Black People's topics - tribe.net

The Power of Forgiveness

Obafemi — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:43:49 GMT

Have you ever made a mistake? What was it like when you expected someone to punish you but they taught you a valuable lesson instead? In this video, Obafemi teaches how forgiveness can build trust, strengthen relationships and inspire greatness in ourselves and our loved ones. Visit www.ObafemiO.com to register for the upcoming Acts of Forgiveness Community Ritual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsUvYCyDgSk

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Should African American call themselves African American?

Nuru — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:14:27 GMT

Check this vid out and tell me your thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8brM_UsKgk'm

I'm bit offened. Because I feel like he is totally ignorant of what's going on with AA here in USA. IT'S THE SAME THING THATS GOING ON IN SOUTH AFRICA. Dummy!

We insist on seeing each other in a different light, when the truth is they perfected oppression on the AA and then they took it to Africa. It take a human 15-25 thousand years to evolve. We have only been gone a few hundred and all of a sudden we are no longer related. Please.

posted in Black People - 22 replies

We Must Excel, Not Just Exist

AfroerotiK — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:47:35 GMT

We Must Excel, Not Just Exist

We, as descendents of slaves, as people of color, MUST strive for excellence in all that we do. We must live according to principles of excellence in our daily lives, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Living in alignment with excellence means making a conscious choice to do what’s right over what’s easy, what’s comfortable, or what’s familiar. In lieu of spending hours gossiping on the phone or endless hours on the computer in the pursuit of meaningless sex, we must examine our selves, our lives, and look to grow, mature, and evolve.

I challenge you to stop thinking of yourself as better just because you go to church every Sunday, dressed in your overpriced fineries to show off to the congregation, when you step over the homeless on Monday without so much as an ounce of compassion or love in your heart for those who need a helping hand. We must stop trying to get over on the system, trying to figure out the easy way to get something for nothing, and rather make the choice to have integrity, to do what’s right for the community, not just yourself. It’s time now to consider the ramifications and consequences of our actions and stop living for the moment or the almighty dollar. If we consider the feelings of others, if everyone considers the feelings of others, we can transform ourselves from a selfish, insensitive, immature community to a compassionate, giving, enlightened family. Find a reason to see the good in someone, to reach out to another because you connect on a deeper level, not just because you think they have something to offer you, or because you want to feel insecure and petty jealousy.

Speak truth to power. Hold your tongue when you feel the urge, the driving and compulsive need to lie, and utter only those words that are true. Embrace honesty with your entire being and reprogram your brain from your conditioning that tells you to create stories and deceptions that make you feel better about yourself and learn to be honest and truthful with yourself so that you might be able to be honest and truthful with others.

We must accept our greatness, our royalty, our divinity with humility, grace, and modesty. Would a Queen exchange her body for a car payment or money to get a new pair of shoes? Would a King create a prince or princess only to leave them unprotected and un-nurtured? Would a true manifestation of the Divine be more concerned with a car, clothes, or plasma TV than in helping those less fortunate?

Ask yourself, are you living a life of excellence or do you merely exist? Are you striving to become a better person every day? Are you actually trying to become a better person: not richer, not more attractive, not get more stuff, not sleep with more women, not use more men, not cheat the system, not beat the man. Are you striving to dispel the myths and combat the stereotypes? Are you daily striving to learn more, to push yourself further, to excel in all you do?

Pick up a book, go back to college, take a night class, use the internet to learn out our history instead of just wasting your life away.

Copyright 2008 AfroerotiK All Rights Reserved

posted in Black People - 1 reply

Museum of Black Superheroes

ONYX — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 19:17:15 GMT

Museum of Black Superheroes

http://www.blacksuperhero.com/exhibits2.cfm

index

http://www.blacksuperhero.com/index.html

posted in Black People - 5 replies

African Union and Dual citizenship for African Americans

Fred — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 02:56:47 GMT

May I reprint this brother's post on African Americans and African Dual citizenship for "blacks"

[NOTE: Before going any further into this interesting message, I must admit that I'm open to comments about the validity of all this ... at the end, they ask for a very small donation, but they don't say where it's going to...That said, please continue.]

When you've finished reading this, there are two things you should do. First, tell every black man, woman and child you know and love about this. Mainstream American media have so far ignored this news. Second, sign the petition (link for petition here: http://thiscause.org/p/menu.php?p=Brooks27753DB&r=0V31537SXS

It only takes ten seconds, is secure and private, and it is just that important! And now... Not sure if you knew this, but the African Union--the African version of the European Union--has made a monumental decision and has decided to offer full dual citizenship to Black Americans in participating African countries of the African Union. Their aim, say union leaders, is to "tap into the technological expertise and education of Black Americans" to help solve the most daunting challenges facing Black Africa today. On the flip side, Black Americans will gain a long overdue true, legal connection to the African continent and their ancestral roots.

Besides reconnecting to long severed genealogy, African Americans will gain a number of fringe benefits by seeking dual citizenship. Among other things, this will include the right to buy and sell land, the right to own and operate businesses, and the opportunity to take part
in the political and legal processes of their second nation.

As exciting as this may be, members of the AU who are drafting this proposal have been defining and redefining the language of the proposal for over four long years. In 2008, at the annual Leon H. Sullivan, Union leaders plan to unveil their first tentative plan that will
define their vision of the dual citizenship proposal.

There is an online petition at: http://thiscause.org/p/menu.php?p=Brooks27753DB&r=0V31537SXS that will
be printed and mailed in bulk by the thousands to the African Union before the summit in 2008. Show your support of the dual citizenship proposal to give African Americans dual citizenship in African Countries. Convince the African Union leaders that Black America wants
dual citizenship in Africa and that it is time for the proposal to be turned into law. And let the resurrection of the great continent of
Africa Begin.

This is 400 years in the making, people. Black Americans have been suffering the psychological brain damage of severed ancestral ties to
their true African roots for far too long. At the same time, much of Africa has been suffering from the deadly virus of colonization,
poverty, and disease for longer than necessary. It is time we showed support for our once ancestral continent.

For further info, explore the links and Sign the petition at: http://thiscause.org/p/menu.php?p=Brooks27753DB&r=0V31537SXS -- copy
and paste the link into your web browsers address bar.

Links to proposal:

1. http://www.blackbritain.co.uk/news/details.aspx?i=2224&c=africa
2. http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations/citizen/2003/0211aucit.htm
3. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060720/D8J003Q01.html
4. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/07/african-states-consider...

Other related links:

1. African union Website: http://www.africa-union.org/
2. Leon H. Sullivan Summit
http://www.thesullivanfoundation.org/summit/index.asp
3. Tracing your roots with DNA test:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-02-01-dna-tests_x.htm

posted in Black People - 18 replies

Redefining Black Relationships

AfroerotiK — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:24:07 GMT

A good partner is one who puts the needs of their union above their own. One can't be a good husband or wife if choices and decisions are based on their own desires, wants, and preferences first and their partner is left to deal with the consequences come what may. The key to a good relationship is having two individuals with the same commitment to selflessness. A relationship can't work if one person is committed to the union and the other person is looking out for self. Once you are pair bonded, whether it be in marriage or not, you must stop living for yourself and live for the entity that has been created anew with your partner.

One should expect honesty from their partner, respect, concern, and a willingness to communicate. I don't think gender has anything to do with that. I think one is entitled to a partner who will not jeopardize one's safety or well-being for pleasure, greed, or narcissism. As far as traditional roles, I think they are dysfunctional and based on a sexist model that is only slightly better than the post-modern roles that reek of dysfunction and reign supreme today. A man is not entitled to sex or dinner on the table at a certain hour nor should he be allowed sexual transgressions in the name of "manhood." A woman is not entitled to money in exchange for her body nor to behave like some sassy stereotypical caricature where she can condemn, criticize, and nag simply because she has ovaries. Women should not be expected to be the primary care givers of children and men should not be expected to be the primary bread winners. Ideally, one's talents, abilities, and weaknesses should be weighed against the talents, abilities and weaknesses of one's partner and a mutual decision should be made as to how the roles and responsibilities should be divided. If my partner is the same gender as myself, then the same rules should apply. I personally think we've not seen a healthy model of Black relationships since before we were captured and enslaved. Adhering to "traditional" masculine and feminine roles is to assert that there is an inherent inequality to the sexes. The truly healthy model for relationships should be based on an equality of the sexes with a healthy reverence for the differences each gender brings to the table.

posted in Black People - 2 replies

they're telling lies again

om — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:04:34 GMT

Some fool posted this in political junkies tribe, saying that Africa needs white christian missionaries to maintain peace there and other equally fallicious nonsense.... his post is below, followed by my reply to his post. Please take a minute to read...

nishu

===========================================================================================================
B, this is cross posted because I believe it is relevent to two tribes I am on. If you disagree, you may delete it.

Now here is an atheist I could like. He doesn't feel the need to lie about the value of Christianity to the world. He affirms it. He has no axe to grind against biblical theists, he simply doesn't possess the faith to believe. I suppose there are a bunch of these folks out there, but they are not the vocal ones.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...0568.ece

Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindsetMatthew Parris
Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

Background
British missionaries plead guilty to sedition in Gambia
Soulgasms of the Christian Right
Have Pentecostalism, will travel
PROFILE: warlord who kills in name of Christ
But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.

At 24, travelling by land across the continent reinforced this impression. From Algiers to Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, then right through the Congo to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, four student friends and I drove our old Land Rover to Nairobi.

We slept under the stars, so it was important as we reached the more populated and lawless parts of the sub-Sahara that every day we find somewhere safe by nightfall. Often near a mission.

Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers - in some ways less so - but more open.

This time in Malawi it was the same. I met no missionaries. You do not encounter missionaries in the lobbies of expensive hotels discussing development strategy documents, as you do with the big NGOs. But instead I noticed that a handful of the most impressive African members of the Pump Aid team (largely from Zimbabwe) were, privately, strong Christians. “Privately” because the charity is entirely secular and I never heard any of its team so much as mention religion while working in the villages. But I picked up the Christian references in our conversations. One, I saw, was studying a devotional textbook in the car. One, on Sunday, went off to church at dawn for a two-hour service.

It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were. What they were was, in turn, influenced by a conception of man's place in the Universe that Christianity had taught.

There's long been a fashion among Western academic sociologists for placing tribal value systems within a ring fence, beyond critiques founded in our own culture: “theirs” and therefore best for “them”; authentic and of intrinsically equal worth to ours.

I don't follow this. I observe that tribal belief is no more peaceable than ours; and that it suppresses individuality. People think collectively; first in terms of the community, extended family and tribe. This rural-traditional mindset feeds into the “big man” and gangster politics of the African city: the exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader, and the (literal) inability to understand the whole idea of loyal opposition.

Anxiety - fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things - strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won't take the initiative, won't take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders.

How can I, as someone with a foot in both camps, explain? When the philosophical tourist moves from one world view to another he finds - at the very moment of passing into the new - that he loses the language to describe the landscape to the old. But let me try an example: the answer given by Sir Edmund Hillary to the question: Why climb the mountain? “Because it's there,” he said.

To the rural African mind, this is an explanation of why one would not climb the mountain. It's... well, there. Just there. Why interfere? Nothing to be done about it, or with it. Hillary's further explanation - that nobody else had climbed it - would stand as a second reason for passivity.

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

===================================================================================================

Africa doesn't need God; The Black man and woman ARE God.

Bom Bholenath! Om Namah Kali

nishu

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Christ-E-INsanity

om — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:25:13 GMT

CHRISTIANITY is the SOLE CAUSE of the destruction of Black / Brown People (the natives of India/Asia, Africa, the Americas)

peace (i fuckin wish)

representin the indigenous Gujarati population and truth-seers worldwide...

nishu

posted in Black People - 3 replies

How Much Truth Is Too Much?

LaDonna — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 06:45:10 GMT

Don't read this if you love Ghandi. I almost wish I hadn't, but I am on a mission these days to learn as much as I can.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=89293119&blogID=140163894&MyToken=a4ae1d67-caff-4521-9fc6-33da718ca6f7

posted in Black People - 30 replies

Common misconception about India

om — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:33:44 GMT

<< "This was the same thing done in India by Aryans" >>>

You don't even know what you're TALKING about.

I am a native Sanskrit, Hindi, and Gujarati speaker from INDIA.

the word "Arya" or "aryan" is a SANSKRIT word which roughly translates to "one who is on the spiritual path"

One of the ancient names of India is "Aryavart" (land of the Aryans = spiritually enlightened people)

India is home to ALL Indians. NONE of us are "outsiders" or "foreign."

The british created lies to divide and conquer India, especially the common myth that the "natives" are from the south
and the "non-natives" are from the north so that we fight and kill each other and are easily controllable from an outside force
(British Imperialism), and on top of that, it also gave the evil bastards a "reason" to set up shop in India, since they say the entire
Indian culture is stolen from blonde-haired blue eyed anglos from Europe who supposedly "migrated to India" many centuries ago.

I thought this was the black people tribe. Please don't spread lies about me or my people.

nishu

posted in Black People - 2 replies

Relatives of 9-11 victims condemn Guantánamo show trial Today???!!!

om — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:28:44 GMT

dude seriously FUCK the 9-11 victims' families.

i don't feel bad for anyone; they just wanna use their sob stories as an excuse to have more innocent brown/ black people locked up and tortured on a solitary island deathcamp.

n

posted in Black People - 0 replies

November 4th and 5th.....Yes we can!

Jimi — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:10:12 GMT

I was outside my local polling district from 11.00am till closing on Election Day; no I’m not a poll worker, nor was I carrying a sign. I was with some other volunteers and we were passing out a public survey to get responses from W Concord residents about coming changes that may impact our lives. I am a member of the West Concord Task Force appointed by our select board. Our charge is to investigate several plans and recent development issues facing W Concord. Change is going to happen to our village and we want to do it and accept it in the best way possible. We passed out 1700 surveys.

For 9 hrs I passed out survey’s and because they were not campaign material the police allowed us to stand right outside the exits. It was very powerful to see people come to vote , many brought their kides of all ages to go in with them, many elderly showed up in buses, everyone had hope in there eyes and a smile on there face no matter who they were voting for! People were open and treated each other with kindness and patience. ALL day long they kept coming. By 7.30pm it tapered off and empty before 8.00pm.,only one or two stragglers and it was over. Our poll volunteers did a great job!

When I got home, I watched the returns come in with my family. At 11.00pm when the California polls closed they immediately declared the state to Obama, giving him more than enough electoral votes to win, and I cried, and YES WE DID!

John McCain’s concession speech was powerful and honest, again showing his love for his country. It was probably his best speech of his campaign! That speech he reminded me of the John McCain I used to know. He said exactly what needed to be said at that time Then later Obama come on and gave his speech, it was nothing short of brilliant amazing! For me I have not felt that way since JFK.

I am of mixed African and Native American blood. I am a person of color my great great great grandmother was a slave. I have not felt proud to be an American since I was a little boy listening to Kennedy in front of the black and white TV. Over the years I became a student of American History. The more I learned of this history the more ashamed I’ve become of being an American. We don’t need to go very far in this country to find people or populations living in conditions that if found in other countries we would deem horrible. I’ve been to Pine Ridge, Four Corners, and Post Katrina New Orleans, just to mention a few.

My first hope came last February. I was in New Orleans as part of a grass roots project to put together and set up 100 donated computers, for local relief organizations. All the computers were used systems donated by businesses that were in the process of upgrading. Dell donated 100 keyboards, mice and monitors. One night in my motel room I got an email about the Black Eyed Peas “Yes we can” video. I stayed up most of the night involved on the discussion group that was connected to the video.
At that time I wrote about how for me the real miracle was that a black man and a woman were being looked at seriously for president, WOW!!!! I never thought I would live to see that, and from that point on, at least for a little while after, I didn’t care which of them won.

Last night I saw a young black man being interviewed, claiming the door was open, an example was set. Seeing young black folk cheering for America is not a common sight and now I feel less shame and more proud to be an American, for the first time since I was a kid! Now I can say for the first time in life to young people of color, “work hard and you could be President of the country if you want to be!”
I also have been serving as co chair on the Board of an organization called Community Change Inc. in Boston. This organization’s mission is:

Community Change, Inc. (CCI) is a non-profit organization with an outreach of great magnitude. It is a center for action and collaboration among individuals and multiracial grassroots groups in the fight to achieve racial justice and equity.

The organization was founded in 1968 by Horace Seldon shortly after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was formed in response to Horace’s belief that in order to create social justice, the white community must engage in self-examination and support self-determination by communities of color.
http://www.communitychangeinc.org/index.html
On election day there were no storms anywhere over the US!
Obama Took Indiana……. Yes We Can! Bloomington Indiana home of the KKK!
He took Virginia and North Carolina former Major Slave States.
And when he stands on the Whitehouse stairs he will be standing on stairs slaves built!

YES WE CAN INDEED!

So Yes we can! We have taken the first step and there is hope but we must not be fooled.
It is only the first step and just because we elected a black man to be president does not mean we have solved our racial problems! President Obama did say it may take more than one term, we need to be patient and still move forward.
At the same time now is a window of hope. Maybe if we keep talking with those around us the WINDOW will allow more to have hope and that energy will continue to spread.

So no matter who you voted for you can’t deny…. the feeling of hope that is now in so many people.
That feeling is real. Let’s take to the next level.

And to all those helping make it so…..THANK YOU

Jimi Two Feathers

posted in Black People - 2 replies

Barack Obama wins the election.

Radhiya_Taj — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:10:14 GMT

I'm watching CNN, MSNBC, and other local networks. I have always thought that some of the polls might not be correct. The election was calculated so very close, but Obama won by a large margin of votes. He ran a brilliant campaign and I look forward to the change that America needs.

The people have spoken.

posted in Black People - 2 replies

African-American Folklore Project, Assistance Needed

Maglaurus — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:43:18 GMT

To Whom it May Concern,

My name is Stephen Wall and I am a Ph.D. candidate at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Department of Folklore. As part of a seminar project, I am studying stories, rumors, arguments, and legends associated with the U.S. government’s perpetration of harmful conspiracies against the greater African-American community. I am interested to know if members of this forum site are familiar with such conspiracies and how they came to know about them. It would benefit my work greatly if any members of this forum could volunteer answers to the following questions:

Have you ever heard stories, rumors, arguments, or legends of the CIA, FBI, or other U.S. government agencies intentionally harming African-Americans in any way? Examples might include—but are certainly not limited to—plotting/committing assassinations, intentional neglect of vulnerable individuals or groups, or distributing illegal drugs or fatal diseases* in urban communities. If so, please describe these stories, rumors, arguments, or legends in as much detail as possible, including the setting in which they were told (i.e. between classes in high school, in the middle of a phone conversation, at the dinner-table with family, etc.).

Who discussed these stories, rumors, arguments, or legends with you? Were the stories, etc. treated seriously by the teller(s) or were they mentioned jokingly?

Upon hearing such stories, rumors, arguments, or legends, what emotional reaction did they elicit in you personally or in others hearing them at the same time as you?

Do such stories, rumors, arguments, or legends impact your opinion of U.S. agencies or elements of the U.S. bureaucracy? If so, how? If not, why not?

If you would like to attach age or gender information to your answers, please feel free. I would be happy to receive answers to these questions in the form of responses to my post, or as private messages within the forum’s system. Feel free to contact me through the private message system if you have any questions, concerns, or thoughts regarding my project; and please rest assured that I will withhold all personal information (i.e. usernames) from the final project write-up and subsequent discussion of what volunteers elect to share with me.

*Please note that I do not consider the indisputable facts of the 1932-1972 “Tuskegee Syphilis Study” part of such stories, rumors, arguments, or legends. Rather, I think of this tragic and unethical miscarriage of public health administration as part of a foundation for debate of further intentional harm perpetrated against African-Americans by the U.S. government.

Thank you for your time,

Stephen E. Wall
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Folklore
Memorial University, Newfoundland

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Are you registered to vote? Does your state have early voting like NC does? Read more here...

Ron — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:17:36 GMT

at my blog, 2sides2ron:

http://ronhudson.blogspot.com/2008/09/voter-registration-verification-and.html

As a fair-play disclosure, this tool works for people voting for any candidate, but please note that I do support Barack Obama. Either way, I hope you will check your voter registration and that you will investigate early voting options in your state.

Safe Journeys!

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 0 replies

So.African Plastic Shaman, Simon, (of Tribenet; Iboga) Publicly Denounces Gabons' Premier Nganga, Mallendi .

Caridad Del Cobre — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:05:54 GMT

SPIRITUAL COLONIALISM; New Age, Same Old Story.

So.African Simon, (of Tribenet; Iboga) Publicly Denounces Gabons' Premier Nganga, Mallendi .

So.African Simon, Apprentice of Sorcery, Subjects Nganga Mallendi of Gabon to the Erronous Criteria of A NewAge Plastic Techno Shaman.

Simon, A So.African, Nganga wanna-be, has to gaul to Subject Multi- Generational Nganga Mallendi to NewAge Concepts & Criteria of Neo-Shamanism.

Is this Spiritual Genocide? Get Ready.

Simon's Super Plastic Shaman Criteria is an Assault on the Prior Art of Nganga Mallendi. Simon & the likes are going for the throats of Traditional Practitioners to eliminate the competition. Simon & other Spiritual Neo-Colonists are patently damning African Indigenous Knowledge into Oblivion.

T.R.I.P.s ; Will Nganga Mallendi's great great grandchildren be presecuted by the WTO for patent infrigement for using Iboga? or perhaps be forced to use Sythetic derivitives at a high cost?

Contrary to SyntheticSimon's BS.....Iboga is safer than ibogaine and being treated in Gabon by an Nganga would be first on my list just because of the history of Pentagon funded 'Skunk Projects' aimed at data collection, & duping unwitting guinea pigs into submitting to experimentation & unnessessary screening. Can you say Medical Apartheid?

Go for treatment from SyntheticSimon, & he won't even give you a little soup after, what a Schlump!

Simon could learn alot from Mallendi. Nganga Mallendi fed us after Iboga.

iboga.tribe.net/thread/d62...307723b628c

posted in Black People - 2 replies

New Website for Black Vegetarian Singles - Free to Join!

Mya — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:44:01 GMT

NAPTURALLUV: NEW WEBSITE FOR BLACK VEGETARIANS LOOKING FOR LOVE

NEW BLACK VEGETARIAN DATING WEBSITE - FREE TO JOIN!

Are you a vegetarian, single, and looking for love?

Check out napturalluv.ning.com, the newest website exclusively for black vegetarian singles! It's basically like a MySpace and an e-harmony put together, but it is for black non-meat eaters looking for love and it does shove religion down your throat. The site was launched less than a month ago and there is a hundred members so far from all over the U.S.

Napturalluv was started by, Mya B., 20-year vegetarian and sexy star of reality show, 'Can't Get a Date', that aired on VH1. "Nap-tural love is built on the fact that many vegetarians and holistic health folks want to date people who eat and think like them. We all want to eventually find our 'soul mate' right?", says Mya B. Mya B, independent filmmaker, also known for her award winning film, "Silence: In Search of Black Female Sexuality in America," is hoping to connect people looking for love in the right places...

Check out Nap-tural Love:
http://napturalluv.ning.com

posted in Black People - 1 reply

competition for Carols Daughter! - New product line that is really all natural

Mya — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:36:55 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

United States of America (Press Release) July 12, 2008 -- Products of the Earth
Phone: 347-529-1399
Email: info@productsoftheearth.com
Website: www.productsoftheearth.com

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has a full line of natural products for the face, body, and hair for both men, women, and children to indulge in. High quality natural shea butter is used as a main ingredient in several of the products along with jojoba oil, palm oil, organic coconut oil, etc. Some of the essential oils used to help nurture your skin are: lavender, tea tree oil, rosemary, eucalyptus, tangerine, ylang ylang, along with several others.

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Products of the Earth takes pride in producing high quality products for their consumers. His body line has tantalizing salt and sugar scrubs, body washes, hand-whipped shea butters, and oil-based body sprays from exotic scents such as, Frank and Kush, Egyptian Amber, Mango Butter, Rocking Rio, Cranberry Rose, Green Tea, etc. Hand-whipped scented Shea Butters to soften and Citrus/Oats Earth Facial Scrub to softly exfoliate with walnut shell powder as it's base are just two of the fast selling products. "His products are the best products I have ever tried!", says one of Oprah Winfrey's sidekicks, Iyanla Vanzant, internationally recognized inspirational speaker and best-selling author.

Founded by a brotha named, Baheru from Chicago, whose products "began with the vision of providing an alternative to the chemicals in other products that we saturate our bodies with everyday." Baheru believes in using high quality, raw, organic herbs, carrier oils and essential oils to the actual production of his finished products.

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###

posted in Black People - 0 replies

CNN focuses on the Black plight in America, July 23 and 24

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:22:37 GMT

** pardon me please, this is excerpted from an email that was forwarded to me by my dad - also a black people though not a part of this 'tribe' - and i felt the need to pass it along. so read on.. (and remember, i m not the "i" of the post, so i can t speak on the experiences spoken of therein) peace, f. **
_____________ ______________ _______________
"
Did you know that companies in the US have said they would hire a white
> man with a felony record and no high school education BEFORE they would
> hire a black man with NO criminal record and a 4-year degree?
>
> On July 23 and July 24 at 9pm, CNN will premier a series, 'Black in
> America with Soledad O'Brien' and I personally challenge you to watch it
> WITH your children, especially your sons, if you have any, uninterrupted.
> The aforementioned statistic and many others will be revealed during the
> series.
>
> I had the privilege of meeting with Soledad O'Brien and actually SEEING
> this premier on Monday, and what I saw brought tears to my eyes and
> anguish, frustration, and a sense of helplessness to my soul.
>
> On Monday the series will focus on Women and Families and Tuesday is
> dedicated entirely to the plight of the Black Man in America.
>
> PLEASE watch and listen; no matter HOW disturbing the information
> revealed...you can (and will) thank me later.
> Feel free to pass this email on or go here for more information:
>
> http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/black.in.america/
>

posted in Black People - 0 replies

The Final Edition of the ICP

Ron — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:54:44 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities:

It is with both joy and sadness that I am writing to announce the final edition of the ICP. After you receive this notice, I will delete the mailing list for the ICP from my files and you will no longer receive announcements about the project. I was placed on a new drug regimen about 2 months ago and have experienced a serious side effect to the new meds. I am no longer able to continue to maintain the project as a result.

Please know that it has been a joy to bring you the ICP for the past 2 years and that I wish I could continue the project into the future. However, my focus has to be on my own healing now. For those of you who have contributed or hosted the ICP, my heartfelt gratitude can hardly be expressed. For those who blog about HIV/AIDS and who fight to end the stigma of this disease, I urge you to continue your work. We are all in the fight of our lives.

Many, many thanks to Sokari at Blacklooks for hosting the final edition of the ICP at the following link:

http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/06/international_carnival_of_positives_-_final_edition.html

Please visit, read and leave your feedback for the host and the contributors in this, the last edition of the ICP.

I wish you all peace and health.

Much love.

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 1 reply

Cute Obama Ad

LaDonna — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:49:15 GMT

Had to share. MoveOn is currently running a contest to pick a new TV ad.

http://obamain30seconds.org/vote/?v=view-808-iWbeHi

posted in Black People - 2 replies

I Am Obama: The American Imagination and the New Black Hero

DevastatorJr — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:51:30 GMT

I just read this article on Popmatters, what do you think?

I Am Obama: The American Imagination and the New Black Hero
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/55188/i-am-obama/

[25 February 2008]

If Americans are willing to believe that the former Fresh Prince of West Philly can save the world all by himself, then there is a possibility that a black man may be the next president of the United States.

by Derik Smith

America is ready for a new black hero. But, it didn’t need Barack Obama’s strong showing in the Democratic primaries to confirm this. Three weeks before the Illinois senator claimed the January 3rd caucus in corn-fed, white bread Iowa, the science-fiction blockbuster I Am Legend swept through theaters like a prophetic, cinematic wind whispering: “Obama cometh.” The film grossed over $70 million in its opening weekend as audiences and critics celebrated Will Smith in the potently symbolic role of “the last man on Earth”—the isolated human survivor of a viral epidemic that has decimated the species.

In the predictable arc of the film’s plot, Smith’s character manages to rescue humanity from probable extinction. His blockbuster portrayal of the solitary savior of the human race is a watershed in American film history. Never before has a black actor been granted a major Hollywood role with such symbolic power. As much as Obama’s viability as a presidential candidate, America’s eager consumption of a narrative in which the fate of humanity is left in the hands of a black man surely signals an important development in American race-thinking.

Anyone who has found him or herself in CNN’s “Situation Room” knows that these are heady times of “hope and change”. The millions of movie-goers who paid money to watch Smith single-handedly lead humanity toward a new beginning seem to confirm the rhetoric of the chattering classes. If Americans are willing to believe that the former Fresh Prince of West Philly can save the world all by himself, then there is a possibility that a black man may be the next president of the United States. This possibility quickens the heart of many Americans—white men included—because it suggests that the nation is coming into the social maturity defined in the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and imagined in so many poetic American dreams.

However, some close analysis of the Obama candidacy and Smith in his I Am Legend role also reveals that the viability of the new black hero is dependent upon his ability to carefully regulate his blackness. To satisfy the needs of the national imagination, he must cultivate the patina of blackness while radiating a transcendent racial identity that is not immediately linked to black community, which remains profoundly stigmatized. Because he maintains a prescribed distance from black community, the ascendancy of the new black hero is no way equal to a national desire to redress some of America’s most pressing race problems. Ultimately, America’s recent fascination with a darker national savior has to be considered in the context of a rich tradition in its narrative in which self-sacrificing men of color offer both salvation and absolution to white protagonists.

Smith’s public character has been delicately molded so that he can play the new black hero. Smith exudes the cool that is so marketable in black men, while meticulously suppressing any trace of the racial angst popularly associated with blackness. In part, he has been able to maintain his non-threatening persona by working in films that often attempt to mute issues of race. For example, in The Pursuit of Happyness, his 2006 film that looks back nostalgically upon the 1980s (what could be better than Reaganomics and Rubik’s Cube mastery?), Smith plays a capitalist striver who must sever his ties with black community --represented by his ungrateful wife, and a triflin’ friend—in order to achieve success in the white world of finance.

Despite its seemingly important themes of integration and black social mobility, the film diligently avoids any attempt to treat race as Smith’s character struggles through the Horatio Alger narrative. This suppression of racial subtext is not uncommon in movies that call upon the star power of bankable black actors. To produce films palatable for large white audiences, Hollywood often strips black stars of their racial identity by divorcing them from a recognizably black social sphere and other cultural markers. Put simply, black superstars are usually surrounded by all-white supporting casts. (Think of Smith in the Men in Black movies, Eddie Murphy in the Beverly Hills Cops franchise, Jamie Foxx in his post-Oscar films—excepting Dreamgirls—and Wesley Snipes in almost any movie before or after he stopped paying taxes.)

For his part, Obama has also carefully calibrated his blackness in order to become the new black hero of America’s political realm. Because of his mixed African and European ancestry, Obama’s effort to regulate public perceptions of his race is a complicated matter that has received ample attention in mainstream media. Commentators have noted his expert ability to leverage a genetic heritage that is clearly marked by both whiteness and blackness, and the reassurance that his European lineage offers to some fans of the new black hero.

We know that Obama has struggled mightily to ensure that he does not become simply a “black presidential candidate”—Jesse Jackson. Although his effort to avoid this stigma was often noted in the context of his prickly encounters with the Clintons amidst the South Carolina primary, it is important to remember that Obama’s decision to announce his presidential candidacy in the mostly white town of Springfield, Illinois was pivotal in his quest to become the new black hero with wide appeal.

Obama was scolded by significant black critics like Cornell West and Tavis Smiley because he chose to formalize his bid for the presidency in Springfield, rather than in Smiley’s 2007 State of the Black Union conference, held the same weekend of Obama’s announcement. (The senator also spurned the 2008 gathering.) While it is customary for presidential hopefuls to launch campaigns from strongholds that are symbolically linked to their base constituencies, Obama did not have that option. Although his most consistent support has come from African-Americans, had the senator launched his campaign from within a recognizably black social context, he immediately would have undermined his quest to become the new black hero, settling for the far less glamorous role of the “black leader”.

To successfully navigate the treacherous seas of American demography, every presidential candidate must possess the monomania of Ahab and the wile Jack Sparrow. But, the new black hero must also captain a ship of tragic irony. Even as the nation congratulates itself for its historic contemplation of a black president, it mandates that the new black hero avoid strong advocacy for the black community. This is why the symptoms of the nation’s most urgent “race issues”—harrowing rates of African-American drug addiction, fratricide, incarceration and economic dereliction—cannot be central talking points in Obama’s campaign. The moment he begins to regularly address the unique litany of maladies facing African-Americans (what poet Robert Hayden collated as the “riot squad of statistics”), he runs the risk of being seen as overly-attentive to his ethnic compatriots. However much he may want to, the new black hero cannot ignore the nation’s deep skepticism of those who are too closely associated with black community.
During the greater part of I Am Legend, Smith is utterly alone on the screen. The film’s post-apocalyptic narrative is set in a world without human society, rendering his character a black hero without a supporting cast, without a community. Thus, Smith’s blackness carries so little social consequence in the narrative that audiences can enjoy the heroics of this character without giving much thought to race, or black community. However, because of the function he performs in the American imagination, it is important that the blackness of the new black hero is never fully erased. His special role requires him to display a modulated affinity for the culture of his people. For the most part, this affinity can be adequately demonstrated by the occasional lapse into language and intonation that is coded black.

In I Am Legend, Smith’s striking ability to mimic an asinine dialect of “black language” is demonstrated when his character voices some of the lines spoken by Eddie Murphy’s Donkey character in the movie Shrek. Because the Donkey of the children’s cartoon is a harmless buffoon—a contemporary incarnation of the emasculated coon of old Hollywood—this strange scene helps assure audiences that Smith is “authentically”, but non-threateningly, black.

As Cynthia Fuchs points out in her review of I Am Legend, music is also used to mark the race of Smith’s character. The lonely hero finds solace and sanity in the reggae of Bob Marley, particularly in the comforting tune “Three Little Birds”, which turns on the refrain, “Every little thing is gonna be alright”. When Smith’s character is finally joined by another human being, he explains his attraction to Marley by mentioning that the singer believed that music could unite races.

This focus on unity to the exclusion of principles of justice and rigorous egalitarianism is required of the new black hero. Had Smith’s character been stirred by the more fiery side of Marley, expressed in revolutionary anthems like “War”, “Africa Unite”, or “Burning and Looting”, he would be marked by an unacceptable blackness, dangerous in the American imagination.

Of course, hip-hop culture produces the music most associated with the threatening type of blackness that should not be detected in the new black hero. So, perhaps it is ironic that Smith was once known as a rapper—although almost always comedic and never menacing—and that Barack Obama has expressed a liking for rap. When the senator was asked about his musical preferences at an Iowa rally, he mentioned Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind and Fire as “old school” favorites, and in support of his claim that he was “sort of hip to the younger stuff” he evoked Beyoncé and everyone’s favorite white hip-hopper, Eminem. Obama’s choices in music are suited perfectly for the aspiring new black hero. They demonstrate appropriately black cultural affinities and they link him to several generations of Americans.

Obama’s apparent attraction to Eminem is particularly strategic because it associates him with the ubiquitous hip-hop culture of youthful voters while sufficiently distancing him from the necessarily threatening black men who spit fire in almost every rap song that Eminem has not made. Had he not been the aspiring new black hero (in Iowa), Obama might have shown sincere appreciation for a brother from his own neighborhood: Chicago’s perpetually relevant but somewhat Afrocentric Common. In 2004, before The Obama Girl knew about politics, Common was probably the first person to set the senator’s irresistible surname to popular music, dropping the perfect couplet: “Why is Bush acting like he trying to get Osama? / Why don’t we impeach him and elect Obama?”

Despite the need to vigilantly regulate the public perception of his blackness, the new black hero cannot let white America forget that he is actually black. Smith and Obama seem to understand that the blackness of the new black hero gives him appeal. He offers something to the American imagination that the white hero cannot. He offers the opportunity for absolution. America’s enduring inability to fully incorporate and enfranchise its darker citizens has produced a national guilt that can only be assuaged the properly forgiving black man. Our first black hero, Martin Luther King Jr., offered this forgiveness; the nation now looks to the new black hero to provide contemporary relief to one of its basic psychic afflictions.

In narratives that have long-fascinated the American imagination, heroes of color sacrifice themselves so that white characters may live more freely, implicitly absolved of the original American sin of racial oppression. Countless Hollywood films and foundational works of American literature like The Last of the Mohicans, Moby Dick, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin play out this fantasy of the American imagination again and again.

Literary critic Leslie Fiedler remarks on this egoistic dream in his landmark work Love and Death in the American Novel: “[W]e find it easy to believe that our dark-skinned beloved will rescue us from the confusion and limitations of a society which excludes him. Certainly, our classic writers assure us that when we have been cut off or have cut ourselves off from the instinctive sources of life, he will receive us without rancor or the insult of forgiveness. He will fold us in his arms…he will comfort us.” Oddly, this old American fairy-tale is the compliment of King’s more celebrated vision of a nation united in the belief that “all men are created equal”. The new black hero fulfils both these dreams at once. He implicitly forgives America by offering to save it, and America lives up to its ideals by allowing him to be its savior.

As I am Legend draws to its close, Smith’s character dutifully sacrifices himself to ensure that humanity, reemerging in America, will flourish once more. After he is gone, the audience is reassured by scenes of a nascent multi-racial community coming to life in a pastoral Vermont village, replete with white steeple church and star-spangled banner. The tableau powerfully speaks to the longings of America’s desperately hopeful moment. Hollywood’s new black hero gives his life so that the nation may begin again as a “shining city on the hill” in the sinless Eden of New New England. It is a fantasy of America reborn: not without its darker races, but without the seemingly intractable divisions that Americans face in the real America, where Barack Obama now offers his own version of renewal.
Derik Smith lives with his wife and three children in Dubai where he teaches in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University. Contact him at emailderik@yahoo.com.

posted in Black People - 3 replies

Nation of islam vs conventional Islam

Jamie — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:19:54 GMT

is there a difference?
can white people be considered members of Nation of Islam

posted in Black People - 13 replies

Cultural Colonialism & Plastic Shamans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T5jHEmGJa8

Caridad Del Cobre — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:34:22 GMT

On Enthogens, Maria Sabia, &Plastic Shamans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T5jHEmGJa8

posted in Black People - 4 replies

(Queer) Thugs and HIV/AIDS

Fred — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:58:57 GMT

I've LONG questioned the hyper-masculinity of Thug Culture. It looks fake ... like they're covering up something. Recently my niece sent me an article about the alarming rate of new HIV/AIDS cases in black women in the Washington DC area. It makes me worry.... both about black women AND about all those so-called "playas" that must also be infected. Questions:

1.) Are our most "Alfa" males running around infected?
2.) And these Thugs ... "niggas" afraid to go at legitimate jobs. Evil always looks for weakness ... so they rarely point their guns at the mainstream communities ... just "in da hood." So ... what's the HiV/AIDS connection?
3.) Is much of all this Thug violence just about shame ... vain attempts to hide the fact that they've betrayed themselves ... that they've developed a "taste" for man-flesh that they're trying to over compensate and hide??

Well ... the truth finally coming to light. If you have guys who insist on going in and out of juvenile Hall ... and graduate to prison ... who are "in it for life" ... and all this is occuring during their peak child bearing years ... when their hormones are ... um ... sending them the message to have sex more often that at any point in life ... and they're in jail ... well ... it stands to reason that when you add drugs and alcohol ... SOMETHING is going to happen! (Drug use is also HUGE inside prison.)

It's also coming to light that the gangs are no longer beating new members in with their fists. Now they are fucking them in ... the same way they used to do the girls. Yep ... they are fucking the BOYS into the gang. Okay Macho Mens!

So ... to all you beautiful young sistas who just insist that you have to have a "ruff neck" in Timberlands ... please think about your own self-esteem ... and your self-worth.

I'm an old brother now and I see plenty of lovely older sisters who are bitter and traumatized due to the fools they hooked up with earlier in life. Sexual addiction is huge. Porn is the largest money maker on the internet. But Transpersonal Psychology says that addiction of any kind is, "a spiritual emergency." That means not only drugs ... booze ... but also sex (anything that changes mind/mood states) and food. (Sugar is ultra HUGE ... a national addiction that the corporations are pushing HARD at all of us ... just look at us!! Consider the spike in sugar diabetes...)

In short, this is a dilemma of our own making. Whenever we take an easier, softer way out ... same sex instead of working with the fears of creating healthy heterosexual relationships ... then our demons destroy us.

Whenever we select "consumer" relationships (relationships built on money ... or "what's in it for me?") instead of deciding on WORKING with a person of similar values and building a life with them ... then our demons destroy us.

All these beautiful black men and women dying early ... why????

Am I just old? I know there's a lot of young fools out there... that it too often takes a longer time for males to mature into men (on average) that it takes for women .... but now the "Satans" in our world have gotten to the women too ... now even mothers are deserting and abusing their kids .... "Girls Gone Wild" ... So HoW we going to make it with Thug values???

How many still think that money makes you happy and that it doesn't make any difference how you get that money?

posted in Black People - 16 replies

ICP 2.9 now available at Creampuff Revolution

Ron — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:35:54 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

It is a tremendous pleasure to announce the publication of edition 2.9 of the ICP at the following link:

http://rosemaryrowe.typepad.com/creampuff_revolution/2008/03/creampuff-welco.html

Creampuff, a.k.a., Roro, who hails from Vancouver, is our first repeat host from Canada. I encourage you to bookmark this edition and visit it over time so that you can enjoy each of the contributions from the world of HIV/AIDS. I hope that you will also join me in thanking Roro for her work this month. We “met” about 2 years ago during the NHL Hockey Championship between Edmonton and the Carolina Hurricanes and have been fast friends since despite some rather competitive invocation of mojo to make our teams win the Stanley Cup. Roro’s sense of compassion combined with her sense of humor makes me quite happy to count her among my friends.

This 21st consecutive edition of the ICP features personal accounts, video, a special musical contribution from UK band Slovo, self-help information and the latest in news from the HIV/AIDS community. I hope that you will spend some time reading and that you will leave comments for the contributors. It is through your comments that we can hone our messages and learn how you feel about our work. Please feel free to leave your thoughts with each of the contributors and for our gracious host.

Next Edition

Please visit the ICP homepage to learn more about this project and how you can contribute here:

http://www.internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com .

We are now accepting submissions for edition 2.10 to be hosted here, at Mshairi:

http://www.mshairi.com/blog

This will be Mshairi’s first stint as host of the ICP although she has been a frequent contributor in the past. Mshairi’s edition will mark the first time that the ICP will have been hosted by an African host. If you like poetry, you should scroll through her blog. A selection of her poetry also appears at one of my favorite sites, The Other Voices Poetry International Project, an anthology of poetry from around the world that has been recognized by UNESCO, here:

http://www.othervoicespoetry.org

Mshairi's work appears under the title “Footprints” here:

http://othervoicespoetry.org/vol27/mshairi/index.html .

Contribute Your Work

Please join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please email me at ron.hudson@verizon.net with the subject listed as “Volunteering to Host the ICP” and I will make the process for you as fun and rewarding as possible. We urgently need new volunteer hosts for the ICP editions after April, 2008. I will work with you to make the process as painless as it can be whether you are a first-time or returning host.

Please Share with Your Friends

Please share this notice with your friends and consider posting announcements of our link on your blogs and websites. Our continuing presence is bolstered by your participation and outreach. Please help spread the word.

To be Removed From or Added To the ICP mailing list:

Please email me at ron.hudson@verizon.net to be added to or removed from the ICP mailing list. Please include the word subscribe or unsubscribe in your subject line to indicate your intent. I will use your source email address as indicated in your note. If you did not receive notice of the ICP from me via direct email, then I do not have your email address in the mailing list. Please note that I can not remove an email address that does not exist on the mailing list. Your privacy is absolutely critical and no email addresses will be shared, sold or given to any other source. I use blind-copy distribution technology to prevent your identity from being revealed.

Peace to you and yours.

Safe Journeys!

Ron Hudson

2sides2ron http://www.ronhudson.blogspot.com
Poundcake Love http://www.poundcakelove.blogspot.com
The International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP)
http://www.internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Runoko Rashidi Speaks In Banneker City DC

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:53:09 GMT

The Global Traveling Lion Warrior
Runoko Rashidi
Speaks In Banneker City DC

Topic: New Dimensions of the Global African Presence
(An Entirely New Slide Presentation Based On First
Hand Accounts)

Date: Wednesday Feb. 20th, 2008

Time: 7 PM until

Location: MaMa Sita's 6906 4th St. NW DC

Cost: $15.00 in advance
$20.00 at the door

For Info: 202-545-8888 MaMa Sita's

This is going to be a great Black Ourstory program.
Please share this with others and get your tickets
early. Runoko will be on WPFW 89.3 Pacifica Radio on
Dr. Sunyatta's show Thurs. Feb. 14th Runoko is a
proud member of the UNIA-ACL Div. 332 of Banneker
City.

Please share this with others and don't wait get
your tickets early

BaBa Senghor Jawara Baye for MaMa Sita's

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Afro-Punk: - The Documentary

ONYX — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:13:14 GMT

Afro-Punk: - The Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uXCvbIcg58&feature=related

AfroPunk.com

http://www.AfroPunk.com/

posted in Black People - 1 reply

ICP 2.8 now available

Ron — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:22:16 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

It is a tremendous pleasure to announce the publication of edition 2.8 of the ICP at

http://notperfectatall.blogspot.com/2008/02/icp-28.html

Dragonette is our first European host, working from The Netherlands I encourage you to bookmark this edition and visit it over time so that you can enjoy each of the contributions from the world of HIV/AIDS. I hope that you will also join me in thanking Dragonette for her work this month.

This 20th consecutive edition of the ICP features personal accounts, video, music, self-help information and the latest in news from the HIV/AIDS community. Among these posts, you will find news about HIV/AIDS from around the world, posts from long-term survivors, an Annie Lennox HIV-prevention video, news and personal accounts from Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. I hope that you will spend some time reading and that you will leave comments for the contributors.

Next Edition

Please visit the ICP homepage to learn more about this project and how you can contribute at the following link:

http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com

We are now accepting submissions for edition 2.9 to be hosted at Creampuff Revolution, located here:

http://rosemaryrowe.typepad.com/creampuff_revolution/

This will be Roro’s second stint as host of the ICP. Her writing style is beautiful, funny, clever and guaranteed to make your ICP experience a good one. Please consider contributing your original artwork, poetry, news, personal accounts, short stories, videos or music files for the next edition.

Contribute Your Work

Please join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please send an email to ron.hudson@verizon.net and I will make the process for you as painless as possible. We urgently need new volunteer hosts for the ICP editions after March, 2008. If any of you have previously hosted or if you are first-time host, I will work with you to make the process as fun as it can be. It would be especially cool to have a volunteer host for the April edition.

Please Share with Your Friends

Please share this notice with your friends and consider posting announcements of our link on your blogs and websites. Our continuing presence is bolstered by your participation and outreach. Please help spread the word.

To be Removed From or Added To the ICP mailing list:

Please send an email to ron.hudson@verizon.net with the word REMOVE or SUBSCRIBE in your subject line to have your name removed from or added to, respectively, the ICP mailing list. If you did not receive notice of the ICP from me via direct email, then I do not have your email address in the mailing list. Please note that I can not remove an email address that does not exist on the mailing list. Your privacy is absolutely critical and no email addresses will be shared, sold or given to any other source. I use blind-copy distribution technology to prevent your identity from being revealed.

Peace to you and yours.

Ron Hudson

http://www.ronhudson.blogspot.com 2sides2ron
http://www.poundcakelove.blogspot.com Poundcake Love
http://www.internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com
The International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP)

posted in Black People - 0 replies

The Comma After Embrace

DeeJay — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:58:38 GMT

Embrace...,
The gravitational pull between celestial bodies creates a road upon which, scientists say, our little earthly energies can travel. The pull is powerful, and it is invisible.

The pull of energy between people and the many ways we engage our life forces is powerful too. Sometimes the pull toward one thing or another is unexpected and so heavy that we follow it before we've had time to consider its meaning. But more often than not, we feel the pull and resist it, at least long enough to analyze and decide. The decision is cerebral, taking everything we know into account. The pull itself is visceral and does not care what we know.

It's like the moment after an embrace when something makes you want to share a kiss. Two people holding each other a bit longer than friendly affection calls for and both feel some power sitting between them. Analytical creatures that we are we tend to write in a comma after the embrace, giving ourselves time to be rational and reasonable. Slowing up the energy and cooling it off. Giving our counterpart time to back away. The couple might take two steps back and shut down the energy, only to find out 10 years later that the moment had been powerful for the other person too.

I feel that we are moving into a time in the world where trusting the energy we feel, those inexplicable and unexpected forces that come upon us, that moment where the spark in us is enlivened so greatly as to create a road to somewhere new, is going to be critical not only to our success in a given moment but to our survival as creative beings. At some point we have to combine our knowledge with our instinct, and know when to let our instincts lead.

Some days the healthiest thing we can do is just let go and follow the vibration that energizes our souls. Today is one of those days for me and I wish many more of those days for you.

So don't fight the feeling my dears...it might just lead you to a moment of unspeakable bliss.

Dee Jay
PLEASE SUBMIT GLIMPSES OF YOUR LIFE'S JOURNEY IN THE FORM OF SHORT ESSAYS TO MY BLOG:
http://soulfamilystories.blogspot.com/
I AM LOOKING FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCE THAT IS RELEVENT TO THE PLIGHT OF BLACK PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. I WANT STORIES THAT MIGHT LEAD THE READER TO HEALING OR A GREATER UNDERSTANDING.
TOPICS LIKE: SELF-CARE, HEALTH, FUN, MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, PRESERVING AND PROTECTING FAMILY, MEDIA, PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN...OR OTHER TOPICS YOU FEEL MOVED TO SHARE YOUR PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT.
GUIDELINES:
250 WORDS (ABOUT A PAGE) MAX
SUBMIT TO tinkerblinker@yahoo.com

posted in Black People - 0 replies

AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL - MFA BOSTON FEB 1ST - 29TH

ONYX — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:11:08 GMT

http://www.mfa.org/calendar/sub.asp?key=12&subkey=54

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Edition 2.7 of the International Carnival of Pozitivities Available

Ron — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:46:24 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

It is a tremendous pleasure to announce the publication of edition 2.7 of the ICP at

http://www.thespincycle.blogspot.com/2008/01/as-positive-as-you-wanna-be-icp-27.html

Matty the Damned at The Spin Cycle

(http://www.thespincycle.blogspot.com)

has graciously served as our host for this month...from Australia. Bless his heart, Matty has a way with words. I have to include a STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING for you to consider, but what is a little language when you are dealing with a terminal illness? I hope that you will read this article and overlook any part that might offend you to see through to the good in the messages that we share to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

This 19th consecutive edition of the ICP features personal accounts, video, self-help information and the latest in news from the HIV/AIDS community. I hope that you will spend some time reading and that you will leave comments for the contributors.

Next Edition

Please visit the ICP homepage to learn more about this project and how you can contribute at the following link:

http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com

We are now accepting submissions for edition 2.8 to be hosted at NotPerfectAtAll, located here:

http://notperfectatall.blogspot.com/

Please consider contributing your original artwork, poetry, news, personal accounts, short stories, videos or music files for the next edition.

Please Share with Your Friends

Please share this notice with your friends and consider posting announcements of our link on your blogs and websites. Our continuing presence is bolstered by your participation and outreach. Please help spread the word.

Contribute Your Work

Please join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please send an email to ron.hudson@verizon.net and I will make the process as painless as possible. We have hosts inline through March, 2008, but if you would like to host in April, 2008, or beyond, please let me know. I hope that you will consider signing up to host a specific edition of the ICP.

To be Removed From or Added To the ICP mailing list:

Please send an email to ron.hudson@verizon.net with the word REMOVE or SUBSCRIBE in your subject line to have your name removed from or added to, respectively, the ICP mailing list. If you did not receive notice of the ICP from me via direct email, then I do not have your email address in the mailing list. Please note that I can not remove an email address that does not exist on the mailing list. Your privacy is absolutely critical and no email addresses will be shared, sold or given to any other source. I use blind-copy distribution technology to prevent your identity from being revealed.

Peace to you and yours.

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 0 replies

NY TImes Article on HIV treatment points to need for increased prevention campaigns

Ron — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:29:51 GMT

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/health/06HIV.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

This article has finally brought the news to mainstream that HIV/AIDS treatment is complicated, difficult and ultimately damaging to the patients. It makes the case for not getting infected in the first place even more important.

Long-term survivors, as a rule, have found this article depressing and grim, but no surprise. Getting the news out to those not yet infected has been stymied by ads that would have us believe that HIV/AIDS is easy to treat.

Use condoms when having sex. Many positive people do not know their status and may not have been tested since their most recent possible exposure. The gamble is too great not to protect yourself.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Serrano $2.5 Million Award Over False HIV Pos Raises Basic Questions

I-Thought-You-Knew — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:23:19 GMT

Verdict of $2.5 Million Over False-Positive HIV Diagnosis Brings up Basic Problems With AIDS Testing and Treatment, Say Scientists

CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2007--A lawsuit decided today against the University of Massachusetts Medical Center over consequences of an allegedly false-positive HIV antibody test exposes basic problems with the test and treatments for all persons taking them, according to a high-ranking medical researcher who has advised the plaintiff's lawyer on the case. The verdict, issued today, awarded $2.5 million to the plaintiff.

The complaint by Audrey Serrano, 45, in court hearings this week in Worcester, Mass., focuses on the absence of a “confirmatory” Western Blot test in her records. However, Andrew Maniotis, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Department of Pathology, University of Illinois-Chicago School of Medicine, contends that, though the reliability of all HIV testing is not on trial in court here, the case history opens questions about it. And, because Serrano developed illnesses commonly defined as “AIDS-related conditions” only after taking HIV medications known as “highly active antiretroviral therapy” (HAART), the drugs themselves appear to have caused “AIDS.”

Rethinking AIDS (RA) has been asking such questions since its founding in 1991. Etienne de Harven, M.D., president of RA, says, “It is urgent that we open a public debate on the highly suspect reliability of all HIV testing. Moreover, I fully share Dr. Maniotis' concern about the safety of HIV drugs.” Further resources are online at the group’s Web site, www.rethinkingaids.com.

Rodney Richards, Ph.D., worked on the development of antibody (ELISA) and genetic “viral load” tests for Amgen and holds some related patents. “The diagnosis of being HIV positive is based on arbitrary combinations of tests, none of which are approved for diagnosing HIV,” he says. “In fact there is no test for HIV. It’s just an illusion.”

Raising issues of informed consent for all persons submitting to HIV antibody testing, the test kits themselves contain disclaimers that doctors rarely, if ever, share with patients. For example, Abbott Laboratories’ ELISA test kit, typically used as a preliminary test, warns:

“ELISA testing alone cannot be used to diagnose AIDS.”

Confirmation of an ELISA result with a Western Blot test is currently required as a “standard of care.” Epitope’s Western Blot package insert reads:

“Do not use this kit as the sole basis for HIV infection.”

“This is somewhat more concerning, since the Western Blot is supposed to be a highly accurate test, used to confirm that an ELISA is not a false positive,” says Dr. Maniotis. “Moreover, the peer-reviewed literature gives substantial evidence that the virus ‘HIV’ has never been isolated in purified form free of contaminating cellular debris in order to generate the so-called ‘specific viral antigens’ used in the test kits.”

Serrano, now acknowledged to have always tested HIV negative and therefore not to have been at risk for developing AIDS, nevertheless suffered from several AIDS-defining illnesses, including wasting, herpes, and oral thrush, while taking HAART. She also suffered from other health problems, including constant diarrhea (AIDS-defining under the African definition), muscle wasting, profound fatigue, non-specific skin lesions, oral thrush, herpes outbreaks, severe nosebleeds, constant gynecological bleeding and pain from ovarian cysts, fibrocystic breast lesions, hyperplastic pituitary lesions, and severe heart and respiratory difficulties.

Labels for HAART drugs actually list these conditions as possible side effects, suggesting that the drugs themselves cause AIDS-related conditions, Maniotis says.

Serrano’s experience is, sadly, not unique. Dr. Maniotis chose to investigate her case because, he says, “it is typical of many cases reviewed and, as it illustrates so clearly the development of AIDS-related conditions in a woman testing HIV negative who was healthy before she took HAART, strongly suggests that profound paradigm shifts are urgently needed to avoid more human rights violations.”

Drs. Maniotis and Richards are available for immediate media interviews and talk show appearances:

Andrew Maniotis, Ph.D.
Chicago, Ill., U.S. (Central time zone)
312-996-4838 office
773-960-9084 mobile
amanioti@uic.edu

Rodney Richards, Ph.D.
Illinois/Colorado, U.S. (Central and Mountain time zones)
303-909-4175 mobile
drmrsearch@yahoo.com

Dr. de Harven, president of RA, can be reached at:
Etienne de Harven, M.D.
Saint Cézaire, France [GMT +1 hour]
+33-4 93 60 28 39 phone
pitou.deharven@tele2.fr

Media Contacts:
David Crowe
Calgary, Alberta, Canada (Mountain time zone)
+1-403-289-6609 (office)
+1-403-861-2225 (mobile)
david.crowe@aras.ab.ca

Elizabeth Ely
Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. (Eastern time zone)
+1-718-704-9672 (mobile)
elyelizabeth@verizon.net
E-mail: press@rethinkingaids.com
Web site: www.rethinkingaids.com

Rethinking AIDS: The Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis (“RA” or “the Group”) was formed in 1991 to express the concerns of a growing number of renowned scientists and medical doctors about HIV research and the resulting human rights abuses. In 1995, by a letter published in Science, the Group called for a thorough reappraisal of the existing evidence for and against the HIV/AIDS hypothesis and recommended that critical epidemiological studies be undertaken.

Among RA’s founders and key members are Harvard microbiologist Dr. Charles Thomas; 1993 Nobel laureate for chemistry Dr. Kary Mullis; Nature Biotechnology co-founder Dr. Harvey Bialy; University of California at Berkeley molecular biologist Dr. Peter Duesberg and the late Yale mathematician Dr. Serge Lang, both members of the National Academy of Sciences; professor of medical physics at the Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia Dr. Eleni Papadopulos; and Glasgow University professor emeritus of public health and World Health Organization consultant Dr. Gordon Stewart.

The Group’s current president, Dr. Etienne de Harven, is a professor emeritus of pathology at the University of Toronto and a former cancer researcher at Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York (1956-1981). He produced the first electron microscopic studies of a retrovirus (the murine Friend leukemia virus) and was director of the Electron Microscopy Laboratory at the Banting Institute, Department of Pathology, University of Toronto.
###

Ref: http://worcester.indymedia.org/node/17931

posted in Black People - 1 reply

News from the Black AIDS Institute

Ron — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 15:33:53 GMT

Pioneering journalist dies after 20-year battle with HIV
December 24, 2007

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Black AIDS Institute mourns the death of
one of Black America's shining stars this
holiday. Thomas Morgan, former New York Times
editor and trailblazing ex-president of the
National Association of Black Journalists
(NABJ), died Monday of an AIDS-related heart
attack, according to NABJ and friends. He was 52.

Morgan lived for 20 years as an openly
HIV-positive, gay man and worked in some of
America's largest, most influential
newsrooms. He was a reporter and editor at
the Times, The Washington Post and the Miami
Herald. From 1989 to 1991, he presided over
one of NABJ's most explosive periods of
growth and organization.

"He had the ability to walk into a room
divided and help those who held opposing
viewpoints find common ground," said NABJ
President Barbara Ciara in a statement
announcing Morgan's death. "His loss is not
only a personal one for me, but a great loss
for NABJ. As recent as last week he was
making his voice heard as we debated the
recent FCC ruling affecting minority media
ownership. I will miss his counsel, his
dedication to NABJ, and most of all his
friendship."

In the years following his presidency,
Morgan was a tireless advocate on behalf of
fellow gay and HIV-positive journalists of
color, both within NABJ and in the news
industry at-large. And he always stepped
forward to help all journalists learn to
cover the HIV/AIDS epidemic smartly and
compassionately. "I want members to know," he
told the NABJ Journal in 1995, "that AIDS is
a disease no different than things like
breast cancer or prostate cancer. It is
simply a disease. We are all mortal, and we
will all die of something."

Today, NABJ boasts an active LGBT Task
Force that has a significant presence at
national conventions and has repeatedly
tackled the AIDS epidemic in its
programming-an achievement that would have
been impossible without Morgan's leadership.
"When we talk about standing on the shoulders
of those who came before us, we mean Tom,"
wrote Marcus Mabry, the task force's founding
co-chair, in marking Morgan's death Monday.
"In a very real literal way, we are here
thanks to him."

Morgan is survived by his long-time
partner, Tom Ciano, in Brooklyn, N.Y. For
more information about Morgan's life and
career, see NABJ's
statement (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0010Rl-kb53ridaiAVsZqjlGSvgUsIsFB1KztM2I6iBUbKPAx8_uN7Ph6zxnRv8A7e6HuzA446yqUfAMYeFAlJSPUL25MWXtcwPX0vWSYv3rgRz56GlqgorOwpO5CIZs2e7U2xAXTZ6ox3yjJd_6xRYGG4bBzWstAtf) and his obituary
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0010Rl-kb53ridnn0I50oiagAl5coBDVZopz5yhlV4VrnGp6OlsI81_6xFHPKJmHzlMyTf3i0MUy0O38u_KppPduAp-94_Aco8BLCeULK-RR8f6sfNHek9OP-9gSOAjBPiK7eIERVYyj8Rkr-YEwRHcnKqqrKULQnIhewH3pm9dToM5vcCC7sr4wg==) in Richard Prince's Dec. 24 Journal-isms
column.

Learn More at BlackAIDS.org - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0010Rl-kb53rieeFAVmz3f2khUoZNkcj3e7L3IMrOXvXPBb4Y9ELTp7EsGDO2CzMA-VJVJNZOoFCWHhHxB1WxdYt3e3zhyqfB4JqoeNlOpXfk8=

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MEDIA CONTACT

Phill Wilson

Executive Director

Black AIDS Institute

213-353-3610

phillw@blackaids.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Black AIDS Institute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
info@blackaids.org
213-353-3610
http://www.blackaids.org

Black AIDS Institute | 1833 W. Eighth St. #200 | Los Angeles | CA | 90057-4257

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Red, Black and Green Flag Campaign

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:48:01 GMT

The Woodson Banneker Jackson-Bey/
Marcus Garvey Study Group
Introduces……..

Rally Around the Flag –
The Red Black & Green Flag Campaign

To promote solidarity, unity, self-identity and self-respect for people in our Black Communities.

To participate in the campaign you must display the flag or decal in front of your home, business, organization headquarters, or on your car during following four meaningful dates during the year:

December 26th The first day of Kwanzaa (Umoja)
February 1st The first day of Black History Month
May 19th The Birthday of Malcolm X (Kuzaliwa)
August 17th The Birthday of the Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey

The three colors symbolizes three common factors that unite our people:
Red representing the blood that has been shed for our liberation
Black representing the greatness of our people
Green representing the importance of reclaiming our homeland Africa

Please support this campaign and help spread this information.

Please contact the Marcus Garvey Study Group to identify Black businesses that sell flags and decals.

We strongly recommended buying flags and decals made by Black businesses.

Please contact us at 240-498-5133 or garveystudygroup@ yahoo.com.

The Woodson Banneker Jackson-Bey/ Marcus Garvey Study Group is a coalition of Pan-African organizations and individuals that studies, promotes, and practices African Nationalism.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

¡Capacidad ilimitada de almacenamiento en tu correo!
No te preocupes más por el espacio de tu cuenta con Correo Yahoo!:
http://correo.espanol.yahoo.com/ __._,_.___

www.panafricaneye.com

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Gardasil Ingredient list...abridged

Andrea — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:35:38 GMT

While cleaning up my desk area this morning, i happened upon the Gardasil Ingredient list. I picked one up at the school, with the semester finally being over i've actually had time to read the little brochure..ill just type it

GARDASIL is a non infectious recombnant, quardivalent vaccine prepared from the HIGHLY PURIFIED VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES (VLP'S) OF THE major caspid protein of HPV types 6,11,16, and 18....lots more medical jargon about how they culture the VLP'S..

here is the kicker

the purified VLPs are absorbed on preformed ALUMINUM containg adjuvant (amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate) *any chem majors?*

skipped some more info

each .5 ml dose of th evacine contains approx. 225 mcg of aluminum,9.56mg of sodium chloride(salt) .78 mg of l-histidine , , 50 mcg of polysorbate 80, 35 mcg of sodium borate , and water for injection.

the product does not contain a perservative (im guessing they are alluding to thimerisol) or antibiotics.

and over the course of whatever time period the 12 year old girl is goin gto have 3 injections =675 mcg of aluminum...floating around in the childs system

ALUMINUM...the new hotness for your brain.
__________________

FUCK YO CULTURE!

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Announcing Edition 2.6 of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP)

Ron — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:29:33 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

It is a tremendous pleasure to announce the publication of edition 2.6 of the ICP at

http://www.dropdeadhappy.com/dropdeadhappy/ICP26.html

Mark Kokocki is our third host from Canada and our second from the Vancouver area after Roro at Creampuff Revolution. I encourage you to bookmark this edition and visit it over time so that you can enjoy each of the contributions from the world of HIV/AIDS. I hope that you will also join me in thanking Mark for his work this month and Giles of Slimconomy and Roro of Creampuff Revolution for the previous Canadian editions.

This 18th consecutive edition of the ICP features personal accounts, video, music, self-help information and the latest in news from the HIV/AIDS community. Among these posts,you will find news about HIV/AIDS in women and children, a good sampling of posts from long-term survivors, a Bollywood-like HIV prevention video from India, news and personal accounts from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America, I hope that you will spend some time reading and that you will leave comments for the contributors.

Next Edition

Please visit the ICP homepage to learn more about this project and how you can contribute at the following link:

http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com

We are now accepting submissions for edition 2.7 to be hosted at The Spin Cycle, located here:

http://thespincycle.blogspot.com

This new edition marks the first time that the ICP will have been hosted outside of North America as we go to Australia for host Matty the Damned and the Spin Cycle team. It is notable that Matty and the Spin Cycle contributed the first post to the ICP’s first edition in June of 2006. Please consider contributing your original artwork, poetry, news, personal accounts, short stories, videos or music files for the next edition.

Please Share with Your Friends

Please share this notice with your friends and consider posting announcements of our link on your blogs and websites. Our continuing presence is bolstered by your participation and outreach. Please help spread the word.

Contribute Your Work

Please join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please send an email to ron.hudson@verizon.net and I will make the process for you as painless as possible. We have hosts inline through February, 2008, but if you would like to host in March, 2008, or beyond, please let me know. I hope that you will consider signing up to host a specific edition of the ICP.

To be Removed From or Added To the ICP mailing list:

Please send an email to ron.hudson@verizon.net with the word REMOVE or SUBSCRIBE in your subject line to have your name removed from or added to, respectively, the ICP mailing list. If you did not receive notice of the ICP from me via direct email, then I do not have your email address in the mailing list. Please note that I can not remove an email address that does not exist on the mailing list. Your privacy is absolutely critical and no email addresses will be shared, sold or given to any other source. I use blind-copy distribution technology to prevent your identity from being revealed.

Peace to you and yours.

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 0 replies

National "Slap a Black Ho Day" December 3rd

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:07:03 GMT

now that the subject line has gotten your attention please continue to read on... (I got this from another group I belong to and felt the need to pass it on.)
peace.

We Must Really Hate Black Women:

We must really hate black women. But just look at
them, those grotesque big lips, over sized hips and
soup cooler lips. Not to mention that nappy hair.

Yuck!

They deserve to be disrespected by every able bodied
man, woman, child and talk radio host in America ,
every chance they get. A day should not go by that we
don't spit in some black woman's face. Matter of fact,
I am proclaiming Monday December 3rd as "National Slap
a Black Ho Day."

Are you upset yet? Well, you should be. But if you
are so upset by those words, why have "you" not spoken
out against Don Imus's comeback. You know who that is,
the white bigot that called a group of beautiful young
black sisters "nappy headed ho's" just last April?
Why are you not outraged that he is scheduled to be
back on the radio at 6am Monday December 3rd courtesy
of WABC radio in New York.

Maybe you are too busy Christmas shopping. I know how
it is. The busy crowds, scrambling to use your credit
cards to buy gifts for people you don't even like that
you will be paying the interest on for the next year!
Who has time to stand up for the honor of black women
when Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer is coming on tv
tonight ?

Or, are you waiting for some "Civil Rights leader" to
tell you when you should be angry and what you should
do about it? As much as we complain about Rev.
Sharpton and Jackson, many of us act like we don't
have sense enough to find a bathroom without them
showing us the way.

Oh, I know, you are one of those people who thinks
that it won't matter if black folks protest against
WABC's parent companies Citadel/ABC Radio Networks
since they don't make their money off of black folks
anyway?

Have you taken time to look at the "colored section"
of the ABC Radio Network website to find out how much
money the company makes off of black folks? Or did you
just automatically assume that we are just naturally
weak and powerless?

http://www.abcradiomulticultural.com/site.php

According to the website, " the urban population is a
passionate, loyal and powerful audience"

(Translation: give negroes some music and tell them a
joke and they will follow you through hell with
gasoline drawers on)

It goes on to say that "ABC Radio Networks not only
reaches the hottest target market in America it
influences audience every minute of the day."

(Translation: When we say jump they don't ask why.
They ask how high and they won't come down till we
tell them to!)

Now I know that some of ya'll are going to come with
the usual cop out that "there are more important
things that "we" should be doing.

Although, there are a few very active individuals in
each community who are spending every waking hour
fighting against police brutality, poverty etc, for
most folks the "more important things" include
plopping your fat behind down on the sofa with a
bucket of fried chicken and a beer and watching
football from 1PM until the last game goes off at
midnight. Or staying up way past bedtime to watch
"Baisden After Dark" or the soaps that you tivoed
while you were at work. But you still manage to get
to work on time the next day. Or better yet, spending
your time on your cell or your computer complaining
about the condition of black people, how we are
disrespected and how black "leaders" ain't doin'
nothin'..

No one is asking you to devote every waking hour to
protesting ABC Networks/ Citadel Broadcasting for
putting that racist Don Imus back on the air. Nor ,
is anyone asking you to get up at 2AM and board a
crowded bus to go to some protest a thousand miles
away.

But is it too much to ask that you do "something."
Call or email WABC and tell them that you are
outraged. Call your local newspaper and tell them that
everybody is not accepting the return of Imus without
a fight. Or call the NY press and tell them that just
because Rev. Al Sharpton may not be commenting on the
Imus comeback does not mean that the other 38 million
plus black folks are silent on the issue.

But then again. We really don't like black women
anyway do we ? And in our heart of hearts, we believe
that Imus was right.

So the next time you see a black woman, grab her by
the back of her nappy weave and drag her down a flight
of steps.

Believe me. No one will hear her scream....

For more information contact
http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
info@nowarningshotsfired.com (919) 451-8283

posted in Black People - 0 replies

WHITE SUPREMACIST CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN DC AREA IN FEBRUARY

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:29:23 GMT

On Sept. 20, we marched in Jena, LA for the Jena Six. Last weekend we marched in DC to bring attention to the rise in hate crimes. The next step is to publicly oppose those who organize to commit those crimes and other trangressions against people of color. We would like to invite representatives of your group to participate in next Saturday's meeting in Washington DC to organize against a white supremacist conference to be held at the Crowne Plaze Dulles Hotel Feb. 22-24, 2008. If you cannot make it to the meeting, please get the word out to everyone you know and every list you are on so that people know about this thing that is about to take place. Feel free to contact us at daryleonepeople@aol.com for more information.

In 2008, neo-nazis and racist bigots will be planning more racist terror at the American Renaissance Conference. On Feb 22-24, prominent white supremacists from the US and across the world will gather at the Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport Hotel to vent their hatred and spew their racist venom towards communities of color.

The conference organizers call for a white supremacist society and political order. American Renaissance (AmRen) editor Jared Taylor (2705 Green Holly Springs, Oakton, VA 22124 (703) 716-0930) even states: "If whites permit themselves to be displaced, it is not just the high culture of the West that could disappear but such things as representative government, rule of law and freedom of speech, which whites usually get right and everyone else usually gets wrong."

American Renaissance is a monthly magazine promoting an agenda of white supremacy through eugenics, faux science, and what they call “race realism.” In attempts to appeal to the middle and educated classes of white America, AmRen seeks to establish scientific “truths”, such as eugenics by creating non-existent links between race and IQ, and race and the predisposition to “negative social behaviors”. AmRen advances the racist beliefs of “ Racial differences in IQ, the costs of “diversity,” the challenges of non-white immigration.” One quick glance at their website reveals articles with titles like: “A Defense of White Racial Consciousness”; “The Biological Realities of Race”; “Multiculturalism and the War Against White America”; and “The Color of Crime.”

However, it is not just the racist cosmopolitan that AmRen appeals to. Editor Jared Taylor and his cohorts have been known to schmooze with current, and former, members of the Klan (David Duke); Don Black, the operator of a “prominent” white supremacist website stormfront.org; Michael Regan, NY state prosecutor fired after attending the 2006 AmRen conference; and members of the neo-fascist British National Party. We can expect all of them and more to attend their gathering in February.

Resistance and Solidarity, a DC-based collective opposing racism, fascism and the cruelties perpetrated by the capitalist system, is calling on Mid-Atlantic anti-fascists to join us, Saturday February 23 at 9am for a day full of actions (in many forms) to protest the racist hate spouted by the AmRen National Conference. In the spirit of the anti-fascists that came before us, let's shut these racists down by any means necessary.

But before we shut them down, we need to organize!

Join us at an initial planning meeting at the Petworth Library in Washington, DC (Kansas Avenue NW and Georgia Avenue NW) on Saturday, December 1 at 2pm to gather groups from across the mid-Atlantic to counter the racist bigots coming to the DC Metro area. Agenda items include, but are not limited to: logistics, lead-up actions, protest details, media and legal work. Resistance and Solidarity respects diversity of tactics and recognizes the need for all types of actions, will not engage in philosophical or ideological discussions at the planning meeting. All who share this view, and a commitment to anti-racism are welcome, and encouraged, to attend.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

On Our Watch - on PBS's Frontline - A MUST SEE

LiteraryMasturbator — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:33:46 GMT

On Our Watch
on PBS’s "Frontline"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darfur/

Everyone needs to watch this documentary about the four-years-and-counting of destruction, torture, murder, maiming, raping, and genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

An interesting point is that early in George W. Bush’s first term there was conflict between the nation’s Muslims and Christians in the Southern Sudan region. What happened then is US Christian Evangelical groups pressured Bush to bring peace to the region, and thus end the violence against Sudan’s Christians. Only now are those Christian groups beginning to become involved in the Darfur crisis.

What You Can Do > http://miafarrow.org/what_you_can_do.html

Dream for Darfur http://www.dreamfordarfur.org/

Sudan Reeves http://www.sudanreeves.org/

Mia Farrow website: http://miafarrow.org/

Save Darfur http://www.savedarfur.org/content?splash=yes

Timeline: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darfur/etc/cron.html

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ICP 17 is now Available. I hope you are finding it helpful and interesting.

Ron — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:01:36 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

The 17th consecutive edition of the ICP is now available at the following link:

http://slimconomy.blogspot.com/2007/11/w-elcome-to-november-10-2007-edition-of.html

This edition is the second to have been hosted by a Canadian blogger and the second to be hosted internationally. Please join me in thanking Giles at Slimconomy for his participation as our host this month. As usual, this edition features personal accounts, video, self-help information and the latest in news from the HIV/AIDS community. I hope that you will spend some time reading and that you will leave comments for the contributors.

Next Edition

Please visit the ICP homepage at the following link to learn more about this project and how you can contribute:

http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com/

We are now accepting submissions for edition 18 to be hosted at Drop Dead Happy, located here:

http://www.dropdeadhappy.com

Please consider contributing your original artwork, poetry, news, personal accounts, short stories, videos or music files for the next edition.

Please Share with Your Friends

Please share this notice with your friends and consider posting announcements of our link on your blogs and websites. Our continuing presence is bolstered by your participation and outreach. Please help spread the word.

Contribute Your Work

I hope that you will join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please send me a message and I will make the process for you as painless as possible. Return hosts are welcome! We have hosts in line through December, 2007, but need to start recruiting new hosts for next year right now!! I hope that you will consider signing up to host a specific edition of the ICP.

To be Removed From or Added To the ICP mailing list:

Please send me a message with the word REMOVE or SUBSCRIBE in your subject line to have your name removed from or added to, respectively, the ICP mailing list. If you did not receive notice of the ICP from me via direct email, then I do not have your email address in the mailing list. Please note that I can not remove an email address that does not exist on the mailing list.

Peace to you and yours.

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 0 replies

The facts are on the table

Willthecirclebeunbroken — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 09:57:25 GMT

Are you a believer in God ? Do you believe Jesus Christ is God ?

And Grandma said , " Hush yo' mouf Honey , Jesus is coming back. And all this crazy devil business will be gone. Blood is the same color and folks better start luvin one another more, consideration of encourgement to all in good tidings. But, some have strayed off the pathway and they headed for destruction. We got the steepside of the mountian to climb yet, but His eye is on the sparrow, and God is full
of love. God is wit you and will never leaves you. Everybody is talking around the tables saying is this the last days. I says, Yes it is the signs are alls around you."

IS interesting , the facts are on the table.

There is increase of sin and destruction worldwide

The earth is under much stress as well as it's inhabitants.

Man is failing and the world has fallen to sin in great increase promoted by the pride of his own achievements. Not realizing that God is the giver of all good things, the Creator, our Maker allows man to chose his highway or pathway. But, the pathway is narrow. The majority does not chose the pathway but the wide road down into sin . A person who claims themselves to be wise and denies Jesus Christ as God the living Messiah come in the flesh to live among men, is not very wise after all. And we pray that one day all individuals come to know the completeness that God brings you when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. I have to give testimony here, that when onecomes to know Christ, the scales in the eyes, the callouse in the heart, the openning of the ears now see things in a spiritual context
of reality. A reality we come to know as the true reality of eternal life and just what that means. All things of this world will pass away.

The only True Reality is the Eternal of what lies ahead of each individual.

While addressing all jew and gentiles, it is most important now at this time for all Jews to take another serious look at the message of Jesus to them that was announced by God Himself in the flesh. That their realizing their mistake of denial in rebellion, would allow them to become fully complete now in their faith in God. For the Jew's faith in God has increased , but in all this faith and ritual of practice they have been led into a strong dellusion. We are seeing an ever increasing increase of more Jews coming to accept Jesus Christ than at no other time in history since Christ Coming the first time. Our Jewish brothers and sisters , are beginning to see the Light of Truth in Jesus Christ.

http://www.theappearing.com/index3.html

God is Close

posted in Black People - 3 replies

Preschool student faces expulsion over his hairstyle [School contact info inlcuded]

LiteraryMasturbator — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:39:55 GMT

http://somdnews.com/stories/100507/indymor101644_32114.shtml
http://www.southernmarylandchristianacademy.com/contact_us.html
Preschool student faces expulsion over his hairstyle
Friday, Oct. 5, 2007 - By Jacqueline Rabe - Staff Writer

Three-year-old Jayce Brown is being threatened with expulsion from Southern Maryland Christian Academy if he doesn’t change his hairstyle.
Jayce has dreadlocks, as do his parents, and does not want a new hairdo.

‘‘I want to have my hair like my daddy’s,” he said as he pushed his mom’s hands away from his hair in a recent interview at his home.

‘‘He doesn’t even know what a haircut is, but I am sure he would not be happy if I told him we had to make his hair short,” said his mother, Danielle Brown of Waldorf.

For the Brown family, the dreadlocks aren’t a fashion statement.

‘‘Locks are not a current faddish hairstyle. It’s a culture for those of African-American descent, and that’s why I feel this policy is so blatantly racially motivated,” Brown said.
Fearing that her child might get expelled from school for what she says is a racial issue, Brown has hired a civil rights lawyer, Ardra M. O’Neal.
Southern Maryland Christian Academy, a private school in White Plains, has students in grades preschool through 12th grade. It is affiliated with Fellowship Church, which is located on the same campus as the school.
Jayce is in the preschool program at the school. A month into the school year, Brown received a letter telling her that her child would have to get a haircut to comply with the dress code or face expulsion beginning Sept. 24. However, Jayce has continued to go to school, after the deadline, with the same hairstyle.

The policy in the school’s student handbook states that male students are not allowed to have ‘‘extremely faddish styles including the use of rubber bands or the ‘twisting’ of hair.’” The policy also states male students are not to have hair unnaturally colored, or covering more than half the ear. Hair also must not touch the eyebrows or collar or be more than two inches high.

Regardless of the policy, Brown said she never signed anything saying her son would follow the dress code.

No one at SMCA could be reached for comment for this article. Three voicemail messages were left for Colleen M. Gaines, the founder and owner of the school, over a two-day period, and two messages were left with the school’s secretary.

A Sept. 21 letter from Gaines to O’Neal said the expulsion would stand if Jayce doesn’t get his hair cut.

‘‘Southern Maryland Christian Academy is not in a position to read through its policies and procedures with each prospective SMCA parent,” Gaines wrote. ‘‘To ensure SMCA parents have read such policies and procedures and have weighed in their mind that they will be able to abide by SMCA’s standards we require a signed statement from the parent. ... The signed statement stands on its own and is excellent proof that Jayce’s parents knew full well what SMCA’s standards were prior to enrolling.”

But what Brown said she signed did not mention the student handbook policies, which is where the dress code is found.

The statement every parent is required to sign, according to the letter from Gaines, reads, ‘‘By signing below I acknowledge I⁄we have read, understand and are bound by all SMCA policies as noted by the contractual agreement. I⁄we have also read the Statement of Cooperation, and by signing, [are] in agreement to the terms therein.”

But nowhere in the Contractual Agreement and the Statement of Cooperation provided to the Maryland Independent by Brown does it require parents to agree to the dress code.
More than a month after school began, Brown said she still has not received or been asked to sign a copy of the dress code. However, the complete handbook, which includes the dress code, is available on the school’s Web site.

O’Neal has written two letters to the school demanding that Jayce be allowed to keep his hairstyle or legal action will be taken.

‘‘My clients will not cut their child’s African locks. They are a symbol of his ancestral heritage. Nor will they withdraw his enrollment,” she wrote in a letter to the school.

‘‘Assuming the registration form makes some vague reference to the policy at issue, which it does not, the fact remains that the policy is illegal.”

O’Neal also wrote that she has done some investigating, and several other students in the school who are not black ‘‘far exceed the stated policy. This finding compels but one conclusion — the Browns’ son has been singled-out for expulsion simply because he is African-American.”

While all this drama unfolds and the 3-year old’s enrollment at SMCA hangs in the balance, Brown said Jayce wakes up every morning asking, ‘‘Do I get to see Miss Lonfontant today?” — referring to his teacher at the school.

And Brown said she doesn’t have the heart to tell him yet that someday very soon he might have to go to a different school.

‘‘If you call yourself a Christian school, then you are supposed to accept everyone, no matter the race or culture,” she said. ‘‘He loves it there. I don’t want to traumatize a 3-year-old based on someone’s ignorance.”

CONTACT THE SCHOOL
about their racist and sexist policies

http://www.southernmarylandchristianacademy.com/contact_us.html
Phone:
Email:
Directions:
Main Office = aa_smca@hotmail.com
Phone:
Email:
Directions:
Main Office = aa_smca@hotmail.com
Phone:
Email:
Directions:
Main Office = aa_smca@hotmail.com

Phone: 301-870-2550 301-934-2855 (fax)
Phone:
Email:
Directions:
Main Office = aa_smca@hotmail.com

email: Main Office = aa_smca@hotmail.com

http://somdnews.com/stories/100507/indymor101644_32114.shtml

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299312,00.html

posted in Black People - 3 replies

Hermetics Lecture in New York City

Wizard-Of-Air — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:58:00 GMT

A week from today; Friday October 19, 2007 at 6:00pm, I will be giving an address at the New Life Expo. The topic I will be speaking on is "The Hermetic Principles; the Secret beyond The Secret." In this address I will explain the Hermetic Principles, discuss their origin, discuss how "The Secret" and "The Law of Attraction" are descended from them, and how to use the Principles to more than just manifest; to create your personal reality by intention.

My lecture will be brief, but will allow sufficient time for a Q & A period to follow. I will distribute an introductory guide to Hermeticism (gratis), and a regimen of exercises utilizing the Hermetic Principles to "morp" the individuals life (also gratis). In the short period of this lecture: LIVES WILL BE CHANGED!!!

I invite all of my old friends to come as well as those new friends and colleagues whom I have not yet had the pleasure of meetinging person. If you are outside of the New York City area and can't attend, please share this information with friends who can. The venue offers limited space so please come a little early for the best selection of seating. I will be offering consultations after the lecture at booth #509 on the third floor, for the balance of Friday evening and throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday.

The New Life Expo will be Friday October 19, 2007 through Sunday October 21, 2007 at the Hotel New Yorker; 481 8th. Ave. @ 34th. St in New York City. To view their website please visit the following link: http://newlifeexpo.com/index.php

I look forward to seeing you there. Namaste,

al anderson

posted in Black People - 1 reply

ICP 16 is now available

Ron — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:25:47 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

The 16th edition of the ICP is now available at:

http://ogresview.mu.nu/archives/243135.php.

This edition represents an attempt to reach out to a conservative political community about HIV/AIDS. It is my hope that our messages might encourage those who normally do not come in contact with the issues of HIV/AIDS to think about how to help us fight the pandemic. We have poetry, video, personal accounts and news from around the world.

Next Edition

Please visit the ICP homepage to learn more about this project and how you can contribute at the following link:

http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com/

We are now accepting submissions for edition 17 to be hosted at Slimconomy at the link:

http://slimconomy.blogspot.com

Please consider contributing your original artwork, poetry, news, personal accounts, short stories, videos or music files for the next edition.

Please Share with Your Friends

As usual, I would like to ask you to post a permanent link to the ICP homepage (you can get a widget there as well) on your blogs or websites and to share the word of this edition with your readers and friends. The more people who know about the ICP, the more likely it will be that we will continue to receive excellent contributions. In fact, feel free to nominate your own HIV/AIDS related contributions from your favorite blogs or websites. The most powerful stories are those of personal nature, so I would encourage you to seek out or write personal accounts and to share them with the ICP. There are many more of you than of me, so join me in the search for quality blogs that share personal stories about HIV/AIDS from around the world. We have hardly begun to tap into the situation in Asia, so blogs from that region of the world are particularly welcome.

Contribute Your Work

I hope that you will join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please email me at ron.hudson@verizon.net and I will make the process for you as painless as possible. Return hosts are welcome! We have hosts in line through December, 2007, but need to start recruiting new hosts for next year. I hope that you will consider signing up to host a specific edition of the ICP.

To be Removed From or Added To the ICP mailing list:

Please email me with the word REMOVE or SUBSCRIBE in your subject line to have your name removed from or added to, respectively, the ICP mailing list. If you did not receive notice of the ICP from me via direct email, then I do not have your email address in the mailing list. Please note that I can not remove an email address that does not exist on the mailing list!!!!!

Peace to you and yours.

Ron Hudson

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Military sees big decline in black enlistees

chycho — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:27:09 GMT

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/bost78.html

Military sees big decline in black enlistees
Iraq war cited in 58% drop since 2000

By Joseph Williams and Kevin Baron, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent | October 7, 2007

WASHINGTON - African-Americans, whose longstanding relationship with the US military helped them prove their abilities and offered a way to get ahead, have turned away from the armed forces in record numbers since 2000, a period covering the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the start of the Iraq war.

Defense Department statistics show the number of young black enlistees has fallen by more than 58 percent since fiscal year 2000. The Army in particular has been hit hard: In fiscal year 2000, according to the Pentagon statistics, more than 42,000 black men and women applied to enlist; in fiscal year 2005, the most recent for which a racial breakdown is available, just over 17,000 signed up.

The unpopular Iraq war is the biggest reason, according to military analysts, Pentagon surveys, and interviews with young African-Americans. But they say mistrust of the Bush administration is adding to the problem - along with the notion that black soldiers are being steered to combat jobs, a lingering perception from the Vietnam War.

The decline in enlistment applications among blacks is by far the fastest of any demographic group. Between fiscal 2000 and 2005, white applicants declined by more than 10 percent. Hispanic applicants dropped by almost 7 percent.

The Army Recruiting Command acknowledged that the Iraq war has presented special challenges in the African-American community, but said it continues to reach out to black recruits.

"The main thing everyone has to realize is that an all-volunteer force is just that," said S. Douglas Smith, public affairs officer for the US Army Recruiting Command. "We try to make sure we communicate to every part of society and let them know what we have to offer. We try to be as open as we can about the risk of service and the benefits of service. After that, it's a matter of people choosing if they want to come in and serve."

But some military specialists worry that the trend could persist long after the current administration and war are over.

"African-Americans have been such a key part of the modern military," said Michael O'Hanlon, military analyst for the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution. "There's obviously been a degree where the black community in the United States has seen [military service] as culturally valuable and promoted it. That whole culture and value system is at risk in the black community. That is a big, big change. To me, it portends the possibility of a longer-term loss of interest. It can be tough to get it back."

Interviews with young African-Americans confirmed a lack of faith in the president and the war.

Nathaniel Daley, a young African-American from Atlantic City, N.J., said he doesn't believe in the Iraq war and won't enlist because of it. Daley, 28, and two friends, Brian Jackson, 27, and Eddie Mickle Jr., 26, talked one recent afternoon at the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, Va., a vast shopping complex just blocks from the military's nerve center. As they talked, uniformed servicemen and women, some wearing battle fatigues, passed by.

In high school during the late 1990s, Daley said, he signed a letter of intent to join the Army upon graduation, "to pay for my college, get a better job, and better myself." He said he broke that commitment for a higher-paying job at a nearby casino.

Though the Army would likely consider them ideal recruits - young, fit, high school-educated - each said the Iraq war and Bush's presidency, particularly after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, has kept them out of uniform.

"Why would we go over there and help them [Iraqis], when [the US government] can't help us over here?" he said, referring to the cleanup after Katrina.

The war "is unnecessary," Jackson said. "It's not our war. We got our own war here, just staying alive," he added, noting his hometown of Philadelphia has racked up more than 200 homicides so far this year, most involving young black men.

Eager to bolster its stretched-thin ranks - and meet a congressional mandate to increase its force by about 65,000 troops within five years - the Army has launched an aggressive recruiting campaign targeted at young black people like Daley and his friends, with ads featuring a young black man convincing his parents that enlistment is a good choice. The Army has also raised its enlistment bonuses, highlighted its access to college tuition money, and loosened its age and physical fitness standards.

But Damon Wright, a senior at Anacostia High School in Southeast Washington, was not impressed. "There's no guarantee I wouldn't have to go over there," he said. "I'm trying to play football in college. I might go over there and lose a leg."

The Pentagon and military analysts say the downturn in enlistments partly reflects the fact that young African-Americans have broader options, pointing to the growing number of black students in college. But the decrease in enlistment also comes amid high dropout rates among African-American youths and a 7.7 percent unemployment rate in the black community, almost twice that of whites.

Negative opinions about Iraq - and attitudes like Wright's - have overshadowed the military's efforts to highlight the positives about military service.

A recent CBS News poll showed 83 percent of African-American respondents said the Iraq invasion was a mistake. In addition, the president's approval rating has hit rock-bottom with black voters at about 9 percent, according to a 2006 Pew Research Center poll.

The relationship between African-Americans and military service is complex, dating back to the 1700s. Both freedmen and slaves joined colonists in the fight against British rule. A century later, the all-black corps known as the Buffalo Soldiers helped settle the West.

Meanwhile, during the Civil War, black Union regiments won acclaim for heroism. In World War I, more than 350,000 black troops served in segregated Army units but few were allowed to fight, dashing hopes that courage under fire in Europe would help them defeat Jim Crow laws at home.

In World War II, African-Americans were again assigned mostly to support duty, but they made up 75 percent of truck drivers for the Red Ball Express - a dangerous, nonstop supply convoy that fueled General George H. Patton's sweep across Europe.

When President Harry S. Truman desegregated the military in 1948, African-Americans saw the Army as a key avenue for advancement. Joining up became "a way out of a worse situation," said Gregory A. Black, a retired Navy dive commander and creator of blackmilitaryworld.com, a website devoted to the history of African-Americans and the military.

By the Vietnam War, the Army had a full complement of black combat troops, including Colin Powell, who did two combat tours as a captain and major and later became secretary of state. But civil-rights leaders complained about the disproportionately high casualty rate among black soldiers, arguing that the Pentagon was drafting young black men and sending them directly into combat.

"A lot of African-Americans are still messed up over Vietnam," said Black. Yet Defense Department statistics show African-American soldiers today are more likely to work in clerical or support jobs than fight on the front lines.

Despite the sharp decline in enlistments, the percentage of blacks in the military still slightly exceeds that of the general population: 14.5 percent in the military, as of 2005, versus 12.8 percent in the US population. Nonetheless, recent Pentagon-sponsored surveys suggest that attitudes among military-age African-Americans may have changed for good.

Adult influencers of all youths, such as parents, sports coaches, or mentors, say Iraq makes them less likely to recommend military service, according to Pentagon surveys. Of all racial groups, African-American influencers are the least likely to suggest enlistment, according to the surveys.

At Oxon Hill High School, located in a predominantly black Washington suburb, guidance counselor Kabir Tompkins is also an Army National Guard sergeant wounded in Iraq. He tells interested students the Army can lead to better life: a good salary, health benefits, and tens of thousands of dollars for college. But their parents are harder to convince, he said.

"They see it from the aspect of . . . 'I don't care about the benefits, I don't care about the money, I don't care about nothing. I don't want my child going to Iraq,' " Tompkins said.

Lieutenant Colonel Irving Smith, a sociologist at the US Military Academy at West Point, isn't surprised the war "has had its toll" on black enlistment. But Smith, who is black, said he fears that a proud legacy of black men and women is at risk, and could be lost in a generation.

"We fought for many reasons, we enlisted for many reasons," Smith said. "Particularly in early times, we fought because we thought we'd get all the opportunities of citizenship . . . The fewer African-Americans that enlist, the fewer African-Americans there are that can tell their stories in the future. The fewer that get commissioned as officers, the smaller the leadership pool will be in the future."

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Sisters! Have You Seen The New ymib.com?

ymib — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 19:34:30 GMT

Warm Greetings Lovel Ladies!

Have you seen the new http://ymib.com? If not, then head on over and check it out. Join the circle, create, update, and customize your profile, post your very own blogs, add friends to your sister list, leave comments, and be inspired by some fantastic articles and the amazing sisters in our Circle of Beauty. There will be a lot more to come and some fabulous interviews coming up, so please do register if you have not already. Thank you to all who have supported ymib for the past year and we look forward to growing and inspiring the world with you! Until next time, continue to take care, be loved, and remember to inspire!

Don't forget to add me as a friend: http://ymib.com/soulliving

You Make It Beautiful,

Ericka Taylor
Editor-in-Chief
http://ymib.com

posted in Black People - 0 replies

As we focus on Jena, they distract us from New Orleans

Wizard-Of-Air — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 05:24:36 GMT

The following article relates the "final solution" in New Orleans' public housing component. If a catastrophe were to strike any other American city the aftermath would probably be the same. Please read this and never forget our brothers and sisters in "The Big Easy."

HUD Demolitions Draw Noose Tighter Around New Orleans

by Bill Quigley

Odessa Lewis is 62 years old. When I saw her last week, she was crying because she is being evicted. A long-time resident of the Lafitte public housing apartments, since Katrina she has been locked out of her apartment and forced to live in a 240 square foot FEMA trailer. Ms. Lewis has asked repeatedly to be allowed to return to her apartment to clean and fix it up so she can move back in. She even offered to do all the work herself and with friends at no cost. The government continually refused to allow her to return. Now she is being evicted from her trailer and fears she will become homeless because there is no place for working people, especially African American working and poor people, to live in New Orleans. Ms. Lewis is a strong woman who has worked her whole life. But the stress of being locked out of her apartment, living in a FEMA trailer and the possibility of being homeless brought out the tears. Thousands of other mothers and
grandmothers are in the same situation.

Renting is so hard in part because there is a noose closing around the housing opportunities of New Orleans African American renters displaced by Katrina. They have been openly and directly targeted by public and private actions designed to keep them away. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) just added their weight to the attack by approving the demolition of 2966 apartments in New Orleans.

Despite telling a federal judge for the last year and a half that approvals of public housing demolition applications take about 100 working days to evaluate, HUD approved the plan to demolish nearly 3000 apartments one day after the complete application was filed. HUD says the 3000 apartments are scheduled to be replaced in a few years with up to 744 public housing eligible apartments and a few hundred subsidized apartments.

Unfortunately, HUD’s actions are consistent with other governmental attacks on African American renters.

After Katrina, St. Bernard Parish, a 93% white adjoining suburb, enacted a law prohibiting home owners from renting their property to anyone who is not a blood relative. Jefferson Parish, another majority white adjoining suburb, unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting the construction of any subsidized housing. The sponsoring legislator condemned poor people as “lazy,” “ignorant” and “leeches on society” - specifically hoping to guard against former residents of New Orleans public housing. Across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans, the chief law enforcement officer of St. Tammany Parish, Sheriff Jack Strain, complained openly about the post-Katrina presence of “thugs and trash from New Orleans” and announced that people with dreadlocks or “chee wee hairstyles” could “expect to be getting a visit from a sheriff’s deputy.”

HUD’s actions are also bolstered by pervasive racial discrimination in the private market as well. The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center has documented widespread racial discrimination in the metro New Orleans rental market and in the states surrounding the gulf coast.

HUD told a federal judge a few days “the average time [for the process of reviewing applications for demolition] is 100 days.” They did suggest that the process could be expedited in the case of New Orleans. So it was. Instead of reviewing the details of demolishing 3000 apartments and considering the law and facts and the administrative record for 100 days, HUD expedited the process to one day.

HUD and the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO, which HUD has been running for years) argued passionately that residents displaced from public housing (referred to once in their argument as ‘refugees’) are financially “better off” than they were before. This echoes the Barbara Bush comment of September 5, 2005 when she said, viewing the overwhelmingly African American crowd of thousands of people living on cots in the Astrodome, “And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this - (she chuckles slightly) this is working very well for them.”

HUD announced approval of demolition of 2966 units of public housing in New Orleans - 896 apartments at Lafitte, 521 at C.J. Peete, 1158 at B.W. Cooper, and 1391 at St. Bernard. A few buildings on each site will be retained for historical preservation purposes.

New Orleans had a severe affordable housing crisis before Katrina when HANO housed over 5000 families. There was a waiting list of 8000 families trying to get in. HUD and HANO together did such a poor job of administering the agency that there were about 2000 more empty apartments that had been scheduled for major repairs for years.

The continuing deceptions by HUD and HANO have been shameless. Since Katrina, HUD has continued to act out both sides of a charade that the local housing authority is making decisions and HUD is waiting on local actions. Yet, the decision to demolish was announced by the Secretary of HUD in DC over a year ago. But in the year since then, HUD has continued to tell a federal judge that any legal challenge to demolitions was premature because HANO had not even submitted an application to HUD for their careful 100 day evaluation. This is while a HUD employee runs the agency, commuting back and forth to DC each week. HANO even announced they would have 2000 apartments ready for people in August of 2006 - a deadline not met even in September 2007. HANO later announced to the public that they had a list of 250 apartments ready for people to return only to admit in writing weeks later that no such list existed - nor were the phantom apartments ready.
The list of untruths goes on.

HUD would not agree to delay the demolition of the 3000 apartments until Congress finished reviewing legislation that would give residents the right to return and participate in the process of determining what kind of affordable housing should be in place in New Orleans.

And so HUD’s actions help further restrict the opportunities for African American renters in New Orleans. Adjoining white suburbs do not want African American renters back. HUD does not want them back. The local federal judge has refused to stop the demolitions.

But the mothers and grandmothers and their families and friends are still determined to return and resist demolition. One sign at a recent public housing rally summed it up. “We will not allow the community we built to be rebuilt without us.”

Odessa Lewis, despite her tears, said she is not giving up. She and other public housing residents promise “we did not come this far to be turned back now. We will do whatever is necessary to protect our homes.” Thousands of African American mothers and grandmothers are the ones directly targeted by HUD’s actions.

Forty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr., said “We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society…When profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” We can add sexism to the list, particularly in the fight for the right of public housing residents to return.

The fight of Ms. Lewis and others on the gulf coast shows how much we need a radical revolution of values.

Bill is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

6 Arrested in Weeklong Attack on Woman

LiteraryMasturbator — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:00:37 GMT

Where are the people who were down on Michael Vick in this case?

A woman was sexually abused, beaten and humiliated while being held captive in a home for at least a week, sheriff's officials said Monday after making six arrests.

Those arrested, including a mother and son and a mother and daughter, are white. The victim, a Charleston woman who was being treated at a hospital Monday, is black. The FBI plans to investigate it as a possible hate crime.

"The things that were done to this woman are just indescribable," Logan County sheriff's Sgt. Sonya Porter said.

Deputies found the 23-year-old victim Saturday after going to the home in Big Creek, about 35 miles southwest of Charleston, to investigate an anonymous tip. One of the suspects, Frankie Brewster, was sitting on the front porch and told deputies she was alone, but moments later the victim limped toward the door, her arms outstretched, saying, "Help me," the sheriff's department said in a news release.

Besides being sexually assaulted, the victim had been stabbed four times in the left leg and beaten, Porter said. Both of her eyes were black and blue. The woman's wounds were inflicted at least a week ago, deputies said.

During her capture, the victim was forced to eat rat and dog feces and drink from the toilet, according to the criminal complaint filed in magistrate court. The woman also had been choked with a cable cord and her hair cut, it alleges.

One of those arrested, Karen Burton, is accused of cutting the woman's ankle with a knife. She used the N-word in telling the woman she was victimized because she is black, according to the criminal complaint.

Deputies say the woman was also doused with hot water while being sexually assaulted. The Associated Press generally does not identify suspected victims of sexual assault.

The sheriff's department requested the FBI's participation, said agent Jay Bartholomew.

The six suspects were arrested Saturday and Sunday. Deputies were still trying to determine whether the victim knew her assailants and how she came to be at Brewster's home, Porter said.

Frankie Brewster, 49, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information during a felony investigation.

Her son, Bobby R. Brewster, 24, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.

Burton, 46, of Chapmanville, is charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony.

Her daughter Alisha Burton, 23, of Chapmanville, and George A. Messer, 27, of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery.

Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding.

All six were held Monday in lieu of $100,000 bond each, and all have asked for court-appointed public defenders.

posted in Black People - 5 replies

controversial video

DJ_BlackAngus — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 04:25:52 GMT

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rN2VqFPNS8w

posted in Black People - 6 replies

ICP 15 is now available at Living Mindfully with HIV

Ron — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:05:48 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

The 15th edition of the ICP is now available at the following link:

http://hivhsnmindfulness.blogspot.com:80/2007/08/15th-edition-of-international-carnival.html

on the blog Living Mindfully with HIV. This edition includes a return of artwork from Colombian artist Farid de la Ossa, a video from Angelique Kidjo and Joss Stone for relief for Darfur, a special gift offer from me for your contribution to an AIDS Charity of your choice, HIV/AIDS news from around the world, more addiction recovery help, a very special introduction to "Big Love" or "Arohanui", and much more. Please take a few moments to read and leave comments, particularly for your host, James Wortz, who has done yet another great job despite a bout of bad health in the last few days.

Next Edition

Please visit the ICP homepage ( http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com ) to learn more about this project and how you can contribute. We are now accepting submissions for edition 16 to be hosted at Ogre's Politics and Views ( http://www.ogresview.mu.nu ). Please consider contributing your original artwork, poetry, news, personal accounts, short stories, videos or music files for the next edition. This next edition is very special. I have approached the host, Mr. Ogre, to participate as an outreach to a conservative political community that normally may not hear from people living with HIV/AIDS. Please consider this an opportunity to share your stories with a group of people who may not normally think of HIV/AIDS as often as we do and how you might make your case for teamwork with people who may not necessarily agree with you.

Please Share with Your Friends

As usual, I would like to ask you to post a permanent link to the ICP homepage (you can get a widget there as well) on your blogs or websites and to share the word of this edition with your readers and friends. The more people who know about the ICP, the more likely it will be that we will continue to receive excellent contributions. In fact, feel free to nominate your own HIV/AIDS related contributions from your favorite blogs or websites. The most powerful stories are those of personal nature, so I would encourage you to seek out or write personal accounts and to share them with the ICP. There are many more of you than of me, so join me in the search for quality blogs that share personal stories about HIV/AIDS from around the world. We have hardly begun to tap into the situation in Asia, so blogs from that region of the world are particularly welcome.

Contribute Your Work

I hope that you will join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please email me and I will make the process for you as painless as possible. Return hosts are welcome!

To be Removed From or Added To the ICP mailing list:

Please send me an email (ron.hudson@verizon.net) with the word REMOVE or SUBSCRIBE in your subject line to have your name removed or added to the ICP mailing list.

Peace to you and yours.

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Black children left out of Irish schools

SHOCKA — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:25:28 GMT

Associated Press
Sept. 3, 2007

Almost all the children who could not find elementary school places in a Dublin suburb this year were black, the government said Monday, highlighting Ireland's problems integrating its increasingly diverse population.

The children will attend a new, all-black school, a prospect that educators called disheartening.

About 90 children could not find school places in the north Dublin suburb of Balbriggan , a town of more than 10,000 people with two elementary schools. Local educators called a meeting over the weekend for parents struggling to find places and said they were shocked to see only black children.

"That overwhelmed me. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I just find it extremely concerning," said Gerard Kelly, principal of a school with a mixture of black and white students in the nearby town of Swords.

The parents at Saturday's meeting in a Balbriggan hotel said they had tried to get their children into local schools but were told that all places had to be reserved by February.

Almost all of the children are Irish-born and thus Irish citizens, under a law that existed until 2004.

Some parents questioned why white families who had moved this year into the town had managed to overcome the registration deadlines to get their children into schools.

Some also complained that Ireland's school system was discriminating against them on the basis of religion. About 98 percent of schools are run by the Roman Catholic Church, and the law permits them to discriminate on the basis of whether a prospective student has a certificate confirming they were baptized into the faith. Some of the African applicants were Muslim, members of evangelical Protestant denominations or of no religious creed.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin said the problems reflected bad planning amid rapid population growth, not racist attitudes at existing schools. She vowed to get the new school, which will take students aged 4-12, integrated with white students as soon as possible.

"I would not like to see a situation developing where it is an all-black school, so it's something to keep an eye on for next year's enrollments," Hanafin said.

Kelly said some parents, both locals and immigrants, "felt forced or coerced to have their child baptised to get a place in their local Catholic school."

More than 25,000 Africans have settled in Ireland since the mid-1990s. Most arrived as asylum seekers, and many took advantage of Ireland's law — unique in Europe — of granting citizenship to parents of any Irish-born child. Voters toughened that law in a 2004 referendum.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070903/ap_on_re_eu/ireland_black_students&printer=1;_ylt=AkXTL2haQ4mR6r9NbGnCRZFbbBAF

posted in Black People - 5 replies

1st black drama school in UK

Nuru — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:47:37 GMT

http://www.identitydramaschool.com/moreinfo_lovetorn.htm

Love Torn by Loyalty - Identity 2 Film Project 2006

Text Yam Boy and Mohun BISWAS
Photo Tiziana Callary
CEN Magazine is retelling Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (also the story of the star crossed lovers in West Side Story) for its Valentine issue, but transfers the action to today's gritty East London.

Is the love between Lamar of Mile End Mafia and the charming Reena, sister of leader Murphy from Dalston Down Beats, doomed from the start? Set in the ghettos of East London, East Side Story pits the Mile End Mafia against the Dalston Down Beats in a gang fight. Lamar's best mate Tyrone, who is also the leader of Mile End Mafia, does not endorse Lamar's passion for Reena and is convinced that it must be a trap set by Dalston Down Beats, the rival gang. Murphy, on other hand, is not happy about his sister checking out Lamar. A clash is inevitable and passion cannot be harnessed.

CEN Magazine has worked with students from the Identity Drama School based at Arcola Theatre, Hackney to reflect upon the universally recognised story of fatalistic love, of love that is doomed from the start. This is also a celebration of youth culture and the verve, colour, infinite shades of dark and light they represent and use to overcome the very real but fleeting boundaries that confine them.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Jena six petition

Nuru — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:55:30 GMT

Please sign the petition for the Jena six party.

THE MICHAEL BAISDEN SHOW: LIVE FROM JENA, LA SEPTEMBER 20TH

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Baddest Man on radio is putting action behind his words. On September 20th Michael Baisden along with comedian George Wilborn, national celebrities, and thousands of loyal listeners will March on the Jena Courthouse to demand justice for Mychal Bell, one of the black teenagers awaiting sentencing in the Jena 6 Case. Mychal Bell could receive up to 22 years in prison for what amounted to nothing more then a fist fight between black and white high school students.

Michael will need all the support he can get to show the prosecutors, the Judge, and the entire nation that we will not stand by while they steal the lives of our children. Time for talk is over, it's time to act!

JOIN THE BAD BOY IN JENA - CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR DETAILS:
http://www.minglecity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=617

Please sign the petition for the Jena six party.

www.petitiononline.com/aZ51CqmR/petition.html

posted in Black People - 1 reply

Will Blacks be Picking Cotton Again?

Fred — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:15:43 GMT

I had a thought the other day. Here in the Oakland Bay Area, economic racism is pushing blacks out by the thousands. Those who won't go are either on the streets, hanging on by a thin thread, or they've amongst the few who are doing well because they lived their first dreams and got their homes early.

All those staying true to the Thug Life and/or still using drugs and alcohol to cope with their stress ... well ... I have a prediction and I wonder if any one else believes this can and will inevitably happen?

PREDICTION: Just like Richard Pryor predicted that they'll have black people riding bikes, scooters and anything else that will ROLL ..."
I predict that sooner or later, those who are now picking cotton will become the middle class, and those (or their children) seeking reparations, SSI/SSD and Welfare will eventually be picking cotton just like old grandpa used ta do. WATCH!

Agree?
Disagree?

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Where Do You See Yourself Spending The Next Five Years?

Fred — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:43:16 GMT

What up folks? I've just slpped the knot and let go of California and now I'm driving truck out of Tulsa, Oklahoma ... where I'm shocked at how good folks can live Vs. Cali. Hence, I want to ask my brothers and sisters the following:

1. Where do YOU see yourself spending the next five years?

2. Will that five lead you to who you want to be in ten years?

3. What type of area will give you what you really want out of life?

4. Do you anticpate any major changes (esp. for blacks) in the U.S. or the world during that time? (e.g. Anything from Global Warming to Global Recession.)

posted in Black People - 12 replies

A Few Deep Trusts (spoken word)

Lesleyanne — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:08:33 GMT

Warriors Come out to play
I could love him
but all the brotha wants to do is pimp
and a pimp cant understand love
just fear which he mis-takes for respect
cause he dont know no better
does'nt understand how difficult womanhood is
all we ever wanted was a brotha that could be true
but there are no men anymore just over tall boys
living by the illusion that a hard dick and a few deep thrusts
is all a women needs to make her happy
for wanting more
we where punished
over and over again
it would be comical
if it weren't real life
for a generation you have named us Bitch
taken the crown ungentely from our heads
and pawned it for street dreams
you have not had time for our softness, our words, our thoughts, our children
now you complain
loudly
because you cannot find a soft place to lay your head
or a reasonable woman to lend you her ear
you miss our mystery
you are angry because your children no longer respect you
its funny
as women we have cut ourselves in half as to not need you
your love and attention has proven to be sometimey at best
fidelity a four letter word
trusting you a dead end street
we have had to bend over backwards for your kindness
it became too much
so some time ago we stopped
and began to look elsewhere
copycatted you and
decided to go solely for self
stopped catering, started to care only on the surface
began to agree with you that all a woman needed from a man
is a hard dick and a few deep thrust to be happy
we thought this is what you wanted
we have given you olny what your actions asked for
over and over again
now
you are angry
angry
at the reflections you see in the mirror
shocked and cut deep
because you want to be loved and cared for
and find your self merely tolerated

posted in Black People - 2 replies

Journal of Pan African Studies On Line...

LiteraryMasturbator — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:01:15 GMT

The new edition of The Journal of Pan African Studies
is online at www.jpanafrican.com.

The Journal of Pan African Studies works to become a beacon of light in the sphere of African world community studies and research, grounded in an interdisciplinary open access scholarly peer-reviewed construct, simultaneously cognizant of the multilingualism of our audience, and the importance of universal access in cyberspace; regardless of geography, economic, social or cultural diversity.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Joya Mosely AA student studing medicine in Cuba

Nuru — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:55:39 GMT

I had the chance to listen to Ms. Joya live on LIBradio.com last week . She explained how Cube offered 800 scholarships to AA and other low income people around the world to become a medical doctor. I originally thought that this program was canceled but it is not and these students need care packages. We are hoping to hear from Joya on a regular basis. Here is her link please help to support our people in Cuba.

http://www.milwaukeerenaissance.com/Main/JoyaCubaMedicalStudent?action=browse

posted in Black People - 0 replies

just doing my part to help

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:18:45 GMT

Ok so many of you know me as the Angry Black Man from LA. But in life I am just a cool kind hearted person trying to do what I can to make a real difference in the my corner of this planet.

So I have this foundation where I try to help people who have less. I even lived for 34 days as a homeless person to get a first hand look at what life is really like for homeless people.

Next week I will be at it again. I am going to live as a homeless man for the second time here in LA. So from August 27 until September 26 I will be on the streets living just like a homeless man. I am working closely with my team of Docs to make sure I can do the entire 30 days without getting sick. As many of you know who read my blog I am a sickle cell patient and I have cancer, but my desire to help people and the ability of the God I serve is greater then both if these things.

So please keep me in your prayers as I begin another chapter in my mission to help people. I invite you to read my blog daily to keep up with what is going on how and what I am doing.

Also for those of you in the LA/SoCal area I invite you to come out and help with the largest Do Something Saturday Event to date on Saturday September 8th from 11:00AM until 3:00PM at the Vera Davis Center in Venice. Email me for more details.

There are 98 thousand homeless people here in LA and 51% of this population is black. Let’s stand united as one to STOMP out homelessness all over this country.

Thanks for your continued prayer and support

posted in Black People - 0 replies

USTA To Honor Althea Gibson on Opening Nigh

LiteraryMasturbator — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 15:52:42 GMT

Gibson To Be Inducted into US Open Court of Champions

Opening Night Celebration -- Themed “Breaking Barriers” -- Will Feature African American Female Pioneers Including Aretha Franklin, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Dr. Mae Jemison and More

Mayor Bloomberg, Billie Jean King and Mrs. Jackie Robinson to Join in Tribute

Aretha Franklin to Perform at Ceremony

The 2007 US Open will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson’s historic title victory at the U.S. National Championships with an Opening Night celebration themed, “Breaking Barriers.” As part of the ceremony, Gibson will be inducted in the US Open Court of Champions, based on the result of an international media vote. The Opening Night tribute on August 27 will include a celebration of African American females who also broke barriers in the world of sports, entertainment, politics and the arts. Aretha Franklin, the first African American woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will perform a special tribute during the ceremony.

Gibson became the first African American tennis player, male or female, to win the title at the U.S. National Championships (now the US Open) in 1957. She was a trailblazer of great talent and greater courage, who overcame many obstacles while compiling a career filled with firsts. In addition to breaking the color barrier in tennis (1950), she was the first African American to win singles titles at the French Championships (1956), Wimbledon (1957) and the U.S. Nationals (1957). With her success, she became the first African American to be named Associated Press Woman Athlete of the Year (1957 and 1958). Gibson won eleven Grand Slam titles in all, adding six doubles crowns to her singles success.

“Althea Gibson’s talent, dignity and unrelenting desire to achieve made her a great champion,” said Jane Brown Grimes, President and Chairman of the Board, USTA. “She made tennis a better place, by opening doors and opening minds. She is finally receiving the recognition she so richly deserves.”

“Opening Night will be an important and historic evening at the US Open with the celebration of Althea Gibson -- the ‘Jackie Robinson of tennis’,” said Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive, Pro Tennis, USTA. “We look forward to celebrating her remarkable achievements knowing her legacy will now live on among the greatest champions ever to compete at the US Open and U.S. Championships.”

“Althea Gibson is a true pioneer and trailblazer. She broke through racial barriers in tennis in pre-civil rights times and I will always be grateful to her for having the strength and the courage to triumph in extreme adversity,” said Venus Williams. “Her accomplishments set the stage for my success, and through players like me, Serena, and many others to come, her legacy will live on.”

US Open Court of Champions Induction

As part of the on-court ceremonies on Opening Night, Gibson will be inducted into the US Open Court of Champions, which salutes the greatest singles champions in the history of the U.S. Championships/US Open. An individual, permanent monument will serve as a lasting tribute on-site at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, US Open Court of Champions.

Gibson was the leader in voting conducted by a panel of international print and broadcast journalists. She will join prior inductees Don Budge, Maureen Connolly, Jimmy Connors, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Billie Jean King, Jack Kramer, Rod Laver, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Bill Tilden and Helen Wills.

USTA Salutes African American Female Firsts

In recognition of Gibson’s accomplishments, the USTA has invited African American women who achieved a “first” in their respective disciplines to participate in an on-court ceremony on Opening Night. The world of sports, entertainment, politics and the arts will all be represented on-court. Gibson possessed remarkable courage and her story is as inspiring as the stories of these African American women, who also paved their own way to reach their goals.

The following African American female firsts are confirmed to participate in the Althea Gibson tribute, “Breaking Barriers”:

Name African American Female "Firsts"
Yolanda Adams First to receive the Contemporary/Inspirational Artist Award, the American Music Awards
Ella Bully-Cummings First to be appointed Chief of Police, Detroit Police Department
Cynthia Cooper First to score 2500 career points in WNBA history
Sheila Crump Johnson First to achieve billionaire status and to own, or be partner in 3 WNBA franchises
Roberta Flack First to student teach in a predominately all-white school in the 1950s
Vonetta Flowers First to win a gold medal, Winter Olympics
Zina Garrison First to win an Olympic tennis medal
Nikki Giovanni First to receive the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award
Traci Green First head coach at Harvard University
Dr. Mae Jemison First to become an astronaut, Space Shuttle Endeavour
Jackie Joyner-Kersee First to win back-to-back gold medals in the heptathlon event
Carol Moseley Braun First to be elected to U.S. Senate (Democrat, Illinois)
Hazel O'Leary First to be appointed Secretary of Energy
Sharon Pratt Kelly First to be elected Mayor of large U.S. city (Washington D.C.)
Phylicia Rashad First to win a Tony, Best Performance Leading Actress, Play
Susan L. Taylor First to receive the Henry Johnson Fisher Award
Dr. Debi Thomas First to win a Winter Olympic medal, Figure Skating
Lynette Woodard First to join the Harlem Globetrotters

International Hall of Fame Exhibit at the US Open

Gibson’s achievements will also be included in a special exhibit at the US Open Gallery located in Louis Armstrong Stadium. During the US Open, the International Tennis Hall of Fame will showcase “Breaking the Barriers…the ATA and Black Tennis Pioneers,” a special exhibit featuring the unheralded champions of early black tennis. The exhibit tells the story of the American Tennis Association (ATA), which organized competitive tennis opportunities for the black community, encouraged player development and fought discrimination in the sport. The ATA, the oldest African American sports association in the U.S., celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. Many of the most well-known black tennis stars emerged from the ATA including Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Zina Garrison, Katrina Adams and MaliVai Washington.
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2007-08-15/200708151187195923532.html
USOpen.org IBM gets USOpen.org done
To print this page, select "Print" from your browser's File menu.
USTA To Honor Althea Gibson on Opening Night
Wednesday, August 15, 2007

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Jena 6

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:35:52 GMT

there is no video to but just listen to what they have to say......

http://youtube.com/watch?v=D6XHYhlbzvU

posted in Black People - 1 reply

US food aid is 'wrecking' Africa, claims charity

chycho — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 02:47:51 GMT

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2871490.ece

US food aid is 'wrecking' Africa, claims charity
By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Published: 17 August 2007

Critics of US food aid subsidies say they help cause obesity among Americans and starvation among Africans.

Now Care, one of the world's biggest charities, has announced that it will boycott the controversial policy of selling tons of heavily subsidised US produced food in African countries. Care wants the US government to send money to buy food locally, rather than unwanted US produced food.

The US arm of the charity says America is causing rather than reducing hunger with a decree that US food aid must be sold rather than directly distributed to those facing starvation. In America, the subsidies for corn in particular, help underpin the junk food industry, which uses corn extracts as a sweetener, creating a home-grown a health crisis.

The farm lobby meanwhile has a stranglehold on Congress, which has balked at making any changes that would interfere with a system that promotes overproduction of commodities.

Critics of the policy say it also undermines African farmers' ability to produce food, making the most vulnerable countries of the world even more dependent on aid to avert famine.

Under the system Washington buys tens of millions of dollars of surplus corn and other products from agribusiness. The food, which can only be exported on US flagged ships, is then sold by charities to raise money to pay for emergencies.

Globally, about 800 million are chronically hungry and the number is rising every year. US farmers love the present system, but it is slow and unresponsive when there are food emergencies.

Care has caused a huge upset in the American charitable sector by deciding to phase out the practice. It has also upset US agribusiness and shipping interests, which benefit to the tune of some $180m a year from the practice.

Attempts to get Congress to end the policy, as it debates a new farm bill that will last for the next five years, have failed.

Alina Labrada, a spokeswoman for Care said: "I don't think that Americans who generously donate want people to go hungry at their expense."

Care's decision has led to a rift with some of the biggest US charities, including World Vision, Feed the Children and Africare, who rely on the system to fund a large part of their budgets. They argue that it keeps hard currency in impoverished countries and stops food prices rising.

The US claims to be the world's most generous provider of food aid, giving $2bn annually. Much of that aid lost in the overheads of shipping it to Africa.

Not only does subsidised US food hurt African farmers, but food purchased in the US regularly takes four months to reach the destination where there is an emergency. In contrast food bought locally takes only days to arrive.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Max Roach R.I.P.

DevastatorJr — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:51:49 GMT

Max Roach R.I.P.

Max Roach, the jazz drummer, composer, bandleader and educator whose approach to rhythm had a profound effect on music in the second half of the 20th century, died of an unspecified illness at his home in New York last night. He was 83 years old.

Born in Newland, North Carolina in 1924, Roach and his family settled in Brooklyn in the late 1920s. An early interest in music was encouraged, and he was drumming with bands by the age of ten. Roach is one of the last surviving members of the generation of musicians who came to prominence in New York in the 1940s and set in motion the influential jazz style that came to be known as bebop. Both Roach and fellow drummer Kenny Clarke were ubiquitous on the scene, which also included saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, among others.

With its faster tempos and adventurous use of harmony, bebop was arguably the first jazz movement to position itself as art rather than entertainment. Roach, building on the innovations of Clarke, strove to free his instrument from its timekeeping role, establishing the drums as an improvisational voice and exploring the textural properties of percussion.
Roach continued to be identified with the first wave of bebop musicians his entire life, an association that peaked upon the release of the landmark Jazz at Massey Hall, a 1953 album featuring Parker, Gillespie, Powell, and bassist Charles Mingus (the album was released on the Debut label, an artist-run imprint started by Roach and Mingus). But he never stayed in one place for long and his music continued to evolve.

During the 50s and 60s, Roach became involved in the civil rights movement, and his activism was reflected in his work. His controversial and ambitious 1960 album We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, which directly addressed oppression in the United States and Africa, became a classic of both jazz and political art.

Roach was a relentless experimenter, working in virtually every setting, from solo to percussion ensembles to duets to big bands. He joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst as a professor in the early 70s and taught at the Lenox School of Jazz. In 1988, he was the recipient of a MacArthur foundation "genius grant," the first jazz musician to receive the award. An outspoken commentator and intellectual who could give a great interview, Roach occasionally drew connections between jazz and the rhythmic innovations and political consciousness of hip-hop (he appeared onstage with Fab Five Freddy and a team of breakdancers at a concert in the early 80s).

Posted by Mark Richardson in obituary on Thu: 08-16-07:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/44939-surprise-a-new-beck-single

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Subverting Stereotypes

DevastatorJr — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:02:27 GMT

Subverting Stereotypes

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2007/08/15

On today’s show, journalists from The Washington Post discuss their year-long exploration of what it’s like to be a black man in America. Then, a professor of psychiatry who's also a chronic paranoid schizophrenic explains how she's managed to lead a full and productive life. Also, a writer explains how Homer’s The Odyssey influenced his literary debut. And word maven Patricia T. O’Conner explores pronunciation errors and takes calls from listeners.

Being a Black Man

Over the past 50 years, black men have been perhaps the most studied and dissected population subgroup in America. The Washington Post recently wrapped a year-long series exploring what it’s really like to be a black man in America. The series has been compiled into a book, Being a Black Man. Leonard speaks with editor Kevin Merida and one of the contributors, Robert E. Pierre.

Weigh in: Do you think the mainstream media does a good job of talking about the experiences of black men in America?

Listen @ http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2007/08/15

posted in Black People - 0 replies

ICP 14 is now available--Please share this news with your friends

Ron — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:46:18 GMT

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

The 14th edition of the ICP is now available at the blog Straight, Not Narrow at the following link:

http://straightnotnarrow.blogspot.com/2004/08/welcome-to-14th-edition-of.html

This edition includes original artwork from HIV+ Colombian artist Farid de la Ossa, an original Spanish-language poem with translation by Mexican poet Jeannette Clariond, a video blog from the American comic ANT at his ANT Colony and a spoken-word video from my friend and 1 Giant Leap collaborator Rich Ferguson of Los Angeles, CA. Other posts address recognizing alcoholism within the HIV/AIDS community, as well as other thought-provoking articles about living with HIV/AIDS. We have a number of returning contributors as well as new participants. Please take a few minutes to visit and bookmark this edition so that you can enjoy it at your leisure over the next month.

Please visit the ICP homepage to learn more about this project and how you can contribute at the following link:

http://internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com/

We are now accepting submissions for edition 15 to be hosted at the blog Living Mindfully with HIV. Please consider contributing your original artwork, poetry, news, personal accounts, short stories, and video or music files for the next edition. The more of you who actively submit your articles, the more I will be able to identify and solicit new participants for this project.

I hope that you will join the growing community of contributors and hosts for this important international forum for genuine voices of AIDS and allies. Please note that we are still seeking hosts for our November, 2007, edition and for all editions beyond December, 2007. If you are interested in hosting the ICP, please email me at ron(dot)hudson(at)verizon(dot)net and I will make the process for you as painless as possible. Return hosts are welcome!

If you have a blog, please feel free to post a notice about the availability of this edition. Also, please share this note with your friends. We need to involve as many people as possible. I really appreciate all of the links that you have added for the ICP in your blog sidebars and would encourage any of you who have not yet done so to consider adding a permanent link to the ICP to your blog.

<b>TO BE ADDED OR REMOVED FROM THE ICP MAILING LIST</b>

If you would like to be added to or removed from the ICP mailing list, please email me with either the word REMOVE or SUBSCRIBE in the subject line of the email and I will ensure that your desires are followed. This email list is confidential and will not be shared with anyone. All correspondence is handled using blind copy so that your identity will be protected.

Peace to you and yours.

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Stop Trying To 'Save' Africa

LiteraryMasturbator — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 02:04:49 GMT

By Uzodinma Iweala
Sunday, July 15, 2007; Page B07

Last fall, shortly after I returned from Nigeria, I was accosted by a perky blond college student whose blue eyes seemed to match the "African" beads around her wrists.

"Save Darfur!" she shouted from behind a table covered with pamphlets urging students to TAKE ACTION NOW! STOP GENOCIDE IN DARFUR!

My aversion to college kids jumping onto fashionable social causes nearly caused me to walk on, but her next shout stopped me.

"Don't you want to help us save Africa?" she yelled.

It seems that these days, wracked by guilt at the humanitarian crisis it has created in the Middle East, the West has turned to Africa for redemption. Idealistic college students, celebrities such as Bob Geldof and politicians such as Tony Blair have all made bringing light to the dark continent their mission. They fly in for internships and fact-finding missions or to pick out children to adopt in much the same way my friends and I in New York take the subway to the pound to adopt stray dogs.

This is the West's new image of itself: a sexy, politically active generation whose preferred means of spreading the word are magazine spreads with celebrities pictured in the foreground, forlorn Africans in the back. Never mind that the stars sent to bring succor to the natives often are, willingly, as emaciated as those they want to help.

Perhaps most interesting is the language used to describe the Africa being saved. For example, the Keep a Child Alive/" I am African" ad campaign features portraits of primarily white, Western celebrities with painted "tribal markings" on their faces above "I AM AFRICAN" in bold letters. Below, smaller print says, "help us stop the dying."

Such campaigns, however well intentioned, promote the stereotype of Africa as a black hole of disease and death. News reports constantly focus on the continent's corrupt leaders, warlords, "tribal" conflicts, child laborers, and women disfigured by abuse and genital mutilation. These descriptions run under headlines like "Can Bono Save Africa?" or "Will Brangelina Save Africa?" The relationship between the West and Africa is no longer based on openly racist beliefs, but such articles are reminiscent of reports from the heyday of European colonialism, when missionaries were sent to Africa to introduce us to education, Jesus Christ and "civilization."

There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do question whether aid is genuine or given in the spirit of affirming one's cultural superiority. My mood is dampened every time I attend a benefit whose host runs through a litany of African disasters before presenting a (usually) wealthy, white person, who often proceeds to list the things he or she has done for the poor, starving Africans. Every time a well-meaning college student speaks of villagers dancing because they were so grateful for her help, I cringe. Every time a Hollywood director shoots a film about Africa that features a Western protagonist, I shake my head -- because Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West's fantasy of itself. And not only do such depictions tend to ignore the West's prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems.

Why do the media frequently refer to African countries as having been "granted independence from their colonial masters," as opposed to having fought and shed blood for their freedom? Why do Angelina Jolie and Bono receive overwhelming attention for their work in Africa while Nwankwo Kanu or Dikembe Mutombo, Africans both, are hardly ever mentioned? How is it that a former mid-level U.S. diplomat receives more attention for his cowboy antics in Sudan than do the numerous African Union countries that have sent food and troops and spent countless hours trying to negotiate a settlement among all parties in that crisis?

Two years ago I worked in a camp for internally displaced people in Nigeria, survivors of an uprising that killed about 1,000 people and displaced 200,000. True to form, the Western media reported on the violence but not on the humanitarian work the state and local governments -- without much international help -- did for the survivors. Social workers spent their time and in many cases their own salaries to care for their compatriots. These are the people saving Africa, and others like them across the continent get no credit for their work.

Last month the Group of Eight industrialized nations and a host of celebrities met in Germany to discuss, among other things, how to save Africa. Before the next such summit, I hope people will realize Africa doesn't want to be saved. Africa wants the world to acknowledge that through fair partnerships with other members of the global community, we ourselves are capable of unprecedented growth.

Uzodinma Iweala is the author of "Beasts of No Nation," a novel about child soldiers.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

MUST SEE! Docu. on Christ Myth, 911 Myth and The federal reserve bank

Nuru — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:01:16 GMT

There are 3 parts to this documentary. Part 1 is the greatest story ever told about the link of Christianity to astrology and horus, Part 2 is about the 911 conspiracy, and Part 3 is about the federal reserve and the war in Iraq. It's 2 hours long and I would really like to know what you think about this movie. Most stuff I already knew or heard but something's like the central bank story I didn't. I really like the way he presented it.

See it FREE here.

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

Thanks

posted in Black People - 1 reply

International Carnival of Pozitivities to support People living with HIV/AIDS

Ron — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:03:12 GMT

Dear Friends,

My name is Ron Hudson. I am a 22 year survivor of HIV/AIDS and a gay man living in Durham, NC. In June, 2006, I founded the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP) to provide a forum for expression for all people living with HIV/AIDS and their allies. This forum accepts artwork, poetry, video, music, personal accounts, short stories and maybe other media that I haven't thought of yet to present the stories of real people living with HIV/AIDS in the entire world.

I am an activist because of what I learned from my 7th grade History teacher. As a student at NC A&T University, he joined in the lunch counter protests in Greensboro, NC, and later taught me about the fear and risk it takes to do what is right when public opinion is against you. I am proud to say that my teacher is now the Majority Whip of the NC House. Because of him, I am here now, making myself vulnerable and revealing my health status to share my awareness of the risks of HIV/AIDS. Please read on.

I hope that you will be open to visiting the homepage of the ICP and to linking to its 13 existing editions to check out what we are about. The link to the site is:

www.internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com

I also hope that you will join me in fighting the stigma of HIV/AIDS. This disease is not a punishment from God for behavior. Instead, it is a real possibility that we all have to take into account in our daily lives and interactions with others. If you are touched by HIV/AIDS in any way, either personally or by knowing, loving or caring for someone, even strangers, with HIV/AIDS, then please consider writing your thoughts and sharing them within this forum.

Peace to you all. I wish everyone well.

Ron Hudson

posted in Black People - 0 replies

'Ghetto dude' email sent by mistake: province

SHOCKA — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 18:31:18 GMT

July 21, 2007
Toronto Star

Evon Reid couldn't believe his eyes yesterday morning when he opened an email from the Ontario government's cabinet office where he'd applied for a position.

"This is the ghetto dude that I spoke to before," said the email to the University of Toronto honours student from the very person handling his job application.

That was it. One stark sentence.

"Ghetto dude? It means I'm black. It's very insulting," Reid told the Star yesterday. "It's still pretty shocking to me."

As he sees it, the email explains why he hasn't gotten a followup interview for a job as a media analyst. He applied July 3 but missed a July 10 call from Aileen Siu in the cabinet office.

Although he called her back and sent followup emails, there was no response. Until yesterday's email.

"Based on my resumé I deserved to be called, but I was not worthy of being called back once they heard my mother's voice and my voice," said Reid, 22. "She has a Jamaican accent and it's about the way I talk. There's a nuance."

And so he asks: "Is it standard policy in the (Dalton) McGuinty cabinet office not to hire any ghetto dudes?"

The email was never intended for Reid, according to Siu, who learned she had sent it to him only when the Star telephoned yesterday.

An acting team leader in cabinet office hiring, she said she was "multi-tasking" Thursday when she hit the wrong button and copied Reid on an email she was sending to a job-search colleague.

"It wasn't directed at Evon at all. That was internal ... It didn't have anything to do with any of the applicants," said Siu, 26, and a recent U of T political science graduate.

She insisted the email didn't refer to anyone "outside my circle of friends."

Siu acknowledged the term is negative but said, "I don't even know what nationality he is, right?" She added she's of Asian descent and doesn't want anyone to think she makes racially based judgments.

Reached on vacation in the Maritimes, Craig Sumi, manager of Siu's department, last night referred to her as "an unclassified, part-time employee ... low level."

"I don't know where you're going with this," he said.

However, he termed the email "totally inappropriate ... a complete error in judgment" and said he'd left a message of apology late yesterday on Reid's voice mail.

According to Siu, Reid is still a candidate for the position he sees as "a dream job for any political science student/political junkie such as myself."

He had been instantly intrigued by the job posting on the U of T website as a foot in the door at Queen's Park.

"A very challenging and interesting position which is a critical part of day-to-day media monitoring and analysis for the Government of Ontario," said the posting.

The work would be "for use by senior levels of government ... (applicant must) write high-level summaries of important issues and events ... (working in) the most technologically advanced and comprehensive media operation in Canada."

Reid thought he'd be a good candidate. His resumé appears stellar:

A summer course in international management strategies at the University of Hong Kong; one credit short of an honours degree in political science at U of T; completed project on paradigm shifts in United States foreign policy; working on another to evaluate the effects of electoral reform on public policy.

Extensive job experience; Get Reel Festival organizer; founder of Canadian International Peace project (at U of T's Scarborough campus); participant in Forum for Young Canadians on Parliament Hill; etc., etc.

In a reference letter, an executive with White Oaks Conference Resort called Reid "truly a valuable asset to our company ... a trustworthy, dependable young man that takes initiative in work that has to be done."

Reid saw another reason for the email. "I'm from Malvern," in Scarborough, he said. "The community I live in has one of the highest levels of youth unemployment in Canada. I'd hate to think that this (memo) accounts for that."

www.thestar.com/article/238413

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Racial Litmus Test for all our White friends

Wizard-Of-Air — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:03:53 GMT

I'm going to put the following feature article, which I received fromnThe colorofchange.org website, in my blog. I will be heading it "A Litmust Test for Racism". My premise will be for all my White friends (many of whom are like family to me) to either take some action or just go tsk tsk tsk. If they do the former they are the people whom I thought they were. If they do the latter, they shouldn't have any problem with being called racist. You may consider doing the same with your White friends. I leave it to your discretion.

Last fall in Jena, Louisiana, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more Black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."1

A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in "their place"--but it's happening today. The families of these young men are fighting back, but the odds are stacked against them. Together, we can make sure their story is told, that this becomes an issue for the Governor of Louisiana, and that justice is provided for the Jena 6. It starts now. Please add your voice:

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2155-117263

The noose-hanging incident and the DA's visit to the school set the stage for everything that followed. Racial tension escalated over the next couple of months, and on November 30, the main academic building of Jena High School was burned down in an unsolved fire. Later the same weekend, a black student was beaten up by white students at a party. The next day, black students at a convenience store were threatened by a young white man with a shotgun. They wrestled the gun from him and ran away. While no charges were filed against the white man, the students were arrested for the theft of the gun.2

That Monday at school, a white student, who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses, taunted the black student who was beaten up at the off-campus party and allegedly called several black students "nigger." After lunch, he was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students. He was taken to the hospital but was released and was well enough to go to a social event that evening.3

Six Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high -- between $70,000 and $138,000 -- that the boys were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.4

The first trial ended last month, and Mychal Bell, who has been in prison since December, was convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial where his public defender called no witnesses. During his trial, Mychal's parents were ordered not to speak to the media and the court prohibited protests from taking place near the courtroom or where the judge could see them.

Mychal is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31st, and could go to jail for 22 years.5 Theo Shaw's trial is next. He will finally make bail this week.

The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones who are fighting tooth and nail to free them. They have been threatened but they are standing strong. We know that if the families have to go it alone, their sons will be a long time coming home. They will lose precious years to Jena's outrageous attempt to maintain a racist status quo. But if we act now, we can make a difference.

Please add your voice to the voices of these families in Jena, and help bring Mychal, Theo, Robert, Carwin, and Bryant home. By clicking below, you can demand that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get involved to make sure that justice is served for Mychal Bell, and that DA Reed Walters drop the charges against the 5 boys who have not yet gone to trial.

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2155-117263

Thank You and Peace,

-- James, Van, Gabriel, Clarissa, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 17th, 2007

References:

1. "Injustice in Jena as Nooses Hang From the ‘White Tree,'" truthout, July 3, 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070307B.shtml

2. "Racial demons rear heads," Chicago Tribune, May 20, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/yvh7t5

3. See reference #1.

4. See reference #1.

5. "'Jena Six' defendant convicted," Town Talk, June 29, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/ysxtgg

Other resources:

NPR: Searching for Justice in Jena 6 Case (streaming audio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11756302

Democracy Now! - The case of the Jena Six ...
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220

Too Sense: Free The Jena Six Now
http://halfricanrevolution.blogspot.com/2007/07/free-jena-six-now.html

While Seated: Jena Six
http://www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml

Nooses, attacks and jail for black students in Jena Louisiana
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/28/144445/384

Justice In Jena, by Jordan Flaherty
http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=12783§ionID=30

The Perpetrator becomes the Prosecutor (and other related entries)
http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/blog/

'Stealth racism' stalks deep South
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/6685441.stm

posted in Black People - 1 reply

US farm subsidies favor big over small, white over black.

chycho — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:04:39 GMT

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/062207LB.shtml

A Slow Demise in the Delta
By Gilbert M. Gaul and Dan Morgan
The Washington Post

Wednesday 20 June 2007

US farm subsidies favor big over small, white over black.

Shelby, Mississippi - From 2001 to 2005, the federal government spent nearly $1.2 billion in agricultural subsidies to boost farmers' incomes and invigorate local economies in this poverty-stricken region of the Mississippi Delta.

Most residents are black, but less than 5 percent of the money went to black farmers. They own relatively little land, and so they generally do not qualify for the payments. Ninety-five percent of the money went to large, commercial farms, virtually all of which have white owners.

In Bolivar County, where Shelby is located, farmers received a total of $200 million in crop subsidies over the five-year period, while just $11 million in Rural Development grants from the Agriculture Department went to replace the abandoned factories, decaying houses and boarded-up downtowns in dozens of dirt-poor, majority-black Delta towns.

Many of these towns are trapped in a long, painful death spiral, plagued by poverty, crime and unemployment. More than 100,000 people - nearly a quarter of the population - have fled in recent decades in search of a better life.

"It's just a sad situation," said Judy Hill, who leads a women's group that is desperately trying to rescue what is left of the small agricultural town of Shelby, which has a cotton gin, two liquor stores and not much else. "There's no industry, no factories, no hope for the future, nothing to keep the people here. And what the answer is, I don't know."

The farm bill that Congress is now crafting is a complex mosaic of competing goals, including income support for farmers, conservation incentives and the preservation of rural communities by spurring economic growth. Farm subsidies are meant to tide growers over when prices fall or when disasters strike. The Rural Development grants, on the other hand, are supposed to help small, struggling communities such as Shelby. Yet in the Delta, farm subsidies are massive, while Rural Development money is relatively scanty. From 2001 to 2005, the Agriculture Department awarded $1.18 billion in subsidies but just $54.8 million in Rural Development grants for housing, new businesses, water systems and other projects, a Washington Post investigation found.

"The policy choice that Congress has made is so stark," said Charles W. Fluharty, director of the Rural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "You see the effects in lots of poor rural communities. But the tragedy is exacerbated in the minority communities."

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) said the importance of agriculture to the Mississippi Delta economy is "undeniable" because it contributes hundreds of millions in state and federal taxes and is "a driving force" behind progress there in the past few years. "The challenge we face centers around ensuring that we pursue the most responsible and fair policies when seeking to sustain our nation's agriculture industry," he told The Post in an e-mail interview.

The wide disparity between subsidies for farmers and Rural Development money for agriculture communities highlights one of the contradictions of federal farm policy, which favors big agriculture over small farms and poor rural towns. In the Delta, it has helped to preserve a two-tiered economy and a widening economic chasm between the races, according to local residents, government officials and researchers.

"You're in the Delta. Most of the real economy is controlled by large families. It has been that way for 200 to 300 years," said Ben F. Burkett, a black small farmer who also works part time for the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives. "We'd like to break that cycle and create new businesses. But there's not much money for that. You see what we get from Rural Development. It's not much, is it?"

Agriculture Department officials declined to comment for this article.

Farmland in the Mississippi Delta has been passed down from generation to generation and built up through acquisitions, with whites controlling most of the land. In Bolivar County, whites now own 421,000 acres, records show, while blacks own 22,000 acres. Because farm subsides are based on farm size and production, most of the payments go to the large operations.

Farm-state lawmakers have repeatedly argued that the farm subsidies will trickle down to the local economies, spurring growth. But as farms consolidate and become more mechanized, there are fewer jobs, especially for unskilled laborers.

"The problem with agriculture is that it's not a wealth builder for the people who live here," said John Greer Jr., director of the Mid-Delta Empowerment Zone in Leflore County. "It's a wealth builder for the few who own the property and the resources."

But the farmers say they would not be able to survive without their subsidies. "I am not getting rich on subsidies," said G. Rives Neblett, a Shelby lawyer and businessman whose family has farmed here for three generations. Farms in which Neblett holds an interest have received about $3 million in federal payments since 2001.

"I understand the disparity and desperately wish there was something we could do about it," he said. "But without the safety net of subsidies for prices and bad weather, we would have no more agriculture in the Delta, and agriculture is all we've got left."

"We've Lost Generations"

When income supports for farmers were first passed during the Great Depression, nearly 1 in 4 Americans lived on a farm. Today, 1 in 75 lives on a farm, and 1 in 750 on a full-time commercial farm. Still, the subsidies flow, with cotton and rice producers in the Delta among the largest beneficiaries.

Despite the payments, many rural economies have seen their populations wilt and have lost thousands of jobs. That is true in poor, isolated farm towns in the Great Plains states, as well as in the Delta, where sprawling farms abut tiny towns like Shelby and Mound Bayou, which are all but boarded up.

This trend is especially pronounced in this northwest corner of the Mississippi Delta, where subsidies and poverty rank among the highest in the nation.

Bolivar County has lost nearly 5 percent of its population and more than 10 percent of its non-farm jobs since 2001, federal data show. Sunflower County lost 6 percent of its population and 19 percent of its non-farm jobs. Humphreys County lost 6 percent of its population and almost 36 percent of its non-farm jobs.

"We've lost entire generations of young blacks because we told them to stay in school and get a good job," said John Mayo, a state legislator who represents several Delta counties. "But unfortunately there's not a good job for them to get when they get out. The smart kids are leaving. It leaves us with the families who have given up hope."

Some officials and residents blame crime, drugs, underperforming schools, an unskilled labor pool and poor work habits for the area's demise, not a shortage of federal aid. Neblett said that children "don't have a dog's chance" of succeeding in some Delta schools.

Mimi Dossett, the Bolivar County administrator, said: "We have had employers who just gave up and left. It takes longer to train people around here because of the poor education ... and workforce turnover is terrible."

"It's a tough situation," said Willie F. Brown, a member of the Humphreys County Board of Supervisors since 1988. "We hired an economic development person. They leave empty-handed. They come back empty-handed."

One industry that is succeeding in the Delta is casino gambling, which arrived in Tunica County, near Memphis, in 1993. At the time, the county had an annual budget of $3 million and most of the same problems that the rest of the Delta had. Today, it has a budget of $51 million and uses the money for new roads, recreation centers and housing grants for the elderly and disabled.

"The casinos pay great benefits. The wages average maybe $9 to $10 an hour," said Clifton Johnson, the chief financial officer for Tunica County. "Some people would probably say that's not a living wage. But I would say for this area that is a living wage."

Goal Is "One New Business"

Decades ago, the agricultural town of Shelby was a thriving community with stores and restaurants and a busy downtown. Mayor Dorothy Grim recalled traveling here from a nearby town as a child to do her "shopping and trading." The cotton and rice farms were a source of jobs and money.

But as agriculture changed, so did Shelby. Farms got bigger. Combines went from four rows to six to eight, and now to a dozen. There was less need for unskilled laborers. Less money changing hands.

Small businesses began to close. School integration and a complicated race history accelerated the flight of white families. Today, more than 90 percent of Shelby's 2,700 residents are black. The median household income of $17,798 is less than half the national average. Most of the stores straddling downtown Beale Street are boarded up. Many neighborhoods are scarred with tumbledown bungalows and weed-choked lots.

A few years back, Grim, Hill and a cluster of other spirited women formed a group called Shelby Women United to tackle the town's problems. With a state grant and a lot of elbow grease, they helped transform an old train depot into a library. Volunteers tore down 80 dilapidated buildings and removed abandoned cars. Now, the group is searching for ways to attract businesses and start a chamber of commerce.

"The goal is to get one new business to go into one of these abandoned buildings," said Hill, 66, who moved to Shelby nine years ago and is white. "That would be a good start."

Shelby has received modest help from the Agriculture Department's Rural Development program but is seeking much more. From 2001 to 2005, it received a total of $106,000 that was used to buy police cars and a mower.

"We would like to get more help from Rural Development," Grim said. "But it's hard because we're small and don't have the staff."

In 2005, Congress slashed the Rural Development budget by $439 million as part of a budget reconciliation. The remaining funding is stretched across 40 programs, including water and sewer projects, rental assistance, and grants for police cars. More than half of the awards are loans and loan guarantees, not grants. Four of the 10 counties studied by The Post received no economic development money.

"It takes an enormous amount of energy and time to get anything done that is not farm-related," said Robert L. Jackson, a state senator from Quitman County and director of a nonprofit development corporation.

"They Have No Hope"

Rogers Morris, 61, operates one of the few large black-owned farms in Bolivar County. He grows sweet potatoes, soybeans and vegetables on about 500 acres near Mound Bayou. "We're not impacted much," he said of the federal subsidies. "I maybe get $8,000 to $9,000" a year. "It helps a little. But the subsidies basically go to white farmers."

In the mid-1990s, Morris received a federal grant to help start a sweet-potato processing plant in Mound Bayou. The idea was to provide jobs for some of the young unemployed men during planting and harvest seasons. The potatoes came from the fields of local black farmers. The plant created about 20 temporary jobs, Morris said.

Now, he and several other black farmers hope to get help from Rural Development to expand. Their plan is to use the same facility to clean and process a variety of fresh vegetables and sell them at local markets and to the casinos in Tunica County. "We want to use people who are unskilled, people who are left on the wayside," Morris said. "So many of our people are on the corners. They have no hope. It is a real struggle."

Morris has been more fortunate than many black farmers. He grew up in a farm family and returned here after receiving undergraduate and master's degrees. He has slowly built up his farm and now is able to borrow from a local bank. "Borrowing has always been a problem" for small black farmers, he said. "And borrowing from the government has not been the best, either. That has hampered the black farmer."

A decade-old lawsuit by black farmers against the Agriculture Department alleged a pattern of discrimination. Settlements are still being sorted out and Morris said that he could possibly receive a cash award. The department has since created a program to help minority farmers, but the impact has been modest. The powerful county farm committees, which hire the county Farm Service Agency executive and help enforce federal farm policies, continue to be dominated by whites. Nationally, there are 7,882 committee members, but just 90 of them are black. In Mississippi there are 236 committee members, only eight of whom are black.

Neblett, the Shelby farmer, worries that the economic and education gaps between whites and blacks in the Delta have grown so wide they may never be bridged. "We're now to the point that it is such a culture difference between those who are privileged and who had the education that I don't know how you will close that [gap]," he said.

Pat W. Denton, who is from a prominent white Shelby farm family, recently moved to Cleveland, Miss. He still rents out 1,600 acres back home and is part owner of the local cotton gin. "When I was a kid we had theaters, service stations and steakhouses in Shelby," he said. "Now, it's just going down."

As farmers shift from cotton to corn to take advantage of higher prices, even the cotton gin is emptying out. "We used to do 35,000 bales," Denton said. "We might do 15,000 this year."

Said Judy Hill: "That's what's happening all over. These Delta towns, they're just folding up."

posted in Black People - 4 replies

All-white jury convicts Black teen

SHOCKA — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:09:09 GMT

By Abbey Brown
abrown@thetowntalk.com
July 1, 2007

JENA, La. -- After deliberating for less than three hours Thursday, an all-white jury of six returned with a unanimous guilty verdict on the highest possible charges for the first member of the "Jena Six" to face trial.

Mychal Bell, 17, could be as old as 40 when released from jail if given the maximum sentence for aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit that crime -- more than 22 years. He was 16 when the incident took place.

Bell is one of six black teens charged in a Dec. 4 fight at Jena High School that left Justin Barker -- white -- unconscious. The attack and arrests have made headlines from Chicago to China and have been held up as the culmination of racial unrest in Jena.

Bell and the others arrested -- Theo Shaw, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and an unnamed juvenile -- were charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the same, although Bell's charges were reduced Monday without explanation just before the trial started.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 31.

http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070629/NEWS01/706290325

posted in Black People - 4 replies

Espionage in college!

Andrea — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 21:59:53 GMT

this is a cut and paste job..what's contained in the article is scary serious bussiness.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/06/12/fbi_warns_colleges_of_terror_threat/
US university students will not be able to work late at the campus, travel abroad, show interest in their colleagues' work, have friends outside the United States, engage in independent research, or make extra money without the prior consent of the authorities, according to a set of guidelines given to administrators by the FBI.

Federal agents are visiting some of the New England's top universities, including MIT, Boston College, and the University of Massachusetts, to warn university heads about the dangers of foreign spies and terrorists stealing sensitive academic research.

FBI is offering to brief faculty, students and staff on what it calls "espionage indicators" aimed at identifying foreign agents.

Unexplained affluence, failing to report overseas travel, showing unusual interest in information outside the job scope, keeping unusual work hours, unreported contacts with foreign nationals, unreported contact with foreign government, military, or intelligence officials, attempting to gain new accesses without the need to know, and unexplained absences are all considered potential espionage indicators.

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to monitor their colleagues for signs of suspicious behaviour and report any concerns to the FBI or the military.

"What we're most concerned about are those things that are not classified being developed by MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology], Worcester Polytech [Worcester Polytechnic Institute] and other universities," Warren Bamford, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, told the Boston Herald. "It's to make sure these institutions receive training...[on] what spies look for. There are hundreds of projects going on that could be useful to a foreign power."

"My understanding is that what the FBI is proposing is not illegal, but it does raise questions about the chilling effect in regard to academia,"Chris Ott, Communications Manager of the ACLU of Massachusetts told WSWS. "What will it mean about feeling free to pursue information? People on the campuses will be afraid to ask questions or take on the investigation of certain areas, say, for example, nuclear energy. "

University administrators have expressed their appreciation of FBI efforts.

"It was a very nice offer," Robert A. Weygand, vice president for administration and a former Rhode Island congressman told the Boston Herald. "We are taking it under consideration."

Last year the FBI initiated the College and University Security Effort (CAUSE), in order to establish an "alliance" between the Federal agency and academic institutions.

According to the FBI, through CAUSE, Special Agents in charge meet with the heads of local colleges to discuss national security issues and to share information and ideas.

http://pressesc.com/01182668252_espionage_indicators

um..didn't cut and paste the boston globe link..but i cut and pasted the article from the above link.

posted in Black People - 1 reply

Malian journalists convicted of insulting president

SHOCKA — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:11:57 GMT

Committee to Protect Journalists
June 26, 2007

Five Malian journalists who covered a high school essay assignment — and the teacher who commissioned the lesson — were convicted of insulting President Amadou Toumani Toure, according to news reports and local journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the verdicts, which stemmed from a classroom exercise about an imaginary presidential sex scandal, and called for the convictions to be reversed on appeal.

“These spurious charges for covering a school assignment spoil Mali’s record of upholding democracy and press freedom,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “President Toure is credited with helping to establish democracy in Mali, but these charges undermine that record and set a dangerous precedent for the future.”

The journalists’ lawyer, Mamdou Konaté, said he will file an appeal. High security surrounded the closed, one-day trial; as many as 300 people had sought to attend the proceedings, a local journalist told CPJ.

The case began two weeks ago when Seydine Oumar Diarra, a journalist for the independent daily Info-Matin, was jailed in connection with a June 1 story headlined “The Mistress of the President.” Diarra’s story featured interviews with a high school teacher and his students regarding an essay assignment about a fictional sex scandal involving an African leader. Literature teacher Bassirou Kassim Minta told Diarra he assigned the essay as a way to help his students explore moral issues.

Diarra was sentenced to the 13 days in prison that he already served while awaiting trial. Info-Matin Director Sambi Toure received an eight-month suspended sentence and was fined 200,000 francs (US$400). Minta was sentenced to a two-month prison term and fined 100,000 francs (US$200).

After Diarra was arrested, three publications reprinted the story as a protest—prompting authorities to arrest the director of each publication. Receiving four-month suspended sentences and fines of 200,000 francs today were directors Hameye Cissé of Le Scorpion, Birama Fall of Le Républicain, andAlexis Kalambry of Les Echos.

Most newspapers in Mali refused to print on Monday in protest of the court case. Mahan Koné, president of the Mali press union, Maison de la Presse, said the group expects to issue a statement of protest.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

About Hans von Spakovsky

Wizard-Of-Air — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 18:10:16 GMT

I just received the following in my email inbox from the color of change. I hadn't heard of Hans von Spakovsky before, but was familiar with all the things that he has been responsible for. I think that it is vitally important that we use whatever energies and processes we can to prevent his appointment.

Congress' investigation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the firings at the Justice Department (DOJ) has put the spotlight on an even bigger scandal: for years, the Republican Party has been suppressing the votes of minority and low-income voters.

Now President Bush wants Hans von Spakovsky—a kingpin in the Republicans' suppression campaign—to be confirmed to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an agency in charge of enforcing election laws.

Each Senator has a choice: endorse a known vote suppressor or take a stand to protect the vote. Can you take a moment ask your senators to do the right thing and oppose von Spakovsky?

http://www.colorofchange.org/vonspakovsky/?id=2155-117263

During his first term, Bush installed von Spakovsky in the Justice Department's (DOJ) voting rights section, which enforces the Voting Rights Act. There, von Spakovsky undermined the DOJ's historic mission of protecting minority voting rights, and actually transformed the department into a tool to suppress the vote.

When long-term, career employees at the Justice Department unanimously recommended rejecting Tom Delay's infamous Texas redistricting plan because it discriminated against minority voters, von Spakovsky led the charge to overrule these voting rights experts, and approved the plan.1 The Supreme Court later ruled that the plan violated the Voting Rights Act.

Similarly, when career attorneys recommended rejecting a discriminatory Georgia voter ID law -- a law that even the Republican Governor said would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Georgians -- von Spakovsky overruled them to approve the law.2 Again, the law was later struck down by the courts, with the ruling judge likening it to a Jim Crow-era poll tax.3

Last week, seven of von Spakovsky's former colleagues at the DOJ said that he blocked career attorneys from filing at least three lawsuits against local governments that had violated the voting rights of Black people and other minorities, and that he derailed at least two DOJ investigations into discriminatory election laws.4

Von Spakovsky's career in suppression didn't start at the DOJ. In 1997, he set the stage for Florida's 2000 voter purge when he wrote an article that called for purging felons from voter rolls. Serving on the board of the "Voter Integrity Project" (VIP) he quickly put his ideas into action -- VIP met with the company that designed Florida's purge to disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters, most of whom were Black.5,6 During the recount, von Spakovsky was in Florida as a volunteer for the Bush/Cheney campaign.

A key part of what has allowed von Spakovsky to push his suppression agenda is the myth that "voter fraud" – individuals voting illegally, or voting twice – is a major problem. Republican politicians invoke these concerns to justify stronger restrictions on voting and voter registration (like voter ID laws), as well as voter roll purges. But the problem simply doesn't exist. When the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) researched voter fraud, they found that it wasn't a problem.7 But before the EAC went public with its report, von Spakovsky pressured them to change it.8 The final report said that there was "a great deal of debate on the pervasiveness of [voter] fraud."9

Does the Senate support voter suppression?

As shocking as these examples are, they only scratch the surface. Hans von Spakovsky has built a career solidifying Republican control by disenfranchising untold thousands and subverting our most fundamental democratic right.

Bush gave von Spakovsky a recess appointment to the FEC in 2005 (which doesn't require Senate confirmation) – now Bush has nominated him for a six-year term. It's been clear since his arrival at the FEC that von Spakovsky is playing the same role there as he did at the DOJ—"scoffing at the spirit of campaign finance laws, thumbing his nose at the law as he seeks to help create routes of circumvention."10

A vote for von Spakovsky is a vote for voter suppression. Anything less than the strongest condemnation of his nomination will send a message to President Bush that the Senate will turn a blind eye to Republican attacks on our voting rights. Let's demand that our senators send the opposite message -- that they will fight tooth and nail to defend the right to vote, and that their rejection of von Spakovsky's nomination is only the beginning of a much needed reckoning for the assault on voting rights over the last six and a half years.

http://www.colorofchange.org/vonspakovsky/?id=2155-117263

Thank You and Peace,

-- James, Van, Clarissa, Gabriel, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
June 26th, 2007

References:

1. "So exactly where were you, Hans von Spakovsky, on the nights in question?," Campaign Legal Center Blog, Feb. 20, 2007
http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-109.html

2. Ibid

3. "Efforts to stop ‘voter fraud' may have curbed legitimate voting," McClatchy Newspapers, May 20, 2007
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/greg_gordon/story/16347.html

4. "Justice official accused of blocking suits into alleged violations of minorities' voting rights," McClatchy Newspapers, Jun. 18, 2007
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/reports/usattorneys/story/17102.html

5. "Poll position: Is the Justice Department poised to stop voter fraud-or to keep voters from voting?" New Yorker, September 20, 2004
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/09/20/040920fa_fact

6. Video: "American Blackout: Cynthia McKinney Confronts Choicepoint"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPOmOTyDm1w

7. "The EAC's Buried Report on 'Voter Fraud'," Brad Blog, Oct. 13, 2006
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3611

8. See reference 3

9. "Panel Said to Alter Finding on Voter Fraud," New York Times, April 11, 2007
http://www.ceimn.org/news/panel_said_alter_finding_voter_fraud

10. See reference 1

Additional sources:

"Hans Across America," Digby's Hullabaloo, April 9, 2007
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/hans-across-america-by-digby-sometimes.html

"Keep Yer Vote Thievin' Hans Off the Federal Election Commission: Action Alert!" DailyKos, May 29, 2007
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/29/11751/0476

In a bit of good news, yesterday the House of Representatives took a stand against suppression by passing HR 1281--the "Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act". While it doesn't address attacks used by von Spakovsky from within the DOJ and FEC, it is a step in the right direction to battling the overall problem.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1281

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Kenya - Belgium New Pictures side by side

BoBi — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 21:29:18 GMT

Kenya - Belgium New June 2007 Pictures side by side

Hi,

This Kenya-Belgium website displays several pages each one containing two comparative (similar, contrastive, ...) photos. Let your thoughts flow freely and enjoy:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_12_en/a_kenyan_park_and_a_belgian_park.html
Click the "-->"-button on the page opened for the following new pictures.

Best regards, BoBi

Annex: overview of the new photos:

People in a Kenyan City Park and People in a Belgian City Park:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_12_en/a_kenyan_park_and_a_belgian_park.html
Out eating at the Kenyan coast and Out eating with Business people:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_12_en/out_eating_in_kenya_and_out_eating_in_belgium.html
a bottle of Kenyan Pilsner beer and a truck of Belgian Jupiler beer:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_12_en/a_kenyan_beer_and_a_belgian_beer.html
the Kenyan Pilsner beer strong like Lions and Belgian Jupiler beer - strong stories:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_12_en/a_kenyan_beer_on_the_internet_and_a_belgian_beer_on_the_internet.html
a Kenyan Ostrich family with chicks and a Belgian Duck family:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_13_en/a_kenyan_ostrich_family_and_a_belgian_duck_family.html
Sisal cultivation in Kenya and Potato cultivation in Belgium:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_13_en/sisal_cultivation_in_kenya_and_potato_cultivation_in_belgium.html
A Kenyan Coastline and A Belgian Coastline:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_13_en/a_kenyan_coastline_and_a_belgian_coastline.html
a Kenyan Truck Flipped over and a Belgian Road accident:
http://www.kenya-belgium.be/list_13_en/a_kenyan_road_accident_and_a_belgian_road_accident.html

posted in Black People - 0 replies

For That "One Black Kid'

DevastatorJr — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:10:05 GMT

For That "One Black Kid'
By Keith Knight
www.salon.com/comics/knig.../06/20/knig/

posted in Black People - 1 reply

COME HOME - REPRESENT

change — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:41:06 GMT

Officially beginning on July 1st and ending the 7th in the forests of Fallsville, AR the National Rainbow Gathering Of Living Light will commence. Folks usually go early and stay late to help cleanup.
I have attended this event twice and it has completely shifted my perspective of what is possible in America.
The event nationally takes place once a year in a different location deep in the woods, always on a mountain next to a valley. It is titled a leave no trace event(all signs of attendance and stresses on the earth from our presence are corrected) and no money is exchanged for entrance or participation at any point. The attendance is at a minimum of 25,000 every year and this event has progressed since the cultural shifts of the late 60's/early 70's.
informational links/movies can be found at the bottom.
On the 4th of July silent meditation and prayer for peace happens until noon across the entire camp followed a parade of children and celebration. The spiritual, peaceful, and creative find their way to this event from all over the country and the world. The words Rainbow Family in the longer title are both a reference to the group's inclusiveness of all people and to "living lightly," an awareness of the great effect one can have on his or her environment.
Over 60 communities will be representing themselves as camps and serve food, culture, and knowledge for free. Bartering does take place at the event but no currency can be used at the event.Bring nothing but a bowl and spoon if you so choose and you will be abundantly gifted.
This event is a city which exists for a short time and manifests the goals and lifestyle that we pray and work for to spread worldwide/fulltime.
Many religions come to represent but it is not dominated by any one group and alcohol is not allowed in the main area.
This event is wonderful and the people ive met there have educated my mind, body, and spirit.
It has one flaw that stands out and i hope you can help me to solve it.
This event is not ethnically integrated.
Many people of white skin will have love for the earth, hands for the drum, and acceptance of people but the word of thiis event has not traveled to enough communities. I will be one of the few men of color attending this event(african ancestry/cherokee ancestry) and i pray to see the rest of my human family in this wonderful place
we call home.
It does feel like home,
people look you in the eye with honesty and say welcome home at every step.
This is a pow-wow in the sense of spiritual leaders gathering and women receive as much respect as men in this social understanding. Families often come and a village exists for the care of children.

I invite you to research and encourage you to come.
~Mitakuye Oyasin
~we are all related
Most recent directions at the bottom.

http://welcomehome.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Family

therainbowfamilytribe.tribe.net/

Rainbow Video archive:
http://therainbowfamilytribe.tribe.net/thread/89ecfd12-4dc7-4f24-9865-d103deadf9f4

This year the annual North American Rainbow Gathering (hence referred to as the Gathering) will be near Fallsville, Arkansas. Directions: Go to Fallsville, Arkansas, which is at the junction of Hwy 16 and 21. Fallsville is north of Clarksville and south west of Jasper. A map of the area is here. Go about 1 1/4 miles NE of Fallsville to FS 1463. Go north, and park someplace on the sides of the road.
map below:

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=35.79220,-93.47056&z=15&t=S&marker0=35.77936%2C-93.46965%2CfALLSVILLE%5C%2C%20ARKANSAS&marker1=34.81708%2C-91.49540%2CALLSVILLE%5C%2C%20ARKANSAS

posted in Black People - 0 replies

WHAT TIME IS IT??

Fred — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 23:40:06 GMT

Greetings:

I'm amazed at how slowly the veil is lifting from black folks eyes. I'm living in Oakland, California. The Bay Area is one of the MOST diverse places on earth. Racism doesn't dance in sheets here, but economic racism is HUGE ... and getting bigger. Here are just a few points that I'd love for 'yall to just ponder on:

1. Quote: "A business should remake itself when it is at the peak of its success. Failure to do so means that it's competition will adjust come up with new ideas before it can adjust."

2. Quote: "The only constant is change." Change is the only thing we KNOW will happen ... yet, black folks (esp. black men) continue to hold their heads in the sand ... denial ... a doomed ostrich hiding from the upcoming storm.

3. China and India cannot get enough educated, Sharp minds to fuel their growth. Still, they are standing on the runway, ready to fly. Soon they will become the world's biggest economic powers. Multinationals are just waiting. When that happens, they will pull money out of the U.S. economy like mad. (Remember Bush and his gang trying to get Social Security money to prop up our economy?) [NOTE: In Oakland, more blacks are dropping out of High School than graduating. Choices + Values = Future]

4. It's far too late to be angrily mumbling that "Mexicans need to go back where they came from." The Jinni is out of the bottle. They are eating our lunch and soon, many more white folks lunch too. They are showing us where our game is weak.

5. "My enemy - my friend" say the Buddhist. God told gave us two main instructions ... Love God and love your neighbor ... even when he doesn’t love you back. We have some powerful lessons to RE-learn. Chief amongst those lessons is the fact that all these once poor Asians and Mexicans are now driving the cars we used to drive, living in the houses our homeless asses used to live in, and working in the jobs we used to complain about and would die to have back. How'd they do it? Yeah ... they built a better mouse trap. Provided a better service, and pooled their money. They lived together when they needed to. Supported each other economically, physically, emotionally, intellectually and CULTURALLY.

6. WHY are we taking up Prince Machiavelli's agenda (Google it if you don’t know) and turning ourselves into "Thugs" that destroy any and ALL business hopes in our own community, kill and terrorize our own people (esp. the nerds we need to hold close to our bosom) and create hatred between the sexes? WHY? WHY are we doing the Klan's work for them??

7. An East Indian engineer who runs a computer chip manufacturing company recently told me that "America needs creativity. There will increasingly be more jobs out-sourced over seas. If you're going to start a company, it needs to hire at least 10,000 people to make change." He has been trained to look at the high end ... but have you looked into the world's new micro loan industry? There are POWERFUL ways to make change happen on the small end too. [SEE: Kiva Microfinance at http://kiva.org/
and http://www.blacksolutions.blogspot.com ]

8. Disaffected youth ALL OVER THE WORLD look at disaffected people here in the U.S. and many emulate our actions. We can help engineer POWERFUL changes for ourselves and others. At the very least, we can stop being "Niggas" to the world and position ourselves better than we are currently doing! "He or she who doesn’t engineer his or her own destiny, will have his destiny engineered for him." What do you think the plans of the super rich are for you?

9. WE NEED TO STOP BEING BLACK-WHITE MEN !!! AHHaaHHHaaahh!! God wants every one to be his or her AUTHINTIC selves. We do NOT need to:

a.) Huck-a-buck to the world. Speaking all phony and laughing all silly
b.) Go 'round the back door for a piece of chicken and a biscuit after stabbing yet one more brother in the back. STOP THIS SHIT!
c.) Embrace our own spiritual, psychological, moral and ethical destruction by thinking that crime is our only hope. What the hell is this "No Snitch" crap?? If Spooky up the street breaks my car window and steals my face plate for a $5 rock and you don't tell ... guess who's window he's going to break when you park YOUR new ride at the curb?

10. Why do we keep embracing the WRONG people? What's with all this anti-Semitism rising up about? That ain't our fight. Okay, who cares if the guy at the deli is rude? His cousin marched with us .... before many of you got here. But that's besides the point ... what the hell do you think growing up is all about?

The list goes on and on. Include the fact that "those foreigners" dollars now mean more than ours ...and the best we can do is continue to yell about Reparations and apply for SSI?? C'mon folks ... we betta than THIS!!

I assert that the biggest obstacles to change for the black man and woman today is:

a.) The inability to work together. We have to become "brothers" and "sisters" again and cease being "niggas."

b.) Denial or the Fear of Change

c.) The inability to see what our true demons are. We're so busy trying to be *special* and defending Snoop Dawg that we can't even SEE that the things we've come to value most are killing us. Going to the night club tonight? What you going to look for??? What do you most hope to do ... and with whom??? Yeah....

I'm posting this on several boards. Forgive me if you came across it in other tribes ... but we keep REACTING to such SILLY shit ... when right now is absolutely critical that we being to do things very, very differently. It's already too late for at least a third of us. There are too many rats in our cities ... yet we refuse to move... and when we do, it's to wherever they navigate Section 8 to.

C'mon ... inside you is the gene pool the walked out of Africa and peopled the world. I look at the Bible and early history with some trepidation. We claim Egypt ... but what is Egypt's karma? Moslems? Yoruba Religion? Those were the people who had instrumental hands in selling us into slavery ... and they are still in power over there. Look at how they treat us when they open a store in our neighborhoods. And that's were we put our support when we at least start thinking of doing something different. WHAT ABOUT EACH OTHER!!!

Time to relearn again what we had to "relearn" during the Civil Rights Movement. How to love and work together. That is the route to our survival, and our future wealth. Failure to do so ... is our doom. Being a "Black Republican" ain't going to save you. It ain't bad ... it just ain't going to make or save you. A Faustian Bargain is always a bad, bad choice.

What time is it ... and what are you focusing on? Do you feel it's too late ... "hamma time" ... or time to develop some really new game? Read these: http://blackfarms.wordpress.com and http;//blacksolutions.blogspot.com

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Black women were sterilized until the 1970’s in the United States

chycho — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:28:08 GMT

some highlights:

“…during the 1970s sterilization became the most rapidly growing form of birth control in the United States, rising from 200,000 cases in 1970 to over 700,000 in 1980….

… “Black women were routinely sterilized without their informed consent and for no valid medical reason. Teaching hospitals performed. unnecessary hysterectomies on poor Black women as practice for their medical residents. This sort of abuse was so widespread in the South that these operations came to be known as 'Mississippi appendectomies.'”…

"Fannie Lou Hamer, the leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, informed a Washington, D.C., audience in 1965 that 60 percent of the Black women in Sunflower County, Mississippi, were subjected to postpartum sterilizations at Sunflower City Hospital without their permission. … This practice of sterilizing Southern Black women through trickery or deceit was confirmed by a number of physicians who examined these women after the procedure was performed."…

…From the official end of slavery in 1865 through almost all of the 20th century, no southern white male was convicted of raping or attempting to rape a Black woman. …

…History is supposed to give people a sense of identity, a knowledge of who they are and why they are living like they are. It should also act as a springboard for the future. History must replace myths with facts….

The Double Oppression of Black Women in America
http://www.socialistaction.org/news/200103/double.html
"Dat man ober dar say dat woman needs to be lifted ober ditches, and to have de best place every whar. Nobody eber helped me into carriages, or ober mud puddles, or gives me any best place and ar'n't I a woman?

"Look at me! Look at my arm! I have plowed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me-and ar'n't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man (when I could get it), and bear de lash as well-and ar'n't I a woman?

"I have born 13 chilern and seen em mos all sold off into slavery, and when I cried out with a mother's grief, none but Jesus heard-and ar'n't I a woman?"

-Sojourner Truth, at the women's rights convention of 1851 in Akron, Ohio, after being greeted with boos and hisses. According to her 1878 narrative, she used the word "ar'n't" instead of "ain't," as it has appeared in nearly all publications since then.

By TOM SANDERS

The reproductive rights of African American women have been under attack, one way or another, ever since they were first brought to America. The method of assault has changed from time to time, but it has continued without let up to the present day.

"While slave owners profited from encouraging slave women to bear many children, modern-day taxpayers believe they save money by discouraging poor Black women from having children," states Dorothy Roberts in her book "Killing the Black Body" (Pantheon Books, 1997). "But these practices share the common theme of denying a woman's freedom to control her own reproductive life because of her race.

"Poor crack addicts and welfare mothers are punished for having babies because they fail to measure up to the state's ideal of motherhood. These women are not penalized simply because they may harm their unborn children or because their childbearing will cost taxpayers money. They are penalized because the combination of their poverty, race, and marital status is seen to make them unworthy of procreating."

However, Black women were considered to be very worthy of having children when they were slaves-so much so that the white master himself often fathered as many Black babies as he could. We know this to be true not only because history covers it very well, but because some of these babies, in their old age, were interviewed by various government agencies.

In 1934 the Federal Emergency Relief Administration began to collect the testimony of ex-slaves in the Ohio River Valley and in the lower South. In 1936 the Works Progress Administration took charge of the project and broadened it to all of the Southern states as well as Indiana, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

One elderly ex-slave, whose name was not given, had this to say about her white father: "Well, you know, Uncle Stephen, he kinda overseer for some widow womans. He mama' husband. He come to see my mama any time he gits ready. But I find out he ain't my pappy. I knowed that since I's a little thing.

"I used to go over to Massa Daniels' plantation. They tell me all 'bout it. The folks over there they used to say to me: 'Who's your pappy? Who's your pappy?' I just say: 'Turkey buzzard lay me and the sun hatch me,' and then go on 'bout my business. Course all the time they knows and I knows, too, that Massa Daniels was my pappy" (B.A. Botkin, editor, "Lay my Burden Down," University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1958).

During slavery times African American slave women were considered to be very worthy of having babies. In fact, most white men, even Northerners and foreigners thought that Black women were so worthy as willing mothers that a foreign visitor, Johann Schoepf, wrote that "in almost every house there are negresses, slaves, who count it an honor to bring a mulatto into the world." Even the abolitionist James Redpath wrote that mulatto women were gratified by the criminal advances of Saxons (Deborah Gray White, "Ar'n't I a Woman?" W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1987).

Since foreign visitors and northern abolitionists felt this way we can easily imagine how most of the Southern whites must have felt about it.

Research shows that most slave children began work in the fields by the age of 11 and many began work there at the age of six. They were usually placed in the "trash gang" that pulled weeds, cleaned up, hoed, or picked cotton. This means that the ex-slave who helped raise me as a very young child was not as old as I've long thought she was.

Thus, much of the United States wealth was built by child labor-a fact that few people are willing to acknowledge. Most also prefer to ignore the fact that the pace of scientific and technological change destroys the lower rungs of the economic ladder just as most African Americans begin to reach them. This tends to keep most Blacks not much higher in labor skills than the youngest Black slave children in the old plantation fields-by the standards of today's modern "computer revolution."

The rapid changes occurring in society, with the development of a new "educated" elite, has resulted in a new change of attitude on the part of people in various positions of power, even those with very limited power. One example is the effort to control the Black population growth through a form of carefully concealed violence perpetrated upon helpless medical patients.

Dorothy Roberts reports in "Killing the Black Body" that during the 1970s sterilization became the most rapidly growing form of birth control in the United States, rising from 200,000 cases in 1970 to over 700,000 in 1980.

"It was a common belief among Blacks in the South," Roberts writes, "that Black women were routinely sterilized without their informed consent and for no valid medical reason. Teaching hospitals performed. unnecessary hysterectomies on poor Black women as practice for their medical residents. This sort of abuse was so widespread in the South that these operations came to be known as 'Mississippi appendectomies.'

"In 1975, a hysterectomy cost $800 compared to a tubal ligation, giving surgeons, who were reimbursed by Medicaid, a financial incentive to perform the more extensive operation-despite its 20 times greater risk of killing the patient.

"Fannie Lou Hamer, the leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, informed a Washington, D.C., audience in 1965 that 60 percent of the Black women in Sunflower County, Mississippi, were subjected to postpartum sterilizations at Sunflower City Hospital without their permission. Hamer had suffered this violation herself when she went to the hospital for the removal of a small uterine tumor in 1961. The doctor took the liberty of performing a complete hysterectomy without her knowledge or consent. This practice of sterilizing Southern Black women through trickery or deceit was confirmed by a number of physicians who examined these women after the procedure was performed."

"Sterilization abuse was not confined to hospitals in the South," Roberts continues. "In April 1872, the Boston Globe ran a front-page story reporting the complaint by a group of medical students that Boston City Hospital was performing excessive and medically unnecessary hysterectomies on Black patients. Among the charges were: surgeries were performed for 'training purposes'; radical and dangerous procedures were used when alternatives were available; medical records did not reflect what had really been done to patients; patients were pressured into signing consent forms without adequate explanation; and doctors treated patients callously, adding to the women's anguish."

The attitude expressed by these illegal sterilizations is very similar to the distorted attitudes towards Black females in general, regardless of their ages, 150 years ago. For example: When George, a Mississippi slave, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1859 for the rape of a 10-year-old female slave, Judge Harris reversed the decision and released George. According to Harris the original indictment could not be sustained under common law or under the statutes of Mississippi because 'it charges no offense known to either system. ... There is no act which embraces either the attempted or actual commission of a rape by a slave on a female slave.'

A Tennessee judge made this latter point when he remanded a slave named Grandison to jail for attempting to rape a white woman named Mary Douglas. According to Judge Green, what gave 'the offense its enormity' was the fact that Douglass was white. 'Such an act committed on a BLACK WOMAN, would not,' he noted, 'be punished with death'" (Deborah Gray White, "Ar'n't I a Woman?").

Since recorded history, women of all ethnic groups have been have been made victims because of their sex. This has been true even though some women are physically stronger than men, have more endurance than men, and are capable of doing manual labor even better than men.

Such a woman was the slave Susan Mabry of Virginia, who could pick 400 or 500 pounds of cotton a day. However, 150 to 200 pounds was considered respectable for an average worker; when this writer was a teenager I found it very hard to pick 200 pounds in one day and rarely ever did.

Jacqueline Jones in "Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow (Vintage Books, 198), writes: "Together with their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, black women spent up to fourteen hours a day toiling out of doors, often under a blazing sun. In the Cotton Belt they plowed fields; dropped seed; and hoed, picked, ginned, sorted, and moted cotton. On farms in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee, women hoed tobacco; laid worm fences; and threshed, raked, and bound wheat.

"For those on the Sea Islands and in coastal areas, rice culture included raking and burning the stubble from the previous year's crop; ditching; sowing seed; plowing, listing, and hoeing fields; and harvesting, stacking, and threshing the rice. In the bayou region of Louisiana, women planted sugar cane cuttings, plowed, and helped to harvest and gin the cane.

"During the winter, they performed a myriad of tasks necessary on nineteenth century farms. ... During the busy harvest season, everyone was forced to labor up to sixteen hours at a time-after sunset by the light of candles or burning pine knots. ... It is significant that overseers ordered and supervised much of the punishment in the field, for their disciplinary techniques were calculated to 'get as much work out of the slaves as they can possibly perform' ....

"Consequently, many slave women were driven and beaten mercilessly, and some achieved respite only in return for sexual submission. To a white man, a black women was not only a worker who needed prodding, but also a female capable of fulfilling his sexual or aggressive desires. For this reason, a fine line existed between work-related punishment and rape...."

The mold was already formed when slavery "officially" ended. For many years it was nearly impossible for Black women to assume roles other than those they had held in slavery. Many white Americans, even today, continue to perceive African American women as individuals who can be worked hard, treated rudely, and who desire promiscious relationships.

From the official end of slavery in 1865 through almost all of the 20th century, no southern white male was convicted of raping or attempting to rape a Black woman. And if the perpetrator was Black, the Black woman had no hope for justice either. When a Black man raped a Black woman, police nearly always reported the crime as "unfounded," and in the few cases that reached the courts, the testimony of Black female victims was seldom believed by white juries.

Unbelievable as it may seem, one of the reasons given as proof that Black women in the United States are naturally promiscuous is the fact that prior to the American Revolution the female slave population grew more as a result of natural increase than by importation. Unlike the other Western Hemisphere countries with slavery, the United States achieved a one to one sex ratio-the same number of women as men, although far more men were brought from Africa.

One reason for this was the creation of monogamous families in this country, while in Latin America and the Caribbean Black men were forced to live in barracks-like environments away from the women.

However, this fact did not make the U.S. slaves as well off as it may appear. The North American male slaves were more easily manipulated since their spouses and children could be held hostage and compelled to answer for their "transgressions."

During the 19th century, when "protecting women" was almost a part of the national religion, only slave women were so totally unprotected by men or the law. Only African American women had their womanhood so totally denied.

Yet, in spite of the great gulf between white and Black women at the time, their lives were paradoxically similar. All women were overwhelmed by work. Slave and free women alike had no visible control over reproduction. Both were forced to relinquish control over this highly personal aspect of female life to white males, who made all crucial decisions regarding the future of the children.

They even decided whether or not there would be an abortion. Have the times changed very much today?

"Relative to white men all women were powerless and exploited," says Deborah Gray White. "The powerlessness and exploitation of black women was an extreme form of what all women experienced, because racism, although just as pervasive as sexism, was more virulent. Slave women suffered from the malevolence that flowed from both racism and sexism."

Of all large groupings of people in the United States today, Black women are treated the worst, any way you look at it. There's less respect for them, fewer jobs, less of everything that is needed for an even half-way decent life. An increasing proportion of them, as well as Black men, in future generations will exist outside the world of gainful employment as long as the capitalist system prevails in this country

It is our task today to see to it that this system is replaced by a new society run by and for working people and their allies-by socialism.

History is supposed to give people a sense of identity, a knowledge of who they are and why they are living like they are. It should also act as a springboard for the future. History must replace myths with facts. We Americans of all colors have had enough myths, and especially African American women.

Despite all that she has lived through and accomplished, the Black woman today is still waiting for an affirmative answer to the plaintive question asked 150 years ago: "Ar'n't I a woman?

posted in Black People - 2 replies

"Poverty Scavengers" by Danny Glover and Nicole Lee

chycho — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:09:12 GMT

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/05/30/poverty_scavengers.php

Poverty Scavengers
Danny Glover and Nicole Lee
May 30, 2007

Danny Glover is chairman of the board of and Nicole Lee is executive director of TransAfrica Forum.

In June of 2006, world leaders stood with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and pledged their support for debt relief for impoverished African nations. The intent of their principled gesture was to help a select number of countries pull themselves out of the quagmire of debt which prevents them from building infrastructure, schools and hospitals. But, it was also a pragmatic gesture. Poverty breeds insecurity, and as President Bush noted in his State of the Union address, poverty alleviation must be a cornerstone of our foreign policy to create a secure world. For the most part, the world applauded the efforts of the G-8 leaders, and the slow process to full debt relief began. But in the shadows stands a financial creature that threatens the resolve of the G-8 on African debt relief and threatens U.S. foreign policy related to development assistance for Africa and this administration’s so-called war on terror.

A vulture is a creature that lurks around waiting for another animal to be near death before it swoops in. The vulture is a cagey bird that hovers over the weak waiting for an opportunity to finish it off. Vulture funds are a group of financial institutions that buy African and Latin American debt from the lending country for a reduced amount and then press the struggling nations into courts as they demand payment of the full loan and interest several times the original value of the debt. This practice is crippling countries that welcomed international debt relief but are now facing the possibility of debt relief from the G-8 being meaningless. They will now have to pay the new owners of their loan.

In the African country of Zambia, over 70 percent of people live in poverty. The average wage is just over a dollar a day, one in five people are infected with HIV/AIDS and life expectancy is merely 37.7 years. Yet, in the midst of qualifying for debt cancellation by G-8 nations, the Donegal Corporation, owned by American businessman Michael Sheehan, bought Zambian debt from Romania. In April, British courts awarded Donegal 15 million dollars, almost five times the value Donegal paid for the debt.

The morally bankrupt actions of vulture funds render the commitments to debt relief made by the U.S. and other wealthy nations meaningless. U.S. taxpayer money, pledged to provided relief and assistance through debt relief, will fall into the hands of these greedy corporations. At the upcoming G-8 Summit President Bush should call for a commitment by world leaders to address debt relief and vulture funds. The U.S. Treasury should follow the lead of U.K. Chancellor Gordon Brown and limit the awards vulture funds can claim for these debts. Congress must examine this practice and its impact on our overall foreign policy interests. The international community must employ effective means to protect countries like Zambia who have fallen prey to these vulture funds, including implementing fair and transparent international mechanisms to resolve these matters.

Vulture funds are aptly named. They present a threat to the end of world hunger. They undermine U.S. foreign policy and increase the possibility of a rise in terrorist organizations in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. People of good will and good intentions must join with international civil society and call for the end of this treacherous practice.

posted in Black People - 2 replies

Young black activist has press for lunch

chycho — Sun, 27 May 2007 06:20:16 GMT

Young black activist has press for lunch
http://www.thestar.com/article/214348

The press came to a Ryerson University meeting room yesterday morning to hang the leader of the New Black Panther Party for his published racist comments against Jews.

And when Malik Zulu Shabazz, the incendiary American, was denied entry at the border on the technicality that he had a misdemeanour charge a few years back, the ravenous scribes raised their sharpened swords to pick apart the Toronto youth group that had invited Shabazz to address them.

The journalist found instead a young, angry black woman every bit their equal – and 26-year-old Nkem Anizor basically had the press for lunch.

Coursing through little-heard accounts of history, anthropology, the behavioural sciences, and whatever discipline the reporters' questions evoked, the young activist didn't give an inch in her basic message: black youths are not gonna beg and plead for equality like their parents did.

"We're not trying to go along to get along," said Anizor, president of Black Youth Taking Action.

"This generation of black youth, we went to school. We are not like our parents. We don't want your approval. We don't want to get tapped on the head. We don't want to move to the suburbs and be comfortable. What we want is freedom, justice and equality and we're going to use our education to get it."

Her group partner Yafet Tewelde outlined the demands of the day of Queen's Park protest and night lecture at Ryerson, the events Shabazz was to address in a proposed visit that stirred up passions and pitted Jewish groups against the black youths.

"Immediate establishment of K-12 black-focused schools; change in the current K-12 curriculum to establish truth; immediate diversion of the $250 million from Brampton (super) jail; and immediate repeal of Safe Schools Act," under which an inordinate number of black kids have been suspended and expelled from school, Tewelde said.

But why invite such a controversial figure? Shabazz brings heavy baggage, one the Jewish Defence League, B'Nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress rushed to make public.

"We expected there would be some issues. But the idea that the entire community would mobilize against a simple rally by black people?

"They cannot cite one incident of violence in any place he's spoken ever. Yet, our permit's being denied at Queen's Park. He's a registered lawyer, practising attorney in Washington, DC., not your average riff-raff showed up off the streets to cause a riot."

They invited Shabazz because he is a brilliant and charismatic organizer and "passive" Toronto youth needed a catalyst.

Call it naiveté or a dodge.

Pressed, Anizor said black people can decide for themselves who to listen to and judge what they hear.

"But the idea that someone can pick and choose who can speak to the black community is ridiculous. Slavery is over. We are not on a plantation. If he turns out to be an anti-semite and a hater, we as adults can determine ... and reject what he tells us."

Another reporter tried another angle, challenging the need for black-focused schools.

The school board has sat on report after report even as the drop-out rates among black kids rise, she said.

"You have a population of black youths that are being kicked out in droves and you're gonna tell me that we're still begging to get one black-focused school and black people are paying taxes like everybody else."

But isn't it divisive to be teaching black kids one thing and others something else, one reporter asked, maybe mischievously, as Anizor had said she wants the entire curriculum overhauled to reflect black achievement and history.

"Don't think for a second that black people did not give education to the world. We civilized the entire planet," she said, from the Greeks to the Romans, thanks to the Egyptian civilization that predates Europe. "So if anybody knows how to teach it's us."

Every advance in the history of the world is a result of black people?

"Absolutely. Yeah. We were here first. Doesn't mean you haven't used technology and developed yourself. Want to challenge me, go head, knock yourself out. But if you were confident of the truth you would not have deleted it from the history books," she said.

Instead, the image that's propagated is the doctrine of white supremacy: "We did it all. We got you all in the jungle. Thank God, play ball and dance."

Sounds like a conspiracy, one reporter said.

"Right. Right, Right. When one group is in control, and the other is not, they can write the story. His-story. Not ours. Is that so strange? What, we don't have any history of this? Groups subjecting another group and rewriting the history to suit their purposes; or taking scripture to suit what they want to do?

"Is this so strange?"

You should've seen the faces of the reporters. Strange doctrine, indeed.

posted in Black People - 2 replies

"memorial day" began in 1865 by liberated slaves

chycho — Mon, 28 May 2007 17:11:06 GMT

"According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day#History

cool :-)

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Venezuela giving Danny Glover $18m to direct film on epic slave revolt

chycho — Mon, 28 May 2007 00:53:39 GMT

Venezuela giving Danny Glover $18m to direct film on epic slave revolt

http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2084331,00.html

· Chávez hopes venture will aid anti-imperialist fight
· Actor wants to educate US on Toussaint Louverture

Rory Carroll in Caracas
Monday May 21, 2007
The Guardian

Venezuela is to give the American actor Danny Glover almost $18m (£9m) to make a film about a slave uprising in Haiti, with President Hugo Chávez hoping the historical epic will sprinkle Hollywood stardust on his effort to mobilise world public opinion against imperialism and western oppression.

The Venezuelan congress said it would use the proceeds from a recent bond sale with Argentina to finance Glover's biopic of Toussaint Louverture, an iconic figure in the Caribbean who led an 18th-century revolt in Haiti.

Article continues
It will also give seed money for a film version of The General in His Labyrinth, Gabriel García Márquez's novel about the last days of Simón Bolívar, who liberated much of South America from Spanish colonialism.

Glover, 60, who starred with Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon series, and more recently with Eddie Murphy in the film DreamGirls, is a civil rights activist and supporter of Mr Chávez's radical leftwing policies.

A document from the congress's finance commission said the culture ministry would be a partner with Glover and give $17.8m for "scripts, production costs, wardrobe, lighting, transport, makeup and the creation of the whole creative and administrative platform".

The project could mark a breakthrough for Villa del Cine, a new government-funded studio outside the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, which is part of Mr Chávez's effort to combat what he sees as American cultural hegemony.

Glover, who visited Caracas at the weekend, told the Guardian that he would direct the film, titled Toussaint. "It's so advanced that you can taste it. We've scouted locations within 75km [45 miles] of Caracas. I can do everything I need to do with this film from here." He said he had been in talks with the government, but was unaware that a decision had been made until journalists tipped him off about the congress's announcement. "That's the first I've heard of it," he said.

He suggested that there was still some uncertainty over whether the venture would go ahead. "One of the major axioms in theatre is never talk about anything until the deal is signed. There's a lot of deliberation that goes on before something actually happens."

It appeared that the congress timed the announcement to coincide with a media conference in Caracas hosted by the television network Telesur, a Venezuela-funded regional answer to CNN. Glover is on the board.

It would not be the first declaration to run ahead of reality. Mr Chávez once said the director Oliver Stone planned to make a film about him, but it came to nothing. However at the president's request, Villa del Cine, which was inaugurated last year, is making a film about Francisco Miranda, who lit the fuse of South America's liberation. A lavish production with hundreds of extras and battle scenes, its costumes and sets could work for the Haiti film.

Toussaint Louverture is a towering figure in the region's history. A freed slave of African descent, he led thousands of slaves in successful campaigns against British, Spanish and French troops before being betrayed, captured and exiled. He died in 1803, just before his followers succeeded in establishing the island's independence. William Wordsworth wrote a sonnet about him.

Glover said he wanted to educate the US about the story. "It's been essentially wiped out of our historic memory, it's been wiped clean."

The actor is chairman of the TransAfrica Forum, an advocacy group for African Americans and other members of Africa's diaspora, and a vocal critic of the Bush administration. Along with the singer Harry Belafonte, Glover is the best known celebrity supporter of Mr Chávez, whom he considers "remarkable". He is a regular visitor to Venezuela.

Venezuela's congress, which consists entirely of Chávez supporters, also said it would give $1.8m to develop a screen treatment of The General in His Labyrinth, by a Venezuela-born director, Alberto Arvelo. Some rate Gabriel García Márquez's account of the final days of Bolívar along with the Colombian writer's better known novels, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera.

To build consciousness of what Mr Chávez calls "21st-century socialism", the government has funded nationwide screenings of Charlie Chaplin's classic film Modern Times, about the exploitation of US factory workers during the depression.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Darfur women describe gang-rape horror

LiteraryMasturbator — Sun, 27 May 2007 22:43:47 GMT

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 56 minutes ago

KALMA, Sudan - The seven women pooled money to rent a donkey and cart, then ventured out of the refugee camp to gather firewood, hoping to sell it for cash to feed their families. Instead, they say, in a wooded area just a few hours walk away, they were gang-raped,

Naked and devastated, they fled back to Kalma.

"All the time it lasted, I kept thinking: They're killing my baby, they're killing my baby," wailed Aisha, who was seven months pregnant at the time.

The women have no doubt who attacked them. They say the men's camels and their uniforms marked them as janjaweed — the Arab militiamen accused of terrorizing the mostly black African villagers of Sudan's Darfur region.

Their story, told to an Associated Press reporter and confirmed by other women and aid workers in the camp, provides a glimpse into the hell that Darfur has become as the Arab-dominated government battles a rebellion stoked by a history of discrimination and neglect.

Now in its fourth year, the conflict has become the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and rape is its regular byproduct, U.N. and other human rights activists say.

Sudan's government denies arming and unleashing the janjaweed, and bristles at the charges of rape, saying its conservative Islamic society would never tolerate it.

It has agreed to let in 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers, but not the 22,000 mandated by the
U.N. Security Council. It claims the force would be a spearhead for anti-Arab powers bent on plundering Sudan's oil.

Meanwhile, more than 200,000 civilians have died and 2.5 million are homeless out of Darfur's population of 6 million, the U.N. says, and a February report by the International Criminal Court alleges "mass rape of civilians who were known not to be participants in any armed conflict."

Kalma is a microcosm of the misery — a sprawling camp of mud huts and scrap-plastic tents where 100,000 people have taken refuge. It is so full of guns that overwhelmed African Union peacekeepers long ago fled, unable to protect it. It is so crowded that the government has tried to limit newcomers — forbidding the building of new latrines, so a stench pervades the air.

Anyone venturing outside must reckon with the janjaweed, as Aisha and her friends found out.

In Sudan, as in many Islamic countries, society views a sexual assault as a dishonor upon the woman's entire family. "Victims can face terrible ostracism," says Maha Muna, the U.N. coordinator on this issue in Sudan.

Some aid workers believe the janjaweed use rape to intimidate the rebels, and their supporters and families. "It's a strategy of war," Muna said in an interview earlier this year in Khartoum, the capital.

Sudan's government is especially sensitive about such accusations and denies rape is widespread.

Sudanese public opinion would view mass rape much more severely than other crimes alleged in Darfur, said a senior Sudanese government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from his superiors.

He acknowledged the janjaweed had initially received weapons from the government — something the government officially denies — and said authorities now are struggling to rein in the militias.

Nasser Kambal, a prominent human rights activist and co-founder of the Amel center, a Sudanese group helping victims of rape and other abuse, offers a similar view.

"I don't think raping was planned by the government. Killing and looting and torture, yes, but not rape," he said.

Kalma isn't the only place where multiple accounts of rape have surfaced. Some 120 miles away, in the town of Mukjar, two men separately described women being brought into a prison where they were being held and raped for hours by janjaweed.

They said the assailants shouted that they were "planting tomatoes" — a reference to skin color: Darfur Arabs describe themselves as "red" because they are slightly lighter-skinned than ethnic Africans.

According to Muna, U.N. agencies are working closely with Sudanese authorities to improve the government's response to rape allegations. In 2005, the government created a task force on rape in Darfur, headed by Attayet Mustapha, a pediatrician, government official and women's rights activist.

In an interview this year, Mustapha said social workers were being deployed to address the problem and a special female police unit was being assembled in Darfur.

"We tell officials that the government has decided to enforce a zero tolerance policy toward rape in Darfur," she said.

U.N. workers say they registered 2,500 rapes in Darfur in 2006, but believe far more went unreported. The real figure is probably thousands a month, said a U.N. official. Like other U.N. personnel and aid workers interviewed, the official insisted on speaking anonymously for fear of being expelled by the government.

Victims usually can't identify their aggressors, which makes prosecutions impossible. Only eight offenders were tried and sentenced for rape crimes in Darfur by Sudanese courts in 2006, said Mustapha, the task force leader. "They received three to five years prison, and 100 lashes" in accordance with Islamic law, she said.

In May, after the top U.N. human rights official charged that Sudanese soldiers had raped at least 15 Darfur women during one recent incident, Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardi asked where the evidence was.

"We always seem to get sweeping generalizations, without naming the injured, without naming the offenders," he told reporters.

In Kalma, collecting firewood needed to cook meals is becoming more perilous as the trees around the camp dwindle and women are forced to scavenge ever farther afield. It is strictly a woman's task, dictated both by tradition and the fear that any male escorts would be killed if the janjaweed found them.

Agreeing to tell the AP their story earlier this month through a translator, the seven women's voices wavered and hesitated, broken by embarrassed silences. All gave their names and agreed to be identified in full, but the AP is withholding their surnames because they are rape victims and vulnerable to retaliation.

The women said they set out on a Monday morning last July and had barely begun collecting the wood when 10 Arabs on camels surrounded them, shouting insults and shooting their rifles in the air.

The women first attempted to flee. "But I didn't even try, because I couldn't run," being seven months pregnant, said Aisha, a petite 18-year-old whose raspy voice sounds more like that of an old woman.

She said four men stayed behind to flay her with sticks, while the other janjaweed chased down the rest of her group.

"We didn't get very far," said Maryam, displaying the scar of a bullet that hit her on the right knee.

Once rounded up, the women said, they were beaten and their rented donkey killed. Zahya, 30, had brought her 18-year-old daughter, Fatmya, and her baby. The baby was thrown to the ground and both women were raped. The baby survived.

Zahya said the women were lined up and assaulted side by side, and she saw four men taking turns raping Aisha.

The women said the attackers then stripped them naked and jeered at them as they fled. On their way back, men from the refugee camp unraveled their cotton turbans for the women to partly cover up, but the victims said they were laughed at when they entered the refugee camp.

"Ever since, I've made sure that women living on the outskirts of the camp have spare sets of clothes to give out," said Khadidja Abdallah, a sheika, an informal camp leader, who took the women to the international aid compound at the camp to be treated.

They were given anti-pregnancy and anti-
HIV pills, thanks to which their families haven't entirely ostracized them, the women said. The baby Aisha was expecting at the time is doing well. His name is Osman.

Sheikas in Kalma said they report over a dozen rapes each week. Human rights activists in South Darfur who monitor violence in the refugee camps estimate more than 100 women are raped each month in and around Kalma alone.

The workers warn of an alarming new trend of rapes within the refugee population amid the boredom and slow social decay of the camps. But for the most part, they added, it all depends on whether janjaweed are present in the area.

The sheikas say they are making some headway toward persuading families to accept raped women back into their embrace and let them report attacks to aid workers. One advantage is that they get a certificate confirming they were raped.

"We tell husbands they might be compensated one day," said Ajaba Zubeir, a sheika. "But I don't think that's going to happen."

The seven women say they haven't left the camp since they were attacked. They have started their own small workshop and make water jugs out of clay and donkey dung to sell to other refugees.

As they worked on their large pile of jugs and bowls, they said they are even poorer than before, because they now have to buy their firewood from other women.

"But at least we never have to go out again," said Aisha.

None of the women has any faith that Sudanese or international courts will ever give them justice. All Zahya asks is that one day she can return to her village.

"If people could at least help end the fighting, that would be enough," she said.

posted in Black People - 0 replies

Hip Hop: A Closer Look

bravebird — Fri, 25 May 2007 06:35:01 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF_F7lH4Bqs&mode=related&search=

Your thoughts?

posted in Black People - 9 replies

Barak Obama in danger?!

lunastribepage — Thu, 03 May 2007 22:38:17 GMT

I've just heard on the news that Barak Obama has gone into protective services-and then made a reference to assasination while on the campain trail. I know I'm kind of slow but I was shocked and now I feel very troubled. I did and didn't see this coming but I know I would "joke" about the topic with others. What do you think is going to happen if Obama's security is further put in jeapordy and the (un)thinkable happens?

What troubles me the most is I feel that absoluteley there will be no reaction at all. We will have our national spokesmen(Sharpton and Jackson) to shake thier fist and say "What an outrage!".....and that's about it.

posted in Black People - 49 replies

Cane River Creoles - PBS

LiteraryMasturbator — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:28:49 GMT

http://www.lpb.org/programs/canerivercreoles/info.htm

In a story that pre-dates America, the multi-cultural Creoles of Cane River, Louisiana see themselves as somewhere between black and white. The Spirit of a Culture: Cane River Creoles recounts the Cane River Creole identity struggle from colonial French Louisiana to today’s Creole led multicultural renaissance – against the notion of race as a deciding feature of a population. The 60-minute documentary premieres Tuesday, April 5 at 7PM on the six-station Louisiana Public Broadcasting network. It will repeat on Sunday, April 10 at 5PM.
The documentary was produced by Emmy-winning filmmaker Bill Rodman (Atchafalaya Swamp Revisited) and Executive Producer Flo R. Ulmer in association with Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
In order to understand the culture of the Creole community of Cane River, you have to understand their development as a people. This program takes viewers through the historical events that helped shaped them into who they are today. One of the most important facts that provides insight about the Cane River Creoles is that their ancestors, who were French, Spanish, African and Indian, always held onto the fact that they were citizens of France, long after the sale of the Louisiana Territory to America in 1803.

With guidance from the Louisiana Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Rodman and Ulmer were able to secure the help of four scholars to help guide the project. Those scholars were Dr. Pete Gregory, Dr. Dayna Bowker Lee, Dr. Susan Dollar and Dr. Kathleen Byrd. Other advice came from the Cane River National Heritage Area.

“As producers, we felt that members from the Cane River Creole community should tell their own story,” Ulmer said. “Five Cane River Creoles were chosen to explain the nuances of their culture and to relate where their future lies. Though their words you begin to understand why they do not consider themselves black or African-American, even though they have color, but rather Creole.”
Cane River Creoles who participated included Terrel Delphin; Chairperson of the Advisory Council for the Louisiana Creole Heritage Center; author John Sarpy, Louis Metoyer, Cane River California Creole and publisher of Bayou Talk, Lair LaCour, whose MaMan dolls were designated by the state as the Bi-Centennial Doll, and Tracey Colson-Fontenot, a mother of four young Creole boys.
This film was funded in part by grants from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Cane River Heritage Area Commission and the Louisiana State Arts Council through the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information, contact Bill Rodman at (225) 346-1761 or Bob Neese at 1-800-272-8161.

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Support SUDAN DIVESTMENT

LiteraryMasturbator — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:14:45 GMT

SUDAN DIVESTMENT TASK FORCE - use links or scroll down for more
http://sudandivestment.org/home.asp
http://sudandivestment.org/getInvolved.asp
Reports http://sudandivestment.org/position.asp

Genocide Intervention Network http://www.genocideintervention.net/advocate/divestment/

Sudan Divestment UK http://www.sudandivestment.co.uk/

Not on Our Watch on C-SPAN's bookTV http://www.booktv.org/General/index.asp?segID=8203&schedID=490
The Nation http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060508/grahamfelsen
Joe Madison http://joemadison.com/jmsudan.htm
TIME http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1079511,00.html]

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Sudan volence; China's role and Olympic Boycott [BBC]

LiteraryMasturbator — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:13:05 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6669249.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6668485.stm

Sudan accused on Darfur killings

The Border Intelligence Guards are said to be run by army intelligence
Sudanese security forces took part in the killing of some 100 people in the war-torn Darfur region, the UN says.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour says Border Intelligence Guards took part in eight raids this year during clashes between Arab groups.

"Attackers fired indiscriminately from the outskirts of the settlements with heavy machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades," her latest report said.
Sudan has always denied reports that it has armed Arab militias in Darfur.
At least 200,000 people have died and 2m have been made homeless during the four-year conflict.

Black African rebels took up arms in 2003, saying they were being marginalised by the Arab-dominated government.

China anger at Darfur Olympic link
The Border Intelligence Guards, often recruited from the local population, are "known to be under the control of Military Intelligence", said the UN report.

The unit has previously been accused of working with the Janjaweed militia, responsible for widespread atrocities in Darfur, such as mass killings, rape and looting.

Between January and March this year, it sided with the Rizeigat Abbala group against its rivals, the Tarjum, in a land dispute, the report said.

The UN says there is no evidence that Sudan's government ordered the attacks but it says neither did Khartoum make any real effort to protect its civilians from the violence or to investigate those responsible.
Sudanese military identity cards were later found at the scene.

Ms Arbour has called for an independent investigation into the killings.
But the BBC's Imogen Foulkes says this is something she has asked for many times before in relation to the violence in Darfur and so far Khartoum has been unwilling to cooperate with independent human rights experts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6665983.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6660341.stm

Olympic boycott calls 'will fail'

Thousands have been displaced by fighting in Darfur
China has warned its critics that their attempts to instigate a boycott of the Beijing Olympics over the country's dealings with Sudan will fail.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi criticised the "handful of people" he said were trying to "politicise the Olympics".

Human rights groups and some European and US politicians have called for the 2008 games to be boycotted because China continues to sell arms to Sudan.
The US says Sudan is carrying out a genocide in the Darfur region.
But Mr Yang said a campaign to boycott the Olympics is "against the spirit of the games".

"It also runs against the aspirations of all the people of the world, thus their aims will never be achieved."

'Responsible player'
The foreign minister, who has been in his job for less than a month, defended China's role in Africa.

"On the Darfur issue, the position of the Chinese government is consistent and well known," he told reporters at a press conference, after a meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.

Mr Yang rounded on China's critics
"We have provided humanitarian assistance and aid to the people of Darfur and will continue to do so in the future."

He said China believed "the political process and the peacekeeping operation should be pursued and promoted in a balanced manner."
"We hope that this issue will be resolved properly through dialogue and negotiation," he went on.

More than 100 US politicians signed a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao last week calling on him to use Beijing's influence to halt the bloodshed in Darfur.

CHINA, SUDAN TIES

China buys some 400,000 barrels of oil a day from Sudan
China financed Sudan's oil pipeline
China sells weapons to Sudan
China to build new presidential palace for Sudan
China uses UN Security Council veto to help Sudan
The letter warned that continued support of the Khartoum regime could tarnish the 2008 Olympics.
The BBC's Dan Griffiths, in Beijing, says China is trying to be seen as a "responsible player" on the world stage, but criticism over Sudan could dent that strategy.

And he says Chinese officials do not want anything to affect the Olympics - so talk of a boycott is the last thing they want to hear.
China was recently accused of breaching a UN embargo by continuing to supply arms to Sudan - a key supplier of its oil.
Although it rejected the claims, Beijing has since appointed a special envoy to focus on the Darfur situation.

www.bbc.com

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The Journey Inward

bravebird — Sat, 19 May 2007 10:04:32 GMT

What if

you slept,
And what if,
in your sleep
you Dreamed?
And what if,
in your Dream,
you went to heaven
and there you plucked
a strange and
beautiful flower?
And what if,
when you awoke,
you had the flower
in your hand?

Ah, what then...

~Samuel C.

It has been said that while the Universe is magnificent...There are worlds within you and me that are equally as stunning, if not more. Masters like Jesus, Buddha...artists...poets...the insane... have tapped into these worlds while still alive...in the flesh. I'm sure it's a matter of comittment to find out the world which exists within you.

posted in Black People - 1 reply

Mumia Abu-Jamal: Democracy Now! Update for May 18, 2007

chycho — Sat, 19 May 2007 16:18:13 GMT

see http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/484 for links ... you can also access the program directly at http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/18/1429203&mode=thread&tid=25

Video/Audio and Transcript: Update on Mumia Abu-Jamal - "Attorney Robert Bryan says a racist judge and racist jury practices contributed to the sentencing of Abu-Jamal to death row. Bryan joins us in New York one day after he argued before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.”

The following are some of the highlights from the transcript:

“I’m going to help them fry the nigger”

“I’ve seen a lot of racism, but I’ve never heard anything like that, except in this case in Philadelphia. It's unprecedented.”

“The focus yesterday was on constitutional crimes committed by the prosecution.”

“was race, was discrimination at work in this case? And it seems like not only the statistics, but a wealth of other evidence, certainly seems to establish that.”

“That is true. (Mumia) is still on death row. He's in a cell today … that's smaller than most of our bathrooms at home. And from there, he does his journalism.”

“the trial judge. He instructed the jury that they could not return anything less than death … which is nonsense and contrary to US Supreme Court precedent.”

“This is about everybody on death row around the world. This is about all political prisoners around the world. And I hope that, through what the court does in this case, it will help other people.”

“It's about him as a symbol in the fight against the death penalty.”

“And you have to remember that he's unique in the world, because Mumia Abu-Jamal is not just a death row prisoner … but he is a journalist. When he was arrested, he was already known as the voice of the voiceless”

“there's nothing like what's happening with Mumia around the world. So he's important to people everywhere.”

The remaining segments of this report are also well worth watching. The main segment deals with Global Warming and the last segment is about immigration in the USA

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Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Fate Decided on Thursday May 17

chycho — Thu, 17 May 2007 04:20:38 GMT

See http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/475 for links

Audio Interview and News: Philadelphia Court Hearing Could Decide Fate of Imprisoned Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal (14:33) - “In Philadelphia, Mumia Abu-Jamal's legal team is preparing for a hearing that could decide the fate of the imprisoned former Black Panther. Abu-Jamal has been on death row for 25 years after being convicted of killing a police officer following a controversial trial before a predominantly-white jury. On Thursday, the Third Circuit Court Of Appeals will hear oral arguments to decide whether Mumia gets a new trial, life in prison without parole, or execution. Hundreds of supporters are planning to rally outside the courthouse. We’re joined by Linn Washington of the Philadelphia Tribune, and hear a recent audio commentary Mumia recorded behind bars. [includes rush transcript]”

If you would like to help free an innocent human from his captivity in isolation for the last 25 years, then mobilize for Mumia on May17. For more information please see the events calendar for Mumia

For further information on this case see: Mumia Abu Jamal and the War against Free Speech in the United States

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Yolanda King dies

SHOCKA — Wed, 16 May 2007 11:41:10 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) -- Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. She was 51.

King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. The family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.

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Mumia Abu Jamal and the War against Free Speech in the United States

chycho — Sat, 12 May 2007 18:19:12 GMT

see http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/453 for links

Information: Who Is Mumia? - “Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning Pennsylvania journalist who exposed police violence against minority communities. On death row since 1982, he was wrongfully sentenced for the shooting of a police officer. New evidence, including the recantation of a key eyewitness, new ballistic and forensic evidence and a confession from Arnold Beverly (one of the two killers of Officer Faulkner) points to his innocence! Mumia had no criminal record.”

The following short documentary, presented in three parts on YouTube, is a great introduction to this man and his case, detailing the events leading up to his wrongful conviction and what has transpired up to this point:

From Death Row, Mumia Abu Jamal: Part 1 (9:43)

From Death Row, Mumia Abu Jamal: Part 2 (9:39)

From Death Row, Mumia Abu Jamal: Part 3 (7:38)

This campaign by the FBI to silence journalists for their political activities has unfortunately become the norm in the United States of America. Just two weeks ago, during the May Day demonstrations in McArthur Park, the LADP went on a brutal rampage terrorizing women and children along side journalists who were reporting from the scene.

Unfortunately, this behavior of attacking innocent people and then demonizing them in the mainstream media has been perpetually increasing over the years in the United States. One of the FBI’s most intense and longest running operations has been the attack on the Black Panther political movement. This war against freedom of speech even calumniated into the creation of a Black Panther Coloring Book by the FBI, to scare unknowing Americans into accepting their governments violent and often lethal attacks against their won countrymen.

This apathy that has been prevalent in the United States for decades due to the lack of due diligence on the part of the American citizen, is the main reasons why the plans for the invasion of Iraq went unchallenged. If Americans took on the responsibility to educate themselves about the behavior of their elected leaders and hold them accountable for their conduct, then less innocent people like Mumia Abu Jamal would be rotting in jail, and fewer American soldiers would be dying in foreign countries.

A great place to learn more about this war against Americans is by watching COINTELPRO: The FBI's War on Black America. Over the years, Blacks have born the blunt of this crusade by the US government to silence decent, which explains why artists like Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Michael Franti, and Erika Badu have taken on the responsibility of becoming political leaders organizing and educating the masses.

If you would like to help free an innocent human from his captivity in isolation for the last 25 years, then mobilize for Mumia on May17. For more information please see the events calendar for Mumia

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Think the unthinkable

Wizard-Of-Air — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 19:13:18 GMT

Imagine this; an airplane carrying Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton enroute to a 2008 Presidential Election event crashes somewhere in Indiana. Both men are killed in the crash. Black and White pundits on television and in print eulogize them in better terms than either has ever been described in memory. Black America says, "What a shame. A great loss. We grieve."

Now what? Who are their successors. Who will the corporate media mill select as the surrogates of white antipathy and racist projection of some unfocused mistrust of Black men?

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Looking for couples for magazine article

Jamye — Tue, 08 May 2007 18:52:09 GMT

Hi everyone!

I’m writing a new article for Womens Health (in case you don’t know – it’s
like Mens Health only for women), and I need to profile couples . If
you and your partner do any of the below, or know people who do, please pass
this on to them...They can see a sample of the questions I’ll be asking them
at the bottom of the page...

Or if you and your partner do something cool and unique that you think I
should profile, I’m all for making that pitch. It doesn’t matter where you live. You will have to participate in a
photo shoot. They’ll do your makeup and make you look all pretty and
handsome.

What I need is for you to send me what you do together and a recent photo of
the two of you. Tell me how long you’ve been together. Your relationship
status and if you have any children (and your and their ages).

Here are some ideas for the types of couples we'd be interested in
profiling.

a couple who does some kind of intense athletic training together – maybe a
marathon or triathalon or something like that...

a couple who runs a business together

a couple who volunteers together

a couple who has done/or does some kind of adventure-y thing together.

a couple who blog together

a couple who are both screenwriters (maybe they write for the same show?)

a couple who are both in a band together

Here are some ideas of what we'd want to learn from them:

How does your activity shape their relationship?
How do they get private time?
What do they do when they get sick of each other?
How does it affect their sex lives?
How does it affect their social lives?
How do they resolve differences?

If you know anyone, or are a couple, please email me
jamyew@gmail.com

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Killer of Sheep

DevastatorJr — Mon, 07 May 2007 12:42:03 GMT

This weekend I saw a really wonderful film called Killer of Sheep, directed by Charles Burnett. Filmed in black and white in 1977, it's a beautiful depiction of African American life in Watts, Los Angeles. It has a really gorgeous, mostly jazz soundtrack and it's calm, meditative quality is the polar opposite of the Blaxploitation films of the same period. Check it out--
http://www.killerofsheep.com/

Has anyone else seen this?

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