Ginny’s Thoughts & Things

Gambia supporters left out in the cold
Feds fear they won’t leave after soccer tourney

TorontoSun.com - Canada - Gambia supporters left out in the cold

afrol News - Gambia President “not welcome in Ghana”

Assalamu alaikum, the above linked article details Ghana’s displeasure at the Gambian government’s refusal to fully cooperate with the investigation of the mysterious deaths of 46 Ghanaeans on 2005. Many people feel as though the government had a hand in the deaths of these people.

Assalamu alaikum, got the below article from the Serotek blog. Glad I’m not the only one excited about this product.

BBC | Access 2.0

Officials: Military knew children were present but considered risk worth it
Attack that killed kids might have missed target - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com

Assalamu alaikum, why am I not surprised that the “official” story has changed regarding this? Whenever there is an incident like this, when innocent civilians are killed, or, whenever a supposed senior member of whatever group you’re choosing to target and label a terrorist today is reportedly killed, should we believe that story?

Because personally, every time some story is reported of some “high value target” being killed, I wonder if it is true, I wonder if it is just some poor innocent person just minding their own business.

Whatworse is that I wonder if the US military even cares how many innocent people they kill as long as they “get the big fish”, as it were. According to this article, it doesn’t seem like they care at all.

And yet, people want to talk about the inhumanity of Islam, when Islamicly, it is not permissible to kill innocent civilians. Hmmm, that is something the terrorists really need to learn. And our military too. I mean, I don’t know much about warfare and “colateral damage” but there has to be something that can be done to lessen the chance that innocent people are going to get killed! Isn’t there?

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my dad, regarding this, and I brought this point up to him, and he was pretty much like, “weel we gotta get teh bad guys and it’s unfortuante but sometimes innocent people have to die”, and then he added, “most likely they are a bunch of terrorists and probably would have killed us anyway”, or something like that. And then he said something to the affect of, “we should just go over there and nuk ‘em all, ’cause they came over here and atacked us”. I remember him also saying that the only reason he thought I was against the Iraq war was because it was Muslims we were fighting. And no, that was not *the only* reason, or maybe even *one* of the reasons I was against the war.

But what I’m wondering is, how many of these people in the military, who are in charge of operations like this, hold the same views as my dad? And I won’t even touch what my dad, and other non-Muslims who know me, actually *really* think about me, and probably say to themselves behind my back, but would never say to me to my face? Just a thought, not that it really matters or that I can do anything about it, but I still wonder from time to time.

CAIR calls on producers to repudiate group’s ‘hate-filled agenda’

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/28/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the producers of a PBS-sponsored documentary on “moderate
Muslims” to repudiate their alleged ties to a racist group that seeks to impose prison terms for “adherence to Islam” and that questions whether women
and African-Americans should be allowed to vote.

David Yerushalmi, the president and founder of the Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE), recently published an online article in which he
claims to be the attorney for Frank Gaffney, Alex Alexiev and Martyn Burke, the producers of the controversial PBS documentary “Islam vs. Islamists: Voices
from the Muslim Center.”

SEE: The Convergence Between the PC Elite and the Jihadists
http://www.saneworks.us/The-Convergence-between-the-PC-Elite-and-the-Jihadists-article-457-11.htm

The taxpayer-supported documentary linked to the founder of SANE has been criticized as agenda-driven and biased. An article in the Arizona Republic newspaper
quoted the executive producer for the PBS series that funded the documentary as saying the film had “serious structural problems (and). . .was irresponsible
because the writing was alarmist, and it wasn’t fair.” (4/10/07)

In February of this year, SANE offered a policy proposal that states in part:

“Whereas, adherence to Islam as a Muslim is prima facie evidence of an act in support of the overthrow of the US. [sic] Government through the abrogation,
destruction, or violation of the US Constitution and the imposition of Shari’a on the American People. . .It shall be a felony punishable by 20 years in
prison to knowingly act in furtherance of, or to support the, adherence to Islam.”

SEE: A SANE Act to Deal with the Islamic Threat to America’s National Existence
http://www.saneworks.us/SANE-Immigration-Proposal-article-379-1.htm

Other articles on the SANE website make racist statements such as:
“There is a reason the founding fathers did not give women or black slaves the right to vote.”

SEE: On Race: A Tentative Discussion, Part II
http://www.saneworks.us/On-Race-A-Tentative-Discussion-Part-II-article-64-25.htm

Another SANE article states: “Is there something unique about the Black American (or, at least the Black New Yorker) that leads him to murder so disproportionately
and to most often kill and victimize his own? Do we see patterns of Black culture that arise out of Africa and the wanton murder of blacks by blacks there?
Why have the colonized blacks of the African continent, after having acquired their freedom and independence, so willingly slaughtered their own and live
in despicable disease and squalor despite a land of enormous riches while Indians of the Indian sub-continent have successfully moved from British rule
to democracy and relative civility even in a country that still maintains social inequalities as a fact of their culture?”

SEE: Murders in New York City and the Race Card
http://www.saneworks.us/Murders-in-New-York-City-and-the-Race-Card-article-53-9.htm

“The producers of ‘Islam vs. Islamists’ should cut all ties to this racist group and repudiate its hate-filled agenda,” said CAIR Communications Director
Ibrahim Hooper. “American taxpayers should not be forced to fund, even unknowingly, those who promote religious and racial intolerance.”

CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 33 offices, chapters and affiliates nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding
of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair.com
; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair.com
; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail:
arubin@cair.com

Assalamu alaikum, note the below quote from an article in the Daily Observer newspaper, from an article entitled Jammeh Cures HIV Patients.

“I Yahya Jammeh, my name is the Holy Quran.  Am not claiming to be a prophet but I can raise my hands that from the origins of man up to date am the first
President who is called Yahya Jammeh.  And in the Holy Quran, it is stated that  ‘Ya yahya’ meaning you Yahya holds on to the Holy Quran and make sure
the truth prevails.  Am not afraid of anything except the Almighty Allah.  From the date when the first results of the PCR were announced, they called
me all sorts of names.  I have been the subject of negative western press.  But the greenest and the best tree in a plantation, that is a tree which is
germinated in a place where there is more fertiliser.  What do I mean by that, all the negative propaganda, all the bad names that they call me is the
fertilizer for the tree call Yahya Jammeh.”

Huh? And there is more where that came from! I’m telling you, I could not make this stuff up even if I wanted to! This absolutely makes no sense to me! What is he talking about? I mean, I could *try* to make snese of it, but, uh, what?

Assalamu alaikum, the title above makes reference to an article which appeared in the Gambia Journal online newspaper, seeming to give the Senegalese side of things regarding allegations made in the Gambian newspaper the Daily Observer.

All I can say is the article in the Gambia Journal seems to suggest Gambian involvement in the conflict in the Casamance region of Senegal and that Senegalese envoys went to the Gambian governemnt to present the evidence they had to this affect, and it was after this that The Gambia, via their news media, started making claims about Senegal wanting to destablize The Gambia, even going so far as to accuse Senegal of human rights abuses in the Casamance comparable to those going on in Darfur in Sudan.

At any rate, I found this article very interesting reading, and if what is being said in this article is true, then the ongoing situation bares watching.

Assalamu alaikum, well, here you go, instead of putting each linked article in a separate posting, you get them in one posting. And here are the headlines of interest to me, at least for now anyway, and my, well “reactions” to them. I’m sure this is going to make me look silly/stupid. Oh, well.

Lo And Behold! Our Tolerance For Each Other’s Faith An article opining that the religious tolerance of Christians, Muslims, et al., in The Gambia may be under threat.

Hundreds of foreigners arrive for Kaninlai Festival So it’s the “Kaninlai Roots festival” now? It used to be known, and thought it was still known, as the “International Roots Homecoming Festival” or something like that. But oh, I guess since this is Yahya Jammeh’s home village, well, gotta name it differently, I guess. Seems as though instead of making this about those in the African diaspora “coming back to their homeland/roots”, as it were, it’s now about Yahya Jammeh. Well, just like a dictator, I guess. BTW, this article also mentions the absence of any Senegalese representation in the make-up of the cultural groups who have come to participate.

Two Weeks of Revelries Kicks off on Friday Actually I think it was this article that mentions Senegal’s absence in the festival, I know it was either this article or the one linked above it. But anyway, this article is another article about the Kaninlai festival, but from a different angle.

Press Rights Group Takes President Jammeh to Regional Court While this seems to be a good thing, I’m wondering what really affect or good this will do, as far as the journalist is concerned? Even if he is ordered released, etc., that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Gambian government will necessarily comply with that order.

Sign of Shortages As Tension with Dakar Escalates Uh-oh, this can’t be good. The Gambia’s accusations against Senegal seems to me to be rather like a small child teasing a dog, or someone teasing a large animal, or basically, trying to get someone who is bigger than you to fight iwth you. And if you do that, if you provoke the bigger person/animal/whoever to fight with you, then you’re going to end up pretty beat up! In the case of The Gambia, I can’t see anything good to come out of The Gambian government/their mouthpiece the Daily Observer’s accusations against Senegal. And it will, as always, hurt the average everyday person the worst.

..::The Gambia Journal Online::..