Our Brother Ridwan Laher could use a Prayer or Two...From all of us...

Fatima and Ahmed's Son Ridwan Laher: Gonna Take Some Time Out
Four days ago I went to see a doctor about what I thought was just an allergy. Less than an hour later I was in an emergency room with very serious faces telling me I had blood clots on my lungs and I was lucky to be alive.

I dodged a medical bullet and now want to take some time to get healthy.

So I am going to stop writing here and want to thank those who read my posts. I am not sure if I will get back on the blog again but I remain very grateful for the friendships that developed here.

OK, no more confessions ;0)

So you can contact me at laher@iname.com and I will respond promptly.

Thanks again for your friendship and for reading me.

Peace and Onward! toward "One World and One People" like my good friend Dade says.

Ridwan

Mumbai Attack

Mumbai attack: Government 'has no evidence of British involvement'
The Government has "no knowledge" of any British suspects being among the terrorists who attacked Mumbai, the Home Secretary has said.

By Jon Swaine, 28 Nov 2008
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1488655367/bctid3460089001 http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1139053637

Jacqui Smith said that despite reports to the contrary, she had received no information suggesting two British men had been part of a group of eight militants captured by Indian commandos.

"We will do anything we can to help Indian authorities through what is obviously a very difficult time," Miss Smith said. "We will do what is necessary. At the moment the priority is to support the immediate needs.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Mumbai, was earlier reported to have said that two British-born Pakistanis were among eight gunmen seized by Indian commandos who stormed buildings to free hostages.

The Foreign Office said it was investigating reports on NDTV, a local television news channel, that the terrorists – who swarmed into luxury hotels and other tourist sites in the city – included "British citizens of Pakistani origin".

Earlier on Friday, Gordon Brown said he "would not want to be drawn into early conclusions" over the claims.

The Prime Minister called for international co-ordination to combat terrorism in the wake of the attacks, which he called "atrocious". He said: "We have got to look at how international action against terrorism can be improved."

"Obviously when you have terrorists operating in one country, they may be getting support from another country or coming from another country, and it is very important that we strengthen the co-operation between India and Britain in dealing with these instances of terrorist attacks," he told Sky News.

The Prime Minister's comments came as Indian commando troops cleared the last terrorists from buildings across Mumbai.

The troops killed at least two militants at the Trident Oberoi hotel, where police found 24 bodies. About 93 guests and staff – including two Britons and another clutching a baby – were rushed out and loaded into waiting cars, buses and ambulances.

JK Dutt, the director general of India's National Security Guard, said the hotel had been brought "under our control".

"We have killed two terrorists today," he said. "There was lots of firing, they also lobbed hand grenades. Some of them are unexploded, we are going to defuse them – you may hear some sound of explosions."

It is thought that more than 100 commandos entered the Taj Mahal hotel – in which a hostage situation was thought to have ended on Thursday – and gunfire and explosions have been heard. Police reported finding at least 30 bodies in one hall of the hotel.

Troops also stormed the Nariman House complex in the south of the city, which houses a Jewish group. A woman and a child were seen leaving the building after the commandos, who arrived in helicopters, abseiled down ropes to secure the building.

Mr Brown, who is to talk to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later on Friday, said he did not believe there were any further Britons among the hostages.

Read more about the terrible situation in Mumbai, please click here.

More on the situation on Mumbai, please follow the links:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122781446844662087.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_mostpop

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2008/11/29/india.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3535230/Mumbai-attacks-Taj-Mahal-siege-ends-as-total-death-toll-rises-to-195-Bombay-India.html

Take AIDS fight into black communities

Believe it or not It's been 17 years since Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV. He has been fighting for more awareness of thw AIDS?HIV Epidemic in black communities. With World AIDS Day coming up Magic Johnson has written a plea for African American Communities to step up and do more in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Read his plea by clicking the link below:

http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/blacknewsblackviews.html

Carmen - Habanera

What Michelle Obama means to us

Check out this great article by Allison Samuels that appears in this weeks NewsWeek Magazine.

Here is an excerpt...The new First Lady will have the chance to knock down ugly stereotypes about black women and educate the world about American black culture more generally. But perhaps more important—even apart from what her husband can do—Michelle has the power to change the way African-Americans see ourselves, our lives and our possibilities. Read the entire article by clicking the link below:

http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/blacknewsblackviews.html

WHITE SUPREMACIST RAGE BOILS OVER AFTER OBAMA VICTORY: Racist site crashes after election.

EURweb.com - WHITE SUPREMACIST RAGE BOILS OVER AFTER OBAMA VICTORY: Racist site crashes after election.
*In the aftermath of the election victory of Barack Obama, white supremacists rushed to online discussion forums to vent anger and disbelief that voters had chosen an African-American candidate as the next president of the United States.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors and exposes extremist activity and rhetoric, said anger among white supremacists and other right-wing extremists in response to Obama's victory resulted in an avalanche of vitriolic postings on racist Web sites.

At one point, the chatter so overloaded the server of the most popular white supremacist Internet forum, Stormfront, that the site was temporarily shut down.

According to ADL, racists are incredulous that Obama was elected primarily by white voters and are seething with anger at the prospect of an America led by an African-American man.

"We always expect a reaction from the bigots when events occur that they believe are contrary to their interests and worldview," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "While it's clear that race didn't matter to the vast majority of the American people in this election, race matters to racists."

Aisha Ali: Dismantling Thanksgiving myths: a Native American story

D.C. Youth Issues Examiner: Dismantling Thanksgiving myths: a Native American story
In my eyes, Thanksgiving has never been about the Pilgrims-- and to many Americans, I question if this is their sole source of celebration, as many people blindly celebrate holidays and have no clue of their history. Although I am sure many people celebrate Thanksgiving as a way to express “thanks,” for me, Thanksgiving serves as another remembrance of how my Native American ancestors were maltreated; annihilated; ousted from their land; and consigned to reservations, eradicating every trace of their pre-existing life.

Thanksgiving rehashes memories of how the hospital staff, in its refusal to treat my great-great grandfather, sent him home to die from pneumonia because he was Native American. Thanksgiving reminds me of how my grandmother had “to pass” as a light-skinned black person to avoid being forced on a reservation. When thinking of Thanksgiving, I recall how my Nation, the Cherokees, was forced from its land in Georgia, leaving a “Trail of Tears.” As I sit around with my family and share thoughts while eating on Thanksgiving, I think of how the very ingredients with which my food was prepared, had been once picked by the hands of my Native American ancestors who served as slaves in North Carolina and the Caribbean. Needless to say, I also think of my African ancestors who toiled away in the fields to pick the very foods with which my food was prepared. America, to me, is not the “Land of Pilgrim’s pride," but should be and is to me, the "Land of Native American pride".

The national holiday, “Thanksgiving,” was not initially created in the way most Americans have come to know it.