Trousers down and out in Juba!

In Saudi Arabia, they are the moral police, who enforce a strict interpretation of Sharia Law, with decent dressing and separation of sexes and ban on alcohol etc . . .

Now they have surfaced in Juba in the form of moral police! Women were picked up in Juba and thrown into jail for wearing trousers last week. These created a havoc and raised fears among the young people.

It all resulted from a local order by the Juba County Commissioner that got loose. Anyway, he came out and apologized, the edict withdrawn and the madness stopped.

I think he better go back and rethink the issue, because it just brings bad memories. If he wants to promote good morals in the people, that was not the way to start it.

An English lesson . . .

Etymology

compound: bail + out

Pronunciation

(US) IPA: /ˈbeɪlˌawt/

Noun

bailout (plural bailouts)

a rescue, especially a financial rescue

e.g. The government bailout of that corporation is going to cost the taxpayers a hundred million dollars.

Text 666 against Ocampo

A campaign to collect votes over the phone was active last week in Sudan. Mobile phone users were sent text messages that urged them to text an empty page to the the number 666 if they oppose Ocampo.

With such a number, do they know something we don't . . . ?

Sudan elected to chair UN Group 77

Sudan has scored another diplomatic coup . . .

When America sneezes . . .

. . . the rest of the world catches a cold.

The current global financial crisis which strated in America will surely bite everyone. The high oil prices have made travel really expensive in Sudan. Paradoxically, it is cheaper to fly to Egypt and back than to Juba from Khartoum one way . . . Add that to the hike in food prices.

The cold is spreading.

ICC and Bashir: the Biritish and French Connection

So the French and the British are ready to support the deferral of the arrest warrant for the Sudanese President . . .

It had been a an issue thatan arrest warrant will put the peace in Southern Sudan in danger of collapse and wosrsen the plight of the Darfuris. And ofcourse put the UNAMID force under more danger.

Are we right? Are the possible threats real? It seems the world dont want to be on the trail and error side. To err may cause more lives than already been lost.

So better the caution.

What about Darfuri children?

Ismail Ahmed Ismail entered the record books as the first Sudanese to win a medal in an Olympic. Good for him.

What bothered me is this: he dedicated his medal to the children of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Where are the children from Darfur? Don't they deserve a medal?

Silver for Sudan in Beijing

Sudan's Ismail Ahmed has won silver in the men's final of the 800 m in Beijing.

Better than returning home empty handed. The other stars failed to shine.

Women in trousers being harassed in South Sudan

I found this incident ridiculous, to say the least: border guards in South Sudan are preventing women wearing trousers from entering the country through the Kenya_sudan border! How hilarious. Where did they get this notion from? Is it even constitutional? As the story points out when they get in the y found that women wear trousers without being harassed.

In the 80s and 90s, women were harassed in Khartoum, when trousers are seen as indecent. We considered it really part of the then "sharia" rulings etc. Fine.

But why is it cropping up in South Sudan? The GoSS must inverstigate and bring this malpractice to an end. There is no such law in the South. Everyone is free to wear what they want, as long as it is decent.

Even Khartoum with its sharia nowadays features all sorts of women with tight trousers and the most up to date designer jeans working around without a cop raising an eyebrow.

Stop the madness in South Sudan, people.

Between Riak Machar, Rebecca Garang and Corruption

The moment Rebecca Nyandeng voiced her accusations that Riak Machar is corrupt, the streets of South Sudan yawned. There is nothing new there. Everyone knows that the whole government machinery is corrupt. Taking kickbacks is the order of the day.

It is said more often that Riak Machar ask openly about his "cut" in every deal being done in the South. Everybody knows that.

And Rebecca herself is not beyond reproach. When she was minister of roads and construction, not a single tarmac was laid in the South. She gave contracts to shady companies that don't even own a grader, let alone have an office. Contracts were awarded for the same stretch of roads more than three times and advance monies paid. Will she be able to answer these claims?

No one who has been accused of corruption anywhere in the world immediately admit to it. Riak Machar is following the trend, only when the noose is tight will they sing. Rebecca Garang should also be investigated. She shouldn't hide behind the veil of her husband's fame.

It is just the case of the pot calling the kettle black . . .