Thursday, March 28, 2024
Advertisement
2010

Yearly Archives: 2010

‘We should be there, in Haiti’: Statement by Dr. Jean-Bertand Aristide

In the spirit of solidarity President Aristide invokes and guided by Pierre Labossiere of the Haiti Action Committee, the SF Bay View and Block Report Radio are preparing to send a media-medical team to Haiti to serve the people most in need. Come to the fundraiser Sunday, Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m., at the Black Dot Café, 1195 Pine St. in West Oakland. Bring medical supplies. Spread the word!

‘The Other America’

"The Other America" by Martin Luther King Jr. "is a chilling, troubled speech made with the background of urban riots, pleas for Black Power and the Vietnam War." - Ishmael Reed

King’s legacy serves as a call to arms on crisis in Haiti

Today provides a moment for reflection on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., born 81 years ago on this day. It is also a moment of intense anguish for the survivors and those continuing to suffer in the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti.

Too little too late for Haiti? Six sobering points

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.

Ninth Circuit strikes down Washington state’s felon disfranchisement law in landmark voting rights case,...

In a precedent-setting decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the state of Washington’s law barring felons from voting on Jan. 5, just in time to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, for whom the issue of voting rights for the disenfranchised was a top priority. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the law violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

How the U.S. impoverished Haiti

The horrific disaster that befell Haiti Jan. 12 may have killed hundreds of thousands. According to the media, Haiti’s weak infrastructure and poor quality of construction account for the large number of deaths. Left to their own efforts, however, Haitians would have been more than able to build a reliable democracy with adequate infrastructure. But they have never been allowed to do so.

Haiti and America’s historic debt

Once the French army had subdued L’Ouverture and his rebel force, Napoleon intended to advance to the North American mainland, basing a new French empire in New Orleans and settling the vast territory west of the Mississippi River. By 1803, a frustrated Napoleon – denied his foothold in the New World – agreed to sell New Orleans and the Louisiana territories to Jefferson.

Ten things the U.S. can and should do for Haiti

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.

Wealth care

The richest nation in earth’s history can’t agree on how to insure that its citizens get good health care, while one of the poorest nations on earth – Cuba – not only provides free universal health care, but it provides well-trained, humanistic doctors to developing and poor countries all over the world. In fact, there are more Cuban doctors helping people overseas than there are from the U.N.’s World Health Organization (WHO).

AFL-CIO debates ‘Why are no Blacks working?’

In response to “Why are no Blacks working?” by Bay Area Black Builders President Joseph Debro that appeared in print and online in the SF Bay View, Tom Owens, a high level official with the AFL-CIO Construction Trades Department, sent the following message via email to Debro. Debro’s emailed rebuttal follows.

Harry Reid and the demagogues

The idiotic controversy that is the focus of the nation’s media and which claims Nevada Sen. Harry Reid uttered racist comments is mind boggling in its obtuseness. Democrats and honest Republicans, white and Black, cannot seem to gather the moral energy and mental clarity to call the Republicans who are promoting this issue by their true name: demagogues.

Allow Aristide to return to Haiti now

Haiti is facing one of its most severe challenges after a large earthquake rocked the capital yesterday destroying most government buildings and killing possibly thousands. Now more than ever the people of Haiti need hope for the future. The U.S. and the international community must stand aside and end their role in keeping Mr. Aristide out of Haiti where he is needed now.

How to show your solidarity with heroic Haiti: resources, where to send donations

The people of Haiti, who won their independence with the world’s only successful slave rebellion, will rise again – with our help and solidarity. Donate to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund through HaitiAction.net; consult this page for frequent updates; add your recommendations and information in the Comments section.

Rob Redding fired from Green 960 AM after Bay View newspaper interview

After I interviewed program director and XM Black radio talk show host Rob Redding about the need for more Black talk radio, his show was canceled on Green 960 AM. It’s 2010, and Black people are still not “permitted” to speak our minds in the court of public opinion. Give a piece of your mind to Green 960 AM (KKGN) Program Director John Scott by calling him at (415) 975-5555.

Haiti’s largest political party banned from election process

The Haitian government-under-U.S.-U.N.-occupation has again excluded Haiti’s largest political party from participating in upcoming elections financed, orchestrated and supported by the United States and the international community. This time, it’s the February and March 2010 legislative elections.

Ohlone people to SF Planning Dept: Follow the law, protect ancient village sites at...

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 12 noon, a press conference will be held on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco by the Ohlone, the original people of the land. It will begin with a welcome and blessing by the Ohlone and, at its conclusion, they will deliver letters to the Planning Department calling for their inclusion in the planning process for Lennar's development of Candlestick Point and the Hunters Point Shipyard and an extension of the draft EIR comment period.

Court hearing in Los Angeles for BART cop murderer of Oscar Grant

It has been one year since Oscar Grant was brutally murdered by BART policeman Johannes Mehserle. The power of the people of Oakland and the Bay Area has ensured that he is standing trial for murder and not getting away unscathed as is the normal practice in police killings and brutality of our community members.

LA activists prepare for trial of ex-cop who killed Oscar Grant

More than 40 people representing a diverse cross section of Los Angeles communities met at Chuco’s Justice Center Jan. 3 to plan for the press conference and protest on Jan. 8. Coming together as the Los Angeles Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant, they were united by at least two common threads: outrage at the slaying of Grant and a belief that Mehserle should be convicted of murder.

LA demands justice for Oscar Grant

On Friday’s Hard Knock Radio and Flashpoints shows on KPFA at 4 and 5 p.m., Minister of Information JR reported straight out of Los Angeles on the first pre-trial hearing since the murder case of Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer who executed Oscar Grant, was moved there from Oakland.

Political lawyer Lynne Stewart unjustly held captive: interview with her political partner Ralph Poynter

Lynne Stewart is one of the last of a dying breed of political lawyers who represent victims of government tyranny as her quest in life. Now she is one of America’s newest political prisoners. She represented people like Larry Davis and members of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army, among other high profile cases.