Juba Diez

John Caleb Diez, Sr., known as Juba Diez (born August 18, 1944), is a businessman from Gonzales in Ascension Parish, south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 2004. He was first elected as a Democrat in 1975 in the state's first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary. He won re-election in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, and 1999.

Background

Diez graduated from Dutchtown High School in Geismar in Ascension Parish. He worked for a year after high school as a boilermaker. From 1964 to 1968, he served in the United States Air Force. He owned Diez Business Machines and Office Supply in Gonzales. He subsequently sold the company, which had $1.7 million in annual sales in its last year of existence, to Champion Industries of Huntington, West Virginia. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.

Diez is a member of the American Legion, Ducks Unlimited, and the East Ascension Sportsman's Club. He and his wife, the former Mary Jane "Janie" Ficklin (born May 1947), have a son, John Diez, Jr. (born January 1970), who has worked for the Republican National Committee, the Ascension Parish School Board, and the Magellan Strategies polling company in Baton Rouge. Diez, Jr., is considered one of Louisiana's most highly regarded pollsters and demographers on the Republican side. He warned U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu that she could not win a fourth term in 2014 with Democrats now commanding such a small portion of the white vote in the state.

Juba

Juba /ˈdʒuːbə/ (Arabic: جوبا‎) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of South Sudan. It also serves as the capital of Central Equatoria, one of the ten states of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and functions as the seat and metropolis of Juba County.

History

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1922–1956
 Sudan 1956–2011
 South Sudan 2011–present

In the 19th century, a trading post and a mission, called Gondokoro, was located in the vicinity of Juba. It was the southernmost outpost of the Egyptian garrison, supported by a handful of soldiers, mostly ill due to the malaria and blackwater fever that was dominant in the region. Gondokoro was also the base of the explorers and campaigners (Sir) Samuel and Florence Baker during their expeditions to what is now South Sudan and northern Uganda from 1863 to 1865, and from 1871 to 1873.

Juba itself was established in 1922 as a small town by a number of Greek traders which were mostly supplying the British Army at the time. Although their number never exceeded 2,000 inhabitants, together with a much larger number of the native Bari tribe with whom they had an excellent relationship, the Greeks contributed in what is today visible structures downtown Juba Market area as well as the Greek Quarters (named by the British), a small suburb which today is called Hai Jalaba. Examples of the development by the Greeks are public buildings such as the beautiful stone buildings of Ivory Bank, Notos Lounge, the old Sudan Airways Building, Paradise Hotel, Nile Commercial Bank and Buffalo Commercial Bank, among others. The building of Central Bank was also built at a later stage in the mid '40s as well as the famous Juba Hotel in the mid '30s.

Juba (sniper)

Juba (Arabic: جوبا‎) (a.k.a. "Joba") is the pseudonym of an alleged sniper involved in the Iraqi Insurgency featured in several videos. The second of these videos shows Juba claiming to have shot 37 American soldiers. Whether Juba is a real individual, a role shared among multiple individuals, or a propaganda/media creation is unknown.

Juba was allegedly murdered by Islamic State in 2013 or 2014.

Videos

Several video clips which allegedly show the actions of Juba have been circulated over the Internet.

First video

In November 2005, a video which was circulating in Iraq appeared on the Internet. The video, attributed to the Sunni insurgent group Islamic Army in Iraq, showed American soldiers being shot and falling to the ground. The video starts with a man saying, "I have nine bullets in this gun and I have a present for George Bush. I am going to kill nine Soldiers. I am doing this for the viewers to watch. God is great. God is great." With that, he makes his way from the vehicle, and a series of separate scenes follow showing several individuals shot in action.

Juba (food)

Juba was a food that was traditionally eaten by slaves in the United States colonies who worked on plantations. It was made up of a mixture of leftovers and was cooked in a large pot.

References