Small Amounts of Bacteria Found During Protests Last Weekend - WTOP Radio

Small Amounts of Bacteria Found During Protests Last Weekend - WTOP Radio: "Small Amounts of Bacteria Found During Protests Last Weekend
Updated: Friday, Sep. 30, 2005 - 7:43 PM

Mark Segraves, WTOP Radio

WASHINGTON - Authorities are trying to determine whether homeland security was breeched during protests for and against the war in Iraq that took place last weekend.

WTOP Radio has confirmed that D.C. officials were notified on Friday that bio-watch collectors, operated by the Department of Homeland Security, tested positive during demonstrations that took place downtown.

A small amount of bacteria called Tularemia was found on the detectors. While there is no threat to public health, there is also no explanation as to why it took almost a week to notify D.C. officials.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Tularemia, also known as 'rabbit fever,' can be treated with antibiotics. The CDC warns, however, that it is possible to use Tularemia as a bioweapon.

The disease was first reported in humans in the U.S. in 1914.

(Copyright 2005 by WTOP Radio. All Rights Reserved.)"

Attention: testy visitors risk being shot in Florida - Yahoo! News

Attention: testy visitors risk being shot in Florida - Yahoo! News: "MIAMI (AFP) - Welcome to Florida, but avoid arguments or thanks to a new law you run the risk of getting shot, according to an ad campaign launched by a gun-control group.
ADVERTISEMENT

The campaign coincides with a state law that enters into effect authorizing gun owners to shoot anyone in a public area who they believe threaten their safety.

The law, supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA), was approved by the state legislature in April. Governor
Jeb Bush described it as a 'good, common sense, anti-crime issue' when he signed it into law. His is a brother of US
President George W. Bush.

Supporters call it the 'Stand Your Ground' law, while opponents call it the 'Shoot First' law."
...

""If you are involved in a traffic accident or near-miss, remain in your car and keep your hands in plain sight. If someone appears to be angry with you, maintain to the best of your ability a positive attitude, and do not shout or make threatening gestures," the ad reads."

Bennett Under Fire for Remark on Crime and Black Abortions

How does this relate to Katrina? Black life is insignificant in America. Statements, views like this prove it. How else can the former US Secretary of Education and drug czar say such things?

Bennett Under Fire for Remark on Crime and Black Abortions: "Bennett said 'maybe,' before referring to a book he said argued that the legalization of abortion is one of the reasons the crime rate has declined in recent decades. Bennett said he did not agree with that thesis.

'But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down,' Bennett said, according to an audio clip posted on Media Matters for America's Web site. 'That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, you know, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.'"

Proposal for military to take lead in disasters raises concerns - Yahoo! News

Proposal for military to take lead in disasters raises concerns - Yahoo! News: "'I haven't heard any governor say `That's a great idea. I'll give up my power to an unelected general to oversee my state,'' said Huckabee, a Republican and the chairman of the bipartisan National Governors Association. 'That would be a very significant, almost revolutionary change in government policy and practice.'

If Bush pushes the idea, he's likely to face a barrage of opposition from governors, state and municipal officials, civil libertarians and some military experts, who argue that expanding the active-duty armed services' role in local disasters would trample on cherished states' rights and burden the military, which already is stretched thin by the wars in
Afghanistan and
Iraq.

Under the current system, local officials contact their governors if they need help in crises. A governor has the authority to call in the state's National Guard and to contact the
Federal Emergency Management Agency or the White House for help from the federal government.

'You're going to have pushback from governors, county executives, mayors, fire chiefs, police chiefs all up and down the emergency-management structure who wonder whether the military will become a super domestic responder and who do they respond to,' Huckabee said. 'Who determines if a state can't handle a disaster? What if a riot happens in a major city? Does a mayor get a call that the 82nd Airborne has just landed in your city? We've got to talk about this.'

Bush has suggested that Congress ought to look at making the Defense Department the lead agency in natural disasters 'of a certain size.'"

Guidelines for Providing Culturally Appropriate Services for People of African Ancestry Exposed to the Trauma of Hurricane Katrina -Disaster Info

Disaster Info: "In spite of the long and continuous history of a special brand of racial acculturation which for African American people took the form of human negation, nullification, cultural denigration, racist discrimination and socio-political disenfranchisement, African American people remain overwhelmingly a particular psycho-cultural community with ancestral rights and spiritual connections to each other and other people of African ancestry. Our common history of oppression and cultural retentions, as well as, shared experiences, philosophical outlook, collective memory, cultural legacy and mimetic heritage has resulted in a unique psychological complex which requires very specific technical expertise and understanding. Accordingly, any educational, socialization, habilitation and/or rehabilitation efforts designed for the African American survivors and victims of the Gulf coast tragedy will require high levels of specialized expertise and knowledge."

Blogging Katrina, Part II

It's been a month since Hurricane Katrina made landfall. It feels like it's been much longer than that. Maybe because the pain that resurfaces as a result of the aftermath is old...very old. Where did time go? Did it accelerate? Did reliving emotions tapped from generations ago cause me to jump the linear time track? Damn...just how much have I aged in the last 30 days? The calendar says I'm a month older. The heaviness of my spirit feels like I'm old enough to be my grandmother's grandmother. And, I still haven't cried enough tears to clear the energy, the memories that have recollected...re-collected that still aren't conscious yet.

That energy...knowing what that energy does when it isn't moving and flowing freely scares me a little. That's why we must clear the energy, the sadness, the hurt, the anger. We have to do something constructive with it.

Emotional/energetic alchemy...flip the negative and turn it into a positive. A true positive... where anger is really released and love flows through us. No venom. No hate... Love.

I'm really concerned about our country. In this climate, it feels like you aren't an American citizen if you do agree with the Bush Administration. That type of thinking is bullshit. Democracy seems to mean that you can say what you want to say, but don't expect anything to change. When will the people matter in this so-called Democracy of America? The people have to participate in the political process. We have to speak up and out. Not just to each other, our peers, family and friends. We have to speak out to politicians, including the ones we didn't vote for. Things will change when the people show up and stand up.

Perception

Propaganda

Paucity

We believe that we are the minority and act as if that is the truth. Has the dark side taken over? Has God abandoned us? Or, are we reaping the sown seeds of inaction? Free will is free will. God doesn't tamper with it. I am a firm believer that faith without works is dead. We talk, talk, talk, but we don't always follow up our words with action. Tragedy usually facilitates a change in perspective. The Hurricane Katrina aftermath threw my whole orientation OFF. That has happened to me from time to time in the past, but never like this. I feel like my survival as a human being of color depends on my actions. Before Katrina, I was on cruise control. I went to work, came home, felt the occasional 'I'm bored. I need some excitement in my life.' blah, blah, blah. After Katrina, Reality TV took on a whole new meaning. I wasn't just a viewer. I was a participant... Yes, on my couch, in my head, my heart, my spirit. It was 'Survivor Live-New Orleans'... Everybody in America, everybody in the World could take part. All you needed was a television, a newspaper or a radio. Interactive TV! Watch and HURT!!!! Virtual reality at it's best! The only other thing you needed to partake was a heart.

Hurricane Katrina should be a wake up call for your a$$. With Katrina, a shift occurred inside of me...maybe it was a jolt or a continuation of something that was already in process.

I started writing/blogging Katrina so that the energy wouldn't stay stagnate inside of me. I needed to do something. I needed to keep moving the energy that was collecting inside of me. It's amazing when something happens and you your eyes don't see the same, your ears don't hear the same, and your spirit feels alien for a while.

This is how I feel...Imagine how the New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama -Katrina Live Survivors are faring? I can turn the television off, or change the channel and be whisked into a whole other dimension of reality- cartoons, music videos...hell, I can roll over on the couch and go to sleep.... Dream beautiful dreams and wake up without having to wonder if Katrina was real, imagined, or a movie on the tube. They can't. They have to call or stand in line with FEMA or the Red Cross or some other aid agency. They have to figure out how to pay a mortgage on a house that is destroyed or otherwise inhabitable. They have to hit the pause button in their minds as images of their wading through waters replays.

We have work to do on so many levels. What some have been through, and others have witnessed, over the last month can't be forgotten. We can't act like it didn't happen. Oftentimes, we try to forget the painfull things that happen in our lives. We can't this time. We have to be alchemists. We have to transmute the painfull memories and energies that have collected in us. They need to become the fuel that we use to motivate ourselves to change our lives and our world.

We've see what war, hate and injustice do. We are seeing what the spirit that connects us to each other can do. We can transform the world. The world is changing already. How do I know? I changed my mind and stopped believing that we can't and that it isn't.

After G. W. Bush took the office of President of the United States a lot of us said F@*%$- IT!! Like we could afford to wait out 4 years and then 4 more years. WE CAN'T DO THAT ANY LONGER!!!! Our lives are in our hands. We are so used to NOT thinking for ourselves that we believe that occupying Iraq makes us "safer". Okay, maybe you didn't believe that...But did you call your congress persons and tell them that that was some bs. You have to call or write your elected officials even if you voted for the other guy. The tide is changing. We need to do it now more than ever.

Working, partying, buying material items that don't truly make us happy isn't enough to sustain or distract us. Life has to have more meaning. The Katrina aftermath has reminded me that I am my brother and sister's keeper. The me is nothing without a we. We have to use our power...NOW!!!

Welsing Institute Home Page

Welsing Institute Home Page

Counter-Racism - Home

Counter-Racism - Home

KATRINA

KATRINA

Do we Have those Books Here?

Or, are those "special" books for the children?

U.S. image a tough sell for Hughes on Mideast trip - Yahoo! News

U.S. image a tough sell for Hughes on Mideast trip - Yahoo! News: "SHANNON (Reuters) - U.S. goodwill envoy Karen Hughes was in the midst of explaining her 'four E' strategy to an audience in Jeddah when reality dawned.

'They probably don't translate very well into Arabic,' she said with a laugh.

On a five-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, her first as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, Hughes learned that a lot more than engage, exchange, educate and empower have been lost in translation between Americans and Muslims abroad.

'I was very cognizant that this was a challenge,' she said of her mission to find out why so many Muslims have such a hostile view of the United States and what she can do about it.

Hughes is a close confidante and image-shaper of
President George W. Bush with no previous experience in foreign diplomacy other than accompanying him abroad during trips in the first years of his presidency.

'I expected that I would hear from a lot of people who disagree with our policies and we did hear that,' Hughes told reporters on Thursday on her way home to Washington. But she said she did not expect the degree to which Muslims' 'perceptions of America are related to how Americans are seeing them.'"

Donna Brazile: I will rebuild with you, Mr. President

Donna Brazile: I will rebuild with you, Mr. President: "This prominent Democratic figure welcomes President Bush's call to action in the Gulf Coast

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

New Orleans is my hometown. It is the place where I grew up, where my family still lives. For me, it is a place of comfort and memories. It is home.

Now my home needs your help, and the help of every American. Much of my city is still underwater. Its historical buildings have been wrecked, its famous streets turned to rivers and, worst of all, so many of its wonderful people -- including members of my own family and my neighbors -- have lost everything.

On Thursday night President Bush spoke to the nation from my city. I am not a Republican. I did not vote for George W. Bush -- in fact, I worked pretty hard against him in 2000 and 2004. But on Thursday night, after watching him speak from the heart, I could not have been prouder of the president and the plan he outlined to empower those who lost everything and to rebuild the Gulf Coast."

Bangkok Post Friday 30 September 2005 - DeLay's indictment latest blow to Bush

Bangkok Post Friday 30 September 2005 - DeLay's indictment latest blow to Bush: "Washington _ The indictment of one of Washington's most powerful politicians is the latest in a string of setbacks that could hamper US President George Walker Bush's chances of pushing his agenda through Congress. Mr Bush has ambitious plans for his second term, notably reforming the federal pension programme and making tax cuts permanent.

But his approval rating has slid to the low-40% range as a slow government response to Hurricane Katrina and the battle to pacify Iraq have weighed Mr Bush down.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said the low approval ratings would ``absolutely'' hurt Mr Bush, especially in his push to make Americans assume more personal risk for their retirement savings and insisting on tax cuts for the rich at a time of need for poor Americans displaced by Katrina.

``Obviously the president's influence is dictated to some degree by his popularity,'' said prominent Republican Senator John McCain.

While Mr McCain believes Mr Bush will regain footing as the situation in Iraq improves and the administration gets a handle on the natural disaster, he also said it would be difficult to bring the approval ratings up."

CNN.com - New Orleans police face looting probe - Sep 29, 2005

CNN.com - New Orleans police face looting probe - Sep 29, 2005: "The New Orleans Police Department is investigating allegations some of its officers went on a looting spree while the city plunged into chaos after Hurricane Katrina, a police spokesman told CNN.

Capt. Marlon DeFillo, who earlier had been skeptical of reports of rogue officers looting, acknowledged the investigation after officials viewed a video showing an officer reaching for a gun as he blocked the door of hotel room.

The hotel's owner and an employee told CNN eight New Orleans officers had used the room to stage a four-day drinking and looting binge.(See the video behind the investigation -- 3:50)

If the allegations prove true, the department's internal investigation will result in 'swift and decisive action,' including criminal charges, DeFillo told CNN. The department has 'zero tolerance' for misconduct, he said."

.: US News - NAACP Unites Health Partners for Long-Term Katrina Relief :. .: All American Patriots :.

.: US News - NAACP Unites Health Partners for Long-Term Katrina Relief :. .: All American Patriots :.: "Coalition partners include: the African American Health Alliance (AAHA); American Counseling Association (ACA); American Psychiatric Association (APA); American Public Health Association (APHA); American Vitiligo Research Foundation (AVRF); Black Women's Health Imperative; Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust; Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies; Morgan State University's School of Public Health & Policy; National Black Nurses Association (NBNA); National Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi); Black Psychiatrists of America; National Council of Negro Women (NCNW); National Dental Association (NDA); National Medical Association (NMA) and the Pharmaceutical Trade Association (Phrma)."

Storms' Collateral Damage -blackenterprise.com

blackenterprise.com: "Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have left thousands of displaced Americans at high risk for mental disorders that could long outlast the emergency care they're getting now, evidence from studies of disaster survivors suggests.

The chaos after the storms has several hallmarks that can delay trauma recovery or increase odds of people developing serious disaster-related mental illness, says Daniel Nelson, a child psychiatrist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

'It's troubling because some of the things that buffer people from effects of trauma are just not here, and there are danger signs instead,' says Nelson, who counseled adults and children after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Those who fare best after disasters have ample money and can return to their routines quickly with family and friends nearby. But evacuees are disproportionately poor, and many cannot get back to their routines and locales easily, Nelson says.



Those with pre-existing mental illness or earlier traumas, such as rapes or recent family deaths, are the most vulnerable, he says.
"

U.S. general casts doubt on 2006 troop cut in Iraq - Yahoo! News

U.S. general casts doubt on 2006 troop cut in Iraq - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. general in
Iraq on Wednesday cast doubt on his previous forecasts of a substantial cut in American forces in 2006, saying Iraq was in a period of heightened uncertainty that made it 'too soon to tell' if troops can be brought home.

In March and again in July, Army Gen. George Casey, who commands the 147,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, predicted a 'fairly substantial' reduction in American forces next spring and summer if Iraq's political process goes positively and progress is made in developing Iraqi security forces.
Pentagon officials said that meant a reduction of perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 troops."

DailyProgress.com | Torture tour goes too far

DailyProgress.com | Torture tour goes too far: "Life-sized pictures show - be warned: These descriptions are graphic - a chicken burning alive next to a photo of a white mob surrounding a charred black body, a seal being clubbed next to a photo of a white man stomping on a black man’s head, and a drawing of a woman being branded next to a depiction of a cow being branded.

“Racism and sexism [are] as deplorable as discrimination against animals,” said Sangeeta Kumar, PETA’s education coordinator.

Wrong.

Racism and sexism, certainly when expressed as violence, are far worse than “discrimination” against animals.

Even Ms. Kumar’s language reveals a shocking bias: She sets “discrimination” against animals as the standard against which racism and sexism should be measured.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It was unconscionable to treat humans like farm animals during the era of slavery.

That does not mean, however, that farm animals should be treated like humans."

Officer Criticizes Detainee Abuse Inquiry - New York Times

Officer Criticizes Detainee Abuse Inquiry - New York Times: "'I'm convinced this is going in a direction that's not consistent with why we came forward,' Captain Fishback said in a telephone interview from Fort Bragg, N.C., where he is going through Army Special Forces training. 'We came forward because of the larger issue that prisoner abuse is systemic in the Army. I'm concerned this will take a new twist, and they'll try to scapegoat some of the younger soldiers. This is a leadership problem.'"

The urban music community responds to Katrina and the aftermath -miaminewtimes.com | Music | Rise Up | 2005-09-29

miaminewtimes.com | Music | Rise Up | 2005-09-29: "'[Katrina] is one of those pivot points that come along all so rarely,' Chang says. 'Every time there's a gap between reality and perception, hip-hop is likely to jump into the breach. I wasn't surprised that [Kanye] said what he did in that kind of form -- to break from formality and be like, öLook, this is the reality of the situation.' That's what hip-hop did back in '92 [during the L.A. riots]. But the difference is now we're a lot more organized.'

The organization to which Chang refers stems from celebrity-driven initiatives, such as David Banner's Heal the Hood Foundation, as well as community outreach programs, such as New Orleans Network and Common Ground, that are remobilizing to provide relief to Katrina victims and ensuring they are not shut out of the rebuilding process.

'What I'm seeing are people trying to reactivate these networks that were put in place during last year's election,' Chang says. 'People say that P. Diddy and Russell Simmons didn't do shit [with Vote or Die], but they did. The celebrity efforts were crucial. You had a surge of youth voters last year. There were four million new voters last year between the ages of 18 and 29, and about 50 percent of those were urban, black, or Latin youth. That was an unprecedented surge. And I can tell you that folks weren't going there because of Kerry. It was because of hip-hop.'

Activists within the hip-hop community may be mobilizing and organizing, but a pervading sense of chaos and unfocused anger remains. This mixture of outrage, tension, and absurdity was on full display Monday, September 19, at the Sunoco gas station on SW 27th Avenue and Coral Way as Puerto Rican hip-hop/reggaeton artist Bimbo attempted to give free gas to a few motorists to protest the Western world's perilous and seemingly insatiable hunger for oil."

Home / Headlines / An Open letter to Condoleeza Rice - Media Monitors Network (MMN)

Home / Headlines / An Open letter to Condoleeza Rice - Media Monitors Network (MMN): "The old formula for peacemaking has proven that it does not work. It doesn't make much sense to make peace with partners. It is time to make peace between enemies, people locked in a history of violence that can only be changed if we change something. In this instance we need to be inclusive, and get everyone to the table. It is also time to try something other than violence in our attempts to achieve peace. The only thing that has not been tried is recognizng the resistance movement, and getting its leaders to the negotiating table with Israel to work out the terms of a real and hopefully a permanent cease fire."

Indictment of Republican Tom DeLay a serious blow for Bush agenda - Yahoo! News

Indictment of Republican Tom DeLay a serious blow for Bush agenda - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (CP) - In a serious blow for
President George W. Bush, powerful Republican
Tom DeLay was forced to step down Wednesday as House majority leader to face a conspiracy charge in a Texas campaign finance scheme.

Bush, who relied on DeLay's tough style to push policy, is already having a tough time dealing with a party beleaguered by the weak response to hurricane Katrina and divided over how to pay for a massive rebuilding project.

Now DeLay's indictment after years of pushing ethical boundaries provides an opportunity for Democrats to pound Republicans on corruption issues in the run-up to next year's congressional elections.

DeLay, know as 'the Hammer' on Capitol Hill, came out swinging and proclaimed his innocence after word broke that a Texas grand jury charged him and two associates with violating a law banning corporate contributions to state candidates.

The charge came after a long investigation by Democratic district attorney Ronald Earle that DeLay has always portrayed as a political witch hunt.

'I have done nothing wrong,' said DeLay, calling Earle a 'rogue prosecutor' and a 'partisan fanatic.'

'I am innocent,' he said. 'This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history. It's a sham.'"

Politics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Politics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kevin Zeese: An Interview with Rev. Sekou on Iraq

Kevin Zeese: An Interview with Rev. Sekou on Iraq: "The interview below examines how people of faith are organizing to oppose the continued occupation of Iraq.

Kevin Zeese: So often God is invoked in war -- God is on our side, God bless the United States, God protects our troops -- can you discuss generally, your view of how Christianity and other religions should relate to the question of war?

Rev. Sekou: The biblical narrative has powerful critique of empire. Equally, the text takes seriously the poor in opposition to power over them. I think the call for prayer should be centered on our troops not being in harms way. The ideal that God is only interested in America is deeply problematic. Moreover, there have been a number of religious folks who spent a lot of time discussing the just war theory. When St. Thomas Aquinas distills just war theory in Sum Theologica, he does so at a moment when there are a number of warring tribal groupings with in the empire that do not possess quantity and quality of weapons of mass destruction. With a lone superpower, United States, and its unfettered access to weapon of mass destruction, there very notion that there can be a just war is obsolete. God in the Biblical tradition is the God of the least of these. The most vulnerable citizens who God has great compassion for. In the Hebrew tradition God is moved by the moans and groans of the Israelites as they suffer under Pharaoh in the empire know as Egypt."

Death Sentences Linked to History of Lynching in States

Untitled Document: "Death Sentences Linked to History of Lynching in States

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- States that sentence the most criminals to death also tend to be the states that had the most lynchings in the past, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that the number of death sentences for all criminals -- black and white -- were higher in states with a history of lynchings. But the link was even stronger when only black death sentences were analyzed.

The results may be shocking to many people, but they aren't surprising to sociologists who study the racial aspects of the death penalty, said David Jacobs, co-author of the study and professor of sociology at Ohio State University.

'Our results suggest that the death penalty has become a sort of legal replacement for the lynchings in the past,' Jacobs said. 'This hasn't been done overtly, and probably no one has consciously made such a decision. But the results show a clear connection.'

Another study finding reinforces this idea. Results showed that the number of death sentences in states with the most lynchings increased as the state's population of African Americans grew larger, at least to a certain point. The researchers believe that is because, as their numbers increase, blacks are seen by the white majority as a growing threat.

Jacobs conducted the study with Jason Carmichael, a graduate student at Ohio State, and Stephanie Kent, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Their results were published in the most recent issue of the American Sociological Review.

For the study, the researchers examined the number of death sentences handed down in each of the mainland 48 states in 1971-72, 1981-82 and 1991-92. They computed lynching rates with data on state lynchings from 1889 to 1931 provided by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People."

Black Media Activists Set to Discuss Katrina at MMM - www.ezboard.com

Black Media Activists Set to Discuss Katrina at MMM - www.ezboard.com: "Black Media, Activists Forum to Discuss Katrina and More | October 14, 2005 | 2pm - 6pm | Howard University School of Law (2900 Van Ness Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008 | Free and open to the public.

WASHINGTON: Black writers, activists, radio and television personalities will come together at Howard University School of Law to dialogue on current events and discuss a solution for creating unity between various black media and activists. This event will include an open conversation and two panel discussions. The two hour conversation will include both blacks in the media and various activists responding to negative information produced by mainstream media, the issue of controlling black images and the lessons being learned as a result of the Katrina media coverage. The first one hour panel will include activists and media personalities addressing the following questions: What are we not hearing in the mainstream media about hurricane Katrina?

How can black media and activists work together to insure proper images are projected? How do we coordinate a rapid response to disparaging and insensitive information from mainstream media? The final forum will be a solution-based panel outlining how information and resources of unified, black media and activists can be used to strengthen a positive presence in the media.

Confirmed participants include Joe Madison (Activist / WOL Radio), Askia Muhammad (Journalist), Ron Pinchback (WPFW GM), Denise Rolark- Barnes,Esq. (The Informer), Khalif Khalifah (Publisher), Opio Sokoni (Filmmaker/ KBMS Radio), Nkechi Taifa (HU Law Adjunct Professor), Valencia Mohammed (The Washington Afro), Delani Aamon (Harambee Radio Network), Davey D (Hip Hop Journalist), Jared Ball (FreeMix Radio), Lawrence Guyot (Activist), Chokwe Lumumba (Mississippi Attorney), Soffiyah Elijah (Harvard Law Professor), Dr. Kamau Kambon (Activist), Jeff Smith ((DC School Board), Phile Chionesu (Organizer, Million Woman March), Dr. Omar Reid (Author).

For more information or media coverage of this event, contact Opio Sokoni at (360)241-1414 or email him at osokoni@yahoo.com."

A Hot Zone In The Heartland

A Hot Zone In The Heartland: "There's a fast-spreading avian flu virus killing millions of chickens in Asia, and it has mutated into one that is transmitted among humans. People start falling ill in Southeast Asia, but it takes weeks to recognize what is happening. An American businessman from Chicago completes a deal in Hanoi and flies back to O'Hare, the busiest airport in the world. O'Hare has one of only 11 stations in the U.S. capable of quarantining sick international travelers, but everyone on this flight seems fine. In any case, there have been no reports of a flu outbreak in Vietnam."

Iraq Burns; Dems Look on the Bright Side

Iraq Burns; Dems Look on the Bright Side: "The winning strategy for Democrats in '06 and '08 needs to be fueled by a willingness to go after Bush's supposed strengths -- his ability to keep us safe and wage war on the terrorists. And how can you do that if you refuse to speak honestly about what is going on in Iraq -- indeed, if you end up using the White House's own talking points on the war?

The president likes to nutshell his 'strategy for success in Iraq' by saying. 'As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.' And there was Kerry yesterday at the Park Plaza hotel in Boston: 'There is some schedule showing what you (need) to do to get Iraqis standing up and defending themselves which is now suddenly beginning to happen, so there are some signs of progress.'"

Reuters says US troops obstruct reporting of Iraq - Yahoo! News

Reuters says US troops obstruct reporting of Iraq - Yahoo! News: "LONDON (Reuters) - The conduct of U.S. troops in
Iraq, including increasing detention and accidental shootings of journalists, is preventing full coverage of the war reaching the American public, Reuters said on Wednesday.

In a letter to Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), head of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, Reuters said U.S. forces were limiting the ability of independent journalists to operate.

The letter from Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger called on Warner to raise widespread media concerns about the conduct of U.S. troops with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is due to testify to the committee on Thursday.

Schlesinger referred to 'a long parade of disturbing incidents whereby professional journalists have been killed, wrongfully detained, and/or illegally abused by U.S. forces in Iraq.'"

Captain says concerns about prisoner abuse weren't priority - Yahoo! News

Captain says concerns about prisoner abuse weren't priority - Yahoo! News: "Army Capt. Ian Fishback said he tried for more than a year to get his commanding officers to pay attention to reports of widespread abuses of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops.
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But it was only after Fishback, 26, a West Point graduate, spoke to Human Rights Watch and several members of Congress that military investigators began to listen, he said Tuesday during a telephone interview from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. His civilian attorney, Gene Fidell, monitored the interview. It was Fishback's first public comment about allegations that surfaced last week in a report by Human Rights Watch."

Herald.com | 09/15/2005 | After storm, FBI eases criminal-check access

Herald.com | 09/15/2005 | After storm, FBI eases criminal-check access: "As thousands of Gulf Coast evacuees pour into different states, including Florida, the FBI has opened up its criminal history database to allow free background screenings.

That means a parent thinking of taking in a Hurricane Katrina evacuee can first ask to check the boarder's criminal history before deciding. And evacuees with children can do the same before accepting someone's offer of a spare bedroom. The service also can be used to check out relief workers who may come in contact with children.

''This service is intended to protect everybody, regardless of whether they are a displaced person from another state or a person taking someone into their home,'' said Tom Berlinger, of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which has waived its fees for Katrina-related background checks.

Until now, the FBI has generally not allowed the National Crime Information Center database to be used for non-judicial purposes, according to the FDLE. The exception: The federal database could be used to conduct checks on people applying for positions in Florida schools -- with the assent of the applicant. That person would pay $24 to a law enforcement agency for the background check."

Propaganda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Propaganda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda. At its root, the denotation of propaganda is 'to propagate (actively spread) a philosophy or point of view'. The most common use of the term (historically) is in political contexts; in particular to refer to certain efforts sponsored by governments or political groups."

KR Washington Bureau | 09/28/2005 | DeLay indicted in campaign finance probe

KR Washington Bureau | 09/28/2005 | DeLay indicted in campaign finance probe: "AUSTIN —A Texas Grand Jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay Wednesday, forcing one of the most powerful Republicans in the government from his post.

The single criminal charge accused him and two associates of conspiring to circumvent Texas election laws in what turned out to be a successful campaign to win control of the Texas state House way from Democrats.

DeLay angrily denied the charge he said stemmed from a political vendetta against him. ``I have violated no law, no regulation, no rule of the House. I have done nothing unlawful, unethical, or, I might add, unprecedented,’’ he said. ``I am innocent.’’

DeLay, 58, keeps his seat as a House member representing Houston’s southwest suburbs. But he announced soon after the indictment that he was stepping down temporarily from his leadership post as required by party rules."

Important...Iraq War Forum

Please check out video footage from the CBC's Iraq War Forum. Clips feature Congressman Charles Rangel, Gen. Wesley Clark, and "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan. Please check it out!

General Clark is way more convincing than Mr. G.W. Bush. See for your self!

http://www.charlierangel.org

FEMA to reimburse faith groups for helping victims - Yahoo! News

FEMA to reimburse faith groups for helping victims - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse churches and other religious organizations that have provided shelter, food and supplies to the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

The payments with taxpayer money would mark the first time that the government has made such payments to faith-based groups at a time following natural disasters, the newspaper reported, citing FEMA officials.

FEMA is a division within the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.

According to the article, religious groups that operated emergency shelters, food distribution centers or medical facilities at the request of state and local governments in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama would be eligible."

Communist Cuba says US "economic war" hurting - Yahoo! News

Communist Cuba says US "economic war" hurting - Yahoo! News: "HAVANA (Reuters) - The intensified U.S. 'economic war' on Cuba has meant more fines for Americans visiting the Communist-run island and foreign firms doing business there, a Cuban government report said on Tuesday.

Sanctions adopted by the Bush administration since June 2005 to speed change in Cuba by denying it funds included a ban on the purchase of Cuban cigars and rum by U.S. citizens, even in third countries, the report to the
United Nations said.

Pleasure craft owners leaving U.S ports for Cuban waters face fines of up to $25,000 or five years in jail, it said.

'The blockade on Cuba is an act of economic war,' the report said. Washington has enforced a trade embargo against Cuba since 1962, seeking to undermine the left-wing government of
Fidel Castro, in power since a 1959 revolution."

Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com

Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com: "WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The White House and Republicans may find it difficult to resist mounting pressure for an independent commission to examine government failures in the response to Hurricane Katrina, experts said on Tuesday.

Only two Democrats showed up as a House of Representatives committee began investigating the response to the devastating Aug. 29 hurricane. The Democratic leadership argues that an inquiry controlled by the Republican majority in Congress lacks credibility and cannot be trusted to honestly probe failures of the Bush administration.

Republicans have so far rejected calls for a bipartisan commission similar to the panel that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, even though polls show an overwhelming majority of the public supports such a probe.

A Gallup Poll last week found 81 percent of respondents in favor of an independent investigation with only 18 percent backing a congressional investigation.

'I don't know why they are resisting so hard,' said pollster John Zogby. 'The public is angry and they want answers. The Republicans may have picked a fight they can't win.'"

Dems rethink strategy

Dems rethink strategy: "House Democrats are considering dropping their boycott of a Republican-controlled select committee that has been examining the bungled government response to Hurricane Katrina.

“I think that is under discussion,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), noting that the option was being talked about in “a lot of places.”

He then qualified the comments, saying that since Republicans had yet to reach out to Democrats about the panel he felt that Democrats were still united behind the boycott.

“[Republicans] didn’t do that, so while [joining] is certainly an option, at this point in time, I think that the feeling is that we need to press for what the American public want, and that is an independent commission,” he said, referring to Democrats’ calls for a panel similar to the Sept. 11 commission to investigate the disaster."

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "DNC: Independent Commission Needed in Wake of Hurricane Katrina"

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "DNC: Independent Commission Needed in Wake of Hurricane Katrina": "'We need a frank analysis not political finger-pointing. Based on his testimony today, it seems Michael Brown is clearly incapable of honest, thoughtful assessments of what went wrong in the aftermath of our nation's worst natural disaster,' said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. 'The American people deserve a real independent commission that will provide a balanced and impartial evaluation of the federal government's response and find out what went wrong so that this tragedy is not repeated in the future.'"

M. Scott Peck, author of "The Road Less Traveled" and many other books, passed away on Sept. 27, 2005. -Beliefnet.com

Beliefnet.com: "M. Scott Peck, best-selling author and psychiatrist, who became a nondenominational Christian minister later in life, has died of cancer at the age of 69. His 1978 book, 'The Road Less Traveled,' was one of the most influential self-help books ever published. A pioneering thinker on the relationship between religion and psychology, Dr. Peck's recent work explored spirituality and self-awareness, as well as controversial questions of demonic possession and the reality of Satan. In addition, in books such as 'A Different Drum,' he advocated the power of healthy communities to promote deep human connections. Please add your thoughts and prayers."

Christianity in Africa--Christian churches in Ghana spirits deliverance polygamy AIDS -- Beliefnet.com

Christianity in Africa--Christian churches in Ghana spirits deliverance polygamy AIDS -- Beliefnet.com: "Filmmaker James Ault's 1987 documentary, 'Born Again,' examined a fundamentalist church in Worcester, Mass. His follow-up book 'Spirit and Flesh' provided a first-person account of his relationship with the Worcester church. His latest documentary focuses on Christianity in Africa, where he filmed it. 'Toward a New Christianity: Stories of African Christians in Ghana and Zimbabwe' (working title) features all-night prayer meetings, healing services, ceremonial dances and interviews with prominent African church leaders. Ault spoke with Beliefnet recently about these vibrant churches--and how they are influencing Christianity in the United States.

What should Western Christians know about African Christianity? What are surprising things you discovered in making this documentary?

When people note the explosion of Christianity in Africa—that the number of churches in Ghana has been doubling every 12 years, that there are more Episcopalians in Nigeria than there are in England and the US combined—they think this is a result of missionary work, missionaries from the U.S. or Europe."

New Orleans police chief quits - Yahoo! News

New Orleans police chief quits - Yahoo! News: "NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (Reuters) - The police chief of New Orleans said on Tuesday he was retiring from the heavily criticized force, giving no reason for his decision a month after Hurricane Katrina slammed the city and set off a wave of looting.

'Every man in a leadership position knows when it's time to hand over reins to someone else. I'll be retiring as superintendent of police and will be going on in another direction God has for me,' police chief Eddie Compass told reporters."

All Headline News - Congressman Wexler Accuses Brown of Poisioning FEMA - September 27, 2005

All Headline News - Congressman Wexler Accuses Brown of Poisioning FEMA - September 27, 2005: "Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A statement released by Congressman Robert Wexler's office claims former FEMA director Michael Brown's current present as a consultant 'reflects poorly on the marred agency and the Bush Administration, which clearly has not learned its lesson after the Katrina disaster.' The statement follows Brown's earlier self-defense of his actions during post-Katrina relief efforts.Despite Brown's resignation as director of FEMA on Sept. 12 - three days after he was removed from overseeing the onsite disaster response by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff - he continues his employment at FEMA under a consulting contract.

According to Wexler, President Bush's failure to remove Brown from FEMA 'further reflects a fundamental lack of resolve in addressing the breakdown at this agency.' He also slams the President for his 'steadfast refusal to support an independent investigation' of the actions taken by FEMA following Katrina's disasterous impact on Louisiana and Mississippi.Wexler also argues in his statement that, 'Mr. Brown's involvement at FEMA poisons all recovery efforts, as he is a constant reminder of the tremendous failures in Katrina's immediate aftermath and has a vested interest in covering up the true extent of the problems in the federal response. It is time for the President to rid - once and for all - the partisan, unprofessional political appointments in our nation's most critical agencies.'

Initially, on January 24, 2005, Wexler requested the removal of Under Secretary Brown due to reports that FEMA, under Brown's leadership, had disbursed over $30-million in disaster relief money to some 10,000 Miami-Dade residents who made fraudulent claims following Hurricane Frances."

The Courier-Mail: Bush unmoved by growing anti-war protests [28sep05]

The Courier-Mail: Bush unmoved by growing anti-war protests [28sep05]: "Ms Sheehan and prominent anti-war campaigner George Galloway, a member of the British parliament, addressed the rally and condemned Mr Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The White House said opponents were free to speak but the protests would not change the President's views.

Spokesman Scott McClellan said he did not know what effects the protests had on Mr Bush.

'The President just strongly disagrees with those who say we need to withdraw from the Middle East,' he said. 'That would be the wrong approach. That would make us less safe and less secure.'"

Scoop: A Less Fashionable War

Scoop: A Less Fashionable War: "Malcolm X once said, “Any person who claims to have deep feeling for other human beings should think a long, long time before he votes to have other men kept behind bars—caged. I am not saying there shouldn’t be prisons, but there shouldn’t be bars. Behind bars, a man never reforms.”

On Friday September 9th I became one of the roughly 25,000 people released from an Illinois prison this year—600,000 nationally—after completing only 10 weeks of a one year sentence due to extreme overcrowding. My crime was victimless, simple possession of a controlled substance, specifically a small amount of marijuana and MDMA.

But as the rare upper-middle class educated White American in prison, I found myself in a truly alien, self-perpetuating world of crushing poverty and ignorance, violent dehumanization, institutionalized racism, and an entire sub-culture of recidivists, some of whom had done nine and ten stints, many dating back to the Seventies. Most used prison as a form of criminal networking knowing full well they would be left to fend for themselves when released. We were told on many occasions that an inmate was worth more inside prison than back in society. Considering it costs an average of $37,000 a year to incarcerate offenders, and the average income for Black Americans is $24,000, and only $8,000-12,000 for poor Blacks, one can easily see their point."

Protesters & Police, Adhering to an Arresting Script

Protesters & Police, Adhering to an Arresting Script: "Upstairs, veteran activist Nadine Bloch of Takoma Park has the group role-play interactions with police.

Nadine Bloch: Sitting down is a technique you may want to use. Sit down. I want people to experience the dynamic. Protesters, how do you feel? Grounded, intentional, powerful. This is a beautiful place to be.

Scene 2: The group begins marching to the Ellipse, led by clergy and protest notables including Princeton professor Cornel West and Leslie Cagan, organizer with United for Peace and Justice.

Cornel West: We are going to bear witness today."

Stern Words From the Preacher at the President's Side - New York Times

Stern Words From the Preacher at the President's Side - New York Times: "Supporters of Bishop Jakes said afterward that his performance was an agile fusing of religion and Hurricane Katrina's tough racial politics, and that his pointed words showed that he was not there as a blind supporter of Mr. Bush. Others said that after the government's slow response to so many of Katrina's poor, black victims, Bishop Jakes should not have been there at all.

Either way, the presence of Bishop Jakes - who also stood at Mr. Bush's side in Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 5 - underscored how much the White House is trying to shore up its support among the conservative black Pentecostal preachers whom Republican strategists have seen as a link to potential black votes.

So far, none of the half-dozen black megapreachers close to the White House have abandoned Mr. Bush. But after Hurricane Katrina neither have they embraced him, Bishop Jakes included.

As Bishop Jakes said in a telephone interview on Friday about his White House invitation and his relationship with the president: 'We're not cousins or anything like that. I just think that we have an open-door policy with all presidents. And when I'm asked to come, if my schedule allows me, I will always come, no matter who is in the White House.'

Bishop Jakes, who also had a relationship with President Bill Clinton, added: 'I do think that African-Americans are waiting to see what this administration is going to do about this crisis. If the appropriate actions are taken in an expeditious, competent way, I think then our community will re-evaluate our opinions of this administration.'"

Capturing the fiery spirit in support of the Millions More Movement

Capturing the fiery spirit in support of the Millions More Movement: "ATLANTA (FinalCall.com) - As race, class and poverty take centerstage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, standing up for the vulnerable and displaced survivors who must not rebuild their lives and communities has emerged as the core mobilizing issue of the Millions More Movement.

After heading a delegation from the National Exexutive Committee for the Millions More Movement (MMM) on a whirlwind day tour Sept. 11 visiting Dallas, Houston, Baton Rouge and Jackson to assess the facts and listen to survivors, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan returned to the intensive schedule of his 23-city MMM tour, stopping in Atlanta Sept. 14.

Nearly 7,000 people packed the Civic Center for the evening rally, which not only the first city to offer the address live via webcast and two Internet radio , but it was also broadcasted later on over 30 radio stations—with the potential reach of over 10 million listeners and as far as St. Croix, Virgin Islands. On the night of the rally, 450 downloads of the webcast was registered online, and additional 2,500 as of presstime.

Capturing an extraordinary spirit and excitement for the day’s events unlike any city thus far during Minister Farrakhan’s tour, Southern Regional Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad first gathered a powerful assembly of Christian pastors and revolutionaries to address an afternoon community meeting of leaders and activists, hosted by First Iconium Baptist Church, which included Rev. Dr. Barbara King of the Hillside Chapel and Truth Center; and Charles Steele, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Of significant note, Michael A. Battle, the head of the Interdenomination Theological Center, agreed to join the scholars of religion to plan the spiritual and moral development."

Protesters arrested - Metropolitan - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

Protesters arrested - Metropolitan - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "'This is in the tradition of civil resistance, a dramatic way to demand that the Bush administration end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home now,' said Bill Dobbs, a spokesman for United for Peace and Justice, a national anti-war coalition that sponsored the protest at the White House.
Mrs. Sheehan, 48, was the first protester to be taken into custody. She smiled as officers carried her by the arms to a police vehicle. As police arrested her, protesters chanted, 'The whole world is watching.'
Others arrested included Princeton professor and activist Cornel West and religious leaders from across the country. "

Former FEMA Director Brown Didn't Know of Deplorable New Orleans Conditions

FEMA needs money to buy telephones and televisions sets for Directors. How did everyone else in the world know while FEMA didn't know?


Former FEMA Director Brown Didn't Know of Deplorable New Orleans Conditions: "WASHINGTON -- Embattled former FEMA director Michael Brown says he was initially unaware of desperate conditions at the New Orleans Convention Center because it was not a planned Hurricane Katrina evacuation site, according to a congressional memo.

After learning from television about the thousands of evacuees who gathered at the center, Brown ordered food and water be delivered there. But Brown, who on Tuesday faces a House inquiry into the government's slow response to the Aug. 29 disaster, told congressional aides that 'there is no reason FEMA would have known about it beforehand.'"

Democracy Now! | Palestinian-American Poet Suheir Hammad: “Of Refuge and Language”

Democracy Now! | Palestinian-American Poet Suheir Hammad: “Of Refuge and Language”: "SUHEIR HAMMAD: I wrote this poem after Hurricane Katrina and the victims of the rescue effort. The rescue effort victims of Hurricane Katrina were viewed on television for all of us, and they were called 'refugees.' This is a poem for all of the refugees in the world.

'Of Refuge and Language'

I do not wish
To place words in living mouths
Or bury the dead dishonorably

I am not deaf to cries escaping shelters
That citizens are not refugees
Refugees are not Americans

I will not use language
One way or another
To accommodate my comfort

I will not look away

All I know is this

No peoples ever choose to claim status of dispossessed
No peoples want pity above compassion
No enslaved peoples ever called themselves slaves

What do we pledge allegiance to?
A government that leaves its old
To die of thirst surrounded by water
Is a foreign government

People who are streaming
Illiterate into paperwork
Have long ago been abandoned"

Click link to read entire poem

Iraq War Question

This is a serious, sincere question...How is America safer by continuing to fight a war in Iraq against insurgents and occupying Iraq? Please feel free to answer the question. It is a serious question.

Judge OKs $25.5M Settlement in WWII Case - Yahoo! News

Hmmmmm...Maybe the United States will right other "historic" wrongs committed hundreds of years ago.

Judge OKs $25.5M Settlement in WWII Case - Yahoo! News: "MIAMI - Amid objections from some Holocaust survivors, a federal judge Monday approved a $25.5 million settlement between the U.S. government and Hungarian Jews who lost jewelry, artwork and other treasures when a Nazi 'Gold Train' was commandeered by the U.S. Army during World War II.

Despite the objections, Judge Patricia Seitz said the agreement represented a 'historic' chance to right a 60-year-old wrong committed by some U.S. troops and never adequately addressed by the federal government.

The settlement came in a lawsuit filed by Hungarian Holocaust survivors over the U.S. capture and pilfering in 1945 of a train loaded with gold, jewels, silver, china, 3,000 Oriental rugs and 1,200 paintings that had been stolen from Hungarian Jews by the Nazis. There are about 62,000 Hungarian Holocaust survivors worldwide.
........

Terms of the settlement also call for the U.S. government to issue a public apology for the military's actions."

"

Hurricane cleanup contracts under scrutiny - Americas - International Herald Tribune

Hurricane cleanup contracts under scrutiny - Americas - International Herald Tribune: "Topping the U.S. government's list of costs related to Hurricane Katrina are the $568 million contracts for debris removal landed by a Florida company with ties to the Republican governor in Mississippi. Near the bottom is an $89.95 bill for a pair of steel-toed shoes that an Environmental Protection Agency worker bought in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The first detailed tally of commitments from U.S. agencies since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast four weeks ago shows that more than 15 contracts exceed $100 million, including five of $500 million or more. Most of those huge contracts were for clearing away the trees, homes and cars strewn across the region, purchasing trailers and mobile homes or providing trucks, ships, buses and planes.

More than 80 percent of the $1.5 billion worth of contracts signed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency alone were awarded without bidding or with limited competition, government records show, provoking concerns about favoritism or abuse. Already, questions have been raised about the political connections of two major contractors - the Shaw Group and Kellogg, Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton - which have been represented by Joe Allbaugh, President George W. Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the agency.

'When you do something like this, you do increase the vulnerability for fraud, plain waste, abuse and mismanagement,' said Richard Skinner, the inspector general of the Homeland Security Department, who has 60 members of his staff examining Katrina contracts. 'We are very apprehensive about what we are seeing so far.'
"

The Black Commentator - Cover Story: CBC Monitor: Watchdogs of the Black Caucus

The Black Commentator - Cover Story: CBC Monitor: Watchdogs of the Black Caucus: "For the first time in history, an African American group has graded the Congressional Black Caucus’s legislative performance on a curve that reflects the Black Political Consensus. The results were startling. Harold Ford, Jr., of Memphis, registered only a five percent positive grade, based on his votes on nine “bright line” issues that came before him in this legislative session. David Scott, the Black Congressman from suburban Atlanta, did little better. Scott rated only a ten percent positive score."

Congress unveils portrait of first black congressman -Chicago Defender / National

Chicago Defender / National

The South End Newspaper - Cornel West says race a factor in Katrina - FEATURES - News

The South End Newspaper - Cornel West says race a factor in Katrina - FEATURES - News: "Skin color still matters in the United States and is responsible for the depressed state of black Americans from the rooftops of New Orleans to the streets of Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit, said noted intellectual Dr. Cornel West.

A professor of African-American Studies and Philosophy of Religion at Harvard University, West, 52, visited the Detroit Public Library Wednesday, where he spoke to an overwhelmingly black audience of about 300 people. There, he discussed his latest book, “Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism.”

“I believe we’re living in one of the bleakest moments of history,” he said.

West graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude, and then he attended Princeton University, where he earned master’s and doctorate degrees.

People of color are disproportionately affected by flawed political policies and by imperialism, he said, citing such examples as the Iraqi war, where “black and brown soldiers” are on the frontlines.

Katrina relief efforts racist

Referencing Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities Aug. 29, West said of the victims, who were mostly poor and black: “Here in the land of opportunity, here in the land of prosperity, here in the land of ingenuity, we have the living hell of the Super Dome.”

He blasted the Bush administration and the federal government for the slow response to rescue the victims and to bring aid into the communities hit by the hurricane."

CONSERVATIVES ATTACK KATRINA VICTIMS, WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 22-28, 2005The Wilmington Journal - Article - more national

The Wilmington Journal - Article - more national: "As the nation braces for the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, a powerful Category 3 storm that at press time Wednesday that was picking up both strength and speed as it headed towards the already battered Gulf Coast, the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, and its devastating rampage of New Orleans over three weeks ago, continues.

In their zeal to insulate President Bush from further criticism that his administration dragged its feet in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina because the victims were mostly poor and African-American, a charge the president has vehemently denied, conservative columnists have now set out to demonize the victims, and black leadership.

The unintended result, however, may be a wider and more permanent breach between the African-American community and the Republican Party, which, before Katrina struck the Gulf Coast three weeks ago, made attracting more blacks to the GOP in time for the 2006 congressional and 2008 presidential elections a top priority.

“I can’t help it, “ wrote freelance conservative pundit Karen H. Pittman just after Katrina hit New Orleans, “but I have an inherent antipathy towards that certain sub-species of human animal that is now commandeering the streets of that fetid city, truly now a razed City of the Dead. I haven’t the sufficiently impoverished vernacular to express just how thoroughly revolted I am by these mack daddies and gangstars and brazen bitches-with-FATitudes (-in-these-lowlife-latitudes) when I hear them squawking on-camera about how “ain’t nobody did nuthin’ fa us” — when they were told to leave!”

“The vast majority of these ambulatory refugees were able-bodied and could have at the very least abandoned their low-lying neighborhoods, as they were repeatedly commanded to do,” the fiery Pittman continued.

“I say let the gangsters drown in their toxic soup. If they aren’t killed by Guardsmen, and they aren’t rescued, they will soon be dead of typhoid. So be it. They chose.”

The harsh rhetoric and mocking of the poor and black that died during Katrina, was also fodder for another well-known right-wing firebrand.

“…[R]escuers in New Orleans have discovered a lower-than-expected 424 dead bodies or, as they’re known to liberals, “registered Democratic voters,” wrote conservative columnist Ann Coulter."

The Observer | International | Armed and dangerous - Flipper the firing dolphin let loose by Katrina

The Observer | International | Armed and dangerous - Flipper the firing dolphin let loose by Katrina: "It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing."

Sheehan Arrested Outside White House

Sheehan Arrested Outside White House: "Cindy Sheehan, the grieving California mother of a soldier slain in Iraq, was arrested today while protesting the Iraq war outside the White House.

Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey was killed last year, and several dozen other protesters staged a sit-in on the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue after marching along the pedestrian walkway, the Associated Press reported. Police warned them three times that they had to move along before making arrests, the news agency said."

War Supporters' Day to Rally

Why does being against the war in Iraq equate to not supporting the troops in Iraq?


War Supporters' Day to Rally

Report: Jeter received racist hate mail - Baseball - MSNBC.com

I know that I've been boycotting the Associated Press, but they have a monopoly on some of the stories in the media. The info is important to get out. Report: Jeter received racist hate mail - Baseball - MSNBC.com: "NEW YORK - New York Yankees star Derek Jeter is the latest athlete to receive a threatening letter warning him to stop dating white women.

The letter was mailed to Jeter at Yankee Stadium and called him a “traitor to his race,” according to a story in Monday’s editions of the Daily News. It warned him to “stop or he’ll be shot or set on fire,” said a law enforcement source who the newspaper did not identify. It was not clear whether the source was speaking on condition of anonymity.

Jeter, whose father is black and mother is white, has been linked with women of various racial and ethnic backgrounds in New York’s gossip columns."

Black Group Demands Action from Congressional Black Caucus and Hillary Clinton Over Anti-Bush Slur - Yahoo! News

Black Group Demands Action from Congressional Black Caucus and Hillary Clinton Over Anti-Bush Slur - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Members of the black leadership network Project 21 are demanding that the
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and Sen.
Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) join with them in condemning remarks made by CBC member Rep. Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record) (D-N.Y.) in which he called
President George W. Bush 'our Bull Conner,' referring to the 1960s segregationist icon.

'Charles Rangel's comments are morally vacant and beneath the pale, but obviously not out of character for him and his supporters,' said Project 21 member Mychal Massie. 'How many blacks today suffer from beatings, fire hoses or have dogs set on them for trying to seek a seat at a lunch counter or go to school? How many of us today are living under inflexible, legislated segregation?'

Massie adds: 'Rangel's comments may play well with those who embrace ignorance, but it will not resonate with Americans who eschew racial demagoguery. We demand that the CBC and Senator Clinton join with this overwhelming majority of their fellow citizens in banishing hate speech such as this to the trash heap of history.'

Rep. Rangel made his comparison of
President Bush to the former Birmingham, Ala., police commissioner at the Congressional Black Caucus's 35th Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 22. As reported by the New York Sun, Rangel also said, 'If you're black in this country and you're poor in this country, it's not an inconvenience -- it's a death sentence.' Sen. Clinton was also in attendance at the event, as were Sen. Barak Obama (D-Ill.), Reps. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and former entertainer Harry Belafonte."

The Ghosts of Mr. Massie

The Ghosts of Mr. Massie: "WorldNetDaily columnist Mychal Massie is one of the small army of black conservatives Republicans are trying to cultivate, a member of the group Project 21 (you know, the organization whose only paid employee is white). He earned two Slantie Awards this year; the main reason was a Dec. 14 column in which he called Senate minority leader Harry Reid's criticism of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' legal opinions as poorly written 'arrogantly racist,' adding: 'His Uncle Bull Connors [sic] and his Uncle Orval Faubus must be proud of him. ... He is simply being true to his inbred familial heritage [as a Mormon].'

Disproportional and silly as it was -- and despite the fact that Massie has absolutely no substantiation of racist intent on Reid's part -- we understand the occasional lapse into overheated rhetoric (though that didn't stand in the way of awarding him the Slantie honor).

But, in his Feb. 8 column, Massie did it again. Instead of just one or two senators, he decided to smear the entire Democratic party:

While many of my colleagues have publicly denounced Democrat opposition to Dr. [Condoleezza] Rice as being racist and spiteful. [sic] I submit they are not acting out of character – quite the contrary: They are in perfect keeping with the beatings, dogs and fire hoses of Mississippi and Alabama. They are fully representative of Bull Connor and Orval Faubus.

In their minds, persons of color who do not descend to their level of moral turpitude need not apply. What a message to send to young women struggling to break free of the generational cycle of alcohol, drugs, out-of-wedlock births and abortion.

The only evidence Massie offers that Democrats are 'racist' and worthy of being lumped with notorious segregationists Faubus and Connor (whose name he gets right this time) is that Democratic senators were not as friendly as Republicans during Rice's confirmation hearing for secretary of state. After claiming th"

Pro-war rally inappropriate way to mark terror attack anniversary :: The Daily Herald, Provo Utah

Pro-war rally inappropriate way to mark terror attack anniversary :: The Daily Herald, Provo Utah: "Pro-war rally inappropriate way to mark terror attack anniversary

The Daily Herald

From the (Peoria, Ill.) Journal Star, Sept. 10, 2005

On the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Defense Department is distorting and diminishing its significance with a tacky display of jingoism.

Your tax dollars are paying for Sunday's 'America Supports You Freedom Walk,' a grab-bag event that includes a memorial at the Pentagon, a stop at Arlington National
Cemetery, a support-the-troops march ... and a country music concert. The Pentagon says the event is meant to 'highlight the value of freedom.' That's one way to look at it. Another is that it's meant to rejuvenate lagging support for the war and to peddle a mendacious link between 9-11 and Iraq, again.

The walk itself is not ill-conceived. A somber procession from the Pentagon crash site to the National Mall's reflecting pool would be appropriate. But throw in free T-shirts and country music singer Clint Black and you get pre-packaged, plastic patriotism. The T-shirts proclaim 'America Supports You,' which is the name of a federally created organization that bolsters the armed forces.

While supporting the military is a wonderful gesture, it should not be the dominant theme of a memorial event for the 3,000-plus civilians who died. ..."

First responders for Rita were competent, Katrina's were not

First responders for Rita were competent, Katrina's were not: "As the Hurricane Katrina saga unfolded before us on television, we repeatedly saw suffering people wailing, 'Where's FEMA?' Such images, while emotionally moving, contributed to a false perception about the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We saw none of these images, however, following Hurricane Rita. Does anyone wonder why?

FEMA provides a single point of contact for local and state authorities to work with the Red Cross and 27 responding federal agencies such as the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Commerce, and so on. FEMA is simply an umbrella organization for all federal agencies. With virtually no resources of its own, and leaves emergency planning and execution to local authorities.

Nobody ever imagined an emergency where a total breakdown of civil authority would occur. Then came Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, knowing a Category 5 storm was coming his way and the levees in his city were built to survive only a Category 3 storm, waited until two days before it hit landfall to announce a mandatory evacuation. He then failed to provide transportation for those who needed it though he had hundreds of buses at his disposal.

We saw none of this incompetence by the mayors of Port Arthur, Beaumont, Lake Charles and Houston before or after Hurricane Rita hit. They issued and enforced evacuation orders early on. Admittedly, part of this is due to Katrina giving everyone a heightened awareness of the potential devastation as Rita approached."

"Victory Means Exit Strategy" - Yahoo! News

"Victory Means Exit Strategy" - Yahoo! News

The Seattle Times: Opinion: At the end of the day, poor is not a color

The Seattle Times: Opinion: At the end of the day, poor is not a color: "Which is a callous slander even by Limbaugh's standards. I've seen white folks pleading for help a hundred times in the wake of earthquakes, mudslides, fires, floods and storms. I have yet to see that need cited as evidence of their lack of moral fiber.

Take the rapper and the right-winger as proof: Americans will never pass up a chance to falsely conflate race and class.

So it bears repeating: Black people with means were able to escape New Orleans, just the same as their white counterparts. The people who were left behind were stranded not because they were black, but because they were poor.

You might call that a distinction without a difference given that the poor are disproportionately black. I call it the basis for a fundamental realignment of American politics if ever the poor of all races and tribes finally realize they have more in common than they do in contention.

Not to give shortshrift to the forces that have led black people to be overrepresented among the nation's have-nots. My only point is that at the end of the day, poor is poor, color notwithstanding. And the poor in this country are ignored because they are ignorable, forgotten because they are forgettable. Where is their advocate? Who raises their issues and concerns? Where is their voice?"

AlterNet: Hurricane Katrina: Belafonte & Glover Speak Out on Katrina

AlterNet: Hurricane Katrina: Belafonte & Glover Speak Out on Katrina: Danny Glover-"When the hurricane struck the Gulf and the floodwaters rose and tore through New Orleans, plunging its remaining population into a carnival of misery, it did not turn the region into a Third World country, as it has been disparagingly implied in the media; it revealed one. It revealed the disaster within the disaster; grueling poverty rose to the surface like a bruise to our skin.

But the storm not only revealed the poverty of those most vulnerable, those left behind. It also revealed the poverty of skewed priorities that put the shoulder of technology to the wheel of death rather than life, creating killing machines that are now called 'smart' and surveillance systems that, in the words of the great Guyanese poet Martin Carter, 'are watching you sleep and aiming at your dreams.'

Mother Nature revealed the poverty of a mindset that narrowly views security as a military issue; that is blind to the role of culture in sustaining the mental health and social wellness of people, which is also the basis for economic productivity; blind to the role of culture in education, through which we are prepared for our responsibilities in a democracy; and hostile to the role of culture in the search for truth.

Hurricane Katrina revealed, more than anything else, a poverty of imagination."

AlterNet: Hurricane Katrina: How to Create a Crisis

AlterNet: Hurricane Katrina: How to Create a Crisis: "While criminal gangs who take advantage of chaos and misery did much of the looting, many desperately poor, mostly black residents saw a chance to grab items they can't afford. They also did their share of the looting. That makes it no less reprehensible, but it's no surprise. New Orleans has one of the highest poverty rates of any of America's big cities. According to a report by Total Community Action, a New Orleans public advocacy group, nearly one out of three New Orleans residents -- the majority of whom are black -- lives below the poverty level. A spokesperson for the United Negro College Fund noted that the city's poor live in some of the most dilapidated and deteriorated housing in the nation.

But New Orleans is not an aberration. Nationally, according to Census figures, blacks remain at the bottom of the economic totem pole. They have the lowest median income of any group. Bush's war and economic policies don't help matters. His tax cuts redistributed billions to the rich and corporations. The Iraq war has drained billions from cash-starved job training, health and education programs. Increased American dependence on Saudi oil has driven gas and oil prices skyward. Corporate downsizing, outsourcing and industrial flight have further fueled America's poverty crisis. All of this happened on Bush's watch."

MercuryNews.com | 09/23/2005 | Rappers lend their support to hurricane survivors

MercuryNews.com | 09/23/2005 | Rappers lend their support to hurricane survivors: "The hip-hop community continues to speak out about relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and to sponsor all sorts of benefits.

Many in the rap field had family members in the devastated region. But even those who didn't felt the pain and anguish of those residents who lost everything -- homes, livelihood and, in some cases, lives.

On the local front, we have Grammy-nominated rapper/singer Mystic, whose family lived in the decimated Ninth Ward of New Orleans. She says their property was destroyed, and they have had to move to Alabama and Georgia.

We've heard that the New Orleans-born, Oakland-raised singer Ledisi also suffered losses, but we're not sure to what extent. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family.

E-40, who gets things popping every weekend at San Jose's Ambassador Lounge, notes that what we witnessed was a major catastrophe in a region so heavily African-American that it is sometimes called the Black Belt. He, too, has family in Louisiana. They got out of harm's way, he says, but he's worried about former fellow students at Grambling University who lived in New Orleans. When he tries calling them and other friends in the Crescent City, including Baby from Cash Money, he still can't get through."

...

"Many other Bay Area artists are getting ready for a big Katrina benefit, the ``SOS Concert,'' on Saturday at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland. Running from noon until 8 p.m., it will feature Dwayne Wiggins from Tony! Toni! Toné!, Too Short, Keak da Sneak, San Quinn and B-Legit. Tickets are $25.

While many artists have been involved in benefits, others have stepped up and recorded songs.

The most notable is Mos Def, who reworked ``Nolio Clap,'' a popular tune by New Orleans native Juvenile, to create ``Katrina Klap,'' which lashes out at the government's slow response and takes some shots at U2's Bono for remaining silent during this tragedy.

The Houston rap group K-Otix has joined scores of others, including David Banner, Chuck D and TI, in circling the wagons around Kanye West after his remark about George W. Bush not caring about black people. They've remade West's popular ``Gold Digger'' with lyrics that take the president to task.

Chuck D of Public Enemy, poet Saul Williams, Atlanta rapper Big Sty and Bay Area rapper Jahi also have released songs about Katrina. They're all downloadable at http://p076.ezboard.com/"

At the CBC Conference, A Whirlwind of Emotions

At the CBC Conference, A Whirlwind of Emotions: "Washington Convention Center would be the first rendezvous for many black intellectual, religious, celebrity and financial heavyweights after the storm: more than 3,000 registered participants, all haunted by the pictures of those left behind -- so many of them poor, so many of them black.

But it would have been hard to prepare for just how raw emotions would be, how deep the pain over that old feeling of being last and left out, how sharp the anger and the suspicion. Could the city really be rebuilt without many of the people that Katrina washed away, as so many seem to fear? And what about the opportunity there now? For all the death and devastation, there is money to be made, jobs to be had in the rebuilding. Could they be left to outside contractors who don't even know the streets that gave birth to jazz?"
...

"But there was no escaping the conference's river of unscripted Katrina moments.

"People have to have a forum to express themselves," Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson said after a workshop on rebuilding New Orleans. "They feel very deeply that there has been an injustice against the African American community. . . . There was no way to control it."

So many times last week, it was as if a levee had broken right there in the convention center."

International ANSWER

Representing

I spent most of the day in DC at the ANSWER Anti-War Rally/Protest. I started the day watching it on CSPAN. I had to go represent. There were many, many people out there...thousands! I love the signs and costumes that people wear. One of the best signs was "FRODO FAILED! BUSH HAS THE RING!" It took me only a second to catch it.

Saw a great hip-hop band with conscious lyrics out of Oakland, California called Boots Riley and the Coup. Check them out live or online. I don't think mainstream media in DC will allow them to be heard on the radio.

I love the grassroots movements. I've participated in just about all of the Anti-war in Iraq marches in DC. This was the largest gathering thus far. Family, we have to come out and represent! Show up! Sign the petition. Do something, and share what you are doing with others. We must Unite! Ofttimes, We make the assumption that nothing is going on if we don't know about it. Things are happening all the time, and Much of it we know nothing about. We believe EVERYTHING that comes on television. We are not accustomed to critical thinking. We simply regurgitate the talking points spoken by politicians, paid pundits, and biased news media. Do your own independent investigation! Develop your own moral character and standards!

As the saying goes "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything! This is not a time to be a bystander. People are dying. Innocent people...for senseless reasons. Let's all do our part. We cannot afford to leave it to a few, and it's not fair to the few. Stand up, be counted! Be...active! Represent!