Why Israel Won’t Change

Posted By: HolyRoller @ 08/01/2008 9:35:50 PM

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  Posted By: Mimi13 @ 08/02/2008 1:13:34 AM

  You know, I???ve seen you post this drivel before and ignored it because it does not have much to do with our elections. Your assertions to the contrary there is no evidence that Odinga is related to Obama, and even if he was maybe a fifth cousin, who cares? But frankly, you are so full of bull it must be seeping out your ears. Your knowledge of the recent Kenya election would not fill a thimble.
  
  Kibaki is not America???s man in Kenya. While the United States has an interest in a stable Kenya, it has no particular interest in who is president. When the election fell apart, Bush was one of the first to call for power-sharing between Odinga and Kibaki because none of the international observers at the election headquarters could say with any certainty who had actually won.
  
  Odinga is the current prime minister ??? part of a power-sharing deal brokered by Condi Rice, Gordon Brown and mostly UN General Secretary Kofi Annan. With Annan???s help, President Kibaki and PM Odinga managed to divvy up the positions in parliament even enough to make both their tribes, if not happy, at least content, although it remains to be seen if Kenya can support such a large government.
  
  There were gross irregularities on both sides, brought about by tribal differences because the Kikiyu, Kibaki???s tribe and the largest in Kenya, has held all positions of power since Kenya gained independence. There is a lot of pent up resentment against the tribe. There are a lot of reasons to be suspicious of the election (from BBC News):
  1. The results were delayed for more than a day, at a time when ODM candidate Raila Odinga was leading
  2. Many thousands of people seem to have only voted in the presidential election but not the parliamentary or local polls held at the same time
  3. In the parliamentary race, Mr Odinga's ODM won twice as many seats as Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU)
  4. Results in some constituencies were different when announced nationally from results announced locally.
  5. The head of the election commission has admitted that turnout in one constituency was 115%.
  
  According to the official results, Mr Kibaki won with a tiny margin of 230,000 votes out of a total cast of some 10 million. This means that the alleged malpractices could easily have changed the outcome.
  As part of the agreement, the Kenyan constitution is supposed to be revised by early next year. Kibaki cannot run again because of term limits. It is probable that Odinga will be elected president in the next election, unless there is something in the new constitution that would create a stumbling block. Thus, there is little incentive to mount a coup.
  
  Odinga visited the United States on June 18 and was welcomed at the State Department by Sec. Rice. Far from being anti-American, Odinga expressed his gratitude to the United States for helping Kenya through its crisis. The opening remarks between Sec. Rice and PM Odinga are in the next frame.
  
  

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    Posted By: Mimi13 @ 08/02/2008 1:26:06 AM

    Prime Minister Odinga met witih Sec. Rice at the U.S. State Dept. on JUNE 18, 2008. Prior to their meeting they offered brief remarks to the press, listed below. Funny, but Odinga does not sound like the big scary wide-eyed radical that HolyRoller would like him to be. He sounds pretty much like the typical prime minister, one who will probably be elected president in the nect election. BTW, he is a Social Democrat, not a socialist (that was his father), and he practices the Anglican (Episcopalian) religion (most Kenyans are Christian). Although he promised to end government persecution of Muslims, he certainly never considered installing sharia. Why would he? He's not even Muslim!
    
    SECRETARY RICE: I???d like to welcome the Prime Minister of Kenya, Prime Minister Odinga. It is very good to have you here. I believe that your election as prime minister shows that the Kenyan people have come through difficult times, but it was really the strength of Kenyan democracy, Kenyan civil society, and the will of Kenya???s leaders to resolve the crisis that brings us to this moment. I am looking forward to an update on how you???re doing on the reforms that have been agreed. But Kenya has a good friend in the United States, and the United States believes that it has a good friend in Kenya. So, welcome.
    
    PRIME MINISTER ODINGA: Thank you so much, Condi. I???m very happy to be back here in Washington, this time as Prime Minister. I said yesterday, we are very grateful to the U.S. for the support that we received in our hour of need during the crisis. You personally came to Nairobi and I want to confirm here that your personal role in this process made it possible for us to achieve the understanding. This role played also by the UN, by the European Union, and other friends of Kenya.
    
    As you know, peace has returned back to Kenya. We have come here to say that Kenya is up and moving again; we are ready for business. That???s why we are actively appealing to the friends of Kenya to come back. We are appealing to the business to come and invest in Kenya, tourists to come back to Kenya, because it is now safe again. And we want the world to see that we want to move this forward. This is an experiment (inaudible) the first time in Africa. It???s a pioneering exercise, but we want to show that it can work. And that???s why the team are coming here. It???s a mixed team, both sides of the coalition with me here and the Minister for Defense, and also the Minister for Transport and Assistant Minister for Trade. So I???m very happy to be in D.C. again.
    
    SECRETARY RICE: Well, you and the President did a fine job to get Kenya back on the road again, and welcome, Raila. Good to have you here.
    

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  Posted By: TheVigil @ 08/02/2008 12:29:22 AM

  (sound of crickets)