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Fire on the bayou: Non-stop river of oil heads to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida
May 4, 2010
The Coast Guard estimates 5,000 barrels of crude oil a day, 210,000 gallons a day, are pouring out of a damaged British Petroleum well in the Gulf of Mexico. Plans to set parts of the Gulf on fire have been pushed back by bad weather. In 1975, the New Orleans group, The Meters, released their album, “Fire on the Bayou.” In 2010 the idea of a fire on the bayou may well be coming true.
We CAN put Blacks back to work
April 28, 2010
Unemployment in the African-American community is double and in some places triple the national average. You know it doesn’t have to be that way.
Umuseso newspaper editor Didas Gasana grilled by Rwandan police
April 27, 2010
On Monday, April 26, police detectives in Kigali, Rwanda, interrogated Didas Gasana, editor of the weekly African language newspaper Umuseso for eight hours. Gasana now fears extrajudicial abduction or a prison sentence of up to 25 years.
Haiti help or Haiti hoodwink?
April 18, 2010
Not since the levees exploded in New Orleans and caused the devastation attributed to Hurricane Katrina have the people of the U.S. been so committed to relieving the suffering of Black people. So how is all this money being spent?
‘Death at a Funeral’: Choppin’ it up with Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan
April 16, 2010
“Death at a Funeral,” produced by actor and comedian Chris Rock, hits theaters today with an all-star cast of actors and comedians. I had the opportunity to chop it up with comedians Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan, two of the most talented Black comedians in the game right now.
Haiti debt relief bill authored by Congresswoman Maxine Waters passes the House
March 20, 2010
“I am pleased that my bill to cancel Haiti’s debt held by multilateral development institutions is set to become law. Debt relief is essential for Haiti’s future. However, we must also keep in mind the immediate needs of survivors who, without adequate shelter, will be further subjected to the elements and to disease during the upcoming rainy season,” said Congresswoman Waters.
The big lies against Cuba
March 13, 2010
Cuba’s policies of internationalism have arguably been the most politically advanced in the world – from the direct military intervention to help in the defeat of Apartheid in southern Africa in 1988 to direct medical aid and solidarity with Haiti – before the earthquake. Since the earthquake, Western media has been suspiciously silent on the exceptional role Cuba has played in support of Haiti with more than 900 health care providers on the ground, the largest and most organized contingent on the island.
Leaking Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant shutdown ordered as Obama pledges $50 billion for nuclear power
February 25, 2010
In the depths of a near-Depression, the Vermont Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly for health and safety over jobs and tax revenue when it chose not to renew Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant’s operating license when it expires in 2012.
I call it murder
February 5, 2010
Cynthia McKinney sets the theme for Black Resistance to Police Terrorism Month, marked by five events in two weeks – four in Oakland, on Feb. 7, 17, 21 and 22, and one on Oscar Grant in Los Angeles, on Feb. 18, the eve of killer cop Mehserle’s Feb. 19 hearing – featuring your favorite speakers coming to Cali from around the country. And pack the courtroom Feb. 22, 8:30 a.m., 1225 Fallon, Oakland, for Minister of Information JR’s trial. Free JR!
Pam Africa on the Supreme Court ruling against Mumia
January 20, 2010
On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal and granted the Philadelphia DA’s petition for a writ of certiorari. We are now at the highest level of Code Red in the case of Mumia Abu Jamal. The people must come to this tireless souljah’s defense.
From Cynthia McKinney: An unwelcome Katrina redux
January 19, 2010
“From the very beginning, U.S. assistance to Haiti has looked to me more like an invasion than a humanitarian relief operation,” says McKinney. The SF Bay View, Block Report Radio, POCC and Haiti Action Committee are preparing to send a media-medical team to Haiti to serve the people most in need. Come to the fundraiser Sunday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m., at the Black Dot Café, 1195 Pine St. in West Oakland. Bring medical supplies. Spread the word!
Too little too late for Haiti? Six sobering points
January 15, 2010
Hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti have had no access to clean water since the quake hit. Have you ever felt the raw fear in the gut when you are not sure where your next drink of water is going to come from? People can die within hours if they are exposed to heat without water.
Ten things the U.S. can and should do for Haiti
January 14, 2010
Allow all Haitians in the U.S. to work and send money home. Do not allow U.S. military in Haiti to point their guns at Haitians. Do not allow the victims to be cast as criminals. Give Haiti grants as help, not loans. Enact Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. Release all Haitians in U.S. jails who are not accused of any crimes. And more.
Black Caucus presses Obama on Black jobs, Black businesses
December 8, 2009
As African American members of Congress, we are keenly aware of the extreme economic crisis in our communities, and we are responsible for confronting the issues threatening the survival of the people and institutions we represent. We are here to reaffirm our commitment to be forceful advocates for the voiceless, and insist that all of the resources of the government, whether they be through financial assistance programs or federal contracting, exhibit a basic fairness and equality that historically has not existed.
Black joblessness becoming showdown between Black leaders and Black president
December 3, 2009
African-American joblessness – nearly twice the national rate – is quickly becoming the first showdown between Black leaders and the nation’s first Black president as national Black and civil right leaders raise their voices telling the Obama administration it’s time to end the jobs crisis in the Black community.
We want jobs! Demonstrate Dec. 3, 11:30, SF Federal Bldg
December 2, 2009
On Thursday, Dec. 3, while President Obama holds a national summit on jobs and unemployment, unemployed workers will picket at 11:30 a.m. in front of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in the SF Federal Building, 90 7th St., calling for Congress to take immediate action to put people back to work.
Gen. McCrystal challenges the president’s authority; who will prevail?
November 5, 2009
Americans await the decision President Obama will make relative to Gen. McCrystal’s proposal to send more troops to Afghanistan. Obama and McCrystal are locked in a test of power that will have monumental effects on America for decades to come. There are definite indications that Obama does not favor sending more troops, but the general may have cleverly maneuvered Mr. Obama into a no-win situation.
Haiti and Honduras: End military coups and occupations
October 29, 2009
The universal condemnation of the military coup in Honduras by Latin American governments is unprecedented. If this dictatorship is allowed to stay in power, no democratically elected government is safe. Just as President Obama promised a more respectful relationship between the U.S. and the rest of America – we are faced with another coup with U.S. military complicity.
Fight heats up over discriminatory housing laws in New Orleans area
September 15, 2009
Rebuilding efforts in St. Bernard Parish, a small community just outside New Orleans, have recently gotten a major boost. One nonprofit focused on rebuilding in the area has received the endorsement of CNN, Alice Walker the touring production of the play “The Color Purple” and even President Obama. But an alliance of Gulf Coast and national organizations are now raising questions about the cause these high profile names are supporting.
Racial profiling briefly acknowledged … now what?
September 7, 2009
Blacks and Latinos in the United States have long complained of police harassment and racial profiling, but no one paid much attention until July 16 this year, when the Cambridge, Massachusetts, police arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates at his home on a “disorderly conduct” charge – read for being an uppity Negro or forgetting his place.