Mark Anderson Writes

 Words have power. And names have immense power and can be  self fulfilling prophecies. Today many Zimbabweans have strange English names that are the butt of jokes in neighbouring countries. Names like Godknows and Knowledge are the source of derision and comedy. If it was up to me it would be illegal to give an African name a non-African name. How many white people give their children African names? How many Arabs give their kids Zulu names? Let us be careful what we name our children.  When the British settled in the land between Zambezi and Limpopo they met various tribes living there. They exploited the tribal conflicts and divisions that were already present. The Ndebeles regularly raided and enslaved the Shona speaking tribes. The Shonas were divided and disorganised. To ensure that these African tribes would forever remain divided they gave the provinces tribal names that divided the people along tribal lines. Mashonaland in the north, Manicaland in the east and Matabeleland in

The Wire  was an American  crime drama   television series  created and primarily written by author and former police reporter  David Simon . The series was broadcast by the cable network  HBO  in the United States.  The Wire  premiered on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008, comprising 60 episodes over five seasons. The idea for the show started out as a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner  Ed Burns , a former  homicide detective  and public school teacher. Set and produced in  Baltimore ,  Maryland ,  The Wire  introduces a different institution of the city and its relationship to law enforcement in each season, while retaining characters and advancing storylines from previous seasons. The five subjects are, in chronological order: the  illegal drug trade , the  port  system, the city government and bureaucracy, education and schools, and the print news medium. Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city. Whe

Monarchy is the most natural form of government. The royal institution has the ability to last for centuries and even thousands of years like the Egyptian Pharaohs, Roman Emperors and Ottoman Sultans have shown. Democracies and republics do have their positive sides but they rarely last for centuries. They are unstable institutions that cater to the whims of the mobs or those with deep pockets. All forms of governance all end up as oligarchies or monarchial rule.  Should Shonas have a ceremonial Munhumutapa king? Once upon a time the land between the rivers Zambezi and Limpopo was ruled by Munhumutapa kings. It was great dynasty of Mutapa kings that reigned for over 300 years. It was a golden age for the Karanga people where we traded ivory with the Portuguese and our people were clothed in silk and ate from porcelain plates and cups. And yet today it seems we have forgotten about our Mutapan history. It does seem that Shonas have lost their culture except for roora bride price. Munhu

Once upon a time, there was a prosperous country known as Rhodesia. It was a bread basket for the region and boasted a strong economy, developed infrastucture and an educated populace. Similar to the movie the Lion King when Scar took over Pride Rock and everything went to shit, the same happened to Rhodesia. A brutal and violent man named Mugabe came to power and chaos ensued. Zanu pf has ruled over the country of Zimbabwe for 41 years since 1980. They inherited a robust economy and infrastructure from the Rhodesians in 1980 and over the decades managed to destroy the health and educational system. They committed a genocide in the 1980s that claimed the lives of at least 20 000 Ndebele lives. Zanu pf went on to loot the public funds in numerous corruption cases that left the people poor. Ian Smith has been vindicated and his prophecy of doom has been fulfilled. The 90s saw Zanu pf send its soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo to secure Mugabe and his gang's interest in the

 The Iranians and white Europeans have been at logger heads for a very long time. Over the years Iranians have been in conflict with white Europeans in one way or another. The Iranians had several battles and wars with the Greeks for hundreds of years. Then after the Greeks the Romans fought the Iranians as Parthians and Sassanians. And today the Iranians and USA and UK do not see eye to eye.  It is obvious that the conflict between USA and Iran is not about Israel or oil or whatever. This is the continuation of a conflict that has lasted for thousands of years between Iranians and white Europeans. Is it a brotherly feud between the Iranians and the Aryans? Is it fueled by the Iranians desire for world domination and reclaiming their status they had under Cyrus the Great? Whatever the reason, this conflict will not end any time soon. It will continue until the end of time. Or may be the reason for the end of time and man's extinction.

  Ralph was responsible for cooking that horse alive. When we first meet Ralph he is getting an earful from Tony Soprano about the firebomb in the sanitation war. Tony repeatedly tells Ralph, ‘No. More. Fires.’ And the story goes full circle and ends with Ralph causing more fires and killing Pie-O-My. Ralph and fires is further alluded to when Valentina, who Tony stole from Ralph like he stole Pie-Oh-My, is burnt in the face and disfigured whilst at a stove making Tony some eggs. And pointing to Ralph’s fascination with the movie Gladiator, Ralph goes out fighting to the death like a gladiator. He was my favourite character and I was sad to see him go.

  Throughout Season 6 it is stressed that Butchie DeConcini does not like Tony Soprano. Tony and Butchie meet on several occasions and in all of them Butchie does not hide his disdain for Tony Soprano. There is a subtle clue that points to the fact that it was Butchie who had Tony Soprano whacked. When they are in the warehouse with Little Carmine discussing a truce there is a moment where Butchie leans forward and the words CAT in orange appear behind him. The colour orange symbolises death and the orange cat that Tony finds in the safe house is a bad omen like Paulie said it was.   Furthermore, if Butchie could betray Phil, his own boss then what would stop him  from  betraying Tony Soprano who he resented? If I was David Chase Tony’s killer  would have been wearing a New York cap to further hammer home the point that it was  New York that whacked Tony, but I digress. As to why Tony was killed the answer is obvious. It is mafia protocol that you cannot kill a Made man in front of h

  Tony Soprano got whacked in Holsten’s in front of Carmela and AJ and Meadow. It’s all there. Tony is seated in front of the large portrait of the house that resembles the Inn at the Oaks that he saw in the coma dream. The number 38 behind him points to his death. It is my hunch that the Man in the Members Only jacket shot Tony Soprano with a .38 caliber pistol. Moreover the word DEATH in gematria adds up to the number 38. Secondly, there is another subtle image that points to Tony Soprano getting whacked. There is a waitress to Tony’s left who points to her forehead with a lead pencil just before the final shot. This is David Chase telling us that Tony was shot in the temple with a lead bullet, died instantly.

 Whatever happened to goddess and earth worship? Whatever happened to the worship of female gods and the worship of the earth? Is the earth an actual living organism? In many cultures if not all there used to be the worship of the earth. Even the early cavemen understood the earth to be a maternal entity that gave birth to trees, grass and vegetation. The Greeks had Gaia, the Romans had Terra, the Chinese had the goddess Houtu the Zulus had the goddess Nomkhubulwane.  Early man had respect for the earth and female figure. At some point in history, female goddesses got sidelined and the male god reigned supreme. And two chief culprits of sidelining goddesses is Islam and Christianity. And it is no surprise that with patriarchy and the monotheistic worship of the male god misogyny prevailed. For the last thousands the female figure has been shunned and covered up. Woman is viewed as the tempter and the reason of the fall of man. Religious texts are full of evil female characters and vers