwaed to a brighter tomorrow.
HUMAN: Aren't we all Human?

That's all we are. And will continue to be.
Support RED!

This town ain't big enough for the both of us!

This town ain't big enough for the both of us!, originally uploaded by Andrew.

I must apologize for the long pause in my postings,
It was due to technical problems of this insame tropic region...

Now here we go:

With the caption on this beautiful photo, I SAY GHANA AIN'T BIG enough for me either.

Suck it up Bitches....

How some people can pretend to be witty and smart only to find themselves at the last minute to be as silly as the dwarf billy goat....

Be yourself ladies and just be yourselves,
DON'T Pretend to be reserved cool and calm just to get yourselves a "dream" husband.

As my friend Nana Amma will say; "FORGIVE"

Your pretense has a limit.

Like the beautiful peacock,
A lady's beauty must be hidden until it is required to be flaunted.

PERIOD!

Take a lesson from the PEACOCK..

After Hours

After Hours, originally uploaded by Surreal McCoy.

compendium! stoically! sullenly: what do these words mean?

In circumstances of prosperity and happiness, we must never forget that it is God who plants a hedge about us, blesses our work and increases our substance. It is good to realize that whatever be the malignity of our foes, there is always the Divine restraint, and we are not tempted beyond what we are able to bear. It is not enough to endure our griefs sullenly or stoically. It should be our aim not only to hold fast to our integrity, but to trust God. There is a clue to the mystery of human life, which comes to the man who differentiates between the Real and the Unreal; the Seen and the Unseen. (F.B. Meyer)

STOICAL: patient and uncomplaining: showing admirable patience and endurance in the face of adversity without complaining or getting upset.


SULLENLY: hostilely silent: showing bad temper or hostility by a refusal to talk, behave sociably, or cooperate cheerfully.

COMPENDIUM: short comprehensive account: a comprehensive but brief account of a subject, especially in book form.

Interesting choice of vocabulary to describe the facts of life by F.B. Meyer.

Maybe, i must learn to be STOIC from henceforth...

If i want to forget my past and to move forward, i must learn to be STOICAL. PERIOD.

Pastiche! or Pulchritude!

Well thought of and well rehearsed is what i wish i could be.

Liberal in my Thoughts! My Philosophical musings on this blog sometimes portray wrong impressions about my feelings about Ghana.

The truth is that, my emotions right now is like a ratatouille:
Eclectic, Mixed, "Messed UP" Congested and sometimes down "dirty".

Forgive me if i sound that way because emotions, feelings and anguish stem from varied experiences in life.


Back to my roots; BANG

I watched Prof. Agyeman Dadu Akosa on TV last night preaching about Ghanaian politics... OK its frightening for me to admit this. BUT, I think I'll vote for this dude if he happens to be on the ballot paper.

H e was so passionate and spoke words of wisdom and actually was able to tabulate what Ghana must do to progress.
Food, Cloth, Shelter, Health & Education. SIMPLE!

Analyze and assess what African govts are doing and you realize we are missing the point.

Why can't these govts do the basics before talking about all these economic gibberish on Radio and TV about Macro economic growth of the country whilst the average Ghanaian is broke in the pockets?

Consider their talk nonsense!

I'm not the man i used to be,
I'm not my shy self,
I'm not my Boastful self
I'm not my hateful self
BUT
I am Me
I am Humble
I am concentrated
I am Consecrated
I am Refined
I am Resolute
I am Strong
I am Powerful
I am Rich
I am Beautiful
I am Myself...

I am and you too can be what the Almighty say we can be....

Shut up and move forward...

The ant will not wait for the Bee to come feed it...

Africa Must wake up to feed herself...

Like an old poem i read in High school,
"Awake Mother Africa Awake"

Dr. A.R. Bernard

Evertime you pass a test you Increase the value of the Kingdom of God

"Remember we live LIFE on LEVELS and Arrive in Stages" by Dr. A.R. Bernard.


I did visit his church in Flatlands Brooklyn in 2001.

Great Man of God i must confess.

http://cccinfo.org/
http://www.arbernard.com/

Wisdom cannot be bought?

The Making of a King
The Wilderness Life

The road to the top is a lonely place.

You find only a few who are likeminded on the way to the top.

1 Samuel 21:1 & 10 -15

You become deserted.

David was stripped of all royal privileges

David was surrounded by powerful enemies.

David was seized by fear and suspicion

David was seeking for a hiding place.

It is temporary, Transitory and part of building a character and part of training.

When you become lonely, you depend more on God.

Wilderness life is when you feel lonely, embrace God.

It is a time of Personal loneliness
A time of public humiliation

David was chased out into enemy hands.

Your Trouble ought to tell you who you are.. TD JAKES.

Trouble surround you all the time because the devil is afraid you going to shake yourself loose very soon.

We are defined by our OPPOSITION in life.
Trouble has defined me.
My enemies thought me who I was.

My enemies thought me how to pray.
I must be a force that’s why the enemy is fighting me like this.
Thank God for my enemies.
The greater the battle; the greater the spoil.
The enemy knows who he is fooling with.

My friends try to help me out of trouble BUT my enemies push me into it.
Therefore I learned to call on God in the midst of my enemies.
My cup runneth over because of my enemies.
How can I win this battle?
The only way to win and win this battle is NEVER to get in the ring with satan
Stand still and know that he is God.
There’s no need to fight, the battle is not yours the battle is the Lord’

These were the words of Pastor Mensa Otabil.
www.centralgospel.com
I bought this wisdom by turning on the right channel @ the right time....

So then, Wisdom can be bought,,,

Interesting haaa....

I

O yes you folks might think i am very biased..
When the lights were going off like the blinking eye of a Mockingbird i nagged and lamented about it...

OK...

I must now confess that the light has been on uninterrupted since Friday August 3rd 2007 till this moment as i write this...

You want me to say CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT?

HELL NO............

Their negligence caused the power outages so when they seem to give us some respite, they don't deserve any pat on the shoulders..

What i think they deserve is the power puff on their rear end to wake UP from their lazy arrogant snore...

Oh Yes i said it...

GO FIGURE...

I have been silly and unimaginably horrified and disillusioned lately because hard work never seem to pay off in Ghana...


Why me? I always ask the Lord.....

Why this uncertainty?

The ONLY CERTAINTY i have now is that i am going to school and i enjoy it.


Apart from that,,, The less said or imagined the merrier.


What the "F" is the matter with SOME Pastors lately in Ghana?

They are always preoccupied by their self pity or self arrogance.
They assume they only deserve the best things in life or they are the only ones that go through "hell" to acquire the anointing..


Let me say that of a truth that i agree with Pastor Chris Oyakhilome that no one works to attain the anointing of God.
Rather it's God's Grace that we are all alive and each and every born again has God's anointing.

These Ghanaian Pastors should stop boasting of their anointing and focus on helping the needy and poor in the church.

SHUT UP PASTORS and HELP .


Am i going to far?

If you happen to see and know what i see and experience you will understand my rage...

OK

Who cares about my thoughts anyway?
If you care then comment @ the bottom of this post.

I'm writing to myself to let the bubbles of anger be poured out towards the flame for it to be evaporated....


I breath a sigh of relief now..

hmmm...

Now i need a cup of STARBUCKS KWOFEE...

I can hear someone reading this saying: "in your dreams William"

Heavens NO...

In reality i speak my mind..

In DREAMS i win over my lust

In physical do i triumph over my challenges

Hey Hey Hey
I am Myself...

adios..

Just What I feel like writing.......

O for a thousand songs to sing to my soul...
For i have wailed and mourned for the arrival of my heart's desire.

May i say now, of a truth that it is this day that makes my soul weary and wrenched?..

For only Yahweh knows why i have to be this resolute in spite of many calamities.

Dang!!!

I hate to admit it that when D told me they have been reading my blog, i felt a little bit quizzical and nervous @ the same time.

Why?

Because she just GOOGLED my name and the blog popped up....

This damn internet will expose you anywhere and anytime my friends.


Anyway, to come to my usual eclectic gibberish of my temporal insanity in Ghana,

I think Nigerians are the best writers in Africa. PERIOD.

What can the insolent and gullible mind of the so called western described African accomplish in a lifetime?

That was the question asked...

My answer to this stupid question is this:

Whether we are called insolent or nonsensically voracious negroes or not, Yahweh's purpose for Africa shall be fulfilled.


I'm I not tired of this struggle for survival?
Yes I am.

BUT when i chance upon another person's issues, i consider my precious self very very BLESSED.

The word "LUCKY" is not in my dictionary...
Blessed and Highly Favored is what i believe and confess and not being damn Lucky.

What is LUCK?
I seriously need an experiential definition for the word LUCK...

At least I know I am free.
Man suffers through life and dies
Then what's the purpose of us living?



Indifference is the worst disease than death itself.

The Philosophy of Patch Adams is:

If YOU treat a person YOU always win.
BUT when YOU treat a disease YOU always win or loose.

You can keep me from being me.

BUT You can’t control my spirit.

I’m a thorn that will not go away.

Excessive happiness wins over hatred.

I’ve pain to release

I’ve got faith to believe.

Comfort the weary soul...
Smile Upon the heavy Heart
For Faith in You is what holds my fragmented soul
Faith in You is what COOLS My burning heart.

Oh Lord
I am frail yet Resolute,
I am Resolute Yet Compassionate
I am Compassionate yet Headstrong
Headstrong yet Willing to hear from you my Father.

Upon the Hills of Mercy i wail and howl to hear your words to comfort me.

I am Me,
Unashamed
Unshaken
Unmoved
Progressive and also in transition.

"When Your Father Dies"

"When your father dies, he takes with him some part of you and leaves behind some part of him in you".

These were the words of Ken Saro- Wiwa Jnr. on Aljazeera TV Program "WITNESS".


I find it very intriguing.

In comparison to what Yahshua said that He has taken away ALL our sins on the CROSS OF CALVARY.

Before Yahshua ascended to Heaven, he said He will not leave us alone but the Father will send the Holy Spirit to be our comforter.

Very Very profound to think about how Omipotent Yahweh is.

He knew our sins way way... before we were born. Thus the Provision of Yahshua to become our "SIN EATER".

Thank God for Christ.

The TRUTH therefore is, God is merciful and will always be an eternally merciful Father unto a sinner like me .

Praise His name forever.

"WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU "....

"WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU A SHOCKER, KNOW THAT YOU HAVE AN INTERESTING SURPRISE FROM DESTINY"
"RUBI"
I heard this great quote tonight while watching a Mexican Soap Opera "RUBI" written by Yolanda Vargas Dulche.

Life Oh Life!!!

The above photo is by courtesy of http://www.cs.pitt.edu/~mehmud/index.html

Come nearer to my bosom my Near and Dear Coy Mistress
For thy distance is a bridge between Romeo and Juliet

You are like a mirage to me when your blurred vision is all i see.

How can a true Love be so far away when the desires of the heart is moi?

Yea! I can see clearly now that thy beauty is what blinds me from seeing your well enough.

Oh how majestic is thy smile upon my Soul.

I'm I allowed to say your mine and only mine?

Could your beauty be reserved for only me?

Tell me! my beautiful Coy Damsel.

Art thou the love God promised me or just the hallucination of my tired mind?

Awake William Awake.

Thy day of Holy Matrimony knocks on your Platinum plated shutters.

My pretty Coy Damsel cannot continue to be called a Mistress.

Her beauty and Love for me must now be acknowledged by all...

I'm i Lucky or Blessed.

I think I'm highly favored by Yahweh.

Shout and say it loud for there's a knock on the door for my awakening.

Arise and Soar William for the Lord God has given you Favor and Grace to Overcome all battles.

The Lord has delivered my foes into my hands.
I crush them and i extol the name of the Most High.

Free I am free I'm Free.

Oh What the Hell.....

Probably being honest to the consulars at the US Embassy in Ghana is useless and wasteful because i have told GOD GIVEN TRUTH over and over again BUT they never seem to genuinely accept THE TRUTH.

It's not a secret anymore that going for a US visa in Ghana seem to be like sentenced to life imprisonment or death before a US magistrate court. Then you have to defend yourself to a prejudiced jury or judge to redeem your soul from their hands.


Oh yes i said Prejudiced!!!

I've had enough of their ignorance.

Look here!
When i hear this horror stories from friends after going for US VISA Interview and also to see frail old women and men being emotionally tortured and frustrated by silly and and unwarranted quetions by these young consulars breaks my heart.

To me, i make myself clear as possible to them. To let them know i am a child of Yahweh.

I am strong!
I'm resolute!
I am who Yahweh says I am!!!

Let me say of the truth that when a man goes through life with ease abuse of opportunity is inevitable.

When one's purpose is determined by the Most High Yahweh the Challenges and the Tribulations must be your "SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS"

What The Heck?

Call me crazy but i still wanna talk about this issue of blackouts in Ghana.
It's wierd to say i'm very nervous about my lights not going off last night even though it was my night to sleep in the unusual darkness.

Maybe some miracle rain must have filled the Akosombo dam.

I am not being cynical. BUT being realistic of the fact that the recent media reports indicate that the Dam could be shut down in less than a week.

The so called Tema Generating Plants imported to augment the shortage of electricity seems not to be working.


I personally had the privilege to visit the thermal plant farm in Tema about 3 weeks ago and i saw how slow work is progressing.

Lord have mercy!

I see Him coming in the sky!
In The Sky ASHLEY CLEVELAND, RUSS LEE and 7:01 AM GMT on Spirit 89.7fm

This song probably will give meaning to all who believe in the return of Yahshua to deliver us from this frivolous world of ours.

Police rescue chained 'runaway' bride in Ghana.

Oh how sudden can the innocent be plucked from their innocence into victimization..
How cruel and demonic can the Black African culture get?
Should we wait on the world to change?
I beg to howl a big NO NO NO NO!
We cannot wait for the world to change.
We must fight for the change of these cruel culturally demonic practices to cease.

When innocence and struggle for survival will be insuficient for freedom, how safe are we then?
I thought Poverty and Innocence will make you free in your own world as they say.
BUT now it is clear that the struggle to survive as a Kayayo by the Innocent lady is irrelevant to her abductors.
May heaven forgive us all.
As for this issue, i think Chief Justice GEORGINA WOODS MUST do something about this.
In a broad daylight abductions and murders in Ghana, what next shall we see or hear, to know that DANGER is near.

In the words of the late OLA ROTIMI, " When the owl leaves its nest at noon, danger is near"
When these cruelties happen in such a civilized age, DANGER IS NEAR.

Who shall fight for the innocent and the poor?
Who shall we answer to for the wrongs of the society?
Whose report shall we believe?
The report of the RICH AND POWERFUL or the report of the INNOCENT AND VULNERABLE?

Speak your mind and make it clear for when the innocent is destroyed what can the Nation boast off?
Hold not your anger from the torturers and let them not see the innocent again as their prey for we all must say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
I cannot wait on the world to change but I must be part of the Change.

Money, Pastors’ Wives and Church Members causes for Church Break-ups.

Money, Pastors’ Wives and Church Members causes for Church Break-ups.

Many church successions and breakups occur as a result of greed for money, pressure from pastors’ wives and pressure from church members.

Rev. John B. Ghatey Head of department of Theology and Missions at the Central University College declared this unreserved declaration on Saturday July 14th 2007 at the launch of a new book “Succession within the charismatic churches, the causes and the possible solutions” written by Rev. Thom Adesina in Accra.

Rev. Ghatey was very charismatic about his disappointment about indiscipline and greed which has overtaken many pastors in the country.
He reiterated that, there could be amicable and genuine separation of pastors in a ministry who have different gifts and calling but disagrees with pure bitterness and greed splitting up great churches.

“It is a big shame when we label God’s voice as the reason for the breakup”. Rev. Ghartey said.

In response to this assertion, Rev. Ghartey said it is identity crisis that is causing most pastors to break away from their mother churches and not the “VOICE OF GOD”.


The book launch which was well attended by distinguished Pastors and business executives was to draw the attention of the charismatic community in Ghana concerning the increasing rate of church breakups which is detrimental to the body of Christ.

The author of the book Rev. Thom Adesina who said it took him three years of intensive qualitative research to come up with concrete data to authenticate his theories.

Speaking to the media, Rev. Adesina said there is no definite solution to the problem of church conflicts; however, there can be ways to minimize the epidemic.

He labels the problem as a cankerworm that must be dealt with wisdom and prayer.
Rev Adesina said, “Calling needs to be timed”.

The book will be on the Ghanaian market from July 16, 2007.

My Open Prayer

OK!!!
What in the world am I gonna do now after my exams?

I need to go to Europe or to the States I'm still uncertain because my financial status is temporally a mess.

But I must go...

I need some refreshing of the soul and body.

God help me to get some Pharaohs and Butlers to my aid.

My fervent prayer is Jehovah Jireh, Provide for me now because my hope is in the name of the Lord and i am RIGHTEOUS through Yahshua and therefore i ask for your divine help in making an way for me in this hard time.

Lord Lord i know and believe that you will honor your word and prophecy for my life.

Thank you in advance for the answered prayers.
In Yahshua's name i pray.. AMEN!



O for once I'm bold to post my prayers online..
Yahweh, as i openly confess you at this hour past midnight, i call upon the host of angels to bear my prayers before your throne and bring me immediate answers.

For you are great. You do Miracles so Great and there's no one else like you.
Thank Father Lord for the answers you have already given me.
The world out there is witness to my prayer therefore let not the enemy take your Glory.

Amen.

Lordy Lord! Help the Weary Soul

Oh how liberating life could be when you finish your academic exams...
Now, I'm done with the academic year and feels so liberating not to study tonight.

I am free! I am Free!!

Come to think of liberty and freedom, who the heavens do these Ghanaian politicians think they are?

They claim to care about the people and yet neglect the cry of the masses over their inefficient running of the country.

These politicians are very arrogant and naive to say the least.

On other issue, the Ghanaian society and the communities are laden with contradictions and contrast that is overwhelming to diagnose.

You have the Trassaco, Manet, Regimmanuels as the prestigious communities and yet on the way to these residential enclaves, the roads are TERRIBLY AWFUL and they expect the government to repair these roads for them to drive their Jaguars, Chryslers, Hummers, Range Rovers, Cadillacs, Lexus' on.

How insulting this is to the poor Ghanaian selling Rice and beans on the Spintex Road or the local Hausa Kooko seller or the roasted plantain seller dotted along the routes to these enclaves.


I question the Ghanaian assumptions of Development through Democracy.

Maybe i may be all that wrong about African politicians and their so called patriotism.

They can't even fight their own fight..

We have Bob Geldof , Bono and Jeffrey Sachs Pleading for African debt cancellation.


oooooooh

I'm exhausted somehow but need to continue this battle of the mind soul and spirit to overcome the lustful desires of this mortal body.

HELP ME.. LORD HELP MY SOUL.

How Sad I'm I getting?

I just began my end of sophomore year exams and i seem to contemplate whether i will have to continue @ the same college next year....

it sounds cheesy but i'm really not happy about the academic performance of the lecturers and the students..
Teaching and learning facilities and conducive atmosphere are "zilch".

I got a C instead of an A in Political Science last semester because the damn Lecturer "J.J. Rousseu" forgot to record my Mid Semester marks...

When i confronted him, he told me it is too late to rectify since he no longer lecturers at my college..
What an insult to my hard work.

I'm I beginning to hate this Country?.....

Out of 72 hours from Saturday to Monday, we had only 24hrs of electricity..

How disastrous can a country become @ this stage of 21st century development?

Mediocrity is celebrated and Corruption has become the latest fashion trend..

The VISION & MISSION OF KWAME NKRUMAH is about to be destroyed by these inconsiderate loud mouth and bulldog politicians in Ghana today.

I detest their arrogance and bold stupidity & Stupor..

How dirty their souls are towards the progress of Mother Ghana..

Do we have to WAIT and see whether the Situation will change like the "proverbial Ghanaian snail walking?

Or maybe start doing something "RADICAL"

Especially @ the onset of my exams i was deprived of the basic need of electricity.

You Old frail and dirty souled Politicians of Ghana, You better wake up from your arrogant, pompous and Stupid sleep because the "FLOOD" of Anger and Pain of the people is about to DROWN YOUR DIRTY SOULS.

Maybe I'm too critical of Ghana...

i better say no more yet..

I'll come back to this topic...

Mr. & Mrs. Agbenyo

A day after Wedding @ Church

'It has to do with pleasing somebody else'

It's a big topic of discussion among researchers. A 2007 report from the American Psychological Association compiled the findings of myriad studies, showing that the sexualization of young women and girls, in particular, can hurt them in many ways. Problems can include anything from low-self esteem and eating disorders to depression and anxiety.
Simon, the California therapist, has seen those symptoms in several of his young female patients.
While boys tend to seek out porn for their own sexual pleasure, he sees a sexual disconnect with girls who exhibit provocative behavior they're not ready for -- from undressing online to performing oral sex on boys.
"It doesn't have anything to do with their sexual pleasure," says Simon. "It has to do with pleasing somebody else -- the grasping for attention.
"As a parent, it makes me want to cry."
And while they tell him they feel empowered, too often, he says they end up getting pegged as "sluts."
Julie Albright, a sociologist at the University of Southern California, has noted that dynamic in her research. She's working on a book about "players," men who juggle more than one sex partner and earn a title of esteem for behavior that much of society still frowns upon for women.
"If you 'act like a man,' in that sense, you're trying to grab hold of that same kind of power, that same kind of lifestyle -- and claim male privilege," Albright says.
"The problem is, you're still female and it's still a man's world."
Anna Stanley, a 25-year-old in Madison, Wisconsin, knows all about that double standard. She also wonders if she and her peers place too much importance on the power of sexiness.
"It seems like it stems out of the 'Girl Power' thing of the '90s gone awry -- men objectify us, so let's objectify ourselves and get something out of it. It's not really progress," she says. "But it's something I have mixed feelings about -- because sometimes I do it, too.
"Sometimes you do dress up to get noticed and attention, and you do feel more confident when you do that."
She wishes there was more focus on helping women develop a healthy sense of their own sexuality.
Missy Suicide -- founder of the "Suicide Girls" pinup Web site -- couldn't agree more.
"I think that women shouldn't be afraid of their sexuality. It's a part of who we are. You shouldn't be embarrassed and ashamed of your body and yourself," says the 29-year-old entrepreneur, who lives in Los Angeles. But, she says, it shouldn't be the sole focus.
She and the women on her site are known for challenging the stereotypes of beauty, with their tattoos and piercings and varying body types.
"I get messages from girls all the time saying they never felt beautiful before because they never saw girls like themselves in magazines or on TV. Then they saw a girl like them on 'Suicide Girls,' " she says of the site, an online community that attracts a worldwide audience of both admirers and women who want to become nude pinups.
Victoria Sinclair, the lead anchor on "Naked News," also sees herself as a role model. She left a job in the corporate world to join the show as lead anchor in 1999 -- and never looked back.
"Sometimes, there are moments when I think, 'Oh my goodness what am I doing?' " says Sinclair, who recently turned 40. "But I'm really OK with it."
She says it works for her because she has control over what she does on the show and has been allowed to age gracefully, without plastic surgery.
Still, many skeptics remain.
"To be sure, it can make you feel powerful to know that you are arousing strong feelings in other people, that you have their attention and admiration," says Eileen Zurbriggen, a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who helped compile the APA report.
"This is the same sense of power experienced by charismatic rock stars and politicians. But politicians also wield other kinds of power. They can make actual changes to the legal, economic, and geopolitical landscapes -- changes that have far-ranging impacts.
"Women," she says, "might be better off developing other sources of power."

Living in a porn-driven, 'look-at-me' culture

Porn used to be relegated to a video hidden in the bottom drawer, or a magazine under the mattress. Today, it's part of everyday life.
Hugh Hefner's girlfriends have become TV's "girls next door." Porn stars have MySpace pages and do voiceovers for video games. And while "porn on demand" is standard for hotel TVs and upgraded cable packages, it's even easier to find it with a few clicks on the computer.
In April, more than a third of the U.S. Internet audience visited sites that fit into the online "adult" category, according to comScore Media Metrix.
So the message is clear: In today's world, sex doesn't just sell. The pervasiveness of porn has made sexiness -- from subtle to raunchy -- a much-sought-after attribute online, at school and even at work.
Many agree that the trend has had a particularly strong influence on young women -- in some cases, taking shape as an unapologetic embracing of sexuality and exhibitionism.
"I am one of those girls," says Holly Eglinton, a 31-year-old Canadian who recently won a talent search competition to appear as an unclothed newscaster on the Internet's "Naked News." She auditioned after meeting a producer for the show on a social networking site where she's posted provocative photos of herself -- an increasingly common practice.
For Eglinton, taking off her clothes for an Internet audience was freeing, fun and a little rebellious.
"It's something that sort of suits my personality," she says. "I'm kind of an extrovert and a bit of a camera hog, a poser."
It's a prevalent sentiment in our look-at-me culture. But many wonder if it really is empowering, especially for younger women and girls who try to emulate what's already on the Web.
Too often, educators and health professionals say, the results are cases of "Girls Gone Wild" -- gone wild.
Michael Simon, a therapist and high school counselor in the San Francisco Bay area, has seen an increasing number of girls and young women in his private practice after episodes in which they undressed or masturbated in front of a Web cam for people they met online.
"Instead of pornography or performative sexuality being one choice among many ways of being sexual, it's essentially become the standard of sexiness," says Simon. "It's also the standard by which a man or woman is a prude, depending on how much they embrace that kind of sexuality."
Yvonne K. Fulbright, a sexologist and author who co-hosts the "Sex Files" program on Sirius satellite radio, also has seen the shift in attitude.
She's posted messages on Craigslist looking for people who want to comment on various topics for the show -- and, instead, often receives responses from young women who send descriptions of their breast and waist sizes.
"They're under the impression that they can be the next big thing," Fulbright says. "Unfortunately, for a lot of females that means taking off your clothes and being sexual.
"It's a really warped sense of what it means to be sexy."
Indeed, there was a time when dancing for the masses in barely there outfits was the realm of music video stars and strippers. Then the Internet and reality TV came along, providing new platforms for young women to flaunt it for a shot at fame.
In one hit prime-time series, for instance, eager young contestants perform soft-core porn dance routines in hopes of becoming the next member of The Pussycat Dolls singing group.
The fascination with being "hot" also has made its way into the workplace, where confidence is often conveyed in the way one looks and dresses.
"I would say that, in the world of Washington, D.C., power brokers, it's important to be sexy, but in a more sophisticated, muted way," says Charles Small, a 25-year-old young professional who works in the nation's capital. That's in contrast, he says, to cities such as Los Angeles and Miami, "where overt sexiness is more the status quo."
Some employers -- taken aback by the trend -- have responded by setting tougher dress codes. Many school administrators have done the same.
"As a high school teacher, I see 14-year-old girls dressing in a way that makes me shake my head. Where do they get that?" asks Dennis Brown, an educator and parent in Huntley, Illinois, outside Chicago.
Recently, he says his own 5-year-old daughter proclaimed, "Daddy, I look fat."
"And I thought, 'Oh my gosh, here we go,' " he says. "Now I have to start deconstructing that mind-set."

DANG!!!!!

A British doctor says: "Medicine in my country is so advanced that we can take a kidney out of one man put it in another and have him looking for work in six weeks."A German doctor says: "That's nothing, we can take a lung out of one person put it in another and have him looking for work in four weeks."A Russian doctor says: "In my country medicine is so advanced we can take half a heart out of one person put it in another and have them both looking for working two weeks."The American doctor, not to be outdone, says: "You guys are way behind, we just took a man with no brain out of Texas, put him in the White House, and now half the country is looking for work, and the other half preparing for war."

Farewell to all that: Tranquility was never on the agenda

The Late Fathia Nkrumah
This article is by Gamal Nkrumah.....

It was not meant to be a marriage made in heaven. It was a political union between Mediterranean-oriented North Africa and the rest of the continent, often pejoratively termed sub-Saharan or Black Africa. Yet Fathia Nkrumah's life story is a modern fable representative of a certain era. For fleeting moments in the late '50s and early '60s, it captured the public imagination throughout Africa. The young Egyptian woman who left her country to marry the most illustrious African anti-colonial leader of his time was inevitably invested with iconic qualities.

Fathia is my mother, of course, and my memories of her life as Mrs Nkrumah are necessarily skewed. She was thrust onto centre stage -- that much I know. In many respects she was rather ill-equipped for her role, but she coped reasonably well with being in the public eye. Her official persona was more demure Diana than imperious Eva Peron, although stardom did come naturally to her. After her husband's death, she seemed to disappear; I know she has handled that quite well too.

In her day, women ambassadors were a rarity and, by virtue of the political nature of her marriage, she became an unofficial envoy of her country. She mingled with African and world leaders, playing hostess to Charles de Gaulle, Haile Sellassie, Chou En-Lai and Nikita Khruschev. She had the dubious honour of being the only Egyptian woman to dance with the Duke of Edinburgh when he accompanied Queen Elizabeth II on an official visit to Ghana in 1962. "He was very funny. He turned to me and said: 'I am certain that the crowds will only call your name.' And they did. He was right," she muses.

She understood what part she was to play when she stepped on stage, and she also learned how to come to terms with life behind the last curtain. Upon her second return to Ghana in 1975, crowds lined the streets. She engaged in easy banter with the onlookers as we strolled what was then the main market in downtown Accra, Makola. The market women presented her with brilliantly-coloured, intricately-designed wax print cloth, and they exchanged pleasantries for a while.

In the autumn of 1978, she flew to New York to receive a gold medal awarded posthumously to my father at the United Nations headquarters, during a special session of the UN committee against apartheid. "First of all, let me thank the General Assembly most sincerely for their very kind decision to pay such a singular tribute to the memory of my late husband, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He himself, I am sure, would have considered his contribution to the international campaign against apartheid as a duty, without looking for international approval or award. But alas, his untimely death has robbed us of his presence and encouragement," she told the assembled world leaders.

Mother was born and brought up in Zeitoun, the third daughter of a civil servant and a diminutive but iron-willed woman who raised her children single-handedly after her husband's untimely death. In many respects, Fathia was a very ordinary Egyptian girl. After completing her secondary education, she worked as a teacher in her school, Notre Dame des Apôtres. Teaching did not appeal to her, however, and she took a job in a bank. Then opportunity knocked, in the person of my father. My grandmother's firstborn had left Egypt with his English bride and, when my father proposed, she was reluctant to see another of her children marry a foreigner and quit the country. Mother explained that Nkrumah was an anti-colonial hero, like Nasser. Still, my grandmother did not relent: she refused to speak to Mother or bless the marriage.

The new bride, who had cut herself off from her family and country by marrying Nkrumah, was isolated in more ways than one. She spoke little English, while her groom spoke neither Arabic nor French. Within three months, however, her tenacity had served her well, and she was able to deliver speeches in English, Ghana's official language. Genuinely fond of her new adopted home, she rarely yearned for Egypt. She was happy to escape the suffocatingly conservative culture she grew up in and happily embraced the rich vibrancy of Ghanaian culture. She was amazed at the fierce independence of Ghanaian women. They liked her in return; the powerful "market women" who controlled the textile trade even named a traditional kente cloth design after her -- Fathia fata Nkrumah or "Fathia deserves Nkrumah."

Against her family's wishes, then, she embarked on a journey deep into the colonial Africa of the late 1950s. Only her uncle agreed to accompany her on the long journey to newly independent Ghana. For a month before the wedding, the young bride could not sleep a wink. She had been summoned by President Nasser, who asked her if she was sure that she wanted to accept Nkrumah's proposal of marriage. Marrying a head of state -- of the first African country to achieve independence from British rule, in fact -- entailed duties and responsibilities, sacrifices and potential risks. Having heard the president's warning, Fathia replied promptly: "I would like to go and marry this anti-colonial leader. I read his autobiography -- I know of his trials and tribulations, of his struggles during his student days in America and Britain, and of his spearheading the anti-colonial struggle upon his return to his homeland. I am deeply impressed." Only her family stood in the way, she informed Nasser. She had little idea of the challenges that lay ahead.

It was late December and Cairo was experiencing an exceptionally cold winter. Khartoum, the first stop on her journey, was very hot, unbearably so. She spent the night there with her uncle and the next morning headed west, stopping over in Kano and Lagos, Nigeria, before landing in Accra.

The bride-to-be reacted to the tropical climate in a decidedly unromantic way: with swollen feet and a heat rash that turned her pale skin screaming scarlet. A doctor was summoned. "What's wrong with her?" the prospective groom demanded. The doctor reassured him and the wedding went ahead. Not one to waste time, Nkrumah married Fathia the evening of her arrival in Ghana: New Year's Eve, 1957-1958.

Few were told about the marriage plans. Even Father's secretary was taken by surprise when she heard the news on the radio. The ceremony was a very simple affair, which came as a shock to an Egyptian bride who expected an ostentatious marriage ceremony befitting a head of state. It was to be the first of many such cultural shocks. A handful of ministers and my paternal grandmother, Nyaneba, were present. Grandmother, who was blind, pulled Mother's hair; after a few tugs she declared that the bride was not African even though she was assured her hair was jet black. The two women later developed a close affinity, which mother attributed to the fact that Nkrumah had very little time for either his mother or his wife.

It was an inconspicuous ceremony -- a civil marriage since my father refused religious rites. Mother and her uncle were shocked to learn that there would be no priest officiating over the marriage ceremony, no veil, no walking down the aisle, no zaffa (marriage procession), nor even the customary zagharit (ululations).

At first, many Ghanaian women did not take kindly to the idea of Kwame Nkrumah marrying a foreigner. The militant women's league of the ruling Convention People's Party was especially galled that the national hero had married a "white woman," even though Father explained to them that his bride was an African despite her fair skin.

Christianborg Castle, renamed Osu after independence, was at the time the seat of government and Nkrumah's official residence. It was also to be Mother's home for the next five years. As a child, I often caught her watching the Atlantic pound the rocky headlands upon which the castle was built. It was a forbidding place, originally built by the Danes as a slave trading fortress where thousands, perhaps millions of Africans were shackled and shipped to the Americas. Everyone knew the place was haunted with the ghosts of the slaves, and at night, the deep dungeons often echoed with screams. Even Sir Charles Arden-Clarke, the last governor-general of Ghana, confessed that there was one particular room in which he dared not sleep because whenever he did he was awakened repeatedly during the night by incessant knocking, banging of doors and groaning in the hallways. Mother, however, often spent the night there alone. Both my younger brother Sekou and myself were born in Christianborg, while my sister Samia was born in Aburi, a beautiful mountain retreat some 30km north of Accra. Mother loved the cool and refreshing mountain air there and it was her favourite escape from her official duties.

Between sober marriage ceremonies and haunted houses, then Fathia was fast absorbing the different aspects of West African culture. On the other hand, she immediately took to Ghanaian food. Kontomre, or spinach and smoked fish stew; yam cakes; fried plantains; and her all-time favourites kenke (a fermented maize dish traditionally eaten with fried fish, chili, onion and tomatoes) and the rich red palm oil stews of fish, crab, prawn and snail. But she also taught the cooks at the Castle how to prepare Egyptian dishes. Father nicknamed her "rabbit," because she always insisted on green salad as a side dish, which most Ghanaians of his generation thought rather odd.

Much of Mother's experience in Ghana first lay behind the castle walls, and later within the confines of the presidential palace, Flagstaff House. At Christianborg, peacocks roamed freely and the beautiful blue birds' piercing cries filled the air. The lawns were meticulously kept, and the driveway lined with ornamental palms. Bougainvillea splashed brilliant shades of vermilion and crimson against the white walls. Still, presidential life was far from idyllic. The daily routine was frequently punctuated with nerve-wracking assassination attempts. Mother was always poised and calm in such situations. In August 1962, Father, who was away in northern Ghana, had a hand grenade hurled at him at close range. It missed him, but killed a small girl who was offering him a bouquet of flowers. Father had to be hospitalised for two weeks for his deep shrapnel wounds. For weeks we watched with trepidation as, still recuperating, he would come out of his office every afternoon and cross the battlements into the residential part of the castle. In 1964, one of the guards at Flagstaff House attacked my father as he returned from office. The assailant was overpowered after killing a bodyguard, Salifu Dagarti. My father's white suit was blood-stained and we children were frantic with fear. I still remember the looks exchanged between my parents -- no words were uttered, though. Mother ushered us into our bedrooms and left us to attend to my father. Incidents such as these left an indelible mark on the family.

Another shock now awaited us, one that would change the course of our lives and Father's, for he would never set foot in the land of his birth again. He was away on a special mediation mission that took him to China on his way to Hanoi. We stayed in Ghana where, on 24 February 1966, we were awakened at dawn by the din of artillery fire and explosions. Mother's first instinct was to tell us, in a firm voice, not to be afraid. The roaring of the unfed lions in Accra's zoo, a short distance from Flagstaff House, terrified us. Mother had the presence of mind to telephone the Egyptian embassy in Accra and ask the ambassador to contact Nasser. She had barely put the phone down when the lines were cut. A few minutes after Cairo was contacted, Nasser dispatched a plane to take us to Egypt, and safety. The gun battle for the control of Flagstaff House between the mutinous army and the presidential guards was intensifying. The presidential guards only surrendered when the coup leaders threatened to blow up Flagstaff House. Everyone, Grandmother Nyaneba included, was quickly evacuated and the hostile forces trooped in, ransacking the premises. Mother took a few personal belongings, which were promptly confiscated at a roadside checkpoint. She seemed fearless, berating the soldiers and reproaching them for their ingratitude. Even family photographs, letters and souvenirs were taken away, however.

En route to the airport, today still named after coup leader Colonel E T Kotoka, we stopped at the Egyptian embassy. Mother had to borrow a coat from the ambassador's wife, and jackets for my siblings and me. Next we were taken to Police Headquarters for interrogation. At gun point, we were ordered out of the car and told to sit on the ground in a clearing in the bush. Mother was outraged. The tense moments as the troops radioed for instructions dragged on. Eventually we were allowed to proceed to the airport.

A new chapter in Fathia's life was about to begin. After six years of raising her three children virtually single-handedly, she learned of father's death on 28 April 1972. We hastily travelled to Guinea (where he had taken up residence after the 1966 coup) via Paris and Dakar. Mother was not prepared for the sight of the emaciated body laid out in the coffin. Images of her husband's painful last days (Father died of cancer) were to haunt her for the next decade. For months on end she would lie in bed, unable to eat or sleep, withering away. As children, we could not understand that she was deeply depressed.

First, however, she gave a dignified performance -- the last of her career -- befitting Nkrumah's widow. A state funeral was staged for my father on 14 May, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Sekou Toure's Democratic Party of Guinea. It was a Sunday. Nkrumah's coffin was laid temporarily in the Camayenne Mausoleum, where Guinea's national heroes were buried.

President Ahmed Sekou Toure, after whom my brother Sekou was named, officiated. For two long days at the Palais du Peuple in Conakry, mourners from all over Guinea, South African anti-Apartheid activists and freedom fighters, and representatives of African and foreign governments paid tribute to Kwame Nkrumah. Fidel Castro and Amilcar Cabral spoke touchingly of Nkrumah's vision and accomplishments.

Father's remains were exhumed and returned to Ghana on 7 July 1972, over two months after his death. An Air Guinea aircraft landed in Accra with Nkrumah's coffin and widow aboard. After a brief stopover, the sad party travelled to Nkrumah's burial in Nkroful, his birthplace in western Ghana. Grandmother Nyaneba, then well into her 90s, waited patiently for her son. Mother stood by her side. Grandmother was determined to remain alive to witness Nkrumah's triumphant return to Ghana. Only after her hand was placed on his coffin did the old woman at last accept that he was dead. Grandmother was to pass away seven years later in my mother's arms, aged 102.

Today, Mother lives a sheltered life in Maadi. She is serene -- an astounding trait given the trauma she has experienced. Far removed now from the ebb and flow of African politics, she views the past with a healthy detachment.

It was an emotional moment, though, when Mother and I visited Ghana in 1997 to attend the celebrations held to mark 40 years of independence. We visited the marble mausoleum in Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, built in his honour by the Chinese. We stood before a statue of Nkrumah inscribed with the CCP slogan, Forward Ever. The statue stands on the spot where he declared independence on 6 March 1957. A group of schoolgirls and their teachers were also touring the mausoleum that day. They insisted on taking a photograph with Mother. Once again, it was clear that, even for children born long after my father's death, affection for his widow came naturally. Mother was overcome with emotion and broke down. I tried to comfort her, but I, too, was overwhelmed. And I knew that, after all, Fathia could face this alone.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2000/499/profile.htm