Comments on naijablog: El Sadaawi on Obama

I think she makes an excellent point about jews an...

2009-06-10T22:27:41.372+01:00

I think she makes an excellent point about jews and israel. how unlucky did the palestinians get?

I've always found it curious that the rest of the world didnt do a lot more to make it safe for jews in their homes across the world and instead pushed for an ultimate homeland in palestine. jews in ww2 where not infact killed in palestine instead their prosecution was in europe (not just Hitler's but in Russia too where they had suffered severely long before him).

Lets imagine Fulanis in senegal suffering prosecution and all descending in northern Nigeria backed by the Chinese govt. They push the Yorubas, Igbos and all other tribes and when these tribes fight back, they are 'given' Lagos and Ogun and told that those states are now part of Benin republic (like the Israelis did with Jordan) which is their new home. After years of fighting and blowing things up, they manage to get back Port harcourt and Enugu but the leader of that movement is declared a terrorist for blowing things up and calling the Fulani(whom the entire world sympathysises with because of their previous prosecution) regime evil.

the palestinians and Arabs where not responsible for the holocoust, so why in God's name are they still being punished for the sins of others?

X

IMO, She had some valid points and some invalid po...

2009-06-10T22:27:39.728+01:00

IMO, She had some valid points and some invalid points.
Most of her points about the US's unfair bias for Israel in the ME conflict are valid.
People need to realize that Obama has to convince the American public as well whenever he attempts to enact policy changes in that part of the world. Trust me, there is a SIGNIFICANT portion of America who are naturally biased against Muslims in general and believe that Israel can do no wrong, and just can't see the Palestinians as the aggrieved party in the ME conflict. Its just plain as that. (Anyone watched Fox News lately).
Any unbiased rational mind would know that forcing Israel unto the Middle East and displacing thousands of Palestinians was wrong (just like European colonization of North America was wrong). But similarly, barring a radical shift in the power hierarchy in the world and a bloody war, the facts on the ground are not going to change. Israel is not going anywhere (and Native Americans and Australian Aborigines aren't going to regain control of their continents anytime soon).
The only way forward is to attempt to resolve the issue in the most equitable way possible. As a Nigerian, I believe that economic prosperity has a way of resolving many of these issues and reversing the sentiment of injustice most Palestinians feel towards Israel. If the standard of living in Gaza, the West Bank and Southern Lebanon can be raised to something comparable to the standard of living of Jews living inside Israel.

The Whole Problem with Anti-Obama is that some Pap...

2009-06-09T19:20:24.833+01:00

The Whole Problem with Anti-Obama is that some Papers are written for Republican readers and the Newspapers are noting more than propaganda and the sad thing is this is not only in America it's All over the World thats Politics.

I was on the Obama band-wagon, had been from the e...

2009-06-09T07:23:57.646+01:00

I was on the Obama band-wagon, had been from the early days and even got a few folks who didn't believe initially to believe and give him their votes.

I wanted him to win because he was the most-likely-to-win-radical choice. (radical in the sense that the only thing differentiating him from the other obvious choices were his ethnic background and his name).

Although I am pleased he is president ... I do not, and probably never, believed that he is a good-goody 2 shoes.

Come on the guy is a Politician from Chicago (Politician + Chicago = very capable of getting dirty and most likely has gotten hands dirty many many times).

That said, I still support him as my president ... but I hold no illusions about who he is and what he stands for.

This article sums up nicely how I feel about him and the whole superstructure of society now. As any thinking person knows ... its all about economics 101. Nothing really has changed.

In my humble opinion, anyone who thinks that that this article does not make sense ... does not know the half of it.

We still have a lot of work to do.

Obama is not what he seemed to be. Point taken. So...

2009-06-08T23:19:30.166+01:00

Obama is not what he seemed to be. Point taken. So?

You only cry foul that the US is not the Lamb of God that it makes itself out to be because you were naive enough to buy into the fiction in the first place.

I keep saying it. Barack Obama is a bado! You don't run an election campaign as good as he did if you are a goody-goody.

So to all those who are just now beginning to see that he is a wildbeast albeit a sexy and savvy one, I say, "Na today?"

What's the source of this article?

2009-06-08T20:40:56.804+01:00

What's the source of this article?

seven 'vertically-challenged men', ... ehn...

2009-06-08T17:24:22.996+01:00

seven 'vertically-challenged men', ... ehn? ... alright dwarves
----

*LOL&

My comment might probably be biased since her book...

2009-06-08T17:19:24.991+01:00

My comment might probably be biased since her book 'Women at Point Zero' is in my top three of all time.

Well, like the minority of commentators on this strand I'm of the opinion that El Sadaawi has done a good job of noting the obvious contradictions within Obama's speech, especially locating it within the capitalist partriarchal framework.

I love what Obama's done, but it time to walk the talk. Action is required. Beautiful speeches work in opposition. In power action is what counts, if not you get seven point agendas that are as good as the seven 'vertically-challenged men', ... ehn? ... alright dwarves

I admire Mme El Sadaawi’s piece, I just wish she’d...

2009-06-08T14:15:50.807+01:00

I admire Mme El Sadaawi’s piece, I just wish she’d put a little more work into fact checking and done less hair-splitting, it weakened the message.
It would have been difficult to invite the 80 million populace to Cairo University, so someone had to be ‘chosen’ I guess the writer wasn’t on the list?

The point abut veiling was largely intended for the American public, most of whom can’t fathom why Muslim women would voluntarily choose the modesty of cover; moreover, it’s a pointed reminder to Americans of the religious tolerance they so pride themselves on.
My turn to not understand why Mme. El Sadaawi chooses to attack Obama’s physiology – should we now all be wary of mulattoes; their indefinable skins and gestures may be smart new manifestations of Evil? Is charisma in leadership always to be regarded with suspicion?
Mubarak couldn’t be called intelligent because he chose not to be there, he sent his son instead. The writer doesn’t mention the fact that coverage of Obama’s visit gave prominence to democratic activism in Egypt about which many in the outside world is unaware. I am assuming of course, that Mme El Saadawi is on that side of the fence.

I totally agree that Obama uses his middle name only when it suits him to do so, as I also agree that ‘politics is a game to be played by all parties. Which is why consensus can only be reached in the Middle East when the sides stop playing victim and work with the facts on the ground. Israel will not be pushed into the sea and the Palestinians are staying put. If Obama’s smooth words and ‘double personality’ can play the game to win peace in the region, then all power to him.

She is biased and what she is saying reeks of divi...

2009-06-08T12:25:13.291+01:00

She is biased and what she is saying reeks of divisiveness...

Critical, sharp, insightful and even humane. I enj...

2009-06-08T12:14:29.795+01:00

Critical, sharp, insightful and even humane. I enjoyed reading it.

I dont necessarily agree with all she says, but she raises critical point.
it doesnt necessaryily offer solutions, (and it need not) It asks questions. Questions are useful to thinking people.

Its examines rhetoric. and is uncomplicated. I like it for its eloquence and the effort at reasonableness. We all need voices like this for balance, for check.

J

no one has abandoned critical analysis a la obama....

2009-06-08T10:45:45.040+01:00

no one has abandoned critical analysis a la obama.

what most has done imo is critically analyze mrs El herself.

Mrs. El hasnt offered any specific thing Obama should have done differently in egypt, or what he's got wrong.

where is ?

Why oh why do people abandon all critical analysis...

2009-06-08T10:41:08.309+01:00

Why oh why do people abandon all critical analysis when it comes to Obama?

Thankfully, El Sadaawi is not one of them. She made many very valid points. It is clear that few (if any) of the above agree with her but could you please grant her the respect of having her own views. That they don't correlate with yours doesn't not make them wrong.

interesting blog check out mine as welll http://b...

2009-06-08T07:49:50.834+01:00

interesting blog

check out mine as welll
http://blackspacemilan.blogspot.com/

I always wonder at pieces like this, pretty much s...

2009-06-08T07:00:02.382+01:00

I always wonder at pieces like this, pretty much saying Obama is like snake oil trader, peddling wares that in reality have no substance. I'm not sure what they would have him do. Not make the trip at all? Make the speeches from his home shores? Call everyone out on their misdeeds?

I would like to see any of these writers pen the speech they would have liked to hear, without it causing rancor to any party involved.

She raises some valid points (re: Israel), but while in her piece El Sadaawi points out the crowd in the hall was chosen, she fails to mention what reactions she heard or got from ordinary people. Is she too being judicious about what she chooses to express? I would called that 'speaking with a forked tongue', to keep with the reptilian analogies.

I would rather have Obama as president than El-Sad...

2009-06-08T04:47:04.820+01:00

I would rather have Obama as president than El-Sadaawi. She has a simplistic one-sided view of things,though she does express it eloquently. Her view is "my way or the highway."

But life's not like that.

lol, a number of her facts were just wrong, such a...

2009-06-08T03:36:07.378+01:00

lol, a number of her facts were just wrong, such as obama's position on the torture debate in the US, or that mubarak was even at the speech, or that the US elected GW twice (the first doesnt count) or that obama or the US is unaware that saudi arabia is not a democracy. the US never praises them for their democratic ideals

but i dont get her other point that the goal is to mobilize the mideast against extremists. that obama's purpose is to get the mideast to move against extremists. but is she angry that obama is actually capable of doing it. why has no arab leader been able to persuade the US to move against israel. maybe she should ask the intelligent mubarek y he doesnt allow the palestinians into egypt. y mock obama as the "demi god" yet imply he has duties other than those he took an oath for

With plans such as the closing down of guatanamo b...

2009-06-08T02:20:10.228+01:00

With plans such as the closing down of guatanamo bay (and the reasons given), speeches like this one and how celebrities parade events organized by him, I sometimes get the feeling that these things are geared towards creating a saint-like image of him. It's as if Obama, is creating of himself, a legend (which he already is), but the kind of legend people will keep talking about because of the great, humanitarian work he has done.

It is, though, arguable if this is a natural move for someone who's a politician, or if it is dubious, pretentious.

And the end to Obama-mania begins...so sad...

2009-06-08T01:11:27.032+01:00

And the end to Obama-mania begins...so sad...

I dont get the point she is trying to make. seems ...

2009-06-08T01:07:27.859+01:00

I dont get the point she is trying to make. seems like a circle-traveller to me.

Obama is not god if there was one; And he has a job to do.

The kid can only do the very best that is he capable of, the best way, that is humanly possible for him.

Its not exactly his fault, nor should it be his problem that there are lunatics out there, prepared to bomb all of em @ d uni to shreds because allah ordered em so.

In the end, he is US president, and he should be happy the guy gives them options. Its not up to him to make them hijab wearing lots, see the light or bomb their oppressors.

He got one right tho, the guy is a tin god of some sort, as elevated by all the hyper media around him.

This woman, I 'd be bored to have tea with. call me dumb, I ll drink that.

n00b.