M1 and Boots - Photo: Sandino

A large and diverse audience at Barrios Unidos in Santa Cruz paid rapt attention to M1 on Sept. 28. - Photo: Sandino

Recorded interview with M1

M1, Boots and members of the Brown Berets made the event a demonstration of Black-Brown solidarity. Photo: Sandino

Congo strong! Kambale Musavuli (second from right) with colleagues Franklin, Amini Kajunju and Patrick Tshilenge

Challenging President Obama, he says: “If Obama could pick up his Blackberry, which has in it coltan from the Congo, and call the presidents of Rwanda and Uganda,who are U.S. allies, the war in the Congo would stop today – the killing would stop.”

The interview begins 37 minutes into the show (just slide the marker along to that point).

Flashpoints – June 29, 2009 at 5:00pm

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Sasha Kramer, a dear friend of the Bay View, who, having earned her Ph.D. from Stanford, now works in Haiti with the project she envisioned and co-founded, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL), said when she sent this song: “Rosemond met Father Gerry twice, once at his church in Port-au-Prince and once in Miami at Veye Yo.  Rose and Father Gerry immediately bonded and when Bell heard that Rose wanted to write a song for Gerry’s funeral, he gave him the lyrics which Rose modified and put to music.” The lyrics follow, each line first in Kreyol, then in English. And following the lyrics is a video of Rosemond serenading Father Gerry at his church, St. Claire, when they met in Port-au-Prince.

Pe Jan Jis (Father Jean-Juste)

Pe Jan Jis ale, l ale, l ale
Father Jean-Juste is gone, he’s gone, he’s gone
Men li pa mouri
But he will never die
Pe Jan Jis ale, l ale, l ale
Father Jean-Juste is gone, he’s gone, he’s gone
Ko li pral pouri
Only his body will become earth

Rosemond Jolissaint, right, shows the painting commemorating his victory at Digicel, Haiti's equivalent of American Idol, with the painter of the portrait. Tens of thousands of Haitians were so moved by his songs that they spent their meager savings on the phone cards required to cast their votes for Rosemond.

Pe Jan Jis ale, l ale, l ale
Father Jean Juste is gone, he’s gone, he’s gone

Gade ti moun k ap kriye
See the children who are crying
Gade gran moun k ap rele
Look at the elderly calling out
Gade prizonye k ap jeni
See the prisoners who are struggling
Gade maladi k ap soufri
Look at the sick who are suffering
Pou Pè Jan Ji ski kite lavi
For the loss of Father Jean-Juste who has left this life

Pe Jan Jis ale, l ale, l ale
Father Jean-Juste is gone, he’s gone, he’s gone

Annou priye pou n pa kriye
Let’s pray so we don’t cry
Annou kenbe pou n pa tombe
Let’s hold on so we do not fall
Ann mache jis soley la kouche
Let’s walk on towards the setting sun
Men le nou pa repose
Even if we cannot rest
Yon lot soley gen pou l leve
Another sun will rise

Pe Jan Jis ale, l ale, l ale
Father Jean-Juste is gone, he’s gone, he’s gone

San lawouze jistis lavi pa ka fleri
Without the water of justice life cannot flourish
Se yon grenn mayi kap fe zepi
It is like a seed that will grow into corn
Pe Jan Jis te konn di se pou sa l mouri
It was for this that Father Jean-Juste died
Pwofet la pran lamor pou li ba nou lavi
The prophet gave his life so that we could live

Pe Jan Jis ale, l ale, l ale
Father Jean-Juste is gone, he’s gone, he’s gone

Rosemond Jolissaint sings to Fr. Jean-Juste

Heartfelt thanks from the Bay View to Sasha Kramer for sending both the audio and video files to us from Haiti. Here is another, an acoustic recording of Rosemond’s tribute to Father Gerry illustrated with pictures he chose that Haitians and freedom lovers everywhere will forever hold in their hearts. The photos are courtesy of Margaret Trost, Wadner Pierre and Sasha Kramer.

Memorial for Father Jean-Juste Saturday, June 27, 7 p.m., at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison, Berkeley

Pierre Labossiere with his daughter Malaika glow in the presence of Father Gerry Jean-Juste when he spoke on Sept. 9, 2006, at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Berkeley. Everyone is invited to return there for his memorial on Saturday, June 27, at 7 p.m. The church is located at 1640 Addison in Berkeley. – Photo: Minister of Information JR

This historic interview by Minister of Information JR for Block Report Radio with the co-founder of the Haiti Action Committee, Pierre Labossiere, reveals the heart of the saintly liberation theologian and freedom fighter, Father Gerard Jean-Juste, and recalls the life of this extraordinarily popular religious, political and humanitarian leader from the perspective of a close friend who talked with him daily.

“I want us to remember him as this beautiful fighter, motivated by great feelings of love, as Che Guevarra so aptly described it, and a man who was a very loyal friend, someone who believes in the power of the poor, the power of the people, the power of each individual being, who sacrificed himself for his good, great brother, Father Aristide, President Jean Bertrand Aristide, and for the people of Haiti.

“He always had that smile on his face and he encouraged you. When you met Father Gerry, you would never know all the hardship, the torture, the beatings he went through because he was always so positive. And that inspired you.

“So it was the spirit of our ancestors that I saw in this beautiful brother. And I want to share that with everyone, that beautiful spirit that makes you conquer mountains, that makes you do the impossible. And Father Gerry, he had a saying – there is a beautiful song in Kreyol, the song of the movement (which means, in English) ‘Little by little we’ll get there. If we keep on walking steadily, we’ll get there.’ And I tell you, a long way we’ve come with him. He has led us a long way. Little by little, with decisiveness, with love and determination, we have conquered. A lot remains to be done but, in the spirit of Father Gerry, we will do it!” concludes Labossiere.

Flashpoints – June 24, 2009 at 5:00pm

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The interview, which aired Wednesday, June 24, begins 33 minutes into the show (just click on and slide the marker), Flashpoints, the investigative news show broadcast weekdays at 5 p.m. on KPFA and on dozens of other stations nationwide.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown is prosecuting the case based on confessions extracted by torture – confessions found inadmissable decades ago. Now more evidence has surfaced of the torture tactics used against the defendants.

The public is urged to come to court Monday, June 8, at 8 a.m. for the rally out front and 9 a.m. for the hearing at 850 Bryant St. between Sixth and Seventh Street in San Francisco.  The hearing, which promises to be long and intense, is scheduled to run Monday-Thursday for three to four months.

The Block Report begins 16 minutes into this June 1 broadcast of Flashpoints, the investigative news hour heard at 5 p.m. weekdays on KPFA 94.1FM and on dozens of other stations nationwide.

Flashpoints – June 1, 2009 at 5:00pm

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Learn more about the San Francisco 8 at www.freethesf8.org, http://freethesf8.blogspot.com, www.blockreportradio.com and here at www.sfbayview.com.

A protester at the Jan. 7 rally at the Fruitvale BART station in East Oakland carries a sign that ties the police execution of Oscar Grant to the Israeli executions in Gaza. - Photo: Dave Id, IndyBay

The situation in Gaza is critical, with massive damage to civilian infrastructure and more than 1,300 Palestinians killed and 5,300 wounded. Read more about the crisis in Gaza at Electronic Intifada.

As this track makes clear, one of the most effective strategies we can pursue right now is boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel, as we demand an end to Israel’s assault on Palestinian life and liberty. Read more about and get involved in the Global BDS campaign.

Kareem Edouard, director of the acclaimed “Sledgehammer!” music video, is currently working on a video for “The Emperor’s Clothes.” Keep your ear to the ground for that.

LYRICS: ‘The Emperor’s Clothes’ by Invincible

Phase 1: Air strikes all day and all night
Phase 2: Rockets hit the Gaza strip with phosphorus
Phase 3: Ground attack how we gonna counteract?

Boycott Divest and Sanction

Israel, you should be ashamed
Kill and maim thousands of civilians in our name
Claim you hitting terrorists but children in your aim
Even murder relief workers blood spilling from they brain
While they tried to drive the ambulance, damn they couldn’t stand a chance
Even bomb students, hospitals, mosques, Rafah and Khan Yunis
Shot ‘em in the back like the cops to Oscar Grant …
And in each case the good ol’ United States sponsored that
$7 million a day that we pay tax and AIPAC’s lobbyists is robbin’ us
Sometimes it feels like they’re ain’t no stopping this
BUT now nobody can deny it cuz you made it too obvious
Naked truth exposed like the emperor’s clothes
The struggles getting hotter and the temperature rose
Since 1948 when you formed the state
Palestinian people still defending their homes
They ain’t been surrendering, NO

Boycott Divest and Sanction
Cuz they even bombed the United Nations

Look, I’m Israeli, my government’s so arrogant
War criminals who call Palestinians terrorists
For resisting extinction and occupation
Comparing this to genocide and reservations of Native Americans
It’s a massacre! Kick out they ambassadors!
Divest from their apartheid like South Africa
Boycott ‘em like King to Montgomery buses,
Show them we want peace but only with real justice
They murdering the media and witnesses left
We gonna stop shopping at all the businesses that invest
In building they settlements and gentrifying our corners
Illegal walls over there and the U.S.-Mexico border
Build a worldwide movement ’til the truth is heard
And supporting the Israelis who refuse to serve
All the C.O.s who AWOL when deployed to Iraqi stations
All the people rallying while the cops are chasing
If we enlisted in the system we got an obligation
We ain’t got the patience, time to stop the occupation

Boycott, Divest, and Sanction
Til there’s right of return for displaced and reparations

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