Asian Cup Ridiculousness #1

I wrote this a while ago, but never posted it. Here it is, in all it's outdated glory:

 

The AFC Asian Cup is being hosted this year by Qatar. On July 14th, I took in a great game where Australia and South Korea played an intense match to a 1-1 tie. It was a joy to experience. It’s just too bad that all who wanted to attend were not allowed in. My friend and I took our two kids to see their first football game. We had no problem getting tickets. Then, five young Nepalese labourers attempted to get tickets. They were told that only “family and ladies” tickets were left. They asked me what to do. I didn’t have an answer. They looked confused. I figured that the stadium must be pretty packed if they were just down to one section reserved for families. When we entered the stadium, I saw the reality. It wasn’t packed at all. There were all kinds of empty seats. Then, it was announced that attendance was 15,000 people in a stadium with capacity for 25,000. My friend and I were in the “family” section, where there were several groups of Arab and Western men. Our supposed “family section” was not a family section at all.  It was a general seating area. So, why on earth would five workers be denied entry into a stadium with 10,000 empty seats? That is the way it is in malls, in parks and anywhere else that labourers are not wanted. These young men are the very ones who will be building the stadiums, the roads, the infrastructure needed to put on the World Cup when Qatar hosts it in 2022. But, how many of these workers be allowed into the stadiums? They work long hours in brutal conditions, live in squalid conditions and tend to earn very low wages. Often, their passports are taken away, and they are subject to a system that essentially makes them slaves to their employers. The very people who are building Qatar are outcasts and discriminated against.  And when they try to go to malls, parks and tourist areas they are turned away. Apparently, the same goes for some of these foreign workers who try to go to Asian Cup football matches. The Asian Federation Cup is proving to be a games where only select fans are permitted to attend, despite the fact organizers would like to have full stadiums. It makes no sense. What will happen when the World Cup arrives in 2022?

Murdering in the Name of God: Uganda

Wow. I don't even know what to say when I read an opinion piece like this. Here is a posting in the Nile Times from Uganda (http://www.thenltimes.com/apps/blog/show/2536769-homo-practice-is-unnatural-in-uganda). It is completely unedited.

What can be said? I cannot wrap my head around this way of thinking. This is a horrid interpretation of the bible, promoting murder in the name of god...and ignorance. And, even worse, it's sanctioned by the state who is pushing for an anti-homosexuality bill, dubbed the "Kill the Gays" bill by some. Fortunately, the outrage shown by the world may be at least helping to soften the bill.

Homo Practice is Unnatural in Uganda
Posted by niletimes at 12:45 AM on January 09, 2010

In Uganda and world over, there has been a lot of contentious deliberatations on the proposed Anti Gay Bill currently under scrutiny by Parliament of Uganda.

Biblically, Genesis 19: 4-11 naturally outlaws any carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature. In the above verses, the men who had sex with fellow men were made blind by God.

Also Genesis 2:24 is to the effect that a man will leave his father and mother and is joined to his wife. And in that way, two people become one.

From the above Biblical analysis, it is a fact beyond any reasonable doubt that naturally a man goes with a woman, a bull goes with a cow, a cock goes with a hen and that is the order of nature.

In Uganda at the moment, homosexuality is outlawed by Section 145 of the Penal Code Act, Cap.120 under Unnatural Offences. This Section provides “Any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; has carnal knowledge of an animal; or permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for life”.

Therefore, the proposed Anti Gay Bill is meant to strengthen and widen the framework for implementing the already existing legislation. This is a defining Bill for our country, for our generation and for enhancing moral integrity. The Bill is by Ugandans and for Ugandans.

To fellow Africans, the choices, actions and agreements made now will determine which future becomes a reality for the young generation. It is our role to speak on moral and unnatural issues affecting our Continent.

I applaud the authority in Malawi for arresting two men last week on charges of Public indecency after becoming the first gay couple to marry in a country where homosexuality is illegal. I am reliably informed that a court in Malawi has equally denied the two bail for their own protection.

Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa told a packed court in Malawi that he could not grant the couple a bail, saying the ruling was for their own protection. “The public out there is angry with them”. Usiwausiwa said.

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Stephen Monjeza committed to marriage in a symbolic ceremony in southern Malawi last month, attracting hundreds of angry onlookers.

It is also recalled that barely two weeks ago, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh said Gambia is a country of believers and that such sinful and immoral practices as homosexuality will not be tolerated in the country.

President Jammeh vowed to “cut off the head” of any homosexual found in his country and also said that a legislation will be introduced, which will be “stricker than those in Iran”, with regards to such acts.

These are examples that should be emulated by all African countries to forthwith stop this moral vice that is invading our society. I cannot imagine how a man can kiss and sleep with a fellow man. This is extremely satanic! In Genesis 1:27, the purpose of God creating mankind (male and female) was for procreation and companionship among others. Can a man have children with a fellow man? What has gone wrong with the world?

As a Ugandan legislator, I support the criminalization of homosexuality because it is unnatural, unchristian, a moral and social evil. As a Parliament, we may consider revising the proposed Bill to limit maximum penalty for offenders to life imprisonment rather than execution, because it gives room for offenders to be rehabilitated.

I call upon other Members of Parliament to support this proposed Anti Gay Bill for the moral good of our society and young Ugandans.

The writer is Youth MP - Northern Region

obuason@yahoo.com