Bruce, you could have prevented this whole Liberian nonsense!

In today's article on the indictment of Liberian president Charles Taylor for war crimes, it is mentioned that his career began as a gas station attendant in Boston.

If only our administrator, Bruce (a Boston-area police officer) had been able to . . .

Note: President Taylor announced that he will leave office when his term expires . . . "though he hasn't said when that will be."

When the ice skating rink in hell opens, perhaps.

[Note to newbies: This is relevant because of the current scandal in which the Liberian ministry of education is selling its accreditation to any "school" wanting same for $50,000 down and $20,000 a year.]

 

I'm pleased that we've found the person responsible for this mess.

This reminds me of the Simpon's cartoon episode where Homer would go back into time for a moment and swat a gnat or something about as insignificant and then return to the present and see what strange changes had occurred. They were all bad until one time his family was living in a mansion and everything looked perfect. He sat down at the breakfast table and asked where the donuts were. Marge responded, "What are donuts?" So he screamed in terror and rushed off to the time machine. Behind him he failed to notice through the window that it had started raining donuts outside.

 

This has nothing to do with the recent wire transfers from Liberia into my checking account.


Bruce (who will be sure to cast a more suspicious eye on foreign gas station attendants)

 

This is one way to earn the tuition for a DL degree!

 

Now if President Taylor used some creative marketing strategies, he could set up several kiosks in gas stations throughout the U.S.
and from them sell Liberian accreditation to prospective clients (you get a discount if you fill up with 10 gallons or more).

 

These are not the best of times for President Taylor. His term in office may be getting close to expiring, along with Mr. Taylor himself.

He was indicted by the war crimes tribunal while he was in Ghana for talks with the rebels. Ghana was not pleased that their ECOWAS effort to get talks going was subverted by the tribunal, so they ignored the indictment and flew Taylor back to Monrovia.

There Taylor confronted anarchy in the streets as his undisciplined troops drove around madly in all directions, what is being called a coup attempt (perhaps with US involvement) and the fact that rebel groups had taken advantage of the "peace talks" to launch an offensive against the capital.

The US Embassy has ordered all nonessential US personnel out of the country, the refugee camps at the edge of the city are in rebel hands, with the inhabitants fleeing into the city center for fear of having their arms cut off. The UN has moved its aid people to the city center and gunfire can be heard. Apparently the Taylor forces fought off an assault at a bridge only two miles away. People are streaming towards the US Embassy, since its small number of Marine guards may be the only security left and in hope that it won't be attacked.

Will this excitement hinder the scholarly operations of St. Regis University and the NBOE, both of which supposedly operate from Liberian soil? Will it slow down the work of the highly respected Liberian accreditation evaluation teams?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2967366.stm

Perhaps it would have been better for Taylor if Bruce had busted him back in Boston, if he had done some jail time and ended up a small-time Massachusetts crook. His life expectancy would certainly have been longer than it looks to be right now.

So... if there is a change of regime in Monrovia, what does that mean for all those pretty accreditation certificates with the old guys' signatures on them?

 

If only you knew, John. Chuck Taylor, former gas-station attendant and current president of the Republic of Liberia, is actually still a fugitive from MA authorities. He escaped from a Boston-area jail in the 1980s. An arrest warrant is probably still outstanding, though I don't envision the Suffolk County Sheriff traveling to Monrovia anytime soon.

 

From The Mask of Anarchy: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War (by an Oxford PhD in African history and longtime worker for Amnesty International)

In 1983, [Taylor] fled [Liberia] for the United States allegedly after embezzling $900,000 of public funds. He was arrested on his arrival pending extradiction back to Liberia but he escaped prison in Massachusetts in mysterious circumstances. Taylor may have bribed prison authorities $50,000 to escape, but the fact that no serious attempt was made by the US authorities to apprehend him after the dramatic prison escape strengthens suspicions that the US security services turned a blind eye to Taylor’s escape…for political reasons.

$50,000, eh? The same amount that country now charges for their accreditation.

The book also accuses Taylor of ritual cannibalism. (He sued for libel in the London High Court and lost.)

 

Apparently President Taylor's term hasn't expired yet, but his remaining time in office may be getting short.

Exerpts from the latest AP story:

Troops Battle to Defend Liberian Capital
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, Associated Press Writer

MONROVIA, Liberia - Explosions and machine-gun fire echoed in Liberia's besieged capital Saturday as President Charles Taylor's forces fought rebels pressing on the outskirts, sending tens of thousands of desperate residents to the U.S. Embassy seeking sanctuary...

Bearing foam mattresses and other hastily gathered belongings, the masses huddled shoulder-to-shoulder in the rain on a muddy, rocky hill outside the embassy compound, asking for help from America — from where freed slaves sailed in the 19th century to found their war-ruined country.

"Send the Marines to guard us," cried Spencer Suku, a student. "The place we are in now, only God can save us." ...

In a rare interview, Taylor vowed he would prevail over the insurgents.

"We think that we're going to have it very difficult," Taylor told The AP. But "I think they will be beaten back," he added, seemingly unruffled by his dwindling territory. "This force that came to Monrovia is not greater than God." ...

Late Friday, the State Department ordered the evacuation of all non-emergency personnel from its Monrovia embassy — where security was tight Saturday...

 

Sunday afternoon, MSNBC:
TEMA, Ghana, June 8 — Liberian rebels said on Sunday they were giving President Charles Taylor a 72-hour ultimatum, urging him to step down or face the consequences. ''We give them 72 hours,'' said J. Laveli Supuwood, a senior member of the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).
-------------------------------------------------

Just musing: Will regime change really make a difference for the things we fret about here? The Liberian National Board of Education, which accredits anything that holds still and writes checks, seems to operate from a mailbox in Washington, and these matters will hardly be a priority for new president Supuwood (or whomever).

 

No, obviously the last chance we had was with Bruce in the Boston gas station.

 

For heaven's sake don't tell Orson, but a few hours ago French helicopters evacuated several hundred European, American, assorted African, Indian, Egyptian and Lebanese foreign nationals from Monrovia. That seems to have included the non-essential US embassy personnel that had been ordered to leave friday. (It's tough to evacuate a surrounded city.)

Apparently a French navy support ship was off the Ivory Coast (the next door country), supporting some French troops there. So it cruised a few hundred miles up the coast to Liberia to accomplish the evacuation.

Despite our recent frosty relations, it seems that the US and France cooperated well on this operation and the US State Department issued official thanks to France for their efficient action.

Does the evacuation of but all but a skeleton crew of American diplomats and marines mean that St. Regis' beautiful ivy covered cloisters are abandoned?

No, I'm sure that the St. Regis dons have remained steadfastly on the job, grimly ducking bullets to dedicatedly extend their students every drop of life experience credit that they deserve.

 

The fall of dozens of Royal houses hasn't stopped the granting of knighthoods, dukedoms etc.

One might suspect that a Liberian government in exile would keep accrediting schools.

 

Dennis: One might suspect that a Liberian government in exile would keep accrediting schools.
---
Good point, Dennis. There was a man (Francis X. Gordon) in the 70s who discovered the exiled King of Yugoslavia selling cars in New York, and made a deal with him to 'authenticate' various Yugoslavian degrees, credentials, and orders of merit.

Their wonderful shtick was that when the King was in exile at the Savoy Hotel in London during WWII, he proclaimed the (virtual) awarding of some Royal Yugoslavian knighthood to everyone who supported the Allied cause.

Although that was just a gesture, it became reality. All you had to do was show that you were alive in 1945 and not a Nazi, and you clearly qualified for this knighthood (upon payment of an appropriate fee). You got the medal, the sash, the certificate, the whole nine meters.

 

President Taylor's remaining term in office continues to grow shorter. (It may be hours now...)

After agreeing to a cease-fire and to leave office, Tayor changed his mind and announced that he wouldn't be leaving office after all.

So the rebels attacked Monrovia last night, charging across the last bridge into downtown. They are reportedly nearing the US embassy, and shells are landing around and within the compound as we speak.

Highlights of the latest AP story, filed about half an hour ago:

By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH, Associated Press Writer

MONROVIA, Liberia - Shells exploded in a U.S. diplomatic complex in Liberia's besieged capital Wednesday, causing injuries among thousands of people seeking refuge as civil war engulfed Monrovia, a U.S. official said.

A U.S. Embassy official said authorities had no details on the numbers of casualties, but there were no reports that Americans were injured...

An Associated Press reporter and photographer at the scene felt the ground shake from explosions. It was unclear whether the explosions were caused by mortars or rockets...

Survivors ran past with wounded civilians — wheeling one bleeding young man out in a wheelbarrow and using a ragged shirt as a stretcher for another victim.

The U.S. Embassy and sprawling residential complex are on a rocky hillside overlooking the Atlantic coast. The European Union compound is next to the U.S. Embassy.

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. authorities admitted tens of thousands of refugees into the residential complex as rebels attacked the city with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and small arms, among other weapons.

It marked the first time since 1996, during the height of Liberia's 1989-1996 civil war, that authorities opened the compound as a refuge for Monrovia's people...

The U.S. Embassy has remained staffed after a voluntary evacuation by French military helicopter...

 

Here's an earlier BBC story.

It seems that not only is Monrovia shattered by street fighting, but a cholera epidemic is breaking out in the city as well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3018548.stm

My guess is that if President Taylor can't turn this situation around (increasingly unlikely), he may try to flee to the bush and regroup. His forces apparently recently won a victory in the southeast of the country, and Taylor did start out as a local warlord.

So if he bails, what about all those grand sounding officials that sign the Liberian accreditation documents? Will they stay on the job (such as it is), or will they abandon ship and start spending their money?

If the current accreditation officials flee, will all those old accreditation certificates still be good? Or will St. Regis and all of its affiiates have to buy new accreditation certificates from whoever the new corrupt officials are?

 

It must really be getting tough for the St. Regis faculty. I wonder how many degrees they were able to approve today?