Cross Roads

I recently received a brochure from the U.S Embassy in Uganda. Some information about their Information Resource Center. I was captured by the image on the brochure. A young conservative muslim young lady dressed in characteristic garb and browsing the library. Having paid for membership at the British council Library about five years ago and making full use of the service, i made on-line inquiry about their sight (which moved office from the historic Rwenzori Courts). Strangely though, their on-line sight (British Council) is also made up of a young muslim lady, writing or reading from the text of a book.     Maybe students of international law might appreciate a strategic move of information centers to Embassies which are technically international territory. But the other possibility is that the a move is taking place which seems to place conservatism at odds with liberalism. This is strange given the nature that the coalition in the U.K has taken with David...

There is an interesting story in scripture that needs to be understood in light of our present day challenges. It is interesting to note...as i have recently learned that the Book of Esther is the only book in the bible that does not have a reference to the word God. But there are some useful insights in Persian life that need to be noted. Broadly speaking the book is about Jewish-Persian relations. There are undertones about Marriage, Leadership, Kingdoms, Record Keeping, Feasts and many more themes. The book records a tumultuous time in Jewish history in which the people of God were in captivity. This book matches some of what was written in Nehemiah as well as Ezra which deal with the subject of reconstruction (of wall and of temple foundations). The wall was a symbol of protection and no city that claimed a right to exist ever did so without a good perimeter wall. The temple on the other hand was another symbol a little different from ancient the ancient Jewish practice that prefer...

This week the debate regarding some legislation on Pornography  dragged in a few interesting parties. And while in some circles, there were questions about means of regulating such laws and some negative attempts to put this law into effect, we are in my view experiencing a leveling of the playing field. You tend to feel like there are some conservatives (especially muslim women) that are glad that the competition can finally take on a different twist. Maybe the Hijab and Niquab are making a comeback. Perhaps the traditional Gomez (Ganda Traditional Dress that was imported from the East) will also find its way back on the cat walks. If this is the case, there is a possibility that even the cats will be uncomfortable in their traditional role which tends to favor less in instead of more! That the dynamic is changing is clear, if this law and its uncompromising interpretations are taken to effect, many will find themselves having to contend for mates in a slightly different manner. M...

When the Americans and their Second Amendment rights feel violated, they invariably begin to stock up on arms. Great news for the NRA...not the National Resistance Army a la Uganda but the National Rifle Association. And while some may argue that this particular piece of legislation is rather outdated, i think that it has gained relevance as government has continued to exert its influence in American life. On our national front, i predict a similar effect after the Anti_Porn bill begins to be enforced. In our case though, i think there will be a corresponding rise of use and possibly the creation of a counter-cultures. Kind of what happened with the prohibition. Historically, we have shown a distaste for certain aspects of the opposition and responded in kind to parts of their strategy that were proving a little too effective. For example, when the Walk To Work campaigns and other street demonstrations began to disrupt the work of government, we came up with the Pu...

Its been over three months since i read a rather famous book written at about a time of testing for the church in Uganda. I suspect that history will try the current regime with the same challenge. How do you deal with a Spying Church? It is clear that at some point, the Last King of Scotland had a turning point in his life at which a critical decision was made from a historical leaning towards Israel and onto the Arab World. This affected everything in our foreign policy and was responsible for major changes in governance in this country. Big hat seems to have adopted a different strategy. He has courted the church and showered her with gifts (mainly 4 by 4s) and also created alliances with pentecostal movements rendering them virtually powerless. The latter now enjoy use and access to Stadia and other massive end of year events at historic strongholds like Kololo. This has been quite an achievement granted his so called Marxist leanings and his aversion to post-co...

Have developed a pattern of catching on a little too late in the game. But that aside, noticed a memorable scene in the aforementioned movie where the character of played by Woody Harleson helps put Jennifer Lawrence (another gorgeous installment in the Jennifer line-Garner, Lopez, Aniston) 'back in line'. He reminds her, that she is tasked with "distracting the masses". Maybe this what the stars have to deal with. Here, we have grown accustomed to ignoring the drama and finding the contentious issue or piece of legislation that often slips past our eyes and becomes a law. We suggest that you do the same. That you give yourselves a chance to remember that as stars your main task is to light up our darkened sky. So that in our misery we may believe again and wish upon you...and maybe just maybe see our dreams fulfilled. This movie though, is another creation by Hollywood which brings together the fighter and the hidden camera and forces the protagoni...

On Saturday the 15th of February 2014, i attended a meeting created under the banner of a group called Indigitous. It is a blend between two words. Indigenous and Digital. I was interested because, for the first time, at least in these parts, there was an attempts to link technology and religion. If the reports in the news are anything to go by, then we in Africa are on a Cross Roads having to decide if what we believe is worth killing for. The Central African Republic to a grater extent , Sudan to a lesser extent are some examples of countries that have born the brunt of religious wars with ethnic connotations. Maybe we have come full circle and the slave trader finally has to face the slave what is clear though is that a confrontation of some kind is finally taking place. It is said that the method isn't sacred but the message is. With this in mind i am curious as to what form the message is going to take. We are awash with methods and if the cash can be raised, ...