Has the time not come, for it to be made clear to our ruling élites, that they ought to tell ordinary Ghanaians, what disaster could possibly befall Mother Ghana, were all Ghanaian families to be issued with Bank of Ghana (BOG) Digital Cedis (DGC), to the tune of 250,000 each, to purchase homes in new well-planned and well-built green cities (which will replace all our nation's urban slums), with, I ask?
The plain truth, is that it will be well-nigh impossible, to revive our national economy, after the defeat of the COVID-19 pandemic, in our country - if we don't adopt a radical approach to nation-building, in the post-COVID-19 era: one that sets us on a course to developing a new green-economy, which empowers those in our base-of-the-pyramid demographic, to bootstrap their way out of the poverty-trap, to prosperity.
A citizen-bailout will be the key to unlocking the undoubted creativity, and unbounded enregies, which most Ghanaians are blessed with, and will utilise, when given the once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, which that citizen-bailout, represents.
In addition to crediting each digital account for families, with the DGC250O, 000 per household; they must, perforce, also all be issued with tax identification numbers (TIN), to enable Ghana's tax net to be widened dramatically.
Naturally, in order to widen the tax net, we must set tax rates - for both individuals and enterprises, at what should be the lowest in the world, bar none, to create a culture of entrepreneurship in our homeland Ghana, and put our nation on the world map, that way. Cool.
And, above all, we must make the agricultural sector tax-free, ban all inorganic fertilisers and synthetic chemicals used in farming in Ghana, and, instead, use Apostle Kojo Safo-Kantanka's natural folair fertilisers and organic growth mediums, to transform farming in Ghana, into a sector that produces only certified organic agricultural produce, to boost our immune systems, and make ours a healthy society.
Would it not be wonderful, if there was a new global pandemic, with a virulent virus that struck only politicians, and made them grow a tad shorter, and a little more wrinkled, every time they lied, publicly?
Would that not immediately silence narcissistic and vainglorious political figures, worldwide, one wonders? Wow. How, cool. Brilliant. Wonderful. And, about time, too?
The question is: Can someone super-wealthy, please get genuis-boffins into a bio-warfare lab, and get them cracking - to produce such a virus, asap, so that fed-up-citizens globally, who have had enough of being led by deceitful idiot-genuises, can get some relief, and some permanent-respite, from moronic-ruination? Enough is enough. Haaba.
Bless you, Kojo, you hit the nail right on the head, paaaa, oooo: most of Opana's people were corrupt. Speaking personally, I respect everyone I come into contact with - from bolamen, to society's high-and-mighty; but I am also very 'unGhanaian' in my relationships. I have no real friends, as such, oooo, alas. Deliberately - for strategic reasons.
When active as a media professional, in Ghana, I never took a bribe, to either kill a story, or promote an agenda, for greed-filled-bankrolling-lobbyists, as is apparently the norm in today's Ghanaian media world.
I deliberately have no friends - because I happen to be pretty ruthless in not favouring people who break the law: even when they are known to me personally. Cool.
So, there will be no inner-circle, to ruin my tenure as President. Ever. And, 2020, is simply the election year, in which one wants to have an influence on the national conversation about our post-COVID-19 future - and, above all, about the future of our new green national economy, which must be underpinned by AI and digitisation. Simple.
Finally, in the post-COVID-19 era, we must drop GDP as an economic metric - and, instead, measure good economic management by governments, only by the impacts of economic policies on the overall happiness of our people, and the quality of their lives, seen by all, in the high living standards they enjoy. Full stop.
That simply means, for example, that instead of counting, as part of our GDP figures, chainsaw lumber produced by illegal loggers in forests, and the dirty-gold produced by galamsayers (who invariably end up destroying valuable eco-systems in forests that are the watershed for river systems sourced for treatment to distribute as potable water nationwide), we rather focus on the protection of our forests, which are priceless national assets, because they provide us with life-enhancing snd life-giving fresh oxygen-laden air, which ensures a good quality of life, for all our people, Massa. Simple. Cool.
One of the main reasons why I am running for President, in December 2020, is because there are far too many armed robbers terrorising law-abiding Ghanaians, and getting away with it, because we have stopped executing people in Ghana.
Yes, I admit that I am short-tempered and cantankerous, as some of my critics point out, in condemnation of my candidacy. What is wrong with not being a hypocrite, I ask? Who born dog?
At any rate, at least, I am incorruptible, and, as a confirmed-loner who is unclubbable, one has no cronies to form an inner-circle with, who will then sabotage one's tenure as President, by using that privileged-insider-position to send their net worth to stratospheric heights, through secret sole-sourced-government-contract-kickbacks. Cool.
As President, one intends to ensure that Ghana becomes a disciplined nation, in which there are mandatory death sentences for: giving and receiving bribes; armed robbery; murder; all forms of cyber crime; kidnapping; and, for being an alien living illegally in Ghana. Full stop. Enough is enough. Haaba.
Above all, one intends to create an unprecedent economic boom, by ditching the pretence that somehow the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is independent, and ordering it to create mandatory digital accounts, with it, for all Ghanaian citizens above 16 years in age, and crediting their accounts with digital Ghana cedis (DGC) 250,000, to be used to purchase homes with, in new planned green cities across Ghana.
Incidentally, that DGC250,000 can only be spent in the digital economy's sundry mobile money platforms. Simple. And, by insisting that all such account holders with the BoG, have tax identification numbers, the tax net will be dramatically widened.
Finally, by putting Ghana on the world map, as the nation with our biosphere's lowest personal and business tax rates, one will make Ghanaians see paying their fair share of taxes, as a moral obligation, which helps mobilise taxes for the serious-nation-building-task of transforming GhanaIan society into an African equivalent of the prosperous egalitarian societies of Scandinavia. Ghanafuo, mupe waiy3, na mupe di3n? Cool.
Indeed, Hon. Kojo Yankah - you are absolutely right in saying that the world has always needed Africa. As you are keenly aware, as an African educator of some note, who founded one of Africa's leading tertiary institutions, the world-class African University College of Communications (AUCC), some of the brightest and best of today's resurgent Africa's younger generations, who are well-educated and world-class, are powering ahead with a new digital economy that is underpinned not by raw materials, but by their creativity and unbounded imaginations.
An example is Raphael Afordoanyi's serendipitous game-changing clean power invention, which will enable all the nations in our biosphere, to be powered 100 percent, by emission-free green clean-power - beginning with the new reformist-minded leadership of Guinea-Bissau, signing an offtaker agreement to make their nation the first in the world, to take advantage of Raphael Afordoanyi's genius.
So, in effect a brilliant African mind, is going to ensure that humankind avoids reaching the climate-change-tipping-point-of-no-return, by making the world's fossil-fuel-powered power-generating sector obsolete, with his game-changing clean power invention. The world indeed still needs Africa, oooo, Massa. Cool.
Darling
boy, your cantankerous and bribe-refusing father, is now mulling
running for President of the Republic of Ghana, in December 2020, oooo.
Amanfuo, the die is cast ooooo. Slogan: People and planet. Cool.
Mission:
Get the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to open digital accounts for all Ghanaian
citizens above 16, and credit each account with Ghana Digital Currency
(GDC) 250,000, - as direct-citizen-bailouts to purchase homes with: as a
sure-fire way to kickstart the national economy after Ghanaian
herbalists finally find a cure for COVID-19, and we (at long last!)
abondon all the nonsensical measures taken thus far as
whistling-in-the-dark protection-from-COVID-19-policies, just because
precious White people still cannot find a cure for it. Cool.
Naturally,
as a firm believer in the incentive-inducing-and-initiative-inspiring
powers of a low tax regime, for both individuals and enterprises, tax
identification numbers will be mandatory for all the aforementioned BoG
digital account holders, oooo, Massa. Cool.
Environmental
policy: Shoot illegal sandwinners, illegal loggers and illegal gold
miners on sight - to protect our forests from greedy criminal-types,
and ensure constant availability of potable water nationwide. Ditto
ensure the availability of fresh oxygen-laden air, nationwide, at all
material times. Ghanafuo, munpe waiy3, na mu pe dien? Cool.
Kofi Boakye-Yiadom, may I humbly suggest that you encourage our mostly-clueless media professionals, to visit the Legon Botanical Gardens, frequently, for their own good (healthwise)? It will do wonders for them - help clear their minds to serve Mother Ghana, and the masses better. Cool.
Furthermore, some of them, by telling their audiences that such visits to the gardens ought to be an integral part of their commitment to adopting healthy lifestyles (as the gardens happen to be a veritable source of fresh oxygen-laden air, in a capital city whose air-quality is steadily deteriorating, and resulting in the spike in respiratory diseases), might actually find redemption that way, from their many professional failings (especially for being the mercenary-lackeys of those brutally gang-raping Mother Ghana). Ditto their countless betrayals of the masses, wai, Massa. Cool.
Yewura Mike Pieman, you are a brilliant man, ooooo. To make that happen, please encourage the ever-busy Kofi, to touch base with Bola Ray, whom I once spoke to - in a WhatsApp voice note - about the wonderful work Kofi is doing in the gardens, and, who in response, told me that it so happens that his parents frequent the gardens too, and he would thus be happy to promote the gardens.
So, in effect, everything is actually in place, for such a PR blitz, to promote the famed Legon Botanical Gardens, oooo, Yewura Mike Peiman. Massa, as you are probably aware, Bola Ray is one of the few truly world-class media professionals, in today's Ghana - so different from the narrow-minded folk with provincial-minds at the Daily Guide, for example. Read any of their biased and unintelligible editorials lately? Heavy going, paaapa. Cool.
Afua Hirsch, you are absolutely right in bemoaning the fact that Africans don't get the plaudits we deserve. Alas, that PR-abomination arises from the fact we are unjustly held in contempt, universally. Yet, there are so many positive developments across Africa, as we speak.
That notwithstanding, the future really does belong to our younger generations. For sure. For example, the world will soon awake to a truly transformative power-sector invention, by the brilliant Ghanaian inventor, the marine engineer Raphael Afordoanyi.
Thanks to Raphael's genius, his game-changing, stand-alone off-grid clean power invention, will enable all the nations in our biosphere to be powered 100 percent, by emission-free green clean-power, which never goes off, and is half current electricity tariff rates globally.
That will finally make the global fossil-fuel-powered power-generating sector (responsible for most of the atmospheric pollution blighting millions of lives worldwide, as respiratory diseases spike across our beleaguered biosphere), more or less obsolete - and save humankind from reaching the climate-change-tipping-point-of-no-return. Cool.
The COVID-19 global pandemic, has demonstrated clearly, to humankind, that viruses have the potential to destroy businesses, and wipe out vital sectors of the economies of nation-states, in all the seven continents of our biosphere.
And, since slums will remain dangerous hotspots harbouring viruses, and sundry-killer-pathogens, for as long as they are allowed to exist, wise African leaders must, perforce, be wary of them, and find creative ways of empowering slum-dwellers to move into planned new green cities.
Furthermore, if they are wise, the leaderships of even the poorest nations in the continent, ought always to come to the conclusion that in the longterm, for common- good reasons, it will be far more cost-effective, to give slum-dwellers direct-bailout-cash (of say GHC250,000, to each individual slum-dweller above the age of 16, in urban slums across Ghana, for example), to purchase homes in new, well-planned and well-built green cities.
The abondoned slums can then be razed down, and new green cities built on the selfsame sites, to replace them, and provide modern purpose-built accommodation for that particular nation's younger generations.
In other words, urban slums are, and will remain, latent-and-active-disease-infection-hotspots that are major public health risks, which, in light of the devastating economic-impacts, of the COVID-19 global pandemic, are totally unacceptable in today's Africa, because the viruses and other pathogens they harbour, might have the potential to wipe out the populations of entire regions, of nations in the continent. Simply put, because of the threat they pose to public health, slums should no longer be acceptable in today's Africa. Cool.
May 21, 2020 RELEASE 20-055 NASA Invites Public to Be Its Guests to Celebrate Historic ‘Launch America’
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and
Douglas Hurley speak to members of the media after arriving at the
Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center ahead of
SpaceX’s Demo-2 mission, Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in Florida.
Credits: NASA
NASA is inviting the public to help celebrate
a historic milestone in human spaceflight as it prepares for
#LaunchAmerica – the first flight into orbit of American astronauts on
American rockets from American soil since the end of the space shuttle
era in 2011.
Known as NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight, which is targeted for lift off at 4:33 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 27, this mission will send NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Members of the public can attend the launch virtually, receiving
mission updates and opportunities normally received by on-site guests.
“Through NASA’s virtual launch experience, we
make it possible for more people than ever to watch the beginning of
this new era in human spaceflight,” said Bettina Inclán, NASA’s
associate administrator for Communications. “We’re already seeing people
participate online with the #LaunchAmerica hashtag and helping build
the excitement for this historic moment.”
To participate, members of the public can register to find a calendar of mission information, mission highlights, and virtual tours. To find out more, visit:
Demo-2 will be SpaceX’s second spaceflight
test of its Crew Dragon craft and its first test with astronauts aboard.
This final test flight prior to NASA certification and will provide
data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, the Crew Dragon and
ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, and landing operations.
The Falcon 9 rocket will launch from historic Launch Complex 39A
at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But, the excitement will be
felt across the country and around the world, with virtual launch
parties and other events to help usher in this new era of spaceflight as
NASA and its commercial partners take the next bold step toward to send
the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024 as part of the
agency’s Artemis program.
But, before then, there are a lot of other ways people can get
involved with this historic mission now. The virtual events taking place
include:
Virtual NASA Social
For the first time ever, NASA is hosting a
global “NASA Social,” an opportunity for social media users to get a
behind the scenes view of the launch – virtually – and a unique way the
public can celebrate the return of human spaceflight to American soil.
The #LaunchAmerica NASA Social is taking the
form of a Facebook group that any social media user can request
permission to join by answering a few simple questions and agreeing to
adhere to the guidelines of the group. In addition to connecting
virtually with a community of people excited about the #LaunchAmerica
mission, participants will be able to virtually tour NASA facilities at
Kennedy and interact with NASA representatives in real time, as well as
virtually view a launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. For more
information and to register, visit:
No matter where you are, you can celebrate
this historic milestone with other members of the Artemis Generation.
Students can share their excitement with webinars, virtual reality
experiences and activities specifically designed for grades K-4 and
grades 5-12. These and other exciting resources are available at:
In addition to social media coverage, NASA
Television will air a number of events leading up to, including, and
following the historic launch. Continuous coverage of the mission on all
NASA TV channels begins at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 27 and continue
through Crew Dragon’s arrival at the International Space Station on
Thursday, May 28, including the subsequent hatch opening and welcoming
ceremony.
The following events currently are scheduled to air live (all times Eastern). Please check the NASA TV schedule for the latest updates:
Wednesday, May 20
4 p.m. – NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Mission astronaut arrival at Kennedy Space Center media question-and-answer session
Thursday, May 21
No earlier than 6 p.m. – Demo-2 post-Flight Readiness Review news conference
Friday, May 22
2:15 p.m. – Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley virtual media question-and-answer session
Monday, May 25
No earlier than 6 p.m. – Demo-2 prelaunch news conference
Tuesday, May 26
10 a.m. – NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine media availability at Kennedy’s Countdown Clock
Wednesday, May 27
Noon – Live views of the SpaceX/Falcon 9 rocket on Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center
12:15 p.m. – Live countdown coverage of
NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station (launch
scheduled at 4:33 p.m.)
6 p.m. – Demo-2 postlaunch news conference
Thursday, May 28
11:39 a.m. – Docking of the SpaceX Crew
Dragon and NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the
International Space Station
1:55 p.m. – SpaceX Crew Dragon hatch opening to the International Space Station
2:25 p.m. – SpaceX Crew Dragon and International Space Station crew media event aboard the space station
Friday, May 29
11:05 a.m. – International Space Station
Expedition 63 crew news conference with space station Commander Chris
Cassidy of NASA and NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley
12:50 p.m. – International Space Station Expedition 63 in-flight event for SpaceX to mark the arrival of the Demo-2 crew
The Demo-2 mission will be the final major
step before NASA’s Commercial Crew Program certifies Crew Dragon for
operational, long-duration missions to the space station. This
certification and regular operation of Crew Dragon will enable NASA to
continue the important research and technology investigations taking
place onboard the station, which benefits people on Earth and lays the
groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the
agency’s Artemis program.
Learn more about Artemis and NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach at:
Yewura Ernest Aning, I bet you also probably think that the masses of the Ghanaian people, don't give a toss about which particular entity amongst the NPP/NDC duopoly, gang-raping Mother Ghana, so brutally, is in power, at any point in time, because they treasure a democracy that has legitimised corruption of the worst kind? No? Hmmmm, Oman Ghana, eyeasem, ooooo. Ebeiiii.
Massa, let us agree to disagree, wai - and wait to see how things eventually unfold. I can tell you that apart from President Akufo-Addo, most ordinary people don't have much time for either those in his ruling party's regime, now in power, or the confounded John Dramani Mahama, and his mostly-clueless lot, filled with avarice to a man.
Believe you me, the masses will happily welcome the next Jerry Rawlings, who will not necessarily be a military man, and could even be a woman, if he or she proscribed those two criminal-enterprises, know respectively, as the new Patriotic Party (NPP), and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and established a government of national unity, led by President Akufo-Addo, and consisting of the brightest and best minds in our country, and across the global Ghanaian Diaspora, wai, Massa.
In any case, time will tell who was right in this particular conversation. So let us agree to disagree, wai, Massa. Hmmmm. Yooooo. Eeiiii, Oman Ghana, eyeasem, ooooo - enti yewieye paaa enei? Asem kesie ebeba debi ankasa!
I saw you on Nana Ama McBrown's interesting entertainment programme, on UTV, last night. As always, you were very impressive. One isn't surprised that you are known widely in Ghana's music industry, as the plain-speaking boss-player, Bulldog.
In that regard, may I humbly make the point, to you, that your industry will only prosper, and grow, if you focus on asking for only one favour, from the government of Ghana: that it should make the creative arts industry of our national economy, a tax-free one?
That will immediately attract world-class talent from abroad, to do collaborative projects in Ghana, online, with leading local players, such as your very talented and charismatic charge, the great Shatta Wale - and finally make him the dollar billionaire his talent deserves toturn him into.
To me, he has the best chance, amongst players in Ghana's music industry, of becoming a global superstar, like the late iconic Jamaican reggae star, Bob Marley, eventually became.
Incidentally, a South Korean steel company, Dosco, has ambitions to expand its footprint, into the global music industry.
Despite being scammed by a Ghanaian-American conman, a Mr. Segbefia, I am pretty sure that they will willingly collaborate with you, to access the South Korean internet music streaming industry.
However, it is vital that you contact them only through the South Korean Embassy in Accra. That way, they won't be afraid of dealing directly with you.
I must admit that I admire the nous and gumption, underpinning your aggressive approach to doing things, and which is making such waves for you, amongst your peers in our nation's dynamic younger generations. Keep up the good work, Mr. Asiamah - and regards to your much-gifted charge, the genuis Shatta Wale. Above all, do stay safe!
Thank you so much for your kind words. Actually, it those dynamic young people - such as your good self - who inspire one, when one meets them, and fire one's imagination so.
Thus one treasures one's friendships with the intelligent, hardworking and ambitious young people, who one comes across, from time to time. You are our continent's future. Literally.
Speaking of which, please consider this as an e-introduction to Mr. Sam Hanson, who wants to help young people in Camp Liberia - which, incidentally, in one's humble view, is a unique African multinational cultural-melting-pot that we should all treasure - to empower themselves, by offering them ICT courses, as part of a livilihood skills training initiative, to enable them bootstrap their way out of the poverty trap.
In an age where digital distribution challenges every industry,
companies should take their time to understand their position in the
supplier/distributor relationship. Should you provide an unprecedented
user experience and distribution platform, or should you develop content
to those platforms? There is no definitive answer, and depending on
your starting point, there are various recipes for success.
Ever since digital disruption became a household term in the business
world, fear of disintermediation has been a dominating narrative in
every consumer-facing industry ranging from media, retail, and banking.
As a result, companies are investing heavily in digital initiatives with
the goal of maintaining and solidifying the customer relationship,
while still attempting to ride (at least) two horses at once.
There is no definitive answer to which position is objectively the
best, it depends on your starting point, prerequisites and ability to
build and maintain one or more competitive advantages, ambitions for
growth, operating margins and capital returns.
The other part of the equation is your ambition and future strategy.
Will you attempt to take on multiple roles, attempt to transition from
one state to another or pick a position, and divest any stakes where you
decide to abandon? The million-dollar question as you set up and
quantify your starting position against your ambition is does the
equation add up?
In order to get there. It is important to break down and have an
understanding of the different roles in the customer value chain.
With
the rise of the platform economy, we are now in a time, where
distribution reigns supreme as the most favorable position, but the
pendulum has swung both ways. In 1996, Bill Gates published an essay
coining the term; content is king in stark contrast to today’s
incitement towards taking on the distributor role. Some say that content
is still king, but distribution is the queen who runs the show, and context is god.
Even though this debate is deeply rooted in digital media, it is as
relevant whether your content is a video game, musical recording news
article, or a home loan, and the list goes on.
For most companies, it is tempting to go straight for the
distribution role, as this in many cases is a highly favorable position.
This is where customer interaction takes place, and thus forming
customer relationships and building brand awareness and potential
loyalty. From my point of view, there is a gap between holders of the
distributor position and those who actually manage to leverage this
position.
In order to leverage this position, one should invest in the right
tools and competence to harness customer insight through the collection
of data from customer interactions.
A well-defined data strategy, as well as a robust API-based technical platform,
is at the heart of leveraging a distributor position. Important
metrics for success in this category could be active users, customer
acquisition cost, conversion rates, product penetration, and overall
customer profitability. A lack of correlation between usage and
profitability could lead to a widely used, but non-profitable platform.
It is also important to evolve alongside shifts in technology and
customer behavior. There is no lack of examples where incumbents have
shown overconfidence in brick and mortar distribution networks that have
been outcompeted by digital challengers.
However, a digital distribution platform is also only as good as the content and/or products available on the platform.
This symbiotic relationship between distribution platforms and
content and product providers is perhaps best exemplified through the
video game industry. The popularity of any distribution platform has
traditionally been tied to the available content on the platform. In
order to attract players to your platform, the traditional go-to way of
building an audience is by platform exclusives like Super Mario, Zelda,
Uncharted, and Halo. This has resulted in distributors investing in
their own proprietary content as well as incentivizing game studios to
develop exclusive IP for their distribution platforms, thus creating
favorable conditions for producers of quality content.
On the other side, traditional game developers like EA and Ubisoft
have launched their own distribution platforms to circumvent the
dominating position of for instance Steam in the PC gaming segment.
However, the most dominating factor to influence the customer value chain in the gaming industry is the rise of online and social gaming.
As players want to interact with their friends, they become platform
ambassadors, giving gaming distribution platforms an inherent network
effect. New business models have also emerged as game distribution has
transitioned from brick and mortar to digital.
Taking on a pure content or product provider role should be seen as
an attractive position for those who set out for a product-centric
strategy. Depending on the industry, taking on this position should put
emphasis on cost-efficient processes, product lifecycle management,
creating an aftermarket, and/or proprietary add-ons that ensure
cross-sales without the reliance of one specific distributor.
At the end of the day, various positions in the customer value chains
are not mutually exclusive. It boils down to setting up the equation
that map out your alternative plays.
Take into account that there will
most likely be combinations of ambitions and prerequisites that will be
mathematically impossible. Stay clear of attempting the impossible,
focus innovation around your core business, while at the same time, be
wary of changes in your surroundings that can create opportunities to
make it worth to adjust course underway.
And, it might also interest you to know that harvested industrial hemp (not wee, oooo, Massa!), from a 100 acre farm, exported to Portugal, in a deal brokered by the Industrial Hemp Association of Ghana, fetched a Diasporan Ghanaian resident in Portugal, and his partners, US $56 million (if I remember correctly).
(Incidentally, Greenentrepreneur.com forecasts that the African cannabis market coukd reach US$7.1 billion by 2023.)
It is the aspirations, and practical actions, of hardworking young men like you, creating wealth and jobs across rural Ghana - through agribusiness ventures - that will eventually save our country from the brink, in the POST-COVID-19 era. Good luck - and stay safe, above all! Cool.
Just as a matter of interest, since there is synergy between what you currently manufacture, and his game-changing serendipitous invention, if given the opportunity, would you collaborate with the brilliant Ghanaian inventor, Raphael Afordoanyi, to make available to humankind, what is indeed the holy grail of the global power industry, and is light years better than one that was purloined and helped the American renewable energy consultant, Eric Ingersoll, to win an Obama-era White House Change Maker prize for renewable energy?
Please note that such a win-win partnership, will eventually transform Husk Power Systems, into the world's most valuable green energy company, with a positive global footprint - which finally frees humankind from its dependence on the fossil-fuel-powered power-generation sector responsible for the bulk of the atmospheric pollution warming our biosphere, so dangerously, and pushing us towards the climate-change-tipping-point-of-no-return.
A green post-COVID-19 future for humankind beckons - one in which Husk Power Systems enables every nation on earth to be powered 100 percent by emission-free green clean-power at tariff rates far cheaper than is currently the case worldwide.
Look forward to hearing from you soon - and do stay safe!
Ohemaa paaapabi Esi Yankah, your father (God bless him) will tell you that if we looked to our past and regularly consulted those steeped in the art and science of ancient African herbal healing, we might have found a way to protect ourselves from such terrifying and econony-wrecking-pandemics, by now. So please do so, too, wai.
And, above all, we must just stop those who aren't embarrassed by that dreadful and unhygienic habit of spitting everywhere, by arresting them, trying them swiftly, and sentencing the sods to do two years community service sweeping the filth-laden hard shoulders of our urban roads. Simple. Cool.
Your charming and erudite father is a super-wise man. He is also an honest, very, very qualified and good-looking enough (yes, that matters hugely in elections worldwide, believe you me, so you can live in hope of becoming Ghana's first female President someday, wai, Ohemaa paaapabi), to replace that serial-philanderer and cynical lifelong-playboy, the wastrel John Dramani Mahama, as the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) compromise presidential candidate, wai.
But then, the confounded NDC is so fixated with the endless-dosh John Mahama brings to the table, that they want yet another chance to steal the campaign money they all await from the former President, and his super-wealthy bro, Ibrahim (Alhaji Creosus).
Ohemaa paapabi, in case you aren't aware of it, the sods blew the last lot of campaign funds they stole, on bleached-skinned fast-living-women with expensive-tastes, according to bush-telegraph sources. Idiots. Serves them right they lost power. Imagine them having the temerity to insult J. J. Rawlings. Aahhhhhh. Who born dog, I ask? Haaba. Morons. Cool
Nothing is impossible, favourite nephew. One day it might happen. Who knows tomorrow, as we say in Ghanaian pidgin English. We love tradition paaapa in Ghana. Fine. OK.
So, it follows a priori, does it not, that we therefore then abolish political parties, which, although established with the best of intentions, have evolved into egregious-criminal-syndicates, today, and, on the basis that everyone Ghanaian over 16 is a royal qualified to vote, elect a King or Queen of Ghana? Simple.
Shorn of the powerful criminals that dominate their inner-circles, what elected Ghana Omanpanin, from even our present-day super-cynical political world, won't adopt and implement your bright green-idea, with a light railway line for commuters to use to access the protected areas you have delineated so cleverly, Massa?
Small boys are young, wai, favourite nephew. One day, one day, it could actually happen. Not so far-fetched, oooo. Nothing is impossible, oooo, Massa.
Not when the ramifications of COVID-19, could very well lead to the sudden coming of the next Jerry Rawlings, who might most probably emerge as the saviour of what is left of our natural heritage, by swiftly implementing a shoot-to-kill environmental protection policy, to end illegal sandwinning, illegal logging and illegal gold mining, nationwide. Hallelujah. Amen. Case closed. Cool.
Massa, for your information, Zongo residents across Ghana, are smart enough, to understand the difference between the manifold benefits of immunity-boosting dawadawa, and the present harsh-reality of the non-availability of a cure for COVID-19, wai. Haaba.
They also actually realise that the President was recommending dawadawa as an immune system booster, not as a cure for COVID-19. Ghanaian politicians (especially from the criminal NPP/NDC duopoly), should stop using COVID-19 as a political football.
It is a real pity that politricks has blinded so many of our nation's politicians, and made it impossible for them to understand clearly that COVID-19 is a dangerous pandemic, which could destroy our national economy - a hell-on-earth-situation in which we will all definitely end up becoming losers: rich and poor alike. Yooooo...
Abass Fuseini Sbaabe, wake up: You are highly-intelligent, and a very sensible gentleman who happens to be an achiever-of-note. Stop acting as if without that John Dramani Mahama who toyed with the power (with arrogant morons like Stan Dogbe as his inner-circle-gatekeeper), which achievers like you worked so hard for, to enable your accursed party to eventually return to power again, you cannot rise to the top in the Ghanaian political world, yourself too. Massa, you can, and you will, but under your own steam.
Abass Fuseini Sbaabe, you will definitely rise to the top one day for sure, oooo, Massa - but it will not be the insouciant-philandering-playboy, John Dramani Mahama, who will make that happen for you, wai. Enough is enough.
When the next Jerry Rawlings finally strikes, and sets up a government of national unity, with President Akufo-Addo as it's leader (finally shorn of the baleful influence of the likes of Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko), and sets about undertaking a high-level-corruption-busting 'house-cleaning' exercise, you will finally come to realise the egregious harm your very, very careless John Dramani Mahama, did, to Mother Ghana. Be wise, wai, Massa. Haaba.
May 13, 2020 MEDIA ADVISORY M20-058 NASA TV to Air Launch, Capture of Cargo Ship to International Space Station
Image
of Japanese cargo vehicle HTV 8 captured by ESA astronaut Luca
Parmitano during his Beyond mission on the International Space Station.
Posted with the text "After Kounotori 4, this is the second HTV I have
the pleasure to photograph: Kounotori 8."
Credits: ESA/NASA/L.Parmitano
NASA will broadcast the launch of a Japanese cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station beginning at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 20, live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are scheduled to launch the unpiloted H-II Transport Vehicle-9
(HTV-9) on a Japanese H-IIB rocket at 1:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. Thursday,
May 21, Japan time) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.
The spacecraft will arrive at the station Monday, May 25. Live
coverage of rendezvous and grapple will begin at 6:45 a.m. Capture of
HTV-9 is scheduled to occur around 8:15 a.m. HTV-9 will approach the
station from below and slowly make its way toward the orbital outpost. Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy
of NASA, with assistance from Russian Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner of
Roscosmos, will operate the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm from the
station’s cupola and grapple the 12-ton spacecraft.
Coverage of HTV-9’s final installation will resume at 9:30 a.m., when
flight controllers in mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in
Houston will take over robotic arm operations and berth HTV-9 to the
Earth-facing port of the station’s Harmony module, where it will remain
for two months.
The cargo craft will carry more than four tons of supplies, water,
spare parts and experiment hardware for the station crew, including six
new lithium-ion batteries needed to complete an overall update of the
station’s electrical system. The batteries and corresponding adapter
plates will replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for two power
channels on the station’s far starboard truss segment (S6) through a
series of spacewalks by the station’s crew members planned for later
this year. This is the final set of new batteries to be launched to the
station as part of an overall upgrade of its power system that began in
January 2017.
This also will be the final flight of this class of resupply
spacecraft, named “Kounotori” – the Japanese word for white stork. The
cargo craftlaunched on its maiden mission to the orbiting laboratory in
September 2009. JAXA is developing a new class of HTV vehicles that will
provide a reusable pressurized cargo section and the ability to carry
more cargo due to its lighter weight. The new HTV-X vehicles will dock
automatically to the station’s International Docking Adapters with the
first flight scheduled in 2022.
For nearly 20 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked on
the space station, testing technologies, performing science and
developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Through
NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon by 2024,
with eventual human exploration of Mars. Inspiring the next generation
of explorers – the Artemis Generation – ensures America will continue to
lead in space exploration and discovery.
Get breaking news, images and features from the station at:
Wither heads the candidacy of John Dramani Mahama? Speaking personally, the ruminations of an old wag I know, about the subject, illustrate perfectly, the dire situation faced by the candidacy of John Dramani Mahama, against a firmly established incumbent President, seen widely as a credible and competent leader, albeit one saddled with a dubious and greed-filled ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), which is as egregiously-criminal, as the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC), too, as a political party.
"Massa, case closed. Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings. We salute you, Madam. Wu ye bue, ankasa, wai, Ohemaa. You have summed it up perfectly: President Akufo-Addo is repairing the 8-year damage caused by the Mahama government, ampaa, ooooo."
"Kofi, the candidacy of that sodden wastrel, John Dumelo, sums up John Mahama's NDC perfectly. "Is it not instructive, for example, that at a time when the repercussions of our national economy's financial services sector's egregious-fraud, are still being felt across Ghana; that ace-sponger, John Dumelo (who isn't registered to give out loans), is distributing what he deliberately categorises as 'soft loans'? It is a political-sleight-of-hand designed to hide the illegality of vote-buying in a contest against an effective incumbent (who happens to be a woman of virtue who has worked hard all her adult life and is a serious and solid achiever). The sod."
"Kofi, a perpetual-useless-man, who, according to bush-telegraph sources, is said to have sponged-off wealthy women, for most of his adult life, is a parliamentary candidate, for a political party dominated by philanderers-of-the-worst-kind, guided by the alleged rapist, that arrogant Stan Dogbe, said to be gatekeeper for the Philanderer-in-Chief, John Dramani Mahama. It sums up the current state of the Mahama candidacy perfectly. Hmmmm, Oman Ghana, eyeasem ooooo - enti yewieye paaa enei? Asem kesie ebeba debi ankasa, oooo. Hmmmm. Yooooo..."
Thanks for your
quick response. And thank you so much for your words of commiseration (consoling us on the death of my dear wife, Christiana Amihere, the brilliant dress designer). That is very kind of you.
I just hope the Sarnos are OK. As it happens, I am aware that Margie
had a cousin in New York State. Doubt that she is alive now, though.
Then there was
Bizz who had naturalised as a UK citizen, and now resides in England.
Then Georgiann her Pennsylvanian friend. Just glad that we helped her
regain her happiness when she left Mr. Doolin.
I
understand perfectly, and respect your electing not to involve yourself,
in an undertaking in a far-flung place, another continent away, from North Carolina.
Finally,
Margie really chose well in selecting your funeral home, to manage the ceremony to
mark her departure from the world-of-the-living, when she passed away.
You are a very, very good person. Thanks for everything. Wish you well - and do
stay safe.
Kind regards,
Kofi.
PS.
Is there a trade association of U.S. suppliers of equipment for funeral
parlours - especially for crematoriums that you could give us a link
to, perhaps?
There is no question that as a people,we
face possible economic disaster (total collapse of our national
economy, that is) in the post-COVID-19 era. Yet, Ghana's sly political
class, continues bickering. To quote an old wag I know: "Unbelievable.
Abominable. Unspeakable. Unpardonable. What fools!"
What
we desperately need, today, as an aspirational and civilised African
people, dear reader, are innovative ideas about the transformation of
our currently-beleaguered society, into a resilient green economy that
guarantees a good quality of life for all Ghanaians - not inane
arguments about stupid and irrelevant issues: in a world that's fast
disappearing, as it happens.
As my old wag of a friend puts it:
"Kofi, enough is enough. Haaba. Morons. Clueless. Greed-filled.
Super-stupid. They will all roast in the hottest part of hell, when they
pass away, if they don't end this egregious-foolishness." We concur.
Wholeheartedly.
As it happens, some of us are fed up to the back
teeth, with their endless-idiocy - and we are now praying for the next
Jerry Rawlings to strike: and set up an emergency government of national
unity, consisting of the brightest and best minds in our country, and
in the Diaspora, under the leadership of the principled, firm and
focused President Akufo-Addo (finally shorn of his arrogant, sly and
mostly-clueless inner-circle, like that sod, the narcissistic Gabby
Asare Otchere-Darko!).
The next Jerry Rawlings will then focus on a
thorough housecleaning exercise to rid Ghana of high-level corruption,
directed by Hon. Martin Amidu, finally freed from the shackles of
deliberate-red-tape, obstruction and endless-obfuscation.
Ghanaian
politicians must end theit inane bickering, now. Not tomorrow. Haaba.
Hmmm, Oman Ghana - enti yewieye paaa enei? Eyeasem oooo - asem kesie
ebeba debi ankasa. Yooooo. Hmmmm...
Awula Serwah, I speak humbly, as a
major private stakeholder, in the upland evergreen rainforest in
question (whose family are lucky and privileged to own a total of
14-square miles of freehold land, in the Atewa Range with 99.6 acres of
it inside the official government forest reserve).
Ohemaa,
the irony in all this, is that all that is actually needed, on the
ground, so to speak, is to empower the youth in fringe-forest communities, such as those in Osino, Saamang, and Akyem Juaso, to
bootstrap their way out of poverty. Simple. Uncomplicated. Doable. Case
closed.
Empowering the younger generations in fringe-forest
communities can easily be done, for example, by offering them free
training courses, to enable them: farm giant African land snails;
produce organic honey; produce organic mushrooms; and, paid well,
monthly, they will happily protect the Atewa Forest Reserve, as
community forest guards, and grow industrial hemp in sundry community
land restoration schemes. It is that simple, Ohemaa.
Yet, for
decades, trillions of the hard currency equivalent, in Ghana cedis, have
been collected by sundry NGOs, with very little impact on those poor
rural farming communities, nationwide. That is the true scandal. That,
and the stupidity of Vice President Bawumia, and Senior Minister, Hon.
Yaw Osafo Marfo - who went to China and signed away the birthright of
Akyems without our permission.
And, as the Atewa Forest Reserve
faces an existential threat, where, pray, are the Chiefs of the Akyem
Abuakwa State Council, who for years, fanned their massive egos, by
greenwashing - making patently untruthful claims that they were
committed protectors of Mother Nature?
They are also another
treacherous group, which will be roundly condemned by future
generations, for aiding and abetting that privileged-insider-group of
shortsighted morons-in-high-places, who have sanctioned the crime
against humanity that allowing the mining of bauxite, and gold, in the
Atewa Range, and the Atewa Forest Reserve, represent. Shame on all of
them. Hypocrites. Hmmmm, Oman Ghana eyeasem - asem kesie ebeba debi
ankasa. Hmmmm. Yooooo...
Here are some words you would never have expected to read in the Guardian. Boris Johnson’s
government, the paper says, is using the refrain ‘following the
science’ to ‘abdicate responsibility for political decisions’. It reports
some experts’ concerns that in constantly saying ‘we are following
scientific advice on Covid-19’, ministers are ‘abdicating political duty
to [a] narrow field of opaque expertise’. In short, the cabinet is too
faithfully traipsing in the wake of scientific expertise rather than
making judgements about what might be the best course for the country in
the era of Covid. The Guardian
says there is now worry among scientists themselves that the current
‘prominence given to science in supporting political decisions risks
burdening scientists with unrealistic expectations’.
This is a turnaround of epic proportions. The Guardian has
probably done more than any other media outlet to push the new orthodoxy
that political decision-making must be expert-led and scientifically
infused. On everything from climate change to a No Deal Brexit,
the liberal elite’s mantra in recent years has been ‘Listen to The
Science’ or ‘Listen to The Experts’. The Science – they always say ‘the
science’ rather than just ‘science’, to give it an extra godly quality –
has been turned into a kind of gospel truth we must all bow down to,
and upon which all political decisions must be based. Indeed, for the
past year we have had Greta Thunberg,
feverishly promoted by the political establishment and media class,
touring the world and demanding we all ‘listen to The Science’.
Now, it seems, this latter-day demand for unflinching fealty to an
implacable truth – though in this case derived from science rather than
from God – is being called into question in some quarters. It has dawned
on people that science is a complex, drawn-out, falsifiable search for solutions and truths, not a dispenser of unquestionable wisdom that entire societies must organise themselves around. The Spectatorreports
that ‘cabinet members have been taken aback by the disagreements among
those now advising the government’. One cabinet member says ‘scientists
are as bitchy as a bunch of lawyers’. Another says that even the
scientists who make up the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies –
which has effectively become the supreme governing body of the UK –
‘don’t agree with each other’. ‘They bicker’, apparently, which is not
at all surprising: science
is an often conflictual process of expanding our understanding of the
natural world, not a font of unimpeachable political or moral wisdom.
The cabinet member said to the Spectator: ‘And we talk about
following “the science” as if there is one opinion and not at least
seven.’ This is a critical point and one that must endure even after the
Covid-19 crisis. Science is not a good guide for society. Of course
science is essential to our understanding of the world and to the
creation of the new insights, technologies and treatments our societies
need. But it cannot tell us what is best for our societies in political,
moral or economic terms. Indeed, it is the very specialised nature of
science, whereby very clever people remove themselves from normal life
and focus on one field for a very long period of time, that makes it
unsuited to the broader, democratic question of what is in the best
interests of society. When science becomes infused with politics, both
suffer: science risks becoming politicised while democratic life is
weakened through a growing reliance on ‘expert advice’ over the
considerations and wisdom of the crowd.
What the Covid-19 crisis has really done is throw the science
question into sharp relief. In the eyes of those of us who understand
the importance of democratic leadership and the necessity of
specialised science, there has always been a problem with using science
to justify political action and moral conviction. But now, because of
the intensity of the current crisis, others appear to be realising that,
too. Epidemiologists might understand how viruses tend to spread, but
their understanding of the dire economic consequences of a lockdown is
no better than anyone else’s, some are saying. Modelling might be a
useful source of information for politicians, but to partake in an
unprecedented demobilisation of working people and economic life on the
basis of a model is ridiculous and dangerous, others are saying.
This is all good, if a little late. But we need to push further now.
One of the key dynamics in the politicised elevation of science and
expertise in recent years has been the crisis of politics and
institutions, and in particular the crisis of leadership. Science has
slowly filled the gap where political and moral judgement ought to be.
In the Covid-19 crisis, one of the most striking things has been the
relative ease with which the government has abdicated its judgement in
favour of following the science or succumbing to media pressure and to
supposed public opinion. It speaks to a political class that lacks the
capacity for leadership, and in particular lacks leadership’s most
important virtue: courage.
This is not Boris-bashing. There is no more infantile political
pursuit in the UK right now than Boris-bashing. It is ahistorical to pin
the blame for the decades-long sclerotic nature of the British
bureaucracy on a man who has been PM for eight months, and it is immoral
to blame deaths from Covid-19 on him too, as if a novel virus could be
stopped in its tracks by political decision-making alone. Will Boris
also be culpable for this year’s flu deaths? That would be ridiculous.
No, this is a call for a broader reorientation of political life, away
from the caution and instinct for self-preservation that has defined it
for a few decades now, and which has fuelled its reliance on the
authority of science and experts, and towards a new and meaningful era
of leadership in which our leaders take seriously their responsibility
to make judgements, take decisions, and convince the rest of us,
intellectually and democratically, that it is the right course of
action.
It is now widely reported that Boris’s government hasn’t only been
‘following the science’ but has also felt under incredible pressure to
buckle to the media class’s demand for action, in particular for a
lockdown, and to ‘public opinion’ that says the lockdown is the right
thing. There is no doubting the corrosive role
the media are playing right now, and have been for many years in fact.
Their increasingly opinionated, moralised coverage of the news, in which
they seem to think their role is to harry and shame people in power
rather than to report on what is happening, has led to a dangerous
culture of media self-importance. Politicians, already feeling uncertain
of their authority, too often feel cowed by the newly arrogant,
agenda-defining media, and are reluctant to fall foul of their demands
and diktats. If it is true that Boris put the country into lockdown
partly in response to media pressure, then the media themselves may have
a lot of questions to answer about the damage currently being done by
this unprecedented freeze on working life and the economy.
As to the question of ‘public opinion’ – this needs to be put into
context. Polls currently show fairly widespread support for the
lockdown. But we must remember that ‘public opinion’ is a sometimes
invented, or at least embellished, phenomenon, sometimes shaped by
polling questions or political expectation. Even more important than
that, right now the public has been demobilised. Indeed, there is no
‘public’ to speak of in Covid-hit Britain. We have been utterly
atomised, pushed into our homes away from the world. What people say
now, in this individuated, concerned state, might be different to what
they would say in a properly public forum like a meeting or a hustings
or a protest. Being with others influences our opinions and our
confidence. The notion of public opinion in a time when public life has
been retired is something we should at least be sceptical about.
Against all of this – against scientific advice, media pressure and
alleged public opinion – Boris now needs to push back. He needs to
think, not about what the papers want to hear or what modellers with no
political or economic nous think we should do, but about what is best
for the country. This lockdown is proving disastrous. It has ended our
freedom, it is causing economic mayhem, it is giving rise to mass
unemployment, and it has replaced public life with a culture of
atomisation and fear. We need a far more strategic focus on protecting
those most vulnerable to Covid-19 alongside a commitment to reopening
society and reviving economic life and everyday liberty. Courage will be
required. Judgement – and confidence in one’s judgement – will be
essential. There will be criticism, there will be op-eds by angry
scientists in the press, there will be Twitterstorms about ‘Boris the
Butcher’. Ignore it all and lead. And use the institutions of
democracy to bring the public along with you. This shouldn’t even be a
radical proposal. Indeed, there is already a word for this kind of
action: politics. Brendan O’Neill is editor of spiked and host of the spiked podcast, The Brendan O’Neill Show. Subscribe to the podcast here. And find Brendan on Instagram: @burntoakboy
Picture by: Getty.
To enquire about republishing spiked’s content, a right to reply or to request a correction, please contact the managing editor, Viv Regan.
There is a very simple model that describes
how Coronavirus would expand exponentially. two parameters are not known
1) What is the value of R with and without lockdown? 2) What is the
mortality rate? These are known within certain bounds but those bounds
mean that removing the lockdown has to be done in a very careful way
unless of course you believe that economic growth trumps large numbers
of avoidable deaths. I despair of the unscientifically educated
authoritarians who run or inform our society through ignorance.
Chauncey Gardiner
24th April 2020 at 10:29 pm
“That would be courageous.”
Isn’t that the kill shot Sir Humphrey would deploy when endevouring to discourage the PM from doing something … courageous?
