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Grand Inga Dam on Congo River – the World Bank’s latest silver bullet for Africa
May 22, 2013
The Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s poorest country, has not only been ravaged by civil wars, but by decades of grandiose development schemes that inevitably failed. The World Bank and other donors are now concocting the continent’s biggest pie in the sky: the $80 billion Grand Inga Dam on the Congo River.
Jerry Brown’s corrections budget revise: More cages, little else
May 22, 2013
Last week, Gov. Brown released his May Budget Revise, which advocates who have been pushing for comprehensive prison population reduction reforms were anxious to see. We hoped that the minor reforms to good-time credits, medical parole and elder parole from the governor’s court-ordered population reduction plan would find their way into the revise.
Hardball: Giants concession workers fight for the soul of San Francisco
May 21, 2013
Today we are seeing service industry workers starting to organize, walk out and be heard and a 21st century Pullman is looking to halt the mere idea that the expansion of service unions will happen on his watch. This is why the struggle at AT&T Park is bigger than 800 concession workers and why everyone has a stake in offering solidarity and support.
In loving memory of El Hajj Malcolm Latif El Shabazz
May 19, 2013
The janazah was traditional and profound. The spiritual warmth could be felt flowing all through the hall in the stately Islamic Center in downtown Oakland, as over 300 people mourned, paid last respects, celebrated his life and gained inspiration during the service held Friday morning, May 17, in loving memory of Hajj Malcolm Latif El Shabazz. Though “Young Malcolm,” as he was often recognized, in remembrance of his grandfather, El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X), was just coming into his own, he has made a profound and an indelible mark upon the world. In the finest traditions of the Shabazz family; by his life he will continue to inspire.
Chokwe Lumumba’s close race: the Christian brother with an African name could be the next mayor of Jackson, Miss.
May 19, 2013
The mayoral contest in Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, is now widely reported to be very close as it heads for a conclusion on Tuesday, May 21. Jackson’s population is majority Black and Democratic, so Tuesday’s Democratic primary run-off, between Black Democrat Chokwe Lumumba and Black Democrat Jonathan Lee, will effectively determine who the city’s next mayor will be.
Report from China: ‘Human Rights Record of the United States in 2012’
May 18, 2013
The U.S. State Department recently released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, posing as the world judge of human rights again. As in previous years, the reports are full of carping and irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions including China. However, the U.S. turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and never said a word about it.
Assata Shakur is a freedom fighter, not a terrorist
May 15, 2013
The inclusion of Assata Shakur on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Terrorists list last month – marking 29 years since her liberation from a New Jersey maximum security prison in 1979 by members of the Black Liberation Army – while aimed at Cuba’s leadership should also be interpreted as a shot across the bow of any internal revolutionary movement or revolutionary activists in the United States.
JR Valrey speaks to the loss of Hajj Malcolm Shabazz
May 13, 2013
I want to offer condolences to everyone who knew and loved Hajj Malcolm Shabazz. When I got the word Thursday that he had been assassinated in Mexico City, like many, I did not want to believe it. Malcolm had a passion for helping young people understand and avoid the pitfalls that the U.S. government has set up for our community. He was not just preaching – he spent years locked up and, like his grandfather, he used the time to politically and spiritually educate himself for his next stage in life, that of an ever evolving freedom fighter.
‘Super-cop’ William Bratton and top brass shake-up at OPD
May 12, 2013
Oakland had three acting police chiefs in five days last week, and on Thursday, the police department’s controversial consultant, William Bratton, released his six-page report which criticized OPD’s top brass. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan then announced that Oakland would spend $30,000 on a headhunter’s nationwide search for a permanent chief.
Remembering young Malcolm – with love
May 11, 2013
Malcolm Shabazz, 28, died tragically in Mexico on Thursday. His funeral will be held in Oakland later this coming week. The Bay Area has much love for young Malcolm, as this is where he began to become an outstanding speaker, known as El Hajj Malcolm El Shabazz for his stirring accounts of his pilgrimage to Mecca. The Bay View was honored to sponsor him on speaking tours arranged by Bay View associate editor and the People’s Minister of Information JR, his close comrade over the past several years.
Stop the attacks on President Aristide and Haiti’s grassroots movement
May 10, 2013
This Wednesday, May 8, tens of thousands of Haitians gathered at the Palace of Justice in Port-au-Prince to support former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was summoned to court to be questioned about a 13-year-old murder investigation. The people of Haiti stand for justice, but they are against the misuse of the justice system for political persecution.
Cynthia McKinney wins hearts and minds on California tour
May 9, 2013
Cynthia McKinney’s fundraiser tour for the SF Bay View was a huge success up and down California, hitting San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland and Santa Rosa. The tour, which was titled “Latin America, Africa, and Obama,” coincided with the release of McKinney’s second book, “Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom,” an autobiography about her years as a six-term Congress member from Georgia.
FBI calls political exile Assata Shakur a ‘terrorist’
May 7, 2013
The federal government is at it again! They have placed the legendary Black Panther leader, Assata Shakur, on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list. Yes, you read correctly: terrorist. Shakur has been living in political exile in Cuba since 1984 after her escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in 1979, where she served six years. All American citizens’ constitutional rights are in jeopardy if we believe and accept the FBI’s assertion that for speaking out about the U.S. government Assata Shakur is a terrorist.
SF School District makes progress on community hiring and contracting
May 3, 2013
The long journey to an equitable pathway for community workers and contractors at San Francisco Unified has seen great progress over the past year; and the same policy makers, community members, labor leaders and community contractors that brought us this far appear poised to carry a torch now held by many across the line between longstanding hope and a truly historic reality.
Postal workers picket their boss, US Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe
May 3, 2013
U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe spoke at a National Postal Forum in San Francisco on March 18, prompting picketing by rank and file postal employees and their supporters. Protestors opposed Donahoe’s support for post office closures and layoffs of USPS (U.S. Postal Service) workers. The demonstration was part of a week of actions called for by Communities and Postal Workers United .
Torture in Israeli jails
May 3, 2013
Israel is considered by both international human rights organizations and media polls as one of the worst countries regarding human rights abuses. This negative image of Israel is caused by its frequent violations of international law since its forced establishment in 1948.
Amnesty International and Middle East Monitor issued various reports in which they expressed concerns about the Israeli’s practices.
Deportation of a labor movement leader
May 2, 2013
On April 18, Rumec was economically and morally destabilized with the deportation of Comrade Miguel Suarez to his native Mexico. For over 10 years, Miguel has been at the forefront of the Mexican struggle, establishing strong bonds with the Black community and creating an environment for oppressed groups to establish business connections as well as maintaining a revolutionary agenda.
Saving Our Future combats high infant and maternal mortality rates among Africans and African Americans
May 2, 2013
African and African American women face an infant and maternal mortality crisis in America! Infants and maternal mortality rates in these communities are twice as high as the rates for white women in the U.S. The African Women’s Development Fund USA (AWDF USA) has launched an awareness campaign, Saving Our Future, to educate community members and organize the leadership in hopes of changing the pattern.
National Black leaders decry economic exclusion from 49ers’ stadium construction
April 30, 2013
“We must leverage our athletic success for economic development in our community,” says Magic Johnson. Everett L. Glenn, president of the National Sports Authority, a division of ESP Education & Leadership Institute, is applying that principle to construction of the 49ers’ new stadium under construction in Santa Clara.
March for the Innocent begins 600-mile trek from San Diego to Sacramento
April 30, 2013
The California Innocence Project director, Professor Justin P. Brooks, along with attorneys Alissa Bjerkhoel and Michael Semanchik, will walk 600 miles from San Diego to Sacramento to protest the incarceration of their innocent clients, bring attention to the cause of wrongful convictions, and present clemency petitions for 12 clients, “The California 12,” to Gov. Jerry Brown.