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2011 May

Monthly Archives: May 2011

Anatomy of a murder: How NATO killed Qaddafi family members

I visited the residence of the Qaddafi family, bombed to smithereens by NATO. For a leader, the house seemed small in comparison, say, to the former Clinton family home in Chappaqua or the Obama family home. It was a small house in a typical residential area in Tripoli, surrounded by dozens of other family homes.

Judge declares SF Housing Authority injunctions unconstitutional

A judicial decision handed down today effectively ends the San Francisco Housing Authority’s use of city-wide nuisance injunctions and dismisses all pending criminal cases against alleged violators, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi and ACLU of Northern California Legal Director Alan Schlosser announced.

Harry Belafonte explodes the presidential ‘Make me do it’ myth

There is a popular myth which explains President Barack Obama’s reluctance to stand up to Pentagon militarists, Wall Street banksters and corporate greedheads. The myth is that he really does want to do all these things, but we the people have abandoned our responsibility to “make him do it.”

Cynthia McKinney: We are here because we love humankind

How wonderful to be at a conference (the International Conference on Global Alliance Against Terrorism for a Just Peace in Tehran, Iran) where the word “love” is used; we are here because we love humankind. We are here from all corners of the earth; we are against terrorism; we want peace.

Black Congress members outraged over camp destructions by Haitian police

On Monday, May 23, 2011, our offices were alarmed at the startling news that three camps of internally displaced persons in the Delmas neighborhood of Port-au-Prince were effectively destroyed - at least one at the hands of the Haitian police under direction of Mayor Wilson Jeudy.

Uganda: Hang the gays or hang the demonstrators?

It doesn’t look as though Uganda is going to “hang the gays,” at least not now. But they may hang some pro-democracy activists for organizing peaceful protests against Uganda’s soaring food and fuel prices. They've been charged with terrorism and could get the death penalty.

Veteran producer Jay King becomes an ‘Open Book’ with intimate new release

There’s no reason why Jay King’s new release, “Open Book,” should not be listed at the top of the Adult Contemporary charts. Jay King is a long time music veteran and a founding member of gold and platinum recording groups Timex Social Club and Club Nouveau.

Mehserle shooting of Oscar Grant considered a non-violent offense

Because California penal code does not classify involuntary manslaughter as a “violent” or “serious” offense, Johannes Mehserle, the convicted killer of Oscar Grant, could be released as early as mid-June of this year, after serving less than one year behind bars.

NATO: A feast of blood

Last night’s NATO rocket attack on Tripoli is inexplicable. A civilian metropolitan area of around 2 million people, Tripoli sustained 22 to 25 bombings last night, rattling and breaking windows and glass and shaking the foundation of my hotel. The sky flashed red with explosions and more rockets from NATO jets cut through low clouds before exploding. I could taste the thick dust stirred up by the exploded bombs. I immediately thought about the depleted uranium munitions reportedly being used here – along with white phosphorus.

Supreme Court upholds ruling to reduce California prison population

This morning the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed a previous court order requiring the state of California to reduce dramatically the number of people in its horribly overcrowded state prison system. California will have two years to reduce overcrowding by 46,000. “Public safety is a direct outcome of public education, affordable housing and living-wage jobs. These are goals we can achieve now if we take this opportunity to shrink prisons and jails,” declared Professor Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author of “Golden Gulag.”

Partisan resistance: Anatomy of a takeover at a health care corporation

On Monday, April 11, in San Francisco, I felt it was not a romantic notion that my videographer Scott and I were embedded among partisan guerrillas deep in enemy territory. We were all joined together in a viciously difficult corporate class war.

‘King Arthur’ Abraham dethroned according to Ward’s rules

Armenian-born “King Arthur” Abraham’s prevailing thoughts going into the Super Six World Boxing Classic were that he couldn’t “win on points in America,” so his game plan was to attempt to knock “Son of God” Andre Ward out. But Andre Ward proved his mettle by out-punching Abraham’s heavy hands.

KPFA: Playing Russian roulette with all the chambers loaded

For the past six months the people behind “KPFAWorker/SaveKPFA” have run a relentless, dishonest and destructive PR campaign – both on and off the air – against KPFA and Pacifica over the layoff last November of two KPFA staff members: Brian Edwards-Tiekert and Aimee Allison, the former co-hosts of KPFA’s Morning Show.

KPFA: A tale of foxes in the henhouse

Over the past 10 years, any KPFA manager who attempted anything that did not meet the approval of a small core group of staff members – the foxes in the henhouse – met with so much hostility and non-cooperation that the job became nearly impossible to do.

Class is in session: an interview wit’ rapper Professor A.L.I.

Professor A.L.I. has been making a name for himself over the last few years in the Bay Area’s indie and conscious rap scenes. A Muslim by faith, Sri Lankan by nationality, Professor A.L.I. is one of the brothas who is taking Bay Area sounding music to an international audience.

Rwanda: Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza on trial

Kagame refers to the former Rwandan soldiers who took refuge in Congo as “genocidaires.” He says he is going after them every time he invades the Congo and he has used them as his excuse to occupy and plunder Congo’s resources, with the blessing of the international community.

Malcolm and the music

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), born 86 years ago on May 19, 1925, was loved by the oppressed and hated by the oppressors. Our “Black Shining Prince,” in the words of Ossie Davis, aimed to “use whatever means necessary to bring about a society in which the 22 million Afro-Americans are recognized and respected as human beings.” His influence is immeasurable - from music to foreign policy to religion. Today Islam, followed then by very few, is the second largest religion in the United States and Canada.

More videos reveal illegal searches, theft, brutality by SFPD

A San Francisco police officer accused of stealing items from a man’s residential hotel room following a drug arrest has been captured on video in a second incident, appearing to leave a residence at the Julian Hotel with property never booked into evidence.

China denounces America’s treatment of Afro-descendants

In a scathing report, China condemned America’s treatment of its Afro-descendants and other minorities and cited America’s numerous human rights violations. China charges that human rights reports issued by the U.S. are full of distortions and accusations about the human rights situation in China and elsewhere.

Straight outta Pittsburgh: an interview wit’ rapper Jasiri X

Jasiri X is one of the most famous up and coming conscious artists in the nation who has been making positive noise with his music. Straight out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jasiri X has been working with Paradise of the legendary rap group XClan in a community coalition called One Hood.