Deborah K
10-07-2008, 11:19 AM
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/10/obama_nation_author_corsi_held.html
UPDATE: The Associated Press is reporting the following -- NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ Kenyan airport official says American author of book slamming Barack Obama is being deported.
Original posting below
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It's being reported that Jerome Corsi, author of "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," has been detained in Kenya
Kenya, of course, was where Sen. Barack Obama's father hailed from and the senator from Illinois is beloved there.
There are some interesting stories about what exactly Corsi was doing there. According to reports, he was there to launch his anti-Obama book.
But one report also says he planned on visiting Obama's half brother George who lives in poverty in Nairobi to present him a $1,000 check, apparently to embarrass the Democratic presidential nominee.
Here's an excerpt from the Associated Press story:
Jerome Corsi, who wrote "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," was being held at immigration headquarters in Nairobi after police picked him up from his hotel Tuesday, said Carlos Maluta, a senior immigration official in charge of investigations.
"We still haven't decided what to do with him," Maluta told The Associated Press.
A call to a Corsi aide in the U.S. rang unanswered Tuesday.
Maluta said Corsi did not have a temporary work permit needed to conduct business in Kenya. Corsi had been scheduled to launch his book Tuesday in Kenya, where the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate is wildly popular.
And here's a passage from a story in the Times, the British newspaper:
Jerome Corsi, of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth fame, was this morning being held after failing to reckon with Obamamania.
He had been planning to launch his book, entitled The Obama Nation Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, before travelling to one of Nairobi's slums to donate money to the Senator's half-brother George, who was found living in squalid conditions two months ago.
But officers swooped hours after Dr Corsi was described as "author of a smear crusade" by local newspapers.
"He has not been arrested. He is just answering some questions about what he is doing here in Kenya," said an assistant to Dr Corsi. "We have been given water and are very comfortable."
Journalists were turned away from the hotel suite where the launch was due to be held. "He shouldn't have had anything in the paper this morning," said one. "That was his mistake. He should have kept it secret."
Dr Corsi said he had a $1,000 cheque for George Obama, seen as part of a stunt to suggest that the Senator was not taking care of his Kenyan-based relative.
A source at Nyayo House, where Dr Corsi was being held, said the author had been detained for references made to Raila Odinga, the Kenyan prime minister, and allegations that his Muslim supporters had engaged in a wave of violence that rocked the country after December's disputed elections.
It's a sad commentary on the state of freedom in Kenya that a Kenyan journalist would say Corsi shouldn't have had anything about his planned appearance, presumably an ad or story, in the morning paper, that he "should have kept it secret." Hard to do a publicity stunt while keeping it quiet.
Typically in situations like this, U.S. diplomats make some calls to the offending/offended nation and after the other government lets the detained U.S. citizen cool his heels for a while, he is released as a show of "generosity" to the U.S. then escorted to the airport. Corsi's adventure is likely to follow the same script.
UPDATE: The Associated Press is reporting the following -- NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ Kenyan airport official says American author of book slamming Barack Obama is being deported.
Original posting below
-------------------------------------------------------
It's being reported that Jerome Corsi, author of "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," has been detained in Kenya
Kenya, of course, was where Sen. Barack Obama's father hailed from and the senator from Illinois is beloved there.
There are some interesting stories about what exactly Corsi was doing there. According to reports, he was there to launch his anti-Obama book.
But one report also says he planned on visiting Obama's half brother George who lives in poverty in Nairobi to present him a $1,000 check, apparently to embarrass the Democratic presidential nominee.
Here's an excerpt from the Associated Press story:
Jerome Corsi, who wrote "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," was being held at immigration headquarters in Nairobi after police picked him up from his hotel Tuesday, said Carlos Maluta, a senior immigration official in charge of investigations.
"We still haven't decided what to do with him," Maluta told The Associated Press.
A call to a Corsi aide in the U.S. rang unanswered Tuesday.
Maluta said Corsi did not have a temporary work permit needed to conduct business in Kenya. Corsi had been scheduled to launch his book Tuesday in Kenya, where the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate is wildly popular.
And here's a passage from a story in the Times, the British newspaper:
Jerome Corsi, of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth fame, was this morning being held after failing to reckon with Obamamania.
He had been planning to launch his book, entitled The Obama Nation Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, before travelling to one of Nairobi's slums to donate money to the Senator's half-brother George, who was found living in squalid conditions two months ago.
But officers swooped hours after Dr Corsi was described as "author of a smear crusade" by local newspapers.
"He has not been arrested. He is just answering some questions about what he is doing here in Kenya," said an assistant to Dr Corsi. "We have been given water and are very comfortable."
Journalists were turned away from the hotel suite where the launch was due to be held. "He shouldn't have had anything in the paper this morning," said one. "That was his mistake. He should have kept it secret."
Dr Corsi said he had a $1,000 cheque for George Obama, seen as part of a stunt to suggest that the Senator was not taking care of his Kenyan-based relative.
A source at Nyayo House, where Dr Corsi was being held, said the author had been detained for references made to Raila Odinga, the Kenyan prime minister, and allegations that his Muslim supporters had engaged in a wave of violence that rocked the country after December's disputed elections.
It's a sad commentary on the state of freedom in Kenya that a Kenyan journalist would say Corsi shouldn't have had anything about his planned appearance, presumably an ad or story, in the morning paper, that he "should have kept it secret." Hard to do a publicity stunt while keeping it quiet.
Typically in situations like this, U.S. diplomats make some calls to the offending/offended nation and after the other government lets the detained U.S. citizen cool his heels for a while, he is released as a show of "generosity" to the U.S. then escorted to the airport. Corsi's adventure is likely to follow the same script.