Naomi Wolf and The End of America

I watched Naomi Wolf on CSPAN last night and she said some very interesting things that caught my attention. Talking about the perpetuation of war, she spoke of the industries that perpetuate war and it simply clicked in my head like never before.

In WWII--and they boast about it--it was the manufacturers--looking for profits other than automobile sales who pushed the U.S. to get involved.

During the Cold War/Vietnam era it was the Military industries--those that made chemical and other sorts of weapons.

In this post 9/11 era it is the security industries who are pushing the war in iraq and trying to keep people scared of terror alerts, orange alerts, whatever. Buy an alarm system to put in your house. You know, this makes me think of something else. The selling of fear and its real effects. A few weeks ago a gun was fired in broad daylight, just as a group of small children were getting on a school bus and a little boy stated that he thought "the Iraqis were coming." The selling of fear, the propagation of war.

Dick Cheney is a piece of shit and no one should ever listen to him. He should loose his penis.

John Edwards is hot and I certainly wouldnt mind having him for president.

Gravedigger

Dave Matthews Band

Gravedigger
when you dig my grave
could you make it shallow
so that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Muriel Stonewall 1903 to 1954,
she lost both of her babies in the second great war
now you should never have to watch your only children lowered in the ground
I mean you should
never have to bury your own babies

Gravedigger
when you dig my grave
could you make it shallow
so that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Ring around the Rosy
Pocket full of posies
ashes to ashes
we all fall down

Gravedigger
when you dig my grave
could you make it shallow
so that I can feel the rain
oh Gravedigger

Little Mikey Parsons, 67 to 75
He rode his bike like the devil until the day he died
when he grows up he wants to be Mr. Vertigo on the flying trapeze
oh, 1940 to 1992

Gravedigger
when you dig my grave
could you make it shallow
so that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

when you dig my grave
could you make it shallow
so that I can feel the rain
I can feel the rain
I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Gravedigger
when you dig my grave
could you make it shallow
so that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Me, Out Of The Loop A Bit

I had no clue that Phil Donahue was back on the air until recently. I used to watch him all the time when I was a little boy though.

Jindal and the Jena 6

Here is a link to an article concerning Jendal and the Jena 6. I hate to mess with our Indian brothers, but if he fucks with these children, someone should cut his penis off.

I am not terribly enthusiastic about Louisiana's new governor Bobby Jindal. He is, however,the first nonwhite governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction. The first nonwhite governor was P.B.S. Pinchback, an octoroon. His grandson was the noted poet and writer Jean Toomer.

Thank God For Sheila Jackson Lee

Sheila Jacskon Lee on Real Time With Bill Maher: We Will Have No War With Iran!

Stokely Carmichael in Prattville, Alabama

I have always been told that Stokely Carmichael came and burned down part of Prattville, Alabama at some point in the sixties, however I had never read anything to confirm it(although anecdotally this story has been confirmed. However, tonight, while googling on the internet, I did run upon a document about Stokely Carmichael's visit to Prattville. The webpage, which is titled "Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement: Don Jelinek" is an interview in which Mr. Jelinek, an attorney who was affiliated with SNCC and civil rights workers and who was present in Selma and the deep south during that era reports that:

"Prattville: Your Wife and Children will Be Killed if Stokley or Any of Our People Die Tonight."
In late May of 1967, Stokely decided not to run again for chairman of SNCC, and was succeeded by Rap Brown. A few weeks later, on June 11, 1967, Kathy and I were visiting a professor couple at Tuskegee, who had worked on our survey, when a call came for me. It was Lowndes County SNCC leader Johnny Jackson.

"Don, we're trapped in Dan Houser's home in Prattville, a whole army's outside shooting at us," he yelled into the phone. I could hear gunshots in the background. "We're all going to be killed, Atlanta says you're the nearest. Don, try . . . "

The phone went dead. I quickly turned on the radio and heard a bulletin that martial law had been declared in Prattville, near Lowndes County, and that Stokely Carmichael had triggered off a riot. The phone rang again. Johnny told me that he could call out, but no calls could come in and his phone has been cutting off suddenly. He repeated that the house was surrounded and that I should do something. I said I would try."

Autauga County Civil Rights History

At some point in the 1950s or 60s, there were Blacks organizing in Autauga County, Alabama, participating in the Civil Rights movement. The sheriff of the county at that time and local klansmen plotted to hide up in some trees one night and when the (men I am presuming)came from their meeting, they would descend on them from the trees and attack them. A black woman who was working as a maid in the home of one of these men(I believe it was the sheriff), heard what was being planned and ran back to tell the black community what was going to occur. The Black organizers prepared themselves. The night of the planned incident, they carried guns and held them pointed straight up at the trees. When they reached the place where the men were hidden in the trees, they fired their guns into the air. The sheriff was shot in the behind and from what I am told that later developed into cancer, from which he died. Interesting bit of history.

God Bless the Iraqi people and may all they dream of come to light.

Someone should cut Mukasey's penis off if he thinks George Bush can hold people indefinitely without charges.

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,
Come take a walk with me.
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me.
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?

Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb and we're not blind.
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?

Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President,
You'd never take a walk with me.
Would you?

Bill Cosby on Oprah

While I agreed with some things said on the show, I believe the failure of Cosby and Toussiant to critique white male capitalist patriarchy and incorporate social,economic, and political factors into the discussion of the plight of Blacks was detrimental to any effort.

Louis Farrakhan Calls On Blacks to Build Up Their Own Community

I very much respect Louis Farrakhan, most of the time, and this is one occassion where I absolutely agree with him.

I am very proud to say I have never listened to, read in print, or watched on television anything George Bush has ever said.

Soviet Anthem

United forever in friendship and labour,
Our mighty republics will ever endure.
The Great Soviet Union will live through the ages.
The dream of a people their fortress secure.

Long live our Soviet motherland,
Built by the people's mighty hand.
Long live our people, united and free.
Strong in our friendship tried by fire.
Long may our crimson flag inspire,
Shining in glory for all men to see.

Putin Stands With Iran

God Bless Vladimir Putin. He too, is a lovely man.

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

Ain't no stopping us now, we're on the move

Ain't no stopping us now, we've got the groove



There's been so many things thats held us down

But now it looks like things are finally coming around

I know we've got a long long way to go

And where we'll end up I don't know

But we won't let nothing hold us back

We're putting our show together

We're polishing up our act now

And if you've ever been held down before

I know you refuse to be held down anymore well...



Don't you let nothing nothing

Stand in your way ay ay ay

I want y'all to listen listen

To every word I say every word I say...



Ain't no stopping us now We're on the move

Ain't no stopping us now We've got the groove

Ain't no stopping us now We're on the move (I know I know)

Ain't no stopping us now We've got the groove (we got it)



I know you know someone that has a negative vibe

And if you try and make it they only push you aside

They really don't have nowhere to go

Ask them where their going they don't know

But we won't let nothing hold us back

We gonna put our show together

Gonna polish up our act well

And if you've ever been held down before

I know you refuse to be held down anymore well.....



Don't you let nothing nothing

Stand in your way ay ay ay

I want y'all to listen listen

To every word I say every word I say...



Ain't no stopping us now (no no no)

We're on the move (we're moving grooving)

Ain't no stopping us now (moving yeah yeah yeah)

We've got the groove

Ain't no stopping us now

We're on the move (I know we got the groove)

Ain't no stopping us now

We've got the groove

God Bless the Armenian people-and the person that proposed that bill in Congress is brilliant!

Appletree

I'd like to dedicate this to all the children
I have some food in my bag for you
Not the edible food, the food you eat, no
Perhaps some food for thought
Since knowledge is infinite
It has infinitely fell on me, so um...

It was a stormy night, you know the kind where the lightnin' strike
And I was hangin' out with some my artsy friends
ooh wee ooh wee ooh wee
The night was long, the night went on, people coolin' out until the
break of dawn
Incense was burnin' so I'm feelin' right, aight

See I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what you got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you and that's why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee

And if you don't want to be down with me, then you don't want to pick
from my
apple tree x3
And if you don't want to be down, you just don't want to be down

I have a hoe
And I take it everywhere I go
Cause I'm plantin' seeds so I reaps what I sow, ya know, ya know
On and on, and on and on my CYPHER keep's movin' like a rollin' stone
I can't control the soul flowin' in me
ooh wee ooh wee

See I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what ya got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you and that's why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee

And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from my
apple tree x3
And if you don't want to be down with me, you just don't want to be down
Oh my my my my, oh my my my my, oh my my my my my my my

I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what you got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you, and thats why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee

And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from my
apple tree
And if you don't want to be down with me, dum dum diddy
And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from my
apple tree
And if you don't want to be down with me, you just don't want to be down
You just don't want to be down,
You just don't want to be down

Fade

Watada's Double Jeopardy

by JEREMY BRECHER & BRENDAN SMITH

[posted online on October 12, 2007]
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071029/brecher_smith

The double jeopardy clause of the US Constitution
ensures that no American can be tried twice for the
same offense. But at a time when our civil liberties
are rapidly eroding, a drama is unfolding in Washington
State over whether that constitutional protection
applies to a US soldier.

After his February court-martial ended in a mistrial,
Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to
refuse to serve in Iraq, seemed certain to face a
second court-martial on October 9 at Fort Lewis, an
Army base near Tacoma. Three military courts had
rejected Watada's claim of double jeopardy, finding no
abuse of discretion by the military judge in declaring
a mistrial. But in an unusual civilian intervention in
a military legal process, US District Court Judge
Benjamin Settle issued a last-minute stay October 5 in
Tacoma, temporarily blocking the trial.

Settle will hear Watada's double jeopardy claim October
19. Nationwide Iraq Moratorium protests are scheduled
for that day, many of which will feature Watada's case
and his stand against the war.

Watada has consistently maintained that the Iraq War is
illegal under international law and the US
Constitution, and that to participate in it would make
him guilty of a war crime. At the video press
conference on June 7, 2006, in which he first announced
his refusal to go to Iraq, he explained, "It is my
conclusion as an officer of the armed forces that the
war in Iraq is not only morally wrong but a horrible
breach of American law."

Watada was tried in a military court in February for
failing to deploy and conduct unbecoming an officer for
his statements opposing the war. After the prosecution
had completed its case, the military judge, Lt. Col.
John Head, intervened, declared a mistrial and ordered
Watada to be retried. [See our report on that trial
here.]

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution states that no
person shall be "subject for the same offence to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." As the Supreme
Court explained in a seminal 1978 double jeopardy case,
United States v. Scott, "The underlying idea, one that
is deeply ingrained in at least the Anglo-American
system of jurisprudence, is that the State with all its
resources and power should not be allowed to make
repeated attempts to convict an individual for an
alleged offence."

Like the erosion of the right to habeas corpus, the
denial of the protection against double jeopardy
represents one more Bush-era encroachment of the
all-powerful state on basic human rights and the rule
of law.

While the legal arguments about double jeopardy are
quite complicated, Watada's lawyers are convinced their
arguments are strong. They wrote in their emergency
motion, "This is a remarkably clear case of an
egregious violation of the double-jeopardy clause."
Judge Settle's opinion states, "The Court has not been
presented any evidence showing that Petitioner's double
jeopardy claim lacks merit. On the contrary, the record
indicates that Petitioner's double jeopardy claim is
meritorious."

Growing Support

Watada's term of military service was scheduled to
expire on December 4, 2006. He has not been discharged,
however, because of the pending court-martial charges
against him. If convicted, he could face up to six
years in prison.

In an October 4 editorial, the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer declared, "However the defense
appeals turn out, we think there is a case for letting
Watada leave the Army without further ado."

There's no evidence yet that the Army is listening. But
Judge Settle's ruling has energized Watada's
supporters. They have formed a new national steering
committee with representatives from regions around the
country. Michael Wong, a military resister during the
Vietnam era who took much of the initiative to mobilize
the current wave of support, explained in an interview,
"We have three demands. The first is to bar the Army
from trying Ehren Watada again. The second is to drop
all charges against him. The third is to let him leave
with an honorable discharge."

Wong asks peace groups to incorporate Watada's defense
in local and national demonstrations and encourages
individuals to write letters to the editor and articles
to educate the public about the case. "They had a
chance to try him once. They blew it. The prosecution's
case was so weak that declaring a mistrial may have
been the only way that Judge Head could save the Army
from humiliation and defeat," he said. "They should
just drop the charges and let him go."

San Francisco organizer and lawyer Bill Simpich has
been active in both the Iraq Moratorium and the Watada
defense. He is working to make Watada's stand against
the war a central theme of the monthly Iraq Moratorium
Day October 19. "The Iraq Moratorium and the Watada
Support Campaign are moving tightly with plans to get
the word out to stop the war now so soldiers like
Lieutenant Watada aren't forced to choose between
supporting the Constitution and going to prison," he
said.

Simpich said the signature event of the Iraq Moratorium
Day in the Bay Area will be a dramatic end-of-workday
event outside the downtown office of Senator Dianne
Feinstein, co-sponsored by the Iraq Moratorium and the
Watada Support Committee. Community events and
leafleting at transportation hubs such as BART and
CalTrain will also link the Moratorium and the Watada
case.

In Washington, activists plan demonstrations and a
counterrecruiting effort outside a Seattle-area
recruitment center.

"The US government and military is waging two illegal
wars and is actively planning for a third," said
organizer Gerry Condon, referring to increasing
hostilities between the United States and Iran. "It is
more important than ever that we support GIs who follow
their own consciences and obey international law."

The Watada case is also drawing international
attention. Amnesty International issued a statement
October 5 warning that a guilty verdict would make
Watada "a prisoner of conscience who should be
immediately and unconditionally released."

Watada's case is different from typical conscientious
objector cases because the US military recognizes as
conscientious objectors only those who oppose war in
any form. Watada did not apply for conscientious
objector status because he said as a soldier he would
be willing to fight in a war--unlike Iraq--that was
necessary, legal and just.

Amnesty International argues in its statement that the
right to refuse to perform military service for reasons
of conscience, thought or religion is protected under
international human rights standards, including the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR)--treaties that have been ratified by the United
States.

Watada's Impact

The Watada case has presented a serious challenge to
the military. As Daniel Ellsberg put it, "Lt. Ehren
Watada--who still faces trial for refusing to obey
orders to deploy to Iraq, which he correctly perceives
to be an unconstitutional and aggressive war--is the
single officer in the United States armed services who
is taking seriously...his oath."

Despite strong traditions in the military against
publicly criticizing the government, more than twenty
retired US generals have criticized the Commander in
Chief about Iraq or spoken out against the war. In
2005, five retired military panelists discussed the war
at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. Retired Brig.
Gen. John Johns told the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Four
out of five of us retired military panelists there said
it was a moral duty for us to speak out in a democracy
against policies which you think are unwise." One of
the participants, retired Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, said,
"When you feel the country--to its extreme
detriment--is going in the wrong direction, and that
your views might have some impact, you have a duty to
speak out."

In a video press conference announcing his refusal to
deploy to Iraq, Watada noted, "Although I have tried to
resign out of protest, I am forced to participate in a
war that is manifestly illegal. As the order to take
part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well,
I must as an officer of honor and integrity refuse that
order."

While evidence of the war's illegality was barred in
Watada's court-martial, his position is grounded in
military law and doctrine. At a National Press Club
luncheon February 17, 2006, just a year before Watada's
court-martial, Gen. Peter Pace, then Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked, "Should people in the
US military disobey orders they believe are illegal?"

Pace's response: "It is the absolute responsibility of
everybody in uniform to disobey an order that is either
illegal or immoral."

The Army wants to sentence Ehren Watada to six years in
the brig for the crime of trying to fulfill that
absolute responsibility.

One good thing about Purdue. They do teach you about technology, no matter what your major. I have overcome my fear of technology, somewhat.

What I'm Thinking About Now

Cornel West said America was a corporation before it was a country....the Virginia Club of London based in Jamestown Colony...what does that have to say about the phenomenon of the Cyborg, the power of corporations and the creation of corporations as people? What does that have to say about the United States?

The Thing About Blackwater

The issues to look at with Blackwater are not only the atrocities they have carried out and are carrying out in Iraq and Afghanistan. The root of it is privatization. The right wing/neo-con effort to privatize everything where the government is concerned from toll roads, to hospitals, to healthcare, public services, and the military... What we have is people elected to public office taking public money and placing it in the hands of private corporations,handing $92 millions dollars and then hundreds of millions more to Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater. What has happened in Iraq should prove beyond a doubt that the neo-cons are nothing but fuckups and that we should not be allowing them to have way with the public trust.

As A Matter of Fact

We have listened to Bill Cosby enough. We should ask Camille what she has to say.

On Bill Cosby and His New Book

Bill Cosby, in his declining years and now that he has become an elder statesmen, wants to speak profoundly about Black people and to Black people. The only trouble is, what he is saying is bullshit, and I am sure he doesnt even recognize it. Bill Cosby and Allen Toussiant, in their new book, call on "Black men to take up their responsibility." Calling on patriarchy. You see, white people didn't suck patriarchy out of their thumbs....also, American Blacks learned too well from their great white fathers. Instead of talking about Black youths pulling up their clothes, Bill Cosby should have been in Vieques getting arrested with Jesse Jackson and other people of Conscience. To get back to the point, however, and to address Bill Cosby's statements--while I do believe that every one should be a responsible parent(if they are parents), there is absolutely nothing wrong with single-mother households. There is nothing wrong with women heading their own households, with them choosing or simply just being successful at running their own households.

The problem with men like Bill Cosby(and other people who think like him) they speak about single-mothers and the reality of being a single-mother as if it is a disease. Instead of asking men to go "retake their places in the household" why not work to restructure an economy that puts female-headed households at a an economic and political disadvantage? Why not end male privilege and eradicate patriarchy? Just the same, instead of a constant harangue against poor blacks about the way they talk, dress, and fail to live up to white male capitalist patriarchal standards, why not eradicate white male capitalist patriarchy? I heard Bill Cosby say something to the effect that "yes, there is racial discrimination in this country, but there was racial discrimination in the forties and fifties as well." We don't want a return to the 40s and 50s, when they killed Emmett Till and when they lynched so many Black men just coming home from WWII and Korea, some still wearing their uniforms. The next time that happens, we will be cutting somebody's penis off. We want progress and we demand an end to the bullshit.

We have to get rid of Blackwater. Period.

I wish the whole world joy.

My grandmother said that she always maintained professional decorum while she was teaching. I had to remind her that she played baseball with a fellow teachers head,knocking the earring out of her ear after that lady taunted her with a tree branch full of worms.

Those people involved in the killing of that young Black boy in Florida, Martin Anderson, should have their penises cut off. Cut the judge's penis off too as well as the jurors. If they dont have one, just knock the fuck out of them.

Congratulations to Al Gore on his Nobel Peace Prize. Although, if I were handing out Nobel Prizes, Id give one to his cousin, Gore Vidal, especially forMyra Breckenridge

I am really pissed about that young Black boys death in Florida at the hands of those guards in that boot camp. I think they should be castrated. There should not be another all-white jury in this country-anywhere in the world. Any all white jury is invalid.

Coming Around Again

Carly Simon

Baby sneezes
Mummy pleases
Daddy breezes in
So good on paper
So romantic
But so bewildering

(chorus)
I know nothing stays the same
But if youre willing to play the game
Its coming around again
So dont mind if I fall apart
Theres more room in a broken heart

You pay the grocer
Fix the toasted
Kiss the host good-bye
Then you break a window
Burn the souffl?
Scream the lullaby

I know nothing stays the same
But if youre willing to play the game
Its coming around again
So dont mind if I fall apart
Theres more room in a broken heart

And I believe in love
But what else can I do
Im so in love with you

I know nothing stays the same
But if youre willing to play the game
Its coming around again
(repeat and fade)

Jena 6

Someone should castrate the judge and the D.A. in this case and knock the fuck out of Kathleen Blanco. Thank God John Conyers will be holding congressional hearings. We have had enough white male bullshit in this country. Its time to start chopping some penises off.

This From Hungry Blues

Megan Williams Says She Was Set Up, Reveals More Details of Abuse
Megan Williams and her mother, Carmen Williams, have given an interview to the Nation of Islam’s Final Call. Megan Williams claims that she did not willingly go to the trailer home where she was raped and stabbed and tortured by six whites. Rather, she was lured there by a supposed friend.

Megan Williams (MW): When I first went up there, a girl I knew named Christa, she took me up there, she said we were going to a party.

FC: When Christa took you there (the trailer home in Big Creek in Logan County) what did she do?

MW: She said she had to make a run and she would be right back. She didn’t come back.

FC: Do you believe Christa was involved in arranging this?

MW: (Nodding.)

Carmen Williams (CW): Yes, it was a setup, she left her there. When Megan was in the hospital, Christa called and I answered the phone. Christa was asking, ‘how is my friend?’ I told her that she wasn’t a friend of Megan’s because she left her. Christa then hung up the phone. We have not seen or heard from Christa since that time.

The police investigators say they are trying to locate her for an interview, but have not been able to find her.

Megan Williams also insists that she did not have a romantic relationship with Bobby Brewster, despite the many allusions to a “prior relationship” in news reports.

FC: There were some news reports that you had a relationship with one of the defendants, Bobby Brewster. Is this accurate?

MW: We were just friends. It was nothing like that.

FC: No dating relationship between you and defendant Bobby Brewster?

MW: No. They kicked me in the head with steel toed boots, they hit me in the head with several objects, I remember seeing a knife, and they tried to cut my foot off. They told me that is what they did to Kunta Kinte when they cut his foot off so he couldn’t run and that is what they were going to do to me.

FC: When exactly was this?

MW: It was like in August. When she (Christa) dropped me off up there, that’s when they started beating on me, and calling me names. When they were hitting me and stabbing me, they called me n—-r, they said ‘this is what we do to n—-rs up here’ and they said they were going to kill me.

Throughout the interview, Megan Williams makes numerous references to the 6 whites’ use of racial epithets that did not come out in her original statement to the police. She also describes a scene in which she it seems she was being treated purposely like a slave.

They made me pick green beans out of the garden, they made these switches into a braid and they were whipping me as I was picking the greens. They made me pick weeds out of the garden and they were calling me n—-r and said they were going to take me out to a creek and cut my throat and throw me in a river. All I was saying is I wanted to get back to my mom, and they were like, ‘you ain’t ever going to see your mom ever, ever again, never.’ I wanted to get back home so bad.

Similarly, Ms. Williams says the 6 whites made her sleep in the shed outside the trailer home because she is Black.

They told me there were no n—-rs allowed in the trailer.

And she describes the threats of hanging more vividly than before.

I just wanted to get away. I asked one of them if they could let me go, they said no because ‘ain’t no n—-rs allowed up here,’ and they were going to kill me. One day, I was asleep in the room, one of them came in and was kicking me and said ‘hey n—-r, we got a noose out there for you, want to come look at it? We’re going to hang you, come on.’ I got really scared. I just wanted to get out of there. I was fighting for my life.

Do we still think this wasn’t a hate crime? The state government, and, if possible, the federal government must address the racial dimensions of this case.

Why is there paramilitary training going on in Miami? Someone needs to be castrated.

Support the Greensboro Two

The Alabama New South Coalition Justice/Peace Committee urges everyone who
can to support the Struggle in Hale Co.this Friday Oct. 12, at 9:00 a.m. in
Greensboro. One more time two Black women, this time, Valada Paige-Banks
and a grandmother, Rosie Lyles, are being charged with illegal activity in
conjunction with absentee voting, and it is rumored the "special" Grand
Jury may return additional indictments. Paige-Banks and Lyles, members of
Campaign 2000 and Beyond will plead innocent.

As explained in the Oct. 3rd Greene Co. Democrat, Campaign 2000 resulted
after "a group of Black residents came together and formed [the]
organization . . . .to better educate, inform communities and to obtain
better representation and service" from local governments. Infirm citizens
and others previously unable to vote at the ballot box learned how they
could vote by requesting absentee ballots (Previous problems are
illustrated by the fact that workers at catfish factories had not been
allowed to leave work in time to get to the polls).

As a result of their organizing, the community in 1998 elected the city's
first Black mayor who won over a 20 year incumbent. Since then they've
voted into office the circuit judge, circuit clerk, DA, state senator,
commissioners and councilmen.

Since Campaign 2000's success, another group formed in Hale and throughout
the Black Belt, "called the Democracy Defense League, consisting of mostly
white members." This group asked the Attorney General to investigate
alleged voter fraud in Hale Co.

Selective prosecution is once again at work in Alabama. Although there have
been allegations of voting irregularities committed by whites, the AG's
investigation, going on since 2002, has only targeted the Black community.
Once again Black voters have been harassed by authorities with resultant
voter intimidation. Apparently part of the goal of this action is to
suppress Black votes so that progressive Black candidates will not win; as
Eugene Lyles says in the Democrat, "Residents are using their friends in
the court system to destroy Campaign 2000 and keep us from participating in
the election process. . . .I assure you that none of Campaign 2000 members
has done anything illegal."

Oct. 7 several ANSC leaders participated in a large Greensboro rally,
including Sen. Hank Sanders, who spoke along with the Rev. Al Sharpton,
SCLC President Charles Steele, and Alabama Sen. Bobby Singleton.

In addition to showing support by attending the Oct. 12 arraignment and
future events, people are encouraged to mail financial contributions to
Citizens Trust Bank, 213 Main St., Eutaw AL 35462

Judy Collins Cumbee
ANSC Committee for Justice, Peace, Human Rights, Environment

School Shootings

There is an evil spirit in this country and we had better be paying attention and trying to rectify it.

Ready to Run

Dixie Chicks

When the train rolls by
I'm gonna be ready this time
When the boy gets that look in his eye
I'm gonna be ready this time
When my momma says I look good in white
I'm gonna be ready this time

Oh yeah
Ready, ready, ready, ready...ready to run
All I'm ready to do is have some fun
What's all this talk about love

I feel the wind blow through my hair
I'm gonna be ready this time
I'll buy a ticket to anywhere
I'm gonna be ready this time
You see it feels like I'm starting to care
And I'm going to be ready this time

Oh yeah
Ready, ready, ready, ready...ready to run
All I'm ready to do is have some fun
What's all this talk about love

I'm ready to run...I'm ready to run

Oh
Ready, ready, ready, ready...ready to run
All I'm ready to do is have some fun
What's all this talk about love
I'm ready to run
I'm ready to run
I'm ready to run
I'm ready to run...ready to run...
ready to run...yeah I'm ready to run. I'm ready
Whoa I'm ready to run...I'm ready...I'm ready to run...
I'm ready to run...I'm ready
Oh I'm ready to run..I'm ready.

I am really chewing nails about my decision to sit out a year. I was not brave enough to jump. I'll be ready when time comes to go next year.

God Bless Jimmy Carter.

Latin American Leaders Pt. II

Nicauragua-Daniel Ortega

Rising to prominence as a leader of the Sandinista Movement in the 1970s and 1980s, Daniel Ortega has long been a champion of the people of Nicauragua. In his second term as president, which began in 2006, Ortega has worked closely with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in promoting the interests of their two countries. Of this alliance, Ortega has said,"the revolutions of Iran and Nicaragua are almost twin revolutions...since both revolutions are about justice, liberty, self-determination, and the struggle against imperialism."

Venezuela- Hugo Chavez

Hugo Chavez is the most wonderful leader of Venezuela. Elected president in 1998, Chavez has been the primary architect of the Bolivarian Movement. As president, he has renounced Venezuela's ties to the IMF, formed close alliances with Cuba, Ecuador, Iran, and other developing nations around the globe, and has been a champion of humanity and human values. He has been one of the strongest opponents of U.S. imperialism while at the same time offering Venezuelan resources to the United States' poor. In September of 2006, before the U.N., Chavez referred to George W. Bush as the devil. Bravo for that one! Hugo Chavez is an important force in progressive politics and is an exemplary world leader.

Hero Of The People, Che Guevara: June 14,1928- October 9,1967

El Che

Stop CAFTA

Read here about the Central American Free Trade Agreement which seeks to get a stronghold on the tiniest of Central American economies and place them under U.S. corporate control and domination. Stand against CAFTA.

Profiles of Latin American Heads of States Pt. I

I have for a while now contemplated profiling the progressive Latin American leaders who, I believe, are the hope for this hemisphere. Countering the right-wing administration of the u.s. and the expansion of militarism, authoritarianism, and fascism that is taking hold in western societies, these figures are dedicated to humanity and progressive politics. Long live the Bolivarian Revolution!

Argentina- Nestor Kirchner

Argentina's President, Nestor Kirchner, has been a proponent of progressive politics ever since his early years as a student. As president of Argentina, Kirchner has been responsible for adopting the trend of leftist Latin American countries in canceling his nation's debt to the IMF. Kirchner is closely allied to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Brazil's Lula,and Bolivia's Evo Morales. He is a Peronist politically, considers himself a humanist, and has sought to make Argentina's government responsive to the needs of the people.

Bolivia-Evo Morales

Bolivia's Evo Morales has been a star of the left ever since he was elected as president of Bolivia in 2005. The first indigenous president in Latin America, Morales has used his authority as president to fight for and defend the rights of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia. Like Kirchner and others in Latin America, Morales canceled Bolivia's debt with the International Monetary Fund and has set about nationalizing Bolivia's oil, natural gas, and other resources. He is one of the closest allies of Venezeuala's Hugo Chavez and has stood solidly against U.S. imperialism. He has been a staunch defender of Bolivian cocoa farmers and is one of the most prominent figures in progressive politics.

Brazil- Lula

Brazil's Lula, or Luiz Inacio da Silva, has been a prominent figure in the Bolivarian movement across Latin America. Though he has come out os more moderate than other Latin American leaders, he has close ties with Hugo Chavez, Michelle Bachelet, and Nestor Kirchner. Rising out of the trade unions, as president, Lula attacked social problems in Brazil and has worked to boost their economy.

Chile- Michelle Bachelet

Chile's Michelle Bachelet is one of the most influential and powerful women in the world and is the first woman elected as president in Latin America. Coming from a leftist Chilean family, Bachelet entered the world of politics early. Her father, a supporter of President Salvadore Allende, who was overthrown in a U.S. backed coup led by Augusto Pinochet, was later tortured and killed by the Pinochet regime. Bachelet and her mother, who were also tortured, were forced to flee Chile. Bachelet trained as a doctor and later studied military strategy, both in Chile(after her return) and in the United States.

Elected president of Chile in 2005, running on a socialist party ticket, Bachelet has championed social issues such as education, healthcare, restructuring wealth distribution in Chile, and has challenged the Catholic Church by making the morning after pill available to women. Bachelet herself is an unconventional Latin American leader, a single mother and an agnostic, she has personally broken away from the Catholic Church's hold in Latin American life. She is closely allied with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Nestor Kirchner of Argentina.

Cuba- Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro is the grandfather of the Latin American Movement. He, with Che Guevara and others, in 1959, overthrew the corrupt Batista regime that dominated Cuba and freed Cuba from slavery under U.S. Corporations(such as United Fruit) that owned Cuban sugar and other resources and from the U.S. mafia that controlled Cuban hotels and casinos. Since Castro's rise to power in 1959, he has aided in the liberation struggles of peoples around the globe from South Africa to Vietnam. Since his rise to power in Cuba, Cubans have universal healthcare, have not been stranded and killed because of hurricanes, and have a 99% literacy rate, which is much better than that of the United States(which is somewhere around the high 80s).Fidel Castro is very strongly allied with Hugo Chavez and other Latin American leaders, and has won the praise of such figures as Nelson Mandela, Alice Walker, and Harry Belafonte.

Ecuador- Rafeal Correa

Ecuador's very handsome president,Rafael Correa has been another intriguing figure in the Bolivarian Movement in Latin America. As president of Ecuador, he has taken steps to ease the burden of the nation's poor, has increased the nation's share of oil revenue from Ecadoran oil, has canceled Ecuador's debt with the IMF, and works very closely with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia. He has vowed to shut down the U.S. military base at Manta situated in Ecuador. Of George Bush he has said, "a comparison of George Bush with the devil is unfair to the devil."

Loretta Lynn said in her autobiography something to the effect that "they told her she had a million dollars in the bank, but she knew if she were ever broke again she knew what she would do. She'd go back home and shell some peas. What wonderful values.

Tony Brown's Journal last night was about the state of Black youth and education in this country. I liked a lot of what I heard last night, all of it perhaps. What I heard made me think that perhaps we need to revive the National Association of Colored Parents and Teachers.

Something Funny

I was just on an online site and told someone that I thought he had a beautiful face, the response to which was "Do I look like a sodomite?" Haha! That reminds me of when I was in the fifth grade and I called my teacher a pharisee.

Light Of A Clear Blue Morning

Dolly Parton

Its been a long dark night
And Ive been a waitin for the morning
Its been a long hard fight
But I see a brand new day a dawning
Ive been looking for the sunshine
cause I aint seen it in so long
But everythings gonna work out just fine
Everythings gonna be all right
Thats been all wrong

cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning
I can see the light of a brand new day
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
And everythings gonna be all right
Its gonna be okay

Its been a long long time
Since Ive known the taste of freedom
And those clinging vines
That had me bound, well I dont need em

cause I am strong and I can prove it
And I got my dreams to see me through
Its just a mountain, I can move it
And with faith enough theres nothing I cant do

And I can see the light of a clear blue morning
And I can see the light of brand new day
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
And everythings gonna be all right
Its gonna be okay

I can see the light of a clear blue morning
I can see the light of a brand new day
Yes I can see the light of a clear blue morning
And everythings gonna be all right
Everythings gonna be all right
Everythings gonna be all right

Its gonna be okay

cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
Yes I can see the light of a clear blue morning
Everythings gonna be all right
Its gonna be okay

I can see the light
I can see the light

Its gonna be all right
Its gonna be all right

Afro-Americans Turning Away From U.S. Military

Military sees big decline in black enlistees Iraq war
cited in 58% drop since 2000

By Joseph Williams and Kevin Baron,
Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent
October 7, 2007

WASHINGTON - African-Americans, whose longstanding
relationship with the US military helped them prove
their abilities and offered a way to get ahead, have
turned away from the armed forces in record numbers
since 2000, a period covering the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks and the start of the Iraq war.

Defense Department statistics show the number of young
black enlistees has fallen by more than 58 percent
since fiscal year 2000. The Army in particular has been
hit hard: In fiscal year 2000, according to the
Pentagon statistics, more than 42,000 black men and
women applied to enlist; in fiscal year 2005, the most
recent for which a racial breakdown is available, just
over 17,000 signed up.

The unpopular Iraq war is the biggest reason, according
to military analysts, Pentagon surveys, and interviews
with young African-Americans. But they say mistrust of
the Bush administration is adding to the problem -
along with the notion that black soldiers are being
steered to combat jobs, a lingering perception from the
Vietnam War.

The decline in enlistment applications among blacks is
by far the fastest of any demographic group. Between
fiscal 2000 and 2005, white applicants declined by more
than 10 percent. Hispanic applicants dropped by almost
7 percent.

The Army Recruiting Command acknowledged that the Iraq
war has presented special challenges in the
African-American community, but said it continues to
reach out to black recruits.

"The main thing everyone has to realize is that an
all-volunteer force is just that," said S. Douglas
Smith, public affairs officer for the US Army
Recruiting Command. "We try to make sure we communicate
to every part of society and let them know what we have
to offer. We try to be as open as we can about the risk
of service and the benefits of service. After that,
it's a matter of people choosing if they want to come
in and serve."

But some military specialists worry that the trend
could persist long after the current administration and
war are over.

"African-Americans have been such a key part of the
modern military," said Michael O'Hanlon, military
analyst for the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution.
"There's obviously been a degree where the black
community in the United States has seen [military
service] as culturally valuable and promoted it. That
whole culture and value system is at risk in the black
community. That is a big, big change. To me, it
portends the possibility of a longer-term loss of
interest. It can be tough to get it back."

Interviews with young African-Americans confirmed a
lack of faith in the president and the war.

Nathaniel Daley, a young African-American from Atlantic
City, N.J., said he doesn't believe in the Iraq war and
won't enlist because of it. Daley, 28, and two friends,
Brian Jackson, 27, and Eddie Mickle Jr., 26, talked one
recent afternoon at the Pentagon City Mall in
Arlington, Va., a vast shopping complex just blocks
from the military's nerve center. As they talked,
uniformed servicemen and women, some wearing battle
fatigues, passed by.

In high school during the late 1990s, Daley said, he
signed a letter of intent to join the Army upon
graduation, "to pay for my college, get a better job,
and better myself." He said he broke that commitment
for a higher-paying job at a nearby casino.

Though the Army would likely consider them ideal
recruits - young, fit, high school-educated - each said
the Iraq war and Bush's presidency, particularly after
the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, has kept them
out of uniform.

"Why would we go over there and help them [Iraqis],
when [the US government] can't help us over here?" he
said, referring to the cleanup after Katrina.

The war "is unnecessary," Jackson said. "It's not our
war. We got our own war here, just staying alive," he
added, noting his hometown of Philadelphia has racked
up more than 200 homicides so far this year, most
involving young black men.

Eager to bolster its stretched-thin ranks - and meet a
congressional mandate to increase its force by about
65,000 troops within five years - the Army has launched
an aggressive recruiting campaign targeted at young
black people like Daley and his friends, with ads
featuring a young black man convincing his parents that
enlistment is a good choice. The Army has also raised
its enlistment bonuses, highlighted its access to
college tuition money, and loosened its age and
physical fitness standards.

But Damon Wright, a senior at Anacostia High School in
Southeast Washington, was not impressed. "There's no
guarantee I wouldn't have to go over there," he said.
"I'm trying to play football in college. I might go
over there and lose a leg."

The Pentagon and military analysts say the downturn in
enlistments partly reflects the fact that young
African-Americans have broader options, pointing to the
growing number of black students in college. But the
decrease in enlistment also comes amid high dropout
rates among African-American youths and a 7.7 percent
unemployment rate in the black community, almost twice
that of whites.

Negative opinions about Iraq - and attitudes like
Wright's - have overshadowed the military's efforts to
highlight the positives about military service.

A recent CBS News poll showed 83 percent of
African-American respondents said the Iraq invasion was
a mistake. In addition, the president's approval rating
has hit rock-bottom with black voters at about 9
percent, according to a 2006 Pew Research Center poll.

The relationship between African-Americans and military
service is complex, dating back to the 1700s. Both
freedmen and slaves joined colonists in the fight
against British rule. A century later, the all-black
corps known as the Buffalo Soldiers helped settle the
West.

Meanwhile, during the Civil War, black Union regiments
won acclaim for heroism. In World War I, more than
350,000 black troops served in segregated Army units
but few were allowed to fight, dashing hopes that
courage under fire in Europe would help them defeat Jim
Crow laws at home.

In World War II, African-Americans were again assigned
mostly to support duty, but they made up 75 percent of
truck drivers for the Red Ball Express - a dangerous,
nonstop supply convoy that fueled General George H.
Patton's sweep across Europe.

When President Harry S. Truman desegregated the
military in 1948, African-Americans saw the Army as a
key avenue for advancement. Joining up became "a way
out of a worse situation," said Gregory A. Black, a
retired Navy dive commander and creator of
blackmilitaryworld.com, a website devoted to the
history of African-Americans and the military.

By the Vietnam War, the Army had a full complement of
black combat troops, including Colin Powell, who did
two combat tours as a captain and major and later
became secretary of state. But civil-rights leaders
complained about the disproportionately high casualty
rate among black soldiers, arguing that the Pentagon
was drafting young black men and sending them directly
into combat.

"A lot of African-Americans are still messed up over
Vietnam," said Black. Yet Defense Department statistics
show African-American soldiers today are more likely to
work in clerical or support jobs than fight on the
front lines.

Despite the sharp decline in enlistments, the
percentage of blacks in the military still slightly
exceeds that of the general population: 14.5 percent in
the military, as of 2005, versus 12.8 percent in the US
population. Nonetheless, recent Pentagon-sponsored
surveys suggest that attitudes among military-age
African-Americans may have changed for good.

Adult influencers of all youths, such as parents,
sports coaches, or mentors, say Iraq makes them less
likely to recommend military service, according to
Pentagon surveys. Of all racial groups,
African-American influencers are the least likely to
suggest enlistment, according to the surveys.

At Oxon Hill High School, located in a predominantly
black Washington suburb, guidance counselor Kabir
Tompkins is also an Army National Guard sergeant
wounded in Iraq. He tells interested students the Army
can lead to better life: a good salary, health
benefits, and tens of thousands of dollars for college.
But their parents are harder to convince, he said.

"They see it from the aspect of . . . 'I don't care
about the benefits, I don't care about the money, I
don't care about nothing. I don't want my child going
to Iraq,' " Tompkins said.

Lieutenant Colonel Irving Smith, a sociologist at the
US Military Academy at West Point, isn't surprised the
war "has had its toll" on black enlistment. But Smith,
who is black, said he fears that a proud legacy of
black men and women is at risk, and could be lost in a
generation.

"We fought for many reasons, we enlisted for many
reasons," Smith said. "Particularly in early times, we
fought because we thought we'd get all the
opportunities of citizenship . . . The fewer
African-Americans that enlist, the fewer
African-Americans there are that can tell their stories
in the future. The fewer that get commissioned as
officers, the smaller the leadership pool will be in
the future."

_____________________________________________

Portside aims to provide material of interest
to people on the left that will help them to
interpret the world and to change it.

Response To A Comment on My Tyler Perry Post

I like Tyler Perry's work, for the most part, despite its religious overtones and base conservatism.I was simply stating what I think with my comment about his sexuality. Also, what I said is quite true and was not so much a rebuke as a reminder.Black people need to retain their values--and retain a value system that places community before wealth, that places integrity before wealth--THAT is Martin Luther King's dream. He did have a dream to end poverty....but he didn't have a dream about making you rich...Also, I wish financial stability for all Black people...there is a difference between financial stability and greed cooked in with capitalism. You should see the film In Debt We Trust.

Ending Patriarchy

We have to end patriarchy. We have to end patriarchy in the Congo...in the united states...in South Africa. We have to end patriarchy everywhere.

I am in love with Josephine Baker.

My Grandmother On Hermaphrodites

"I don't won't half of nothing! If I can't get the whole thing, just leave it off."

Anti-Patriarchy Work

While I speak of castration and think that some people should be castrated, I think that it should be stressed as well that the penis , as bell hooks stated, is not an enemy. It is a symbol and a tool of power for some, but it is our job, as progressives to deconstruct this mythology--while at the same time cutting the pricks of of pricks(both literally and figuratively) and to re-introduce the male sexual organ as a nonthreatening entity and as something beautiful and pleasurable.

It seems that some members of the Canadian government need to be castrated.

CodePink Refused Entry Into Canada

Women Barred: Canada Refuses Entry to CODEPINK Cofounder Medea Benjamin and Retired Colonel Ann Wright
Code Pink, October 3rd, 2007

Two well-respected US peace activists, CODEPINK and Global Exchange cofounder Medea Benjamin and retired Colonel and diplomat Ann Wright, were denied entry into Canada today (Wednesday, October 3). The two women were headed to Toronto to discuss peace and security issues at the invitation of the Toronto Stop the War Coalition. At the Buffalo-Niagara Falls Bridge they were detained, questioned and denied entry. They will hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon in front of the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC to ask the Canadian government to reverse its policy of barring peaceful protesters.

The women were questioned at Canadian customs about their participation in anti-war efforts and informed that they had an FBI file indicating they had been arrested in acts of non-violent civil disobedience.

WHEN: Thursday, October 4th at 1pm
WHERE: Canadian Embassy, 501 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC

"In my case, the border guard pulled up a file showing that I had been arrested at the US Mission to the UN where, on International Women's Day, a group of us had tried to deliver a peace petition signed by 152,000 women around the world," says Benjamin. "For this, the Canadians labeled me a criminal and refused to allow me in the country."

"The FBI's placing of peace activists on an international criminal database is blatant political intimidation of US citizens opposed to Bush administration policies," says Colonel Wright, who was also Deputy US Ambassador in four countries. "The Canadian government should certainly not accept this FBI database as the criteria for entering the country."

Both Wright and Benjamin plan to request their files from the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act and demand that arrests for peaceful, non-violent actions be expunged from international records.

"It's outrageous that Canada is turning away peacemakers protesting a war that does not have the support of either US or Canadian citizens," says Benjamin. "In the past, Canada has always welcomed peace activists with open arms. This new policy, obviously a creature of the Bush administration, is shocking and we in the US and Canada must insist that it be overturned.

Four members of the Canadian Parliament--Peggy Nash, Libby Davies, Paul Dewar and Peter Julian-- expressed outrage that the peace activists were barred from Canada and vow to change this policy.

Troy Anthony Davis Day at American University

I heard on Democracy Now that American University Law School has declared October 4th, 2007 Troy Anthony Davis Day. He has been granted a hearing for a new trial by the Georgia Supreme Court. Everyone should be watching his case.

Amnesty International Calls for End to Lethal Injections, Calls The Practice Unethical

Amnesty International has called for a boycott of lethal injections, calling on medical professionals to refuse to participate in lethal injection cases. Call your state representatives and state officials and tell them to end the death penalty in your state. Call the American Medical Association and pressure them to end their participation.

I would like to start or get involved with a letter writing campaign, writing letters to soldiers-totally stemming from a progressive political point of view. Letters that will comfort,console, and give them something progresive to keep with them. I would love to know if there are others doing this or interested in doing this.

Radical Wiki

SDS has a great wiki site. We need a more complete wiki site dedicated to the radical left.

white house Ok's Torture

I'm sure if someone twisted George Bush's penis off-no Cheney's penis off- they wouldnt be trying to carry out methods of torture.

Interesting Things Happening in Korea

There looks to be a new peace coming into existence between North and South Korea. Perhaps they are planning to get the Americans out of there. I hope their new friendliness is fruitful. We need a new Bandung Conference.

Get Blackwater out of Iraq.

Tyler Perry and Why Did I Get Married On Oprah

I think Tyler Perry is so gay. Also, to comment on something he said on Oprah today, money and fame and sucess are not the dream. Community, integrity, and dignity are the dreams that Dr. King worked for and what the struggle is about. bell hooks warned that we, Black people as well as others living in america, are confusing capitalism and wealth with equality--a confusion which is all too intended by the white male power structure who kidnapped Dr. King's dream and turned into a tool for capitalism.

Whoopi Goes Both Ways On The View

Eric Prince of BlackWater

Eric Prince

Eric Prince, the founder of Blackwater, is an evil man. He should be castrated.

From Portside

> Leading Americans Ask U.S. Military to Refuse Orders to
> Attack Iran
>
> DontAttackIran.org
>
> Contact: Marcy Winograd 310-795-2322, Tim Carpenter
> 413-320-2015, David Swanson 202-329-7847
> david@davidswanson.org
>
> For immediate release: October 2, 2007
>
> Country music legend Willie Nelson, literary icon Gore
> Vidal, Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan, Pentagon Papers
> whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, retired U.S. Army
> Colonel Ann Wright, former Congresswoman Cynthia
> McKinney, former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la
> Vega, author and radio host Thom Hartmann, Rabbi
> Michael Lerner, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, and dozens of
> other prominent Americans have signed a letter asking
> the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. military
> personnel to refuse orders to launch an aggressive war
> on Iran.
>
> The letter has been posted as a petition for others to
> sign at http://www.dontattackiran.org
>
> The text of the letter follows:
>
> ATTENTION: Joint Chiefs of Staff and all U.S. Military
> Personnel:
>
> Do not attack Iran. Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran
> would be illegal. Any preemptive U.S. attack on Iran
> would be criminal.
>
> We, the citizens of the United States, respectfully
> urge you, courageous men and women of our military, to
> refuse any order to preemptively attack Iran, a nation
> that represents no serious or immediate threat to the
> United States. To attack Iran, a sovereign nation of
> 70-million people, would be a crime of the highest
> magnitude.
>
> Legal basis for our Request - Do not attack Iran:
>
> The Nuremberg Principles, which are part of US law,
> provide that all military personnel have the obligation
> not to obey illegal orders. The Army Field Manual
> 27-10, sec. 609 and UCMJ, art. 92, incorporate this
> principle. Article 92 says: "A general order or
> regulation is lawful unless it is contrary to the
> Constitution, the law of the United States..."
>
> Any provision of an international treaty ratified by
> the United States becomes the law of the United States.
> The United States is a party and signatory to the
> United Nations Charter, of which Article II, Section 4
> states, "All members shall refrain in their
> international relations from the threat or use of force
> against the territorial integrity or political
> independence of any state..." As Iran has not attacked
> the United States, and as the U.S. is a party and
> signatory to the Charter, any attack on Iran by the
> U.S. would be illegal under not only international law
> but under the U.S. Constitution which recognizes our
> treaties as the Supreme Law of the Land. When you
> joined the military, you took an oath to defend our
> Constitution.
>
> Following the orders of your government or superior
> does not relieve you from responsibility under
> international law. Under the Principles of
> International Law recognized in the Charter of the
> Nuremberg Tribunal, complicity in the commission of war
> crime is a crime under international law.
>
> Background:
>
> The Bush Administration's charges against Iran have not
> been proven. Neither the development of nuclear
> weapons, nor providing assistance to Iraq would, if
> proven, constitute justification for an illegal war.
>
> An attack on Iran might prompt the formidable Iranian
> military to attack U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.
> Thousands of our soldiers might be killed or captured
> as prisoners of war. A U.S. attack against Iranian
> nuclear facilities could also mean the deaths, from
> radiation poisoning, of tens of thousands of innocent
> Iranian civilians. The people of Iran have little
> control over their government, yet would suffer
> tremendously should the U.S. attack. Bombing raids
> would amount to collective punishment, a violation of
> the Geneva Convention, and would surely sow the seeds
> of hatred for generations to come. Children make up a
> quarter of Iran's population.
>
> Above all, we ask you to look at the record of our
> actions in Iraq, which U.S. intelligence admits is "a
> cause celebre for jihadists" - a situation that did not
> exist before we attacked. We must face the fact that
> our rash use of military solutions has created more
> enemies, and made American families less safe.
> Diplomacy, not war, is the answer.
>
> Know the Risks Involved in Refusing an Illegal Order or
> Signing This Statement:
>
> We knowingly and willingly make this plea, aware of the
> risk that, in violation of our First Amendment rights,
> we could be charged under remaining sections of the
> unconstitutional Espionage Act or other
> unconstitutional statute, and that we could be fined,
> imprisoned, or barred from government employment.
>
> We make this plea, also aware that you have no easy
> options. If you obey an illegal order to participate in
> an aggressive attack on Iran, you could potentially be
> charged with war crimes. If you heed our call and
> disobey an illegal order you could be falsely charged
> with crimes including treason. You could be falsely
> court martialed. You could be imprisoned. (To talk to a
> lawyer or to learn more about possible consequences,
> contact The Central Committee for Conscientious
> Objectors, Courage to Resist, Center on Conscience and
> War, Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers
> Guild 415-566-3732, or the GI Rights Hotline at
> 877-447-4487.) **
>
> Final request:
>
> Our leaders often say that military force should be a
> last resort. We beg you to make that policy a reality,
> and refuse illegal orders to attack Iran. We promise to
> support you for protecting the American public and
> innocent civilians abroad.
>
> Our future, the future of our children and their
> children, rests in your hands.
>
> You know the horrors of war. You can stop the next one.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Daniel Ellsberg, Thom Hartmann, Rabbi Michael Lerner,
> Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Cynthia McKinney, Willie Nelson,
> Cindy Sheehan, Norman Solomon, Elizabeth de la Vega,
> Gore Vidal, Ann Wright,
>
> [full initial list follows]
> * James Abourezk, former U.S. Senator, (D) South Dakota
> * Stacy Bannerman, Author, "When the War Came Home",
> Military Families Speak Out Charter Board member
> * John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney and author of
> "Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush."
> * Amy Branham, Gold Star Mother of Sgt. Jeremy R.
> Smith, US Army Reserves, Nov. 1981 - Feb. 2004
> * Blase Bonpane, Ph.d, Director OFFICE OF THE AMERICAS
> * David Clennon, Actor/activist
> * Tim Carpenter, Executive Director, Progressive
> Democrats of America
> * Daniel Ellsberg, author of "Secrets: A Memoir of
> Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers."
> * David Cobb, 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate
> * Jeff Cohen, author/media critic
> * Elizabeth de la Vega, former federal prosecutor and
> author of U.S. v. George W. Bush
> * Karen Dolan, Director, Cities for Progress/Cities for
> Peace
> * Anne Feeney, activist/folksinger. Local 1000, AFM
> * Mike Ferner, Navy corpsman; Secretary, Veterans for
> Peace
> * Bob Fertik, President Democrats.com
> * Laura Flanders, Radio Host on Air America
> * Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator Global Network Against
> Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
> * Lila Garrett, KPFK Host of "Connect the Dots"
> * Liberty Godshall, writer, Defenders of Wildlife,
> Natural Resources Defense Council
> * Hon. Jackie Goldberg, California Assembly Member (AD
> 45), retired.
> * Kevin Alexander Gray, writer, and organizer with the
> Harriet Tubman Freedom House Project
> * Representative Betty Hall, Hillsborough District 5,
> New Hampshire General Court
> * David L. Harris, MD
> * Tom Hayden
> * Thom Hartmann, author and Air America radio host
> * Valerie Heinonen, o.s.u., Ursulines of Tildonk for
> Justice and Peace
> * Jenny Heinz , member of CodePink, member of Granny
> Peace Brigade
> * Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Los Angeles
> * Michael Jay, Steering Committee, Progressive
> Democrats of Los Angeles
> * Charles Jenks, co-founder and editor of
> traprockpeace.org
> * Justice Through Music
> * Antonia Juhasz, author, The Bush Agenda: Invading the
> World, One Economy at a Time
> * Jerry Kass, playwright and professor at Columbia
> University
> * Dr, Nazir Khaja ,Chairman, Islamic Information
> Service, Los Angeles, CA.
> * Mimi Kennedy, National Chair, Progressive Democrats
> of America
> * Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor, Tikkun and Chair, the
> Network of Spiritual Progressives
> * Summer Lipford, Gold Star Mother,NC 28677
> * David Lindorff, Author, The Case for Impeachment
> * Alice Lynn, Delegate, California Democratic Party
> (41st AD)
> * Ben Manski, Executive Director, Liberty Tree
> * Ray McGovern, Army infantry/intelligence officer,
> 1962-64; CIA analyst 1964-90.
> * Cynthia McKinney, former Congresswoman
> * Barbara Mills-Bria, Be The Change-USA
> * Bill Moyer, Executive Director, Backbone Campaign
> * Annie Nelson, Sustainable Biodiesel/Peace Activist
> * Willie Nelson, Entertainer, Peace Activist
> * Honorable Eric Oemig - Washington State Senator
> * Geov Parrish, Executive Director Peace Action of
> Washington
> * Jacob Park, Founder, A28.
> * Brad Parker, Officer of the Progressive Caucus of the
> California Democratic Party
> * Bill Perry, Director, Delaware Valley Veterans For
> America
> * Gareth Porter, investigative journalist and historian
> * Marcus Raskin, member of National Security Council
> Staff under President Kennedy
> * Dorothy Reik, President, Progressive Democrats of the
> Santa Monica Mountains
> * Coleen Rowley, retired FBI Agent and former Chief
> Division Counsel of Minneapolis Division of the FBI
> * Bill Scheurer, Editor, PeaceMajority Report
> * Randi Scheurer, IL-Dist. 8, Congressional Candidate
> * Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace
> * Alice Slater, Abolition 2000 New York
> * Norman Solomon, Author and syndicated columnist
> * David Swanson, Afterdowningstreet.org
> * John Stauber, Co-author, "Weapons of Mass Deception:
> The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq"
> * Jonathan Tasini, PDA NY
> * Ethel Tobach, Ph. D., member of Psychologists for
> Social Responsibility
> * Tina Richards CEO Grassroots Americaredith, Gold Star
> Mother, Proud Mom of Lt Ken Ballard- KIA 5.30.04
> * Gore Vidal, Author
> * Marcy Winograd, President, Progressive Democrats of
> Los Angeles
> * Ann Wright, US Army Colonel (Retired) and US diplomat
> who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq
> war.
> * Kevin Zeese on behalf of Voters for Peace and
> Democracy Rising
> * Velvet Revolution
>
> ** These resources are publicly available, and our
> offering them does not indicate that these
> organizations support this petition.
>
> _____________________________________________
>
> Portside aims to provide material of interest
> to people on the left that will help them to
> interpret the world and to change it.
>
> Submit via email: moderator@portside.org
> Submit via the Web: portside.org/submit
> Frequently asked questions: portside.org/faq
> Subscribe: portside.org/subscribe
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> Account assistance: portside.org/contact
> Search the archives: portside.org/archive

War With Iran

Those in the know say that Bush is planning to have war with Iran within the next year. We must stop him.

Iran-Venezuela Alliance

We need a new Bandung Conference.

Things to Watch on TV

Ted Koppel's documentary on prisons on the Discovery Channel.

Thoughts on Israel and the Middle East

Great Britain and the United States have manipulated an entire nation of people who are suffering from PTSD, using the state of Israel as its satellite.

General Betrayus is filth. No one should ever listen to him.

If the muslims issued a fatwah against Salman Rushdi for The Satanic Verses, I don't know what evangelical Christians might want to do to Jeffrey Eugenides because of Middlesex.

I Know Where I've Been

Queen Latifah

There's a light
In the darkness
Though the night
Is black as my skin
There's a light
Burning bright
Showing me the way
But i know where i've been

There's a cry
In the distance
It's a voice
That comes from deep within
There's a cry
Asking why
I pray the answer's up ahead
'Cause i know where i've been

There's a road
We've been travelin'
Lost so many on the way
But the riches
Will be plenty
Worth the price we
Had to pay

There's a dream
In the future
There's a struggle
We have yet to win
And there's pride
In my heart
'Cause i know
Where i'm going
And i know where i've been

There's a road
We must travel
There's a promise
We must make
'Cause the riches
Will be plenty
Worth the risk
And chances that we take
There's a dream
In the future
There's a struggle

We have yet to win
Use that pride
In our hearts
To lift us up
To tomorrow

'Cause just to sit still
Would be a sin
I know it, i know it
I know where i'm going
And lord knows i know..
Where i've been
Oh! When we win,
I'll give thanks to my god
'Cause i know where i've been

I'm Not In Love

Queen Latifah

Im not in love
So dont forget it
Its just a silly phase Im going through
And just because
I call you up
Dont get me wrong, dont think youve got it made
Im not in love, no no, its because....

I like to see you
But then again
That doesnt mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you dont make a fuss
Dont tell you friends about the two of us
Im not in love, no no, its because....

I keep your picture
Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain thats lying there
So dont you ask me
To give it back
I know you know it doesnt mean that much to me
Im not in love, no no, its because....

Ooh youll wait a long time for me
Ooh youll wait a long time
Ooh youll wait a long time for me
Ooh youll wait a long time

Im not in love
So dont forget it
Its just a silly phase Im going through
And just because I call you up
Dont get me wrong, dont think youve got it made
Im not in love
Im not in love

An Afterthought

Oh yes, this morning, while listening to the TJMS, we heard several ads for recruitment into the CIA. On a Black radio station? Ha! Come on now.

Review of Queen Latifah's Trav'lin Light

With Trav'lin Light, Queen Latifah offers up some delicious renditions of some classic ballads, starting out with an awesome rendition of Roberta Flack's "Poetry Man." In this song, the Queen not only matches the magnificence of Flack's classic rendition, but in some respects, surpasses it in terms of the sultriness and soft beauty she expresses in the song. With the mellow strings and Queen Latifah's sultry voice, this is a powerful recording and will become, in it's own right, a classic. Her interpretation of Georgia Rose summons up the best of Ella, Dinah, Sarah, and Nancy. The combination of her light, airy phrasing,an alluring base, and Stevie Wonder's magnetic harmonica(that man and his harmonica!) really carries this number off into the stratosphere. She gives the song a powerful punch with the line," don't be blue cause you're Black." what a beautiful message.

Look out Astrud Gilberto, because Queen Latifah tackles "Quiet Night of Quiet Stars," with the effect of linebacker and with all of the finesse of the original, with the help of Antonio Jobim himself. Swinging into Country/Western mode, Latifah takes on "Don't Cry Baby," and delivers with all of the heat and seductiveness of 1950s and 60s wailers and moaners: look out Tina Turner and look out Ruth Brown. Turning to Big Band jazz, " I Love Being Here," is sensational. They should revive the supper clubs and the other great rooms like the Savoy Ballroom or the Coconut Grove for the sole purpose of having Queen Latifah perform in them. With this album, Latifah is making her case to be the next Ella Fitzgerald-and is effective in the effort. Nothing shows this better than her "I'm Gonna Live til I Die." This song belongs in a place like to Copa.

The title piece, "Trav'lin Light," is so hot, it's electric. Queen Latifah takes Billie Holiday's number, packs it up in her valise, and moves with an elegance and ease that places her into the realm of the greats like Billie and Ella. The piano on this number is haunting. She does a swell job with Nina Simone's "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl." Sweet, sultry, and very kittenish, this number works. What a great tribute to Nina. The best line: "I ain't talkin' about Special K."

"I'm Not in Love" really does powerfully ressurect this R&B number of long ago. In much of this album, Latifah truly does steal the thunder out from under previous recordings of the songs she sings. Her handling of Mary Wells' "What Love Has Joined Together" I think would really make Mary Wells proud. Modern, upbeat, this is a good song.

I'm sorry, but I just can't hear "How Log(Betcha Gotta Chick On the Side) and not thing of Millie Jackson. However, what a nice tribute to the Pointer Sisters Latifah does with this song. She sounds eerily like Aretha Franklin on this number, and recalls both Aretha and Patti to make the skin-tingling R&B number that is ""How Long."

"Gone Away" is a powerful melody. The opening of the song just pulls at you and throughout the song Latifah takes this number to a higher level, tugging at your heartstrings and delivering a soulful ballad that is absolutely worthy of Donnie Hathaway and Roberta Flack. The electric chords are a nice touch and Latifah's voice is guttural and full of power. Kudos to Latifah for this one.

"I Know Where I've Been," is a magnificent end to this album. This song is a call to Black people, people of color everywhere, and anyone suffering in oppression to continue with determination, to not give up. Latifah brilliantly carries this one over with her incredible voice and the backup choir. That last note, where she holds the "O" in know in the phrase "I know where I've been" is raw power. Thank you Queen for this number. With this album, Queen Latifah gives definition to the modern classic sound. In "Trav'lin Light," Queen Latifah makes a powerful offering and proves that sometimes reinvention is the best there is. Everyone should buy this album.

Last night I dreamed about giving a lecture on the history of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. It came after I watched a program on PBS about the diamond industry. I will think and write more on that later as well. I would love to give a talk on all of that.

This morning I was thinking about corporations, peoplehood, the 14th Amendment, and the concept of the cyborg. I only got interested in the concept of the cyborg a few years ago after hearing someone give a talk on it at Purdue and speaking of it in terms of our individual rights as citizens of the United States and the rule of corporations. In 1886, the Supreme Court ruled in Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad that corporations share the same protection as individuals do under the 14th Amendment, effectively making corporations people under the law. This has been the foundation of some of the most aggregious acts done by the military industrial complex and corporate structures in this country and around the globe. Now, it plays ouot, take for instance the company Blackwater, that these "people" who were granted U.S. Citizenship, don't have to obey American laws, ignore internation laws, and really are just superhuman entities trampling the world. You can read here and here some commentary on these issues. Also, dealing with the Harriet Myers nomination, The Nation published ten questions which should be asked of her, including a question about the rights of corporations as people. You can read that here. I am going to ponder this further and perhaps write some more about it as well.

This morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show Tavis Smiley discussed Clarence Thomas' new ook and his appearance Sunday on 60 Minutes which I did not see. Apparently, Clarence Thomas has a grudge against light-skinned Blacks-who rejected him because he was dark as he was growing up. Some real insights into this man and the construction of a Black Conservative. His disavowal of Blacks leads to his stand against affirmative action(which he used to get where he is). Interesting the psychology.

I am now reading Middlesex. All I have to say so far is that in my mind I see Shelly Winters as Desdemona.

Just One Lifetime

Barbra

At last my heart is ready.
This time I can believe
That love has truly found me.
How sweetly love surrounds me.
You're like a glimpse of heaven,
A blessing I've received.
I'll give you my tomorrows.
But even now I can see...
Just one lifetime
Won't be enough time for us.
We need more
For all this love.
Just one lifetime
Can't be enough time for us.
We need more
For all this love.

What you have given to me
Is better but a dream.
There's no need for pretending
You're my happy ending.
So I will hold you closer
With all the love in me
And wish we had forever
For even now I can see...

Just one lifetime
Won't be enough time for us.
We need more
For all this love.
Just one lifetime
Can never be enough time.
We need more
For all this love.

I prayed my heart would lead me
To find a love somewhere.
It's taken me a lifetime
To find you waiting for me there.

Just one lifetime
Won't be enough time for us.
We need more
For all this love.
Just one lifetime
And all that's waiting for us
We want more
For all...
For all this love.

I was listening to Master P and Michelle Martin on Michelle Martin's program on NPR this morning discussing the problems of mysogyny and other horrid things in the world of hip hop. They at one point began discussing the gangster image. Something that should be pointed out and made crystal clear is that the image of the thug and the image of the gangster is nothing but an inverted cowboy, nothing but black males trying to emulate their great white fathers. The gangster is literally Ronald Reagan on his horse.....

A Rise in Violence in the United States

It has been all over the news lately that violent crimes have increased dramatically. Every pundit on tv has been pondering why. It amuses me and phases me at the same time that people can't see the connections between war and violence in all forms....They are killing millions of people around the globe and especially in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Beware of Voter ID Bills. They are designed and introduced for the sole purpose of keeping people away from the poles. The more people they can disqualify, the better chances republicans have of winning.

Better Days

Diane Reeves

Silver gray hair
Neatly combed in place
There were four generations
Of love on her face
She was so wise
No surprise passed her eyes
She's seen it all

I was a child, oh
About three or four
All day I'd ask questions
At night I'd ask more
But whenever, she never
Would ever turn me away
No, no oh woah
I'd say how can I be sure
What is right or wrong
And why does
What I want
Always take so long
Please tell me
Where does God live
And why won't
He talk to me
I'd say Grandma
What is love
Will I ever find out
Why are we so poor
What is life about
I wanna know the answers
Before I fall off to sleep
Woah ho woah ho

She saw the smile
As she tucked me in
Then she pulled up that
Old rockin' chair once again
But tonight she was
Slightly, remarkably
Different somehow
Slowly she rocked
Lookin' half asleep
Grandma yawned
As she stretched
Then she started to speak
What she told me
Would mould me and hold me
Together inside
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

She said all the things you ask
You will know someday
But you have got to live
In a patient way
God put us here by fate
And by fate that means
Better days

She said, child we are all
Moons in the dark of night
Ain't no mornings gonna come
Till the time is right
Can't get no better days lest
You make it through the night
You gotta make it
Through the night
Yes you do
You can't get to no
Better days
Unless you make it
Through the night (baby)
Oh ho, you will see
Those better days
But you gotta be patient
Be patient, oh baby
Be patient

Later that year at
The turn of spring
Heaven sent angels down
And gave Grandma her wings
Now, she's flyin'
And slidin', and glidin'
In better days
And although
I'm all grown up
I still get confused
I stumble through the dark
Getting bumped and bruised
When night gets in my way
I could still hear
My Grandma say
I can hear her say
I can hear her sayin'

You can't get to no
Better days
Unless you make it
Through the night (baby)
Oh ho, you will see
Those better days
But you gotta be patient
Child, do you hear me, yeah
Well, well, well, well
You can't get to no, no
Better days
Unless you make it
You got to make it
You got to make it
Through the night
Oh Grandma, oh Grandma
Do you see me now, lady
Oh oh oh oh oh
Tender replies

God Bless Chris Dodd. He is a good man.

Why is the Bush administration selling weapons to the Iraqi military?

The GOP and the Afro-American Community

Everyone should have heard Tavis Smiley on the Tom Joyner Morning Show this morning. The big question is, why are the major contenders in the GOP race for the GOP presidential nomination snubbing Blacks? None of the major contenders showed up at Tavis Smiley's political event this evening and as Tavis pointed out this morning, Guiliani, Thompson, Romney,and McCain have repeatedly declined invitations from Blacks, Latinos, Gays, and other minority groups to make appearances to speak before their organizations and discuss issues pertinent to their communities. As Tavis said this morning, we need to remember this come election time and we need to call them on it. It's worse than the 2000 elections where they had white people holding signs at the GOP convention that read "Viva Bush."

I absolutely condemn the government of Myanmar. God Bless all people engaged in revolutionary struggle.

Evo Morales on Democracy Now

Amy Goodman had a wonderful hour-long interview with Bolivian President, Evo Morales last night on Democracy Now. I will soon write about all of the progressive Latin American presidents on my blog.

Michael Moore On Oprah Discussing Universal Healthcare

God Bless Oprah and Michael Moore! Hooray for Universal healthcare!

Revelation

As I was watching Ken Burn's The War , I began to think about U.S.-Soviet relations and the entire grind that the U.S. had against the Soviet Union. It dawned on me that the same prejudices the U.S. held against the Soviet Union were the same ones that the British held against the French Revolution. Exactly the same reason......

Beware of the Republicans

They may try to steal another election.

Iran and Homosexuality

Ahmadinejad is quite an attractive man. I'm sure his mind could be changed on the subject of homosexuality. On the other hand, I wouldn't touch James Dobson from Focus on the Family.

Capital Police Arrest Iraqi Veterans Marching Against the War-From Indymedia

Fresh,new veterans returning from Iraq who have chosen to speak out against the war were arrested at the Capital in Washington D.C. There is a link to the story above with photos.

God Bless Ahmadinejad.

What I Will Firstly Say About Ahmadinejad at Columbia

He was introduced by a white man--and it was that very same white man--and other white men who have tried to castigate and condemn him. Cut their penises off -lets have no more bullshit from white men, whether it be Lee Bollinger at Columbia or George Bush in the white house!