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red and bluefish...

i totally understand, i am going through a very hard time these past couple of days myself and that is why i didn't e-mail you right away. i have a lot on my plate...

as for expecting people to get involved, i don't expect people to get involved but i do hope they will remain aware. i'm not naive enough to think the west is going to make africa a priority for a long time, still, consciousness must be raised.

actually what i said about africa on the blog wasn't about prioritiizing in the same way you said. most americans don't care about ANYWHERE and you're right, they only care about iran as a (mostly media-concocted) threat, not a people. so forget africa! i was talking about international relations and about those people who are educated and do think about these issues, that these past five hundred years of western hegemony, which has been exploitative and clearly racial. will have to erode over a period of time, as the completion of a long process. africa will be last on the list for these people and governments, overall, brown people before black..

.that is why the small minority of people on the gaza threads who very nicely asked but what about darfur were totally ignored. people were too embarrassed to acknowledge the question because they knew deep inside that it IS a racial thing...all these people crusading about gaza (which is good) who've slept quite easily all these years while darfur has been one of the worst humanitarian crises ever..

as regards obama, he'd made some very bad decisions. defocusing attention from democracy-building in afghanistan into strictly militray operations...and he did not come out strongly or clearly enough against torture, both bush's actions and his own future policies. he also insists on not recognizing hamas categorically instead of using it as a negotiatting chip now that the unity government is trying to be formed.

these are all decisions which could harm a lot of people. on the other hand he's done some good things too.

but on a more cheerful note, wasn't johnny clegg adorable doing the zulu dances?

'

roiban

give it up.  some people are just going to be negative.  no matter what.  obama has been president for 1 month.  ONE MONTH.  that jack ass bush left him with a truck load of problems and now everyone expects obama to pull off 100 miracles.  NO khaleh... for your information, there IS only one president at a time and obama couldn't do diddly.  is that like... so hard to understand?  if obama had pushed on ANYTHING, bush would have shitcanned it "just because".  and i'll also add (quite strongly) that his priorities are NOT going to and SHOULD NOT be everyone else's problems.  no lack of sympathy for the palestineans by any means but we need to concentrate on issues HERE.  rosie, you know i love ya and these ARE important issues but i hope you're not expecting a whole lot of people to get too involved.  we can't help anyone if we can't help ourselves.  africa has been a toilet bowl for a long long time... she can wait a bit longer. 

oh, and i'll also add that i think we should take this money out of israel's "allowance" as well.  let her foot some of the bill. 

i'm sorry.  i'm pissed off... i'm depressed... and i'm scared.  i know i'm being selfish but i really don't give a crap about anyone else right now. 

by the way, exactly what "name" do you think rosie called you anyway?  i don't see anything even remotely suggesting name-calling, except by you.  :-)

Relax Rosie

I was on about Obama- not you.

Franky I dont care who you  are or what religion you are.

I will not also have any further discussion with you due to your tendency to start calling me names.

Adious amigos 

reply to above...

sorry for the roots of the misunderstanding but you know where it stems from and you also know that until this, i have never said anything to you that could be remotely construed as calling you any names. ever. and what i said here was not name-calling either although i understand why you took offense. i am sorry about that. but you are well aware of the things you've said to me, on other issues, that have been far from flattering or diplomatic. as i recall i had a difficult time convincing you that i wasn't a zionist just because i was jewish, and after that issue got happily settled, i got embroiled in an ugly situation which i apologized for publicly profusely. and you were none too kind.

but i do thank you for taking the time to reply to this post as previously written and once again, i apologize. it is very easy on a medium like this to have gross misunderstandings...especially when the history of the relationship between the two people involved has been so tense... 

and if you meant to extend an olive branch to me here by initiating a discussion, then i am even more sorry...

you mean..

Barack 'I am not gonna lift a fingre to help as there can only be one president at one time' Obama?

Sometimes you are guilty by the virtue of inaction- Called 'negligence'. 

Whatever you think of his policies and AIPAC ties....

the war in Gaza did not happen under Obama.  One of the first things Obama did in his presidency was to foot the credit for Fatah to head a massive reconstruction program in Gaza while the Israelis were refusing to let in concrete and glass, saying it could be used to make weapons. 

The good Lord gives,

the lord takes away- Blessed be the name of the Lord. 

Ooops I guess with this lord it is give first (white phosphorus and high tech weaponary) then more giving in the shape pledges of money.. Of course never mind that the good lord has the most stupendous and collasal budget defecit in history...