Home of the Mandinmories

Senegalese in turmoil

2012-02-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

Senegalese are still demonstrating against Abdoulaye Wade's power grab. The senile octogenerian is trying to run for a third term. He contracted with a US law firm to provide legal support to justify his attempt at a third term. He is an excerpt of the correspondence:

Dear President Wade:

It is indeed an honor to consult with you and to provide representation for The Office
ofthe President with respect to your efforts to seek a third tenia as President of The Republic of
Senegal. 1 will lead a team of lawyers and professionals at McKenna Long & Aldridge
(hereinafter "MLA") who have been assembled lo research and analyze your authority to seek a third term under the Senegalese Constitution and other relevant laws, create a white paper that discusses our conclusions, and develop and implement an agreed upon protocol for sharing these findings with appropriate officials and interested parties in the United States and in The Republic of Senegal. We would like to present our white paper findings to you in Senegal in early November and in accordance with your schedule.We can perforin this work under the following terms:
(T); A retainer in the Amount of $100,000 to be paid upon, execution of this
engagement letter;
(2): A JSOJOOO tee for researching and draftingthe white paper; and
(3): A $50,0(|0: per month flat fee for developing and implementing an agreed upon
protocol whereby IVltA will share the results of our findings with appropriate officials and
interested parties in the United States and Senegal.

You can read the whole correspondence here.

Life in prison for what?

2012-01-17T12:57:00.000-08:00

Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, the erstwhile secretary of state for information, who left the United States to contribute to what he termed then "his quota" to national development, has been sentenced to life behind bars for excercising his free speech rights. A lot of pixels were wasted when he penned a controversial email on Gambian online list serves rationalizing his change of positions, vis-a-vis the Yahya autocracy. A lot of people felt betrayed and offended by his actions then.

Fast forward to the developments of late. Many of these people (online activist) ...been the democrats they are, felt that he fell prey to the evil machinations they've warned him against. They've coalesce without reservations to voice their indignation at his incarceration, notwithstanding, because deep down they adhere to the time worn dictum that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". It is a sad day in the history of the Gambia, that citizens can be locked up for life for what is trivial pursuits. What harm is done to the state when some one print slogans on a t-shirt? The slippery slope is getting sloppy by the day.

The joke is on the Gambian citizenry. It is time for activist in the diaspora to start agitating differently...no I am not talking abut demonstrating in front of embassies ( God bless the demonstrators), it is time to get creative. Bring to the fore front Yahya's connection to drug traffickers and money launderers with affiliations to terror groups like Hezbollah to the attention of western governments.Unless western interest is at stake, we won't make any headways in our pursuit for justice. We've gotta make him think twice before he board planes for the west.

It was students, Deyda, Koro and countless Gambians yesterday. Today it is Dr. Janneh... tomorrow, it could be your family member. Wake up Gambia and get rid of the mad man devouring your kids for his greed.

Free Dr. Janneh NOW !!!

Winter wonderland [photos from my porch]

2012-01-15T16:32:00.001-08:00

Fresh snow coupled with a beautiful Washington sunset.

7 Years Later

2011-12-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

It is seven years since Deyda Hydara was murdered by thugs on a dirt street in the Gambia. The government of Yahya Jammeh refused to make any effort to investigate the circumstances. Why would they? after all he is critical of the way Yahya is running that nation into the ground. Two of his sons have recently file a lawsuit with West Africa’s regional human rights court.
Rest in Peace Deyda....

Read his daughter's tribute here

UDP rejects election results

2011-11-26T14:50:00.001-08:00

The UDP has officially rejected the results of the November 24th presidential elections. They have not divulge as of this publication what their next move entails. Which makes the whole news conference a charade. Unless they are willing to take to the streets, the results of last Thursday stands. I don't foresee the leadership of UDP ever taking to the streets to force yahya's hands. This is much hullabaloo about nothing. Yahya will continue his reign of terror because Gambians let him.

Gambia election results

2011-11-25T12:54:00.001-08:00

This is the IEC's breakdown of the November 24th election results. The site is latent beyond belief, but you can check them out here. No surprises as far as I am concerned, after seeing the opposition squabble for years without a concrete plan to confront an entrenched dictatorship.

Gambia Election Results

Live of updates of election results

2011-11-24T10:20:00.001-08:00

For live broadcast of the election returns on GRTS, click on this link courtesy of Raaki television...an operation run by brother Buharry out of Sweden. Latency could be an issue along the way due to the traffic they will be getting from diasporans longing for election updates.

Generational failure...as Gambia goes to the polls.

2011-11-23T15:41:00.001-08:00

I am in my mid thirties and for most of my adult life, lived in the comforts of the west...United States to be specific. I am the diasporan that politicians in the Gambia recoiled at when we lobbed criticism at their lack of strategy in getting rid of 17 years of Yahya's authoritarian rule. They are grateful for our remittances, without which that place will be a basket case, but never lose a beat in reminding us who has skin in the game. It is a sad spectacle coming from seemingly and by every educational measurement very smart guys.

In a few hours time,Gambians are going to engage in an another sham election. The outcome of which unless you live under some kind of rock is obvious. The mechanism needed to rid our nation of a cancerous dictatorship was derail due to petty squabbles amongst men who should know better.

This has left a sizable sector of my generation puzzled at the intransigence of our parent's generation of oppositon politicians. These men of healthy age couldn't put away idealogy to save a nation. Personally, I have lost faith in the leadership of my parents generation. I speak not specifically of our parents -- I have two loving ones --one died (my Dad) more than a decacde ago, but of the public leaders our parents’ generation has produced. they have failed us over and over and over again. Remember, when Yahya ordered his goons to use live ammunition on my generation in broad day light and murdered fourteen of them? My parent's generation didn't rise up to demand justice for the fallen. They cowered and hold tightly onto their rosaries praying to a deity to rescue them from the clutches of tyranny. Well I got news for them it aint gonna happen. God said to help thyself and he will bless your endeavors. Freedom ain't free and until Gambians cleanse ourselves of the delusion that we are the most peaceful people on God's green earth, we will be takers for bullies like Yahya Jemus Jammeh.

Our parents’ generation has balked at the tough decisions required to preserve our country’s sacred trust in standing up for the sanctity of life, especially for the young and vulnerable. They preach peace without calling for justice for the fallen. We still grief for the fallen and hope to hold the perpetrator to account for his deeds. All we asked of our parents generation of opposition leaders was to make this possible by coming together and that becomes an insourmantable task for them to carry out. Instead, in a matter of hours they will legitimise a tyrant by participatig in a sham that even ECOWAS had to pull their observers from.

Well, like they say in my neck of the woods, the deed is done. These crop of our parents generation have had their time to lead. Time’s up. I’m tired of waiting for them to live up to obligations. We have to take our country back before it reaches the abyss.Time for plan B.

Campaign videos

2011-11-17T11:30:00.001-08:00

Buharry at Raaki Tv is running campaign videos on his site. Check them out at his 2011 presidential elections page

Jammeh is Gambia's Problem...Darbo

2011-11-16T07:51:00.001-08:00

LawyerOusainou Darbo, Gambia's main opposition leader to Yahya Jammeh to the woodshedwith a scathing and powerful take on his 17 years of tyranny and itsconsequences on the average Gambian. Win or lose, I think this is a seriousdocument that needs wide circulation. The document was originally posted at UDPGambia.com

I am reposting it here in it's entirety. Fair use be damned.

"FellowGambians,

Itis with great humility and abundance of honour, that I address you, once again,as your nominated presidential candidate in the forthcoming November 24^thPresidential elections.

Mostof us Gambians, we are appalled, horrified and shamed by the tyranny, abuse andbuffoonery of Yahya Jammeh. We are often at a loss, to understand, how we endedup with the terrible Jammeh government. We wonder how our small and beautifulcountry, our Smiling Coast, lost all its early hope and promise of peace andprosperity. We despair, about how a megalomaniac as uncouth as Yahya Jammeh,managed to drag our beloved country into the gutter of bad governance, stateviolence and treachery at every turn.

Mostof us Gambians, we look at what has befallen our nation and we weep in pain andin sorrow. We are appalled at the way our elders are disrespected, disgracedand dismissed. We are horrified at the way the good people of this land areviolated, vilified and victimised. We are shamed by the fact that for 17 years,we allowed our county to be turned into a pariah state and laughing stock,divorced from the community of civilised nations.

FellowGambians, ENOUGH is ENOUGH; you know it, I know it, we allknow it; enough is enough, it is now TIMEfor CHANGE; it is time for DEVELOPMENT with DIGNITY for our beloved country. Everywhere we look, we see tyrantswho proclaimed unrivalled mightiness, fall from power, and cower in sewerswhilst the citizenry reclaim their rightful sovereignty.

Fellow Gambians,

You,me, all of us; can play a heroic role on 24^th November 2011 byvoting for a UDP unity government. Verily, to every curse endured, there is ablessing waiting; to all suffering, there is respite and reprieve; to the doomand gloom of Yahya Jammeh, there is the waiting glory and grace of a UDP unitygovernment. You too can be part of Gambian’s AUTUMN REVELUTION by make your pact with destiny and vote for a UDPunity government on 24^th November.

Formost of us Gambians, we suffer the everyday pains and humiliations of the curseof the Yahya Jammeh misrule. We suffer in silence. In our own little ways, wetry to survive without calling attention to ourselves and our families, lest weare visited with unjust and vindictive retribution. Yet in our pain andhumiliation, our souls are battered, our self-respect depleted, and our honouras human beings is quashed.

Onceupon a time, all Gambian citizens were treated with civility and honour.Rightly, we all basked in the glory of human equality that Allah has bestowedupon us as human beings. Yet today, grown men are compelled to behave likeemasculated servants – whimpering, bowing and submitting to this tormentorYahya Jammeh and his bullying agents.

Today,our womenfolk, our mothers, aunties, sisters and daughters are compelled tobehave like helpless supplicants – flattering, appeasing and begging thispredator Yahya Jammeh and his scavenging henchmen.

Today,our esteemed elders and religious leaders are compelled to behave likedelirious sycophants – validating, encouraging and praising this tyrant YahyaJammeh and his small clique of collaborators.

Today,judges, senior officials and decent men and women are compelled to beg,prostrate and crawl before Yahya Jammeh, who holds himself out as a tin-potmonarch. As a nation of decent people, we have been disgraced, demeaned anddemoralised. We are treated, spoken to and chastised as children. A wicked andcontemptuous tyrant, with his small band of minions have subdued, subjugatedand subverted the freedom and dignity of 1.7million citizens.

Wehave allowed this vile oppression to subsist, because we fear that Yahya Jammehwill visit us with violence, abuse, insults, humiliations and deprivation; yeteverywhere I look, I see citizens drowning in poverty, trembling in fear andhumbled by daily indignities. Even for the agents, henchmen and collaboratorswho do some of Yahya Jammeh’s dirty work, I see them end up as his victim,languishing in prison, dying in mysterious circumstances or ostracised into thejittery wilderness of disfavour.

PoorGambia, how have we fallen so low? Why are we trapped in this debauchedcauldron of venality, dishonour and decrepitude? How have we ended up with avengeful government that deprives and depraves its people?

Myheart bleeds in pain for the suffering of our people. Fellow Gambians, as Allahis my witness, enough is enough; you know it, I know it, we all know it. Letthe truth be spoken, loud and clear; Yahya Jammeh is the national tormentor,bully and predator. For his continued oppression and humiliation of Gambians,the shame is on all of our heads. For the action to end the curse of YahyaJammeh, the weapon is in our hands, in the form of our voters card.

QUESTIONS ASKED BY THE ELECTORATE

Inthe past 15 years, I have travelled up and down the country, I have visitedtowns and villages, I have spoken with thousands of men, women and youths. Inrecent months, I have heard from honest and decent Gambians who have nevervoted for me before. These people, many of whom did not vote at all at the 2006elections, have asked some fundamental questions. They say to me:

“LawyerDarboe, we are sick and tired of the wicked government of Yahya Jammeh, and weknow that you are a good man, BUT:

Wouldmy single vote make a difference and can Jammeh be removed through the ballotbox?

Are you strong enough to remove Jammeh?
Do you accept that Jammeh has done some good things?
What will you actually do as president to improve opportunities and prospects of citizens?”

FellowGambians,

Iam very grateful to all of you who have taken the trouble to speak with medirectly and the thousands of you, who have contacted my colleagues about yourconcerns and queries. Today, I shall give you my answer.

Iwant the whole country to listen to me very carefully, as I give you my simpleand honest answer and my eternal pledge of commitment. I want every Gambian,irrespective of party affiliation to know what I, Ousainu Numukunda Darboe,stand for. I want those of you who have voted for Yahya Jammeh before, tolisten to why you now have to change your vote and vote for a UDP unitygovernment.

Thismoment is our appointment with destiny. It is beholden to every citizen tolisten to the facts, accept the truth and do the right thing. As your candidatefor president of the Republic of The Gambia, it is my humble duty to make mycase to you. As a citizen of this sovereign nation, it is your duty to vote forthe national interest. This is the democratic pact, fellow Gambians. This isthe mark of civility and enlightenment. This is the start of development withdignity for The Gambia. This is the beginning of Change from the Yahya Jammehtyranny to the progressive and compassionate UDP unity government that awaitsthe nation on the 25^th November 2011

THE POWER OF YOUR VOTE

Thereare many Gambians, who believe that their single vote and individual effort isa waste; that their vote will not result in actual change of government. Forthose of you who doubt your democratic potency and your individual electoralpower, lend me your ears and your minds, for I want to remind you of keylogistical facts and eternal truths about the civilise force of democracy.

Onthe appointed day of 24^th November 2011, it is you as a citizen whoenters the polling station. You will be alone; your card in your hand; thefuture and prospects of your children in your hand; the salvation of theRepublic of The Gambia in your hand; the all-seeing eyes of our Lord Allahwatching you. Yours is a solemn duty, to vote for change, to vote for a UDPunity government, to vote for development with dignity.

Itis the single individual drops of rain that together waters the earth thatyields the bounty that springs forth. It is the minute single individual grainsof rice that together makes up the meal that nourishes your family. It is yoursingle individual votes that together will deliver electoral victory for UDPand its alliance parties; mandating us to form a unity government, under myleadership.

Thisis a simple logistical and irrefutable fact. Therefore, when schemers, liarsand enemies of democracy tell you that, you are being watched when you vote; orthat your single individual vote is a waste; or that Yahya Jammeh cannot bevoted out of office; you will know better. Anybody, and let me repeat this,anybody who tries to interfere with the operation of this simple logisticalfact, this fundamental electoral rule, this eternal democratic right andreality, be it the Independent Electoral Commission itself, or Yahya Jammeh andhis party, or any random enemy of the people – they will be committing a crimein law and a gross offence against the entire nation. Fellow Gambians, I begyou to listen to me carefully. Neitherme Ousainu Numukunda Darboe, nor you, the good people of The Gambia, willtolerate any hint or smidgen of electoral fraud or democratic crime.

FellowGambians,

Yoursingle individual secret vote for me Ousianou Darboe and the UDP alliance willbring to an absolute and final termination of the wicked government of YahyaJammeh. Nobody can do anything about this eventuality. Allah Almighty is withthe Gambian people. The old adage is true; voxpopuli, vox dei, the voice of the people is the voice of God. It is withAllah’s help and will that the era of Yahya Jammeh’s tyranny will end on 24^thNovember 2011, and when you wake up on 25^th November 2011, you canbask in the glory of a new unity government and a new enlightenment, emergingfrom that powerful single individual vote of yours.

FellowGambians,

Donot be complacent about your democratic rights and your electoral power.Democracy is not a fancy ideal and a fanciful aspiration. Your democraticrights are predicated on your very humanity, and your electoral power allowsyou to determine the future of your family and your nation. It is Allah the Almightyin his eternal wisdom who created us human beings as equal. No amount ofworldly influence or affluence makes any man or woman superior to any of us.Neither the powers we think we have, nor the towers we build for ourselves,make us more human than our humble neighbours. Thus, it has come to pass, thatwithin the democratic settlement, power lies in your single individual vote. Sofellow Gambians, whenever you are again troubled by self-doubt, as to whetheryour single vote can cause the change we need and want, just remember your God;the gift of individual humanity bestowed upon your person; and your inalienableequality to every other human being.

Throughthe ballot box, and the power of the single individual votes of the citizens,heroic Africans like you, have voted out sitting presidents. Fellow Gambians,please beware that perceptions may not accord with reality. Irrespective ofwhat we think of the particular politicians, here in Africa, there is a longlist of opposition leaders and independent candidates winning elections andforming governments. In the past 18 months alone, opposition leaders haveformed governments in 6 African countries:

InSeptember 2011, opposition leader Michael Sata won in Zambia.

InAugust 2011, opposition leader Jorge Carlos Fonseca won in Cape Verde.

InAugust 2011, former president Manuel Pinto da Costa won in Sao Tome &Principe.

InJanuary 2011, veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou won in Niger.

InNovember 2010, veteran opposition leader Alpha Conde won in Guinea Conakry.

Andin June 2010, even in Somaliland, east of the failed state of Somalia,opposition leader Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo won the elections and governs thecountry.

InJuly 2009, opposition leader Malam Bacai Sanha won in Guinea Bissau, where nineyears earlier in January 2000, another opposition leader Kumba Yala had wonagainst the ruling party.

InDecember 2008, opposition leader John Atta Mills won in Ghana, where eightyears earlier in December 2004, another opposition leader John Kuffour had wonagainst the ruling party.

InSeptember 2007, opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma won in Sierra Leone.

InMarch 2006, independent candidate Thomas Yayi Boni, won in Benin.

InJuly 2005, former Prime Minister and opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam won in Mauritius.

InAugust 2005, opposition leader Pierre Nkurunziza won in Burundi.

InMarch 2002, veteran opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade won in Senegal

InDecember 2002, veteran opposition leader Mwai Kibaki won in Kenya.

Wayback in 1994 when Yahya Jammeh overthrow the elected government in The Gambia,in Malawi, former President-for-Life Hastings Banda, was defeated by oppositionleader Bakuli Muluzi.

Zambia,the country that elected an opposition leader recently in September 2011,elected another opposition leader Frederick Chiluba in October 1991, defeatingKenneth Kaunda, the father of the Nation and hero of the independence struggle.

FellowGambians,

Whoeversays that Africa does not remove its presidents and leaders from power throughthe ballot box knows nothing of modern day politics. If you still have anydoubt as to the power and potency of your individual single vote; look aroundthe length and breadth of our continent for answers and reassurance.

Democratsand freedom lovers throughout the world have used democracy and peaceful meansto create their velvet revolution, their jasmine revolution, their springrevolution. For Gambia, this is time for our AUTUMN REVOLUTION. Be part of it; such that in the future glory ofa prosperous and meritocratic Gambia under a UDP unity government, you too willsay to your progeny, I was there on 24^th November 2011, I was on theside of Gambia, I voted for Darboe and for a UDP led unity government, and you can be rest assured that your sacred votes will be protected and your willenforced without hesitation or doubt!

FellowGambians, now I ask you:

Dothe Zambians love their country more than we do?

Arethe Sierra Leoneans wiser than we are?

Andour Senegalese brothers and sisters, are they better than us?

Yetnone of their leaders defeated in elections behaved with the venality,vengefulness and viciousness that have characterised the Yahya Jammehgovernment.

Makeno mistake and allow no one to fool you; YahyaJammeh CAN BE and WILL BE DEFEATEDon 24^th November 2011.

MY VALUES, PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES

FellowGambians,

Ispeak softly and quietly, in public and in private. That is my nature, and I amat peace with myself. I speak softly and quietly, to prince and pauper, to menand women, to young and old. As your president, I shall remain to my character,and will continue to respect and honour every human being that Allah hascreated.

Someof you may not like my calm and collected manner, but I have to be honest withyou; that part of my character will never change. As your president, I shallnot start yelling, berating and haranguing officials, elders or politicalopponents. I shall always remain calm, collected and respectful to everyone. Iam at peace with the character Allah has given me.

Myfellow Gambians, just as some of you doubted the power and potency of yoursingle individual vote, there are some people who may have mistaken my calmdisposition as sign of weakness and timidity. For those people, I again beg youto lend me your ears and listen very carefully.

FellowGambians, it is true that there are certain phenomena that I Ousainu NumukundaDarboe, am afraid of. Yes, I am afraid of God; I am afraid of dishonesty; I amafraid of treachery.

Iam afraid of God, because the Almighty is our creator and wise people haveinstructed from since I was child, that the more you fear God, the closer youare to His Eternal Mercy. Yes, I fear God.

Iam afraid of dishonesty; the telling of lies, the payment of bribes; thecommitting of fraud. In public and private affairs, dishonesty is a fundamentalcause of mistrust, conflict and retrogression. Yes, I fear dishonesty.

Iam afraid of treachery; breach of duty, criminal plotting, subversion of lawand order. In community and national affairs, treachery undermines the fabricof civilised organisation of social relationships. Yes, I fear treachery.

But,let me make it very clear that I am not afraid of any fellow human being; I amnot afraid of challenging and telling the truth to those in power. I have done this throughout my life and Iwill continue to do so as your President. I am not afraid to make tough choicesfor the good of our nation as that is what leadership requires and I am readyand willing to deliver on that for you at any time.

FellowGambians,

Ifyou look at the population of our country, many people fall under the class ofvulnerable people. This is why my political philosophy and my personal valuesare so closely linked. Having enlightened values is not a sign of weakness. Onthe contrary, it is what I believe every modern nation should have.

Myprinciples and values on society and politics are not alien or exotic, they arerooted in the type of upbringing I share with many of you fellow citizens. Ilearned my values and developed my principles from the elders and madrasas ofNiani Dobo Karanbantang; from the dedicated teachers of St Augustine’s HighSchool and Gambia High School Sixth Form in the City of Banjul; from my studiesof humanities and the liberal arts, and my training in law and jurisprudence inUniversities in West Africa and North America; and from my 35 years ofexperience working to uphold justice in our country and society.

FellowGambians, a Darboe presidency and unity government shall be based on fiveprinciples:

1. An enterprising economy; wherebynational resources, systems and processes are used to promote innovation andcreativity aimed at the development of commercial and social enterprises andthe growth in sustainable jobs for citizens.

2. A meritocratic polity; wherebyappointments and promotions in the public services are based purely on abilityand aptitude, knowledge and experience, commitment and competence.

3. An egalitarian society; whereby genuineequal opportunities are afforded to all citizens, irrespective of ethnicity,caste, religion, class, social or cultural background.

4. A facilitative State; whereby theresources of the country and the systems and processes of the civil service andparastatal bodies are focussed on giving citizens the opportunities, guidanceand assistance for the pursuit of socio-economic and other productive venturesand activities.

5. An ethical culture; whereby the tenetsof fairness, justice, civic and personal responsibility shall be entrenched inevery aspect of society.

FellowGambians, a Darboe presidency and unity government shall implement policies,based on our five principles. After 17 years of Yahya Jammeh’s misrule, ourcountry needs a great deal of work. As such, UDP and its alliance partners areready with a reform programme, to be implemented within our first 100 days ofgovernment. The priority policies of our unity government are as follow:

1. Restructuring of the Ministries ofState; facilitating fundamental reform on agriculture, employment, education,health, power and water. Today, we have published a full statement onMinisterial restructuring.

2. Constitutional Reform; includingintroduction of presidential term limit of two 5-year terms, and reduction ofthe president’s power in relation to dissolution of the National Assembly.

3. Social Enterprise and Job Creation;including development of cooperative and social franchising schemes inagriculture, and involvement of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in capitalprojects and the maintenance of physical infrastructure.

4. Civil Service Reform; including salaryand productivity review and programme for mobile phone and electronic-basedgovernment and public services.

5. Disbanding of the National IntelligenceAgency; including reform of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of thepolice force and the end to harassment and intimidation of ordinarycitizens. .

6. Diaspora Engagement; enabling Gambiansabroad to engage more easily in the productive and development activities inthe country.

7. Foreign Policy Reform; includingestablishment of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China(PRC), and to end Gambia’s status as a pariah state in the world community.

FellowGambians,

Thereare some of you who are impressed with buildings Yahya Jammeh has erected andare satisfied that he has brought development to the country. I too have seenthe buildings and projects and do not claim that he has been entirely idle.Yet, I challenge you to wake up to the fact that Yahya Jammeh is a cause ofGambia’s underdevelopment.

Justthink for yourselves; here we have an unsophisticated and ill equippedPresident who has distanced our country from the rich and civilised nations andinstitutions of the world; who restricts projects to a small coterie of hisGambian and foreign cronies; who intimidates and dismisses able technocrats andprofessionals at will; who achieved nothing of substance before he used forceto overthrow a legitimate government; who now claims to be personally wealthybeyond comprehension.

Thinkabout it; if this man can claim to have achieved some development, how muchmore can a unity government achieve, with a team of the most able and talentedGambian professionals, working within the enlightened development principles wehave introduced you to? Think about what talented Gambians within internationalorganisations and corporations are achieving for other countries. Look at thecommitment and achievements of Gambians at home and abroad, despite the currentchallenges resulting from Yahya Jammeh’s misrule. Think about the goodwill thatawaits us from around the world.

FellowGambians,

Letus take the right step on 24^th November 2011 by electing a unitygovernment. This will open up a whole new world of opportunities and resourcesfor development.

Andfor those schools he has built, do they have good teachers? Do they produceexcellent results? We all know that the answer is ‘No’; that is why privateschools are thriving and we scrimp and save to send our children to fee-payingschools; but alas, most citizens are too poor to choose that option. Under mypresidency, public primary and secondary education will be free and quality ofeducation improved to meet the needs of the 21^st century.

Andthose hospitals and clinics he has built, do we get quality medical attention?Do we get free or affordable medicines? We all know that the answer is ‘No’. Ifyou can afford it, you go to private clinics, but alas, most citizens are toopoor to choose that option. And then he proclaims to me a medicine man,providing treatment that he does not even belief in enough to use for his ownfamily. Fellow Gambians, enough is enough. Let us make the change we deserve.

Onthe appointed day of 24^th November 2011, go into that solitarypooling booth; with your God, your conscience and the future of your country atstake, make your choice; continuation of tyranny under Yahya Jammeh, or a unitygovernment under Ousainu Darboe. It will be only you, your God, your conscienceand your country.

Forall of you who did not vote at the 2006 elections, I plead to you; go out inyour thousands and vote for a unity government. This is your pact with destiny.You are the ones who will decide the very future of our beloved land. This is asolemn call by your nation; go out and vote and use the power of your vote toensure a brighter future for the people of The Gambia and the generations yetunborn.

FellowGambians, you do not have to attend meetings and rallies of UDP and itsalliance parties; you do not have to display our posters; you do not have to bea member of our party. Your duty on 24^th November 2011, is to useyour secret vote to ensure that you are part of the positive change sweepingacross the world. With your own deed, you can end the curse of Yahya Jammeh,the wicked culture of deprivation and depravation. Your vote is what will bringabout the meritocratic unity government under my presidency.

ForAPRC supporters, I know and understand the predicament some of you face. Someof you are under peer pressure, some of you fear that you will suffer the wrathof a vengeful Yahya Jammeh, if you do not go out and support him. You too havea role to play. You can dance all you want in the streets; you can flatter YahyaJammeh with all manner of empty titles, but you too have a secret vote; you tooknow right from wrong; you too have a conscience. At the solitary moment of thepooling booth, remember your God and side with your conscience and freeyourselves from the trap of Yahya Jammeh and his APRC machine. Vote for a unitygovernment under Ousainu Darboe, because you will be voting for the bettermentof the future of all of us. I have saidit before and I will repeat it; in the unity government I lead, there will beno retribution, revenge or recriminations; instead, there will be abundance ofappetite for reconciliation, united purpose and collective action.

Forthe loyal supporters of UDP and the alliance party, this is time forsteadfastness and discipline as a movement that will deliver development withdignity to all citizens of the country. This is the time to welcome ourbrothers and sisters into the unity for national interest, as many of those whodo not attend our meetings will still listen to reason and will, with the Graceof Allah, vote for unity government on 24^th November 2011. This istime for magnanimity, coupled with single-minded purposefulness, to ensure thatthrough the power of democracy and the potency of citizen votes, Yahya Jammeh’sgovernment is finally terminated, and a new era of development with dignitybegins, including all Gambians irrespective of their party affiliation.

Letus all pray that the Almighty Allah helps and guides us towards a peacefulchange of government and to help us deliver DEVELOPMENT with DIGNITY. The Gambia deserves better.

LongLive The UDP Led Alliance!!

GodBless the Republic of The Gambia!!

(Reportingby Sulayman Darboe, editing by Fatou Gaye)

Publisher;United Democratic Party"

Nominations done

2011-11-10T16:01:00.001-08:00

The nominations for November 24th presidential elections took place with the usual braggado. Yahya Jammeh for the APRC, Ousainou Darbo for the UDP and Hamat Bah is running as an independent candidate after resigning from his party ...NRP.

Yahya withdrew some money from the account he has with Allah's Bank to purchase 46 new pick up trucks for his goons to use in traversing the lenght and breath of the Gambia, cajoling, insulting and beating up oppositon sympathizers.

The results barring a miracle is glaringly obvious for all to see. With the charade and intransigence that PDOIS pull to squander away opposition unity, Yahya will win another election aided by a brutal political atmosphere.This is how dicatorships strive for ions.

Et tu Halifa

2011-11-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

With the November 24th presidential elections around the corner and nary a chance of a unity in opposition ranks, save for a charade of a convention that is the brain child of Halifa Sallah. I called it a charade because the outcome is clear for all to see. It is nothing but a vindictive attempt to derail the power of the UDP. Halifa hasn't been helpful in trying to bring about opposition unity to uproot a tyrant. Starting with that ridiculous agenda 2011 document he authored, calling for inter party primaries. He is of late revolved that into a convention of disparate entities. The man is smart enough to know that he is throwing a monkey wrench to derail the whole process.

But fear not. When all is said and done, the man who calls himself the conscience of the Gambia, compared himself to Mandela and Tutu saved his most venom for his countrymen, living in the diaspora, who had the gall to call him out on his inconsistencies and how they are hurting the Gambia. He took to his political party's mouth piece (Foroyaa) to say the following in an interview:

If people who consider themselves competent refuse to assume their national responsibility then they should not caricature the so-called lesser endowed persons who stand up to be counted. The people who are failing Gambian society are those Gambians in the Diaspora who pen their days and nights to attack those who are making the supreme sacrifice to combat impunity at home. They do not come home to establish political parties to uproot the regime but do not reward the little others are doing even if it is not enough.

My deduction from that quote, is that diasporan Gambians, sustaining the economic wellbeing of a large percentage of the population, have no say in the political environment that exist, because they have no skin in the game. It is the classic hallmark of a thin skinned politician. Halifa will like us to continue supporting families in that country financially, but stay out of the politics as long as we are not willing and in some cases unable to be on the ground, form political parties or join his disciples.

Halifa Sallah, as much as I hate to say this, is the obstacle to opposition unity in the Gambia. Yahya is the beneficiary of his intransigence and Gambians will continue to live under tyranny for years to come. That is a unfitting cap to years of PDOIS politics in the Gambia.

Photo blogging

2011-10-30T16:54:00.001-07:00

Typical Washington weather. Drizzle and un-relenting clouds.

New Look

2011-10-30T16:49:00.001-07:00

I finally went with the new blogger template. I have resisted the temptation for so long, but had to finally acquiesce. My twitter feed contains most of my rants these days, thus the widget's presence on my blog. Happy trails.

Happy Fathers day

2011-06-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

So Google has imprinted on their front page a reminder to call our dads on this fathers day like we need some kind of reminder. If you have to be prodded to call your old man to wish him well on this occasion, well that says a lot about your relationship or it is not culturally significant.

It is fifteen years since my old man passed away and his memory is fonder as ever. How I wish I can use this gmail feature to wish him a very merry fathers day. Rest in peace Pops. We missed you.

Don't say That....

2011-05-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

The title of this post (don't say that) is the favorite one liner of a certain three year old child, when grown ups say anything she doesn't approve off. It takes you aback a bit and force you to reflect on your utterances. Furthermore, it forces you to think twice before you say things in her presence. You are forewarned that you will be checked.

So what am I babbling about you asked? It is the machismo, no the utter disrespect directed towards opposition leaders in the Gambia by some of their compatriots living abroad. Some of the discussion about the opposition leaders— on websites, mailing lists and especially online radio— has degenerated into rhetorical devices that also shut down conversation before it can begin. It has to do with the view some hold that Lawyer Darboe is weak or that Halifa Sallah is a megalomaniac, who thinks he is smarter than everyone else.

In entrenched democracies, these characteristics are pale for the course. But in political environments like we have in the Gambia, where the need for opposition unity is a necessity for any head wind against Yahya's authoritarian machinery, these arguments will provoke heated reactions and inflame the tender relationship between the parties that need to come together.

It is my fervent hope that anyone who is a flame thrower will stop and consider how their words impact people who put their lives and livehood on the line opposing a dictator where it matters the most... on the ground. They are human. Have family and friends who read and yes heard the hurtful things said about them. And it does impact them. Sometimes excruciatingly viscerally. And it is not even remotely necessary to cause them such pain. And their participation in politics and in political dialogue should never be the source of such pain. Particularly not from people who share the same vision. This is not a plea for censorship, but it is a plea for sensitivity and consideration. It is an attempt to raise consciousness. And it is an attempt to improve the quality of political dialogue such that controversial arguments can be made and challenged without them descending into personal animosities. Words matter. Our choices about words matter.

So the next time you feel like calling someone out of their name, think of that three year old's one liner "don't say that". Try it, it works...

Gambia ... a pictorial from the Colonial days

2011-05-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

The National Archives of the United Kingdom has a flicker account with interesting photos taken during the colonial reign. The picture above is a representation. You can check them out by clicking on the link below:

The Gambia through a Lens

My Grand Father's War

2011-02-27T08:55:00.001-08:00

If the headline sounds hyper and attention grabbing, well that is my intent. For starters my grandfather (my father’s father) did not fight in any war that I know of. However, the headline is not in and of itself wrong. My grandfather’s granny fought an epic battle in the village of Saba in defense of his liberty and that of generations that follow and continue to be of his lineage today. This is why I used the heading my grandfather’s war. It is in essence a shortening of the family tree. However, in this age of URL shortening in cyber land who is going to nit-pick on my usage of the term when I took so much time explaining the rationale.

Back to my grandfather shall we? He was a warrior in defense of liberty and a lesser man will succumb to the tyranny of the majority and accept subjugation: Not Duwa Banna Ceesay. He wouldn’t have any of it and in a split second he put his life and that of his clan on the line. It reminds me of a saying that is attributed to Patrick Henry “Give me Liberty or Give me death”.

The story goes that our ancestor who first settled in the village of Saba was a native of Salikenne …a village located in what is today central Badibu district. It is approximately five to six miles from Saba. He got into a fight with a group of men on the outskirts of town and end up killing one of them. Fearful of the retribution he will face if he went back to the village [Salikenne], he decided to flee and seek refugee with a cousin of his who was living in the village of NjabaKunda, a few miles away from Salikenne. His cousin advised him to move west to the village of Saba and seek refugee with Konkono, the elder of the founding clan that inhabit that settlement. He will be spared if found living with Konkono since his clan has “dancuto” [a joking bond] with Salikenne. Dancuto to this day is very sacrosanct in relationships and communal harmony. That is how Sano Ceesay settled in Saba. He was given land and married one of Konkono’s children. He settled in what is today called “CeesayKunda Ba” ..The original Ceesay Kunda in Saba. There are numerous Ceesay Kundas, but this is the original settlement of our ancestry; Nestled between Suso Kunda and Drammeh kunda.

Sano was blessed with children and he prospered in Saba. In those days, the more children you have, the more farm hands, hence productivity increases. His success reached an old friend of his in Salikenne, who eventually came to visit him and decide to stay as well. That friend of Sano’s is the ancestor of Today’s Drammehs in Saba. Drammeh Kunda today is located on land allocated to their ancestry from my ancestor. It is bewildering that due to his business success, the drammeh friend turn foe and tries to rewrite history. His offspring to this day continue on this path of deceit. They have a superiority complex about them and go to the length of not marrying within my clan. The stupidity of caste lives within their ignoramus lot. Unfortunately that is not isolated to them; it is very prevalent in Saba. The bigotry that is involved is breath taking.

Sano lived a free man in Saba till his death. He never ventured back to his native Salikenne. That is where my grandfather’s war starts. Upon Sano’s death, the Janteh Kunda Kabilo decided that since Sano was spared his liberty and didn’t pay for killing a man back in Salikenne (in self defense by the way), they are going to make his children pay for it by forcing them to work for their clan or they will unleash the wrath of Salikenne upon Sano’s children. It is an insidious blackmail for lack of a better word. Duwa Banna: the eldest of Sano’s children and the heir to the clan upon his father’s death told the elders of the Janteh Kunda kabilo , who brought farm implements with them to shove it up where the sun don’t shine. Bullies for ages have glass jaws. They were not expecting the resolute stance Duwa Banna took. Taken aback, they re-group and called on their allies in the neighboring villages to confront what they termed intransigence on my grandfathers’ part. It never occurred to them that my people have a God given right to liberty and self determination. What ensued was an epic battle in the village of Saba. Duwa Banna ordered his clansmen to fight with all they’ve got. He positioned himself by a lake located and still located behind the cemetery called “Buukay Daala”. It is more of a pond these days… the effects of erosion and nature taking its course. From this vantage point he waited for his men to capture and bring the captives from the other side. He submerged their heads in the glistening waters of the fresh water lake; inducing the fear of drowning in them; a crude form of water boarding for sure. The result is instant diarrhea. Extreme? You bet. But, extremism in defense of liberty as Barry Goldwater lamented, is no vice. By the end of the battle (when the other side surrendered) the lake was polluted with feces, thus the term Buukay daala. Nine alikalos were arrested by the colonial government from all over Badibou for the role they played in trying to subjugate my clan. It is believed that they were sent to Sierra Leone for incarceration and nobody ever heard a thing about or from them. They end up like fart in the wind; lost to a cruel cause. The Gambia in those days was governed by a governor general stationed in Freetown on behalf of the British throne.

Duwa Banna was offered the alikaloship of Saba after this event. He turned it down; reasoning that all he was fighting for is his dignity and that of his clan and power was not part of his calculus. The bad blood from this event continues to this day though in a subtle way. It is never in your face kind of bigotry, but we all know the under currents. The phrase I know it, when I see it describe the conundrum that comes into play when you try to describe the bigotry that happens in Saba to this day. The comedy of ignorance still pervades a community that thinks they are better than their fellow villagers based on ancient feuds. Inter-marriage is virtually non-existent in Saba, there are two cemeteries in the village and yet smiles are faked at village gatherings. The hypocrisy of it all is nauseating. To add insult to injury, the younger generations devoid of any knowledge of Saba’s history are taking to cyber space to spread made up stories stoking their own egos. I cannot for the life of me let that go unchallenged. If Duwa Banna in the face of thuggery and violence stood up and fought for liberty and what is right, the least I could do is turn my computer on and set the record straight on the history of a village we all call home.

Ghadafi Must Go.

2011-02-21T13:19:00.005-08:00

The face of tyranny. Gadhafi and his family are losing control of what they see as their personal hacienda. The wind of freedom blows and I wish it blows towards what was the smiling coast of Africa. ... Gambia. Lord knows we need some popular uprising in that country.

I hope he (Gadhafi) goes and soon. God speed Libyan patriots. Take your country back. Gadhafi has been nothing, but a divisive figure on the continent of Africa. The world and Africa for that matter is better off without his destructive activities.

They Did It

2011-02-11T08:53:00.006-08:00

Thank you Egypt. After Eighteen Long days and nights, you rid youselves of a thirty year tyranny. This reminds me of the old adage "Freedom is never free". Somebody has to fight for it, demand it and unfortunately pay the ultimate price.

If only Gambians can muster this kind of courage and take to the streets of Banjul, our sixteen year nightmare will be over in a moment. Can we?

Courage under fire

2011-02-03T06:39:00.003-08:00

Pro-government thugs at Tahrir Square used clubs, machetes, swords and straight razors on Wednesday to try to crush Egypt’s democracy movement, but, for me, the most memorable moment of a sickening day was one of inspiration: watching two women stand up to a mob.

That is how Nicholas Kristof begins his oped in todays new times. This is the scene he is alluding to. The grace of two women in the face of aggression from bulky angry men, who thugishly try to intimidate them to silence.

I urge my government and by extension the man in charge [President Obama] to do all in his power to force Mubarak and his thugs out now. The Egyptian army should be told in that it is time for them to step up to the plate and support the people in their quest for freedom, and that the continuation of the funds and materiel we provide them are dependent upon what they do.

I will end this writeup as I begin it: with a paragraph from Kristof's column... a must read by the way:

But for me, when I remember this sickening and bloody day, I’ll conjure not only the brutality that Mr. Mubarak seems to have sponsored but also the courage and grace of those Egyptians who risked their lives as they sought to reclaim their country. And incredibly, the democracy protesters held their ground all day at Tahrir Square despite this armed onslaught. Above all, I’ll be inspired by those two sisters standing up to Mr. Mubarak’s hoodlums. If they, armed only with their principles, can stand up to Mr. Mubarak’s thuggery, can’t we all do the same?

Mubarak blinked

2011-02-01T13:11:00.003-08:00

Mubarak is quoted:

"We will seek economic and political reform. I will also ask the police to always mind the people's rights and their duties," according to National columnist Sultan Al Qassemi.

Duh. Ya think. The dictator got scared straight by a sea of people, who can't take his authoritarianism no more.

And they keep on rising

2011-01-28T12:15:00.008-08:00

From every corner of the Egyptian society they rise. If Mubarak is complacent before, well he got something else coming. Look at the defiance on that woman's face. Dictators beware. Yeah ... I am talking to you Yahya Jammeh. Gambians will eventually rise up and take their country back.

It is awe inspiring. If Mubarak weathered this storm, he will have to open up Egypt to serious transparency. My gut tells me he is done, just like Ben Ali of Tunisia. Take a look at this picture:

Huffington post has a live update going on at this LINK....

The Daily Kos as usual has some of the most exhaustive discussion of the events taking place on that community blog.

Here is a link to the Daily Kos discussion board.

Aljazeera is running a Live stream of the events happening in Egypt. The role of Aljazeera in disseminating opposition views on the Arab street is consequential.

Here is the Aljazeera Live stream in english

AND THEY RISE

2011-01-26T19:02:00.005-08:00

Take a look at these photos and tell me you are not inspired. Egyptians came out en-mass in defiance of dictatorial orders not to protest.

The look on that elderly woman's face is priceless. She took a gallant stance for liberty. In an authoritarian country like Egypt, the consequences of this action is life altering. She knew this could cost her her life, but took a stand anyway. She is all guts.

The youth were out in force as well. Reminds me of scenes reported out of Gambia in the student demonstrations of April 2000. The difference between the two encounters is the stance taken by the older generation in support of the youth uprising. In the case of the Gambia, the elders cowered in fear while fourteen people were murdered by the military. Not a peep. What do you think would have happened if you have a few Gambian grandmas stood up for the youth like the Egyptian lady pictured above. The story would have been different.

The Arab street is rising up using social networks to challenge entrenched dictators. It started in Tunisia, moved on to Egypt. Mean while Gambians are castigating one another for losing an election that is not even contested yet. the contrast is so heart wrenching.

The house Bolokele built

2011-01-15T16:05:00.006-08:00

This is the first house built in the village of Saba. It is not dated for obvious reasons: the owner and the society at large when this house was built have no inclination to the western idea of date and time.

This blog post is a prelude to the research I am doing relating to the founding of Saba and how its rightful founder came to be robbed of his settlement. One thing is not disputed in Saba: that the picture above is in fact the first house built in the village. Which begs the question, who owns that house then? The answer will surprise the revisionists running around the world wide web calling Madiba Singhateh the founder of Saba.

Bolokele Singhateh is the owner of the first house built in Saba. His family still owns the house and property upon which it stands. Bolokele Singhateh is the founder of Saba. This is a prelude to the larger write up I am working on. The lie that Madiba founded Saba has been perpetrated for sometime now. It is time to challenge the nonsense with facts. Facts ma'am just facts. Stay tune...

Saba ...the misnomer continues

2010-12-31T10:05:00.003-08:00

This was a note I wrote on my FaceBook page.

The advent of social networks have done wonders in bringing people together. Long lost friends, classmates and yes relatives are suddenly a search away. The internet has been around for decades, but the proliferation of social networking sites like this one (Facebook) have up the ante in connecting individuals. I have been blogging for years on blogspot. I have a niche following of political junkies who read my rants and musing on everything from technology to mostly contemporary politics. One issue I have never dealt with is the history of the vilage of my birth, especially its founding. This is a topic I intend to write about in detail on my blog in the very near future.

Why the sudden interest some may asked. That is where the advent of social networks and the power they possess in disseminating messages be they true or in most cases not so true comes into play. I have come across a blog posting on the founding of saba that parroted an old lie that has been perpetrated for eons. Here is a link to the posting in question (The author of the blog send me an email on 1/23/2011 to say he is deleting his blog. Sorry for the broken link folks).

Saba wasn't found by Madiba Singhateh. I know that is a bold statement for some folks born and raise in that village. But the facts will support my suppositions when I lay them out in the blog post I am working on. Opinions are entitlememnts, but no one is entiltle to their own facts. The photos displayed on the blog post I reference above tell a different story. I am not sure if the author is clueless or trying his hands at revisionism. Hint...the first house belongs to someone other than his purported founder. The first Gate sat on land owned by the owner of the first house....you get the drift. Saba, like most African villages has no written history. Most of its history is folklorist and embellished. However there are landmarks that are agreed opon regarding there significance to the founding of the village. This is where fact base analysis come in handy. I am not interested in what your grand mama told you if it is directly contradicting a known fact.

Stay tune folks ... the subtle bigotry that has been the norm in Saba will be laid to bare. Yes Bigotry. Saba is a very bigoted community. It is all so subtle, but the under current is brutal.

Free the Ladies NOW

2010-10-13T11:02:00.004-07:00

The photo above is that of Dr. Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang-Sissoho: two honorable ladies, who made a career of fighting for women's right in a male dominated society. They have until a few days ago been engaging their countrymen to to put a stop to some harmful practices undertaken in that society such female circumcision. Along the way, they have gather some powerful enemies, but they persevere. That is until they were arrested and detained at the Gambia's notorious mile two prisons on trumped theft charges.

Their arrest is a smokescreen on the larger socio-political dynamic taking root in the Gambia. The imprisonment without due process is the norm in Yahya Jammeh's Gambia. They have become the latest victims to this madness that has engulf our nation since July 1994. Our people cower in fear while their fellow citizens are brutally subjected to in humane treatments. Nations deserve their leaders and the Gambia is no exception. Gambians are not bystanders in this tragedy, they are active participants, aiding, abating and yes meting out inhumane treatments to prop up a dictatorship.

The comedy of tragedy extends to the religious leadership as well. In civil and human rights crusades around the world, religious leaders take an active role in freeing oppressed masses. From the abolitionist movement to the civil rights struggle in the United States, religious leaders have been at the forefront. The Gambia's religious leaders have failed tragically in this arena. The Supreme Islamic Council have very recently dictate that a fellow imam refrain from preaching to the flock; because, well he is hurting their little feelings. Our Christian brethren, though not involve in any out right censorship that I know of, are missing in the fight against the infringement of rights that is a daily occurrence in their immediacy.

Yahya is who he is because Gambians have become fearful of their own shadows. A lot of Gambians aid this buffoon's ego trip and hurt a lot of innocent people along the way. The larger population has a cynical world view. It is never about them until one of their relatives is picked up and mistreated. The adage "injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere" has never been a mantle in our society. It is these two ladies today, it will be somebody's brother tomorrow, until we shed the fear and confront the cancer before it metastasized to a terminal stage. Then all bets are off.

Pragmatism

2010-10-09T11:45:00.005-07:00

This blog post is made in response to a posting made on Bantaba by Demba Baldeh ...Link

History, they say is prologue. But that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't learn from it to make adjustments for the better. Opposition supporters have come to terms that a united front is our best shot at competing in any meaningful way against an entrenched dictatorship. What seems to be the sticking point is the modalities needed to bring about such a unity. To come up with the modalities requires acknowledging the differences that bridge the parties. To this end,the points Demba enumerated are germane to the discussion. They are the most thorny issues in this unity quest. We keep mouthing off about unity, but when confronted with the mechanism to achieving such a feat, we get cold feet and withdraw into our corners.

It is my opinion that the parties should form an alliance lead by the largest opposition party with the following understanding between the parties:

1. Formation of a coalition government lasting five years
2. Electoral and constitutional reform during the coalition governments' term
3. Parties to the alliance maintain their identity and freedom to organize during the term of the coalition
4. Members of the coalition government will not contest subsequent presidential elections
5. Coalition government members can endorse candidates for subsequent presidential elections (free speech and association).
6. Mobilize mass public campaigns to educate the population in their rights and duties as citizens (parties can do this as well).

These are some of the things that could help bridge the gap. I submit that the parties have smarter people in charge of their affairs than yours truly. Furthermore, I am not breaking any new grounds here. I have heard variances of these points made by numerous people. Pragmatism dictates that we give up something to gain some.The Gambia needs her opposition children to be pragmatic for her sake.

Gambian opposition Unity?

2010-06-19T10:44:00.003-07:00

I am pressured for time these days, but I read through a lot of mail courtesy of my membership to the two largest Gambian mailing lists. The clarion call from most of the participants is a united opposition ala NADD to contest the 2011 presidential elections. I am not a pessimist, but I will venture a prediction that, the opposition coming together as they did with that NADD formation isn't going to happen this time around. If this (opposition parties coming together) is their only chance at defeating professor Jammeh, they might as well call it a day. There is very little pragmatism in the opposition leadership to allow for a united front.

Proponents of unity harp endlessly about unity, but are short on specifics. The mechanisms needed to get these guys to come together is always an elusive one. Until folks are willing to look beyond their own biases, a united front will not happen and Jammeh will cruise to victory with all the impending baggage that entails for the nation.

Not a peep

2009-12-04T14:15:00.005-08:00

"Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more. But no more for the poor"...Reverend Joseph Lowery uttered those words at Coretta Scott King's funeral.

What he was decrying then is the scenario unfolding right under our nose. President Obama ordered thousands of troops to descend on Afghanistan to fight a war without any fuss from the deficit hawks. These same folks are putting every procedural road block available to them to stop the passage of a public insurance option that will generally benefit poor and low income people in this country. Where is the outrage of the Liebermans, the Landrieus , Ben nelsons and the blanche Lincolns of the world? Their hypocrisy knows no bound. It is galling to see how they run their mouth about deficits when it comes to health care reform, but they will borrow their way through wars till the cows come home.

Watch the video and see how poignant his observation is to todays crowd in washington.

Please excuse my rant

2009-10-26T10:49:00.005-07:00

I have not been posting for the past few months, swamped by work related issues, but I have not stopped following the biggest spectacle that does not have its own television show, "The Public Option Drama Hour".

The rumors, innuendos, uncited sources, cited sources, blanket statements, vague statements, speeches, the word "public option", Olympia Snowe, scurred Democratic Senators, fierce House Progressives, The White House and Barack Obama are a daily staple for those of us who follow congress on the health care and other innane issues that govern our lives.

At this point, every political junky following the congress knows which Democrats side with the public option being included in the final bill and which Democrats do not. We know that. My frustration is at the White House and why we need to have Senator Olympia Snowe to sign off on any final health care legislation? I have YET, to hear the White House explain this in reality terms, when the fight is amongst Democrats.

Is the word bipartisan that important to President Obama and the Obama White House? If it is, I have news for them, "One vote from a Republican does not make it bipartisan. It makes it a joke if you try to tout it as such." Is the Obama White House getting this message? Are the light bulbs on at that joint? I don't think so.

There are rumors swirling around that the senate leadership will include an opt out public option in their merged bill to be announced sometime this afternoon. If that comes to fruition, progressive advocacy will have something to show for a summer of relentless action.

Happy Father's day Daddy....

2009-06-21T04:00:00.003-07:00

As a rule, I'm not a fan of Hallmark Days - those occasions when we're obligated to celebrate and tithe to the tinsel titans who compel us to compassion or guilt.

But Father's Day has always had a special spot on my calendar - not only because I like fathers who stood up to responsibility, but it serves as day for me to reflect on the sacrifices of a man who once called the Village of Saba home. The man with the loud voice, but a gentle heart. The joke on our side of the village is that my old man will scare the living hell out of a lion with his voice but the soul behind the man we called Dad is as gentle as they come.

Father’s day is a day of remembrance for me. I remember the phone call that broke the terrible news… the demise of my father. It is still vivid in my memory as the morning dew. But I will not dwell on that sad news, because his is a life worth celebrating.

Frankly, I don't know why Dad doesn't slam the door on his way out. Considering the abject poverty that bedevils the life of an illiterate African villager; who live literally from hand to mouth.

The reason he doesn't is because fathers, when they are true fathers, don't do that sort of thing. They don't act childishly, throw tantrums, pout and demand attention. They take the guff and keep on trucking or in the case of my old man keep on farming and doing any odd job to feed his family. It's a very grown-up thing.

Before everyone who had a bad father or a lousy husband starts typing my name, allow me to disclaim: The world is full of good and bad men, some of whom have managed to procreate, as well as good and bad women. Ditto. But this is not about them. This is an ode to a man I grow up to respect and even more after he gasp for his last breath.
This is my appreciation for my father’s patience and understanding. His strength and reliability in spite of the forces arrayed against. This is the reason I celebrate father’s day. If only I can give ol' dad a call.

Obama need a spine

2009-06-15T17:45:00.003-07:00

Readers of this space can attest to the fact that I have been an Obama supporter since he announced his candidacy. I am no fair weather supporter either. I braved the cold weathers to knock on doors during the presidential elections last fall and contributed to the campaign. For all intents and purpose, I am fully invested in the journey that led to Barack Obama's ascendancy to the presidency. But lately, I am getting disillusioned with President Obama's nice guy approach to governance.

Except for bailing out banks and indebting millions of us, I can't think of any significant legislative accomplishment. I am getting sick and tired of the bipartisanship meme democrats shackle themselves with. We have two political parties for a reason and elections have consequences. Whatever you may think of Bush, you have got to admit that he has the balls to get his agenda through an evenly divided legislative branch. Be it the Iraq war; to trillions of dollars in tax cuts for his rich friends, bush made it all happen. He understand that politics is a blood sport. You have to pull punches to get your agenda through.

President Obama's health care reform plan is been sliced and diced right under his nose and he is playing nice guy. The health insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies and the American medical association are not his friends. They will protect their racket at all cost. Mr Obama's popularity with the public is in the strastosphere and instead of using that to push for the enaction of a public option in health care, he is leaving the heavy lifting to the spineless democrats in the senate. It makes you nostalgic for Bush's cahones.

If President Obama continue on this trajectory, his reelection might falter along the way. I will rather not vote than vote for a guy who won't grow a spine and get his agenda for which he is elected enacted into law. Your are forewarned President Obama...you are taking the wind out of your supporters sails. Do something we can cheer for or don't count on me come 2012.

Dick Cheney is a fear monger

2009-05-21T10:04:00.002-07:00

It is unprecedented in contemporary American politics for a former Vice President to openly challenge the views and policies of a sitting President, four month into their term.Vice President Gore waited two years before he made his speech, and it was not covered in its entirety on all three networks at the time.

Vice President Cheney has absolutely no credibility. Just a few minutes spent on Google can refute nearly every public statement Cheney has made. He is a documented liar. Put Cheney's ass under oath, sit him at a table and let him spew away.No other VP in American history has gone so out of his way to defecate on the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the United States that they faced the possibility of war crimes charges. Cheney is a very special character.

Of course the fact the media allows Cheney to present his views as a 'he said/she said' phenomenon does show the power the GOP has over the corporate media. When Gore spoke against the war, he was mercilessly mocked by the kewl kids bloviating on television. Cheney, a gullible paranoid cowardly sadist, gets endless time to spout his drivel, uninterrupted by pesky pertinent questions.

The Problem is, too many Democrats feed this beast. A 90-6 Senate vote refusing to appropriate money to close Gitmo played right into Cheney's hands. When the Dems openly concede that there should be an actual concern about the country's safety once Gitmo is closed, they're tacitly conceding that Cheney is making legitimate points. Obama is being severely handcuffed here by members of his own party. I imagine quite a few of them are feeling pretty foolish right now. They just got schooled by the president. Like Franklin Roosevelt said “ the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” Now if only the GOP will get a life and stop fear mongering. I won’t hold my breath for that, but shaming gutless democrats who cower to the fear mongering should be a progressive mantle.

He refused to cower

2009-03-25T05:19:00.003-07:00

Edmund Burke, wrote in "A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful the following:

"No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear ... To make anything very terrible, obscurity seems in general to be necessary. When we know the full extent of any danger, when we can accustom our eyes to it, a great deal of the apprehension vanishes. Every one will be sensible of this, who considers how greatly night adds to our dread, in all cases of danger, and how much the notions of ghosts and goblins, of which none can form clear ideas, affect minds which give credit to the popular tales concerning such sorts of beings. Those despotic governments, which are founded on the passions of men, and principally upon the passion of fear, keep their chief as much as may be from the public eye."

This is so true of the situation in the Gambia. Instilling fear through torture, murder and other vices has been the constant tool in Yahya Jammeh's authoritarian rule. Raiding communities, arresting, detaining and forcibly making their elderly drink concoctions that are lethal is a brutal way to instill fear and power over a people. Yahya has succeeded to certain extent. Most of the people subjected and will be subject to this craziness will be waiting on God to come and rescue them ... as if that ever happens if you don't put in the effort.

The only bright spot in this saga is the stance taken by a single man...Halifa Sallah. Here is an interview he granted Foroyaa after his release from prison, because he dare question the government on the legality and morality of their actions...vis a vis the witch hunts.

“MY RIGHT TO DEFEND THE SOVEREINTY AND WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE IS INVIOLABLE AND NON NEGOTIABLE” ...Halifa

Halifa understands Burke's assertion clearly and he refuse to be fearful. Go and read the whole interview at Foroyaa online. It is beautiful.

Halifa Sallah is released

2009-03-19T18:05:00.003-07:00

We have a moron running the Gambia into the ground. When men like Halifa Sallah stood up for the downtrodden against the bully, he send his minions to arrest and imprison him. But like all bullies, Yahya has a glass jaw. Anytime Halifa stood his ground, he finds some lame excuse for arresting him in the first place.

Halifa Sallah isn't only talking, but doing it where it matters the most. For that we are grateful.

For more info check out foroyaa at this link

Reactionaries

2009-03-11T15:55:00.002-07:00

Halifa Sallah has been arrested and imprison by the thuggish regime of Yahya Jammeh for coming to the defense of innocent victims of Yahya's witch hunt. As usual and as if on clue diasporan Gambians took to the usual spots online to denounce the actions of Yahya. We have become victims of circumstance...always reacting to the whims of Yahya.

Whatever you may think of the politics of Halifa Sallah, you have to admit that he is walking the walk. He is putting his life and livelihood on the line to defend what is right. I am not going to start asking about the whereabout of the other political leaders on the ground like some of my countrymen are doing from the comfort of Europe and good old US of A. We are asking of others sacrifices that we refuse to make. So while we admire the courage of Mr. Sallah and call for his immediate release, we should be mindful of castigating others.

Here is Foroyaa's reporting on this outrage:

Halifa Sallah, former NADD presidential candidate and Foroyaa Editorial Board member, told supporters and sympathisers at the Brikama Magistrates Court, that he is willing to become a sacrificial lamb to ensure the liberty and dignity of the people. He made this remark at the close of his first appearance in court since he was arrested on Sunday 8 March, 2009.

“I am ready to suffer for others not to suffer, but what is going on must come to a stop,” he told his audience. He told them that there is no need for them to despair. He asked them to go home, but they need not worry that he could not possibly meet the conditions of the bail granted. He indicated that he was looking for their strength and not their weakness. He stressed to them that they needed to be strong.

These words evidently touched the audience and the grim faces soon became bright.

Shortly after the adjournment of the case he was whisked to the Remand Wing of Mile Two Prison.

Many people in court were dumbfounded when the Magistrate imposed the following bail conditions:
(1) A bail bond in the sum of 1 million dalasis to be signed by three sureties;
(2) Two of the sureties must be Ex-Inspector General of Police or Ex-Brigadier of the army who have been retired for at least eight years;
(3) One of the sureties must be an Alkalo (village head) from Western Region

When he appeared in court, three charges were read to him:
(i) Spying, in that while at Makumbaya, he had obtained confidential information which he knew is useful to the enemy
(ii) Control of processions in that he held a procession while in Makumbaya
(iii) Seditious intention in that he unlawfully assembled the people of Makumbaya in order to collect information that would bring hatred or contempt or excite disaffection against the Government of The Gambia.

He pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

The police prosecutor then stood up at this point to oppose the granting of bail. He argued that they took a lap top from Halifa Sallah’s home which is in their possession and if Halifa is granted bail he may tamper with the ‘website of the lap top’.

Halifa Sallah, who was unrepresented, submitted that the offences alleged are bailable. He further submitted that every accused person is presumed innocent until he/she has pleaded or proven guilty. He also submitted that the hearing of the case should be free and fair. He concluded that the court should not restrain his ability to defend himself.

He opined that what is significant is for the court to ensure his appearance whenever it deems it fit. He pointed out that he had sought the highest office of this land as a presidential candidate in 2006. He assured the court that he would comply with whatever condition the court imposes to ensure his appearance at an adjourned date as long as the conditions are reasonably justifiable in a democratic society. The magistrate did not like the last bit of the statement and after a brief exchange Halifa amended it to: “I will comply with whatever the court deems just.” He therefore asked the court to grant him bail.

He pointed out that the submission of the prosecution regarding the lap top is neither here or there in that in the first place the lap top does not belong to him but his wife.

Fishing Expedition
He asserted that the prosecution were simply engaged in a fishing expedition. He emphasised throughout his detention that he had never been confronted with any witness.

The jackasses decided to set insourmountable obstacles to his bail. They are trying to make his life miserable. His courage under the circumstances is exemplary. Take this portion of the story for instance:

“I am ready to suffer for others not to suffer, but what is going on must come to a stop,” he told his audience. He told them that there is no need for them to despair. He asked them to go home, but they need not worry that he could not possibly meet the conditions of the bail granted. He indicated that he was looking for their strength and not their weakness. He stressed to them that they needed to be strong.
These words evidently touched the audience and the grim faces soon became bright.

I hope he realize that he need a movement to get rid of this dictatorship. Telling your supporters to go home while you endure injustice is no way to broke the yoke of a tyrant. He can't suffer for the people and ask them not to join him in the struggle. This is a fight for the soul of a nation and he need all the help he can get.

Free Halifa Sallah......

Hope triumph over Fear

2009-01-20T13:19:00.003-08:00

The 44th president of the United States been sworned into office is a vindication for the sacrifice made by the thousands of men and women from the abolitionist movement to the civil rights movement. They have a few things in common...courage, conviction, idealism and hope. They stood up to power and along the way some pay the ultimate price. Today's festivities is the fruits of their labor. Congratulations, President Obama. Good Luck and God bless.

On a different note, I liked this from Nate:

For as much as some parts of the world have developed a habit of looking down on America, it's highly unlikely that any nation in Europe or most of the rest of the world would have elected someone like Barack Hussein Obama as their leader.

I agree.

Tribal competencies

2008-12-21T08:01:00.003-08:00

The erudite Gambian writer Suntou Touray recently wrote on the Gambia-L that he is embarking on a project to outline the tribal competencies of Gambians. I am one of the respondents pooh poohing this idea as silly and counterintuitive.Mr. Touray tried to allay our reservations with the trust me meme and recently took to his blog and the Bantaba forum to push this idea. He didn’t make mention of my name, so it is fair to say that I am outing myself by writing this post in response to what I think is a mish mash of a very convoluted thought process.Take this sentence from Suntou’s post for instance:

The vital point to note here for all is that, The key word is 'TRIBAL COMPETENCES'. This doesn't mean, what one tribe is competent at another is
incompetent with.

Which begs the question what pray tell is the purpose of allocating competencies if it doesn’t empirically settle the incompetence of other tribes at doing the exact same thing? Isn’t assigning a certain competency to a certain tribe in essence saying that tribe X is superior in performing a certain task than the rest? Mr. Touray went out of his way to disprove his own proposition in the same sentence in an effort to allay fears and thus have it both ways.

My objection to Mr. Touray from the jump centers on my libertarian disposition that nothing is impossible for the cognitively developed individual. Erickson’s theory of nature versus nurture comes to mind. To this point, Steinberg argued that through a process of assimilation we try to "restore cognitive equilibrium by incorporating new information into existing schemes". Personality development continues throughout the life span as a result of every new experience within that environment. He has the belief that life is composed of changes in which everyone must go through. Therefore it is safe to say that unless a tribe lives as a hermit unto itself, ideas developed in their environment will be shared with other tribes and members of the later may become equally or more competent in task than the originator tribe. Thus assigning competencies becomes arbitrary and caricaturist.

Further reading of Suntou’s posting does reveal a serious flaw in his argument: he is confusing culture and cultural affinity with competence. Why else would he write something as absurd as the following if he is not confusing the two:

I am well aware of prejudice and bigotry and seriously as a Muslim, that is the last thing that comes to my mind. The 'social construct'of each individual is different. Even two Mandingos from different region in one country will have different social construct. A Baddibunka mandingo for instance may culturally value money differently to a Kobomka mandingo. Similarly a Senegalise Wolof may see marriage differently to a Gambian Wolof. Is writing or talking about this peculiarities sensitive? Yes, because our society is very rigid and sensitive.

If you notice that he didn’t mention anything regarding the competencies of the groups of people he is using as an example, you are not alone. It will be helpful, for example if he can enumerate how competent Senegalese Wolofs are at a given task than say a Mandinka from Badibu. Instead we are treated to this caricature of Badibunkas as money grubbing species that has been going around albeit subtly. I happened to be culturally Mandinka and hailed from Badibu. Does this mean I like money than Suntou? Is this the kind of caricature Suntou will be trying to pass off as serious research into our tribal competencies?

Maybe just maybe, my understanding of the word Competency is different from Suntou’s. When I think competent, I visualize skill. Case in point, it is safe to assume that Suntou having spent years in the financial management corridor is more competent to handle issues related to finance than a person of another tribe without that prerequisite training and experience. However, it will be a fallacy to assume that people of different tribes are more competent at doing certain things all things considered.

The question of whether the competencies of humans are the result of predisposed genetics or if their lives and personalities are shaped by the surrounding environment are critical to this discourse. This is why Erickson’s view of development supports nurture. Nurture holds a substantial sway over how we become who we are, rather than whose we are.

Sychophancy

2008-11-27T07:50:00.002-08:00

If you think political whoring in the Gambia started with the ascendancy of Yaya Jammeh to power, then you are surely mistaken. Granted the brutality that befall Gambia since Jammehcracy is unique in Gambian political life. However, the sycophantic nature our people hasn't change a bit...if anything it got reinforced. Click on the link below and listen to the 1992 PPP MansaKonko congress and see if much has change in the sycophancy department since, save for the players.

You need real player to listen to the audio. ( audio: courtesy of FreeGambia)

1992 PPP Congress at MansaKonko

What changed, Nothing and Everything...

2008-11-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Nothing in my life has actually changed in the last weeks since Obama become our president elect. I have the same bills, the same amount of money in the bank, my disdain for the dictatorial rule of Yahya Jammeh is at an all time high (granted I don't talk about it much). Everything in my life is exactly the same as it was two weeks ago; and yet I feel as though everything is different.

I feel so much hope. I feel so much pride. I feel like my one vote was a single drop of water in a great Tsunami of change. I feel like I was one of a million voices screaming in the night, " I love my country and I'm taking it back!" I'm so proud of the country that I love and have so much hope in my heart that we can together heal the wounds that have been such a source of pain and anger to us all.

I know Obama isn't going to fix the economy overnight, I know he won't be able to provide healthcare to all Americans by February '09. I know Obama isn't a Messiah who four years from now will have turned this country into a fabled utopia. But I also know Obama will make moral decisions. I know Obama will try to unite where others try to divide. I know Obama will help to make America the beacon of hope it once was to others. I know that at 33 years of age, I witnessed one of the most important and hopefully glorious chapters in American history.

I know hope.

President Barack Obama

2008-11-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hell yeah.... for the first time in the history of the western world, a man of color is going to occupy the most powerful political position on the face of the earth. This is a testament to America... with all its flaws, it is a great country, where hard work pays off. Congratulations President elect Obama.

Knock out

2008-11-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

It is looking good... needless to say the knockout blow was OHIO going for OBAMA....

It is looking good

2008-11-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

In a couple of hours we will be calling Barack Obama ...president elect. Ponder that for a minute. The returns coming in are marvelous for our man.

Yes We Can

2008-11-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

There is nothing false about HOPE... Yes We Can....

Barack Obama for president

2008-11-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

It is showtime tommorow. Barack obama has run a competent and dignify race. It is left to us to show up at the polls tomorrow rain or shine to join history's march. It is been a long tweenty two months for Obama supporters like yourstruly. But we are not taking anything for granted. We are going to work harder tomorrow ... Getting our supporters to the polling stations. We are giving it all we got. No time for complacency. The only poll that count is the final tally. We hope for the best, but it is showtime for now. Time to show up and vote. Time to showup and volunteer in getting folks without transportation to the polls or give them water or snacks as they wait in line. It is a one in a lifetime opportunity to show up and take a stand. We can't afford another four years republican theocracy.

John Lewis was correct: McCain and the demons of hate...

2008-10-30T20:18:00.004-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, John McCain was bitching about comments made by John Lewis counseling him to tamp down on the hate been spewed at his and his running mate's campaign events. Dengre at the DailyKos...that bastion of liberal activism in America set him straight. I posted below in its entirety because more eyes need to feast on this truthiness:

"In recent weeks I’ve felt drained, tired, and yet, determined to take this Country back. I’ve been fighting since that dark moment in my youth when Reagan became President. There have been many moments when it was hard to scrape even a teaspoon of optimism from the news of the day.

But tonight, hope and optimism are in the air. A real victory is in reach as we gathered for yet another battle with the old merchants of fear, hate and division. So, volunteer, take action, donate—do what you can to ensure a victory.
We are on the cusp of a great change in America. That is the good news. Of course, any defeat on Election Day will give conservatives "permission" to release their demons—and that is the bad news.

Recently, Civil Rights Hero John Lewis, warned John McCain and the Republican Party about their growing embrace of a culture of hate. He was attacked (yet again) for speaking truth.

We should listen...

It is not hard to gather evidence that rallies for the McCain/Palin ticket are becoming hate fests. The appeals to racism, code words and dog whistle invitations to the dark side are well documented. Many newspaper Editorial Boards have cited this atmosphere of hate as a reason to endorse Senator Obama over Senator McCain. It was high on the list of reasons that Colin Powell gave when he endorsed Obama last Sunday on Meet the Press:

I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.

And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about.

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

Powell’s longtime aide, Larry Wilkerson, elaborated on the embrace of hate in a recent interview with Foreign Policy Magazine:

FP: What’s your take on the tone of the campaign?

LW: I was fully expecting the grand wizard of the Klu Klux Klan to arrive from Maryland and endorse McCain. I was becoming frightened that we were returning to 1968, when they assassinated Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Those were bad times.

One of the most dramatic moments for me was when I was watching McCain on television, and I thought I saw in McCain’s eyes himself, when someone yelled something out, a recognition of, ‘Oh, God, what have I done?’ This is not McCain; he doesn’t cater to this. But for the first time in his political life, I think he realized that there are some strange people in the Republican tent. My father used to say, ‘Larry beware of the left because they will bankrupt you; beware of the right because they will kill you.

That look in McCain’s eyes was something I have noticed as well. His only pathway to victory is through hate. To win, he must harness vast amounts of hatred and fear and encourage those emotions to trump hope, self interest and reason. It has happened before, so it is a viable pathway to victory, but it has a huge moral cost. Every now and then you can see in McCain’s eyes an awareness of that cost and a real fear for his soul.

John Lewis saw that in McCain’s eyes and tried to warn him about the path he was embracing. The comment was made on the Politico web site in a thread where "known" political figures weigh in on topics posted by the site. On that day, the question was about the "tone" of the McCain/Palin Campaign. Here is what John Lewis wrote:

As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign. What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.

During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better.

Of course, McCain latched onto the mention of George Wallace and he was hurt and outraged by the comparison of his campaign to the late Governor of Alabama. Quickly, the actual words and message of John Lewis were buried in a dust storm of spin. Suddenly, Lewis was "out of line", "wrong" and attacked for a slanted interpretation of his words. The Obama campaign backed away from him and so did many progressives. And yet, John Lewis was correct. He was spot on and once again speaking truth to any with ears open enough to hear it.

John McCain is exactly like George Wallace. This is a fact. Both men, willingly embraced the dark side of human nature in the pursuit of power and both men have been horrified by that embrace—you can see it in their eyes.Wallace has gone down in history as one of America’s most well known racists. For many, he is the archetype Southern Racist, but the truth is more complicated. Wallace began his political career as a FDR Progressive Democrat. He was tolerant on the "race question" and in his first run for Governor of Alabama in 1958 he was endorsed by the NAACP. His opponent was endorsed by the KKK. His opponent won through his embrace of hate and fear.

And this is where John McCain and George Wallace shared their first common bond. Both men were beaten by candidates who embraced negative politics and direct appeals to racism, fear and hate for political power. Wallace had his lesson in 1958. McCain was schooled by the dark side in 2000. And both men chose the same response to their defeat—they decided to enthusiastically embraced the politics of hate in their next run for the office they had just lost.

A few years ago, PBS ran a great documentary about George Wallace called "Setting the Woods on Fire" (a transcript of the show can be found here and here). An interview with Dan Carter, an aide to George Wallace, captured the moment when Wallace sold his soul for power:

And so, the night that he lost that race, he sat outside the hotel -- his headquarters hotel in Montgomery -- with some of his friends, and they went over "why did we lose?" -- these different factors. And he said, "Boys, we can talk about this all we want to; we know why I lost. I lost because John Patterson took a tough line on this race business." "John Patterson," he said, "outniggered me, and I'm never going to be outniggered again."

Wallace kept that promise and became the archetypal face of racism in America. At one point in the PBS documentary an aging George Wallace lies in a hospital bed, dying. He looks into the camera and through a haze of cigar smoke apologizes and admits that he was wrong. It was years after his embrace of the dark side and the terror of what he unleashed was still in his eyes.
John Lewis tried to warn John McCain about that fate and McCain has waved him off. More than that, McCain has attacked Lewis. And yet, when McCain is asked about the "tone" of his campaign or John Lewis you can see the flicker of terror in his eyes. Like Wallace, he has embraced the darkest demons of our collective fears as a pathway to victory. And like Wallace he knows that he is releasing demons that he cannot control.

In last Friday’s NYTs, Russ Rymer wrote about John Lewis’ warning to John McCain. Rymer knew George Wallace. He covered him during Wallace’s runs for the White House in 1968, 1972 and 1976. He makes the case for the complexity of George Wallace (a complexity that is not dissimilar to the complexity of John McCain):

Likewise, to describe George Wallace as a simple racist is to give his biography short shrift. As a circuit court judge in the 1950s, Wallace was respectful toward blacks, and as a legislator from 1947 to 1953, he was a moderate. In 1948, when Strom Thurmond led the Southern delegations out of the Democratic convention to protest the party’s pioneer civil rights plank, Wallace stayed in his seat. Though no fan of the plank, he was yet more Democrat than demagogue, and was instrumental in rallying the other Southern alternate delegates to save the convention’s quorum, and pass its platform.

He might have carried a tolerant message into the Alabama governor’s mansion in 1958, but he lost the race after spurning the support of the Ku Klux Klan (which then backed his primary opponent, John Patterson) and being endorsed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Sadly for Wallace’s state, his region, his nation and himself, he did not respond as John Lewis did after his defeat by Carmichael. Mr. Lewis, whenever confronted with calls to divisiveness, chose to redouble his commitment to reason and tolerance. After his loss to Mr. Patterson, Wallace is said to have turned to an aide and declared, "I was out-niggered ... and I’ll never be out-niggered again."

After Wallace finally won the governorship in 1962, his administration was never as race-hostile as his campaign appeals implied; black leaders found his office door open, and often his mind, too. But he would eternally pay the price for the methods he used to gain that office.

Wallace had released the hounds of hate. It started as a tool to mobilize voters—a tool Wallace thought that he could control. He could not. Rymer relates a story that could happen any day now at a McCain/Palin rally if the culture of hate is allowed to grow unchecked:

I once saw that price on vivid display, at a Wallace for president rally in downtown Boston. In 1975, that city was contorted by its own race war over school busing, and the enormous two-tier assembly hall was packed. It was an angry crowd — a black television cameraman was punched as he walked up the aisle. In the middle of Wallace’s remarks, there was a loud explosion, and Wallace, who had been paralyzed by a bullet three years earlier, fell forward from his wheelchair into safety behind the podium.

The noise was caused by a crashing klieg light, knocked over in a fracas as a heckler in the balcony was attacked by the crowd. As Wallace clambered back into his chair, his supporters beat the protester bloody and tried to dump him over the balcony rail. "Just an undecided voter, folks. Just an undecided voter," Wallace pleaded into his microphone, but there was no quelling the fire. "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!" people in the hall thundered, until the man was rescued — barely — by Secret Service agents.

Mr. Lewis might be deemed generous in wishing on no other member of his profession the harrowed look I witnessed in George Wallace’s eyes as he struggled up off the floor in Boston and beheld what a hell he’d wrought.

The questions, "was George Wallace a racist?" or "is John McCain a racist?" are both irrelevant. Racism is not their prime fault, nor is it their motivation. No, it is the cynical embrace of hate politics as a pathway to power that binds and damns both McCain and Wallace.

I've spent a lot of time over the years thinking about the politicians who so fully fuel the fires of race-based hate in America. Some were straight up tell-it-to-your-face old school racists. They were bad, but you always knew were you stood with them.Others were racist, but hid their views in weasel words that were designed to always give them cover from accountability. These folks are worse than tell-it-to-your-face racists in my book, but the good news is that this pathetic breed is dying out.

And then there were the ones who cynically exploited racism as a political tool for political gain. They knew what they were doing. They did not agree with the goals of a racist agenda, but they knew a well placed pander here and there could win elections. And so, they fueled the fires of hate for their own political gain. George Wallace was one of those politicians and so is John McCain. IMHO this puts both men in a class far below racists in the order of despicable creatures.Wallace was not a racist in my book, but he is a creature that is even worse. And so is John McCain.

Both men, have embraced what divides us as a pathway to power and both men came to that choice after losing a political battle to the forces of hate. Instead of getting back up and fighting for what is right, both Wallace and McCain surrendered their integrity in an embrace of hate and fear as a pathway to power.It is a horrific choice and they know that they made it—from time to time you can see it in their eyes.

John Lewis courageously offered John McCain a lifeline and he has been attacked for the effort. He deserves our praise. John McCain should beg his forgiveness.It was on the eve of the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln gave his First Inaugural speech. He closed the speech with an appeal to the better angels of our nature:

I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

It is great advice for our Nation as we try to get pass the many years of Republican appeals to the basest demons of our fears. There is a lot of work to do to repair the damage of years of Republican failures. We will need to appeal to the best in each of us and yet, John McCain is actively working to release the demons of hate and racism that have long plagued our Republic. Shame on him.This hate is in the air and it will have to be confronted and dissipated. It will not be easy, but we can do this.

The Drive By Truckers capture the essence and the costs of this kind of political pandering in their great Southern Rock Opera (emphasis added):

[Scene: set in Hell, September 1998. Told from the Devil's point of view]
Throw another log on the fire, boys, George Wallace is coming to stay
When he met St. Peter at the pearly gates, I'd like to think that a black man stood in the way.
I know "All should be forgiven", but he did what he done so well
So throw another log on the fire boys,
George Wallace is a coming...
Now, he said he was the best friend a black man from Alabama ever had,
And I have to admit, compared to Fob James, George Wallace don't seem that bad
And if it's true that he wasn't a racist and he just did all them things for the votes
I guess Hell's just the place for "kiss ass politicians" who pander to assholes. [snip]
Now the Devil's got a Wallace sticker on the back of his car.

Long ago the Devil placed a Bush sticker over his Wallace tag and McCain is pandering to all the right assholes to ensure that the Devil’s Ford Explorer now sports a McCain/Palin 2008 sticker.
McCain’s pandering is amazing, but he does it with just enough Straight Talk rhetoric to fool the easily bamboozled. Any close inspection of McCain’s record since 2000 shows him selling out any principled stand if it competes with his ambition.

McCain/Palin panders to the basest elements of their party and America. They are playing with fire and they should be called on it. I am, yet again, proud of John Lewis. I have long been impressed by Barack Obama. Two things have really inspired me about him. One, he does not appeal to our fears—he appeals to our hopes. And two, like Lincoln he encourages our Nation to embrace the better angels of our nature.

Meanwhile, John McCain and the Republican Party seek to release our fears, our terrors and our hate. They hope that once again and appeal to the basest demons of our fears will sweep them into office.Not this time!

It is 2008. We have less that ten days to Take Our Country Back. Now is the time to reject the politics of fear and hate. Now is the time to volunteer, take action, donate and do what you can to ensure victory.

John McCain does not know it yet, but maybe, just maybe, once he has been defeated he will realize that we saved him from following in the footsteps of George Wallace. I’ve seen the fear in his eyes and McCain needs to be defeated, not only for the good of the Nation, but for his own good as well."

Give him credit

2008-10-11T05:39:00.002-07:00

It's about time we Obama supporters start giving the guy credit for running what has been perhaps the best political campaign in a lifetime. Even in cases where I questioned his strategy and/or response, after the dust has settled I inevitably have come to the conclusion that Obama was right all along, and that my concerns were either baseless or based on incomplete information. Look at the first debate, for example.

My analysis was similar to a lot of Democrats, I was wishing that he had gone after McCain a little harder and I was puzzled as to why he kept acknowledging that his opponent was right on specific points he was making. However, much as that frustrated those who were already sold on Obama, it turns out that this was exactly the right tone to win over those who were either undecided or were soft supporters of Obama. A few week later, can anyone doubt that the real "soundbite" from that debate turned out not to be a soundbite at all, but rather McCain's refusal to look at or engage Obama in a respectful manner? Those who identify themselves as independents rather than with either political party consistently express their frustration with hyper-partisanship in Washington, and whatever his rhetoric, McCain's body language in that debate (as opposed to Obama's) gave them a clear indication about which candidate would be more likely to reach across the aisle to work with the other side.

Obama also seems to have struck almost EXACTLY the right tone relating to his "Commander in Chief" bona-fides, showing himself as a strong leader without bringing to mind the "angry black man" issues that would likely tank his campaign. It's easy to seem strong, and it's not at all difficult to seem conciliatory, but a performance that simultaneously does both is really nothing short of a triumph.

When you think about it, it's astounding. A first term African-American Senator with an Arabic middle name who is descended from and still related to Muslims in the post-9/11 era is on the verge of being elected President of the United States. If you submitted this script to Hollywood, they'd laugh you off the lot.

This thing is by no means a done deal. Three weeks before the elections is a life time in politics. However barring a catalytic, earth shattering mistake on Obama's part (which will be out of character for him), the nation is posed to elect for the first time in the history of the western world a man of African descent to the most powerful position on the face of the earth.

Entering the fear zone

2008-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

It is august of another presidential election year and the Republican Party is rolling out its latest edition of scare the native. It works for them the last time when they portray John Kerry, a decorated war hero and committed public servant into a weak kneed, yellow bellied, wind surfing, French quaffed pompadour who flips and flops like fresh tilapia out of the water. It wasn’t fun to watch (if you support democrats), but the low information voters fall for it … the rest as they say is history.

Like clockwork, the GOP has a return of their four year itch and this time enters Barack Obama… with his funny name, beloved by the rest of the world. For all intents and purpose, Barack Obama is a mild mannered and dedicated public servant, community organizer, great family man, constitutional law professor ( you know the rest of his attributes), who is of late getting his name dragged into the mud by the republican noise machine and their enablers in the media. They are stretching and contorting the ideals of a capable and intelligent candidate running to bring our wayward country back to its bearings. If you can stomach the freak shows that go for public discourse on American cable TV shows and the clowns that masquerade as opinion leaders, you realize how much the republicans have the pundit class by their balls. They still call McCain a maverick after he changed his position on everything he once stands for. He has resorted to school yard name calling trying to diminish Obama’s appeal. The next phase of grandpa McCain’s antics will be the terrorism card. His campaign will try to make the absurd claim that he can somehow protect us from the barbarity of terrorism, but Obama won’t.

Well I got news for the fear zone group aka the modern republican party, this year’s campaign is going to be about reality…the economic meltdown that came about because of your trickle down economic policies that left the average American in Peoria losing his job, house and family. They have more pressing issues …like feeding their family than anything else. It is safe to say that the republican party is in a doldrum and they are not going to lose this election quietly. It will be sad, in a pathetic way, to watch as they try harder and harder to win this election using tactics that reduce them in the eyes of the American people further and further. You gotta love the parody that is the McCain campaign.

It is going to be ugly, but Obama will prevail…he didn’t get this far by luck alone; he is one heck of a tough cookie.

And the winner is

2008-06-02T17:11:00.001-07:00

All things considered...Senator Obama should have enough delegates tomorrow night to claim the democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States. Well done sir and congratulations. Now lets beat that fake maverick... John Mcbush...oh my bad... McCain.

It was incompetence stupid

2008-05-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

The post-mortems of Hillary Clinton's failed quest for the presidency have just started to be written, and a troubling trend is developing . Within the space of a few days, the Washington Post has published two opinion pieces that cite sexism and misogyny as key reasons for Hillary's problems. We need to nip this false conclusion in the bud, both for the sake of truth and the sake of party unity in November.

Ellen Malcolm, president of the pro-Hillary Emily's List, inflamed the cries of campaign sexism in a Post opinion piece last Saturday. According to Malcolm, any claims that Hillary has lost the race, and any calls for Hillary to quit the race, are not due to facts or reality, but due to pure sexism:

So here we are in the fourth quarter of the nominating process and the game is
too close to call. Once again, the opponents and the media are calling for
Hillary to quit. The first woman ever to win a presidential primary is supposed
to stop competing, to curtsy and exit stage right.

Sports analogies are not my forte, but since Malcolm brought it up first, we're not just in the "fourth quarter of the nominating process" but in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter. And the game is not "too close to call"; rather the losing team is down by 30 points. Yes, perhaps you could develop some type of computer-driven scenario in which the losing team could somehow come back to win the game, but you wouldn't take any betters.

Calls for Clinton to quit are not being motivated by sexism, of course, but by an honest, if painful, look at the numbers and the facts. And if the situation of the candidates were reversed, is there anyone who doubts that Hillary would have kicked Obama to the curb by now? Malcolm seems to be calling for Hillary to be treated differently because she is a woman, and isn't that what feminism is fighting against? For Malcolm, it seems as if the only way for Obama and his supporters to NOT be sexist would be to just give up and concede the contest to Hillary.
This past Thursday, Marie Cocco wrote a column in the Post -- "Misogyny I Won't Miss" -- that really takes the "victim card" in this campaign to new heights:

"...for all Clinton's political blemishes, the darker stain that has been
exposed is the hatred of women that is accepted as a part of our culture."

From Cocco's perspective, the Democratic primary has been nothing more than a nonstop sexist barrage against Clinton. Cocco decries the "unrelenting, sex-based hate that has been hurled at a former first lady and two-term senator from New York" during the campaign. To prove her point, she cites a few political campaign novelty items that she has found offensive, and pieces together a handful of admittedly sexist remarks made by a few political commentators over the long, long course of the political campaign.

It is worth noting that none of the sexist remarks cited by Cocco were made by Barack Obama or by any of his staffers, surrogates or anyone else associated with his campaign in any way. However, I have developed quite a long, disturbing list of racially offensive remarks made by Hillary Clinton herself, from her dissing of Martin Luther King in January to her writing off of her Louisiana loss in February due to the state's "very proud African-American electorate" to her remark just last week about how she represents hard-working "white Americans." And don't get me started on the offensive comments made by Bill Clinton, starting with his Jesse Jackson putdown in January after Hillary's loss in South Carolina, or the claims by top Hillary surrogates Geraldine Ferraro and George McGovern that it was easier for a black man to get elected president than a white woman, all facts to the contrary.

I'm not here to try to play the identity politics game. But I am here to say that I can cite many instances of Hillary Clinton and her staffers and top supporters making racially offensive comments and engaging in racially divisive tactics, but I cannot cite any examples of Obama and his campaign doing anything similar in terms of gender. And while I am the first to admit that there is still plenty of sexism and misogyny in our society and that sexism and misogyny no doubt played a role in how some people voted during the primaries, I think it is quite safe to say that this was at least cancelled out, if not exceeded, by the role that racism played in other people's votes.

Yesterday The New Republic published an interesting article in which they asked a broad cross-section of more than a dozen Clinton staffers -- from "high-level advisors to grunt-level assistants" -- to provide their honest, anonymous assessments of what went wrong with the campaign. They offered a litany of insightful reasons for Hillary's failures -- and none of them had anything at all to do with sexism or misogyny.

Instead, the Clinton staffers cite a number of key strategic and management mistakes that stem back to the very beginnings of the campaign, and that built on each other as time went on. For example:

- Hillary had the wrong message: "Running as an incumbent, as the inevitable candidate, was probably our biggest mistake, particularly in a time when the country is really hungry for change."

- Hillary made bad personnel decisions: "Hillary assembled a team thin on presidential campaign experience that confused discipline with insularity; they didn't know what they didn't know and were too arrogant to ask at a time early enough in the process when it could have made a difference."

- Patti Solis Doyle was not a good campaign manager: "[Original campaign manager] Patti and [her deputy] Mike [Henry] sat up there in their offices and no one knew what they did all day. Patti's a nice person who was put in a job way over head."

- Hillary should not have made her pollster her chief strategist: "It is impossible to disagree and have a counter view on message when the person creating the message is also the person testing the message."

- Mark Penn was incompetent: "In Iowa, Penn consistently would show polls that were of the eight-way. That was basically meaningless because it wasn't going to be an eight-way race. The candidates that were the second-tier candidates were not going to reach the threshold [of 15%]. The real race was the three-way. But he always focused on the eight-way when we'd start going over the numbers in Iowa. It was frustrating to the state staff and other people as well. It just showed a lack of understanding and a disconnect."

- Hillary did not develop an effective fundraising strategy: "There was financial mismanagement bordering on fraud. A candidate who raised more than a quarter of a billion dollars over the years had to pump in millions more of her own money to stave off bankruptcy."

- Hillary did not execute an effective media relations strategy: "The way we handled (the press) was a mistake on our part. What we're hearing is that we truly treated people badly and weren't accessible enough or open enough. We had bad relationships with reporters, and it probably bit us on the ass."

I could go on, but I think the point is made. Anyone who wants to learn about what truly went wrong with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign needs to realize, first and foremost, that it was due to a string of missteps and management problems -- and with the effective campaign run by Barack Obama -- that had absolutely nothing to do with gender. And if we are to be successful in uniting all Democrats behind Barack Obama in November, comments that try to pin the blame for Hillary's loss primarily on sexism and misogyny are doing a huge disservice to the party, by inflaming the justifiable anger and resentment that many women hold about the sexism in our society and directing it in a counterproductive and misguided way.

Douchebag....Clinton

2008-05-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

I have been away from wwwland for a while attending to some pressing personal issues. In the meantime the Democratic campaign for the party's nominee drags on even though everyone and their mama knew it is Obama's for the taking. I like this observation from slate:

"Here's a rule I would like every political reporter, campaign official, TV talking head, and politician in the United States to follow. Go ahead and say, if you like, that Hillary Clinton retains a serious chance of winning the Democratic nomination. If you say this, however, you must describe a set of circumstances whereby this could happen. Try not to make it sound like a fairy tale....

"So, please, let's stop pretending there's much suspense about who the nominee will be. As an arithmecrat, I will not consider anyone the winner until a candidate achieves 2,025 delegates. But neither am I obliged to believe Hillary Clinton has a plausible shot. She doesn't."

Come to think of it, you really can't get any shameless than Hillary Clinton. She is just like her philandering husband...they will screw the democratic party for their own political gain. The latest exhibit is her gas tax gimmick. This is a clear warning to all democrats that the clintons will throw your collective behind under the bus if that will determine that they win a campaign.

Can you believe the gall of this woman? She has the audacity to call on other democrats to pour more money into the coffers of oil companies while draining it from highway and bridge construction. Americas highways and bridges are crumbling and clinton wants to use the funds needed to fix them to give joe six pack an 18cent on the gallon tax cut. The next time a bridge collapse we know who to blame. Don't we?

This latest episode reminds us of how the Clintons will try to win at all cost. In her 2000 senate campaign, then candidate hillary clinton made the following comment:

"And one of my fundamental disagreements during this campaign with my opponent was when he called for the repeal of the gas tax. Now, the gas tax is one of those few taxes that New York actually gets more money from Washington than we send. And we are totally reliant on it to do things like finishing I-86 in the Southern Tier, or the fast- ferry harbor works up in Rochester, as well as the work we need to do here in the city. So you can count on me to support infrastructure, but I'm sorry, Mayor, I can't go with the domed stadium."

Hillary looks like a douchebag for contradicting herself soo blatantly. She just doesn't have a baggage, she keeps cramming more inside an overstuffed bag. Enough with the Clintons...

Ten Wins In A Row

2008-02-20T06:16:00.001-08:00

On the day after Wisconsin and Hawaii, I've been ruminating on what would be happening right now if Barack Obama had lost ten straight contests since Super Tuesday.

Here's the first thing that would have happen:

If Obama had lost ten straight contests, the Clinton campaign and/or its surrogates would be calling for him to "step down" for the "good of the party." They would want the Democratic party to "coalesce" around its "obvious frontrunner."

There's precedent for that

Democratic Party leaders leaned on Gary Hart to quit in 1984 and Jesse Jackson to quit in 1988. Both were running against more establishment-type candidates.

We tend to forget Jackson's run in 1988 but as someone pointed out yesterday, he had the highest-ever number of delegates for a second-place candidate until Hillary Clinton exceeded that mark yesterday.

Here's another thing I know.

If Obama had lost ten straight contests, each and every Obama concession speech would have congratulated his opponent and thanked the supporters who worked tirelessly for him in those states. According to the NYTimes this morning:

“Mrs. Clinton did not mention the Wisconsin results; she did, however, call Mr. Obama to congratulate him on the victory. “

Obama would be gracious enough to congratulate his opponent publicly and to thank his supporters in the states he lost….Remember New Hampshire? Enough said...

Tribalism....Kenya on the brink

2008-01-30T07:47:00.000-08:00

This is what happened when simple minds and power hungry politicians used bigoted language to incite hatred amongst their own people. What is happening in Kenya has been fomenting for a number of years. It just boiled over after the last elections were rigged. Politicians and their groupies have been silently spreading ethnic and tribal code words in these communities for a number of years....culminating in what is today described by the US under secretary for African affairs as ethnic cleansing.

The tragedy happening in Kenya could have been avoided if Kenyans stood up to ethnic bigots years ago and nip their message of intolerance in the bud. Most bigoted commentators have their facts wrong. They trade in half truths and innuendo to past aspersions on a group of people they happened to hate.

This is one of the reasons why a lot of my countrymen were aghast to read on the front page of the GambiaEcho, a fact free tirade against the Gambia's largest tribe by Sheriff Samsudeen Sarr. If you read Sam's piece and have no inclination to Gambian politics and society, you will come away with the feeling that the Mandinkas of the Gambia are just a tribalist lot...bent on dominating their fellow countrymen. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sam Sarr knew this...but he has an agenda all along...and that is to castigate and demonize an entire tribe.

However it is sobering to see how many other Gambians took it upon themselves to counter Sam's blatant disregard for history and call him out for what he is... a tribal man. Saul Saidykhan's piece is legendary in this respect. If we let the Samsudeen Sarrs of the world get away with spreading false and insidious messages based on their personal vendettas then we are headed for a rude awakening. The consequences will be deadly. That is the lesson Kenya is teaching Gambians....squash the hatred before it consume your nation in death and anarchy.

Yes, we can! Si, se puede!

2008-01-26T19:42:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks of the primaries has been rather nasty. We saw Clinton Inc. play dirtier than we could have ever imagined. They pull all the stops and dirty tricks. They continuously race-baited an honorable man for having the audacity to challenge their quest for a third term. We've heard them call Obama a "fairytale." We've seen Bill Clinton yelling at reporters who dare question his cut throat tactics. Tonight the Mark Penn / Clinton strategy of "unless they tell you otherwise - it's legal" has been exposed and defeated. Obama has won by close to 30 points and this crushing win changes everything. And we deserve to celebrate tonight!

Two months ago Hillary Clinton was leading among all demographics in South Carolina. She was cruising to her coronation. Tonight is a different story. South Carolina voted for hope and change. The exit poll numbers have shown what we all already knew - Bill Clinton hurts Hillary more than he helps. He runs around getting testy with reporters, pushing the negativity, spinning and deceiving - like what he did with Obama's Reagan quotes. He failed big time. South Carolina rejected these dirty politics.

Now it is a time to focus on the February 5^th contests. Get younger voters out as usual and appeal to the inherent good in every voter…or what the Clintons called false hope.

We have cause to celebrate tonight. The Obama campaign face down the politics of personal destruction without flinching and came out victorious. Now that is hot…

"Some call it a fairytale - I call it the American dream"

Obama Wins Iowa

2008-01-03T19:41:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot how effing good it feels when the right guy actually wins the election. Congratulations to Senator Obama and on to New Hampshire!!!

...it is the dawn of a new day in America. Change is in the air...

Obama For America

2008-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

It is finally here...the Iowa caucus. Change we can believe in begins tonight. If the polls are a representative sample of the Iowa caucus goer, senator Obama will win Iowa tonight.

He ran a great campaign up to this point and all things considered, he will be heading to New Hampshire tomorrow with a victory in Iowa.

Good luck Obama...

"Fire up...ready to go."

Kenya...Please God Not Again

2008-01-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

Machetes ... oh the dreaded machetes are been brandished in Kenya. It is a dreary sight after the havoc they wield in Rwanda. The aftermatch of last week's elections in that East African nation is more complicated than Gore versus Bush in 2000.

The Kenyan election was almost certainly rigged in favor of the imcubent... that is what often happen in Africa. However, contesting it with machetes is going to tear Kenya along tribal lines and undermine the recent progress made by that nation. But leaving the results of a rigged election to stand is no panacea either.

The world community stood aside while Rwandans were slaughtered in a murderous tribal rage. Never again , they vowed will such a thing come to pass. The Europeans were sceptical of the results from the get go:

The head of a European Union team of observers, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, promptly spoke about deep misgivings concerning the counting process. Diplomats in Nairobi, the capital, pointed the finger at the Kikuyu old guard, men who had
feared that they would lose their fortunes if Mr Odinga had made it into State
House. Even if Mr Kibaki's cronies are innocent of charges of vote rigging, he
will have no national mandate: outside of the Kikuyu lands, Mr Kibaki was
soundly beaten across the country, including in Nairobi.

By contrast, the US state departments initial statement on the results were shameful. They legitimitized a sham election with a congratulatory note. They have since backed from that statement, but the harm may have been done.

I am fearful that Kenya is drifting towards Rwanda's recent fate unless the world community voiced out and take action now. If you think this is an exageration, well the trend line isn't encouraging. Money quote:

In Nairobi, the capital, tribal militias squared off against each other in several slums. Witness reports indicate that more 200 people have been killed in the past two days in violence connected to a disputed election Kenya held last week.

Tribal militias armed with machetes...does it ring a bell?

Andrew Young... What the hell

2007-12-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

It is a long primary session for political junkies like yours truly. When you think it can’t get any worse, out pops out another Clinton weasel. The culprit this time is Andy young…the African dictator’s best friend.

He went on Newsmakers Live …maybe at the behest of the Clintons to say some stupid stuff about the viability of the Obama candidacy. Here are some money quotes:

“It’s not a matter of being inexperienced. It’s a matter of being young,” said Young, who is 75. “There’s a certain level of maturity ... you’ve got to learn to take a certain amount of (expletive).”

“There are more black people that Bill and Hillary lean on,” Young said. “You cannot be president alone. ... To put a brother in there by himself is to set him up for crucifixion. His time will come and the world will be ready for a visionary leadership.”…AJC

Well someone should have told Andy Young that Barack will be as old as Bill Clinton when he (Clinton) took office. Kennedy was 43years when he took office as well. Dr. Martin Luther King died when he was 39 years old — and he wrote his famous letters from Birmingham Jail when he was just past 30. In fact, Mr. Young should go and read the portion of that letter where Dr. King argues against those sympathetic white ministers who kept on telling civil rights activists to “wait” until times were more favorable for protest, and Dr. King said, well, that would mean waiting FOREVER. Now, over three decades later, and Mr. Young is telling a black man to “wait.” Oh Please.

However, young wasn’t done with his Clinton worship as he went on to say some more absurd bullshit such as:

Young also quipped that “Bill is every bit as black as Barack.”

You’ve got to be demented or the Clintons have something on you to say something like that. I have a feeling that this whole interview is setup to trick misinformed black voters to vote for a Clinton dynasty.

With regards to the old joke that Bill Clinton is the first black president, and the new nonsense spouted by Young that “Bill is every bit as black as Barack.”, I will give the floor to Kevin Alexander Gray. He made the following comment in a counterpunch article in 2002:

Back in 1998 during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, writer Toni Morrison said, "black skin notwithstanding: this is our first black President" citing his dysfunctional upbringing as commonality with black males. But the joke's an insult. The punchline is that Clinton is decadent and promiscuous, got rhythm, got caught and got over -- so he's black!

In fact, during the 8 years Clinton was in office, the incarceration rates of blacks surpassed the egregious Reagan era.

Although Clinton has since attempted to change the past through his actions post-presidency, during his reign he continued to support mandatory minimum sentencing, flawed "3 strikes" laws, and did nothing to change the disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine which disproportionately affects African Americans.

These efforts in turn put more black men behind bars than ever before creating a new generation of felons courtesy of our defective war on drugs

But that is the dynasty Andy Young wants back in office as long as his palm keeps getting greased.

Fatou Jaw Manneh....Justice delayed...

2007-12-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

So another Judge decided to wash her hands off the abomination that is the trial of Fatou Jaw Manneh. Ever since her arrest and detention and the subsequent proffering of seditious charges against her, three magistrates and now a judge have decided that they don’t want to touch the case with a ten foot pole. They kept transferring her from one courtroom to another without any adjudication...

If there is a victim in this case besides the accused, it is the rule of law in the Gambia. It makes no sense from a legal standpoint whether the accuse is innocent or guilty to keep transferring her case from one magistrate court to another as if they operate in separate sovereign entities. However it tells us something about the character of the men and women who are entrusted with adjudicating and upholding the rule of law in the Gambia. They are scared of their own shadows due to the authoritarian climate under which they ply their trade. Instead of standing to uphold their oath of impartiality, they keep passing the buck.

Suppose, for the sake of argument that Fatou Jaw is guilty of insulting the president. What harm has it done to the image of the man that is worse than the one he inflicted upon himself with the witch doctor masquerade he has been putting up lately?

Now suppose that she is innocent (I subscribe to this notion). Isn’t it unconscionable to have this damning charge hanging over her head for a year while scared straight judges bounce the case from one another like a ping pong ball.

The Gambian constitution includes a right to a speedy trial. This provision is supposed to keep people from being jerked around by unscrupulous and vindictive prosecutors who cannot prove that they have committed any crime. Prosecutors have to put up or shut up. In this case unfortunately, it is not only prosecutorial malfeasance, but the bench is acting cowardly as well.

You couldn’t find a better case that fits the old cliché that justice delayed is justice denied.

Et tu Jesse...

2007-11-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

Two days ago Barack Obama made the following comment in a New Hampshire gym:

Obama, speaking to a racially mixed audience of about 500 people at a local high school, conceded some progress had been made on racial issues -- but not enough.

"On every measure, on income, on health care, on incarceration rates, on the criminal justice system, on housing, on life expectancy, on infant mortality, on almost every single indicator, there is still an enormous gap between black and white," the senator from Illinois said.

Obama said urban areas and minority communities often suffer first when problems spread across the nation. "There's an old saying that when America gets a cold, black America gets pneumonia," he said.

if you are black that comment should assure you that the candidate cares about issues that affect our community. That is until you read an Oped penned by that doyenne of the civil rights movement...Jesse Jackson. Here is the money quote from his Oped in the Chicago Suntimes:

Can Democrats get the votes they need simply because they're not Republicans? You might think so in this presidential campaign. African-American and urban votes are critical to any Democratic victory. Bill Clinton won two terms without winning the most white votes. His margin was the overwhelming support of black voters. George Bush learned that lesson; that's why his campaigns spent so much effort suppressing the black vote in key states like Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. His victory margin was the tally of votes suppressed or uncounted.

Yet the Democratic candidates -- with the exception of John Edwards, who opened his campaign in New Orleans' Ninth Ward and has made addressing poverty central to his campaign -- have virtually ignored the plight of African Americans in this country.

Jesse is equating poverty with been African American. That is true if you accept the politically correct assumption that all black people are poor (despite all the demographic evidence to the contrary), but nothing could be further from the truth. Most black folk are not consumed with soul-crushing poverty. Granted there are hundreds of thousands of poor black people, but the scourge of poverty doesn't spare any race in this country.

In fact, the great majority of us (African Americans) are doing alright and quite a few (Jesse included) are doing very well. Most of us have the exact same middle class concerns as everyone else, with the added issue of dealing with racism.

Barack, in the speech I quoted above touched on all the salient issues affecting our people in this united states, but Jesse singled out John Edwards for been the only candidate that care enough. Jesse Jackson and his generation has done a lot for civil rights in this country. They've shed blood, sweat and tears to make America what it is. However Obama is running for president of the United States. He can't afford the “angry black guy” moniker. He is talking about the issues and his record in the Illinois senate is a testament to his commitment to issues affecting black folk in this nation.

The peculiar thing about all of these is that Jackson has already endorse Obama for president. Could this be sour grapes? I dunno... but the notion that Edwards is the only one talking about poverty issues doesn't pass the smell test...all I can say is Et tu Jesse.

Dark Continent...digitally dark

2007-11-26T17:40:00.000-08:00

I hate that term: "Dark Continent", but Africa at night do look dark compared to other parts of the world. Click here to see what the other parts of the planet looks like at night. Most of the continent of Africa (except for south Africa) is dark literally.

A serious consequence of this electricity problem is the non-existence of an internet culture in Africa as chronicled in a new United Nations report. Here is the money quote:

“in Africa, ICT has barely taken a foothold. Computer illiteracy and the lack of access to ICT are widely recognized as an increasingly powerful obstacle to the economic, civic, and political development of Africa.” And Africa Recovery notes that in Africa “For most people even making a telephone call is still a remote possibility in an era when most of the world is now communicating almost instantly across cities, regions and the globe using wireless and satellite technologies to send high-speed electronic messages.”

Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade has this to say about the dilemma facing Africa .

“The digital gap brings with it a danger of isolating certain peoples, those in Africa in particular.”

Africans after decades of independence are still lacking behind in all human growth indexes compiled. And what are the leaders doing about it except for the lamentations made by the likes of monsieur Wade. Asia and Africa had comparable economic outlooks at the dawn of their independence. In fact sub Saharan Africa...with it's natural resources was primed for inevitable economic growth while Asia seemed an economic backwater with no promise in the immediate aftermath of colonialism.

Today, the roles have reversed. Sub-Saharan Africa is the economic backwater while Asia is setting the pace for economic development. The four Asian Tigers: Hong Kong , Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan set the pace. Now their bigger cousins in China and India have risen up to the challenge ....putting their ingenuity to the test while some African leaders play witch doctor.

The next generation of African children are been left behind digitally while the kleptomaniacs ruling over them play God. And Africa remain the "dark continent"...figuratively and now digitally.

Peter Who?

2007-09-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a friend the other day about the firing of Edward Singhateh and the repercussions or lack thereof it could have on the security and long term stability of Yahya's government. My friend was of the opinion that the Singhateh brothers ( Edward and Peter) wouldn't let Yahya humiliate them like he does with the other ministers and functionaries he fires on what seems like a daily basis.

I had a good laugh at this assumption. What my friend failed to understand is that Yahya Jammeh is not a two bit dictator any more, but a full fledge one. He has gradually strengthen his grip on the security infrastructure over the years, with his cronies manning every facet of the elaborate and brutal system. Peter might be second in command in the army, but he has no power...zilch, zero. Yahya has essentially marginalized Edward when he kept demoting him from the vice chairman to defense and then forestry. Let that last point sink in for a minute. From the number two honcho to Forestry and fisheries...Jesus Christ. If Edward has any following in the army, he would have had Yahya by the cojones now. What? with all these stories floating around about how brutal that Edward fellow is...you think he will be taking such a humiliation on the cheek without lashing out? I don't think so.

Now comes the story that Yahya has discharge Peter from the army while he (Peter) is out of the country on a one year training course. Cunning ... wouldn't you say? Fire him while he is caught off from what little following he may have in the army. I won't be surprise if in the next few days some soldiers are rounded up and accuse of a coup. The house cleaning has just begun.

Here is the Gambia Journal's story on the discharge of Peter and the firing of kebba Sanyang...the later was recently moved from justice to works and now he is unemployed:

In a move that surprised few, President Jammeh has relieved Lt. Peter Singhateh, brother of the former Secretary of State for the Forest and Environment Edward Singhateh, of his commanding position in the army also discharged from the Gambian National Army. Peter Singhateh was the Deputy Commander of the Defense Staff. The Gambia Journal has learnt that Peter Singhateh left the country only a week for a-one year training in an unnamed foreign country. ...the Gambiajournal

The GambiaEcho is reporting the same development here

Has Edward been arrested?

2007-09-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Gambia Journal citing unconfirmed sources is reporting the arrest and detention of Edward Singhateh:

Another unconfirmed report say the recently dismissed Secretary of State for Forestry and the Environment, Mr. Edward Singhateh has been arrested and detained. The yet to be confirmed report did not say when and why Mr. Singhateh was arrested. He was the only remaining one of the three men who together formed the post-coup military junta that ruled The Gambia between 1994 to 1996...

Edward Singhateh fired?

2007-09-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

According to Ebrima Sankareh of the Gambia echo, Edward Singhateh has been relieved of his Fisheries ministry and replaced by his permanent secretary Kotu Cham...a career civil servant. Here is a snippet of what he wrote:
According to unassailable sources from State House, the most powerful man in Yahya Jammeh’s government, 39 year old Edward David Singhateh, a callous man masked in a fake image who has killed more Gambians than any other person has been sacked. His Permanent Secretary, Mr. Kotu Cham of Sanchaba Sulay Jobe village is the new Secretary of State for Forestry and the Environment.... Gambia echo
There is no independent confirmation of this story. So take it for what it is ...

Update

The Gambia journal is reporting this development as well. Here is the link.

Cabinet Reshuffle

2007-09-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Point newspaper is reporting that Yahya Jammeh is reshuffling his cabinet. This is a developing story ...

The Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh will today, September 14th, name a new cabinet, a report monitored over GRTS yesterday announced. According to the announcement, President Jammeh, acting on relevant provisions of the Gambian Constitution, yesterday effected a cabinet reshuffle.

Meanwhile Mr. Kebba Sanyang, who hitherto served as Attorney- General and Secretary of state for Justice, has been reassigned to the Department of State for Works, Construction and Infrastructure as the Secretary of State of that Department. Mrs. Marie Saine Firdaus, Technical Adviser Office of the President, has been appointed as Anthony-General and Secretary of State for Justice.

The rest of the Cabinet is expected to be announced today.... The Point

Update:

Omar Faye and Bala Jahumpa are out of the Jammeh cabinet. The former replaced by Mass Axi Gaye and the later by Crispin Grey Johnson. Mr abdoulai Sallah formerly of Health has been brought back to replace Grey Johnson at the Higher education portfolio, while Ousman Jammeh is entrusted with the newly created petroleum ministry. Petroleum hmmm...

All other secretaries of state remain intact. Bala jalumpa and Omar Faye will be assign diplomatic duties.

Holier than thou

2007-08-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

So professor Ba Banutu Gomez had enough of the US of A. He decided to pack his bags, return back to the Gambia and invest his savings into a business college. Ain't nothing wrong with that if you ask me. What gets under my skin though is the tendency of African intellectuals returning home and all of a sudden converting to the religion of sycophancy to fit in the system. It usually start with subtle statements like this one that Gomez is reported as saying in the point newspaper:

Professor Ba Banutu-Gomez, the proprietor of the newly built Bantu Business College, has called on all Gambians outside The Gambia to stop focusing on politics, and instead focus on developing the country regardless of any political ideology one may have, adding that if the country is the centre of our hearts and thinking, we can work together even though we may have different political ideologies.

The good professor is smart enough to know that is hogwash. If the politics is dictatorial and authoritarian, development ain't gonna happen. But that is not important to him at this moment. He has a plan and an investment, the success of his venture depends on the goodwill of the political masters. So he wouldn't want to do anything to raise their ire. That is smart business for him, but to tell the rest of us to stop focusing on politics is disingenuous on his part as well. Development doesn't happen in a vacuum. Sustainable development needs a stable political environment to incubate and flourish. That is what loud mouths like yours truly yearn for and Mr. Gomez knew this all along. The Gambia no matter how you slice it isn't going to develop with a business college here and there until the political environment change.

Talking of holier than thou, the professor went on to make the following absurd comment:

“I challenge any Gambian, if you care about your own people, your own country, then you should come back and invest in your own country, not only in education but in any form.

Who said you have to go back to a country before you could be counted as caring for and investing in it. I bet most of the students that can afford to pay the tuition to get into his college will have the money sent to them from abroad. If that is not investing in the development of a nation, I will like to take a class from the professor to learn just what people like me need to do save for packing our drawers, boarding a plane to "bilad-a-sudan".

Do we care about our people and country. Sure we do. Without our remittances, that place will be a war zone. The remittances feed, clothe and is responsible for the construction boom , which employ thousands of people...get the drift professor?

Good luck with your venture, but save us the sermon.

Obama ...and conventional wisdom

2007-08-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Josh Marshall hit a cord on the recent brouhaha created by Obama's comment on Pakistan:

The unspoken truth here, I suspect, is that Obama has struck on the central folly of our post-9/11 counter-terrorism defense policy -- strike hard where they aren't and go easy where they are. I think everyone can see this. But Obama got there first. So they need to attack him for saying it..

The foreign policy establishment crowd in Washington DC is a cartel...a job pool. Brookings institute and it's ilk are breeding grounds for folk looking for government jobs. They adhere to the same sort of thinking: the kind that believes Iraq is a danger to the US circa 2002.

Obama is taking them on and his only mistake will be to back down as Josh eloquently puts it in this passage:

I'm always interested to try to tease apart and find the meta-debates operating beneath the surface of campaign debates. As I wrote a few years ago in what I called the bitch-slap theory of GOP electoral politics, the whole swift-boat saga was less about the specifics of Kerry's injuries forty years ago than whether he could defend himself from the charges today. Someone who can't defend himself is weak; and if a guy can't defend himself he can't defend you.

that's what that whole song-and-dance was about.
So what is this back and forth about Obama and Pakistan about?

What this has boiled down to -- and this became even more clear after Tuesday night's labor-hosted debate, when Biden and Dodd acted as Hillary's proxies -- is Hillary, in league with the party's foreign policy establishment, trying to make Obama, implicitly or explicitly, concede an error, that he misspoke.

Precisely what he misspoke about is largely beside the point. The key is that they get him to concede that in the complex and serious world of foreign policy big-think, where words have consequences, he made an error. Of course, it's almost good enough if most observers decide that Obama screwed up. But once he concedes it himself, if he does, he stipulates from now through the end of the Democratic primary campaign that his inexperience in foreign policy is a basic premise of the campaign upon which the battle between him and Hillary will be waged. He can learn, improve, make progress, whatever, but his inexperience compared to Hillary will continue to be the reference point throughout... ..tpm

Barack likes to tell folks that he is a product of chicago politics...knows when to fight and stand your doggone ground. If he let the Dodds, clintons and bidens of the washington crowd, that voted for the worst foreign policy blunder of this century dictate or lecture him on foreign policy, then he should fold his campaign, because from that point on he becomes their bitch and they will keep slapping him around.

I am not advocating macho stance or refusal to admit mistakes. However in this situation I think he is right and his detractors are wrong. Samantha Powers ...an advisor to Obama puts it more succintly in this memo:

August 3, 2007
To: Interested Parties
From: Samantha Power -- Founding Executive Director, Harvard University Carr Center for Human Rights Policy

Re: Conventional Washington versus the Change We Need
It was Washington’s conventional wisdom that led us into the worst strategic blunder in the history of US foreign policy. The rush to invade Iraq was a position advocated by not only the Bush Administration, but also by editorial pages, the foreign policy establishment of both parties, and majorities in both houses of Congress. Those who opposed the war were often labeled weak, inexperienced, and even naïve.
Barack Obama defied conventional wisdom and opposed invading Iraq. He did so at a time when some told him that doing so would doom his political future. He took that risk because he thought it essential that the United States “finish the fight with bin Laden and al Qaeda.” He warned that a “dumb war, a rash war” in Iraq would result in an “occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.”
Barack Obama was right; the conventional wisdom was wrong. And today, we see the consequences. Iraq is in chaos. According to the National Intelligence Estimate, the threat to our homeland from terrorist groups is “persistent and evolving.” Al-Qaeda has a safe-haven in Pakistan. Iran has only grown stronger and bolder. The American people are less safe because of a rash war.
Over the last few weeks, Barack Obama has once again taken positions that challenge Washington’s conventional wisdom on foreign policy. And once again, pundits and politicians have leveled charges that are now bankrupt of credibility and devoid of the new ideas that the American people desperately want.

On each point in the last few weeks, Barack Obama has called for a break from a broken way of doing things. On each point, he has brought fresh strategic thinking and common sense that break with the very conventional wisdom that has led us into Iraq.
Diplomacy: For years, conventional wisdom in Washington has said that the United States cannot talk to its adversaries because it would reward them. Here is the result:
* The United States has not talked directly to Iran at a high level, and they have continued to build their nuclear weapons program, wreak havoc in Iraq, and support terror.
* The United States has not talked directly to Syria at a high level, and they have continued to meddle in Lebanon and support terror.
* The United States did not talk to North Korea for years, and they were able to produce enough material for 6 to 8 more nuclear bombs.
By any measure, not talking has not worked. Conventional wisdom would have us continue this policy; Barack Obama would turn the page. He knows that not talking has made us look weak and stubborn in the world; that skillful diplomacy can drive wedges between your adversaries; that the only way to know your enemy is to take his measure; and that tough talk is of little use if you’re not willing to do it directly to your adversary. Barack Obama is not afraid of losing a PR battle to a dictator – he’s ready to tell them what they don’t want to hear because that’s how tough, smart diplomacy works, and that’s how American leaders have scored some of the greatest strategic successes in US history.
Barack Obama’s judgment is right; the conventional wisdom is wrong. We need a new era of tough, principled and engaged American diplomacy to deal with 21st century challenges.
Terrorist Sanctuaries: For years, we have given President Musharraf hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid, while deferring to his cautious judgment on how to take out high-level al Qaeda targets – including, most likely, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Here is the result:
* Bin Laden and Zawahiri – two men with direct responsibility for 9/11– remain at large.
* Al Qaeda has trained and deployed hundreds of fighters worldwide from its sanctuary in northwest Pakistan.
* Afghanistan is far less secure because the Taliban can strike across the border, and then return to safety in Pakistan.
By any measure, this strategy has not worked. Conventional wisdom would have us defer to Musharraf in perpetuity. Barack Obama wants to turn the page. If Musharraf is willing to go after the terrorists and stop the Taliban from using Pakistan as a base of operations, Obama would give him all of the support he needs. But Obama made clear that as President, if he had actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan – and the Pakistanis continued to refuse to act against terrorists known to be behind attacks on American civilians – then he will use highly targeted force to do so.
Barack Obama’s judgment is right; the conventional wisdom is wrong. We need a new era that moves beyond the conventional wisdom that has brought us over-reliance on an unreliable dictator in Pakistan and an occupation of Iraq.
Nuclear Attacks on Terrorist Targets: For years, Washington’s conventional wisdom has held that candidates for President are judged not by their wisdom, but rather by their adherence to hackneyed rhetoric that make little sense beyond the Beltway. When asked whether he would use nuclear weapons to take out terrorist targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Barack Obama gave the sensible answer that nuclear force was not necessary, and would kill too many civilians. Conventional wisdom held this up as a sign of inexperience. But if experience leads you to make gratuitous threats about nuclear use – inflaming fears at home and abroad, and signaling nuclear powers and nuclear aspirants that using nuclear weapons is acceptable behavior, it is experience that should not be relied upon.
Barack Obama’s judgment is right. Conventional wisdom is wrong. It is wrong to propose that we would drop nuclear bombs on terrorist training camps in Pakistan, potentially killing tens of thousands of people and sending America’s prestige in the world to a level that not even George Bush could take it. We should judge presidential candidates on their judgment and their plans, not on their ability to recite platitudes.
Vision: American foreign policy is broken. It has been broken by people who supported the Iraq War, opposed talking to our adversaries, failed to finish the job with al Qaeda, and alienated the world with our belligerence. Yet conventional wisdom holds that people whose experience includes taking these positions are held up as examples of what America needs in times of trouble.
Barack Obama says we have to turn the page. We cannot afford any more of this kind of bankrupt conventional wisdom. He has laid out a foreign policy that is bold, clear, principled, and tailored for the 21st century. End a war we should never have fought, concentrate our resources against terrorists who threaten America. End the counter-productive policy of lumping together our adversaries and avoiding talking to our foes. End the era of politics that is all sound-bites and no substance, and offer the American people the change that they need.
Barack Obama’s judgment is right. It is conventional wisdom that has to change.

Now, thats how you fight back. I like what I am seeing here.

Mitt Romney is a Moron...

2007-07-23T11:36:00.001-07:00

So Mitt Romney got caught showing his pearly whites while holding a sign that compares Obama to the terrorist mastermind behind the death of almost three thousand people on American soil.

When confronted, been hypocritical as always, he offered this absurd explanation:

I'm going to be taking many pictures with all of you and I don't really spend too much time looking at the signs and the t-shirts and the buttons. So I don't have anything particularly to say about a sign somebody else was holding...mydd.com

The only problem with this answer is that he is holding the damn sign himself and grinning from ear to ear. I bet if someone brought up a sign that said "There is no God" or "The Mormon Church is a dangerous cult", I doubt very much that he would help hold it up to have a picture taken. (I'm not saying the Mormon church is a dangerous cult, I am just making a hypothetical).

And what does it say about him if he really doesn't read the signs? He'll stand behind any sign, smiling approval without knowing what it says? Only an imbecile would do that. I am going to go out on a limb and say that he read that sign. Candidates are totally aware of the power of images; he'd be an utter moron not to have read it beforehand. On the other hand, I suppose he is a moron for comparing Obama to Osama bin laden.

Celebrating Coup d'etats

2007-07-20T08:50:00.001-07:00

With the annual jamboree that is the July 22nd celebration around the corner, the Point newspaper has a run down of reactions from some of the leading Gambian politicians: from the ruling APRC and the opposition parties.

The speaker of the house:Fatoumata Jahumpha Ceesay [no relation to the author] waxed philosophical in her trademarked sycophantic way. If you let her tell the story, the Gambia is the promised paradise prophesied in the scriptures. She went on to talk about human rights and press freedom when a few days ago the government of the Gambia failed to answer to a case brought before a regional court for the illegal detention of a journalist. The illegal detention of Kanyiba Kanyi and Rambo Jatta, the disappearance of Daba marenah and five other alleged coup plotters aren't human rights violations in the speakers book.

For their part Ousainou Darbo and Halifa Sallah: leaders of the opposition UDP and NADD respectively, admonish the notion that a government that claims to be democratically elected will be celebrating the undemocratic takeover of a government that took place more than a decade ago. They condemned coups and bemoan the abject poverty that prevails in the country. Darbo went on to castigate the government on its human rights record: illegal detentions and general break down in the rule of law. No surprises there for the lawyer turn politician.

Halifa also took to task the supporters of the coup who never fail to point out the structural projects initiated after the 1994 coup. He schooled them on the economics involved. The projects, he explained are financed with interest laden loans that makes the Gambia a seriously indebted country without any self sustainability. Building infrastructure from loans that you don't have the human capital to maintain is the worst form of development paradigm. He made references to the plight of the Gambian farmer and how the lack of government foresight has reduced them to beggars.

Juwara of opposition NDAM took a different tack. He hasn't condemn the coup outright. In fact he has some praise for the government. His critics will point to this interview as a step in his metamorphism from the most outspoken critic of the government to joining the ranks of his former tormentors. The peeve I have with his portion of the interview is where he made this comment:

I call on the government to release Chief Ebrima Manneh, Kanyiba Kanyi and Rambo Jatta if they are in their custody and if not in their custody to do all it takes to know who is holding these guys. After all they are not important. And it is only going to give the country a bad name.

They are not important....what is Juwara smoking? Who determines their importance? These are people with families and responsibilities. They are very important to their friends and loved ones and all peace loving people. Juwara's transformation is a sight to behold.

Cop-out

2007-07-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

Magistrate Jawo of the Kanifing magistrates court decided to save his own skin in lieu of providing justice in the Fatou Jaw Manneh sedition trial. This is a travesty of justice. He moved the case to Banjul after weeks of hearing testimony on a stupid technicality. Shouldn't the learned magistrate determined the proper venue prior to hearing the evidence in the case? He sat there for weeks listening to the witnesses and made rulings on the case that could determine the outcome of the case only to tell the defendant that he is not the right authority to adjudicate her case. This is an outrage. Justice delayed someone opined is justice denied. They are wasting the lady's time and resources on a frivolous witch hunt. Shame on them.

Here is the story courtesy of the Point newspaper:

Magistrate Jawo therefore expressed the view that the court that has the jurisdiction to try the accused is the Banjul Magistrates' Court, invoking section 61, subsection 1 and 62 subsection 21 of the Criminal Procedure Code to back his ruling of transferring the case to Banjul Magistrates' Court.

Ingenuity

2007-06-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

Afrigadget featured him a few years ago after he built a windmill to generate electricity for his home in a remote Malawian village using materials available locally. William Kamkwamba has come a long way indeed. He was one of the inventors recognised at the recently concluded TEDGlobal conference

With the help of friends he has created a blog to do: well what bloggers do... appraise well wishers of his undertakings. You can access his blog here.

Steve Gilliard [1966-2007]

2007-06-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

He was fearless, poignant, smart and he has a way with words. Gilly was an unapologetic liberal when that word has a nuance connotation for most. His predictions about the Iraq war are prophetic. He will be missed. So Long Gilly...may your soul rest in eternal peace.

Tail rank has a page with obituaries from the top guns in the left blogosphere here.

Jeff Koinange Out at CNN

2007-06-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Jeff Koinange, CNN’s Africa trotting journalist has been relieved of his duties according to TVNewser. It looks like a little bit of controversy involving a woman, amplified by a blog in Kenya may have end his career with CNN.

The Kenyan blog Kumechuca calls Koinange “the Kenyan date rape journalist.” It also reports that a woman apparently sent a letter to the president of CNN Worldwide that outlines how Koinange started sending her personal e-mails.

Another blog: “Distant Lovers,” spells out conversations and e-mails from Koinange to the woman. Here is a passage:

“Jeff wanted to have a photo from me and I had made the mistake to tell him that I had an enlarged beautiful and very stylish one of me showing me ‘naked’.

CNN (according to TVNewser) isn’t saying much, but a spokesperson said Koinange, “is no longer employed at CNN, and we are not commenting beyond that.” I’m sure there are two sides to the story, and Koinange hasn’t been reached for his side.

Personally, I’m going to miss seeing Koinange on-air. He was so enthusiastic and passionate about his stories. If his extracurricular activities did in fact lead to the dismissal, it’s unfortunate, but it shows how powerful these little thingies called blogs are getting.

Swiftboat encore

2007-05-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Washington post is pimping a book written by the NewYork times reporter Jeff Gerth: author of a number of inaccurate and sloppy anti-clinton stories. Here is how the post put it:

"Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton," by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr., reports that during her husband's 1992 campaign, a team she oversaw hired a private investigator to undermine Gennifer Flowers "until she is destroyed." Flowers had said publicly that she had an affair with Bill Clinton while he was governor of Arkansas.

The book also suggests that Hillary Clinton did not read the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq in 2002 before voting to authorize war. And it includes a thirdhand report that the Clintons had a secret plan after the 1992 election in which he would have eight years as president and then she would have eight years, although last night a key source disavowed the story.

And thus begins the swiftboating of Hillary. This is the first of many to come, which will inundate us throughout any Hillary campaign. Hillary the lover of Vince Foster! Hillary the killer of Vince Foster! Hillary the lesbian! Hillary the (fill in the blank). It may not be fair to Hillary, but this is one reason I don't support her candidacy.

A democratic presidential ticket in 2008 with Hillary at the top of it will be a nightmare of frivolity and press-driven bullshit, all against her, as the media tells us how much fun that Fred Thompson is and what a calculating cold ambitious bitch he is trying to save us from.

Scholarships

2007-05-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan of Yahya Jammeh and his totalitarian form of governance. However I think his government should be commended for trying to sponsor 300 Gambian students to study Engineering, medicine and agriculture in universities abroad. It is an investment in human capital, which will provide long term socio-economic benefits to our society. It beats the invesment in military hardware on any given day. Here is the story from the point newspaper:

Presidential Office to Sponsor Gambians to Universities Abroad
Friday 18th May 2007

By Osman Kargbo

The Office of the President, through the efforts of H.E. President Yahya Jammeh, will be providing close to 300 scholarships to young talented Gambians to study in universities and colleges abroad, a press release from the President’s office has stated.

According to the release faxed yesterday to this paper, the sponsorship, which will commence in September 2007, will cover various disciplines with special emphasis in the Sciences such as Medicines, Engineering and Agriculture.

The release stated further: “The Office of the President is pleased to inform the general public that through the untiring efforts of His Excellency The President Alhaji Dr Yahya A.J.J Jammeh, training opportunities will be made available, commencing in the next academic year (September, 2007) for young talented Gambians to study in Universities and Colleges abroad.

“Nearly 300 scholarships will be available for study in various disciplines but with emphasis in the Sciences such as Medicines, Engineering, Agriculture among other disciplines.”

It also said the scholarships would be made available to students from across the country.

“Interested applicants should apply to the Office of The President and provide proof of citizenship and authentic academic results to back their application,” the release concluded.

My apologies to the point for going over my fair use privileges here.

Detroit Economic Club hosts Obama.

2007-05-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

I was looking forward to attending Obama's speech at the economic club of Detroit today. But alas commitments at work make this impossible. However reading through the dispatches made about the speech in various newspapers, I am even more convinced that Barack Obama is one courageous politician.

He walked into a meeting of the Economic Club of Detroit and proposed raising fuel efficiency. If you know anything about Michigan politics, you know that this is such a third rail in Michigan that even the Democrats from this area oppose raising CAFE standards. You don't mess with the big three automakers and their addiction to profits gained from producing big gaz guzzling sport utility vehicles.

But Barack look them in the eye and told them the truth. Here is a passage from the New York times coverage of the event:

"For years, while foreign competitors were investing in more fuel-efficient technology for their vehicles, American automakers were spending their time
investing in bigger, faster cars," he said, according to a text of his remarks.
"And whenever an attempt was made to raise our fuel efficiency standards, the
auto companies would lobby furiously against it, spending millions to prevent
the very reform that could’ve saved their industry." In his speech, Mr.
Obama proposed stricter fuel economy standards, greater availability of tax
credits to consumers who buy hybrids or other ultra-efficient vehicles and
subsidies to help automakers pay health care expenses in return for greater
investment in advanced technology...Nytimes

Leadership is effectively telling people something they may not be pre-disposed to hearing. Obama is right on this issue. And its not something that can be chalked up to evil-doing on Detroit's part, so much as simply their deeply ingrained corporate culture that dictates "Americans want bigger and more powerful cars, not efficient cars"... I don't know where they picked up that notion, but its simply not true.

Obama is telling them the hard truth. And he didn't say this at a rally as a way to pander to crowds of consumers -- he went to where he could most effect change on the issue, the automakers themselves, to sell them on change. He's about results, at the end of the day.

Obama in Detroit

2007-05-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama will be holding a meeting at Cobo hall in Detroit tomorrow (may 7^th). The schedule time for the meeting is 11am…yikes. How do supporters like yours truly miss such an opportunity? I signed up and will have to figure a way out of work to be at that meeting.

As far as I am concerned, Obama will be the next president, whether the haters like it or not. Here’s why:

The GOP is just toast: ain’t going to happen, folks. Mormon-Romney and cross-dressing- twice divorced-Giuliani will never make it past the right wing nutties, who are used to GOP candidates pandering to them to get votes. And what about McCain? Stick a fork in him, he’s done. The Christian fundies don’t trust him and that stroll through a Baghdad market to prove that Iraq is safe while been guarded by a platoon and attack helicopters broke away the few independents who were giving him a chance.

What about Fred Thompson, the right-wing knight in shining armor? I think his strategy of wait-and-see isn’t going to work. He should’ve been in that debate the other night, and he wasn’t. Don’t even get me started on that hypocrite called Newt Gingrich.

The single most unfortunate thing for the Republicans: the Iraq war. It will be the gift that keeps on giving, and it’s not going to get any better. The GOP is tied to that war whether they like it or not, and I predict 2008 will suck for them.

How about the Democrats... John Edwards won’t get much traction, I predict. Getting a 400 dollar haircut while decrying against two Americas (rich and poor) kind of sums up how a bunch of people feel about him. Good guy overall.

But what about Hillary? The 600 pound gorilla. No one knows, of course, but I just think her negatives aren’t going to go away -- and I actually admire her and think she’s pretty bright. I also think people are desperate for a new face, a new direction in this country. It’s been a dreadful six years, hasn’t it?

Hence, Obama. Not just because he’s bright and motivated and thoughtful, but by process of elimination, he’s the only one left standing. That’s how I figure it, anyway. I may be wrong but I ‘m sticking by my candidate until the very end.

Defending IMUS

2007-04-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Until now,I have decided to stay clear of the brouhaha ignited by Don Imus's racist comment. But the hypocrisy of his defenders is making my blood boil.Everyone who stands up to the podium to defend Don Imus says the same thing, right off the bat: What the man said was deplorable. Indefensible. Disgusting. Or any other litany of words to try to separate themselves from his vile comments. If you believe that what he said was disgusting and indefensible, then what the hell are you defending him for?

The only reason I can think of is that you don't think what he said was all that bad, and want the same freedom to spew out disgusting tripe on your own multi-million dollar programs.

I've got news for you guys: You all have the freedom to say whatever you want. But that does not mean you should be rewarded with fat sponsorship deals and multi-million dollar paychecks to say it. Comments that people consider offensive vary from person to person. But if what you say makes EVERYONE say you've gone too far, maybe it's time for you to take a shot in the pocket.

Don Imus took his. If you're so worried about taking one of your own, maybe it's time to put a little thought behind your words.

Cry not Mama

2007-04-10T09:50:00.001-07:00

Today marks the 7th anniversary of the April 10th 2000 student massacre that took place in the Gambia. Alpha Robinson wrote a powerful poem in the heydays of that senseless human tragedy. In memory of all those students who paid the ultimate price, here is Alpha Robinson's timeless poem:

Cry not Mama

Trying to make sense

Out of the senseless

Turning around in circles

Sleepless and restless

Trying to feel your pain

Mothers and fathers of the martyrs

Young lives taken away

From earth to earth

Living in our hearts

Forever Forever and Forever

Mothers we mourn by your side

You have carried that baby for eight months

The ninth month demanding your breath

The joy you felt after the birth pains

Hoping and dreaming

That your baby will one day be someone

You gave that baby solid food and love

Toiling under the sun

Nothing you would not do

To give that child a future

Fathers we mourn by your side

You work this earth with bare feet

You deny yourself pleasures

To give that child a future

How anxious you were

Waiting to hear from the maternity ward

Or was it from the home

News about your baby

You two took that child to school

With high expectations

To acquire knowledge

For a better future

Then came the gunman

The neighbour’s child he was

No stranger to you

He calls you mother and father

Yet he turned that gun on your children

And took them away from you

Forever Forever and Forever

But cry not Mama

That child is in eternal peace

How can I tell you

How can I make you understand

That your pain is not in vain

That your pain is mine

Some give their lives for others

In their own way

And live forever

Look at me Mama

I am your child

For what your child died for

Will live in me forever

So they all live in me Mama

All those courageous children

And I am not alone Mama

We are all your children

As you dry your tears

Gripped by grief

Your legs feeling numb and heavy

Trying to make sense out of the senseless

Seek consolation in us

We who will carry your child in us

Until we take our last breath

No they did not die in vain!

For what they died for

Cannot be killed Mama

Justice must come

Freedom must come

A new Gambia will be born

It’s only a matter of time

By Alpha Robinson

May their souls continue to rest in eternal bliss.

Go' Bama

2007-04-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

He may be a newbie and he is obviously not perfect, but, so far he and his campaign executed well. He is clearly doing a good job of turning enthusiasm into tangible campaign support.

WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!! $25 million dollars . IT'S ON. IT'S SO ON!

Obama, we got your back baby. We got you. There's PLENTY more where that came from.

This is what a dictatorship looks like

2007-04-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

The gambian online community has been swirling with indignation at the arrest and detention of Washington based former Observer reporter Fatou Jaw manneh. She was arrested on her arrival at Banjul international airport sometime last week and today we learn from the point that she has been arraigned and charged with insulting the president. Here is what the point has on the incident:

Fatou Jaw Manneh was yesterday arraigned before Magistrate Pa Harry Jammeh of the Kanifing court, charged with ‘indictious offence.’
In her reaction to the charge, the accused told the court that she could not take her plea in the absence of her lawyer. The court thus granted her time to get the services of a lawyer.

The accused, arrested and detained on her arrival from the US, is said to have worked for many online newspapers in Washington, DC.

She is expected back in court today.

Meanwhile, this paper was reliably informed that family members of Ms. Manneh has been given access to her, and also providing food while in detention at the NIA since last Wednesday...thepoint

Since when did insulting the president become a crime? Only in a dictatorship do such things tantamount to a criminal case.

Update:

Thank God she has been release on bail. that is a start.

Mugabe

2007-03-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Could Robert Mugabe's dictatorship be living on borrowed time? The Roman Catholic archbishop in one of the dioceses in Zimbabwe is calling on the people to take to the streets to protest Mugabe's authoritarian rule. He is not only talking the talk but will be walking as well:

Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic archbishop of the southern Bulawayo diocese, urged Zimbabweans to take to the streets in protest at the government's ongoing crackdown against dissenters opposed to the government, Reuters reported.

"The biggest problem with Zimbabweans is they are cowards, myself included, but as for me I am ready to stand in front, even of blazing guns," Ncube told a news conference.

"If only Zimbabweans are prepared to stand, so am I prepared to stand ... we are not going to be bullied."...Link

Now thats what I call moral courage. If only the Imams in the Gambia will muster the same courage and take on Yahya Jammeh's insanity, the country will be a different place.

CNN's take on the Gambia

2007-03-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

CNN's Africa trotting correspondent, Jeff Koinange was recently invited to the Gambia to report on the mystical AIDS cure perfected by Yahya Jammeh. True to form and perhaps after the bruising he took at the hands of this feisty sky news correspondent, Yahya refused to be interviewed by CNN even though his office extended an invitation to the news channel.

Here is a video of Koinange's trip to the smiling coast broadcasted on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 program: VIDEO

It is really sad to watch Dr. Mbowe attest to this nonsense despite the medical training he went through over the years. This is what he told CNN:

I can swear 100% that this herbal medication his excellency is using is working. It has a potency to treat and cure patients infected with the HIV virus.

That is a bold statement. Dr. Mbowe is swearing 100% to the potency of a herbal medication the contents of which he doesn't know.

Et Tu Alberto

2007-03-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

A week ago in a USA Today editorial, Alberto Gonzales said the following:

While I am grateful for the public service of these seven U.S. attorneys, they simply lost my confidence. I hope that this episode ultimately will be recognized for what it is: an overblown personnel matter.

In a press conference yesterday, he claims that the firing of eight US attorneys who a week before had lost his confidence happened essentially without his knowledge.

These were the same people he claimed represent "the face of the department," but then claimed he essentially didn't know who they were because this all was done by his chief of staff. I mean hey...there are 10,000 people working for me. How can I possibly know what my CHIEF OF STAFF is doing?

Yeah right Alberto. Undoubtedly, your chief of staff was spending his nights with Arlen Specter's chief of staff re-writing the Patriot Act to give you powers you didn't know you had to fire people you didn't know for reasons you didn't understand.

And you want us to believe you deserve to stay in your present position why?

Having said that, I think those US attorneys deserve to be fired. Yeah call me crazy but the untold story in this developing saga is that none of the purged attorneys would have say or do anything about the politicization of their offices and the legal system in general if they were not relieve of their jobs, power and livelihood.

Case in point is this testimony from David Iglesias [the purged U.S. attorney in New Mexico]:

Iglesias said criticisms of his performance by the Justice Department "are demonstrably untrue statements." He added: "We all have a right to defend our honor. I felt like my honor and the honor of my office was attacked...." http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

Oh poor David. They were impugning his honor. He is not worried about the bush administrations frontal assault on our constitutional rights. In fact he was looking for a positive recommendation from Gonzales as recently as January 10^th as he looks for a new job. He sent an email to Gonzales’s chief of staff looking for one: If you want to read it, it's at the very bottom of this document: http://judiciary.house.gov/...

How about H.E. Cummins, U.S. attorney for Arkansas' Eastern District from 2001-2006, who said the following:

"If given the choice, I'd elect to stay home and mind my own business," Cummins told The Associated Press. "Now that I'm under subpoena, I'll go and give cooperative, truthful answers."
When asked if officials in the Justice Department or White House had asked him to decline the earlier requests, Cummins said he had no comment...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

If you still think he deserved the job wait until you read this quote from the same US attorney:

Cummins said in a telephone interview Tuesday that he appreciated Pryor's [Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark] defense of his service, but that he remained a Bush loyalist who had considered leaving his post regardless.

"In my case, it's fair to say it was handled poorly, because they could just have easily called me and said 'You haven't done anything wrong. You're a champ. You've been a great performer for the president, and we'd like you to cooperate with us and give this other guy a job for two years,'" Cummins said... http://www.nwaonline.net/...

They would rather go into lucrative practice with Gonzales’s recommendation than go to bat for the American justice system. That is why despite the ineptitude of Alberto Gonzales, [I will not shed any tears if he is canned]: I believe the purged attorneys deserved the fate that befall them.

The Clinton Machine

2007-03-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

The Barack Obama candidacy for the presidency is giving the Clintons a heart attack. He is putting an insurmountable road block in the Hillary coronation by staking a large claim on the democratic party's most loyal constituency: the black voter.

Bill Clinton won his presidency because of the black vote. He has never won the white male vote in any presidential election. In fact he has never gotten a majority of the voters, since he never cracked 50%. His wife was counting on the same loyalty until the man with a funny name and more fealty to the community decided to run. To say that the Clinton political machine is scared straight of the Obama candidacy is not far fetched. First they went berserk when Maureen Dowd quoted David Geffen in the new york times saying the following:

I don't think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is--and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton?--can bring the country together. Obama is inspirational, and he's not from the Bush royal family or the Clinton royal family. .

Hillary's campaign responded to this comment by asking the Obama camp to fire Geffen even though the billionaire mogul has no role in the Obama campaign except for been an admirer and supporter of Obama. This episode is a prelude to what the Clinton machine will do to win the nomination. Obama, to his credit didn't budge to the bullying tactics and his rapid response team responded within hours and hit the Clintons where it hurts.

Which brings me to the dueling speeches I just watched on C-Span. Today marks the 42^nd anniversary of what is come to be called Bloody Sunday: Obama and Clinton both gave speeches to mark the occasion. What is the big deal? You may ask. Well it is the drama involved. The fight for the black vote which is huge in southern primaries is getting intensive. Hillary has her husband coming in to help “herd” black folk since they are straying from the farm ala camp Hillary. Bill Clinton was previously busy until polls show that wifey is losing momentum among black folk. Been the anointed “first black president” and all, he decided it is time to straighten black folk out. His only mistake is that his wife was never anointed the first black first lady. Therein lies their predicament and the fact that after all these years in the senate Hillary Clinton is not to enamored of issues affecting black constituents.

In the year 2000 Hillary Clinton won almost 90% of black votes in her New York senatorial campaign, but guess what the first thing in her victory speech was? You would've guessed wrong if you think it has anything to do with the mind blowing unemployment rate among black males in New York or their incarceration and recidivism rate. You would be equally wrong if you think it is a concern for the high number of black kids in New York who are failed by the New York public schools. Nah her concern was and her actions will be geared towards fixing the upstate economy.

But watching her on television rattle of on the significance of the voting rights act marches makes me wonder if most people clapping in that audience could name any initiatives that Hillary Clinton has championed since coming to the senate with significance to black people. She took a stance on trivial issues such as flag burning to appease right wing ideologues who won't vote for her if their life depended on it, but couldn't lift a finger on issues such as police-brutality in New York, racial profiling or the big enchilada: economic development in post Katrina New Orleans.

Which brought me to my pet peeve: the idolization of the Clintons amongst the black community. Granted Bill and Hillary Clinton know how to schmooze black audiences, but when issues affecting our communities need their influence for redress, they miss those parties. They leave the heavy lifting to black politicians, most of whom the Clintons know have no power to effect positive change in those situations, either because of ineptitude in representation or mediocrity because they are products of political machineries created all over major American cities.

It is funny I said all this, and yet, if Hilary was to win the Democratic nomination I will probably have to vote for her; since the Republicans appear to be no option after this Bush disaster. But in this battle royale for the Democratic nomination, I am for Obama and will not hesitate to put forth the flim-flamsy act the Clintons employ when it comes to black electorates. Today's events are a manifestation and continuation of the Clinton machines bamboozlement of the black voter. However this time around, there is a genuine alternative for black voters: Barack Obama...

B_A_R_A_C_K

2007-02-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

Remember all that craziness about how Obama wasn't "black enough" to win black voters' support? Well, a couple of weeks later: not so much. The washingtonpost has this story on a poll release showing that more black voters now support Obama in a head to head match up against the wife of the fake black president. Here is a snippet:

Clinton's and Obama's support among white voters changed little since December, but the shifts among black Democrats were dramatic. In December and January Post-ABC News polls, Clinton led Obama among African Americans by 60 percent to 20 percent. In the new poll, Obama held a narrow advantage among blacks, 44 percent to 33 percent. The shift came despite four in five blacks having a favorable impression of the New York senator.

We still have ten months before the first primary votes are cast. Unless Obama makes a rookie mistake or Al Gore decide to get into the race, this is Barack's race to lose.

Yahya Drama

2007-02-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

It is one thing to read about the madness that is Yahya's claim to have a cure for AIDS, but to see the drama with your own eyes in moving video is priceless. Our scandanavian based brother Buharry captured the treatment session broadcast live on Gambian television on video.

The session is interlaced with recitations from the holy Quran while Yahya could be seen in some scenes rubbing some kind of ointment on semi-nude women. How is that for all the religiosity he waxes poetic about. Without further ado:

Here are the links to the videos:

Day 1

Day 2

Sky news in the United Kingdom interview Jammeh and some of his patients. It is a sad tale. Watch the video here.

The Quack in Gambia is what the German Newspaper Der Spiegel describe our resident dictator. Here is a snippet of an excellent article they wrote on this drama:

the self-styled AIDS healer is now claiming to have discovered his fortune-telling skills. He claims to be able to predict a person's moment of death, after a single look in their eyes...

Okay, thats it: the Man is certifiably crazy.

OBAMA

2007-02-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

To all my readers in the blogosphere, excuse the lapse in opinionated postings. Most of you already know that I was a village boy, by way of Gambia…a tiny sliver of a nation on the west coast of Africa. Yup that Gambia…with the maniacal head of state who claimed he can cure the deadly HIV/AIDS afflicted patients.

I have lived in the USA for the past twelve years. I became a naturalized US citizen five years ago and the first thing I did after the swearing in ceremony was to register to vote. I have only voted once in my life prior to arriving on the shores of this United States of Amnesia (as professor Dysons calls it). Needless to say, I have not missed any election date since. I observe them religiously, be them presidential or school board elections.

Generally, I tend to vote for democrats because they are a lesser of two evils. I know that is a lame excuse, but give the brother a pass will ya? However don’t try to use this bit of information to make assumptions about my political leanings, because I don’t care for political labels. I am a shocker for issues and where individual candidates stood on them relative to my own stance. I will venture to describe myself as moderate on most issues.

This might sound crazy and early in the cycle, but I will refrain from voting for any Clinton or Bush (Do you hear me Jeb?). I refuse to let a dynasty take root in this here the united states of amnesia (thank you professor Dyson). And that is exactly what a Bush_Clinton_Bush_Clinton will entail in my myopic mind. Self deprecation aside, ain’t we all tired of the mess these families took us through: from Monica to Mesopotamia? To think of another Clinton presidency? Gimme a break will ya.

If you are paying any attention to the news lately, you would known that Barack Obama has thrown his hat into the ring. Granted, I am late getting on the Obama bandwagon and I must also confess that if Al Gore should throw his hat into the ring, this nomination will be his race to lose and I will be voting for him to wit. I believe that he is the democrat’s best chance at a presidential victory…yes pun intended. However with Gore on the sidelines, I will be rooting for Obama all the way.

Will Barack Obama make it to the white house? I dunno. However the fact that despite the odds he is trying to make it there embodies the American ideals so eloquently spelt out in the declaration of independence thus: “that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with inalienable rights”. It is true that for most of its history America hasn’t live up to this creed and white men have been more equal than all others. Having said that I still believe Obama’s candidacy embodies the ideals behind the American dream: that regardless of race, color, creed, gender or class), anyone can aspire to, and become anything they want to be provided they are willing to work hard for it. That is the appeal of Obama’s candidacy to most of us.

Since announcing his candidature, Obama has met a lot nasty little smears: from digs made at him for the sins of his father to the meme that he is not black enough because guess what his ancestors didn’t pass through the middle passage. Ho-hum if you ask me, but Obama is a big boy and he knew this is coming and it could get nastier still.

You might be wondering why so many blacks are having a field day over Obama’s so called blackness. It boils down to the absurdities of race and race relations in this country. Many US born citizens (black or white) retreats to their cocoon when a discussion relating to race is initiated. Many white folks are in denial about the existence of racism in almost an annoying way. On the other hand many black people will throw the charge of racism as a counter weight for the years of pain and suffering even when it is not warranted. Foreign born citizens are not immune to this malady either, but we seem to have a dispassionate view when it comes to race and racism. And this attitude or outlook tends to make our US born brethren question our commitment to black issues.

The funny thing is that so many self proclaimed “Pan-Africanist” talk the talk but will disparage foreign born blacks. They seem to think they have a lock on blackness and black experience because of their ancestral journey through that horrible middle passage. This would be comical if the issues at hand are not so serious. Africans and people of African descent all over the world have had to deal with issues ranging from slavery to colonialism to imperialism. They are different experiences, but experiences of our peoples all the same. Demagoguery of their experience because it didn’t happen on the shores of the United States is absurd to say the least.

Can Obama win over a sizable amount of Black primary voters? I believe he could. The alternative is to vote for the wife of the so called first black president who hasn’t done much to address the issues that affect our communities during his presidency. Black people still drool over the Clintons like they are some sort of messiahs. They couldn’t name any initiatives Bill Clinton implemented to improve our communities, but will be quick to point out that he was on Arsenio Hall’s show blowing the trumpet or the folksy way he wow them in their churches. This is the same man who aided in the assault on affirmative action (the holy grail of black politics) when he succumbs to white pressure by saying: we need to amend it not end it. If that is not an assault on the program I don’t know what it is.

But nobody seems to care much about that. Bill Clinton is anointed as the first black president and when his wife comes calling with Bill tucked at her apron, black folk will just go with the flow. Barack Obama is not black enough for them, how in the world did Bill Clinton conned the believers?

Saba

2007-02-01T07:51:00.000-08:00

The national assembly elections have come and gone. The ruling APRC won most of the seats contested. No surprises there...you don't need to be a soothsayer to predict that outcome. The aftermath of the elections is turning into a nightmare for some communities. My native village of Saba has been marred in a communal rift. Both candidates for the Lower Badibou seat in the national assembly elections are natives of Saba. They are from the same compound to make matters worse. I blogged about the intricacies in this post

Reports coming out of Saba has it that the UDP candidate and some of his supporters have been arrested and detained at the Farrafenni police station after an altercation started by the niece of the winning candidate. Meanwhile, the winning APRC candidate is reported to be in Kanilai, hobnobbing with the president after seeing to it that his opponents are detained for standing up to the bullying and threats coming from his niece. This is tearing up that community and somebody need to tell Suku to stop the nonsense and let innocent villagers whose only crime is opposing him go free.

The point newspaper has a rundown of opposition UDP supporters arrested around the country. Point in case this snippet about the Lower Badibou incident I was alluding to:

In a related development, Mr Kebba Binta Suwareh Singhateh, who contested in the recently concluded general elections under a UDP ticket for Lower Baddibu, was, at the time of filing this story, still said to be in detention at Farafenni Police Station. Mr Singhateh was reportedly arrested shortly after the results of the legislative elections were announced and taken to Farafenni Police Station in North Bank Region.

Update:

Foroyaa has a report on the incident, listing the names of the detainees. Needless to say I know most of these detainees.

MASS ARRESTS IN BADIBOU
By Yaya Dampha

The defeated UDP candidate in Lower Baddibou, Mr. Kebba F. Singhateh and (15) fifteen of his supporters were arrested on Saturday by officials of the Police Intervention Unit,(PIU).

According to Mr. Lamin Buna Singhateh [ a brother to the defeated candidate ], one Miss Jamba Barrow (a cousin to Hon. Suku Singhateh) had a brawl with Mr. Faburama Singhateh at the market and it ended in a physical fight. He said that later in the day, one Lamin Singhateh came and found the UDP candidate’s son brewing China Green tea (Attaya) and assaulted him; that an MP (name witheld) later called the police who came and arrested Kebba F. Singhateh, Lamin Singhateh, Ebrima Dambelly, Omar Ceesay, Faburama Singhateh, Alhagie Ngum, Jololi Barrow, Mafafu Saho, Lang Jumbo Singhateh, Faburama Gasama, Bubacarr Singhateh, Ousman Suso, Burama Jaliba, Buramanding Singhateh, Buranding Danso and Dembo Makalo. Nine of the arrestees are detained at Farafenni Police Station while the other six are detained at Kerewan Police Station.

The family members have raised concern over the arrest and detention of their loved ones and called on the authorities to release them.
However, sources close to Farafenni Police confirmed the arrest of the nine people.

When contacted, Police Relations Officer (PRO) Aziz Bojang said when complaints were made to the police they had to arrest those suspected and that it is only the court that can prove guilt. He said if somebody lodges a complaint with the police, they (the police) have to proceed to effect the arrest of those alleged to have committed the offence, but that this does not mean that the police are siding with the party that complained.

Superintendent Bojang however did not say anything as to why the Lower Badibou UDP candidate and his supporters are still being detained for over six days which is beyond the required constitutional duration of 72 hours or three days.

Yaya Jammeh is Nuts...

2007-01-18T11:09:00.001-08:00

I don't know if I should cry or laugh at the absurdity of Yahya Jammeh's behavior. Gambians really need to be concerned if nothing else. The man is literally nuts. Not satisfied with the moronic stunt he pulled at the hospital the other day, Yahya Jammeh has vowed to start healing HIV/AIDS patients provided they agree to be treated in public. The freak of a commander in chief is making a mockery of our people's intelligence. The sad thing is that he is going to get some scared straight doctor at the hospital to certified AIDS patients as cured after his stunt.

I got mad at the opposition on the ground for not starting a shit storm over yahya's mental meltdown: but come to think of it why bother. The fool is going to embrass himself in a grand style, why help him from his misery? Time to get your lazy boy and watch Yahya jemus make a fool of himself. The point has the skinny on this madness. Here is a snippet:

In his speech, President Jammeh disclosed that he has now got the full mandate, with strict conditions, to embark on the treatment of HIV/AIDS and Asthma. Commenting on the treatment of HIV/AIDS, President Jammeh pointed out that the patient must first be diagnosed as HIV positive and should agree to be treated in public.

If you have the stomach for reading human scummy behavior, click on this point link for the rest of the story.

Emperor has no clothes

2007-01-16T13:52:00.001-08:00

The lunacy of Yahya Jammeh has no boundaries. The man is delusional and running the Gambia into the ground in the process. What kind of a prank is this fool pulling on Gambians? He will run to any dingy institution to get a title. Obviously been called doctor has gotten to his head. He is literally practicing some kind of voodo on patients admitted at the RoyaL Victoria Hospital.

The sickening part of this whole episode is that you have board certified medical doctors vouching for his bullshit. This is the same man who try to sell what he claimed to be an all purpose medicinal water to our people last year. That scheme fail, not because he didn't have people vouching for his scam, but because everybody knew the fucking emperor has no clothes. Now whatever psychotic medication he is taking needs to refilled and fast: because the moron is losing it.

Why are the Imams sitting around and letting this lunatic use the Quran in vain. Funny, isn't it, how times have changed? Once upon a time, Muslims considered avarice a sin. They will rather go to an early grave than bear false witness. In Yahya Jammeh's Gambia, this isn't so. Religious leaders are much more interested in how to get their lot ahead than standing up to a coward.

If you are wondering what spike up my ire, well read this observer story and weep for the Gambia:

Jammeh cures PATIENTS at RVTH

The curative power of the Holy Qur’an and traditional medicine were yesterday put to effect at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit and the Private Ward of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hopital (RVTH) by President Yahya Jammeh.

Jammeh combined both the spiritual power of curing and traditional medicine to alleviate the suffering at the emergency unit, as well as restore the health of patients in critical conditions. The process was so effective that patients responded to the healing techniques within a short span of time. His medicinal application was simply the Holy Qur’an combined with a few traditional herbs.
The curative power of the Gambian leader left many mesmerised and stunned, including his entourage, doctors, nurses, patients and other staff of RVTH. It was his second consecutive day at the hospital, after attending to the patients on Saturday.
Speaking in an interview with journalists, shortly after attending to the patients, President Jammeh said: “Nowadays there are a lot of strange illnesses. It seems there is no remedy for them and most of time even if there is remedy, it takes a lot of time for patients to heal. So I think its time for me to come out from hiding and show them what I can do”.
He then added: “I told Gambians since 1994 that there are a lot of things that I can do. But Gambians would never know the Yahya Jammeh that is here. I believe in two things. If somebody is sick and you cannot cure the person with the Holy Qur’an, the person is certainly going to die. And it would not take 24 hours. There is no disease in this world that you cannot cure using the Qur’an and some natural herbs that are existing either in the forest and/or at our homes. So this is traditional herbal medicine but basically used in the Qur’an. It is spiritual. So you will realise that the whole ward that we took care of yesterday were coincidentally, all Muslims.”
He then continued: “Yesterday, there were two patients that were in very critical conditions. In fact, both of them could not talk. I saw that one of them was suffering and was in great pain, so I had to take care of him to relief the pain. But the good thing about it was that he was temporary relieved. But I said yesterday that I have no home with him, including the old man.”
Source
President Jammeh told journalists he got his medicine from the forest, saying “what is important is that it my concoction and my knowledge. It is a natural knowledge for me, which is based on the Qur’an. These are basically plants. I have the title of doctor. In fact, I am a stronger doctor than them, because I use the name of Allah and the Qur’an”.
On the continuity of curing patients, President Jammeh decribed the exercise as a duty. However, he pointed out that he also has other responsibilities. “One, I am a head of state and have to take care of state matters. I am also a family man. Also, I have to pray a lot. In fact, what will happen will be Saturday clinics. And of course, it will not be every Saturday, because sometimes I have to go to Kanilai. But we will make an arrangement with them so that we can deal with the most critical cases. The rest they can take care of them, such as malaria. But cases where there is no hope, those are the ones I will concentrate on,” he noted.
He disclosed that he would also attend to HIV/Aids patients,which he said would require time. He elaborated: “What we could do is to take members of Santa Yalla, who have exposed themselves so that we can start with them. But I will tell you when I am ready, because it is not easy to do it. It is not easy to prepare.” He stressed that one must pray a lot.
President Jammeh then observed that he does not “ just go and cure a patient. There are signs I look for and I use the Qur’an”. However, he confirmed that for two of the patients, he did not use the Qur’an because he was “definitely sure that they are going to die. It is not easy but that is the way it is. There is nothing I can do for somebody whose time is up. But if it is a question of illness, we can take care of it”.
He informed journalists that he started the curing process with his relative to ensure people understand that it’s no joke. “You must have seen the other one who before I touched him was saying he could not breathe and that he was going to die. After I attended to him, he was asking for a job to the extent that he showed me his driving license. Its all with the power of Almighty Allah,” he said.
The link
Asked about the link between the Qur’an and traditional medicine, President Jammeh replied: “There is no distinction between the Qur’an and traditional medicine. Traditional medicine is purely the use of herbs. And every herb that is of medicinal value is mentioned in the Qur’an. You will also realise that there some people call marabouts, who use the Qur’an to write something, wash it and give it to the person to drink. So that’s the link. And for any verse that you can use in the Qur’an for healing, there is a tree in the forest that you can use if you cannot use the Qur’an. So if you can use the Qur’an and the tree itself, it makes it simple. You are invoking the name of Almighty Allah. And Allah has said that there are so many things that we can do. There are so many things that are hidden from us.”
President Jammeh further noted that there is no difference between traditional medicine, modern medicine and the Qur’an. He explained: “Whatever they use as modern medicine, must have been extracted from a plant or naturally existing chemicals. In the Qur’an, you have both the herbs and elements - elements of a chemical nature that you can use. In fact, what you extract from the plant are chemicals that are extracted to make medicine. Some may exist in mineral or gaseous form to make medicine. The source of all modern and traditional medicine is from Almighty Allah, and that is the Qur’an. Allah says he has created for mankind all in this Qur’an. It’s like a literature. I may read a story like that of Shakespeare and I may know the literal meaning of it. But somebody who has done literature would be able to explain to you what they are talking about, which may be different from what I understand about it.”
He then affirmed that he is willing to share the knowledege, provided it would not be commercialised. “If it is going to be commercialised, then no!,” he stressed.
Dr Malick Njie, Chief Medical Director of RVTH, expressed his impression with Jammeh’s miracle, saying what “he has got is different from what we learnt in medical school”.
Dr Njie added: “I was amazed by somebody who said he could not breathe and who thought he would die. But after what he gave him, he asked for a job. I cannot talk much about that because I do not have much knowledge about it. But traditional medicine is someting that is in the country. It’s been an excellent visit. We had him yesterday, we had him here today. His mere presence stimulated a lot in the patients.”
He disclosed that a woman, who was in a bad condition wanted to be discharged, after she had received “something from the President. She was ready to go. I told her well,. if you are well, you must go so that we can admit other patients. But His Excellency said do not let her go.”
He said another female patient, who was in a psychotic condition and incoherent also responded to President Jammeh’s curative medicine, after it was administered to her. “She was ready to go home, which we found amazing. She started talking coherently. This morning the consultant did the check-up round and certified her fit to be discharged”.
Patients’ account
Also speaking to the journalists, Amadou Bah, a patient at the A&E Unit, said: “I am getting much better than before. I am really grateful to President Jammeh for treating me. I am very happy.”
Omar Jaiteh, another patient, said: “I now feel fine. I am feeling much better now.”
Ebrima Demba, who was confined to his sickbed since his admission at the A&E Unit, said: “I feel really great. I could not walk from my bed to the toilet. But now, I can walk thanks to the President. Illness is cured through a gradual process and I really want the President to come again.”
Alagie Hydara and Elbo Jarjue, also expressed similar sentiments.
President Jammeh brought gifts for the patients and then gave out D30,000 to a lady, whose father passed away at the A&E Unit. He also gave gifts of cash to the Kanifing gas explosion victims at the Intensive Care Unit.
President Jammeh was accompanied to the hospital by the Secretary General, a number of Secretaries of State and the Chief of Protocol....Daily Observer.

Gates Foundation

2007-01-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has gotten a lot of good press or what media critics call a free pass from the press. But how can you knock a guy who is giving away some 90 percent of his money? Not an easy feat by any standards. However, investigative journalists are looking at the harm some of the foundation's projects are doing.

Besides funding research to fight disease that plague third world nations, the foundation is investing in companies that run power plants, which can pollute and cause respiratory disease. In fact, the foundation has been investing in lots of energy companies to earn more money to pay for vaccines and research.

And therein lies the contradiction.

Energy companies are not known for their environmental friendliness. But they generate great returns on investment. The cauldron becomes: should the Gates foundation shy away from what is otherwise a good investment or would it be better for the foundation to invest in solar power and fuel cells? Just where is the greater good?

Read the LA Times investigative story here.

National Assembly Elections

2007-01-09T08:14:00.001-08:00

Nominations to contest the January 25th national assembly elections have come and gone. The ruling APRC has field candidates for all forty eight constituencies. No suprises there...the UDP/NRP alliance has thirty five candidates vying for seats across the country. NADD is contesting in five and eleven independent candidates have thrown their hat into the ring as well.

The political climate in the country is dominated by the APRC. Police squad cars in the country are adorned with APRC flags and other party insignias. I remember the head of security at the Barra-Banjul ferry crossing ( an openly corrupt fellow called Joof) boasting about his party loyalties to me when I complained to him about the nefarious behavior he is engaged in by taking money from motorist and having them move ahead of the line. "This is the Gambia and we are in charge". He was pointing to his APRC baseball cap all this time.

But that will be an story for another day: back to the elections. The opposition can win in some of the constituencies they are contesting. Lower Badibou will be one of those battle grounds. I grew up in this district and knew the two fellows competing for the seat. They are both from my native village of Saba and from the same compound for that matter. Kebba Famara Singhateh ( the UDP candidate) is a PPP old hand and has been running for this seat since the late seventies when he came from Russia with a masters in economics. But Lower Badibou has always been an NCP strong hold and Foday Makalo (another Saba native) won in the district throughout the first republic. Suku Singhateh(the APRC candidate) came to the scene after the coup. He coyly join the nefarious July 22nd movement and engineered his way to the APRC candidacy. He was a small businessman prior to that and continue to dabble in business with not so stellar a reputation. Just last year he was sued by a farmers cooperative for swindling them out of thousands of tonnes of peanuts. That case is still pending. Suku's recent nomination has also been marred in acrimony. Some APRC militants in Kerewan are not happy with him and would like to replace him. However been the snake oil sales man he can be, Suku ecked out another nomination that opponents claimed he bought by giving out large sums of money to some nominating members.

The acrimony could doom Suku's relection. If APRC militants in Kerewan are not placated, they could sway the election to Kebba. However this is a big IF. Majanko Samusa (a Kerewan native and nominated APRC national assembly member) has his political future allied with Suku's chances. Should the later goes down so those he. It is therefore a battle royale for political survival and Suku and Majanko will go to any lenght to pull a win. Kebba will have to garner as many votes as he possibly could from the five largest villages to win. This is not an impossible task, but it is not easy by any means. Lower badibou as it stand is up for grabs.

The point has a run down of the opposition nomination district by district here. In another point story, Halifa Sallah is quoted as saying that this will be his last shot at running for the national assembly win or lose. He is planning on pursuing a PHD afterwards.

Halifa could very well lose his seat. He won this seat with a large number of UDP voters voting for him. However with the eruption and acrimony that followed the dissolution of the original NADD project, the UDP smell blood and refused to engage in any kind of tactical alliance that might be a saving grace for Halifa and Co. Instead they are going for the political jugular. If it looks like vegeance, well it just might be. Halifa is smart enough to see this coming and it looks like he has plans to mitigate against the fall: he is getting a PHD....