NPR : Timeline: The CIA Leak Case

NPR : Timeline: The CIA Leak Case

Untouchable? Or, Is lying under oath lying under oath?

If Martha and Lil Kim were found guilty and served time, will Scooter Libby do so as well?

Mourners in Montgomery say goodbye to Rosa Parks - 10/30/05

Mourners in Montgomery say goodbye to Rosa Parks - 10/30/05: "MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The birthplace of the modern civil-rights movement has bid farewell to the woman whose steely conviction helped launch it.

Wrapping up a weeklong celebration and mourning of Rosa Parks, hundreds of civil-rights veterans and family members gathered for a 2 1/2-hour memorial service at her old church, St. Paul AME.

The church seats about 700, far fewer than the hundreds of well-wishers who gathered to pay tribute to Parks, whose refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man in 1955 launched a 381-day bus boycott that helped end legalized segregation.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who grew up 90 miles away in Birmingham, said Parks' defiance 'set a revolution that made America face up to its birth defects.'

'Without Rosa Parks, I would not be standing here today as secretary of state,' Rice said.

Tens of thousands of people viewed Parks as she lay in repose Saturday at the church. Sunday, her casket was closed, surrounded by teeming bouquets of yellow and red flowers.

The 2 1/2-hour service featured speeches and remembrances from the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton; Alabama Gov. Robert Riley; NAACP President Bruce Gordon; Martin Luther King III; radio personality and author Tavis Smiley and actress Cicely Tyson, who portrayed Parks in the movie, 'The Rosa Parks Story.'"

CNN.com - Reid: White House owes Americans an explanation - Oct 30, 2005

CNN.com - Reid: White House owes Americans an explanation - Oct 30, 2005: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate minority leader said Sunday that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney owe the country an explanation of 'what's going on' in the administration and called for White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove to be fired."

Rosa Parks and the Rosa Parks Biography

Rosa Parks and the Rosa Parks Biography: "Although three black women had been arrested earlier that year for similar acts of defiance, and Rosa Parks herself had been thrown off a bus by the same driver 12 years before, this time the opponents of segregation were prepared to mount a counterattack. The Montgomery chapter of the NAACP had been looking for a test case to challenge the legality of segregated bus seating and to woo public opinion with a series of protests.

The morning after her arrest, Rosa Parks agreed to let the NAACP take on her case. Another organization, the Women's Political Council (WPC), led by JoAnn Robinson, initiated the idea of a one-day bus boycott. Within 24 hours of Rosa Parks's defiance, the WPC had distributed more than 52,000 fliers announcing the bus boycott, which was to take place the day of Rosa Parks's trial. On December 5, as buses went through their routes almost empty, Rosa Parks was convicted by the local court. She refused to pay the fine of $14, and with the help of her lawyer, Ed D. Gray, she appealed to the circuit court.

Rosa Parks was widely known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, but her iconic stature afforded her little financial security. She lost her job as a seamstress at Montgomery Fair and was unable to find other work in Montgomery. Rosa Parks and her husband relocated to Detroit, Michigan, in 1957, where they struggled financially for the next eight years. Rosa Parks's fortunes improved somewhat in 1965, when U.S. congressional representative John F. Conyers Jr. hired her as an administrative assistant, a position she held until 1987.."

Excerpt...click link to read entire article

Think Progress » Hume to Juan Williams: “Someone Needs To Hose You Down”

Think Progress » Hume to Juan Williams: “Someone Needs To Hose You Down”

From a Seat on the Bus to the Seat of Government

"Come nightfall today, the elderly and fearless Southern lady -- whose eyes had seen the glory of desegregation and freedom before she died, who had seemed to come out of nowhere and everywhere back in 1955 -- will begin a two-day rest in this city.

Rosa Parks is "going home," as the church folk have been saying. And the inference has been that her direction is heavenward.

She will lie tonight and part of tomorrow morning inside the Capitol Rotunda, the first woman accorded such an honor. At 1 p.m. tomorrow, there will be a memorial service at Metropolitan AME Church.

Then north to Detroit for burial. And "home.""

San Francisco Bay View - National Black Newspaper of the Year

San Francisco Bay View - National Black Newspaper of the Year: "'We need a movement of millions'


Commentary recorded for - but not delivered at - the Oct. 15 Millions More March

by Mumia Abu-Jamal

Long live John Africa. On a move! I want to thank Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Millions More Movement for the kind invitation to join y'all here. As we gather, in person or electronically, we do so in a time of peril.

We do so in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when the state showed us all that they don't give a damn about Black life. But every day of our lives we see smaller but no less lethal Hurricane Katrinas. Every year in public schools, millions of Black, Latino and poor kids are miseducated, thereby destroying, as surely as any hurricane, their life hopes and chances."

Click link to read article

Movies/Weekend

I saw two good videos this week, Robots and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Robots was cute. I love animated movies. They help me relax. I think the vibrant colors help me in some way. The themes are usually light. They provide an opportunity to veg out after a long, stressfull day.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants made me cry...not that that's difficult to do. It was a really good story. I love the little girl in the movie. I first saw her in Dickie Roberts. In Sisterhood her situation made her wise beyond her years. I won't give it away. :)

I've renting Motorcycle Diaries about two times previously, and I haven't seen it yet. I have it again, hopefully to check out tomorrow or Sunday.

I haven't been to the movie theatre in a long time. I couldn't tell you the last movie I saw in the theatre. Okay, maybe I could if I thought about it really hard. I hope that it wasn't Hustle and Flow. That would have been a really long time ago. My last theatre movie was probably during the summer.

Thank God today is Friday, my weekly holy day. I don't know what I plan to do this weekend. Rosa Parks will "lie in honor" at the Capitol Sunday night and Monday. She is the first woman to hold such an honor. I may go to pay my respects to the woman who became an icon for the civil rights movement, a movement which set the wheels in motion to change the world. We have come a long way, but in the words of Robert Frost we still have "miles to go before I sleep". Or maybe before "we" sleep.

We can't buy into the perception that we can't make a difference. I sometimes think about the unjust war in Iraq and feel powerless in changing things. That's is not the truth. We do have power to change things. Stop watching television...it reinforces the notion that the people are powerless. In fact they feed it to you constantly. We have the power. We have to use it!

Red Cross borrows to meet hurricane needs

Red Cross borrows to meet hurricane needs: "WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The American Red Cross says it needs to borrow $340 million to meet demands placed on the relief organization by hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

'Fight Aids like apartheid'

'Fight Aids like apartheid': "Johannesburg - The fight against HIV/Aids needed the same strength as the fight against apartheid, US Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson said in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

'Its needs the same kind of thrust we had to end apartheid,' he said at a visit to the SA Council of Churches headquarters, Khotso House.

He had those attending a sermon repeating after him: 'We must assault Aids and stop Aids from assaulting us.'

He said more efforts were needed, particularly in education preventing the further spread of the disease.

He said sub-Saharan Africa had the highest percentage of Aids victims in the world and this needed to change.

'We can fight aids by changing our minds and by changing our behaviour.'

He said that in the US many women who are partners of former prisoners are among those contracting the disease.


"

Drivers cry 'foul' as Exxon profits soar

Drivers cry 'foul' as Exxon profits soar: "The oil companies assert that their profits are no larger than other businesses and that they just look big because it is a big business.

Exxon chairman Lee R. Raymond said in a statement that the company 'acted responsibly' in its pricing and said its fourth-quarter profits would come nowhere close to the $9.9 billion in the third quarter.

That doesn't necessarily wash with Adrienne Valdez of Phoenix.

'I can't afford to buy socks because I am paying twice what I used to for gas.' she said. 'It's not right that they (oil companies) should be making billions at our expense.' "

Rosa Parks To Lie in Honor at Capitol

Rosa Parks To Lie in Honor at Capitol: "Rosa Parks, the African American seamstress who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Ala., 50 years ago and lent a spark to the beginnings of the modern civil rights movement, will make history again as the first woman ever to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, after the House today passed a resolution permitting the tribute."

Cheney Adviser Indicted in CIA Leak Probe

Cheney Adviser Indicted in CIA Leak Probe: "Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, was indicted today by a federal grand jury after a nearly two-year investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity.

Capping a week of political turmoil in Washington, Libby promptly resigned and left the White House. He expressed confidence that eventually he would be 'totally exonerated,' and both Cheney and President Bush praised his talent and dedication. 'Obviously, today is a sad day for me and my family,' Libby said in a statement."

TIME.com: Viewpoint: Civil Rights and Gay Rights -- Page 1

TIME.com: Viewpoint: Civil Rights and Gay Rights -- Page 1: "Of course there are important differences. 'The comparison with slavery is a stretch,' Jesse Jackson asserted in a speech at Harvard last year, 'in that some slave masters were gay, in that gays were never called three-fifths human in the Constitution and in that they did not require the Voting Rights Act to have the right to vote.' All of which is true. Race is most often, rightly or not, signified physically. While gays have been, and still are in many instances, forced to play straight, they at least had a refuge. It was historically difficult, usually impossible, and often illegal, for a black person to pass as white (even if 15/16ths of his blood was). They had nowhere to hide.

So yes, in the game of Who's Been More Systematically Oppressed?, black people win hands down. But that doesn't discount the hardships of other groups. (Remember the federal Defense of Marriage Act?) And it doesn't mean everyone isn't entitled to equal rights. Through the years, America has dished out enough oppression to go around. Much of it has been strikingly similar. The anti-miscegenation laws that were enacted in much of the South were rooted in interpretations of the Bible. Interracial intimacy was seen as unnatural. Blacks were put forth as filthy sub-humans who wanted to muddy white bloodlines and thus destroy the goodness of the white race. Race mixing was akin to bestiality. Sound familiar? 'Defenders' of marriage, from Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum to Justice Antonin Scalia to Pope Benedict, have tossed out arguments just like these in their quest to keep same-sex couples from the altar."

TIME.com: Behind the Miers Withdrawal -- Page 1

TIME.com: Behind the Miers Withdrawal -- Page 1: "Posted Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005
A few days before Harriet Miers suddenly withdrew from her nomination to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, one of President Bush's leading allies on judicial nominations was moaning at a Washington party about the president's pick to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. 'It's a disaster,' he said. 'I don't understand it.'

"

Head of New Orleans' Levee Board Quits - Yahoo! News

Head of New Orleans' Levee Board Quits - Yahoo! News: "Huey, 55, said he resigned because the furor over his post-Katrina maneuvers had become 'a sideshow' for the board as it struggles to recover from a disaster that destroyed levees and laid to waste much of the agency's real estate holdings, including Lakefront Airport in eastern New Orleans.

Huey said he welcomes investigations into both contracts as well as the back pay.

'I didn't want to leave under these circumstances, but I fell victim to some other folks who don't know what they're talking about and they have to live with themselves,' he said.

Huey would not say whom he was referring to."

Article - National News

Article - National News: "[WASHINGTON (NNPA) – It’s a well-known fact that the dollar barely circulates in the black community. In fact on average, the dollar stays in the black community for one transaction. However, for one weekend in Washington, D.C. the dollar circulated and circulated at the Millions More Movement.

African-American vendors roamed the Washington Mall selling commemorative buttons, T-shirts, art and incense along with

African American culture and consciousness. For one vendor, his presence at the MMM is evidence of the progress of the Million Man March 10 years earlier.

Abdullah Brooks who has attended every march in Washington for the past decade was inspired by Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Million Man March to be the entrepreneur he longed to be. He started Alfa Unlimited, an art gallery specializing in “historic fine arts” and hasn’t looked back since.

Surrounded by a large crowd and laminated images of Muhammad Ali, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Brooks said he took up the call to change his life and his community."

Focus of Prosecutor in CIA Leak Inquiry Appears to Shift to Rove - Yahoo! News

Focus of Prosecutor in CIA Leak Inquiry Appears to Shift to Rove - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON — Prosecutors investigating the leak of a
CIA officer's identity returned their attention to White House advisor Karl Rove on Tuesday, questioning a former West Wing colleague about contacts Rove had with reporters in the days leading to the naming of the covert operative.
ADVERTISEMENT

Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald also dispatched
FBI agents this week to the CIA officer's neighborhood in Washington, asking neighbors whether they had been aware — before her name appeared in a syndicated column — that the operative, Valerie Plame, worked for the CIA."

Republicans Cut Several Programs in Budget - Yahoo! News

Republicans Cut Several Programs in Budget - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - House Republicans voted to cut student loan subsidies, child support enforcement and aid to firms hurt by unfair trade practices as various committees scrambled to piece together $50 billion in budget cuts.
ADVERTISEMENT

More politically difficult votes — to cut Medicaid, food stamps and farm subsidies — are on tap Thursday as more panels weigh in on the bill. It was originally intended to cut $35 billion in spending over five years, but after pressure from conservatives, GOP leaders directed committees to cut another $15 billion to help pay the cost of hurricane recovery."

CNN.com - Poll: Bush would lose an election if held this year - Oct 25, 2005

CNN.com - Poll: Bush would lose an election if held this year - Oct 25, 2005: "(CNN) -- A majority would vote for a Democrat over President Bush if an election were held this year, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Tuesday.

In the latest poll, 55 percent of the respondents said that they would vote for the Democratic candidate if Bush were again running for the presidency this year.

Thirty-nine percent of those interviewed said they would vote for Bush in the hypothetical election."

CNN.com - 'Everyday folks' dying in National Guard - Oct 25, 2005

CNN.com - 'Everyday folks' dying in National Guard - Oct 25, 2005

Bush refuses to hand over Miers documents / Nominee's chances for confirmation appear in jeopardy

Bush refuses to hand over Miers documents / Nominee's chances for confirmation appear in jeopardy: "Washington -- President Bush rejected requests coming from Republican as well as Democratic lawmakers to produce documents about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' work as White House counsel, as conservatives Monday began a formal campaign to force her withdrawal.

The brewing clash between Bush and Senate Republicans over White House documents marks the latest downturn for an embattled nomination that has deeply demoralized Bush's conservative base and raises the prospect that Miers could be defeated by her own party.

'People can learn about Harriet Miers through hearings,' Bush said, speaking briefly to reporters after a Cabinet meeting, 'but we are not going to destroy this business about people being able to walk in the Oval Office and say, 'Mr. President, here's my advice to you, here's what I think is important.' And that's not only important for this president, it's important for future presidents.'"

Some in FBI have skirted oversight of surveillance - Yahoo! News

Some in FBI have skirted oversight of surveillance - Yahoo! News: "FBI agents have violated government policies by secretly conducting surveillance on U.S. citizens for more than a year without notifying Justice Department officials, according to declassified government documents released Monday."

D.C. Moves to Seize Property to Make Way for Stadium

D.C. Moves to Seize Property to Make Way for Stadium: "The District government filed court papers today to seize $84 million worth of property from 16 owners in Southeast for a new baseball stadium.

The city's action was anticipated and is an attempt to meet the construction timetable for the ballpark, which is scheduled to open in March 2008. Under eminent domain law, property owners and their tenants must leave the properties within 90 days unless a judge declares the seizure unconstitutional."

Newsday.com: Cindy Sheehan: Don't support Clinton unless she flips on war

Newsday.com: Cindy Sheehan: Don't support Clinton unless she flips on war: "
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Cindy Sheehan, who became the face of anti-war sentiment after her son died in Iraq, urged war opponents to thwart Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's political aspirations unless she comes out against the conflict.

Sheehan said Tuesday it doesn't appear Clinton is prepared to do that or call for a withdrawal of U.S. troops.

'I believe that any candidate who supports the war should not receive our support,' Sheehan said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. 'It doesn't matter if they're Senator Clinton or whoever.'"

Bus Ride Shook a Nation's Conscience

Bus Ride Shook a Nation's Conscience: "Rosa Parks, the dignified African American seamstress whose refusal to surrender a bus seat to a white man launched the modern civil rights movement and inspired generations of activists, died last night at her home in Detroit, the Wayne County medical examiner's office said. She was 92.

No cause of death was reported immediately. She had dementia since 2002.

Rosa was a true giant of the civil rights movement,' said U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), in whose office Parks worked for more than 20 years. 'There are very few people who can say their actions and conduct changed the face of the nation, and Rosa Parks is one of those individuals.'"

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Darkness on the Edge of Town: "In Oct. 2001, James W. Loewen stopped at a convenience store in the small Illinois town of Anna -- a name that, as a store clerk confirmed, stands for 'Ain't No Niggers Allowed.'

On Nov. 8, 1909, nearly a century before Loewen stepped into the store, a mob of angry white citizens drove out Anna's 40 or so black families following the lynching in a nearby town of a black man accused of raping a white woman. Anna became all-white literally overnight, Loewen reports, and embraced racial exclusiveness for the long haul. According to the 2000 census, just one family with a black member lives among Anna's 7,000 residents."

Steele Announces Md. Senate Bid

Steele Announces Md. Senate Bid

CIA Leak Linked to Dispute Over Iraq Policy

CIA Leak Linked to Dispute Over Iraq Policy: "Scowcroft, a close friend of former president George H.W. Bush, revealed in interviews with the New Yorker a deep disdain for the administration's foreign policy, according to an article published this week. He said he had once considered Vice President Cheney 'a good friend,' but 'Dick Cheney I don't know anymore.' When Scowcroft was asked whether he could name the issues on which he agreed with President Bush, he replied 'Afghanistan.' He then paused for 12 seconds before adding only, 'I think we're doing well on Europe.'"

U.S. Military Death Toll in Iraq Hits 2,000

U.S. Military Death Toll in Iraq Hits 2,000: "BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 -- U.S. military fatalities in Iraq reached the 2,000 mark Tuesday with the reported deaths late last week of two Marines and an Army sergeant in two roadside bombings , according to casualty data kept by the Associated Press and Reuters.

The military in Baghdad announced that two Marines died last Friday when the vehicle in which they were traveling was attacked during combat operations by a roadside bomb in Amariya, about 25 miles west of Baghdad. The victims, whose names were not released, were identified as members of the Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force."

($200,000...Are you serious?) Looting Breaks Out in Wilma's Wake - Yahoo! News

I guess we are too strapped to give anybody money right now, huh? Even Sri Lanka devastated by the Tsunami gave us $25,000. I guess the damage over there isn't that bad if that's all the United States gave. Kind of like "I ain't got it, man. My rent due next week. (Wilma)"

Looting Breaks Out in Wilma's Wake - Yahoo! News: "Fox toured damaged areas on Sunday and said he would ask lawmakers to budget $1.1 billion in disaster relief funds for 2006, in part to help Mexico recover from Wilma. He said his main priority was rebuilding roads and other infrastructure to revive the country's $11 billion tourism industry, which took a devastating blow.

It was unclear when the Cancun airport would be operating again, and many hotels could take weeks — if not months — to repair.

As Mexico's military sent amphibious vehicles and federal police began arriving to keep the peace, the U.S. Embassy dispatched consular officials to shelters to help tourists prepare to leave. The U.S. government also offered $200,000 in aid."

Doing, Being, Creating

It feels so good to get your life organized. Our surroundings are often times a reflection of the inner state of our being. So are our relationships. Everything in our lives tells the story of us. Sometimes things don't add up. The image we project to others isn't consistent with what's going on inside. The dis-ease of our unbalance an incongruence usually catches up with us. We can try to fool others but the truth, whatever the truth is at that moment, it will come out. My dis-ease is showing up in my surroundings. Things have been cluttered. I'm organizing and de-cluttering today. It feels great to feel my inner self, my mind calm, as I put things in their places. My dis-ease is also showing in my energy levels. The food that I've been eating hasn't been enough to sustain me. Coffee, caffeine, gives me the boost in energy but I get no nutrients. My skin is an indicator of my inner state as well.

I'm happy that I am doing what's necessary to take care of myself. Sometimes I've waited for others to motivate themselves; hoping that their motivation would motivate me. That's robbery...energetic vampirism. It's not fair. All systems play off of each other. If one is off kilter the others will be thrown off as well. Cause and effect. Reaping what is sown. There is no way around the work that we must do to take care of ourselves.

I've organized today, hung a few pictures. I'm going to forward of few of my own pics to Ritz camera so that I can frame and hang my own photographs. I especially love the vibrant colors in the flowers I've photographed. I love creating things. It is our nature as being made in the image and likeness of the Creator. Everything around me is a creation. I am in the company of God's works. I'm so happy that my mind is clear enough to enjoy this day. :)

Miers' Answer Raises Questions - Yahoo! News

Miers' Answer Raises Questions - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON — Asked to describe the constitutional issues she had worked on during her legal career, Supreme Court nominee Harriet E. Miers had relatively little to say on the questionnaire she sent to the Senate this week.

And what she did say left many constitutional experts shaking their heads.

At one point, Miers described her service on the Dallas City Council in 1989. When the city was sued on allegations that it violated the Voting Rights Act, she said, 'the council had to be sure to comply with the proportional representation requirement of the Equal Protection Clause.'"

Urban Dictionary: Define Your World

Urban Dictionary: Define Your World

It's Okay...

It's okay to let go
It's okay to hold on
It's okay to say no
It's okay to say yes
It's okay to be loved
It's okay to wanna ...
It's okay to be unique
It's okay to be neat
It's okay to be sweet
It's okay to be salty
It's okay to see
It's okay to look
It's okay to do and be
It's okay to wanna run, hide and flee
It's okay to have fun
It's okay to love
It's okay to hug
It's okay to whine
It's okay to have your smile or frown be upside down
It's okay to cry
It's okay to die
It's okay to be and do whatever you want to
~Just be true to you
Copyright © 2005

Columbia News ::: Katznelson Symposium Delves into Troubled History of Affirmative Action Policy

Columbia News ::: Katznelson Symposium Delves into Troubled History of Affirmative Action Policy

Locals believe Levees were Intentionally blown

Locals believe Levees were Intentionally blown: "Dynamite? History repeating itself?

Many locals have come forward to suggest that the levees were breached on purpose by the authorities. Resident Andrea Garland, now re-located to Texas, wrote in her blog:

'Also heard that part of the reason our house flooded is they dynamited part of the levee after the first section broke - they did this to prevent Uptown (the rich part of town) from being flooded. Apparently they used too much dynamite, thus flooding part of the Bywater. So now I know who is responsible for flooding my house - not Katrina, but our government.'

This scenario is not so crazy as it sounds, in fact this exact thing has happened before in the same city. In 1927, the Mississippi River broke its banks in 145 places, depositing water at depths of up to 30ft over 27,000 square miles of land.

The disaster changed American society, shifting hundreds of thousands of delta-dwelling blacks into northern cities and cementing the divisions and suspicions that benign neglect has ensured remain today. New Orleans’ (mainly white) business class pressurized the state to dynamite a levee upstream, releasing water into (mainly black) areas of the delta. Black workers were forced to work on flood relief at gunpoint, like slaves.

Two parishes, St. Bernard and Plaquemines, which had a combined population of 10,000, were destroyed. Just before Katrina, these parishes had about 10 times the 1927 population. Both parishes are now under many feet of water."

Click link to read entire article- A MUST READ

BBC NEWS | England | North Yorkshire | Hate mail sent to new archbishop

BBC NEWS | England | North Yorkshire | Hate mail sent to new archbishop: "The first black Archbishop of York has revealed that he has received racist letters, including some covered in human excrement.

Ugandan-born Dr John Sentamu, who will be enthroned in York next month, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he prayed for those who sent the hate mail.

He said: 'I don't know where they are from. They don't tell you.

'They simply tell you, I am Mr White X and nigger go back and this is what you are like, this is what you are worth.'

Asked if he was angered by the letters, Dr Sentamu said: 'Particularly when they put human excrement on them. I don't want to have that kind of thing.

'And I say to myself, why are people doing this?"

Possible cover-up a focus in CIA leak case-lawyers - Yahoo! News

Possible cover-up a focus in CIA leak case-lawyers - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prosecutors investigating the outing of a covert
CIA operative opened a Web site on Friday to post possible indictments next week and were said by lawyers in the case to be focusing on whether top White House aides tried to conceal their actions from investigators.

Karl Rove,
President George W. Bush's top political adviser, and Lewis Libby, Vice President
Dick Cheney's chief of staff, are at the center of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame."

'Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal' hijacked US foreign policy: former Powell aide - Yahoo! News

'Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal' hijacked US foreign policy: former Powell aide - Yahoo! News: "'I would say that we have courted disaster in
Iraq, in
North Korea, in
Iran,' Wilkerson, who was Powell's chief of staff at the State Department, said Wednesday at a policy forum at the New America Foundation.

'The case that I saw for four-plus years was a case that I have never seen in my studies of aberrations, bastardizations, perturbations, changes to the national security decision-making process,' he said.

'What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made,' he said.

The Bush administration 'made decisions in secret, and now I think it is paying the consequences of having made those decisions in secret. But far more telling to me is America is paying the consequences,' Wilkerson said.

'You and I and every other citizen like us is paying the consequences, whether it is a response to (Hurricane) Katrina that was less than adequate certainly, or whether it is the situation in Iraq, which still goes unexplained.'"

Houses Passes Ban on Gun Industry Lawsuits

Houses Passes Ban on Gun Industry Lawsuits: "D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams, who was traveling yesterday, said in a statement: 'The entire community in the District is working hard to keep down gun violence. It's discouraging when members of Congress pass legislation that would inhibit our ability to hold accountable those individuals or corporate entities who contribute to the proliferation of firearms that are used in committing crimes.'"

FEMA Official Says Agency Disregarded His Warnings

FEMA Official Says Agency Disregarded His Warnings: "For 16 critical hours, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, including former director Michael D. Brown, dismissed urgent eyewitness accounts by FEMA's only staffer in New Orleans that Hurricane Katrina had broken the city's levee system the morning of Aug. 29 and was causing catastrophic flooding, the staffer told the Senate today.

Marty Bahamonde, sent to New Orleans by Brown, said he alerted Brown's assistant shortly after 11 a.m. that Monday with the 'worst possible news' for the city: the Category 4 hurricane had carved a 20-foot breach in the 17th Avenue Canal levee."

Democracy Now! | Headlines for October 20, 2005 (Good Stuff! Check Transcript or Watch/Listen)

Democracy Now! | Headlines for October 20, 2005: "- Ex-Powell Aide: Cheney 'Cabal' Hijacked Foreign Policy
- Report: Bush Knew Rove's Role in Leak Two Years Ago
- Quarter of Iraq War Vets Return With Health Problems
- Guardian Reporter Kidnapped in Baghdad
- Report: U.S. Soldiers Burnt Bodies of Taliban Fighters
- Lawyer: Guantánamo Detainees Tortured, Force-Fed
- Rice Says Bush Will Not Rule Out Attack on Syria
- Senate Rejects Minimum Wage Increase
- Texas Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Tom DeLay"

Click link to read/listen/watch

DeLay surrenders to Texas court - Yahoo! News

Former House Majority leader Tom DeLay in his Harris County Sheriff's Office booking photograph, taken October 20, 2005. DeLay, who posted a $10,000 bond and was released near midday, evaded the press corps that had gathered at the courthouse in his home district outside Houston. (Harris County Sheriff's Office/Handout/Reuters)

DeLay surrenders to Texas court - Yahoo! News: "HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former House Majority leader
Tom DeLay turned himself in to a Harris County court in Houston on Thursday to face charges of money laundering and conspiracy, his lawyer Dick DeGuerin said.

DeLay posted a $10,000 bond and was released near midday after an arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday for the congressman. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on Friday in Austin."

For Many, 'Millions' Rally Is a Moving Experience

For Many, 'Millions' Rally Is a Moving Experience: "By Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 20, 2005; Page AA03

When the sun rose over the steps of the U.S. Capitol as thousands of people gathered for the Millions More Movement in Washington, Elliott Rogers was home in Annapolis watching events unfold on C-SPAN.

The 41-year-old mortgage broker attended the Million Man March on Oct. 16, 1995, but he wasn't motivated to join the 10th anniversary celebration Saturday. Then something erupted in his heart as he watched the speakers on television."

U.S. to Probe Treatment of Dead Taliban Fighters

U.S. to Probe Treatment of Dead Taliban Fighters: "Australian television aired video yesterday showing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan allegedly burning two dead Taliban fighters and using the charred bodies in an attempt to taunt other enemy forces in the area.

According to an Australian photojournalist who reportedly witnessed the event, the Taliban bodies were intentionally laid out on the ground to face Mecca, part of what the broadcast described as a deliberate desecration of Muslim beliefs. Two U.S. soldiers, said to be specialists in psychological operations, were pictured reciting propaganda messages aimed at Taliban fighters in surrounding mountains, calling them too 'cowardly' to retrieve the bodies."

Millions More Movement Impacts Youth -The Wilmington Journal - Article - national news

The Wilmington Journal - Article - national news: "Washington (NNPA) -- “The Millions More Movement serves as a source of motivation to inspire Black youth to be productive,” said Alicia Howard, a sophomore at Howard University who marched from the campus to the National Mall with over 1,000 other students. “A movement has to start with the youth.”

The Movement brought Black people together in fellowship to come up with ways to eliminate biases within the Black community, however, Howard isn’t sure if the Movement will impart a strong impression on Black America as a whole.“I don’t know if [the Movement] will have a lasting effect,” said Howard. “I would like to see it live up to its purpose.”"

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | US planning invasion, says Chavez

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | US planning invasion, says Chavez: "'But apart from that, Venezuela is the world's fifth oil exporter, and we send a million and a half barrels to the US every day,' he added.

'We sell oil to people. Another thing is our political differences that I wish could be toned down.'

He also denied claims that Venezuela was a threat to the international community, saying that his country wanted open relations with the whole world - a multi-polar world - but 'with respect'.

'George W Bush should not have any reason to fear. If he does it is because he has a dark ghost in his subconscious,' he said."

Excerpts From FEMA Officials' E-Mails (A must READ!!!!)

"By The Associated Press 33 minutes ago
Excerpts from e-mails among Federal Emergency Management officials during Hurricane Katrina: (Note: All times CDT)

_Marty Bahamonde, regional director for New England to David Passey, regional director for the Gulf Coast, Aug. 28, 4:46 p.m.
"Issues developing at the Superdome. 2000 already in and more standing in line. ...The medical staff at the dome says they will run out of oxygen in about 2 hours and are looking for alternative oxygen."

_Bahamonde to Deborah Wing, FEMA response specialist, Aug 28, 5:28 p.m.
"Everyone is soaked. This is going to get ugly real fast."

_Passey to group, Aug 28, 7:16 p.m.
"The current population at the Superdome in New Orleans is 25,000. That's a large crowd during a normal event. Among the shelter population are 400 special needs evacuees and 45-50 sick individuals who require hospitalization. The on-hand oxygen supply will likely run out in the next few hours. According to the ESF8 folks, the local health officials have struggled to put meaningful resource requests together."

_Passey to Bahamonde, Aug. 28, 9:58 p.m.
"Our intel is that neither the OK-1 DMAT nor the public health officers staged in Memphis will make it to the Superdome tonight. Oxygen supply issue has not been solved yet either."

_Bahamonde to Michael Heath, FEMA official, Aug. 29, 7:33 a.m.
"Some pumping stations failed but no widespread flooding yet. The reall (sic) worry will be in the next 3 hours when he (sic) storm passes and we get the northerly winds blowing thwe (sic) lake into the city

_Bahamonde to Nicole Andrews, FEMA spokeswoman, Aug. 30, 7:02 a.m.
"What is happening with the US travel this morning. When is he coming to New Orleans. The area around the Superdome is filling up with water, now waist deep. The US can land and do a presser but then have to leave, there will be no ground tour, only flyover," referring to planned visit by Brown.

_Bahamonde to FEMA Director Michael Brown, Aug. 31, 11:20 a.m.
"Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical. Here some things you might not know.
Hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes.
The dying patients at the DMAT tent being medivac. Estimates are many will die within hours. Evacuation in process. Plans developing for dome evacuation but hotel situation adding to problem. We are out of food and running out of water at the dome, plans in works to address the critical need.

_Sharon Worthy, Brown's press secretary, to Cindy Taylor, FEMA deputy director of public affairs, and others, Aug. 31, 2 p.m.
"Also, it is very important that time is allowed for Mr. Brown to eat dinner. Gievn (sic) that Baton Rouge is back to normal, restaurants are getting busy. He needs much more that (sic) 20 or 30 minutes. We now have traffic to encounter to get to and from a location of his choise (sic), followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc.

_Bahamonde to Taylor and Michael Widomski, public affairs, Aug. 31, 2:44 p.m.
"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! No won't go any further, too easy of a target. Just tell her that I just ate an MRE and crapped in the hallway of the Superdome along with 30,000 other close friends so I understand her concern about busy restaurants. Maybe tonight I will have time to move my pebbles on the parking garage floor so they don't stab me in the back while I try to sleep.

_Bahamonde to Taylor, Sept. 3, 1:06 a.m.
"The leadership from top down in our agency is unprepared and out of touch. ... But while I am horrified at some of the cluelessness and self concern that persists, I try to focus on those that have put their lives on hold to help people that they have never met and never will. And while I sometimes think that I can't work in this arena, I can't get out of my head the visions of children and babies I saw sitting there, helpless, looking at me and hoping I could make a difference and so I will and you must to.""

Nazis kicked out of Toledo

Nazis kicked out of Toledo:
"By George Windau and Michael-Franklin Green

Special contributors
Toledo, Ohio

Published Oct 18, 2005 11:44 PM

On Oct. 9, local anarchists, trade unionists and socialists in Toledo, Ohio, quickly put together an effective anti-Nazi united front to confront a march and rally set by the so-called National Socialist Movement for six days later. The NSM, a Nazi party, claimed it was coming to Toledo to show white people how to fight gang violence in an integrated yet predominantly Black north Toledo neighborhood.

The whole episode with the NSM Nazis revolved around a neighborhood dispute between Thomas Szych, who is white, and his Black neighbors. In early August, Szych waved a loaded gun at some children who were taking garbage out to the street. In response, two African-American police officers confiscated Szych's gun--but the local prosecutor did not file any criminal charges, not even a misdemeanor.

Szych called the two police officers 'gorillas with guns.' He promptly went to the local news media to get attention for his demand to have his gun returned."

Click link to Read entire article

D.C. rally stresses unity and Black power

Millions More Movement, Oct. 15.

WW photo: Gloria Verdieu

Click Link to read entire article

D.C. rally stresses unity and Black power: "The Millions More Movement held an important all-day rally Oct. 15 on the National Mall here that attracted an overwhelmingly African-American crowd numbering more than 1 million, according to organizers. The main demand put forth by the rally organizers and supported by the masses there was 'Black power!'

Not one U.S. flag was prominent in the crowd, but the colors of the flag for U.S. Black liberation—red, black and green—could be seen everywhere."

Officials ask for patience as bodies await autopsies in morgue - Yahoo! News

Officials ask for patience as bodies await autopsies in morgue - Yahoo! News: "NEW ORLEANS - Life holds many riddles, but the death of Virginia Aitkens James isn't one of them, says her nephew, Tim Aitkens.

The solitary, 77-year-old widow lived alone in her ranch-style house in St. Bernard Parish. Katrina's floodwaters reached the rooftop. Searchers on Sept. 16 found a body in her attic and marked the door in spray paint: One dead.

For Aitkens, the only mystery now is why her body still lies in a black bag inside a metal trailer refrigerated to 37 degrees.

'She's a little old lady who drowned in her attic,' he said. 'I think they're so incompetent, I'm afraid now they're going to lose her.'"

Marchers target Bush administration's hurricane response - Yahoo! News

Marchers target Bush administration's hurricane response - Yahoo! News: "Bush and White House officials say they are frustrated over the perception that they're unfriendly toward the African-American community. Claude Allen, Bush's domestic policy adviser, said the president is responding to the needs of African-Americans in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast regions severely damaged by Katrina.

'Just the mere fact you have pictures of the president on TV embracing grieving mothers, embracing pastors of churches that have been destroyed,' Allen said. 'That speaks about the personal character of our president, who is truly concerned about healing our nation.'"

Oh Lord, the above speaks about the personal opportunity for a photo op. You don't show that you allegedly care about a group of people as a reaction to negative criticism. African people around the globe are mastersfull when it comes to sensing sincerity and authenticity. That's how students can tell you very clearly and accurately when the feel that a teacher does not like them. Rarely does the notion require outside validation.

Agency charged with spending oversight in Iraq left country in '04 - Yahoo! News

Agency charged with spending oversight in Iraq left country in '04 - Yahoo! News

Billions of dollars short, U.S. must scale back Iraq reconstruction - Yahoo! News

Billions of dollars short, U.S. must scale back Iraq reconstruction - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - The Bush administration cannot fulfill all its grand promises to rebuild
Iraq because soaring security costs, mismanagement and poor planning have cost billons of dollars, federal auditors said Tuesday.

Some projects - including those to provide clean water for Iraqis - have been cancelled as a result."

Plain as Ever, Blacks and Whites at Political Divide -Newhouse A1

Newhouse A1: "WASHINGTON -- On 'Meet the Press' Sunday, Tim Russert confronted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with fresh evidence from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of President Bush's abysmal standing with black Americans.

'How troubling is that to you, that only 2 percent of African-Americans say that George Bush is doing a good job as president?' Russert asked.

A day earlier, a broad cross-section of black Americans and their political and organizational leadership had gathered on the National Mall, beckoned by Minister Louis Farrakhan who declared that the Bush administration ought to be charged with 'criminal neglect,' at the very least, in the deaths of black victims of Hurricane Katrina."

Key Democrat calls GSE provision unacceptable - Yahoo! News

Key Democrat calls GSE provision unacceptable - Yahoo! News: "Frank said the Republican compromise would restrict church groups and others involved in low-income housing and voter registration activities from receiving funds under the bill for affordable housing initiatives.

'The provisions in the bill by the Republican leadership and the members of the Republican Study Committee represent an assault on faith-based groups and other organizations involved in low and moderate income housing,' Frank said in a prepared statement.

'What started as a fiscally responsible, off budget and non taxpayer-financed way of providing affordable housing has turned into a political football,' he said."

Unifying Black People through the Theory of Six Degrees of Separation -SBWire > Latest Releases > View Release

SBWire > Latest Releases > View Release: "Washington, DC. -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/19/2005 -- SixDegreesBlack.com is a 'Black' oriented social networking website built on the concept of 'Six Degrees of Separation' which is the theory that anyone on Earth can be connected to any other person on Earth through a chain of people that has no more than five links. People have better luck finding jobs, dates or business contacts among friends — and their friends' friends. It is perhaps true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but it is not clear that the friend of my friend is a friend of mine. The connections are already present, SixDegreesBlack.com makes them visible.

Launched on October 15, 2005 to coincide with the Millions More Movement, Six Degree Black’s mission is to unify Black people across the globe into a single family by allowing them to strengthen and grow their professional, business and social networks.

Founded by Tharwat Abdul-Malik, an entrepreneur who saw an opportunity to help and give something back to the community stating, “We want to remove some of the complications confronted when trying to find a job, locate an apartment, find a date or get a good deal.” He also adds, “I hope that by exposing the links between all of us, Black individuals will see themselves as a people, as a collective, and not just as individuals; encouraging us to share our resources and to help and support each other.” "

CNN.com - Soldiers charged in journalist's death - Oct 19, 2005

CNN.com - Soldiers charged in journalist's death - Oct 19, 2005: "MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish judge issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday for three U.S. soldiers, charging them with murder in the death of Spanish TV cameraman Jose Couso in Baghdad, Iraq.

Couso, who worked for Spain's Telecinco network, died at the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003, as U.S. forces advanced to take control of the city in April 2003."

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News: "(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has been asked by the Bush Administration to bar members of terrorist organizations from participating in next January’s election unless they renounce violence, according U.S. officials.

Administration officials hope the move will reduce tensions with Israel in the wake of brutal terror attacks over the weekend that killed three young Israelis and wounded four others. Abbas, however, maintains that the best way to reduce the violence is by bringing Hamas into the government, thereby forcing the terrorist group to comply with laws that strengthen law and order."

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News: "(IsraelNN.com) The Bush administration had harsh words for Israel on Wednesday several hours ahead of a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Speaking at a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice said that Israeli construction between East Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim is against the Bush administration policy in the Middle East.

Abbas will meet with Rice on Wednesday evening, prior to his meeting with President George Bush, Senate and House Leaders and Vice President Dick Cheney. "

Arrest warrant issued for DeLay - Yahoo! News

Arrest warrant issued for DeLay - Yahoo! News: "Court officials said DeLay was expected to go to Fort Bend County jail in his district near Houston for booking, but that had not been confirmed.

'To any sheriff or peace officer of the state of Texas, greetings, you are hereby commanded to arrest Thomas Dale DeLay and keep him safely so that you have him before the 331st Judicial District Court of Travis County,' the warrant said."

Students Show Few Gains Since 'No Child'

Students Show Few Gains Since 'No Child': "Despite a new federal educational testing law championed by the Bush administration, scores among fourth and eighth graders failed to show any improvements in reading, and showed only slow gains in math nationally during the past two years, according to a study released today.

Most troubling for educators are the sluggish reading skills among middle school students, which have remained flat for 13 years, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which has been testing students for three decades and bills itself as the 'nation's report card.'"

BAW: Millions More Movement A Day of Black Unity, A Call for Black Activism

BAW: Millions More Movement A Day of Black Unity, A Call for Black Activism: "Saturday’s self-empowerment rally was organized by Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, who was also the architect of the Million Man March. Farrakhan said Saturday's gathering should serve as a catalyst for a long-term movement, an organized campaign and not just a one-day event.

'The government will never do for the poor of this nation until and unless we organize effectively to make government respond to the needs of the poor,' Farrakhan said in an 80-minute speech from the steps of the U.S. Capitol. “We must go back home and organize as never before.”"

Read more....click link

Bird Flu: How Big A Threat?

Bird Flu: How Big A Threat?: "Avian flu is an imminent threat to health and well-being. For birds. In Asia and Eastern Europe.

That reality is easily missed in the face of warnings from government officials and public health experts of an impending global pandemic that could take millions of lives, devastate economies and require militarily-enforced quarantines."

USNews.com: N and W: Cheney resignation rumors fly (10/18/05)

USNews.com: N and W: Cheney resignation rumors fly (10/18/05)

CTV.ca | Leaked FEMA memos expose chaos after Katrina

CTV.ca | Leaked FEMA memos expose chaos after Katrina: "A series of leaked e-mails has revealed infighting and bureaucratic chaos at the heart of the U.S. emergency agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) struggled to locate food, water, ice and body bags in the days after the disaster, fussed about media coverage and criticized local officials.

According to memos obtained by The Associated Press, FEMA's then-head, Michael Brown, even appeared at one point to be unaware that the agency was evacuating hurricane victims.

The e-mails were requested by a House select committee investigating the U.S. Government's response to Katrina, before they were then obtained by AP."

Personal History

Personal History: "Lonnie G. Bunch III is settled in an office at L'Enfant Plaza lined with first-edition history books, various hats that he doesn't wear, and special photographs of family, the famous and the unknown.

On the job for just 10 weeks, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture loves looking into history through photographs. Among his personal keepsakes are a couple of tintypes and daguerreotypes from the 1840s and 1850s."

Oil leaps as storm menaces Gulf of Mexico - Yahoo! News

Oil leaps as storm menaces Gulf of Mexico - Yahoo! News: "LONDON (Reuters) - Oil jumped more than $1 Monday as another tropical storm gathered strength in the Caribbean, menacing U.S. rigs and refineries already rocked by the most active hurricane season in decades.

Tropical Storm Wilma, the 21st named storm this year, could become a hurricane on Tuesday and could move into southern end of the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico by Saturday, the U.S.
National Hurricane Center said."

On the Mall: A Vision of Community

On the Mall: A Vision of Community: "That was the essential triumph of the Million Man March. The black man, everyone knew, was a problem -- criminal, violent, irresponsible, hot-headed, predatory. Yet a million of us came together in a spirit of perfect fellowship. You saw young brothers in baggy jeans helping elegant old men in threadbare suits find a place to rest their weary bones. You saw beautifully educated men from the suburbs holding hands in prayer with regular guys from the 'hood. The crowd was so thick that you couldn't avoid bumping into people, but there was no danger that the guy you jostled would feel he had to avenge the 'disrespect' you had showed him in scuffing his pristine Timberlands."

School Segregation Is Back With 'Vengeance,' Author Says

School Segregation Is Back With 'Vengeance,' Author Says: "In a Connecticut Avenue bookstore, a bespectacled white man sounded an alarm yesterday evening about the public schools that serve black children in Washington and elsewhere. Segregation, he said, is alive and well a half-century after Brown v. Board of Education , depriving many urban black children of opportunities routinely afforded white students.

This divide, he said, compelled him to write 'The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America.'"

RedNova News - Science - AVIAN FLU: Are We Ready?

RedNova News - Science - AVIAN FLU: Are We Ready?: "AVIAN FLU PANDEMIC

Scenario: In South-east Asia, a worker on a battery chicken farm catches normal influenza. At work, he is then infected with bird flu. The two combine, and the bird flu virus ' type A, strain H5N1 ' mutates into a form that can be passed from person to person. A global epidemic ' a pandemic ' begins. Within three months, it has reached the UK.

Risk level: High.

Possible damage: Up to a quarter of the population (about 14 million) could be affected. There is disruption to economy and society at all levels as millions stay away from work, either from fear of infection or to care for the sick. Emergency planners have been warned to envisage 25 per cent staff absences of a week or longer, in all businesses and services, over three months.

Possible fatalities: A potential 50,000 in England and Wales alone."

Risk Estimate Led to Few Flood Policies ----(Will FEMA/Fed's help those with low risk estimate rebuild?)

Risk Estimate Led to Few Flood Policies: "Risk Estimate Led to Few Flood Policies
For Most in New Orleans's Ninth Ward, Extra Coverage Wasn't Required

By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 17, 2005; Page A01

NEW ORLEANS -- Many of the thousands of homeowners in the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the hardest-hit areas in the city, lacked flood insurance because the neighborhood in theory was supposed to be relatively safe, local insurance agents and residents said.

Most of the area sits outside the 'high-risk' flood districts designated on federal maps used for insurance, and so, unlike homeowners elsewhere in this low-lying city, most in the Lower Ninth Ward were not legally required by lenders to buy flood coverage."

TA HA: Musical Performance in Mexico’s Sacred Valley

Mother Tynnetta Muhammad and the symphony performed last night at the close of the Millions More Movement. It was wonderfull! I hope that they record a CD/DVD. There were amazing. I could watch them perform all day. India.Arie performed with them. It was beauty-FULL. Absolutely FULL of beauty!

TA HA: Musical Performance in Mexico’s Sacred Valley

US, Britain, Iran trade charges over attacks - Yahoo! News

US, Britain, Iran trade charges over attacks - Yahoo! News: "TEHRAN/LONDON (Reuters) -
Iran's president accused Britain on Sunday of being behind deadly weekend bomb attacks in Iran, sharply escalating tension after the United States and Britain charged Iran was involved in insurgent attacks in
Iraq.
ADVERTISEMENT

'We are very suspicious about the role of British forces in perpetrating such terrorist acts,' the ISNA student news agency quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying of twin bombings that killed five people in southwest Iran on Saturday.

'Our people are used to these kind of incidents, and our intelligence agents found the footprints of Britain in the same incidents before,' Ahmadinejad said during a cabinet meeting."

Caucasian Violence

Caucasian Violence: "CHECHNYA, INGUSHETIA, Dagestan, North Ossetia and now Kabardino-Balkariya: Once again, one of the republics of Russia's North Caucasus region -- places whose names were once almost unknown in the West -- has become the scene of excruciating terrorist violence. Following a pattern that has become familiar in the region, Islamic militants simultaneously attacked a group of targets Thursday in the city of Nalchik, capital of Kabardino-Balkariya, including three police stations, the city airport and the regional headquarters of Russia's interior ministry police. More than 100 people were killed, a previously peaceful city was turned into a war zone and Russian troops were forced to set up a blockade around its periphery."

The Fear Contagion

The Fear Contagion: "For two years, a deadly strain of chicken flu known as H5N1 has been killing birds in Asia. While slightly more than 100 people are known to have contracted the disease, and 60 of them have died, there is still no sign that the flu has begun to spread from person to person.

That hasn't prevented a recent outbreak of apocalyptic warnings from health officials and experts about the specter of a worldwide pandemic. In Hurricane Katrina's wake, health officials in the United States are talking more and more about pandemic preparation. Some of these ideas -- such as stockpiling vaccines -- are sensible, whether or not bird flu turns into a human disease and begins to spread rapidly.

But other ideas aren't. A few scientists have suggested "priming" people with a dose of the new vaccine against H5N1 before we even know whether a pandemic is coming. Vaccinating large numbers of people against a disease that may never appear carries its own risks. Remember the swine flu debacle of 1976? At least 25 people died from vaccine complications and no epidemic ever erupted. That should be warning enough.

Another dangerous idea for pandemic preparation has come from President Bush. Earlier this month, he suggested using the military to enforce a quarantine. "Who [is] best to be able to effect a quarantine?" he asked rhetorically at a press conference. "One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move."

"

TIME.com: Louis Farrakhan Speaks -- Page 1

TIME.com: Louis Farrakhan Speaks -- Page 1: "A decade ago, Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan led the Million Man March on Washington, D.C., and seemed poised to become a mainstream African-American political leader. But in the ensuing years conditions for many African-Americans have worsened, and Farrakhan himself disappeared from the political stage while fighting cancer. This week he will try to resuscitate his influence by leading the Millions More Movement, a rally billed as being open to women, gays, Latinos and other ethnic minorities excluded from the first march. Farrakhan spoke to TIME's David E. Thigpen about the rise of the Christian Right, what really happened in New Orleans, and the lasting effects of his near-death experience. "

Hip-Hop Artists Unite For 'One Million Strong Vol. 2' -AllHipHop.com : Daily Hip-Hop News

AllHipHop.com : Daily Hip-Hop News: "
Hip-Hop Artists Unite For 'One Million Strong Vol. 2'
By EbenGregory
Date: 10/14/2005 12:50 pm

In an effort to commemorate the Millions More Movement, Isonic Media Group and Bungalo Records will release One Million Strong Volume 2, the official soundtrack to the Millions More Movement.

The stellar CD features compositions from some of Hip-Hop’s biggest stars who have contributed to the soundtrack album as a show of their support and passion for the movement.

The CD also aims to share the experience of the Millions More Movement with those unable to attend the monumental event.

One Million Strong Volume 2 contains new, original compositions by Prince, Mos Def, Kanye West featuring Common and Mase (Jesus Walks remix), Ludacris featuring Trick Daddy (Hopeless), Goodie Mob (Black History), New Edition featuring Too Short (One Love), Mike City and Chino XL.

The enhanced CD also features video clips, hidden tracks, downloads, live chats with the artists, event and celebrity photo galleries, merchandising and more."

Democracy Now! | Russell Simmons, Larry Hamm and Julianne Malveaux on the Millions More Movement

Democracy Now! | Russell Simmons, Larry Hamm and Julianne Malveaux on the Millions More Movement: "AMY GOODMAN: This is Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, an organizer of the first Million Man March.

LOUIS FARRAKHAN: We decided before Katrina that there is a disconnect between the learned scholarship of our people and the condition of the masses, so we felt that the Millions More Movement should put a program in place that linked the skill and intelligence of the gifted members of our community so that we can lift our people from the condition that we are in.

AMY GOODMAN: Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Filmmaker Spike Lee has also expressed his support for Saturday's march. His 1996 film Get on the Bus chronicled a group of men traveling from Los Angeles to Washington to attend the Million Man March. This is Spike Lee.

SPIKE LEE: We’ve gone forward, we have gone backwards. And I still think that for me that was a positive event. People might say, ‘Well, we're still where we are –’ you know, when that whole thing started, but I think that many lives were affected forever. So, if I believe that, then I must – then I believe it was a positive event."

Click link to read, listen or view!

Democracy Now! | Professor Preacher Michael Eric Dyson on the State of the Country: "Some of Us are In First Class, But The Plane Is In Trouble"

Democracy Now! | Professor Preacher Michael Eric Dyson on the State of the Country: "Some of Us are In First Class, But The Plane Is In Trouble": "MICHAEL ERIC DYSON: White supremacy is the conscious or unconscious belief or the investment in the inherent superiority of some, while others are believed to be innately inferior. And it doesn't demand the individual participation of the singular bigot. It is a machine operating in perpetuity, because it doesn't demand that somebody be in place driving. That's the vicious ingenuity of white supremacy. It has become institutional.

And when white supremacy becomes institutional, it begins to harm the very people who are not simply outside of it because of their race, it begins to harm the folk who look like the folk who want to be in charge. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood this, Malcolm X understood this, James Baldwin really understood this. And so, so much of my life has been trying to lay bear the presuppositions of white supremacy, because they have damaged the very people who would allegedly and ostensibly benefit from some of that madness.

Martin Luther King, Jr., once in the jail said to his jailer, “You are white and poor. You will never benefit from Jim Crow. You will never be able, except psychologically, to derive benefit from your white skin.” What we now know as white skin privilege, what DuBois in 1935 in his magisterial tome, Black Reconstruction, called the psychic wages of whiteness. King said, “You will never be able to derive benefit as a result of that. You are more like me than you are like them.”"

Click link to read, hear or view

Millions More Movement

Yesterday's gathering in Washington DC was wonderfull! It was a blessing to be among so many people of color. The speeches were inspiring. Everyone feels that there is more work to be done in the black community, America, and the world. How do we measure the success of yesterday? I can't speak for the entire event, or all of the participants. We have to start with ourselves. Each individual person that was present will have to do his or her part to improve their personal conditions, and we must work collectively to make a difference in the lives of others. There are many positive things happening in the black community; however, the media doesn't cover it. It doesn't make the news.

The news that is reported by white media has the slant of black media. They write about things from their perspective. What is the pervasive white perspective of black people? Unfortunately it is negative. It is not entirely the fault of black people that they are viewed so negatively. White Americans had to think very little of black people, African people in order to subject them to chattel slavery for hundreds of years. We started our as less than in the eyes of white people before our ancestors even arrived on the Atlantic coasts. White supremacy is an illness. It is not healthy. Billions around the globe have died as a result of white supremacist ideology and practices.

Alternative news agencies must exist. Every people, culture, tribe should have news media outlets that they own so that stories/news/information can reflect their beliefs, values, and culture. It hurts me daily to read news stories about me, my culture, my needs as a black person written by ill-intentioned people (regardless of race) who don't have my or my cultures best interest at heart.

Why is it that so many non-white people respond positively to the call of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan? Minister Farrakhan has demonstrated that he isn't interested in kissing the ass of the powers that be for personal gain. He does not have favor with the White House or other politicians with power. Minister Farrakhan says LOUDLY what many people of color in America and throughout the world feel in relation to the systematic unbalanced, unequal treatment of people of color by white people. Minister Farrakhan shines a spot light on issues that impacts black Americans and shares what he sees. The issues that the Minister vocalizes are not just issues that the minister sees with his eyes alone. It's not just a Nation of Islam thing. Members of the Nation of Islam are the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, etc . of others in the United States and abroad. We all share the same experiences. They came from us. We are each other. The media acts as if they are from a different planet who's views don't reflect those of other African-Americans. That's not true. If white America spent time listening to and in dialogue with people of color instead of telling us what we think and feel, they would have a better understanding of who black people are, and what they think and believe.

Not all people of color agree with Minister Farrakhan. Some people of color dislike him greatly. Why do so many people of color heed his call? That speaks for itself. Black people are viewed as stupid, naive and/or mislead if they support Minister Farrakhan. Sorry, but contrary to popular belief Black people are smarter, and more intelligent, and more intuitive than some would believe.

Why haven't black conditions improved more than they have if we are so intelligent? There are many reasons why the living conditions of Americans have deteriorated. A part of it has to do with the priorities of our country. What is happening on a National level to improve the conditions of black Americans or impoverished Americans? The middle class is doing okay compared to the poor. The negative statistics that are quoted about blacks; do they reflect the middle class of blacks or just the poor? We know that black people, people of color of disproportionately poor compared to white people. Why? Does the history of a black persons low status in America have something to do with it? Everyone of us has to take personal responsibility for our conditions, but we must also recognize the role that government plays in helping to improve or cause further deterioration of a peoples situation. For example, there is no reason that our elderly or others have to choose between purchasing life saving medications and eating. We spend millions daily in Iraq . We can't just blame the poor or disadvantaged for their condition when they are not solely responsible for it.

Millions More Movement
We must participate in our own liberation. Contact a local organizing committee in your area. They are all over the United States. Get involved! Do something! We must! No one can afford to wait on a government that doesn't see them as a priority. That goes for every American! At the same time, we must hold politicians/leaders accountable. If we don't call them, write them, or vote, we seal our own fate.

Participate in your own liberation. Don't get sidetracked and anesthetized by things that don't really matter. Be response-able!

NCOBRA

NCOBRA
"The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America is a mass-based coalition organized for the sole purpose of obtaining reparations for African descendants in the United States. N’COBRA’s founding meeting, September 26, 1987, was convened for the purpose of broadening the base of support for the long-standing reparations movement. Organizational founders of N'COBRA include the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the New Afrikan Peoples Organization, and the Republic of New Afrika. N’COBRA has individual members and organizational affiliates. It has chapters throughout the U. S. and in Ghana and London. It is directed nationally by a board of directors. Its work is organized through nine national commissions: Economic Development, Human Resources, Legal Strategies, Legislation, Information and Media, Membership and Organizational Development, International Affairs, Youth and Education."

White Supremacists Riot in Toledo, Ohio (phillyBurbs.com) | National

"Residents protest on Stickney Avenue as they encounter National Socialist Movement members in Toledo, Ohio October 15, 2005. At least two dozen people were arrested on Saturday after a planned march by white supremacists in Toledo prompted a crowd to pelt police with rocks and bottles and set a fire, city officials said. Members of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement had been scheduled to march under police protection through north Toledo, with anti-Nazi groups set to counter-protest. But police canceled the event and told the neo-Nazi group to leave as tensions rose and violence erupted nearby, the Toledo Blade reported. MANDATORY CREDIT NO SALES NO MAGAZINES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/The Blade/Allan Detrich"

"Members of the National Socialist Movement gesture to protesters (not pictured) from the grounds of Woodward High School in Toledo, Ohio October 15, 2005. At least two dozen people were arrested on Saturday after a planned march by white supremacists in Toledo prompted a crowd to pelt police with rocks and bottles and set a fire, city officials said. REUTERS/The Blade/Allan Detrich"




Is it possible that the community, which includes men, women, teens and children, was protesting the the white supremacist group that came to their community? How did Mayor Ford and others differentiate gang members from concerned citizens? Young, Black, brown? Is that the criteria? Wake up people... Wait for future versions of the this story.

Click link to read entire article.

White Supremacists Riot in Toledo, Ohio (phillyBurbs.com) | National: "They were mostly 'gang members who had real or imagined grievances and took it as an opportunity to speak in their own way,' Ford said.

'I was chagrined that there were obvious mothers and children in the crowd with them,' he said."

Rove Cancels Appearance at Fundraiser for Kilgore

Rove Cancels Appearance at Fundraiser for Kilgore: "If those attending yesterday's annual Republican 'Pep Rally Breakfast' in Fairfax County did not pay much mind to the scrum of protesters outside, all they had to do was take a seat and flip open the program to see what all the ruckus was about.

There it was, smack in the middle of the first page: The man scheduled to deliver the keynote address in support of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore would be Karl Rove, the White House senior adviser who is embroiled in the investigation of a leak that revealed the name of a CIA operative. Tickets were hot. The press was barred."

MMM'05

watch live cspan.org or Millions More Movement

Man beaten bloody by New Orleans police pleads not guilty - Yahoo! News

Man beaten bloody by New Orleans police pleads not guilty - Yahoo! News: "Davis will meet Wednesday or Thursday with
FBI officials investigating what role was played by a pair of off-duty FBI agents who helped officers grapple Davis into custody, according to his lawyer.

'I think it's unfortunate,' Bruno said of the FBI agents pitching in to subdue Davis. 'They had a chance to intervene and stop it.'"