I remember an uncomfortable night sleeping in the bathtub at the Hotel Norfolk, right next to the University, listening to the gunfire as the army moved in. The next day, the man came around ringing a little bell, telling use that breakfast would be slightly delayed...
The Norfolk was like that.
Wright, Farrakhan, Odinga, Osama... when will it end.
Just in case you missed—GGG
I have been posting this on numerous sites. Seems few have heard of this.
EVERY FREEPER NEEDS TO READ THIS CONSTANTLY UPDATED OBAMA FILE COMPILED BY BECKWITH.
Here is the truth about Mr. Obama's name, and his father's ancestors:
True Negro tribal members of western Kenya where his father was born have Christian names, not Arabic. His father's decision to name him with an Arabic name is a matter of his father establishing his ethnic identity in Africa - it is done deliberately to separate him from the African tribes. He may live among them, but he is not one of them. His father's message is that he is Arabic, not Negro.
Many will find these truths unsettling. I'm often asked, "But I thought his father was Kenyan. How could Mr. Obama not be African-American, how could his ethnic composition be so Arabic?"
The definitive clue to that answer is to look at his name, his father's name, and the names of all his ancestors on his father's side. They are all Arabic.
Researching his roots reveal that on his father's side, he is descended from Arab slave traders. They operated under an extended grant from Queen Victoria, who gave them the right to continue the slave trade in exchange for helping the British defeat the Madhi Army in southern Sudan and the Upper Nile region. Funny how circular is history; now the British again face the Madhi Army, albeit this time Shiite, not Sunni, as in nineteenth century Sudan.
But telling America's black community that while their ancestors were breaking the shackles of slavery, Mr. Obama's ancestors were placing those shackles upon their wrists would hardly play as an Oprah Winfrey best-seller.
Being the son of a poor Kenyan goat-herder plays much better than being the son of a highly placed Arab-African who operated at the top of the Kenyan government following his education at Columbia. You see, even the way he portrays his father is a lie.
Kenya: Stop Sabotaging Power-Sharing Deal
The Nation (Nairobi)
The Nation (Nairobi)
EDITORIAL
2 April 2008
Posted to the web 1 April 2008
We have a deal. Those were the immortal words uttered by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan when he brought out President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to publicly sign a power-sharing agreement in public on the steps of Harambee House.
Not long afterwards, it appeared that the pact designed to halt Kenya’s descent into post-electoral chaos and anarchy had been signed, sealed and delivered when Parliament, without a single vote of dissent, fast-tracked key legislation to pave the way for the establishment of a grand coalition government with the opposition leader as Prime Minister.
But hope is fast turning to disappointment and apprehension as the two sides, PNU and ODM, remain deadlocked over the appointment of the unity Cabinet. At the centre of the impasse is the issue of the slots that ODM will get in the new arrangement.
If what was reported from the closed-door Cabinet meeting chaired by President Kibaki on Monday is anything to go by, then it is patently clear that there are some senior figures in Government who are determined to sabotage the establishment of the grand coalition by adding conditions that are clearly contrary to the letter and spirit of the accord.
The agreement signed by President Kibaki and Mr Odinga was very clear and should really not be open to misinterpretation.
It stated there shall be a Prime Minister - the leader of the largest party or coalition in Parliament - with authority to co-ordinate and supervise the functions and affairs of government.
It further stated that the composition of the coalition government would take into account the principle of portfolio balance.
It recognised that in the situation prevailing, neither side could realistically govern the country without the other, pointing out that there must be real power-sharing in order to move the country forward and begin the healing and reconciliation process.
That there is an impasse one month later might well call into question the sincerity of those who signed the agreement. Any minister who insists that the President cannot share executive authority with the prime minister either has not read the text of the agreement or is deliberately out to sabotage the deal.
We think it is sabotage. The same applies to anyone who insists that it is the President alone who can determine who sits in the coalition Cabinet and what position they occupy, as well as the size and structure of Government.
President Kibaki signed the agreement fully conscious of what it entailed, and he must not allow elements in his administration, fearful of losing their positions, to throw spanners into the works.
On the other hand, Mr Odinga, too signed the agreement with his eyes fully open, and he must also not give free rein to hardliners in his corner. He must firmly put in place those in the ODM given to issuing unnecessary threats of mass action or, worse, inflammatory allusions to resurgence of bloodshed and violence if they do not get their way.
The two leaders signed an agreement designed to create an environment conducive to the new partnership, and to build mutual trust and confidence.
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They recognised that the agreement was not about creating positions to reward individuals, but about enabling political leaders to stand above party and promote the greater interests of the nation.
Those noble principles enshrined in the agreement are certainly not being respected when there is an impasse over the selfish issue of how to share Cabinet positions.
The agreement was signed not by a motley bunch of ministers, advisers, aides or hangers-on, but by President Kibaki and Mr Odinga. It is the two, and nobody else, that Kenyans are looking upon to live up to their respective sides of the bargain and ensure a speedy resolution of the matter.
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