The Latino Pop Star Chavez is Gay!!

The beautiful latino pop star, Chavez has just come out of the closet--god there's hope!

American Rubbish

The United States is soo trying to do everything it can to get rid of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. I just did a search, trying to find out information about the gorgeous latino pop star, Chavez, and goddamn every newspaper in the United States it seems like has an article bad-mouthing Chavez and what he is doing in Venezuela. Go to hell America and your store-bought press!

I was just thinking today, I can identify quite a bit with the character of Beneatha Younger from A Raisin in the Sun. She has such a vibrant, youthful energy. She is a character I will explore further.

The Rich Man's House

Traditional Labor Movement Song

Well I went down to the rich man's house and I took back
what he stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
well I went down to the rich man's house and I took back
what he stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
Now he's under my feet, under my feet, under my feet
Ain't gonna let the system walk all over me!

Well I, went down to the Landlord's house and I took back
what he stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
Well I, went down to the landlord's house and I took back
what he stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
Now he's under my feet, under my feet, under my feet
Ain't gonna let the system walk all over me !

Well I, went down to the Welfare Office I took back
what it stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
well I, went down to the welfare office I took back
what it stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
Now it's under my feet, under my feet, under my feet
Ain't gonna let the system walk all over me!

Well I, went down to the Governor's house and I took back
what he stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
well I, went down to the governor's house and I took back
what he stole from me
took it back
took back my dignity
took it back
took back my humanity
Now he's under my feet, under my feet, under my feet
Ain't gonna let the system walk all over me!

Seize the Time

Elaine Brown

You tell me that the sun belongs
To you and should surround you
But, when I turn to look
I see they've snatched
The sun from all around you.
Why you hardly seem
To want whats yours
You hardly seem to care.
If you love the sun
It's where you've come from
Then you had better dare
To Seize the time
The time is now
Oh,Seize the time
and you know how

You tell me that the soul is real
and your soul must survive.
Yet, I see they've taken liberties
With your souls and your lives.
Don't tell me that you lack concern
For all that you must be
'Cause I know you know you must be turned
And I know that you can see
To Seize the Time
The Time is Now
Oh,Seize the Time
And you know how

You worry about liberty
Because you've been denied.
Well, I think that you're mistaken
Or then you must have lied.
'Cause you don't act like those who care
You've never even fought
For the liberty that you claim to lack
Or have you never thought
To Seize the Time
The Time is Now
Oh Seize the time
And you know how

I am officially sick of Anna Nicole Smith. Let her rest in her grave!

Lunar Eclipse Tommorow

Watch the moon tommorow as it is supposed to be in total eclipse and display beautiful colors.

There is something horrid and scary about these winds that are blowing through the midwest and the south.

Love Me In A Special Way

I am certainly a fanatical lover of Debarge. This song has been playing through my head all day.

You know you had me
With your sensuous charm
Yet you looked so alarmed
As I walked on by
In awsome wonder
You had to know why i did not respond to carry on

Chorus:
Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now
Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now (love me now)

Cause Im special
Not the average kind
Who'd accept any line
That sounds good
So reach into your chain of thoughts
Try to find something new
Because what worked for you so well before
For me it just wont do.

Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now
Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now (love me now)
So reach into your chain of thoughts
Try to find something new
What works so well with you before
For me it just wont do

Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now
Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now (love me now)

Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now
Love me in a special way
What more can I say
Love me now (love me now)

Human relations are explosive, murky,and volatile. We little know what we want and very little do we even understand ourselves.

God, What Destruction

Enterprise, Alabama has been torn to shreds by tornadoes. Thankfully my people are ok. That community has been devastated though.

Israeli Socialism: A Lost Cause?

From The Christian Science Monitor

KIBBUTZ GAASH, ISRAEL
The leaders of this agricultural commune - once young communists with visions of an agrarian Jewish state - say they are now prepared to take a once-unthinkable step: embracing the free market.
Kibbutz Gaash, a collective that has already replaced chicken coops with a strip mall, may be on the verge of rejecting its collectivist roots and privatizing. If it does, as an upcoming vote is expected to decide, it will provide further evidence that the era of the iconic kibbutz is over.
Mostly secular and leftist, kibbutzes were hailed as the building block of the Zionist enterprise, the crucible in which to remold the old-world Jew as the new Israeli.
But modern pressures mean communes must cope with bank debt, attrition, and the waning collectivist spirit.
What this U-turn means for the shrinking number of kibbutzniks is that they'll be living like most other Israelis: collecting a paycheck, competing on the open market, and balancing their own budget.
Stacked on the desk of Kibbutz Gaash Chairman Hanan Rogalin is the soon-to-be-voted-on plan to scrap the commune's egalitarian dream and allow members to live according to their own earning power.
"The contemporary kibbutz doesn't provide answers for life needs, and most important in my eyes, people's aspirations," says Mr. Rogalin. "The kibbutz creates too much friction. The secretariat dictates too many things to members. And people want more freedom to take responsibility for their lives."
The process of privatization among kibbutzes has been quietly proceeding for years, though two weeks ago, Israelis took notice when Kibbutz Degania, the first kibbutz established on the Sea of Galilee in 1909, took the step.
With two-thirds of the 273 kibbutzes across Israel already privatized, the demise of Degania was a ringing reminder of the seemingly inevitable extinction of the kibbutz as Israelis know it.
"Does the kibbutz have a chance?" asked an opinion article that mourned Degania on the movement's website. "As long as man feels in his soul the need to be in a society built on the bedrock of justice, of equality, of camaraderie, of mutual commitment and solidarity - there's a chance."
Frontiers of the new state
The communal agricultural estates laid down the fresh roots of Jewish settlement in the biblical land of Israel, assuring a degree of economic independence for the fledgling state. The communities were given the task of settling what would become the frontiers of the new state.
"The kibbutz was an attempt to create a miracle and transcend human nature. By trying to create a miracle, the kibbutz was instinctively seen by Jews as a worthy symbol of the miraculous return to Zion," says Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at Jerusalem's Shalem Institute.
"We're so past the point of being shocked by the decline of the collectivist dream that this isn't a moment that took anyone by surprise. Nevertheless there's poignancy.... We've lost something precious and essential in what defines Israeliness," he says.
Kibbutz members once dominated parliament and key spots in Israel's lionized military. Though secular and leftist, the movement, with its pioneering activism, inspired religious Jews who settled in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after 1967.
With large tracts of public land to cultivate, the kibbutz followed directives from the Israeli Agricultural Ministry on what to grow. "We didn't think if we were earning or losing money, we thought about what was good for the country," says Yossi Katz, founder of Kibbutz Gaash. "We were sure the entire country would become socialist."
Walking past the old boarded-up dining hall and the seedy building that housed Gaash's first chicken coop, he acknowledges that the kibbutz lifestyle could be oppressive and suffocating.
The kibbutz compelled members to turn over possessions for public use. Children were raised in communal dorms rather than in parents' homes. Social life revolved around the dining hall. A kibbutz committee approved plans for higher education and careers. Whoever left was considered a traitor.
With the ascension of the right-wing Likud party to power in the 1980s, the government cut off generous subsidies that exposed waste and unprofitable kibbutz operations, as well as billions of dollars in debt. A $17 billion bailout made the kibbutzes seem spoiled rather than selfless.
Meanwhile, observing Israel's growing prosperity, kibbutzniks lost sight of the ideals behind their Spartan existence and began seeking the same creature comforts. The collapse of the Soviet Union and communism also had an impact. In the past 20 years, the kibbutzes have lost one-fourth of their population and members today number 120,000, a small fraction of Israel's 7 million people.
"I know that if I work hard, that I'll earn the same as the person living next to me who works less," explains Sharon Tirosh, director of human resources at Gaash, who also supports the change. "There is something in the education, that begins at the bottom, that there's no point in being terribly successful."
Postprivatization kibbutzes cut down on waste, and experience a jump in member's earning power of almost 40 percent, says Rogalin, Kibbutz Gaash's secretary. Members keep their pay, and pay fees for services. They also contribute to a social safety-net fund. In addition to ideological stress, it has worried people afraid of providing for themselves for the first time.
"If someone gets used to something for years, and suddenly it's taken away, they lose focus," says Rogalin, who isn't willing to bet whether the proposal will get the 75-percent support necessary to pass.
Kibbutz ethic, high-tech times
At stake is the survival of economic enterprises - agriculture is now only a small part of kibbutz businesses that range from wineries to commercial real estate - employing some 30,000 workers, with combined output of $7.4 billion, in a $114.3 billion economy.
What remains of the kibbutz ethic of self-sacrifice, activism, and egalitarianism is unclear. In Israel's high-tech economy, do the old kibbutzes have a role to play?
Rogalin says that their role will be to cultivate a quality education system that will teach children values of social justice. And with a safety net for members, the kibbutz hopes to remain a model of social welfare in a society with a large gap between rich and poor.
Whatever the decision, founder Mr. Katz knows that the ideals upon which Gaash was founded are no longer attainable. "At my age, I've reached the conclusion that humans are egotists, and like to keep things for themselves rather than the general public," he says. "The idea that everyone will eat from the same plate doesn't exist anymore. I've done my part. It's over. We aren't an example for anyone."

Bridges

Diane Reeves

Bridges

I have crossed a thousand bridges
In my search for something real
There were great suspension bridges
Made like spider webs of steel
There were tinny wooden trestles
And there were bridges made of stone
I have always been a stranger and
I’ve always been alone
There’s a bridge to tomorrow
There’s a bridge to the past
There’s a bridge made of sorrow
That I pray will not last
There’s a bridge made of color
In the sky high above
And I pray that there must be
Bridges made out of love
I can see him in the distance
On the river’s other shore
And his arms reach out in longing
As my own have done before
And I call across to tell him
Where I believe the bridge must lie
And I’ll find it
Yes I’ll find it
If I search until I die
When the bridges is between us
We’ll have nothing to say
We will run thru the sunlight
And he’ll meet me halfway
There’s a bridge made of color
In the sky high above
And I know that there must be
Bridges made out of love

I adore the film Adventures of Felix.

Fabulous Film!

I definitely would love to have partied with Marie Antionette.

I was looking for pictures of Wentworth Miller, doing some research, and it definitely turned into a salivation session.

Maya Angelou's Interview with Cousin Betty

In the interview that Maya Angelou conducted with my cousin Betty Deramus, there was something very profound said that really sticks to me and is something to consider. Cousin Betty said that when she was in South Africa during the time when they were struggling to end apartheid, she asked a white south african whether or not he was afraid of the violence that would consume the country. He replied that he was not afraid because his house was well-insulated, well-padded and locked, etc. Cousin Betty's thought to this was that those who work to imprison someone else also imprison themselves....It is something to think about. Maya Angelou followed this with discussing the example of a person trying to keep someone pushed down to the ground--the one pushing down is also keeping him or herself down and exerts a negative force while the one pushing up exerts a positive force...a liberatory force. This was a very intriguing dialogue and powerful thoughts.

Dare I Laugh?

Haha!! It seems that Bush and Condoleeza will have to sit down and face the Iranians....unless this is some kind of prank. Oh the progressive struggle!!

Here is a Link the the 16th Cuba International Book Fair

This looks like a wonderful event with writers and publishers from all over the world including writer Wole Soyinka from Nigeria and thousands of books from Africa, Latin America, and Europe.

Todays News

Dick Cheney almost bought the farm.

This Is One of Those Moments

There are moments you remember all your life.
There are moments you wait for ans1 dream,
Of all your life.
This is one of those moments.
I will always remember this chair,
that window, the way the light streams in.
The clothes I'm wearing,
The words I'm heating,
The face I'm seeing,
The feeling I'm feeling,
The smell, the sounds, will be written
On my mind, will be written in my heart
As long as I live!
I can, travel the past and take what I need
To see me through the years
What my father learned and his
Father before him will be there
For my eyes and ears.
I can walk through the forests
Of the trees of knowledge
And listen to the lessons of the leaves.
I can enter rooms
Were there are rooms within rooms
Wrapped in the shawl that learning weaves.
I remember, Papa-everything you taught me
What you gave me, Papa-
Look at what it's brought me
There are certain things that once you have
No man can take away-
No wave can wash away-
No wind can blow away-
And now they're about to be mine!
No tide can turn away-
No fire can burn away-
No time can wear away...
I can open doors and take from the shelves
All the books I've longed to hold
I can ask all the questions,
The whys and the wheres
As the mysteries of life unfold
Like a link in a chain
From the past to the future
That joins me with the children yet to be,
I can now be a part
Of the ongoing stream,
That has always been a part of me!
There are certain things that once you have
No man can rake away-
No wave can wash away-
No wind can blow away-
No tide can turn away-
No fire can burn away-
No time can wear away-
And now they're about to be mine!
There are moments you remember all your life.
There are moments you wait for
And dream, of all your life.
This is one of those moments!

PillowTalk

Sylvia


I, I, I, I, I
Hey, baby, let me stay
I don't care what your friends are 'bout to say, ah-ah
What you friends all say is fine
But it can't compete with this pillow talk of mine
You can't find love on a one way street
It takes two to tangle, takes two to even compete, oh, yeah
So boy, just put that stop sign down
And let's get together before the day runs us down
I'm pleading to you now
Hey, baby, let me try
To be the one's who's gonna light your fire, ha-ha
What you friends all say is fine
But it can't compete with this pillow talk of mine
Ooh, I don't wanna see you be no fool
What I'm teachin' you tonight, boy, you'll never learn it in school, oh, no
So friends who tell me wrong from right
I'll ask to borrow their pants some cold and lonely night
Ooh, hey, baby, let me be
The one who turns you on from A to Z, ha-ha
What you friends all say is fine
But it can't compete with this pillow talk of mine
Ooh...baby
Ooh, baby, la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Ah...would you, baby
Would you, baby, la-la-la-la-la-la-la
I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Uno momento por quito
Uno momento por quito
I, I, I, I
Nice daddy, nice daddy, nice daddy
I, I, I, I
Oh, my God

Close Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Prison

There should be a concerted effort to close both the prison and naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The prison is the site of horrendous human rights abuses carried out by the United States and the entire naval base is illegally present on the island of cuba as the land and on which it sits rightfully belongs to Cuba. Close it down!

Best Dressed

My picks for the Best Dressed definitely have to be Naomi Watts, Jennifer Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz,and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Oscars

Congratulations to Jennifer Hudson!!! Hooray!! Kudos to Helen Mirren and Forrest Whitaker as well! Now that they have given Martin Scorese an Oscar for Best Director, they need to give one to Barbra Streisand!

A Wow Moment

I know that Al Sharpton is blown out of his mind by the revelation that he is related to Strom Thurmond. Well, at least he is also related to Strom Thurmond's Black Daughter. Also, he isnt the only Black person to be related to racist, evil white men from the south. Lena Horne's great-great grandfather was John C. Calhoun, the staunch pro-slavery senator from South Carolina.

IFC/ Spirit Awards

Its sad when the IndependentFilm Awards are hopelessly bought off and conformist.

Its a Start

The state of Virginia has officially apologized for slavery. I think it is a bold and hopefully well-intended move...now to bring the rest of this country forward.

A Message from Activists

Friends:
At 12:10 a.m. this morning, Toledo police arrived at Rep. Marcy Kaptur's office and told 10 members of the NW Ohio Peace Coalition who had been there nearly 15 hours, that they had to leave the building. 4 members of NWOPC: Jeff Klein, Steve Miller, Larry Coleman, and Trudy Bond replied they were prepared to be arrested and the other 6 of us (we started with 17 earlier) then left. The arresting officer said they were going to be charged with criminal tresspass, taken to the jail and booked where they would "likely" be released on o.r. sometime later this morning.
Terry Lodge, attorney for the four, said they were released in the early morning hours per a standing Federal Court order on overcrowded conditions in the Lucas County Jail. He will schedule a pretrial appearance for the activists in the near future.
During our stay in Kaptur's office as part of the Occupation Project, we talked informally with several of the staff and met for about 30 minutes with Steve Katich, chief of staff. He explained the purpose of Marcy's trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq which she is currently on, as being primarily to thank the troops, and get a better understanding of the needs of the military as the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, on which she is second most senior to Rep. Murtha, starts to shape the Bush administration's $93,000,000,000 request into specific legislation.
We made our position clear to him that Marcy should vote the whole request down; that there is sufficient money from previous supplemental spending bills and in the general Dept. of Defense budget to provide for the needs of the troops currently in Iraq and bring them home. We reiterated our position that we wanted Marcy to sign a pledge to that effect or we would not leave the office voluntarily.
He said several times that we and Marcy were on the same side of the issue of the Iraq war, and cited her many statements against the war, her membership in the House "Out of Iraq" caucus, and her vote against the use of force just prior to the U.S. invasion in 2003. He added that Marcy has consistently called for diplomatic means to be used as the way to end the conflict.
We responded that all those points were admirable, but that despite her initial vote against the war and her subsequent statements of concern, she has voted for 6 out of 7 bills to fund the conflict.
One NWOPC member participating in the day-long sit-in, Peggy Daly-Masternak, explained to Katich that, paricularly now with Kaptur being on the delegation to Iraq, signing a pledge to vote against the war money would be historic and help assure the war was brought to an end. She asked him what Kaptur or anyone would say to the families of those killed during period when a "diplomatic approach" was being pursued and money was still being voted for the war?
Nancy Roffey told Katich that the War Powers Act should be used to end the fighting.
Katich made it clear he really didn't want to have any of us arrested, and kept the office open with three staff people beyond the usual closing time of 5:30 pm until 11 pm, hoping we would leave before the building management closed the whole facitity at 11. Kaptur's staff was hospitable and supportive throughout our stay.
Throughout the day we took turns reading the name, rank, and home state of each of the 3,184 U.S. troops killed in Iraq, plus several hundred names and ages of the nearly 1,000,000 Iraqis killed in the war.
Mary Anthony, a member of Military Families Speak Out with a son on his second deployment to the Middle East, worked the phone diligently during the day to update local news outlets.
Commenting on Kaptur's stance and Katich's characterization that she "is on your side," Lodge later said, "How can she be on a side when she's sitting on the fence? She's so much like junk food: tasty, empty calories signifying nothing and unhealthy to boot."
A vote is expected on this latest "supplemental" spending request for the war, around March 14.
Check with the Occupation Project, linked above, for ways you can join people around the nation pressuring their elected officials to cut the money and stop the war.

Mike Ferner
www.mikeferner.org