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2010 July

Monthly Archives: July 2010

Murder in the neighborhood: Arnieville

Arnieville is a continuous protest led by people with disabilities alarmed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed state budget with its juggernaut of draconian cuts to California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), Medi-Cal and other critical supports for California’s most vulnerable people.

Defense lawyers condemn assassination of ICTR lawyer Mwaikusa

No one knows for sure whether Professor Mwaikusa was assassinated by Rwandan Patriotic Front operatives, but we do know that the RPF target lawyers who defend people whom they have identified as their enemies. Now the lawyers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda have legitimate reason to be fearful of being in Africa.

Law Professor Jwani Mwaikusa: Martyr for truth at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda...

The identity, motive and/or sponsors of Professor Jwani Mwaikusa’s assassins, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, may remain “unknown,” meaning “unproven,” for some time, but Professor Mwaikusa’s friends and colleagues know that whoever was responsible deprived the legal fraternity and the entire human race of an irreplaceable, independent and incorruptible mind.

What’s goin’ on?

Who benefits? Who feels threatened by groups of people in our streets united to demand changes? Who wants to make the public hate and fear demonstrators and afraid and unwilling to participate in public gatherings for civic purposes? Who wants to make us feel afraid of each other?

France will pay Independence Debt back to Haiti?

According to a July 14, 2010, statement from a fake website purporting to speak on behalf of the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, France will pay back to Haiti the Independence Debt it and its Euro/U.S. allies gathered together to force Haiti to pay. This amazing news is a hoax.

A glimpse into the life of Honorable James Edward ‘Billy’ McKinney

Billy McKinney was elected to the Georgia State Legislature after the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. His position in the Legislature was accompanied by that of his daughter in 1989. Billy and Cynthia served as the first father-daughter team of lawmakers in the history of the state of Georgia.

Oakland criminalized by its own mayor, after slap-on-the-wrist verdict for a killer cop

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums had a chance to shine last Thursday, after the verdict was announced in the murder trial of transit cop Johannes Mehserle for the Jan. 1, 2009, killing of 22-year-old unarmed Black man Oscar Grant. But instead of standing with the people, Dellums stood with his police chief, and together they proceeded to criminalize the entire community.

A poor people-led revolution: The POOR Magazine story

“POOR’s rule from the beginning was to break down the myth of objectivity and the implicit ‘other’ stance of journalism. We accomplished this through the integration of self, the use of ‘I’ in every story,” explains Tiny – Lisa Gray-Garcia. POOR needs your help right now. Become a Revolutionary Donor today!

Reporters weigh in on the Mehserle verdict

A sampling of reactions from small and independent news reporters during the July 8 protest rally called by the Los Angeles Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant is recorded in these videos. The rally was called in response to the involuntary manslaughter verdict handed down by a Los Angeles jury just hours before.

Supervisors vote to build mega condo, stadium complex on Superfund site

Last night, July 13, the SF Board of Supervisors held a 10-hour hearing on the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for Lennar’s proposed 10,000 unit condominium complex, stadium and green tech development at the Hunters Point Shipyard Superfund site and Candlestick Point. The EIR passed with a 8-3 vote.

Dignity and rage, dignity and freedom

On the 8th of July, 2010, the people of the world took to the streets of Oakland to make our displeasure felt at the non-verdict delivered to the killer cop who assassinated Ancestor-Warrior Spirit Oscar Grant III in cold blood on a BART platform a year and a half ago, 1 January 2009. And it wasn’t “outside agitators” who consistently outflanked and outmanned the so-called finest of several different police departments – most of whom were definitely from outside of Oakland. It was thousands and thousands of us who don’t have shit. It was the lumpen proletariat that George Jackson spoke of.

Rwanda Green Party leader beheaded

First Vice President Andre Kagwa Rwisereka of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda was found dead, his head almost completely severed from his body, near Butare, Rwanda, on the morning of July 14. All three viable opposition parties, including the Greens, have been excluded from the country’s 2010 presidential election, with polls now scheduled for Aug. 9.

Beauty and brains: an interview with the fashion show organizer and runway model Mercedes...

Hanging out back stage at a recent fashion show in Oakland, I met the beautiful and intelligent model Mercedes White. I wanted to profile her because she was not just an arm piece or a nice body profiling clothes; she is modeling to pay for her education. She told me that she is driven to become a medical doctor.

Oscar Grant’s family slams letter from Mehserle, whose lawyer calls family ‘mean spirited,’ requests...

Oscar Grant's family told reporters Saturday that the letter of apology from Mehserle should have come much sooner and should have been directed to them personally. Mehserle's attorney, Michael Rains, told KGO-TV on Sunday, “I don’t think that when the family remains that hostile and that nasty and mean-spirited that Mr. Mehserle should be out there offering olive branches because they will not be received.”

Scientists and community reject Lennar’s EIR

Nationally acclaimed scientist Wilma Subra says, “The EIR failed to evaluate and assess the cumulative impacts of exposure to children, adults and the environment as a result of exposure to all of the chemicals present at the site.” Declared Vivien Donahue, “San Francisco is not a Green City for the environment; it is green for the money they want to give to these developers.” “We are opposed to the EIR. The shipyard needs to be cleaned up, not covered up. It is too toxic!” said Esselene Stancil, 78. Showdown at Board of Supervisors Tuesday, July 13, 3pm, City Hall Room 250. Be there!

U.S. woman falsely accused of Rwanda genocide rape crimes

On June 24, 2010, U.S. agents in Manchester, New Hampshire, arrested Rwandan genocide survivor Beatrice Munyenyezi, a Hutu and a U.S. citizen since 2004, who is charged with genocide and with rape as a war and genocide crime. Meanwhile, a federal prosecutor for the case is known for misconduct, falsification of evidence and perjury. Is it a crime to have a Facebook profile? Is it a crime to use a computer?

Rwanda: FDU blames police torture after Muhirwa faints in court

Presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire reported that her party’s treasurer, Alice Muhirwa, mother of two, fainted in a Rwandan courtroom due to untreated torture wounds inflicted by the Rwandan police. The FDU reported that Rwandan police refused to take Ms. Muhirwa to a hospital to be treated for bleeding caused by boot kicks to the stomach.

Oscar Grant was murdered!

“I AM,” shouted the speaker at the Oakland protest of the verdict in the trial of ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle; “OSCAR GRANT!” roared back the crowd at 14th and Broadway. The cold-blooded killer of Oscar Grant had just gotten off with an involuntary manslaughter conviction in a trial in LA. After less than two days deliberation, a jury with no Black members cleared Johannes Mehserle of second degree murder.

Oakland officials tried to preempt day of verdict community gathering

Addressing those fretting about civil unrest, Michael Walker concluded the press conference by declaring: “For anybody out there who feels like people are against peace, if you really want peace in this city, then fight for justice, and I guarantee you’ll have peace.”

L.A. HipHop weighs in on the Mehserle verdict

More than one hundred people met in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles on July 8 to protest the verdict of Involuntary Manslaughter for Johannes Mehserle, the murderer of Oscar Grant III. The rally lasted more than three hours as organizers, activists and concerned citizens called for justice for Oscar Grant and for accountability and control of the police in Black and Brown communities.