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lurker

509 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2007 : 12:20:15
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Good Morning all, I had an interesting conversation with an oil driller/engineer yesterday. We have all heard of the so-called oil deposits sitting in the seabed outside the west african coaastline. Indeed, various foolish comments have been made by various foolish leaders about how everyone will get rich on the back of this "substantial" find.
So here is Saturdays Bulletin...
THERE IS OIL OUT THERE. IT IS 2-3000 METRES UNDER THE GROUND-deeper than most other sources in the world. IT IS SO DEEP THAT A SINGLE EXPLORATORY PLATFORM WOULD COST UPWARDS OF £60MILLION TO SET UP LET ALONE RUN. IT IS A DISTANT POSSIBILITY THAT SOMEONE LIKE SHELL MIGHT ONE DAY ATTEMPT TO HAVE A LOOK THERE IS NO-ONE BOTHERING TO EXPLORE AT PRESENT IT IS NOT COST-EFFECTIVE TO GET AT THIS OIL AS YET. THERE IS NO GOLDEN GOOSE LIFE GOES ON AS NORMAL (NON-GOLDEN)EGGS STILL COST D6 AND RISING PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO SUBSIST DUE TO POOR GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES AND FISCAL MISMANAGEMENT AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT. SORRY, FOLKS.
WHY WILL THE BIG BOYS NOT EVEN TRY TO SHOW INTEREST IN THIS POSSIBLE REVENUE? ANSWER.....BECAUSE THEY ARE WATCHING ALL THE IGNORANT AND POMPOUS AND BELLICOSE PUPPETMASTERS BICKER OVER WHO OWNS WHICH BIT OF WATER AND WHO WOULD GET WHAT FROM THE SUPPOSED RICHES.
can you just imagine the scenes in presidential bathrooms all over the coastline? close your eyes and take this image with you this saturday...
el-presidente goes for his morning ablutions and takes his laptop with him to check the real news on bbc.co.uk/news. as he contributes to the failing sewage system of his palatial residence, he sees further mention of the "o" word and his coastline in the same sentence. he closes his eyes, firstly to produce another coiled piece of his personal legacy to the local coastline, and secondly because he can see the Shell man on his mobile calling the Palace. As he struggles with the overdose of Kani in last night's benachin, cooked up by that pretty maid of his, Viviane, he hears the man propose a visit to the Motherland in order to set up intitial protocol for such development. the pain is quite intense now. must make sure that the peppers are a bit older next time. as he listens to the tortured strictures of his colon, he sees a $1000 fountain pen signing a document. The inks dries and a rich vein of super-personal-wealth materialises in the form of greenbacks floating against the backdrop of his closes eyelids. he can see the stretch hummers. he can feel the warm leather seats. he can taste the beluga and (non-alcoholic) Krystal. he can smell the new scent of gold-leaf on his replica statue of David which has been placed in the hallway of his 87 bedroom palace in kanilai. This is the smell of success. the smell begins to change in the noble nostrils and a whiff of reality sets in - it is not gold leaf, or leather or caviar or champagne or viviane's sweet perfume. it is the smell of crap, good and honest crap. the same crap that comes from the upper and lower orifices of presidents. there is no pot of gold or ever likely will be. because many royal thrones that day are being redecorated with last night's benachins as the various puppetmasters all smell the future simultaneously. the eyelids open, the dollars blanche out as the dim half-light of truth bleaches out the dream. ho -hum, thinks the man as he remembers just what a good idea it was to bring in that quilted toilet paper from his latest trip to the neighbours. at least , if i don't get it , none of the other b-stards will either!
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Edited by - lurker on 17 Nov 2007 13:23:23 |
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toubab1020

12306 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2007 : 13:14:43
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Lurker, Great,  I love your piece, common sense,nothing at all that would offend (unless you are a BIG BOSS of course! )I am just about to have a non Golden Boiled egg and soldiers !! (just a small joke,finger slices of bread and butter dipped into a cooked boiled egg yoke and eaten are called soldiers in the UK) Yes I like it,moral try not to be Greedy. P.S. ( I am only having one Boiled egg!!!)
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Edited by - toubab1020 on 17 Nov 2007 13:16:26 |
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Dalton1

3485 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2007 : 14:29:03
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Lurk;
when did u develop interest in oil?
Cut your claws short so they can't dig/drill to the oil. jokes
nice piece. i like it a lot, just like Toubab reiterated. |
"There is no god but Allah (SWT); and Muhammad (SAW)is His last messenger." shahadah. Fear & Worship Allah (SWT) Alone! (:
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lurker

509 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2007 : 14:32:42
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coincidence - met an oilman through work and he knew about the "deposits" on the west coast.picked his brains. sad thing though, is that it does highlight the amount of disinformation that was originally bandied about from the "palace" when the find was first announced a few years back. and it confirms that nothing is being done, as i thought, despite the fervour and optimism instilled into the populace by the propanganda machine trying to instil a feelgood factor and win elections. |
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toubab1020

12306 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2007 : 14:53:16
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Bit like Margaret Thatcher then!
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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sab

United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2007 : 22:49:55
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Good to see your back on excellent form lurker  |
The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
Edited by - sab on 17 Nov 2007 23:15:55 |
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jambo

3300 Posts |
Posted - 19 Nov 2007 : 09:24:10
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lurker, i was in gambia the year the president annouced oil in gambia and what has happened since. nothing |
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lurker

509 Posts |
Posted - 19 Nov 2007 : 10:14:36
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exactly, jambo. nor is it likely as outlined. more false dawns for an increasingly frustrated electorate - with no viable opposition! |
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kayjatta

2978 Posts |
Posted - 19 Nov 2007 : 10:28:56
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The speculation of oil along the Gambia/Senegal coastline dated back to Jawara's time. I think the PPP one time even negotiated with a Canadian company to explore the possibility of drilling. However, when Jammeh came to office he became a bit obsessed with the oil I believe, much like Midas' obsession with gold. The chairman literally got the oil in his head... |
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Moe

USA
2326 Posts |
Posted - 20 Nov 2007 : 20:54:52
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The truth lurker is the oil deposits have always been there and prior exploration proved futile and every site proved out to be dry.The kanilai Jaliba is not the great discoverer as he claims,the fact is the oil deposits are there and far beyond our reach for now since it is not cost worthy. quote: Originally posted by lurker
coincidence - met an oilman through work and he knew about the "deposits" on the west coast.picked his brains. sad thing though, is that it does highlight the amount of disinformation that was originally bandied about from the "palace" when the find was first announced a few years back. and it confirms that nothing is being done, as i thought, despite the fervour and optimism instilled into the populace by the propanganda machine trying to instil a feelgood factor and win elections.
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I am Jebel Musa better yet rock of Gibraltar,either or,still a stronghold and a Pillar commanding direction
The GPU wants Me Hunted Down for what I don't know ..... |
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lurker

509 Posts |
Posted - 20 Nov 2007 : 21:53:52
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yo!, moe.longtime.some poetry for you. "more pie in the sky from kanilai." the locusts will be back for the kanilai crops and then the "healer" will be back at gambian tesco's to see the real price of living!the dalasi will go back whence it came and the people will rise and speak. the waters run muddy for the motherland in the future, but the erstwhile transparency of the waters can only be achieved by an equivalent transparency in the presidential palace - so , no hope there then! |
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Moe

USA
2326 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2007 : 14:57:36
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Professor,lurk I loved every aspect of the poem.I think its obvious that we are living in a hopeless state of affairs.Over the years it was very easy to blame the great jaliba but not anymore.The day gambians start taking responsibility for their hypocritical nonsense is when we start seeing a brighter future.Personally speaking i have flipped the script on my views now. The responsibilty lies on all Gambians not on Jammehs doing. JAMMEH is exactly what they made him to be........peace |
I am Jebel Musa better yet rock of Gibraltar,either or,still a stronghold and a Pillar commanding direction
The GPU wants Me Hunted Down for what I don't know ..... |
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lurker

509 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2007 : 21:36:10
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maybe so, moe. i think that one has to apportion blame in different ways. those that hacve the power of the gun need no reason or logic or rationale.just force, threat and intimidation. Those that have only words have no power against such opposition. The change only comes when the mass of human flesh outweighs the number of bullets in the guns of the oppressors. But who is brave enough to be first in the queue? History is splattered with the blood of the first in the queue. Is it necessary in gambia? I have no idea.Sometimes it appears to be the only way. it seems clear to a lot of the contributors here that the incumbent will do whatever it takes to (s)quash the slightest opposition. A journalist can be shot. A man disappeared. A sub-lieutenant fitted up and removed. How long can this man bully the people into cowed submission? I believe forever! Unless he is "asked" to leave in the same manner in which he asked his predecessor to leave! I love it when you hear this phrase "the peaceful gambians". It reminds me of the "peaceful zmbabweans" and look at them. No-one described the yugoslavians as peaceful and they ousted their nemesis. You sometimes want to take the average gambian and kick them them up their muti and wake them up.What do they need to suffer to make them react, rise up and demand change? apathy, indolence, complacency, lassitude, inertia,etc. oh for a firebrand, a local hero, a burning ember to fan the flames of change. not going to happen. violence begats violence. Dalton , i believe,thinks that his might be the unfortunate, but only way that change nmay occur ( and i am not saying that he advocates such action). I stand to be corrected. he may not want to see it, but recognises that this is an historical pathway against oppression and could happen anywhere in given conditions.. i am remembering some of his past comments and could be mistaken and hope he comments. either way, i see gambia in 10 yrs still blindly spouting out the benefits of the Jammeh regime - a new traffic light, a new generator, and other meaningless tripe - kind of repetitive vinyl record, stuck in a warped, blind groove. We all know that it will stay stuck until nudged. Who will nudge Gambia??????????????????????????? |
Edited by - lurker on 23 Nov 2007 21:50:59 |
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jammin

Jamaica
149 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 01:01:38
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my prayer Jesus, with your hair flowing blond and garment pristine white stretch forth thine hands and grant us the wisdom to be better people grant us the knowledge so we can be as others enlightened leave us not in the dark Lord, assist us to transcend the genetic boundaries so prosperity be ours Amen!!
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Like a colossus He doth bestride the Narrow World |
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Sister Omega

United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 01:37:52
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Jammin are you taking the Piss! Lurker when was the last time you visited Gambia your vision of it seems a bit blurry and needs sharpening up. Gambia has more than one Traffic Light now for starters. Vinyl records are now antiques what about CD's. The oil scenario is an echo from Jawara days. Oil exploration is one of those less feasible schemes. However your suggestion open rebellion is normally advocated by those who sit somewhere else comfortably stirring the soup. Others on the ground have picked it up gullibly someone made the move, and finds themselves locked up in Mile two. When the internet writer has forgotten that thread and probably is asleep comfortably in bed.
The Guys on the ground are arraigned in court awaiting sentence looking at life. It's better to put down blame and pick up responsibility for there is room for us all to participate for sustainability of Our beloved Gambia's prosperity.
Peace
Sister Omega
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Peace Sister Omega |
Edited by - Sister Omega on 25 Nov 2007 01:57:58 |
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lurker

509 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 06:20:01
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sister, you have entirely missed the gist of my meaning. |
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