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2010 August

Monthly Archives: August 2010

Haiti’s election circus continues, and Wyclef Jean won’t take no for an answer

The candidacy of Wyclef Jean is important because it makes this Haitian election a media “event” and gives it the illusion of credibility, when it’s real goal is to suppress the Lavalas movement and put a democratic front on a brutal military occupation.

Political cost of standing with Kagame mounts by the hour

The leaked report from the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) mapping atrocities committed in D.R. Congo points to crimes which might be labeled genocide against Rwandan Hutu refugees and Congolese Hutus committed by Kagame’s Rwandan army between 1996 and 2003.

Was Speaker Pelosi’s ‘swamp’ a Black thing?

How could Porter Goss oversee the investigation of Congresswoman Maxine Waters in light of their conflict over the CIA-crack connection? He should have recused himself. Is Nancy Pelosi in on this political hit as well? So far, all eight suspects since she vowed to 'drain the swamp' of corruption are Black.

Push Kagame harder, activists tell Obama

A nationwide coalition of U.S. activists is calling on President Barack Obama to intensify pressure on the government of newly re-elected Rwandan President Paul Kagame. They want Obama to immediately terminate all military assistance and freeze the $240 million scheduled for Kagame's undemocratic regime.

Outsourcing a U.S. war: Ugandans in Iraq

Last week the Pentagon proclaimed that the last U.S. combat forces had left Iraq. The U.S. has long outsourced the Iraq occupation to troops from some of the world’s poor nations, and many of the mercenaries due to replace other U.S. troops will also come from those countries, especially from Uganda.

The death of Sister Soul

From the first time I ever heard of Abbey Lincoln she was associated with the struggle for the freedom and dignity of Black folks. She could have found commercial success, but Abbey was committed to the liberation and elevation of her oppressed people; once you experience that freedom high, nothing can compare with it.

Do the right thing! Elect James Keys District 6 Supervisor

District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly, champion of the have-nots in San Francisco for a decade, has passed the torch and endorsed James Keys, his longtime legislative assistant and campaign coordinator, to be his successor. “James was by my side through my toughest battles,” Daly said.

The trials of Rep. Maxine Waters: Ethics or payback?

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who waged a more successful war on drugs than the entire U.S. government, was concerned with people like Ronald Reagan and George Bush, who made enormous profits from this trade by flooding urban America with poison. Her efforts to investigate were suppressed by Porter Goss, who then chaired the House Intelligence Committee. Now Goss heads the ethics office that charged Waters with ethics violations for her legitimate advocacy for Black banks and economic justice for Black and Brown people.

Lil’ D and his new book ‘Weight’: an interview wit’ Concrete Jungle publisher Dennis...

Lil’ D aka Darryl Reed is one of the biggest hustlers ever born on the streets of Oakland. In Oakland, his name is right up there with other local legends like Ricky Henderson, Huey P. Newton, Felix Mitchell, Micky Moe, Mark Curry, Gary Payton, Hook Mitchell, Reggie Jackson, Tony Toni Tone, Too Short, Askari X and the likes.

Rwanda’s Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza speaks to Women’s International News Gathering Service

In January this year, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza returned to her native Rwanda to run against incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Many observers believe that she would have been the leading candidate had she been able to officially enter the race.

Jobs are the answer

On July 28, the Oakland redevelopment commission met to consider recommending that the City Council adopt a city wide Project Labor Agreement. Such an agreement would put small contractors out of business and keep the unemployed of Oakland out of the work force.

Put America back to work!

Today’s economic crisis is much worse than the media lets on … a political and economic system that provides trillions of dollars in bailouts for Wall Street and trillions of dollars for war but nothing for large numbers of workers and the poor, who face growing joblessness, foreclosures, evictions, layoffs, low wages, hunger and homelessness.

Rev. Pinkney leads protest on opening day of Whirlpool’s golf course built on the...

In the 1960s, it was called Negro removal. In Bosnia, it was called ethnic cleansing. It could be called genocide: the removal of the minority population for the purpose of redevelopment of the land. That’s what’s happening in Benton Harbor and the foremost leader of the resistance is Rev. Edward Pinkney.

Wearing your politics: an interview wit’ jewelry-maker Mercedes Martin

Mercedes Martin is one of the new young emerging political artists out of the Bay with a whole lot to say. The thing is that she does not rock a mic or joust with her pen; she is a political jewelry maker who tends to hover around personalities like Oscar Grant, Malcolm X and political musicians.

Movin’ on up: an interview with fashion designer Engla Murphy of PSundays

Over the years Engla Murphy’s PSundays Fashion House has been one of the most talked about local fashion houses in the Bay Area. Now this independent entrepreneur has opened up a store in Bay Fair Mall, which is one of the main clothes shopping hubs in the East Bay.

Aiyana Stanley-Jones’ death sparks conflict over Detroit 1-8-7

Controversy about the new ABC cop series, Detroit 1-8-7, has swirled in the wake of the May 16 killing of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones by Detroit police. They shot her in the head after throwing an incendiary grenade into her home, as TV cameras from A&E’s The First 48 were rolling.

Staples family wins $2.5 million in police lawsuit

The family of Tommie Staples Jr., shot to death by Detroit police officers Barron Townsend and Steven Kopp in June 2008, has won a settlement of $2.5 million in their wrongful death lawsuit, but, their lawyer said, “No discipline has been brought against these officers for Tommie Staples’ death."

Ethics case: Debro reveals probe’s motives, Waters fights back with the facts

Congresswoman Maxine Waters conducts her drug war from the top down. Her view is to follow the money. Our government wages drug war on street vendors. The government’s view is to lock up as many young Blacks as is possible.

California Assembly votes to report on human rights to U.N. committees

The California Assembly took the historic step of making California the first state to agree to publicize the text of three human rights ratified U.N. treaties and to submit the required reports to the State Department for consideration by the U.N. treaty committees.

Opportunities are washing away in Haiti

I just got off the phone with Leslie, a friend and leader in Asanble Vwazen Solino (the Solino Neighborhood Assembly). Knowing the answer, he asked me: “Is it raining over where you are?” “Of course it is. But you know I have a house.” “We are all wet!” he intoned. “We won’t get to sleep tonight.”