VLADIMIR PUTIN AND DONALD TRUMP, THE PERPETUAL BANE ON THE ILLUMINATI CONSCIOUSNESS.

By Namakando Nalikando-Sinyama The recent posturing and actions by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the world stage confirmed to me in no uncertain terms of his dogged drive and determination to take up the driving seat in steering World affairs in the right direction. It is clear for all to see that the people who have all along claimed to be in charge of matters on this planet have done so, much to its detriment. They have clearly made a sodding mess of things alright. From extra-judicial killings of Foreign Heads of States in the Arab World so as to effect regime changes, Invading and Destabilizing hitherto orderly Arab States and installing ragtag puppet regimes which fail to work and leaving failed states in their wake, establishing and arming Terrorist Networks like ISIS/ISIL which they in turn pretend to be fighting against, other world governments under the influence of the Illuminati Agenda have been complicit in staging false Flag Attacks on their soil and killing their own people so as to create a jus ad bellum (Justification for War) and place the blame on groups in foreign countries they want to go and take over and pillage their Mineral Resources, to authorizing Lethal Drone air strikes sometimes ending up in the Cold-Blooded killing of innocent civilians who are later found to have merely been in a wedding procession, to allowing the wanton slaughter of Palestinians and stealing their Land by the evil Zionist regime in Israel with impunity. As new ‘kids’ on the block, Putin and Trump do indeed engender hope of better things to come. Putin has further displayed his Mission Statement when he fearlessly kicked out The Rothschild’s Banking Dynasty from Russia for among other things undermining his country’s economic recovery trajectory and boring away at the very core of that Nation’s Soul. They have historically been known to have profited from funding global mayhem, and being a former KGB senior Officer, I knew Putin did not act from without but was in possession of solid information to that effect and was thus onto something and was determined to do his bit in correcting and rooting out this Global cancer. Let him join forces and partner with President Elect Donald Trump to confront The Illuminati threat so as to give this planet some much needed relief and breath of fresh air of sanity. This will definitely form one of the most effective Tag Teams ever between Nations whose old Cold War rivalry Neo-Cons would rather persisted even to the point of bringing the World on the brink of an Interstellar/Inter-Galactic or Terrestrial Apocalyptic Cataclysm involving the use of Nukes. The list of Heads of State they set out to oust from power by any means necessary obviously hit a snug in Syria when Russia and Iran came to the aid of the Assad regime. Here again we saw how Putin was the fly in their proverbial ointment to always frustrate their plans and effectively spoil their intended party. They have claimed, rather falsely to be fighting ISIS and ISIL which they actually created to fight alongside the rebels to remove Assad from power. Vladimir Putin was alive to this scheme of things and decided enough was enough and went into Syria to really ‘sort out’ ISIS and not the pretentious games being engaged in by Barry and his cronies. Putin’s forces later realized that they were actually facing western sponsored combatants at the War front; this is why they are not happy with his involvement and want to demonize and accuse Russia of all manner of War crimes in Aleppo. Guess what, he is not going to be a member of ICC anymore because lo and behold, The US is not a member either even though they helped create this body, Boo hooo!!! A lot of people did not know this. How so convenient indeed! This newly found cooperation between The US and Russia should involve ensuring that political candidates contesting elections the world over who are known Illuminati Agents should not be allowed to win Elections anywhere in the world. This is where Comrades Julian Assange’s wikiLeaks and Edward Snowden will always come in handy to uncover the clandestine dealings of these Agents of The New World Order! Locally, Trump promised to ‘Drain the Bog’ in Washington DC because that is the global seat of all things not right with the way the World was being run. We hope he will not back down on this promise or surround himself with Illuminati compromised individuals who will only weaken his efforts. Though not known to the general public, what was achieved by Trump election victory recently in America was a milestone in more ways than one. A lot of folks little realized what was at stake; The world was literally on the verge of a World War III and this, the mainstream media was a tool they used and always use to blind the masses to this impending danger and their many shady schemes of ushering into office their stooges to further their Agenda. From the FBI Clinton e-mails I have and read, which by the way, for civilian use, even after they were declassified, had to be heavily redacted. For a civilian to make sense of them a highly advanced Reverse Algorithm may need to be used. So you see, it was never that I was insensitive and naïve about the exaggerated misogynist threat and racism fears reported about during The Trump Campaign. I just happened to be privy to the bigger picture. If this Nuclear War had broken out after the improbable election Win by you know who, it would not have mattered much whether what was talked about Trump erecting a Wall along the Mexico Border to keep away illegal immigrants was done or the occasional racism suffered by Black people on the streets at the hands of Racist Police and the Klansmen in high offices of government. Heck it! Do people know there would have been NO streets to speak of after a Nuke is detonated or Borders or Racism to worry about? Life as we know it would have been completely obliterated. This, by the way, is the current level of Hi-Tech weaponry advancement that these Nations have reached. There is no longer the polarizing effect of M.A.D (Mutually Assured Destruction) between the super powers which ensured relative peace existed in the world. My sights were fixed on preventing a scenario which was more destructive to the whole planet and one which for all intent and purposes could well have ushered in a second Ice Age from the resultant Nuclear Fallout and particles which would blocked out the sun's rays. I do have a few online ‘friends’ who are either currently in The US or have been there for years, or are now back but did their tertiary education there and are thus obviously more knowledgeable than I am about the living conditions of our Brothers and Sisters of Color in The US especially as regards Race Relations and the Rights and freedoms of Minorities. Their reaction to the recent Trump election win is that of a morbid dread of yet unforeseen ramifications. We have even heard and seen previously Secretive Right Wing hate group members now openly come out to express themselves with their bigotry. Look, if Life becomes way too unbearable for you out there,Marcus Mosiah Garvey Elijah once said, ' Africa is for Africans , those at Home and those Abroad." You are always welcome back Home for , " Amid Pleasures and Palaces though you may roam, be they ever so humble, There is No Place like Home." - John Howard Payne. The Philosophy of Marcus can be fulfilled through Trump and The GOP, would not that be Grand? I know its quite a long short though for the many African Americans who speak of relocating back to Africa only speak of and want to over crowd South Africa since it is by far the closest they can ever be to the standards of Life they enjoyed in The US. This probable Exodus would effectively disadvantage other African countries of humble means as they would be deemed too unfavourable destinations for possible resettlement. The result would an Africa experiencing lopsided capital Investment. The message I have for all those communities especially African-Americans that are constantly whining about Racism from The Police and Right Wing Groups in the US is, 'Put Up or Shut The Eff Up' or better still , come back Home to Afrika damn it; Hell, but this is the only home we have known, they would retort. This reaction you would mostly get from those African-Americans with a lighter skin hue and the Mullatoes or mixed race individuals not so much from those Brothers and Sister that have against all odds and the passage of time and exposure to years of temperate climatic conditions managed to maintain the true identity and manifestation of quite remarkable phenotypic integrity and appearance of true negrescence. This is because these mixed race lighter negroes feel their chances of a better life and being fully accepted in White America as higher and as a result are less of a target for racial abuse. They would tell you they have no real cultural connections with Black Africa no matter how hard we try to force ourselves. Our children have fully integrated in American society. Integrated? Do define integration if you are not accepted as equal citizens and your freedoms and rights are almost non-existent.There is, am afraid nothing for us to go to in any African country. Really? News flash!The hard core Red Neck Racists make little distinction between negroes and give them a reality check by reminding even them that, no matter how light you think uou look, ' You still aint nothing but a Niggar ! Well, quit your bloody complaining then and deal with your challenges in America and spare us your problems.Here you will Live in Peace and quiet among your kind. This is where it really becomes sad because there exists among African American communities a subtle form of Intra - Racial segregation on the basis of skin hue. Some of these feel and behave they are superior to their counterparts.These do actually find their stay and fortunes in racist America slightly better than their melanin enriched folk who look more African having undergone very little phenotypic modification even after several generations of genetic interactions. They somehow have not attempted to artificially change their physical appearance by going under the knife or bleaching their skins and treating their hair so as to forcibly conform with perhaps what they deem to be the perfect image of acceptable human beings in America.These ‘friends’ of mine thus saw my total disapproval of the very choice of the DNC’s favored candidate over Bernie Saunders as naïve and none of my business since my opinions on their elections mattered squat! They saw my near celebratory reaction to the recent election result and my aggressive online canvassing against their preferred candidate to discredit her as rather shockingly odd coming from a non US Citizen and one who has never even set foot there. They feel I little realized let alone appreciated the fullest implication of a Trump victory and the background of the people who he has chosen to fill up his Administration with. There were also those that saw my postings as, of all things dull, because they felt I needed to instead expend my energies and attention to analyzing the full implication and the national logistical challenge that will arise from the distribution of Free sanitary pads to girls situated in some rural areas as allocated for in a the recently read out Budget! Excuse me! Unfortunately, unlike them, there are only a select few things that manage to engage my cranial department due to my limited space to work with in my head. This has made me somewhat selective on what I analyze. Going around the world touring other Nations and having closed door meetings with world leaders on Tax payer’s expense when the end of ones term of office as a Sitting Duck President is fast approaching is to say the least unusual, unless these excursions can be proven to be of absolute necessity and serving the overall strategic importance to the Nation. Unless there is stuff that needs to be said only in person behind closed doors thus avoiding the use of e-mails or phone calls. For obvious reasons of course! Pun Intended. The other trend we have noticed is where there are now last minute after thoughts or foreign policy direction pronouncements being made at International gatherings by folks who are soon to vacate their offices when they had more than ample time to do their bit during their tenure . These also should be received with a pinch of salt as on close scrutiny, they seem to come out with a highly nuanced view. Are they meant to serve the effect of pre-empting the foreign policy direction that the incoming Administration should steer the country in and by extension the world or what? Granted, that an official handover is a crucial feature of any job not the least that of President of Those United States. But it is my considered view that, they should Let Trump and the New Team he constitutes to chart the way forward in the best way he knows how and achieve what he promised the many loyal Americans who voted them into office to help make America Great Again. The sad truth is however, the two of them alone may not entirely succeed in unbundling The Illuminati due to the deeply entrenched nature of the machinations of this shadowy Group. It has been influencing World Governments much to their detriment for way too long. We hope to derive comfort from the thought that a few leaders will at least wake up and realize what has really been happening in the world and who has been behind it all. Notwithstanding, the fact that these other world leaders may not exactly be brave enough to do anything much themselves, the ground work would have been laid to launch a sustained wave of some sort of Global Resistance or revolution or uprising against evil. As to just how long Putin and Trump will be on this path and resist being compromised themselves is not known? Everything considered, may the world know this today that, these two gentlemen are the modern world’s only hope of preventing it from succumbing to a sustained barrage of evil plots and schemes by an extremely determined cabal of Family Bloodlines, Secret Societies and Organizations who are intent on ushering in The New World Order at all costs and make us all be at their mercy where we will be all ruled over forever as mere ‘sheeple’. The Mind Control programs have been active for years which have seen moral decadence marketed as the vogue via subliminal messages transmitted through Hollywood productions and the music industry. Your children’s minds are being manipulated without you realizing the full impact from the cartoon programs you constantly expose them to. Well, come on Namakando are you suggesting we all start wearing Tin Foil Hats over our heads in Hippy fashion? Well, anything will have to do in order for you to block out their mind control rays they keep bombarding your minds with! There is really no telling what these behind the scenes shadow governments are planning but one thing is for sure that they have be forced to go back to the drawing board. I will not credit them with too much sophistry by assuming they may well still be in control of things despite the helter-skelter appearance of the current global geo-political landscape. The emergence of Putin and Trump has made them recalibrate their schemes and plans for this world.

THE FLYING TERMITE ‘INSWA’ SEASON IS ON : BIZZARE FOODS 2.0

By Namakando Nalikando-Sinyama From the outset, I may need to explicitly state that, in writing this piece, I am not in any way claiming to be an accomplished entomologist in Chidumayo proportions, not by a long shot, but simply being the Amateur Naturalist Extraordinaire that I have always been who merely had an overdose of those BBC Nature documentaries presented by Sir David Attenborough growing up. I thought this should be out of the way lest am cited for some misplaced scientific misdemeanor. I also do not intend to, unintentionally of course, disgust people’s gastronomic exploits but I thought casting a bit of light on one critter that has featured quite prominently on menus of many urban family dinner tables would be in order given the season we are in. This is the Larger Flying Termite with the scientific name Mastotermes darwiniensis spp. or as it is called in these parts, “ Inswa”. It should gladden your hearts therefore to know that your seasonal culinary adventures ought to still be safe after reading it. I here make a somewhat unsafe assumption that it is a well-known and generally accepted fact that ‘ Inswa’ actually descended from, believe it or not, Cockroaches! What with those shifty mandibles and striped abdomen and hard heads with those eerie looking beady black eyes. Come on now, no need to make faces, it should have been pretty obvious even to the casual observer that, when magnified ,they do actually look a lot like the spitting image of the Roach! I will spare the reader all the gory details of the morphological similarities or features of these not so distant species of insects that most definitely must have dispersed along the same Evolutionary Speciation line. To prove my point even further, it will perhaps interest you to learn that , The Chinese have long since noted this very similarity and have as a result exploited and taken it a step further by actually breeding Cockroaches on a commercial scale to be fried as Food. They have since been appreciated as an acceptable constituent of their regular cuisine in most of their eateries. There is actually a video on cockroach farming which can be found on youtube. It must be stated that, I have cited or isolated the above termite species for mere convenience of analysis since officially there over 3000 species of Termites that are classified. So there is really no telling which one folks in these parts enjoy eating. The focus of this piece is directed at the subterranean one which later momentarily break ground takes to the skies in flight. As a form seasonal alert we are now being told that now more than ever, is the time to arm yourself with detailed information on where the best security lights are located around your neighborhood and collect the phone numbers of Night watchmen who make quite a killing picking these same insects to sell to marketeers early in the morning. Truly, to everyone’s delight, Nature does have its bounties indeed! At the onset of the very first rains, the smaller flying Termites emerge from the many burrows and crevices deep in the earth first. These should be ignored as they only serve as an undesired nuisance but a welcome primer or precursor to the incoming near swam of pharaoic plague of Biblical scale.These are later followed by the larger edible ones seemingly following a strict order of emergence. This is supposedly the time when the soil becomes soft enough for them to manage digging their way out of the earth and fly away to distant places further from the common nesting place for the entire colony probably becomes too overcrowded consequently causing food supplies to dwindle. What baffles me though, this I strongly feel could be an interesting area of possible research, is that their emergence may actually have little to do with the ground becoming soft enough. It seems to me there is just some connection with the first rains or rain water in general which triggers them to come on out. This, I have hypothesized, is the same way that the grass almost becomes instantly lush green with the very first splash rains whereas this does not happen that quickly enough even with prolonged manual watering of the lawn using your regular piped water. It must have something to do with rain water being laden with nutrients through atmospheric Nitrification. These Termites have developed an Evolutionary feature or Adaptation of growing wings which are meant to serve another purpose of Genetic Dispersal via procreation. The moment they either get tired of flying or simply land on preferred places, they quickly shed off their wings and you always see them as consential partners in twos tagging on each other in tandem in search of any crevices or holes to hide in and start another colony. Of course, never like the Winas who could be seen on Lusaka Central Business District always moving side by side! Awwwww! They were indeed once the perfect example of an ideal couple. They were always together as husband and wife, may God rest Her Soul. At least there was something positive about them after all! Without having to go into specifics that is, which would be a subject for another day. These Termites have apparently been cited as a living example from the Animal Kingdom where Humans can pick up a lesson or two on Fidelity. The other animal where this lesson can also be learnt is the common dove or pigeon. Stories abound in African urban folklore where we hear many an insecure wives who have had to suffer the misfortune of landing on philanderous hubbies and have sought fetishes from those notorious Tents which moonlight as makeshift pharmacopoeia stocking all manner of medicinal paraphernalia that are dotted on street corners in Peri-urban areas. These things or portions we are subjected to are gotten to tame husbands as they use parts of some of these animals as ingredients to achieve this very purpose. This I have come to learn is actually meant to either sedate them(husbands) into induced docility or zombies or make them(Wives) always tag along where ever the husband goes so as to curtail their husband's suspected run away libido. I may not vouch for the efficacy of these concoctions though. But then, what type of existence would this be? Talk about desperate measures by Desperate House wives indeed! This constant struggle with spousal mistrust eventually does get overly expensive and cumbersome since, unbeknown to these poor women, they battle against a deeply engrained Evolutionary feature in the male species in the Animal Kingdom which for Millennia has ensured their very survival as a species.This is the Biological Law of Fecundity. As a form of Dominance Expression, Alpha Males of most animal species seem to have an almost instinctive and insatiable desire to spread their genes to the next generation through any willing female. ANY being the operative term! This has however been curtailed by Human sociological inhibitions attributed to morality, economic considerations and general health and safety reasons especially in the face of communicable diseases contracted through this medium of gene preservation. Many so-called civilized societies have augmented such virtues by espousing the sanctity of Human sexual desire and act by emphasizing the need and importance of monogamous unions and even enshrining this doctrine in religious manuscripts. The total or partial suppression of The Sexual desire has certain Negative psychological effects which manifest themselves as different levels of psychosis and heightened levels of anti-social behavioral patterns. For a detailed appreciation of this subject, I strongly recommend the Book, 'The Function of The Orgasm by Herr Wilhelm Reich. The reason Infidelity persists and which most times eventually ,sadly leads to a total breakdown of the institution of marriage is that these concepts stand in direct contrast with the dictates of Natural Sexual urges. The counter argument to this type of reasoning is that we as Humans are believed, I have my doubts though, to be the most superior form of life and as such we are expected to control our sexual urges and not succumb every time we have them like lower animals do. These Termites are usually caught at night from places where there is a strong enough light source. Although, they have also been known to be found coming out of elaborate labyrinth or mazes inside built up termite mounds or just from simple holes in the ground even during the daytime. Humans quickly find that they are not alone in eating them but come in direct competition with other animals that feed on them too. We do see how even birds that are not nocturnal braving the night to partake of this feast. The traditional top feeders of flying termites are Lizards like geckoes that can be seen perched on walls with the help of those highly adapted sticky digital extremities near these light sources as they eat away. These larger Termites should however be differentiated from the smaller version of flying termite which to the best of my knowledge are not edible. There are tales where as children we were told if you ate the small ones you would lose your auditory faculties by going deaf upon ingestion almost instantaneously. This was all we needed to scare us off and stay well clear of them. This year's seasonal frenzy may however be like no other. The joys and projected cash windfall which people are expecting or used to make from this entomological bounty might elude the masses this time around if the power utility company has its way. The sometimes scheduled or abrupt sessions of pitch thick blackness that has become such a usual or common feature of suburbia will certainly have an impact on the quantities of these insects that will be harvested. The effect that this will have is make it scarce thus causing the resultant effect of rising the Price since their Demand for them still remains High but Supply will be definitely be short. Like the trawler Boat vessels on Water bodies that depend of light to catch sardines, the presence of prolonged periods of artificial illumination will be critical to attracting and catching them. The annoying Loadshedding will reduce the yearly catches am afraid. The other bit I find interesting is how these women who sell Termites price their catch since there is little or nothing that is incurred as a direct cost when picking them from street lights. It is the same argument I have had with the mushroom pricing regime. Although, the mushroom pickers justify their sometimes exorbitant prices due to the dangers they face in the thick forests. Look, they probably even pick these Termites from a neighbour’s security light or just from a street light at night so what do they factor in to come up with a price for these insects? The only danger one can speak off is that of being run over by some deranged intoxicated motorist coming from some overnight binge. We have also heard of guards who become so distracted with picking these insects that some notorious thieves have taken advantage and robbed them clean. These wretched insects are quite an enjoyable snack actually especially with a chilled brownie on the side! I once thought I could get adventurous and stealthily snuck out a pot from home and fried a handful of them which I brought home so that I could have a taste. Being Barotses plagued with all manner of dietary fussiness, our Culinary or gastronomic preferences are somewhat picky, except for the famed arboreal or aquatic reptilian slithery fellow that we are known to cherish on whose bone you must never bite, we try as much as possible to stick to what seemed as conventional foods. When I was unfortunately found out, the pot was thrown away and I was almost ostracized for attempting to eat these Insects and fill up the house with acrid fumes! This is why; it is more out of sheer, albeit well founded, Barotse Cultural and not so much Economic pride that only very few Barotses would openly admit to ever having eaten any suspicious looking critters for fear of being looked down upon by their kin or even worse still ,having your real ethnic identity or credentials as a Mulozi doubted for not being of Pure stock or a thorough breed. Apparently, to many of us, this is by far the worst form of punishment that can ever be imposed on a Mulozi. The eating of what we call ,’Bi Kokwani’ or creatures is thus a near taboo which is deemed to be a sign of being of a lower Caste or being of humble means or poverty stricken. If a Mulozi wants to eat anything meaty as a source of protein that is why we have cattle as Barotses it is reasoned. However, the truth on the ground is such that, not every Mulozi can boast of owning even a single herd of cattle. If however, for some strange reason, only known to one, a Mulozi turned to eating crawly or flying insects, they would rather keep it completely hush hush! I thought other languages have made an attempt at differentiating these insects. But maybe Butwa is specifically the unwinged Destructive Termites that eats away at wooden structures that are not protected with Anti-Termite chemicals.On the other hand, the winged bigger and juicy looking fattier ones with a big abdomen should be what they call 'Inswa' whereas the destructive non flying ones which were once rather erroneously called White Ants is distinctively refered to as 'Ubu Benshi' in Si Bemba. We may however seek some further clarifications from the Native speakers of Si Bemba. Malozi on their part may really not have bothered much to find specific names for these things. This is why, when it comes to Humans turning to any form of Insect as a food source, Ma Malozi would rather generically refer to everything as ' Bi Kokwani' and have little or nothing to do with them.It is for this very reason also that to the best of my knowledge we do not even have a name for these insects in SiLozi. I beg to be enlightened by anyone that knows it. On a more positive note, It must be acknowledged that even when these Insects may be deemed as bizarre foods by some, there are cultures that eat them and this should be respected. We have seen them being eaten as a preferred snack at outdoor drinking places and some women have sought to cash in on this by availing it to the patrons. They therefore do have an economic value since people pick enough to eat, it supplements their protein source in the absence of more traditional but now unaffordable protein sources such as meat and fish. The excess catch is taken to market for sale. It is an undeniable fact that we are living in beleaguered times so this level of resourcefulness by the citizenry is welcome. The proceeds from these sales end up sorting out a myriad of many a family’s financial needs courtesy of Mother Nature.

DAVE’S ANGLO PREMIERSHIP DEBAUCHERY!

By Namakando Nalikando-Sinyama If you are an ardent football fanatic and you perhaps rather too hastily concluded this piece had something to do with the banality of the Barclays English football league involving players flashing and exposing their all, after scoring a goal, then you are duly forgiven. I have always maintained that, the path to public office in developed countries is replete and littered with a multiplicity of behavioural landmines and personal pitfalls. If ones intention or dream is to one day aspire for public office, then, my humble and considered advice to them is, there comes a point in life when you are your own enemy. You will need to watch your every step from The Cradle to the Grave because whenever you misstep, that moment or incident will most definitely come round to haunt you one day in your life. There are people whose job it is to ensure that no one of doubtful moral standing ever rules the country as President or Prime Minister. Although, I have to hasten to qualify this statement that this practice of vetting would be Leaders, from my experience only happens in decent countries, please do not ask me what I mean with this statement for fear that I might just tell you the truth about what I mean, and to be honest, let us just say, you might not like what I have to say. The other precept that is widely accepted in democratic societies is this that, the leader that emerges, almost always has to be a representation of the very best stock of the citizenry. Yes, they need to measure up and be of a right proven pedigree or as we called it in Silvi-Cultural Molecular Genetics, they are expected to be of the right Provenance. He or she is expected to be the truest embodiment of the general societal rectitude in all matters spiritual, wisdom and intelligence. Put simply, every generation of people in a country deserve the leader they get, since by electing their preferred leader, they are saying to the outside world, look, here we present so and so as the very best of us. You can scrutinise him, he presents us all, in him/her we are very well pleased and our collective nature of being as a people is encapsulated in them. When you see him/her, you will have seeing us all in the same light. The recent revelations of Dave having been reported as seen allowing the head of a dead Sus (pig) perform fellatio on him as part of some extremely depraved initiation ritual at a college function he attended makes very thought-provoking reading indeed. It must be stated here that, the fact that he attended Eton and later Oxford, which are both very prestigious schools in England gives you an impression and idea of what type of family he came from or what he was intellectually made of as a student. There is no doubt in my mind that he really must have been a very clever chap at school. What should be borne in mind is that, learning institutions the world over have proven to be a breeding ground for all sorts and manner of moral decadence. Therefore, as parents we need to be wary of where we take our children for academic instruction as they are too separated from our care and guidance. This is irrespective of whether the institution is co-ed or an all-boys or all-girls school. To this effect, parents must not succumb to the pressures of life and the not so well thought through social trends of committing their children too early in their development into boarding schools. It is not classy at all but grossly negligent on your part as parents. You must never be too busy for your children. They first need to be properly nurtured and given a solid family tradition of discipline and code of conduct at home before they can be ushered into the abyss of enclosed environments of unchecked youthful interaction. Reports abound where upstanding and straight young men go to boarding schools and come back queer because they had fallen prey to some male teacher with runaway libido who could not control his Grecian appetite for young men or they simply yield to what that great Irish dramatist Oscar O’flahertie Wills Wilde once called, “ The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name.” This usually happens because of their coming into contact with students from diverse backgrounds even when they may have had a sound upbringing themselves but meet up with those who came from where they were given too much Cart Blanche to behave as they pleased and had unrestricted access to sleazy material at home. Our hitherto relatively innocent lassies also have been given to easy virtue because they get to mingle with fellow older girls who may have already started experimenting with men where they hail from. They get exposed to stories of the older girl’s mischievous escapades with older men or their deranged uncles and cousins who have started having their ways with them at an early age. All girls schools have been known to be sizzling with horny vixens who prey on the new entrants at their schools when they report as it becomes open season! These in the end quickly become automatic contenders for high fliers or proud carriers of the rainbow flag for LGBT in future! The tertiary institutions become slightly different because the students here are expected to be more mature and are relatively seen to be more responsible for their actions. This is why the British public may need to seriously analyse their leaders. If your incumbent leader is reported in an exclusive unauthorised biography by the most noble Lord Michael Ashcroft and Isabel Oakeshott For The Daily Mail as having engaged in acts that their society, which prides itself with cherishing certain well known standards of behaviour and reviles those that it does not approve of, then more national soul searching should have been instituted in earnest. The British people then should be asking more prodding questions round about now, but strangely enough,they seem not to be doing that, how so bizarre indeed. You will notice, from this piece, that I am rather meticulously skating around the fact that he was also known to have been a habitual partaker of Sinsemilla (seedless weed/marijuana from a female plant) for obvious reasons. The innocent lushly growing palmate shrub with serrated leaves has been given way too much bashing and has been demonised for way too long, people need to have a rethink, as most civilised societies with progressive Thinkers have begun doing. When asked whether he had smoked marijuana in his school days, David simply replied, “I had a very normal University experience” which in itself is a very pregnant answer coming from one of the sharpest and most eloquent Prime Ministers Britain has ever had. What would you expect from a Political Science Major and Philosophy student? This response, if your read between the lines, is a subtle concealment of what the French call ‘Joie de vivre’ which is the Carefree thus reckless Enjoyment Of Life hippy style he must have enjoyed while at university. Although as Premier, occupying that high office, we need to remind him of yet another French adage, ‘noblesse oblige’ meaning Privilege entails responsibility especially in the manner you conduct yourself before and while in office. This also reminds me of , “Prisons without Bars”, a piece I wrote on my Copperbelt University experiences as a freshman where I chronicled my academic adventures as a budding student . In this, however, you will find that David Cameron is not entirely the only one to have been plagued and haunted by scandal from things he did in his past life. His Irish cousin William Jefferson Blythe III (Bill Clinton) from the opposite side across the Atlantic did not escape scandal either. We heard how he at least had the decency of admitting that he puffed on a weed joint, only he just did not inhale! That will always be a classic in me mind. Not to mention the many practical aphorisms in Love (Karma sutra) sensual callisthenic sessions on the tables in the Oval office with his many nymphomaniac white house female aides not just Monica Lewinsky by the way, as it was later discovered. David Maraniss recently treated us to a detailed account of Hussain Obama’s Choom Gang(weed smoking) days in Hawaii. Barack coined the expression TA meaning Total Absorption. According to David Maraniss’ book Barack Obama: The Story, the young Obama popularized a smoking trend known as “TA” (short for “Total Absorption”) and “Roof Hits,” where the group would smoke with all the car windows rolled up to not let any smoke escape. Obama was also known to cut into other people’s turn when a joint was being passed around and yelling “interception.” Yes, young Barry Obama was indeed a Pot-smoking innovator alright! Maraniss said. What should concern the British public and West Minister even more is the fact that if he was initiated into some society, what really was or is involved in its membership? Consequently, to what extent is his membership influencing his conduct and decision making as Prime Minister? Is he still a member of that group? What is that group really about? These questions are almost hypocritical coming from the author of this piece who without his peers realising it, was very close to starting a Secret society during his Varsity years as a freshman at The Copperbelt University. Well, it was really more of a Fraternity than a Secret Society in the strictest sense of the word. Of course, not in the American context of Alpha,Sigma,Kappa, which are mostly sports groups centred around cheer leaders as seen at American colleges. We are here talking about something more serious than that am afraid. This was to be a grouping of a carefully vetted and selected few students using a very stringent wit centred criterion to arrive at a choice of which students would be drawn from diverse backgrounds who would then later have been drilled in academic excellence and connected with a vast network of leadership and business professionals of like mind in the outside world. This was to be a nursery of extraordinary league of young gentlemen who were going to be released into the world to take up various leadership roles and head Corporations in Southern Africa and beyond. I here take cognisance of the possible existence of Sororities at various Varsities around the world but since I am no expert in these or what their operational ethos is about, I will gladly decline to delve into them. To the uninitiated, you will most likely not realise that these Fraternities at US Colleges and Universities have churned out many US presidents and CEOs with almost 90%, if not all of their former presidents having been members of one or two secret societies such as Skull & Bones, The Know-nothings, The Free Masons, The Brotherhood, Illuminati, Ancient Order of The Druids etc. The word on the ground is that, of all their Presidents of The USA only two may not have been actual members, that is, JFK and Abe Lincoln and in both cases, it was only their premature deaths that interfered. Yes, it is that serious. We all know or at least should know by now that such degrees of moral decadence especially coming from a personage of his standing as David’s is an offspring of a very sick society. The paradox of it all is that most of these sick societies are those that profess lofty ideals of Demon(cracy) and moral rectitude as the British are akin. We all know the British, and just what would they have said if this character and personality blemish was disclosed about a leader of another ‘rogue’ country in Africa for instance. Should it not concern the Brits about the possible current state of mind of their Prime Minister if as a student he started or got initiated into some shadowy grouping of students with yet unknown agenda? The word Initiate means get started and as proof of continued membership to such societies, Rituals of this nature are supposed to be repeated when you are meeting. Is it not of even greater concern that their leader’s scruples in decision making are compromised if he at one time plunged his dangly protuberant blood filled erectile tissue body member into the mouth, of all things, a dead Pig for crying out loud for whatever reasons? What does this say about his current state of mind and his suitability to hold public office? Oh please come on Namakando you are building a mountain out of a mole hill, he was but a wee lad thus entitled to experiment with drugs and discovering his sexuality. Are you sure? So, what does it then tell us about his sexual orientation when he did it or eff it, he probably still does it with Sus scrofa domesticus spp.? Is not his wife in the least curious about these things? Does the British Tax payer know that their official residences may still play host to guests who perform sinister rituals to this day? Does the place moonlight as a sty or there is just a special corner nicely tucked away for special purposes? Does he prefer a particular breed of pig or anything goes? Did MI5 do a thorough perusal of his personal file at that specialised registry office at that department entrusted with keeping the details of every citizen in Britain? At a time when social and industrial militancy were at their highest, surely the MI5 at F Branch should have known better to cross reference his PF with his SF (That is, Personal File and Subject Files respectively) to try and dig up whatever was not right about his character that would prove problematic in future years as a premier. They should have done a much better job of vetting him before they accepted his candidature for the top job of Premiership for fear of him bringing the name of the Crown Government into disrepute like he has? You will notice, I have here endeavoured to maintain the details of that MI5 office to a bare minimum because some of the stuff I have chosen not to say is on a need to know basis and believe me, You-Do-Not-Need-To-Know certain things for your own safety! Let me not complicate it too much, I was just not given clearance to make public disclosures of that nature. Although, I know his spin doctors will do a good counter attack and ensure they sweep the details of this biography under the carpet. On second thoughts, I think I am being way too harsh on him I think. How many occupants of 10 Downing Street have been so scrutinised? He has just suffered the misfortune of having the lid on his personal life blown open. The skeletons have scampered out of his once latched closet for a much needed breather. Whatever the case is, one thing is for sure, the goings on at Number 10 Downing Street will forever be shrouded in mystery.

MY LIST OF THE WORST POLITICAL BLUNDERS EVER MADE!

MY LIST OF THE WORST POLITICAL BLUNDERS EVER MADE! By Namakando Nalikando-Sinyama I am sorry but you may have to put on your thinking cap for this piece as it is inspired by an excess of cryptic puzzles from The Mensa Society. 1. The Bufo Amphibian or Goliath Frog reducing itself, and consequently, almost completely diminishing his political clout or influence after his not being preferred by the Double Mike River Mouth Group by forming an ineffectual party when he should have been more patient to join a more established one to propel himself to greater nation-wide appeal. This was when he failed to get the reins of power in the Double Mike River Mouth Group after the untimely demise of our very dear Israeli High Priestly tribe and Irish cousin from the midlands. 2. The Brit heir apparent prince, Sisutho variant lingo for Incessant Rains, a Barotse National, fancying his chances of ruling Zambia one day that he even goes ahead to form a political party. Though not explicitly stated, but the motive was to ride or bank on his almost default popularity or support base he would get in Barotseland. He grossly miscalculated in doing all this at a time when many a Mulozi are increasingly expressing deep nationalistic fervor. The pinnacle of this booboo was when during a campaign trail rally in Barotseland, he was booed and jeered off a platform and almost roughed up for forcing The Malozi to sing a Zambian national anthem. This, they resented and proudly bellowed out of their chest and instead sung in unison ‘ Bulozi Fasi La Bondata Luna’ (The Proud Barotseland National Anthem). 3. Double Hotel’s total lack of discernment or failure to learn from the lessons of the Ugly thing in Luyana's botched unholy union with the micturition product sounding initial, informalized into a copulation euphemism. 4. Double Hotel wasting his chance at winning/stealing a sizeable amount of votes from a few confused Barotses who would shockingly still vote in Zambian election in 2015 and beyond by failing to understand what The Barotseland Agreement WAS about. He even embarrassingly , rather naively likens his possible resolution to The Barotseland Question to mere Federalism. 5. The Regal venomous slithery Reptilian blood lined individual from the boreal campus point, having the propensity for commenting on all matters even those whose full depth he sadly, usually and obviously little understands, only to have them explode in his face like 10,000 mega-tonnes of TNT like promising to honor an Agreement he little understood the depth of. 6. The ploy by successive administrations to make the issue of Barotseland taboo, even going to the extent of making its very mention treasonable and not acceptable to be uttered in Parliament pretty much childish in my books. 7. The total avoidance and removal of the Barotseland Question from the country’s historical background and how their country was founded through meticulously doctored curriculum offered in schools to their children is something i find extremely bizarre. 8. The total inability or unwillingness of the citizenry to comprehend a very basic once legally binding document (Barotseland Agreement 1964,whose abrogation has since been mutually accepted) and its full resultant implication to be grappled with as a direct consequence. And which Unity treaty was the sole basis of their country’s founding in its current State and Form. 9. The failure of the BRE( Barotse Royal Establishment)to fully engage all the stakeholders who are part and parcel of greater Barotseland(Encompassed in the geographical boundaries of the Nation of Barotseland) in charting the way forward for the Nation of Barotseland. Their total failure or inability to unite all the activist groups and issue an equivocal statement on their stance to the international community and to their people post-BNC in the form of the State of the Nation address. 10. Zambia continuing to grapple with the Barotseland Question for 50 +YEARS using the same techniques of fruitless internal dialogue, intimidation, Divide and Rule,Forced Assimilation,Belligerence, military armament and Occupation. What did Einstein describe the process of doing the same thing over and over again but expecting to get a different result? 11. The embarrassing intellectual inadequacy of failing to comprehend what is happening in Barotseland and some people’s inability to differentiate between Secession and reverting back to a previous status of Statehood of Barotseland in the event of a material breach to an International Treaty in accordance with The International Law of Treaties. Secession is when a group of people in one historically solid monolithic state decide, for whatever reason, to detach themselves from the rest of the country citing either marginalization or unequitable distribution national resources. This usually happens where there is ethnic division and unequal distribution of wealth and resource utilization as it is evident in some parts of Africa. The proud State and Nation of Barotseland only became part of Zambia based on The Barotseland Agreement 1964 which Zambia decided to unilaterally and systematically abrogate by disregarding the clauses enshrined therein. The end result is what we see now; in my humble understanding, this is technically not secession. How are they a Unitary State then,through force or a mere preamble statement in their Constitution? Who did they unite with and using what tool as the modus operandi of the union? 12. The failure to realize that the Barotseland Question left inconclusively addressed, as it has always been, will FOREVER be there to haunt them up to the Nth generation and beyond. No amount of intimidation, arrests, killings, warn and caution statements will ever prevent the Barotse People from achieving that which was divinely ordained to be theirs, Royal Barotseland! They constantly add insult to injury by always going back to tease Malozi that when voted into office , they would help resolve the Barotseland Question and for some strange reason, like a cursed people Malozi buy into this cheap politicking by voting for them en masse. How not so shocking , remember The Curse of Sir Mwanawina III ,when he was forced to sign the Barotseland Agreement? 13. The perpetuation of a very unfortunate and dangerous ideology and thought that, any other ethnic group in Zambia will never ever ascend to the helm of political power. This assertion, unfortunately we openly and publicly hear being repeated by the denizens of Zambia as an affront to anyone who opposes their plans and political hegemony. Armed with this fallacious thought pattern, many electorates have entered into polling booths to choose their preferred national leaders during their exercise of universal suffrage, solely based on tribe and regional origins but not substance of the candidate. The voting pattern in most African countries is regional or ethnic in nature. This happens when certain, but not all, usually or predominantly, the less affluent and those of humble educational backgrounds or the blatantly bigoted individuals vote for presidential candidates based solely on which tribe they hail from. Having come to grips with this eternal fact, “ May God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr quotes (American theologian, 1892-1971).

 The almost unforgivable result of the succession rift in The upended group between Double Hotel and the Ugly Luyana thing, was to say the least selfishness on the part of the duo. They did not realize that they had inflicted untold harm on the relations Of the Bovine Bulls and the Elephants. The two were, as a consequence, blinded to the potential of uniting or harnessing the south, central, copperbelt, North-west and The Occident into a formidable voting block of great repute taking full advantage of the historical strong bond of cousinship which binds us all. This, when properly done, would radically create a paradigm shift in the political landscape of the zedians. 14. The various machinations of state to attempt to stifle the public freedom of expression and the free flow of diverse intellectual ideas, no matter how they find them disagreeable. Fond memories of the Grecian’s Agora spring back to my mind , where i would have intellectually thrived to unimaginable proportions. What this effectively does, is inadvertently create a police state where citizens develop a morbid fear of officialdom. The barometric readings on broader or critical issues affecting the general public would not be ascertained accurately if you do not allow them vocalize their discontent. The end result of this strangulation of opinions is that they vent out their disdain and anger in the polling booth when it is too late for any meaningful intervention measures. 15. The blunder by the bearded fair skinned semi-Grecian to leave the trappings of the acme of professionalism at N.A.T.O. Phonetic Alphabet begins in encoded mode; Scottish product; The Brit heir apparent Prince pet name; and lastly O’flahertie Wills Wilde’s forename only to join Double Mike River Mouth Group at its political nadir. Lo and behold ,he has effectively vanished into oblivion after he headed Zulu Romeo Alpha . “I tell you a Truth, Liberty is the best of all things, my son, never live under a Slavish Bond.” – Sir William Wallace’s Uncle

WHO REALLY IS IN CHARGE OF THIS WORLD? MY ENDLESS STRUGGLE WITH THE TRIPE THAT IS PREDESTINATION!

By Namakando Nalikando-Sinyama Somebody Died Last Night, But We Didn’t Somebody Did Not Wake Up This Morning, But We Did We Are Not Lucky, We Are Blessed! I know the above message was genuinely meant to be uplifting and probably aimed at encouraging someone out there. Well, that was until I picked up on it that is! And all those that died last night, are Cursed is that it? Sorry, I do not intend to seem overly critical and thus antagonising most people’s tenets of faith and religious dogma. I also do not want to be seen as one that is totally ungrateful for the divine providence and the abundance of grace that has seen me through to this day. It is just that, I have constantly struggled with this very concept of the so-called foreordained progression of events on Earth or the predestination/ preordination of the general course of human life and existence. There might be those souls out there who genuinely care for my safety and future wellbeing, who will probably wonder why I am not scared to write about such things. And to them, I am heartily grateful. But I should have Fear of what exactly? The fear of Eternal damnation, Reprisals and consequences for my free spirited stance in life has long since left me. But reprisals from whom anyway and for what? I am glad to report that, I happen to be one of the very last few of a dying and extremely rare breed of humans who claim to have sufficiently ascended spiritually to manage this kind of delicate leverage in handling such matters. Others will only attempt this at their own peril! I here write this piece, only for those that DO NOT find the exercise in Applied Logical Thought and Reasoning sinful or painful. The concept of Predestination, (in Christian theology) is the doctrine that God has ordained all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others. It has been particularly associated with the teachings of St Augustine of Hippo and of Calvin. If you, rather wrongly, felt that I am here unfairly taking a swipe at the teachings in Christendom only, you would sadly be missing the point, since this belief happens to be alive and well in other faiths as well. The same concept in Arabic is called Kismet. We have gotten only too accustomed to screams of, ‘Allah Uakbar!!’(God is Great) from Islamic zealots when they survive a calamitous event or just before they are about to end, either their own life or that of someone else’s! When people survive accidents on mass public transport and they quickly say ‘thank God they survived’, what are we to think about the many that die and get injured? What are they supposed to say? Or the good lord just gets so incensed with their many collective transgressions despite their diverse backgrounds and thus feels the over powering need or urge to snuff out their lives in one go especially seeing that by sheer happenstance, they have rather conveniently and mysteriously gathered in one vessel, in an uncaring display of instant justice? Some say, look, you cannot question him; he is the giver of all Life, so he can end it at any time as he wishes right? What about the many Babies that have died in accidents, was it also their appointed Time to die just after being born? What would have been the point of being born to begin with? Through one man Sin entered and all have fallen short of the glory of God, its ok for them to die too because they are sinners! Wow!!! Even Babies? This is also yet another concept that I will forever find morally repulsive and unpalatable and will never ever sit well with me in my conscience. Are they all really sinners and you are so special as the lone survivor of a Bus or Plane crash or it is just purely the Law of a Probable outcome at play? Out of all the people who have died and have been maimed, he only has a special purpose for you alone, while the others had all outlived their usefulness on the Planet? Talk about an exaggerated perception of self, what impudence and misplaced haughtiness indeed! Are we to understand that they all did not have Children and Relatives who still wanted them to be alive because they still needed their love and care? They looked up to them for sustenance and in their minds; these people’s passing suddenly whether naturally through disease/old age or any other causal agent cannot be justified in any way. The bereaved families will now be effectively consigned to abject poverty on account of the sudden death of their sole bread winners? The rather childishly naïve excuse I usually get from the many faithfuls is this that, for ALL those that die, it happens to be their appointed time and date to die! Alright, please consider if you may, what would happen to an individual who, let us imagine has not yet come to their so-called ‘appointed’ time to die and then they somehow fell or god forbid were forcibly dipped into a tank of highly concentrated acid which can even consume metal with relative ease. What would happen to them since it is not yet their time to die? This is obviously an outrageous example but if you are a thinker you do get the point. They rather shamefacedly say, because you know, according to the Bible, and I prefer the original text of 1611 King James Version, which by the way, is the originally published KJV text from 1611 A.D. which he officially approved, and had written in archaic English; Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – 8 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Are we honestly to believe that, God somehow conveniently decides to pack a bus or plane full of people with the same appointed day and time of death? Really, are you serious? I do not buy into this careless thinking one single bit. So, I hope you understand why I write this piece because I stand ready to be called all sorts of names. I am also prepared to face the possible consequences of my taking the liberty to think the way I do, probably as hoped by the many that subscribe to fear based Religions that I will be punished (I am actually already having flashing images of a fluke-tailed, pitch folk or trident wielding, crimson horned fiend poking me into a blazing hot inferno of Hell Fire, complete with the accompanying music from the celestial choir for special effects and all, as the heavenly Bakolo Braai or Barbecue goes on!) I have personally had very narrow escapes with my life and avoided it coming to a premature end during my pilgrims’ journey on earth. I have had a close shave with one of the Four Horsemen of Revelation by surviving road traffic accidents more than once but have been somehow reluctant to thank God that I came out unscathed while others were permanently maimed or lost their lives. How would you feel standing next to someone who gets up and dusts themselves off and rather selfishly, rudely and inconsiderately says, “ Thank God I have survived, I am truly blessed!” when you have just lost a loved one in the same accident? What choice words would you have for them and for their ‘god’ who has so blessed them but allowed your relation to die? It will not at all be surprising that this piece will be dismissed by some as a silly attempt at an Atheistic expose of how things really operate on this planet from someone who seemingly has no clue whatsoever. But, if like me, you have also wondered just why such utterly tragic happenings are seemingly allowed to freely go on unchecked, then you are slowly getting close to answering the age old question about who really is in control of this world we live in? Are we as humans marionettes or puppets on strings, cast into the Arena of Life where we are but pawns in a game or tossup between the perpetual struggle between Right and Wrong? Are we going to be forever at the mercy of these forces to be influenced whimsically? Whether this influence is total or partial is obviously a subject of debate because things on Earth are so bad for any thinking person to claim that a truly loving deity is and has been in charge all along. It therefore goes without saying that the belief in FATE is, in all reason and logic fallacious. Human beings are not ANDROIDS (Star Trek creations) or an army of robots living a life pre-programmed into microchips imbedded into our brains. If this were the case you will agree that that would make the concept of us having a free will (one of our greatest weapon against self-destruction) seem a philosophical myth or a childish prank. Is the whole of human Life some kind of Truth or Dare Game between God and The Devil, where the latter was given latitude or the unrestricted carte blanche to exert some or given complete or full degree of influence over human life and dared to have a go at tweaking or tinkering around with us while the former claimed there would still be a few humans that would remain faithful to him and make it through the period of temptation? Whose awaiting reward being an endless floating existence in weightlessness conditions NASA style to perpetually enjoy the heavenly bounty consisting of what we hear will mostly be a vegetarian diet punctuated with lots of praise singing. Singing forever? Is it because the already existing angelic orchestra has called for an urgent reinforcement of tenors or what? I have always known the multitude of believer who are always clamouring to going for church every Sunday hope for this exact cherished prized but have not quite sat down to think of what they will be doing while there drifting away in a suspended state. Singing forever? Come on Namakando, do not be so negative and such a party pooper am sure the entertainment committee would spice it all up and come up with activities like tag of war, Beach volleyball or something! Wow! That would really be something alright levitation mounds of silica (sand) to step on. Well, there could also be some occasional earthly visitations arranged as a tourist attraction to just have a reminder of what life was like of Earth. And all this is to go on for a time indefinite! Of course, you do understand that technically and grammatically speaking, an activity that goes on indefinitely eventually does come to an end right? It is just not really definite or certain when the end will be, right? After it ends, then what? This just tells you that very few who aspire for a heavenly existence have actually paid much thought to what exactly they yearn for. Come on then, scripture tells not be anxious of tomorrow or the life ahead, leave everything in his hands and it shall be revealed to you. Well, then and I my friend are not wired the same! This, in the end, is what makes and has made many people who have greatly suffered much on earth in many different ways not to believe in a truly caring and all powerful God because they have concluded he had or has so far been powerless or has been uncaring enough to prevent the death of their Baby /a Loving Mother or Father or Sister or Brother through natural causes like disease or accidents or have lost material possession through theft or natural causes. It does not exactly help that in Insurance Cover circles these natural happenings or causes have been aptly called Acts of God! A closer look at the Christian Biblical story of Job for me had somehow foreshadowed how life in general was scripted to play out on this planet. Yes, scripted, for we are all but actors on the stage of Life, while the Directors watch on and decide when the proverbial curtain falls for each one of us.