Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Advertisement
2011 February

Monthly Archives: February 2011

Notes from the West Bank: an interview with M1 of dead prez

M1 of dead prez on his second visit to occupied Palestine, this time to the West Bank, observes: "People live in constant fear of being raided by the Jewish military settlers, yet the brothers and sisters I was able to greet on the street had nothing but love in their hearts. You could literally see the wounds on the young men."

Prominent anti-apartheid movement veterans call on South African government to assist Aristide in returning...

Several prominent figures from the international anti-apartheid movement have sent South African President Jacob Zuma an open letter “in the hopes that he can assist” former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family in returning to Haiti “as soon as possible.”

Public Defender appoints Matt Gonzalez as chief attorney

Matt Gonzalez, a longtime civil rights and criminal defense attorney and former Board of Supervisors president, was appointed Feb. 22 as chief attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. In 2010, San Francisco public defenders won 48 percent of their trials for their clients.

Haiti: Annul the elections

This “run-off” presidential election, scheduled for March 20, helps to explain the re-emergence of Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, since both candidates, Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly, have links to the Duvalier past. Manigat's husband is said to have advised Duvalier to create the dreaded tonton macoutes. And Martelly, who was himself a tonton macoute in his youth, has pledged to make Duvalier one of his advisers. Join the Haiti Action Committee for “Seven Years after the Coup in Haiti: Democracy at the Crossroads” at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland, on Tuesday, March 1, 7 p.m.

‘Losing Just the Same’: Classic 1966 film on West Oakland

This documentary reflects on the lives and aspirations of a West Oakland family, “a story of people caught in a lifelong struggle between their hopes and their abilities and their discovery that no matter how hard they try they will be losing just the same.”

‘Take This Hammer’: Classic 1963 film of James Baldwin touring the hoods of San...

KQED’s mobile film unit follows James Baldwin in the spring of 1963 as he’s driven around San Francisco to meet with the Black community and discover “the real situation of Negroes in the city, as opposed to the image San Francisco would like to present.”

These budget cuts will kill our children

Join the rally Tuesday, Feb. 22, 12 noon, on the north steps of the Capitol in Sacramento to oppose California budget cuts to CalWORKS and MediCal that will have a deadly impact on children and families.

Community groups offer concrete alternatives to gang injunctions

Pack the Public Safety Committee hearing on gang injunctions Tuesday, Feb. 22, 5:30 p.m., Oakland City Hall. Express your opposition to the proposed injunction and encourage the committee to de-authorize the use of gang injunctions anywhere.

Tell SF Police Commission Wednesday: NO Tasers!

Your community needs you at the Police Commission hearing on Tasers: this Wednesday, Feb. 23, 5:30 p.m., in Room 400, City Hall. A study found that in the first year of Taser usage, sudden deaths in custody go up 550 percent and officer shootings more than double. The United Nations and Amnesty International consider Tasers to be torture devices, and the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Lawyers Guild, and the NAACP oppose their use. It is certain that Taser usage does not lead to fewer shootings.

Protest retaliation against Georgia prisoners

The U.S., with 4.5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, is the world’s first prison state. Too long have we tolerated this backsliding from the great advances of the ‘60s. When we are presented with a clear case of retaliation, we must protest.

Museveni’s casino: Anne Mugisha on Uganda’s 2011 election

“So this time around I lost. A few of our opposition people did scrape through, but the casino is owned by the ruling party and President Museveni and they would definitely be looking to make a profit. So that’s how I see this election – like a trip to the casino.” - Anne Mugisha

From North Africa to North Oakland, poverty scholars speak on the revolution

What can po' folks learn from the revolutions in North Africa? Lessons in revolutions not dictated by non-profit industrial complex agendas and philanthro-pimps but revolutions guided by angry mamaz, hungry babies, houseless elders, jobless fathers, profiled and criminalized migrants and gang injunctioned youth of color.

Still no news of 37 missing Georgia prison strikers

The 37 Georgia prisoners who were labeled the leaders and organizers of the sit-down strike that began on Dec. 9, 2010, are still missing, and other participants are still in lockdown. The struggle for prisoners' civil rights continues.

Black History Month

Black History Month is not just about Afrikans in Amerikkka. It’s about Afrikans on an international level. So therefore, Black History Month extends to every month and day of the year.

Revolutionary and Gangsta: an interview wit Aisha Sekhmet

Revolutionary gangsta rap artist Aisha Sekhmet is bold, passionate and intelligent. Check out this fiery much needed newcomer to the rap world in her own words.

Tens of thousands liberate state Capitol in Madison

Chants such as “Kill the bill,” “Hands off workers! Make the banks pay,” “Who’s got the power: We’ve got the power” and many others are echoing off the walls inside and outside the Capitol. Since Feb. 14, tens of thousands of students, workers and other community members have liberated the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison in response to Gov. Scott Walker’s “budget repair” bill, which would eliminate collective bargaining rights for 175,000 public sector union workers statewide.

Protect independent media, support KPFA now

I ask all reading this letter to give generously to support the station. With your support, new programming changes and coverage of vital struggles in the U.S. and around the world will continue.

Gang validation: The new inquisition

It is prisoners' identification with George Jackson that makes him symbolically powerful and very much alive. And for this, he must be vilified and punished, over and over again – suppressed and chased away from anyone who dares consume his words.

The day the music died: Malcolm X’ assassination, Feb. 21, 1965

On the afternoon of Feb. 21, 1965, I went to the Audubon Ballroom to hear Malcolm X speak. It was the saddest day of my life. An update has been added to this story, originally published in 2009.

Internet politics: an interview with hip hop journalist and internet guru Davey D

Davey D from Hard Knock Radio, Breakdown FM and daveyd.com breaks down WikiLeaks, net neutrality and what is happening to this democratic library called the internet, formed by the U.S. government.