Egogonews Weekly Roundup – 16th December 2024

Hamas Ready to Talk?

On that day of great infamy, October 7th, 2023, the world woke up to the shocking news that Hamas had attacked Israel unprovoked, killing 1,200 people, and taking over 200 hostages.

The world held its breath.

How would Israel respond?

Hamas had made an existential mistake. Israel is not quite what you would call a kind or benevolent country, add to that, the tendency towards extremism, add to that, a Prime Minister such as Benjamin Netanyahu, a man not known to espouse peaceful views.

Hamas was going to pay dearly for that act of recklessness. Gaza has been pounded into dust. Hamas has been decimated. The supporters of Hamas—-Hezbollah, and Iran have been significantly weakened. Syria is no longer a factor as conduit for the smuggling of arms to Hamas. Even Qatar is expelling Hamas operatives on its territory. With increasing isolation comes increased desperation. Whatever peace the world can get from that region of the world at this time would be embraced gladly. The people of Gaza have suffered too much already.

Will 2024 wind down with a ceasefire in Gaza?

Will Syria Mend?

Hafez Assad, deposed president of Syria is now old news. Reports have it that his brutality was matchless. Over 150,000 people were said to have been killed between 2012, and 2018 in his crackdown on opposition to his rule. The victims included teenagers who needed to “be taught a lesson.” Mass graves are being dug up across the country. Assad has fled to Russia. His day of reckoning has come. Now that Assad is gone, will the disparate coalition that came together to oust him be able to come together to forge a strong peace? That is the question.

Meanwhile, the United Nation’s representative in Syria spoke pungently after his meeting with the new leaders, sounding an alarm that a regime change does not mean an end to the humanitarian crisis. He spoke about a need for a “reset of global compassion,” adding, “if we don’t help to fix the country now that we have a chance, its problems may come back to haunt the West.”

If someone in Syria is listening, this is what they need to do: The new leaders should move quickly to forge a permanent peace with Israel, and take advantage of their technological, and economic advancement to build a stronger, more economically advanced, and more politically open Syrian State.

For all we know, as horrendous as October 7th was, it may eventually lead to a different kind of Middle East by pure accident.

The King Holds Court at Maralago.

When we were in Primary School, we read a story about the Lion who was said to have been ill at some point. All the animals in the Kingdom went to visit him. When it was time for Mr. Tortoise to pay a visit, he went round the Lion’s palace. Smart guy. He noticed that all the footprints were facing only in one direction—inside. None was pointing outwards. He therefore, came to a quick conclusion that everyone who went to visit the Lion had become a meal.

As the King at Maralago holds Court, and gobbles up all the Big Tech Giants—the who’s who in the tech world—Google, Facebook, Tik-Tok, Amazon—one wonders when, and if the Almighty CNN will also cave, and fold.

Is it far-fetched?

ABC News just caved and folded by agreeing to pay $15m to a bully.
The bully has just sued The Des Moines register for doing their job of polling, and coming up with a result which did not favor the King during elections. Liz Cheney has just been threatened for looking into the “handshake and camaraderie” of January 6th.
Hear the King in his own words: “I have to do it. We have to straighten out the Press. Our Press is very corrupt.”

James Madison, largely, the author of the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights which guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the Press needs to wake up right now. There is no time to waste. The American Press is the Press of all Presses around the globe—-the Numero Uno. If Gold rusts, what will happen to Iron?

In my recent studies, I came across theories of the Press. We have the Authoritarian Press theory—here, everyone writes what the King wants. In fact, the King owns the Press.

Eventually, the Libertarian theory sprang up from that as Kings gave way to democracy. And then came the Communist or Soviet theory of the Press where the Press became the mouth organ of the Communist Party with the express purpose to espouse the beauty of Socialism, and finally, the Social responsibility theory where the journalist self censors, and looks to the larger interest of society in reportage.

Now, with what is happening in America as the King preps for a Second term in office, Social Scientists must be scratching their heads as to where to fit this new phenomenon.

Let’s give it a name such as: Maralago Theory of the Press: A phenomenon where media houses in anticipation of retribution from the King, and his minions, set out to undermine the principles set forth in the First Amendment to cower the press by threats of law suits which nobody wants such as in the case of ABC News which caved, and agreed to settle instead of fighting in the courts because the courts having been loaded with MAGA judges can no longer be trusted to look at the facts of a case.

Or else, your organization may just be excluded from White House briefings; or the case of the Washington Post which for the first time in 50 years refused to endorse a candidate in the last election in anticipation of a future fear of retribution; or the Des Moines register of Iowa being sued for running and publishing unfavorable poll numbers.

Nigeria has an equivalent, ongoing, prevailing theory of the press that we may want to call the Brown Envelope theory of the Press. In this case, the Press is for sale to the highest bidder. The government which hitherto would have considered a big stick now just needs a sufficiently brown envelope. Need we say more?

Mental Health and the American Youth.

In the 83rd recorded shooting of the year, a 15-year old girl went up to her school with intent to kill and did kill a teacher, a student, and herself. Her school was supposed to be a Christian school. Parents send their children to these few paying schools in a bid to inculcate christian values in them, and ostensibly, to avoid the debasement of regular public schools.

Clearly, it is not enough remedy for a society where mental health is an epidemic. Anyhow you want to slice it—- to the extreme left or to the extreme right, any form of extremism is bad for society.

Will there be any cure to school shootings in the future?

I doubt it—certainly not in a country where anyone can walk into a gun shop, and purchase a gun without a background check or as in the case of the fellow who killed the CEO of United Healthcare in front of a hotel in New York, an unregistered, untraceable printed 3D gun.

Inflation rules still.

On Wednesday, Mr. President presented the 2025 budget to the joint session of the Senate, and the House. A cursory look at the budget points to a status quo. I have written copiously throughout 2024, that, barring a near obsessive focus on agriculture, we would never be able to tame rising prices. Mr. President, let’s face the bush, and cause the earth to yield its increase.

The year has come to a close.
May the Hand of almighty God guide all of you, my fabulous readers to a beautiful ending, and the beginning of what we hope will be a fantastic 2025 in Nigeria and every place else around the world.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.

O’meekey Ovienmhada.