Melville CookeTHE UNITED States government which, one must always remember, is an unelected government, much like the ones it has installed in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as body-hugged in Haiti is at it again. They have, once again, lied to the people that they misrepresent, in the process terrorising the U.S. population again.
Of course, coming ahead of the November election and with Kerry and Edwards giving a double John (and no, that is not a porn movie term) attack, it is desperation time for those who are currently squatting in the White House. The latest lie is, once again, based on dubious intelligence (pun intended).
I was doing the usual news check earlier this week when I saw the elevated alert status in the United States, concentrating on the New York, Newark and Washing-ton financial districts. The surveillance by the supposed terrorists that was presented was very detailed, from the number of guards in particular areas to how well they were armed, as well as the locations of entrances and exits. All well and good and, in the normal course of things, sufficient reason to go on high alert. But this is not the normal course of things. This is a desperate set of liars who have launched a war on a practically defenceless population on a lie.
USE OF SUPPOSED EVIDENCE
So, what is one more, right? Lo and behold, it is one more lie. The supposed evidence, found on computer files seized in Pakistan, was not merely years old; it predated the September 11, 2001, plane attacks. The lie is not in the evidence of the surveillance, but using it to frighten the American public that an attack is imminent and remind them that, by the way, are you not lucky that you have a strong, watchful government in place? You had better not vote us out, now.
There should be some sort of class action suit brought against the U.S. government for causing people to get high blood pressure. The stress level of ordinary life in the USA must be tremendous, what with daily terror alerts and warnings of the bogeyman just outside the door, waiting on you to slip. Murdering people is Iraq is not going to create any fewer people thirsting for revenge, though, will it? It has occurred to me that the USA and Israel, who both rely so heavily on brute force, are living in the most fear. Israel is busy putting up its physical wall, the USA has set up its strict security measures, and still they do not seem to have any sense of real security. Some people just don't learn.
THE LICKING
Class is class. Never put a donkey in the same sprint as a thoroughbred, no matter how fast the jackass is. I am an unabashed fan of Merlene Ottey and once, in my wonderfully misspent youth, thought cotching the blocks for her at track meets around the world to be the ultimate job, the perks coming in the set position. I was deeply disturbed at how quickly and savagely many Jamaicans rounded on the lady when the Nandrolone scandal hit and I was infuriated at that protest in Sydney when she was chosen to run the sprint over Peta Gaye Dowdie. Protest if you have a case, yes, (and they did) but that sketellish behaviour by some of our younger track stars four years ago rankled and it still does. In fact, for Merlene Ottey to be able to step on the same track with kids who were probably comparing their first pubic hair with their primary school friends when she was at her third or fourth games (2000 was her sixth) should cause the young Jamaican sprinters no ends of shame. Or admiration.
It is against this background that I express my extreme delight in the licking that Merlene Ottey, now running for Slovenia, has administered to Dowdie. Running at a meet in Estonia in late July, Ottey won the 100 metres for women in 11:18; Dowdie was sixth in 11:67. Ottey is 44 years old, OK? And if that was not enough, earlier this week Ottey ran 11:09 in Belgium, Dowdie coming in third in 11:45. Another day, another licking.
Sure, Dowdie will beat her one day, and I doubt if Ottey can run the rounds at meets like the Olympics any more although I hope she proves me wrong. But class is class and I will always admire Merlene Ottey, whichever country she runs for, and as long as she continues to show Dowdie said class (and minus the first pair of consonants as well), a clean pair of heels and that sassy walk, I will be a happy man. Rude little girl. Oh. In Ottey's spikes, I would have changed nationalities too.
Melville Cooke is a freelance writer.
