Mr. Mboge,
When you wrote that you haven't received a reply from two private messages you sent to me, i accepted your claims in good faith and never doubted your sincerity. However, upon closer scrutiny, there is compelling evidence that you did receive my message yesterday morning telling you that i accept to meet Halifa on Saturday, 30th. of September. In fact, you unknowingly forwarded bits of that mail i sent to you alongside your mail of this morning, "Re: Debate/On Programmed Fanatics". At the tail of that posting, evidence of you reading my message is laid bare. As it turned out, the mail indicated that you read/got my message at 11:21:42 GMT Tuesday, August 15.
Now the question arises, why are you going to such dishonest lengths to portray me as pigeon hearted when i have in reality accepted your arrangements and you were in full knowledge of it when you came online? If anything, you were engaged in a very dishonest and insincere act all in the name of portraying me in the dark. So this is the length programmed fanatics will go to help their Saint and or his Gospel?
Not only are you nakedly and openly PDOIS biased, but you have revealed that if it comes to it, you will cheat to make sure your Saint is always proclaimed a "winner". I have to wonder here what it will be like to face a Halifa Sallah buoyed by his "Talibehs" who will go to such extreme ends as cheating to make sure he is a "winner".
Since you have indicated without any doubt that you are incapable of arranging/planning a debate between Halifa and myself impartially, i hope some other PDOIS member, who one will presume is impartial enough, to take it up where you left it.
I have also noticed that you took laboured attempts to satirise my references to Isaiah Berlin as my hero and in extension assessing me as being in the same league as formers Leftists like Paul Johnson and Peter Hitchens. Mr. Mboge, precisely what is it that you know about me that makes you to arrive such conclusions? What is the basis of such judgement? What, because in the past i flirted fleetingly with Socialism/Marxism and then turned my back on it? Guilty by association of the same intellectual odyssey Johnson and Hitchens went through? I have said i'm not a conservative and not on the Right. I am not a Leftist either. I happen to be a sceptical and independent Liberal in the mould of Berlin with moderate views. I hope since that is clear, we are now able to move on to more important and relevant issues that need our attention.
Sincerely,
Hamjatta Kanteh
From: momodou olly-mboge <
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Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <
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To:
[log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Debate/Programmed Fanatics
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 22:41:00 GMT
Mr Kanteh,
this might be my last posting to you. I've mailed you privately on two
occasions but got no answer. I know you might be busy but would appreciate
it if you let me know whether you are still interested in a public debate
with my beloveth 'Saint Halifa'. You've indicated that you were to peruse
our 'bible Foroyaa' at Birmingham Africa Centre. I'm sure with your
erudition you must be very much prepared to debunk our most revered 'saint
Halifa of Churchill's Town'.
It is your prerogative not to reply to my mails since my understanding of
the English Lanquage is very limited which will obviously irritate your very
honed mind. When i offered to facilitate a debate, i was hoping that, as
concerned Gambians we were in favour of openly espousing our convictions at
any public platform. I hope i will not be reminded that the L is a public
forum. If the L is public enough for you to get through the minds of the
Gambians,good luck. I just thought there would be no delay on your part to
expose those 'spineless' politicians with an 'infantile' tolerance of the
buffoon Yahya in another forum. I was humbly thinking that this will be just
an extension of the 'good job' you've embarked on.
Regardless of the anticlimactic disclaimer from you, i still take my hat off
for you in your determined effort to upbraid our so-called intellects. As
you stated, you have no inhibitions in expressing your views about these
so-called intellects of which you lumped my hero, Halifa, i would have
thought then that a face to face encounter will further help your course.
Your intellectual guru, the Russian-born British philosopher,Isiah Berlin,
who dominated the Oxford establishment during his life time penned a very
interesting work on intellectuals, the group you never want to be associated
with. He observed that there exist two categories of intellectuals:
1) there are intellects who he wrote behave like hedgehogs
and
2) the second group he wrote are like foxes
The first group Berlin observed knew only one thing and all their energies
are channelled towards that one single thing they know,just as the hedgehog
pursues its one interest.
The second group are fox-like in its interest. THe fox has got different
ways of approaching it's prey which in Berlin's observation is a better
ideal.
I am starting to see you as a hedgehog with a determined wrath to expose
Halifa/PDOIS/FOROYAA. HAlifa and his party have impeccably proven their
dedication to the upliftment of the GAmbian nation. I see nothing wrong in
telling people what is right and wrong through persuasion. If this is
criminal, God help me. As one of those who you claimed you lobbed your
posting 'Taking Stock' and who cannot in your own words again'see anything
beyond what Foroyaa and our Saintly Halifa tells us' is disappointed about
your seeming silence on the proposed debate.
My endeavour is to learn from those with a better remedy to our countries
woes. However, i shall opt to join the rank of those who you called
'Programmed Fanatics' and shall remain with our 'beloveth Saint Halifa of
Churchill's Town' until you and your esoteric colleagues(the KBs and Bamba
Laye Jallows who are more concern with the plight of the Gambians) come up
with a coherent formula to get rid of the menace in the Gambbia. I shall be
praying for him(Halifa) to redouble his efforts in penning more 'posh'
letters to the crack-pot dictator. 'I will again concur to Buharry's piece'
and would like you to answer the questions he asked. Tell us the variables
we can use to gauge PDOIS's success in the political arena. What forensic
method did you use to conclude that PDOIS's system of addressing the
problems in the Gambia are 'lamest'? The onus is on you to prove that
PDOIS's course is a lost one and should help us come away from a discredited
political system. PDOIS never claimed anything.
Please educate me in the empirical system you use to come to your
conclusions. Since a critique shall always be forthcoming from you, we also
shall be 'heckling' you to get your attention to lift us from that abysmal
fountain you once guzzled from.
I do want to see you as a clone of Paul 'Loony Bins' Johnson or a Peter
Hichens both of whom suddenly saw the light after being known leftist. Or
maybe Oxford produces leftist who later repent their sins and welcomed at
the alter of 'woolly' Liberals.
I stand to be educated on better ways to help my beloveth Gambia.
God Bless you my friend. With concerted effort we can build a better
future. Gambia deserves better.
Sincere greetings,
MBoge
>From: "Hamjatta Kanteh" <
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>To:
[log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Debate
>Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 11:21:42 GMT
>
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