THIS FRIDAY, JULY 20-- 5:30 PM
"Join us [The World Can't Wait; Drive Out the Bush Regime] at the south end of Union Square. Wear lots of orange, and invite your friends to come with you and do the same: Declare Yourself Against the Bush Regime!
"Our plan is to form a procession circling around Union Square Park, so if you own drums or other musical instruments, bring those as well.
"We will also sell orange 'Drive Out the Bush Regime' bandanas and flyers urging others to join in declaring themselves visibly and powerfully against the Bush Regime.
"On Sunday, The N.Y. Times ran a front page story about rising opposition to the war among military families. 'Penny Preszler of Phoenix, whose son is on his second tour of duty in Iraq, says she no longer wears red on Fridays in support of the Iraq war.'
"World Can’t Wait is asking everyone to join in a campaign to Declare Yourself: Wear Orange, especially on Orange Fridays, that can give people the heart and courage and sense of collective strength to rouse themselves and others to alter the political atmosphere from one of paralysis and despair, into one of massive mobilization and hope in the power of people acting independently to change all this. A groundswell of orange that can turn into a groundswell of hope and anger – a groundswell that rises up from below and has the potential of sweeping Bush from office before his term is up.
JULY 27 LAUNCH EVENT
"This Friday is particularly crucial, since it is the last Orange Friday before July 27, the date of our big launch event for the Declare Yourself movement.
"On July 27, in Union Square, we will hold a press conference where speakers--including Sunsara Taylor, Elaine Brower, and the recently unretired Cindy Sheehan--will declare themselves against the Bush Regime and give their reasons why.
"Following the press conference, a rally will begin with the sounds of live music, drumming, and poetry. Orange will cover Union Square Park as there is a procession around the park led by musicians to bring more people into the rally. The monthly Critical Mass bike ride will arrive in the park at this time."
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Bomb, Bomb Iran boys are at it again
According to Amy Gooodman on Democracy Now:
"...the Democratic-led Senate unanimously passed a resolution last week sponsored by Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman to censure Iran for complicity in the killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Lieberman opened debate on the measure by saying the Senate has a 'choice between turning a blind eye to the murder of our troops and confronting those who are murdering them.' The measure passed by a vote of 97 to zero.
"Lieberman has been the leading voice in the Senate in support of a possible U.S. military strike on Iran. Last month in an interview on CBS' Face the Nation, Lieberman said 'I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq.'"
Let's just see how long it is before some of the Senators who voted to tighten the screws on Iran last week will be pleading: "if we knew then what we know now, we wouldn't have voted to target (pun intended) Iran for "the murder of our troops."
On the same broadcast Goodman also noted that:
"The Los Angeles Times is reporting that nearly half of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops in Iraq have come from Saudi Arabia – one of Washington's closest allies in the Middle East. Of the 19,000 prisoners being held by the U.S. in Iraq only 135 are foreign-born fighters and half of them are Saudi. U.S. officials have so far refused to publicly criticize Saudi Arabia's role in Iraq. [Obviously including the Senate and Joe 'I never saw a bomb I didn't like' Lieberman]."
Once again, as in 2003, if these Senate hawks paid attention, they'd know now when it counts. Nobody elects Monday morning quarterbacks to the presidency.
"...the Democratic-led Senate unanimously passed a resolution last week sponsored by Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman to censure Iran for complicity in the killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Lieberman opened debate on the measure by saying the Senate has a 'choice between turning a blind eye to the murder of our troops and confronting those who are murdering them.' The measure passed by a vote of 97 to zero.
"Lieberman has been the leading voice in the Senate in support of a possible U.S. military strike on Iran. Last month in an interview on CBS' Face the Nation, Lieberman said 'I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq.'"
Let's just see how long it is before some of the Senators who voted to tighten the screws on Iran last week will be pleading: "if we knew then what we know now, we wouldn't have voted to target (pun intended) Iran for "the murder of our troops."
On the same broadcast Goodman also noted that:
"The Los Angeles Times is reporting that nearly half of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops in Iraq have come from Saudi Arabia – one of Washington's closest allies in the Middle East. Of the 19,000 prisoners being held by the U.S. in Iraq only 135 are foreign-born fighters and half of them are Saudi. U.S. officials have so far refused to publicly criticize Saudi Arabia's role in Iraq. [Obviously including the Senate and Joe 'I never saw a bomb I didn't like' Lieberman]."
Once again, as in 2003, if these Senate hawks paid attention, they'd know now when it counts. Nobody elects Monday morning quarterbacks to the presidency.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Chertoff says: "The sky is falling, the sky is falling"
Chicago Tribune staff reporter E.A. Torriero wrote:
"...U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Chicago Tuesday that the nation faces a heightened chance of an attack this summer.
"'I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk,' Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board in an unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level.
"'Summertime seems to be appealing to them,' he said of al-Qaeda. 'We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities.'
"Still, Chertoff said there are not enough indications of an imminent plot to raise the current threat levels nationwide. And he indicated that his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaeda statements, and intelligence he did not disclose."
"There is an assessment 'not of a specific threat, but of increased vulnerability,' he added.
"There have been reports already that suggest intelligence warnings at a similar level to the summer before Sept. 11, 2001 and that al-Qaeda may be mobilizing.
"In recent days, ABC news reported that a secret law enforcement report prepared for homeland security warns that al-Qaeda is preparing a 'spectacular' summer attack. On Tuesday, ABC News also reported that 'new intelligence suggests a small al-Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here.'"
Chertoff's "unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level" comes at a very convenient time for the Bush administration. As more and more serious questions are being raised even among long-shuffling GOP loyalists, what's more effective than raising the fear level among the people. As Congress gets closer to another debate over Iraq, Chertoff dutifully provides scary grist for the ever-shrinking pro-war contingent.
One difference between Chicken Little and "Chicken Mike" is that Little really believed the sky was falling. But the real question isn't whether or not Al-Qaeda is still a threat, but why bring up these fears right now, "Just weeks [after], Arkansas Republican chairman Dennis Milligan,... said in an on-the-record interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: 'At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country.”
Since we already have substantial evidence that this administration has corrupted the Justice Department and its own medical/scientific advisers, how far a stretch is it to believe that Homeland Security is under the thumb of the White House "Axis of Evil" (Cheney, Rove and Bush).
Although, as I.F. Stone pointed out, "all governments lie." I don't think any other U.S. administration has as steadfastly acted to advance its own political interests at the expense of the U.S. people. From spreading lies about its opponents to lying to justify invading Iraq just in time to make Bush a "war president" during the 2004 campaign and to insist on continuing the occupation in order to get control of Iraqi oil for its Anglo-American oil company friends, nothing seems beyond these people.
Dishing out a new Al-Qaeda scare to feed the administration's needs is hardly out of step for a Bush-appointed cabinet secretary.
"...U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Chicago Tuesday that the nation faces a heightened chance of an attack this summer.
"'I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk,' Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board in an unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level.
"'Summertime seems to be appealing to them,' he said of al-Qaeda. 'We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities.'
"Still, Chertoff said there are not enough indications of an imminent plot to raise the current threat levels nationwide. And he indicated that his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaeda statements, and intelligence he did not disclose."
"There is an assessment 'not of a specific threat, but of increased vulnerability,' he added.
"There have been reports already that suggest intelligence warnings at a similar level to the summer before Sept. 11, 2001 and that al-Qaeda may be mobilizing.
"In recent days, ABC news reported that a secret law enforcement report prepared for homeland security warns that al-Qaeda is preparing a 'spectacular' summer attack. On Tuesday, ABC News also reported that 'new intelligence suggests a small al-Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here.'"
Chertoff's "unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level" comes at a very convenient time for the Bush administration. As more and more serious questions are being raised even among long-shuffling GOP loyalists, what's more effective than raising the fear level among the people. As Congress gets closer to another debate over Iraq, Chertoff dutifully provides scary grist for the ever-shrinking pro-war contingent.
One difference between Chicken Little and "Chicken Mike" is that Little really believed the sky was falling. But the real question isn't whether or not Al-Qaeda is still a threat, but why bring up these fears right now, "Just weeks [after], Arkansas Republican chairman Dennis Milligan,... said in an on-the-record interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: 'At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country.”
Since we already have substantial evidence that this administration has corrupted the Justice Department and its own medical/scientific advisers, how far a stretch is it to believe that Homeland Security is under the thumb of the White House "Axis of Evil" (Cheney, Rove and Bush).
Although, as I.F. Stone pointed out, "all governments lie." I don't think any other U.S. administration has as steadfastly acted to advance its own political interests at the expense of the U.S. people. From spreading lies about its opponents to lying to justify invading Iraq just in time to make Bush a "war president" during the 2004 campaign and to insist on continuing the occupation in order to get control of Iraqi oil for its Anglo-American oil company friends, nothing seems beyond these people.
Dishing out a new Al-Qaeda scare to feed the administration's needs is hardly out of step for a Bush-appointed cabinet secretary.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Go Cindy Go!
For a long time it has seemed to me that the Pelosi-led Democrats have abandoned a key weapon in the campaign against Bush's war in Iraq - impeachment. I don't think any hostage negotiator gives up a key negotiating tactic before the hostage crisis is solved. And it's abundantly clear that Bush is holding the U.S. hostage to his and Cheney's war in Iraq.
So it's time to support someone who isn't in the sway of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) which has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory once to often.
Here's what the DLC said after the 2006 election:
"Democrats will need to show that they have a forward-looking national security agenda and can wage a more effective fight [than the Republicans] against terror. The party seems well on the way toward achieving that goal. Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) squelched talk of Iraq-related impeachment proceedings, and helped orchestrate a 'Real Security' plan that pledged House Democrats to such measures as implementing all of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, locking down dangerous nuclear and chemical materials in the former Soviet states, and strengthening the overstretched U.S. military. Obviously, the biggest test will come on Iraq. Democrats need to show they can provide a new direction in Iraq without forcing a hasty withdrawal or unconscionably surrendering the Iraqi people to even broader civil strife and slaughter."
This is clearly different from what Cindy Sheehan proposes.
Cindy Sheehan
(photo by Dan Cohen)
Sheehan Considers Challenge to Pelosi
By ANGELA K. BROWN
(Associated Press Writer)
"CRAWFORD, Texas - Cindy Sheehan, ... said Sunday that she plans to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unless she [Pelosi] moves to oust President Bush in the next two weeks.
"Sheehan said she will run against the San Francisco Democrat in 2008 as an independent if Pelosi does not seek by July 23 to impeach Bush. That's when Sheehan and her supporters are to arrive in Washington, D.C., after a 13-day caravan and walking tour starting next week from the group's war protest site near Bush's Crawford ranch.
"'Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership,' Sheehan told The Associated Press. 'We hired them to bring an end to the war.'"
This is from the Nation:
"Many more House Democrats would sign on for impeachment if the leadership of their caucus was not pressuring them to back off.
"Thus, the greatest barrier to the movement to hold the president and vice president to account is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California."
"Unfortunately, Pelosi has misread her moment in history."
e
So it's time to support someone who isn't in the sway of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) which has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory once to often.
Here's what the DLC said after the 2006 election:
"Democrats will need to show that they have a forward-looking national security agenda and can wage a more effective fight [than the Republicans] against terror. The party seems well on the way toward achieving that goal. Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) squelched talk of Iraq-related impeachment proceedings, and helped orchestrate a 'Real Security' plan that pledged House Democrats to such measures as implementing all of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, locking down dangerous nuclear and chemical materials in the former Soviet states, and strengthening the overstretched U.S. military. Obviously, the biggest test will come on Iraq. Democrats need to show they can provide a new direction in Iraq without forcing a hasty withdrawal or unconscionably surrendering the Iraqi people to even broader civil strife and slaughter."
This is clearly different from what Cindy Sheehan proposes.
Cindy Sheehan
(photo by Dan Cohen)
Sheehan Considers Challenge to Pelosi
By ANGELA K. BROWN
(Associated Press Writer)
"CRAWFORD, Texas - Cindy Sheehan, ... said Sunday that she plans to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unless she [Pelosi] moves to oust President Bush in the next two weeks.
"Sheehan said she will run against the San Francisco Democrat in 2008 as an independent if Pelosi does not seek by July 23 to impeach Bush. That's when Sheehan and her supporters are to arrive in Washington, D.C., after a 13-day caravan and walking tour starting next week from the group's war protest site near Bush's Crawford ranch.
"'Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership,' Sheehan told The Associated Press. 'We hired them to bring an end to the war.'"
This is from the Nation:
"Many more House Democrats would sign on for impeachment if the leadership of their caucus was not pressuring them to back off.
"Thus, the greatest barrier to the movement to hold the president and vice president to account is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California."
"Unfortunately, Pelosi has misread her moment in history."
e
Friday, July 06, 2007
It's amazing what a trip home can do
"Sen. Pete Domenici on Thursday [7/5] withdrew his support of President Bush's Iraq war policy and embraced a proposal to bring home most troops by March.
"The longtime New Mexico senator is the latest of several Republican stalwarts who have abandoned Bush on Iraq in the past 10 days. They have urged a change sooner rather than later and further isolated the GOP president in his attempt to defend the unpopular war.
"Last week, Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said the U.S. should significantly reduce its military presence in Iraq while bolstering diplomatic efforts. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., this month is expected to propose a new approach."
(from MATT MYGATT and ANNE FLAHERTY,AP)
The irony of this was the role Domenici played in the Alberto Gonzales fiasco:
"Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was fired after Sen. Pete Domenici, who had been unhappy with Iglesias for some time, made a personal appeal to the White House, the Journal has learned.
"Domenici had complained about Iglesias before, at one point going to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before taking his request to the president as a last resort."
Thursday, July 05, 2007
7/13: Three-day seminar begins-Capitalism & Other Unnatural Disasters
Here's some excellent info from the Brecht Forum:
Friday, July 13, 9:30am - 6:00pm
29th Annual Intensive Introduction to Marxism: Capitalism & Other Unnatural Disasters
Three-day seminar begins
With Stanley Aronowitz, Bhairavi Desai, Sujatha Fernandes, Forrest Hylton, Lisa Maya Knauer, Randy Martin, Biju Mathew, Rene Francisco Poitevin, Heather Rogers, Anwar Shaikh & Others TBA
The BRECHT FORUM
451 West Street (Bt Bank & Bethune)
(212) 242- 4201
(1, 2, 3 A, C, E to 14th St,
14A, 11, 20 buses to Abingdon Square (where 8th Avenue meets Hudson St)
8 bus to 10th & West Sts
L to 8th Ave @14th St.)
Sliding Scale: $75 - $95
Free for Brecht Forum Subscribers
In the face of the pervasive war, poverty and environmental destruction that mark our times and even threaten life on this planet, people are beginning to take a fresh look at the complicity of capitalism in perpetuating these ills. Through lectures, readings and lively discussion, in an adamantly open-minded environment, participants will be introduced to Karl Marx' revolutionary critique of capitalism--not to find a ready-made blueprint for change, nor a dogma that excludes other
traditions, but for tools of analysis that can help us to think more strategically and act more effectively.
Friday, July 13, 9:30am - 6:00pm
29th Annual Intensive Introduction to Marxism: Capitalism & Other Unnatural Disasters
Three-day seminar begins
With Stanley Aronowitz, Bhairavi Desai, Sujatha Fernandes, Forrest Hylton, Lisa Maya Knauer, Randy Martin, Biju Mathew, Rene Francisco Poitevin, Heather Rogers, Anwar Shaikh & Others TBA
The BRECHT FORUM
451 West Street (Bt Bank & Bethune)
(212) 242- 4201
(1, 2, 3 A, C, E to 14th St,
14A, 11, 20 buses to Abingdon Square (where 8th Avenue meets Hudson St)
8 bus to 10th & West Sts
L to 8th Ave @14th St.)
Sliding Scale: $75 - $95
Free for Brecht Forum Subscribers
In the face of the pervasive war, poverty and environmental destruction that mark our times and even threaten life on this planet, people are beginning to take a fresh look at the complicity of capitalism in perpetuating these ills. Through lectures, readings and lively discussion, in an adamantly open-minded environment, participants will be introduced to Karl Marx' revolutionary critique of capitalism--not to find a ready-made blueprint for change, nor a dogma that excludes other
traditions, but for tools of analysis that can help us to think more strategically and act more effectively.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Maybe some dark clouds do have silver linings: Libby commutation and Sheehan re-emergence
There is much to be said about the Bush's commutation of "Scooter" Libby's sentence.
It's hardly surprising that the president would choose to celebrate Independence Day by proving once again that there is no depth to which he will not sink to save his own ass and that of his Axis of Evil cohorts, Cheney and Rove. There is no depth of disgrace that he will not subject the country and the presidency to cover up his crimes.
But some dark clouds do have silver linings after all. Or perhaps just unanticipated consequences. This is from Cindy Sheehan:
"I'm not backing off. I tried to remove myself from the political realm of the U.S., what BushCo is turning in to an Evil Empire, but the blatant audacity of George commuting Scooter's sentence (he's not ruling out a full pardon ---and you know he will) has dragged me kicking and screaming back in. I can't sit back and let this BushCo drag our country further down into the murky quagmire of Fascism and violence, taking the rest of the world with them!"
....
"Please, I already see 'Attention Whore Back.' If anyone thinks that I am going to walk hundreds of miles in the Deep South during July for attention, then please join us! We will be publishing our route and plans for Accountability events along the way, within the next few days. Stay tuned."
It's hardly surprising that the president would choose to celebrate Independence Day by proving once again that there is no depth to which he will not sink to save his own ass and that of his Axis of Evil cohorts, Cheney and Rove. There is no depth of disgrace that he will not subject the country and the presidency to cover up his crimes.
But some dark clouds do have silver linings after all. Or perhaps just unanticipated consequences. This is from Cindy Sheehan:
"I'm not backing off. I tried to remove myself from the political realm of the U.S., what BushCo is turning in to an Evil Empire, but the blatant audacity of George commuting Scooter's sentence (he's not ruling out a full pardon ---and you know he will) has dragged me kicking and screaming back in. I can't sit back and let this BushCo drag our country further down into the murky quagmire of Fascism and violence, taking the rest of the world with them!"
....
"Please, I already see 'Attention Whore Back.' If anyone thinks that I am going to walk hundreds of miles in the Deep South during July for attention, then please join us! We will be publishing our route and plans for Accountability events along the way, within the next few days. Stay tuned."
July 8: Book party & reading at Brecht Forum
Sunday, July 8, 4:00 - 7:00 pm
BOOK PARTY & READING
Health Proxy
with Author Robert Roth & Readings by Martha Lincoln, Margaret Mercer, Ralph Nazareth, Myrna NIeves & Joy Walker
4:00 - Reception
5:00 - Readings
The BRECHT FORUM
451 West Street (Bt Bank & Bethune)
www.brechtforum.org
(Transportation:
1, 2, 3 A, C, E to 14th Street,
14A, 11, 20 buses to Abingdon Square (where 8th Avenue meets Hudson Street)
8 bus to 10th & West Streets
L to 8th Ave @14th Street.)
"Robert Roth's Health Proxy is a dynamic collage of consciousness—bits and pieces of perception, insight, observation, dialogue, interior monologue, commentary, tirade, always deeply personal, profoundly philosophical at times, wide-ranging in its concerns and themes, ever in touch with the particular, deep in its sympathy, resolutely free—or shall we say there's a mighty struggle here to be free—of imperialist assumptions, hierarchical judgments. All of this makes it radically counter-cultural in its politics, a palpable extension of what we were all shaped by in the late 60s and early 70s.
"Circles of gay men with AIDS would come together. Each man speaking with enormous glee about whom they had cut out of their lives that week. I myself just waiting for that time to come. Pete turning on me in a fury and cutting me out of his life. And to know that the final pleasure you are probably going to give someone is the giddy delight they will feel when they cut you out of their lives is pretty bizarre to say the least. And that knowledge is part of the peculiar numbness that set in that helped me deal with the tragedy we were inside of.
"Though the situations are not parallel this reminds me of the fate of many who from the outside fought to help liberate South Africa from apartheid, who have helped liberate East Timor from centuries of oppression only to see those places liberated into the hands of the IMF or the World Bank. At that point of viability we recede into irrelevance and possibly even become a danger to those states. We are easily discarded.
"But you do it anyway."
from Health Proxy
"Robert Roth is a writer and co-creator of the magazine And Then. He has been in and around political movements as long as he can remember."
BOOK PARTY & READING
Health Proxy
with Author Robert Roth & Readings by Martha Lincoln, Margaret Mercer, Ralph Nazareth, Myrna NIeves & Joy Walker
4:00 - Reception
5:00 - Readings
The BRECHT FORUM
451 West Street (Bt Bank & Bethune)
www.brechtforum.org
(Transportation:
1, 2, 3 A, C, E to 14th Street,
14A, 11, 20 buses to Abingdon Square (where 8th Avenue meets Hudson Street)
8 bus to 10th & West Streets
L to 8th Ave @14th Street.)
"Robert Roth's Health Proxy is a dynamic collage of consciousness—bits and pieces of perception, insight, observation, dialogue, interior monologue, commentary, tirade, always deeply personal, profoundly philosophical at times, wide-ranging in its concerns and themes, ever in touch with the particular, deep in its sympathy, resolutely free—or shall we say there's a mighty struggle here to be free—of imperialist assumptions, hierarchical judgments. All of this makes it radically counter-cultural in its politics, a palpable extension of what we were all shaped by in the late 60s and early 70s.
"Circles of gay men with AIDS would come together. Each man speaking with enormous glee about whom they had cut out of their lives that week. I myself just waiting for that time to come. Pete turning on me in a fury and cutting me out of his life. And to know that the final pleasure you are probably going to give someone is the giddy delight they will feel when they cut you out of their lives is pretty bizarre to say the least. And that knowledge is part of the peculiar numbness that set in that helped me deal with the tragedy we were inside of.
"Though the situations are not parallel this reminds me of the fate of many who from the outside fought to help liberate South Africa from apartheid, who have helped liberate East Timor from centuries of oppression only to see those places liberated into the hands of the IMF or the World Bank. At that point of viability we recede into irrelevance and possibly even become a danger to those states. We are easily discarded.
"But you do it anyway."
from Health Proxy
"Robert Roth is a writer and co-creator of the magazine And Then. He has been in and around political movements as long as he can remember."
Sunday, July 01, 2007
2007 New York City Labor Chorus 2007 biennial concert
Here are some photos from the New York City Labor Chorus's 2007 biennial concert held June 16 at The Society for Ethical Culture
(Photos by Dan Cohen)
(More photos to come)
(Photos by Dan Cohen)
(More photos to come)
Friday, June 29, 2007
Celebrate July 4th with the Grannies Peace Brigade and Veterans for Peace
If your looking for peaceful ways to celebrate July 4th here are a couple of suggestions:
1) Granny Peace Brigade Read-In
Wednesday, July 4, noon
The grannies with America's leading civil liberties attorney, Norman Siegel, and celebrities will read the Delaration of Independence, parts of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and names of Iraqi and American dead in the Iraq war in Central Park's Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields is in the park a little east of Central Park West near West 72nd Street.
This continues a tradition begun by Norman Siegel in 1969.
For further info Contact:
Joan Wile
joanwile@grandmothersagainstthewar.org
(212) 917-441-0651
Sponsored By:
Grandmothers Against the War Granny Peace Brigade
2) VIGIL JULY 4, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
at the TIMES SQUARE RECRUITING STATION (43 St & B`way)
on Wednesday, July 4, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace will hold a vigil at the Times Square Recruiting Station at 43 St & Broadway to turn our country's thoughts to the U.S. soldiers on the FRONT LINES,
and demanding: BRING THE TROOPS HOME, and TAKE CARE OF THEM WHEN THEY GET HERE.
Join Military Families Speak Out
Veterans for Peace-End the War
BRING THEM HOME NOW!
TAKE CARE OF THEM WHEN THEY GET HERE!
Not one more Life! Not one more dollar! Not one more Death!
1) Granny Peace Brigade Read-In
Wednesday, July 4, noon
The grannies with America's leading civil liberties attorney, Norman Siegel, and celebrities will read the Delaration of Independence, parts of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and names of Iraqi and American dead in the Iraq war in Central Park's Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields is in the park a little east of Central Park West near West 72nd Street.
This continues a tradition begun by Norman Siegel in 1969.
For further info Contact:
Joan Wile
joanwile@grandmothersagainstthewar.org
(212) 917-441-0651
Sponsored By:
Grandmothers Against the War Granny Peace Brigade
2) VIGIL JULY 4, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
at the TIMES SQUARE RECRUITING STATION (43 St & B`way)
on Wednesday, July 4, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace will hold a vigil at the Times Square Recruiting Station at 43 St & Broadway to turn our country's thoughts to the U.S. soldiers on the FRONT LINES,
and demanding: BRING THE TROOPS HOME, and TAKE CARE OF THEM WHEN THEY GET HERE.
Join Military Families Speak Out
Veterans for Peace-End the War
BRING THEM HOME NOW!
TAKE CARE OF THEM WHEN THEY GET HERE!
Not one more Life! Not one more dollar! Not one more Death!
Annette Rubinstein, 1910-2007
Annette Rubinstein 1910-2007
Annette T. Rubinstein died on June 20 at 97.
The left and progressive forces in the U.S. and around the world have been greatly diminished by her death.
A memorial will be held on Sunday, September 23, 2:00-5:00pm
At the Brecht Forum.
All are invited.
An active socialist for 75 years, Annette was the author of innumerable articles in Science & Society, Monthly Review, Mainstream and Jewish Currents, among others. She wrote the standard progressive introduction to English literature, The Great Tradition: From Shakespeare to Shaw as well as American Literature: Root and Flower, an invaluable overview of that country's literary history. Both emphasize the massive, but officially hidden, presence of the literature of resistance to oppression at the heart of the history and development of modern English language and literature.
In recent years when she was in the country Annette did most of her speaking in classes at the Brecht Forum (New York Marxist School) where she taught since it opened its doors in the Fall of 1975 and continued to teach classes on literature, drama and politics until her last class on Brecht's Galileo this Spring.
In her last public appearance, on the occasion of her 97th birthday in April, Annette returned to the topic of the literature of resistance in her talk and gathered her strength to do an effective public reading in Shelley’s The Mask of Anarchy.
In the 1940s she founded and led the Robert Louis Stevenson school, an innovative primary and secondary school in New York, and during World War II served on Mayor LaGuardia's commission on the status of children in wartime. She was an unsuccessful candidate for congress on the American Labor Party (ALP) ticket in a district on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and also served as state vice chair of the ALP. In 1958 she ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York State as an Independent Socialist candidate. Annette took the 5th amendment when asked by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy if she were a member of the Communist party. McCarthy replied that she was the most charming communist who had sat before his committee, to which she responded, "Aren't you jumping to conclusions, Senator."
Rubinstein was a key adviser to radical New York congressman Vito Marcantonio throughout his career. On his death she edited I Vote My Conscience: Speeches and Writings of Vito Marcantonio 1935-1950.
She also taught widely and was a visiting professor at universities in Eastern Europe and China. Despite her many intellectual and organizational contributions to a global community of activists and left intellectuals, notably at New York City's Brecht Forum, and to Science & Society, Monthly Review and many other publications, she was most proud of her activism. She played an important role in the struggle against racial and class oppression in the New York public schools and would speak anywhere, from street corners to Madison Square Garden.
(I have adapted this from John Bellamy Foster's obituary for Annette at Monthly Review.org)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
July 7 & July 8: Anti-war expressions at the Brecht Forum
July 7, 2007, 7pm
and
July 8, 2007, 1pm
Anti-War Expressions
at The Brecht Forum
Written and Performed by Ollin Imagination
Brecht Forum
451 West (between Bank and Bethune Sts)
for more info: 212.242.4201 ext.11
Sliding Scale Tickets $6/$10/$15/$20
Please arrive on time!
The show duration is 50 minutes!
(Take the A, C, E to 14th st 1, 2, 3, 9 to 14th st and 7th Ave.)
"Ollin Imagination's Anti-war Expressions (AWE) is a Latino response to the Iraq war written and performed by Ollin Imagination members Tania Romero, Rafael Landrón, Luz Schreiber, and Madelene DeLeon.
It is a performance combining poetry, spoken word and music to convey the horrific effects of war on communities in the U. S. and abroad.
These anti-war expressions aim to be a tool in ending the war as well as the aggressive military recruitment of immigrant/poor youth and all youth of color. The various characters explore the multifaceted dimensions of people affected by the war. The artists delve into the minds of war veterans, women, and poor youth and immigrants. The desperation and resiliency of mothers and children torn by war in Iraq are also depicted. The crude reality, discrimination, and hopelessness faced in war are common threads uniting the lives of these characters.
Although filled with the injustices and horrors of war, humor and hope also blend to remind us of the power of human beings and the possibility of a peaceful and just society.
AWE also intends to nurture dialogue and action by placing people closer to the reality of war. Advocating for liberation and creative solutions that address the moral, physical, and spiritual destruction caused by war, Ollin Imagination hopes the show will inspire others to create their own expressions of resistance against warfare, exploitation, all forms of discrimination, or any other issue affecting them and their communities."
For more information: ollinimagination@yahoo.com
and
July 8, 2007, 1pm
Anti-War Expressions
at The Brecht Forum
Written and Performed by Ollin Imagination
Brecht Forum
451 West (between Bank and Bethune Sts)
for more info: 212.242.4201 ext.11
Sliding Scale Tickets $6/$10/$15/$20
Please arrive on time!
The show duration is 50 minutes!
(Take the A, C, E to 14th st 1, 2, 3, 9 to 14th st and 7th Ave.)
"Ollin Imagination's Anti-war Expressions (AWE) is a Latino response to the Iraq war written and performed by Ollin Imagination members Tania Romero, Rafael Landrón, Luz Schreiber, and Madelene DeLeon.
It is a performance combining poetry, spoken word and music to convey the horrific effects of war on communities in the U. S. and abroad.
These anti-war expressions aim to be a tool in ending the war as well as the aggressive military recruitment of immigrant/poor youth and all youth of color. The various characters explore the multifaceted dimensions of people affected by the war. The artists delve into the minds of war veterans, women, and poor youth and immigrants. The desperation and resiliency of mothers and children torn by war in Iraq are also depicted. The crude reality, discrimination, and hopelessness faced in war are common threads uniting the lives of these characters.
Although filled with the injustices and horrors of war, humor and hope also blend to remind us of the power of human beings and the possibility of a peaceful and just society.
AWE also intends to nurture dialogue and action by placing people closer to the reality of war. Advocating for liberation and creative solutions that address the moral, physical, and spiritual destruction caused by war, Ollin Imagination hopes the show will inspire others to create their own expressions of resistance against warfare, exploitation, all forms of discrimination, or any other issue affecting them and their communities."
For more information: ollinimagination@yahoo.com
Monday, June 25, 2007
That's why the call them scholars
"President Bush was presented with a letter Monday signed by 50 high school seniors in the Presidential Scholars program urging a halt to 'violations of the human rights' of terror suspects held by the United States.
"The White House said Bush had not expected the letter but took a moment to read it and talk with a young woman who handed it to him.
"'The president enjoyed a visit with the students, accepted the letter and upon reading it let the student know that the United States does not torture and that we value human rights,' deputy press secretary Dana Perino said."
(from Democratic Underground)
That's why they call the young people scholars. We should call them heroes. The real question is: who knew Bush could read?
"The White House said Bush had not expected the letter but took a moment to read it and talk with a young woman who handed it to him.
"'The president enjoyed a visit with the students, accepted the letter and upon reading it let the student know that the United States does not torture and that we value human rights,' deputy press secretary Dana Perino said."
(from Democratic Underground)
That's why they call the young people scholars. We should call them heroes. The real question is: who knew Bush could read?
Saturday, June 23, 2007
June 27: Vigil for Kian Tajbakhsh
Here's a follow-up to the recent note from our comrade and friend Juliet Ucelli:
"I think I have spoken to many of you about my friend Kian Tajbakhsh, who has been unjustly detained by the Iranian government since May 11, allowed no lawyer or family visits and possibly facing serious charges. (Some of you also know Kian yourselves.) More info is available at
www.freekian.org
"Amnesty International and other groups have called a vigil at UN Plaza on behalf of the Iranian-American detainees--their notice is below. It's on Wednesday, June 27 from noon to 1 p.m.
"It would be great if anyone who's free during the day or works nearby could attend."
Thanks.
Juliet
************************
"Amnesty International, the American Islamic Congress, Human Rights Watch, the National Iranian-American Council, the Near Eastern Studies Department at Princeton University, and Vital Voices Global Partnership have organized a vigil to support Haleh, Kian and the other detained Iranian-Americans. The event begins at noon on Wednesday, June 27th at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza across from the United Nations Plaza (at 47th St. and 1st Ave.)."
"I think I have spoken to many of you about my friend Kian Tajbakhsh, who has been unjustly detained by the Iranian government since May 11, allowed no lawyer or family visits and possibly facing serious charges. (Some of you also know Kian yourselves.) More info is available at
www.freekian.org
"Amnesty International and other groups have called a vigil at UN Plaza on behalf of the Iranian-American detainees--their notice is below. It's on Wednesday, June 27 from noon to 1 p.m.
"It would be great if anyone who's free during the day or works nearby could attend."
Thanks.
Juliet
************************
"Amnesty International, the American Islamic Congress, Human Rights Watch, the National Iranian-American Council, the Near Eastern Studies Department at Princeton University, and Vital Voices Global Partnership have organized a vigil to support Haleh, Kian and the other detained Iranian-Americans. The event begins at noon on Wednesday, June 27th at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza across from the United Nations Plaza (at 47th St. and 1st Ave.)."
Monday, June 18, 2007
July 9:"In Darfur" at the Delacorte Theater - free
July 9, 8:00PM
In Darfur
Written by Winter Miller
Directed by Joanna Settle
At the Delacorte Theater in Central Park
Featuring Ron Brice, Leon Addison Brown, Zainab Jah, Aaron Lohr, Heather Raffo, Maduka Steady, Sharon Washington, Rutina Wesley
With SPECIAL GUESTS including Don Cheadle, Mark Hanis, Daoud Ibarahaem Hari, Omer Ismail, Nicholas Kristof and John Prendergast.
Pick up free tickets on the day of the performance, beginning at 1:00pm at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park or from 1-3pm at The Public Theater Box office, 425 Lafayette Street (just below Astor Place).
For more information click here or call 212-539-8750.
In Darfur is the provocative account of three intertwined lives at a camp for internally displaced persons in Darfur. The story follows an aid-worker’s mission to save and protect lives, a journalist’s pursuit to deliver a Page One story and a Darfuri woman’s quest for safety. It is a searing story of urgency and international significance.
(Working as Research Assistant to Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from The New York Times, playwright Winter Miller is immersed in the issues surrounding the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.)
Join The Public Theater in drawing attention to the genocide in Darfur at this one-night-only event.
PARTNERS INCLUDE:
The Save Darfur Coalition
Genocide Intervention Network
Jewcy
BECOME AN IN DARFUR SUPPORTER AND RECEIVE RESERVED SEATS!
Make a $100 tax-deductible donation – 30% goes to Darfur Beneficiaries – and receive a reserved seat. Order information below.
To learn more about the crisis in Darfur and to get involved,
visit the websites of Save Darfur and Genocide Intervention Network.
*Cast and special guests subject to change.
In Darfur
Written by Winter Miller
Directed by Joanna Settle
At the Delacorte Theater in Central Park
Featuring Ron Brice, Leon Addison Brown, Zainab Jah, Aaron Lohr, Heather Raffo, Maduka Steady, Sharon Washington, Rutina Wesley
With SPECIAL GUESTS including Don Cheadle, Mark Hanis, Daoud Ibarahaem Hari, Omer Ismail, Nicholas Kristof and John Prendergast.
Pick up free tickets on the day of the performance, beginning at 1:00pm at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park or from 1-3pm at The Public Theater Box office, 425 Lafayette Street (just below Astor Place).
For more information click here or call 212-539-8750.
In Darfur is the provocative account of three intertwined lives at a camp for internally displaced persons in Darfur. The story follows an aid-worker’s mission to save and protect lives, a journalist’s pursuit to deliver a Page One story and a Darfuri woman’s quest for safety. It is a searing story of urgency and international significance.
(Working as Research Assistant to Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from The New York Times, playwright Winter Miller is immersed in the issues surrounding the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.)
Join The Public Theater in drawing attention to the genocide in Darfur at this one-night-only event.
PARTNERS INCLUDE:
The Save Darfur Coalition
Genocide Intervention Network
Jewcy
BECOME AN IN DARFUR SUPPORTER AND RECEIVE RESERVED SEATS!
Make a $100 tax-deductible donation – 30% goes to Darfur Beneficiaries – and receive a reserved seat. Order information below.
To learn more about the crisis in Darfur and to get involved,
visit the websites of Save Darfur and Genocide Intervention Network.
*Cast and special guests subject to change.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Who's government?
Every once in a great while despite all the cacophony of the war in Iraq, the immigration battle and the wildly overlong election campaign a sharp light exposes the self-image of the Bush administration.
Several days ago in an attempt to once again brush off the will of the people's representatives over the issue of the utterly incompetent Attorney General, Bush uttered these words:
"They [Congress] can have their votes of no confidence but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government."
No one ever accused George W. Bush of having any sense of history or his place in it. But the line of demarcation between his understanding of the relationship between the government and the people and that of Abraham Lincoln becomes all the sharper when his comment is compared to Lincoln's "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, [which] shall not perish from the Earth."
Hopefully it won't be too long before Bush takes his government back to Texas and we can reclaim our government.
Several days ago in an attempt to once again brush off the will of the people's representatives over the issue of the utterly incompetent Attorney General, Bush uttered these words:
"They [Congress] can have their votes of no confidence but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government."
No one ever accused George W. Bush of having any sense of history or his place in it. But the line of demarcation between his understanding of the relationship between the government and the people and that of Abraham Lincoln becomes all the sharper when his comment is compared to Lincoln's "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, [which] shall not perish from the Earth."
Hopefully it won't be too long before Bush takes his government back to Texas and we can reclaim our government.
June 22: Film showing - EL PUEBLO SE LEVANTA (The people rise up)
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Film Showing:
EL PUEBLO SE LEVANTA
(The people rise up)
(A 1970’s Newsreel production.)
Friday, June 22, 7 PM
The story of the 1960’s - 70’s Puerto Rican, revolutionary youth organization, the Young Lords.
Open discussion on the significance of that movement.
ANSWER Coalition office
2295 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.
(Bt 134th & 135th Streets)
(Subway: 7th Ave 2 & 3 or the C & B to 135th Street.)
$7 donation suggested. No one turned away for lack of funds.
ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism)
212-694-8720 ANSWERCoalition.org
EL PUEBLO SE LEVANTA
(The people rise up)
(A 1970’s Newsreel production.)
Friday, June 22, 7 PM
The story of the 1960’s - 70’s Puerto Rican, revolutionary youth organization, the Young Lords.
Open discussion on the significance of that movement.
ANSWER Coalition office
2295 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.
(Bt 134th & 135th Streets)
(Subway: 7th Ave 2 & 3 or the C & B to 135th Street.)
$7 donation suggested. No one turned away for lack of funds.
ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism)
212-694-8720 ANSWERCoalition.org
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
June 16 - N.Y. C. Labor Chorus Concert
Photo by Dan Cohen
8th GALA BENEFIT CONCERT
New York City Labor Chorus
Saturday June 16th - 7:30pm
Ethical Culture Society
2 West 64th Street (off Central Park West)
Celebrate the great tradition of labor and folk music through song.
TICKETS: $25
Seniors, Students, & Unemployed: $15
ORDER TICKETS NOW ONLINE!
8th GALA BENEFIT CONCERT
New York City Labor Chorus
Saturday June 16th - 7:30pm
Ethical Culture Society
2 West 64th Street (off Central Park West)
Celebrate the great tradition of labor and folk music through song.
TICKETS: $25
Seniors, Students, & Unemployed: $15
ORDER TICKETS NOW ONLINE!
Film: Salud - June 14
Film screening and discussion of:
¡Salud!
by Academy Award Nominee Connie Field
Thursday, June 14th, 6:30 - 9 pm
SOLIDARITY CENTER
55 West 17th St, 5th floor,
(bt 5th & 6th Aves)
Also meet one of the 1st U.S. graduates from the Cuban Medical School.
Find out about the week he just spent with PINCC (Prevention International: No Cervical Cancer) in El Salvador.
Filmed in Cuba , South Africa , The Gambia, Honduras and Venezuela .
Salud is a timely film about the competing values that mark the battle for global health.
DONATIONS ACCEPTED
¡Salud!
by Academy Award Nominee Connie Field
Thursday, June 14th, 6:30 - 9 pm
SOLIDARITY CENTER
55 West 17th St, 5th floor,
(bt 5th & 6th Aves)
Also meet one of the 1st U.S. graduates from the Cuban Medical School.
Find out about the week he just spent with PINCC (Prevention International: No Cervical Cancer) in El Salvador.
Filmed in Cuba , South Africa , The Gambia, Honduras and Venezuela .
Salud is a timely film about the competing values that mark the battle for global health.
DONATIONS ACCEPTED
March to End the War in Iraq
Troops Out Now!
Put the Antiwar Movement Back on the Streets
September 22 – 29 -- Anti-war encampment in Washington D.C.
September 29 – March on Washington D.C.
Assemble at the Capitol – March on the White House
Stop the War Abroad and at Home
All are invited to an Antiwar Strategy meeting in New York City on Saturday, June 16 where there will be more discussion of this proposal, as well as others.
In the spirit of unity, and for the purposes of taking the movement away from politicians and putting it back into the streets, the Troops Out Now Coalition submits this proposal to all antiwar forces:
Our proposal is for an Encampment to Stop the War at Home & Abroad, starting on Saturday, September 22 in Washington D.C., culminating in a mass march on Saturday, September 29.
This proposal is open to change. TONC welcomes and encourages discussion and suggestions for modifying and improving this proposal. Please endorse the proposal if you are in agreement.
Put the Antiwar Movement Back on the Streets
September 22 – 29 -- Anti-war encampment in Washington D.C.
September 29 – March on Washington D.C.
Assemble at the Capitol – March on the White House
Stop the War Abroad and at Home
All are invited to an Antiwar Strategy meeting in New York City on Saturday, June 16 where there will be more discussion of this proposal, as well as others.
In the spirit of unity, and for the purposes of taking the movement away from politicians and putting it back into the streets, the Troops Out Now Coalition submits this proposal to all antiwar forces:
Our proposal is for an Encampment to Stop the War at Home & Abroad, starting on Saturday, September 22 in Washington D.C., culminating in a mass march on Saturday, September 29.
This proposal is open to change. TONC welcomes and encourages discussion and suggestions for modifying and improving this proposal. Please endorse the proposal if you are in agreement.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Petition to free Kian Tajbakhsh
From our longtime friend and comrade Juliet Ucelli:
"Folks,
"I may have mentioned to some of you that one of the Iranian-U.S. dual citizens currently being detained and charged with espionage by the Iranian government is a good friend of mine for over 20 years, Kian Tajbakhsh.
"Kian left a professorship at the New School (in Urban Planning) to return to his country and work on public service projects like flood relief and social security administration, usually through contracts that the Open Society Institute had with the Iranian government. I've stayed in touch with Kian since we met, when he first came to NYC in the mid-80s and was working as an advocate for low-income housing. He is a principled, progressive person who of course is not a spy for the U.S. and is unfortunately caught in a game between the two governments.
"Some of Kian's friends at Columbia and the New School have initiated a petition to the Iranian government for his release, and I hope that people can sign it by going to http://www.FreeKian.org. The update below and of course the web site itself contain more information. Thanks."
Juliet
From: "Free Kian"
"Dear friend,
"Kian has been in Evin Prison for four weeks as of today. He has still not
seen a lawyer. This week, he was charged with espionage, which is a
capital crime in Iran. The charges are completely unfounded, and we call
for their dismissal and Kian’s immediate release from prison.
"Many academic and human rights organizations have released letters of
support for Kian, which can be seen at http://www.FreeKian.org under
“Statements of Support.” We have also added a new section to share your
comments, as well as more media coverage and some of Kian’s writing.
"Please continue to raise awareness about Kian and the other detainees, and
encourage others to visit the website and sign the petition. We are
deeply grateful for your support."
Thank you,
-The Free Kian Campaign
"Folks,
"I may have mentioned to some of you that one of the Iranian-U.S. dual citizens currently being detained and charged with espionage by the Iranian government is a good friend of mine for over 20 years, Kian Tajbakhsh.
"Kian left a professorship at the New School (in Urban Planning) to return to his country and work on public service projects like flood relief and social security administration, usually through contracts that the Open Society Institute had with the Iranian government. I've stayed in touch with Kian since we met, when he first came to NYC in the mid-80s and was working as an advocate for low-income housing. He is a principled, progressive person who of course is not a spy for the U.S. and is unfortunately caught in a game between the two governments.
"Some of Kian's friends at Columbia and the New School have initiated a petition to the Iranian government for his release, and I hope that people can sign it by going to http://www.FreeKian.org. The update below and of course the web site itself contain more information. Thanks."
Juliet
From: "Free Kian"
"Dear friend,
"Kian has been in Evin Prison for four weeks as of today. He has still not
seen a lawyer. This week, he was charged with espionage, which is a
capital crime in Iran. The charges are completely unfounded, and we call
for their dismissal and Kian’s immediate release from prison.
"Many academic and human rights organizations have released letters of
support for Kian, which can be seen at http://www.FreeKian.org under
“Statements of Support.” We have also added a new section to share your
comments, as well as more media coverage and some of Kian’s writing.
"Please continue to raise awareness about Kian and the other detainees, and
encourage others to visit the website and sign the petition. We are
deeply grateful for your support."
Thank you,
-The Free Kian Campaign
Protest Bush's latest outrage
From Human Rights Campaign Take Action
"Keep Bias Out of America's Health Decisions."
Bush's latest outrage is his appointment of homophobic Dr. James Holsinger, whose "record seems to demonstrate that he is uninterested in the best scientific information available; instead, he allows his anti-gay bias to inform his medical judgments. In past writings he has compared reproductive organs to plumbing parts and he seems to believe homosexuality is a 'lifestyle' choice that should be 'cured.'
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Bush agenda that "This is the man Bush wants to make our next Surgeon General?"
"Voice your outrage today, by writing your Senators. Tell them to vote NO on Holsinger's nomination." See above link to take action.
If you have any doubts about Holsinger's homophobia, check out "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality"
"Keep Bias Out of America's Health Decisions."
Bush's latest outrage is his appointment of homophobic Dr. James Holsinger, whose "record seems to demonstrate that he is uninterested in the best scientific information available; instead, he allows his anti-gay bias to inform his medical judgments. In past writings he has compared reproductive organs to plumbing parts and he seems to believe homosexuality is a 'lifestyle' choice that should be 'cured.'
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Bush agenda that "This is the man Bush wants to make our next Surgeon General?"
"Voice your outrage today, by writing your Senators. Tell them to vote NO on Holsinger's nomination." See above link to take action.
If you have any doubts about Holsinger's homophobia, check out "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality"
Friday, June 08, 2007
June 18: Solidarity Tour-Voices of Iraqi Workers
June 18, 2007, 6:30-8:30pm
Solidarity Tour-Voices of Iraqi Workers
Transit Workers Union Local 100
80 West End Avenue
Manhattan
Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, President of Iraqi Electrical Utility Workers Union, the first woman to lead a national union in Iraq.
Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary of Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, which has been leading the struggle to prevent the take over of Iraq’s oil by multinational corporations.
Come to hear about:
• What conditions for working people are like in Iraq?
• How the occupation has affected families and children?
• Why unions oppose the proposed oil investment law?
• What will happen if the occupation continues?
• What will happen if it rapidly ends?
• What do Iraqi working people want to happen?
• How is a peaceful, stable, non-sectarian Iraq possible?
Contribution: $5-10 sliding scale as a donation to support Iraqi unions
Sponsored by: United for Peace and Justice/NYC, US Labor Against the War, CODEPINK NYC For more Info: (212) 868-5545
Solidarity Tour-Voices of Iraqi Workers
Transit Workers Union Local 100
80 West End Avenue
Manhattan
Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, President of Iraqi Electrical Utility Workers Union, the first woman to lead a national union in Iraq.
Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary of Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, which has been leading the struggle to prevent the take over of Iraq’s oil by multinational corporations.
Come to hear about:
• What conditions for working people are like in Iraq?
• How the occupation has affected families and children?
• Why unions oppose the proposed oil investment law?
• What will happen if the occupation continues?
• What will happen if it rapidly ends?
• What do Iraqi working people want to happen?
• How is a peaceful, stable, non-sectarian Iraq possible?
Contribution: $5-10 sliding scale as a donation to support Iraqi unions
Sponsored by: United for Peace and Justice/NYC, US Labor Against the War, CODEPINK NYC For more Info: (212) 868-5545
Thursday, June 07, 2007
In LA people like Paris are untouchable
Photo by: Peter Kramer / Getty;
Thos Robinson / Getty
I don't know if Paris Hilton should have been sentenced to jail in the first place. I'm not sure that if her name were Shirley Smith she would have been. But once she was she obviously should have been treated like any other jailbird.
But it is even more surprising that anyone - least of all someone as politically sophisticated as Rev. Al Sharpton - is surprised that a white, rich celebrity would be given preferential treatment in Los Angeles. According to People online, after her premature release Sharpton said:
"This early release gives all the appearances of economic and racial favoritism that is constantly cited by poor people and people of color," the civil-rights leader and president of National Action Network said Thursday, according to the Drudge Report. "There are any number of cases of people who handle being incarcerated badly and even have health conditions that are not released."
"I have served several sentences for civil rights and civil disobedience actions and I even fasted, which caused health concerns to prison authorities who paid for a doctor to come see me daily rather than release me," Sharpton said. "This act smacks of the double standards that many of us raise."
One of the problems with all this brouhaha over her incarceration, release and possible return to finish her sentence is that as usual she is being used as a distraction from the issues about which people should be concerned. As the war in Iraq tanks and Bush makes an ass of himself at the G8 meeting and the Democratic Congress uncovers more and more administration disasters the clowns will be brought out to entertain the populace. I would much prefer that Sharpton urge people to ignore these distractions and focus on what's important.
But I doubt that that will happen.
Thos Robinson / Getty
I don't know if Paris Hilton should have been sentenced to jail in the first place. I'm not sure that if her name were Shirley Smith she would have been. But once she was she obviously should have been treated like any other jailbird.
But it is even more surprising that anyone - least of all someone as politically sophisticated as Rev. Al Sharpton - is surprised that a white, rich celebrity would be given preferential treatment in Los Angeles. According to People online, after her premature release Sharpton said:
"This early release gives all the appearances of economic and racial favoritism that is constantly cited by poor people and people of color," the civil-rights leader and president of National Action Network said Thursday, according to the Drudge Report. "There are any number of cases of people who handle being incarcerated badly and even have health conditions that are not released."
"I have served several sentences for civil rights and civil disobedience actions and I even fasted, which caused health concerns to prison authorities who paid for a doctor to come see me daily rather than release me," Sharpton said. "This act smacks of the double standards that many of us raise."
One of the problems with all this brouhaha over her incarceration, release and possible return to finish her sentence is that as usual she is being used as a distraction from the issues about which people should be concerned. As the war in Iraq tanks and Bush makes an ass of himself at the G8 meeting and the Democratic Congress uncovers more and more administration disasters the clowns will be brought out to entertain the populace. I would much prefer that Sharpton urge people to ignore these distractions and focus on what's important.
But I doubt that that will happen.
Rape is a hate crime
Last Friday the New York Post reported that Sacha Baron Cohen (no relation) the creator of Ali G on HBO (Da Ali G Show) and more recently the smash hit film Borat is expanding to write a book. Publisher Suzanne Herz told the Post:
"This is Borat, so it's hysterical, very funny. He's become an iconic figure ... It'll be like nothing like you've ever read." The Post also said "that readers should expect Borat to tell tourists [to Kazakhstan] about the 'sports' his country has to offer -- which according to him, include archery, rape, pingpong and dog hunting."
This is not, of course, the first time recently that weak attempts at humor have been used to cover up verbal attacks on women. Remember how shlock jocks Opie & Anthony laughed as "Homeless Charlie," a character on their show talked about how he would like to "fuck that bitch." Opie and Anthony laughed and said, "I just imagine the horror in Condoleezza Rice's face ... as she realizes what's going on ... as you were just holding her down and fucking her." They continued to laugh as "Charlie" talked about punching Rice in the face and raping Laura Bush "to death ."
The extraordinary brutality of all this can't be ignored. It's seems to be part and parcel of a broader right-wing attempt regain control over women; to turn women back into chattel.
That's, after all, what the fight over women's bodies is all about. Women can't be free and liberated unless they can control their own sexuality and their own bodies.
The pseudo-humorous use of rape - the classical weapon of male dominance - needs to be counteracted, not through censorship, but by constantly challenging this use of rape in the guise of humor to attack women.
"This is Borat, so it's hysterical, very funny. He's become an iconic figure ... It'll be like nothing like you've ever read." The Post also said "that readers should expect Borat to tell tourists [to Kazakhstan] about the 'sports' his country has to offer -- which according to him, include archery, rape, pingpong and dog hunting."
This is not, of course, the first time recently that weak attempts at humor have been used to cover up verbal attacks on women. Remember how shlock jocks Opie & Anthony laughed as "Homeless Charlie," a character on their show talked about how he would like to "fuck that bitch." Opie and Anthony laughed and said, "I just imagine the horror in Condoleezza Rice's face ... as she realizes what's going on ... as you were just holding her down and fucking her." They continued to laugh as "Charlie" talked about punching Rice in the face and raping Laura Bush "to death ."
The extraordinary brutality of all this can't be ignored. It's seems to be part and parcel of a broader right-wing attempt regain control over women; to turn women back into chattel.
That's, after all, what the fight over women's bodies is all about. Women can't be free and liberated unless they can control their own sexuality and their own bodies.
The pseudo-humorous use of rape - the classical weapon of male dominance - needs to be counteracted, not through censorship, but by constantly challenging this use of rape in the guise of humor to attack women.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
One Note Rudy echoes W and the boys
If you have enjoyed the last nearly eight years of U.S. politics, you'll certainly appreciate "One Note Rudy":
"It’s unthinkable that you would leave Saddam Hussein in charge of Iraq and be able to fight the war on terror. And the problem is that we see Iraq in a vacuum. Iraq should not be seen in a vacuum. Iraq is part of the overall terrorist war against the United States."
"And during the debate the other night, the Democrats seemed to be back in the 1990s. They don’t seem to have gotten beyond the Cold War. Iran is a threat, a nuclear threat, not just because they can deliver a nuclear warhead with missiles. They’re a nuclear threat because they are the biggest state sponsor of terrorism and they can hand nuclear materials to terrorists. And we saw just last week in New York an attempt by Islamic terrorists to attack JFK Airport; three weeks ago, an attempt to attack Fort Dix."
Does this remind you of anyone else? How about George W. Bush just before last November's election:
"The stakes in this war are high and so are the stakes this November. Americans face a choice between two parties with different attitudes on this War on Terror."
"Five years after 9/11, the worst attack on the American homeland in history, the Democrats offer nothing but criticism and obstruction and endless second-guessing. The party of FDR, the party of Harry Truman has become the party of cut and run."
Or perhaps you prefer Dick Cheney's version:
"That [the 1972 Nixon/McGovern election] was the last time the national Democratic Party took a hard left turn," Cheney told a conference hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation. "But in 2007, it looks like history is repeating itself. Today, on some of the most critical issues facing the country, the new Democratic majority resembles nothing so much as that old party of the early 1970s."
Or Karl Rove's warning before the last election:
"Republicans have a post-9/11 worldview—and many Democrats have a pre-9/11 worldview," Rove told Republican activists. "That doesn't make them unpatriotic, not at all. But it does make them wrong—deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong."
It's interesting how directly "One Note" Rudy echoes the current White House axis of evil.
"It’s unthinkable that you would leave Saddam Hussein in charge of Iraq and be able to fight the war on terror. And the problem is that we see Iraq in a vacuum. Iraq should not be seen in a vacuum. Iraq is part of the overall terrorist war against the United States."
"And during the debate the other night, the Democrats seemed to be back in the 1990s. They don’t seem to have gotten beyond the Cold War. Iran is a threat, a nuclear threat, not just because they can deliver a nuclear warhead with missiles. They’re a nuclear threat because they are the biggest state sponsor of terrorism and they can hand nuclear materials to terrorists. And we saw just last week in New York an attempt by Islamic terrorists to attack JFK Airport; three weeks ago, an attempt to attack Fort Dix."
Does this remind you of anyone else? How about George W. Bush just before last November's election:
"The stakes in this war are high and so are the stakes this November. Americans face a choice between two parties with different attitudes on this War on Terror."
"Five years after 9/11, the worst attack on the American homeland in history, the Democrats offer nothing but criticism and obstruction and endless second-guessing. The party of FDR, the party of Harry Truman has become the party of cut and run."
Or perhaps you prefer Dick Cheney's version:
"That [the 1972 Nixon/McGovern election] was the last time the national Democratic Party took a hard left turn," Cheney told a conference hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation. "But in 2007, it looks like history is repeating itself. Today, on some of the most critical issues facing the country, the new Democratic majority resembles nothing so much as that old party of the early 1970s."
Or Karl Rove's warning before the last election:
"Republicans have a post-9/11 worldview—and many Democrats have a pre-9/11 worldview," Rove told Republican activists. "That doesn't make them unpatriotic, not at all. But it does make them wrong—deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong."
It's interesting how directly "One Note" Rudy echoes the current White House axis of evil.
Monday, June 04, 2007
This should be a really good event!
Left Forum and The Nation Present:
CAN PROGRESSIVES MOVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO THE LEFT?
A debate between Stanley Aronowitz and Laura Flanders
Monday June 18 , 7pm
CUNY Graduate Center
Elebash Recital Hall
365 5th Avenue at 34th St.
$5 to $10 admission, ticketing at the door (no advance sales)
Stanley Aronowitz is author of Left Turn: Forging a New Political Future (Paradigm Publishers, 2006), and Laura Flanders is author of Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (The Penguin Press, 2007), will discuss and debate the possibilities and limitations of working within the Democratic party.
Gary Younge, correspondent for The Guardian and contributor to The Nation will moderate.
Stanley Aronowitz and Laura Flanders will be signing their books after the discussion.
Information: 212-817-2003 or leftforum@leftforum.org
STANLEY ARONOWITZ is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at CUNY Graduate Center, where he is Director of The Center for the Study of Culture, Technology and Work. He is Founding Editor of Social Text and Situations, was Book Review Editor of Social Policy, and serves on the Editorial Board of Ethnography; Cultural Critique. He has authored and edited 24 books, the most recent being Left Turn: Forging a New Political Future (2006).
LAURA FLANDERS is the host of "RadioNation" heard on Air America Radio and syndicated to non-commercial affiliates nationwide. She is the author most recently of Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (The Penguin Press, 2007) and also BUSHWOMEN: Tales of a Cynical Species (Verso, 2004), an investigation into the women in George W. Bush's Cabinet.
GARY YOUNGE is a columnist and correspondent for The Guardian and the Alfred Knobler fellow for The Nation. He has written extensively from Southern Africa and throughout Europe, and is author of No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the Deep South (1999), and, most recently, of Stranger in a Strange Land: Encounters in the Disunited States (2006).
Left Forum and The Nation Present:
CAN PROGRESSIVES MOVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO THE LEFT?
A debate between Stanley Aronowitz and Laura Flanders
Monday June 18 , 7pm
CUNY Graduate Center
Elebash Recital Hall
365 5th Avenue at 34th St.
$5 to $10 admission, ticketing at the door (no advance sales)
Stanley Aronowitz is author of Left Turn: Forging a New Political Future (Paradigm Publishers, 2006), and Laura Flanders is author of Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (The Penguin Press, 2007), will discuss and debate the possibilities and limitations of working within the Democratic party.
Gary Younge, correspondent for The Guardian and contributor to The Nation will moderate.
Stanley Aronowitz and Laura Flanders will be signing their books after the discussion.
Information: 212-817-2003 or leftforum@leftforum.org
STANLEY ARONOWITZ is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at CUNY Graduate Center, where he is Director of The Center for the Study of Culture, Technology and Work. He is Founding Editor of Social Text and Situations, was Book Review Editor of Social Policy, and serves on the Editorial Board of Ethnography; Cultural Critique. He has authored and edited 24 books, the most recent being Left Turn: Forging a New Political Future (2006).
LAURA FLANDERS is the host of "RadioNation" heard on Air America Radio and syndicated to non-commercial affiliates nationwide. She is the author most recently of Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (The Penguin Press, 2007) and also BUSHWOMEN: Tales of a Cynical Species (Verso, 2004), an investigation into the women in George W. Bush's Cabinet.
GARY YOUNGE is a columnist and correspondent for The Guardian and the Alfred Knobler fellow for The Nation. He has written extensively from Southern Africa and throughout Europe, and is author of No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the Deep South (1999), and, most recently, of Stranger in a Strange Land: Encounters in the Disunited States (2006).
Michael Moore on Oprah Tues. 6/5
Michael Moore on Oprah Tuesday
Michael Moore will appear on Oprah tomorrow, Tuesday, June 5, and will present, for the first time on television, scenes from his new film, Sicko. Oprah will interview Michael about the movie and the attention it's receiving before its release (opening day everywhere is June 29).
The theme of Oprah's show is the one film you must see this summer -- Sicko -- and the one book you must read (Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"). Oprah loved Michael's film and wants to make health care for all one of her main missions this year.
So set your recorders for Oprah tomorrow, Tuesday!
Michael Moore will appear on Oprah tomorrow, Tuesday, June 5, and will present, for the first time on television, scenes from his new film, Sicko. Oprah will interview Michael about the movie and the attention it's receiving before its release (opening day everywhere is June 29).
The theme of Oprah's show is the one film you must see this summer -- Sicko -- and the one book you must read (Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"). Oprah loved Michael's film and wants to make health care for all one of her main missions this year.
So set your recorders for Oprah tomorrow, Tuesday!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Nixon redux: Bush martial law
From a friend:
"Listening to WNYC today, someone called in about a Presidential Directive that was issued in mid-May that has received no coverage and, according to the caller, gives the President virtual dictatoral powers in the event of an "emergency". I googled it, and found about five pages of commentary, but they were ALL ONE COMMENTARY, from clearly anti-Bush blogs. I tried to find a reputable news source that dealt with it, but as the caller stated, NO ONE SEEMS TO BE WRITING ABOUT THIS. So I went to the source:The White House, and downloaded the actual directive. I'm sending it out for you to look over and see if you can decipher it's meaning. If the bloggers are correct, we must not let this go under the radar. In fact, if the bloggers are correct, we are really in grave danger."
"Listening to WNYC today, someone called in about a Presidential Directive that was issued in mid-May that has received no coverage and, according to the caller, gives the President virtual dictatoral powers in the event of an "emergency". I googled it, and found about five pages of commentary, but they were ALL ONE COMMENTARY, from clearly anti-Bush blogs. I tried to find a reputable news source that dealt with it, but as the caller stated, NO ONE SEEMS TO BE WRITING ABOUT THIS. So I went to the source:The White House, and downloaded the actual directive. I'm sending it out for you to look over and see if you can decipher it's meaning. If the bloggers are correct, we must not let this go under the radar. In fact, if the bloggers are correct, we are really in grave danger."
Friday, May 25, 2007
O'Reilly in wonderland
Reading a Bill O'Reilly column is like entering another dimension. A dimension that might be called "O'Reilly's Wonderland." A wonderland characterized by two things: O'Reilly and his cohorts are always the victims. Who can forget his brave struggle against the infidels who wanted to violate the purity of Christmas by trying to include everyone in the holiday spirit by wishing people Seasons Greetings instead of the Christian-only narrower Merry Christmas.
The other is that any mistakes - no matter how deadly - made by O'Reilly and his cohorts are always someone else's fault. "... President Bush had no plan 'B' when the Iraqi people decided not to fight for their freedom after Saddam fell. That is the crux of the mess in Iraq" (NYP, 5/25/07) Heavens, we uninvited invaded a sovereign country to change regimes and the people of Iraq "...embraced ancient hatreds and corruption, and some even cooperated with al Qaeda. The ensuing chaos and death is heartbreaking to those of us who believe Iraq could be a free nation, if only the people had the will."
In other words, our crusade to turn the Middle East into a carbon copy of the U.S. was foiled by Iraqi's desire to be Iraqis.
Yesterday Bush claimed, "I'm credible because I read the intelligence."
But, according to the WP, "Months before the invasion of Iraq, U.S. intelligence agencies predicted that it would be likely to spark violent sectarian divides and provide al-Qaeda with new opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report released yesterday by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence."
O'Reilly asks: "...is there a rational person on earth who believes Bush, Blair ... lied to the world in order to remove Saddam Hussein." Well Bill, some of us believe - without claiming to be rational - that the removal of Saddam Hussein was the first necessary step toward taking control of Iraq's vast oil wealth. It's interesting that the word "oil" never appears in your column.
The other is that any mistakes - no matter how deadly - made by O'Reilly and his cohorts are always someone else's fault. "... President Bush had no plan 'B' when the Iraqi people decided not to fight for their freedom after Saddam fell. That is the crux of the mess in Iraq" (NYP, 5/25/07) Heavens, we uninvited invaded a sovereign country to change regimes and the people of Iraq "...embraced ancient hatreds and corruption, and some even cooperated with al Qaeda. The ensuing chaos and death is heartbreaking to those of us who believe Iraq could be a free nation, if only the people had the will."
In other words, our crusade to turn the Middle East into a carbon copy of the U.S. was foiled by Iraqi's desire to be Iraqis.
Yesterday Bush claimed, "I'm credible because I read the intelligence."
But, according to the WP, "Months before the invasion of Iraq, U.S. intelligence agencies predicted that it would be likely to spark violent sectarian divides and provide al-Qaeda with new opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report released yesterday by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence."
O'Reilly asks: "...is there a rational person on earth who believes Bush, Blair ... lied to the world in order to remove Saddam Hussein." Well Bill, some of us believe - without claiming to be rational - that the removal of Saddam Hussein was the first necessary step toward taking control of Iraq's vast oil wealth. It's interesting that the word "oil" never appears in your column.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Iraq Veterans Against the War Memorial Day action
Rally to support Iraq Veterans Against the War
Sunday, May 27th, 2007
12 Noon,
Union Square, South steps
"In an effort to illuminate the true reality of the conflict in Iraq, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will engage in a series of street theater actions around the New York City area on Sunday, May 27.
This day coincides with our national remembrance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 28, which bears particular significance this year as we are in the midst of the fifth year of a war that has claimed the lives of over 3,300 American service members and over 655,000 Iraqis."
Sunday, May 27th, 2007
12 Noon,
Union Square, South steps
"In an effort to illuminate the true reality of the conflict in Iraq, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will engage in a series of street theater actions around the New York City area on Sunday, May 27.
This day coincides with our national remembrance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 28, which bears particular significance this year as we are in the midst of the fifth year of a war that has claimed the lives of over 3,300 American service members and over 655,000 Iraqis."
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Congressional Democrats capitulate and abandon the American people, the troops and the Iraqi people
I don't claim to understand why the Democrats have aligned themselves with Bush on Iraq. Except to realize once again that there is really only one corporate party.
On Nov. 9th - electorally victorious - the Democrats marched into Washington promising to respond to the voters and end the occupation of Iraq. Today they capitulated and proved that they couldn't stand up to Bush and agreed to continue to finance his immoral war. It's clear that they did not have the votes to overturn a Bush veto of a real bill that would end the occupation and bring the troops home. But that's not the point of the Nov. 8th election. The voters were demanding that the Democrats stand up and be counted. It seems that they can't.
Bush, as usual, has been playing politics with the troops. He vetoed (rejected) the bill to finance the occupation. And then blamed the Democrats for not supporting the troops. This is what magicians call misdirection. It's how they fool their audience. It seems that he fooled the Democratic leadership even if he couldn't distract the American people from their determination to end the occupation and bring the troops home.
Among the current Democratic candidates Joe Biden and John Edwards basically agree with Conn. Senator Christopher Dodd who said:
"Half-measures and equivocations are not going to change our course in Iraq,"
"If we are serious about ending the war, Congress must stand up to this president's failed policy now -- with clarity and conviction. ..."
As of this writing Sens. Clinton and Obama haven't said how they will vote. I guess they are waiting for word from the weatherman as to which way the political wind is blowing.
On Nov. 9th - electorally victorious - the Democrats marched into Washington promising to respond to the voters and end the occupation of Iraq. Today they capitulated and proved that they couldn't stand up to Bush and agreed to continue to finance his immoral war. It's clear that they did not have the votes to overturn a Bush veto of a real bill that would end the occupation and bring the troops home. But that's not the point of the Nov. 8th election. The voters were demanding that the Democrats stand up and be counted. It seems that they can't.
Bush, as usual, has been playing politics with the troops. He vetoed (rejected) the bill to finance the occupation. And then blamed the Democrats for not supporting the troops. This is what magicians call misdirection. It's how they fool their audience. It seems that he fooled the Democratic leadership even if he couldn't distract the American people from their determination to end the occupation and bring the troops home.
Among the current Democratic candidates Joe Biden and John Edwards basically agree with Conn. Senator Christopher Dodd who said:
"Half-measures and equivocations are not going to change our course in Iraq,"
"If we are serious about ending the war, Congress must stand up to this president's failed policy now -- with clarity and conviction. ..."
As of this writing Sens. Clinton and Obama haven't said how they will vote. I guess they are waiting for word from the weatherman as to which way the political wind is blowing.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Labor Chorus Benefit concert
Photo by Dan Cohen
8th GALA BENEFIT CONCERT
New York City Labor Chorus
Saturday June 16th - 7:30pm
Ethical Culture Society
2 West 64th Street (off Central Park West)
Celebrate the great tradition of labor and folk music through song.
TICKETS: $25
Seniors, Students, & Unemployed: $15
ORDER TICKETS NOW ONLINE!
8th GALA BENEFIT CONCERT
New York City Labor Chorus
Saturday June 16th - 7:30pm
Ethical Culture Society
2 West 64th Street (off Central Park West)
Celebrate the great tradition of labor and folk music through song.
TICKETS: $25
Seniors, Students, & Unemployed: $15
ORDER TICKETS NOW ONLINE!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
May 8th second anniversary of Chelsea Stands Up Against the War
Tuesday, May 8Th, 6-7 p.m.
is the 104th consecutive week of the Stand Up against the war in Iraq.
Join with your fellow anti-war neighbors at the northwest corner of 8th Ave and 24th St to Stand Up Against The War in Iraq.
If you live in Chelsea (or not) and are against the war - be there!
is the 104th consecutive week of the Stand Up against the war in Iraq.
Join with your fellow anti-war neighbors at the northwest corner of 8th Ave and 24th St to Stand Up Against The War in Iraq.
If you live in Chelsea (or not) and are against the war - be there!
With George Tenant for better or worse you get what you pay for
Tenant with his one time-White House
masters
One thing you have to say about former CIA director George Tenant is that he's consistant. Whoever pays him gets what they need.
When he worked for the current axis of evil in the white House (Cheney, Bush and Rove) he gave them whatever they needed to market a very lucrative war. Although it seems as if yesterday's "slam dunk" has turned into today's "air ball."
Now that he is working for HarperCollins he is providing them what they need to market his reportedly $4 million tome. I suspect that this shot may also turn into an air ball.
masters
One thing you have to say about former CIA director George Tenant is that he's consistant. Whoever pays him gets what they need.
When he worked for the current axis of evil in the white House (Cheney, Bush and Rove) he gave them whatever they needed to market a very lucrative war. Although it seems as if yesterday's "slam dunk" has turned into today's "air ball."
Now that he is working for HarperCollins he is providing them what they need to market his reportedly $4 million tome. I suspect that this shot may also turn into an air ball.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Evolution and the right wing: theater of the absurd
Many Americans wonder why a great nation has become the world's laughing stock. After last Thursday evening's Republican party presidential debate it should be fairly obvious.
Three contenders for the Republican presidential nomination - Kansas's senator sam Brownback, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Colorado House member Tom Tancredo - actually said they did not believe in evolution.
I can only assume that they also believe that if they sail far enough they will fall off the end of the earth. Wait a minute. Maybe that's not such a bad idea.
Not only do these people make the U.S. look bad, but they also demean whichever religion they espouse. No religion demands that you be an idiot.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Are we once again back to the imperial presidency?
Why is the U.S. the only democratic nation that treats its leaders as untouchable? Shouldn't the current events in Israel tell us something?
"[A] report, by an Israeli government commission, set off a furious debate in Israel on whether [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert should remain in office.
"The commission accused him of having decided hastily to go to war, neglecting to ask for a detailed military plan, refusing to consult outside the army and setting “over-ambitious and unobtainable goals.
"One result, the commission said, was that Mr. Olmert had been responsible for 'a severe failure in exercising judgment, responsibility and prudence.'" (N.Y. Times)
Doesn't all this sound familiar? Shouldn't the Bush administration be subjected to the same questions, only more so. The Bush administration has proven over and over again its historic self-indulgence and incompetence.
I don't know who is actually responsible for the disasters in New Orleans, Iraq, Walter Reade, for the politicization of every aspect of this administration, Justice, science, etc. Only history will tell us whether the real culprit is named Bush, Cheney, Rove, the ridiculous neo-cons, or maybe all of the co-conspirators, but since Bush claims to be the "decider," let's take him at his word. And investigate him for "a severe failure in exercising judgment, responsibility and prudence."
In the past it's been a two-bit robbery and cover-up (Nixon) and lying about blow jobs (Clinton) that has been grounds for impeachment (even if neither was ever convicted), these are penny ante "crimes and misdemeanors" compared to the behavior of Bush and his gang of war criminals.
Even arguments against challenging the Commander-in-chief in time of war pale before the Israeli situation. There they investigate the prime minister here we take impeachment off the table. The question is what's wrong with us? And what are we going to do about it?
Monday, April 30, 2007
8th GALA BENEFIT CONCERT
New York City Labor Chorus
Saturday June 16th - 7:30pm
Ethical Culture Society
2 West 64th Street (off Central Park West)
Celebrate the great tradition of labor and folk music through song.
TICKETS: $25
Seniors, Students, & Unemployed: $15
ORDER TICKETS NOW ONLINE!
Virginia Tech and gun control
Ever since the horrific events at Virginia Tech I have been thinking about the question of gun control.
I should say that I don't like guns, I don't think hunting defenseless animals is a sport and I think that most hunters substitute guns for penises. But none of this leads me to the conclusion that stricter gun controls would have prevented Cho Seung-Hui from gunning down 31 people and himself.
According to press reports it's not clear if any existing gun laws were broken. According to The coalition to Stop Gun Violence
"In December 2005 a Virginia district court ruled that Cho was 'an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness' and ordered that he be evaluated at a psychiatric facility. He was released the next day. Throughout this period, local police had at least three contacts with Cho.
"Although he passed a background check on two occasions, it is unclear whether Cho's handgun purchases were legal under federal law. Federal law prohibits individuals who have been 'adjudicated as a mental defective' or 'committed to any mental institution' from purchasing firearms. Virginia State Police maintain the sale was legal under state law and the Virginia attorney general's office has yet to comment on the case."
Of course, there have been commissions set up to study what happened and investigations are under way. But I don't think they will solve the problem of whether the massacre could have been prevented by stricter gun laws. In this society if someone wants something there will always be someone to sell it to him/her. If we haven't learned this from Prohibition and from the failure of anti-drug laws to effect their availability, we just don't want to acknowledge the limitations of passing laws to change human behavior.
One more word about Virginia Tech. Those people who argue that arming all (or most of) the students and faculty would have prevented some or all of the deaths of April 16 are promulgating very dangerous ideas.
But all this said, I think that if we wait to intervene until someone has reached the point of picking up a gun to solve their problems, we have totally failed as a society.
The availability of guns isn't the problem. It's that so many people from the President on down seem to believe that violence is the way to solve problems.
It takes a community to save a life, in this case 32 lives.
Cho was a part of a community at Virginia Tech and that community failed him in so many ways. Although some people realized from his writing how disturbed he was and tried to bring these problems to the attention of others who were professionally charged with dealing with them. But the professionals simply failed.
If we come across a wounded four-legged animal we are very likely to find a home for it or give it one ourselves. But with the two-legged variety we seem incapable of bringing outsiders into our midst. And until we can do that, there will always be another "deviant" who will pick up a gun to solve problems.
I should say that I don't like guns, I don't think hunting defenseless animals is a sport and I think that most hunters substitute guns for penises. But none of this leads me to the conclusion that stricter gun controls would have prevented Cho Seung-Hui from gunning down 31 people and himself.
According to press reports it's not clear if any existing gun laws were broken. According to The coalition to Stop Gun Violence
"In December 2005 a Virginia district court ruled that Cho was 'an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness' and ordered that he be evaluated at a psychiatric facility. He was released the next day. Throughout this period, local police had at least three contacts with Cho.
"Although he passed a background check on two occasions, it is unclear whether Cho's handgun purchases were legal under federal law. Federal law prohibits individuals who have been 'adjudicated as a mental defective' or 'committed to any mental institution' from purchasing firearms. Virginia State Police maintain the sale was legal under state law and the Virginia attorney general's office has yet to comment on the case."
Of course, there have been commissions set up to study what happened and investigations are under way. But I don't think they will solve the problem of whether the massacre could have been prevented by stricter gun laws. In this society if someone wants something there will always be someone to sell it to him/her. If we haven't learned this from Prohibition and from the failure of anti-drug laws to effect their availability, we just don't want to acknowledge the limitations of passing laws to change human behavior.
One more word about Virginia Tech. Those people who argue that arming all (or most of) the students and faculty would have prevented some or all of the deaths of April 16 are promulgating very dangerous ideas.
But all this said, I think that if we wait to intervene until someone has reached the point of picking up a gun to solve their problems, we have totally failed as a society.
The availability of guns isn't the problem. It's that so many people from the President on down seem to believe that violence is the way to solve problems.
It takes a community to save a life, in this case 32 lives.
Cho was a part of a community at Virginia Tech and that community failed him in so many ways. Although some people realized from his writing how disturbed he was and tried to bring these problems to the attention of others who were professionally charged with dealing with them. But the professionals simply failed.
If we come across a wounded four-legged animal we are very likely to find a home for it or give it one ourselves. But with the two-legged variety we seem incapable of bringing outsiders into our midst. And until we can do that, there will always be another "deviant" who will pick up a gun to solve problems.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
It's Guiliani time!
No one who lived through eight years of "one note" Rudy would be the least bit surprised that his conception of politics is ignorant confrontation. Most New Yorkers were thrilled when "One Note" became America's Mayor, because it meant he was no longer our mayor.
When criticized for his silly comments dxisparaging Democrats on the question of terrorism "One Note" said:
"They [Democrats] do not seem to get the fact that there are people, terrorists in this world, really dangerous people that want to come here and kill us," He said on The Sean Hannity Show, according to a transcript distributed by his campaign. "They want to take us back to not being as alert which to me will just extend this war much, much longer."
Is it really possible that anyone can possibly believe this nonsense? It's hardly surprising that he had to broadcast this foolishness on Sean Hannity's show. Who else (besides possibly Bill O'Reilly) would tolerate it?
It's quite ironic that the two people on who's watch 9/11 took place ("One Note" and the Bush) are the two who shout terrorism loudest. Perhaps there's some compensation going on.
The best thing we can do is to re-elect "One Note" as America's mayor - a job for which he seems ideally suited.
When criticized for his silly comments dxisparaging Democrats on the question of terrorism "One Note" said:
"They [Democrats] do not seem to get the fact that there are people, terrorists in this world, really dangerous people that want to come here and kill us," He said on The Sean Hannity Show, according to a transcript distributed by his campaign. "They want to take us back to not being as alert which to me will just extend this war much, much longer."
Is it really possible that anyone can possibly believe this nonsense? It's hardly surprising that he had to broadcast this foolishness on Sean Hannity's show. Who else (besides possibly Bill O'Reilly) would tolerate it?
It's quite ironic that the two people on who's watch 9/11 took place ("One Note" and the Bush) are the two who shout terrorism loudest. Perhaps there's some compensation going on.
The best thing we can do is to re-elect "One Note" as America's mayor - a job for which he seems ideally suited.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
May 8-6PM: Second anniversary of Chelsea Stands up Against the War
From Chelsea Stands Up Against the War:
Invitation
2ND Anniversary of Chelsea Stands Up Against The War
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 6pm
Northwest corner of 8Th Avenue and 24Th Street
Anyone and everyone who participated in the first 103 weeks of the Stand Up and everyone who would like to participate to Stand Up Against the War in Iraq and
demand that the war end immediately and our troops be returned home safely can join this commemoration.
Because it is both a sad and glorious day.
Sad because the war continues, now it its fifth year, but glorious because the people of Chelsea promised that they would Stand Up each and every week as long as
the war in Iraq continues, and through rain, snow, freezing temperatures, sweltering summers and dark and dreary nights, Chelsea Neighbors have made good on their word.
Join with your friends and neighbors to say that you have had enough of the killing, enough of the torture, enough of the extraordinary waste of resources that is the war In Iraq.
Show support for your community and your neighbors while opposing this illegal and immoral war.
For further information call 212-726-1385
or go to www.chelseaneighborsunited.org
Chelsea Neighbors United To End The War
P.O. Box 821
JAF Station
New York, NY 10116-0821
Monday, April 23, 2007
The NYC Council saves us from pedicabs
We are faced with global warming, which may end the world as we know it.
According to the National Resources Defense Council,"The global warming crisis is at a tipping point. To stave off the worst effects of global warming, the United States must quickly pass strong legislation including a mandatory cap on emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants." In other words, the key to controlling (and maybe eventually reversing global warming) is to control the emission of greenhouse gasses. This would at the very least mean putting limits on automobiles and other gas emitting vehicles.
So what does the New York City Concil do?
They passed a bill controlling pedi-cabs, which emit no gasses.
("The pedicab bill caps the number of cabs at 325 and also adds new safety and insur- ance re- quirements.") And then to put a cap on this stupidity they overroad a mayoral veto. Could the taxi industry have had anything to do with this? And we vote for these people.
Friday, April 13, 2007
April 14: Global warming action
***the BIG one*** Sea of People Mass Rally
New York, NY
April 14, 2007
12:00-3:00PM
MAIN LAWN at Battery Park
(SUBWAY: R/W to Whitehall Street, 4/5 to Bowling Green, 1 to South Ferry
BUS: M1, M6, M15 to South Ferry)
What is SEA OF PEOPLE? - visit www.seaofpeople.org for more info -
New York City's coastal location makes it particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels that will result from unabated warming. A ten-foot change could result from significant melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice shelves over the course of this century. Such a rise would greatly reconfigure the map of our city, sinking much of lower Manhattan beneath the water.
The SEA OF PEOPLE project combines the dynamics of a mass rally with the expressive power of an interactive artistic installation.
A noon rally at Battery Park (main lawn) will kick off the event. Then, thousands of participants, ideally dressed in blue, will stretch north in two columns along the projected eastern and western 10-foot waterlines that may one day redefine lower Manhattan under the ten-foot sea level rise scenario. Creating, in essence, a Sea of People!
We hope for this line to stretch a mile or more, winding up both sides of downtown Manhattan to create a visual and symbolic statement that our elected representatives can't possibly ignore!
Leave your home, wearing blue, as much blue as you can handle -- blue shirts, blue socks, blue underwear, blue shoes, blue pants, blue hats! Remember, the Sea Of People line is yours, so feel to put your stamp on it--GO NUTS!
We've heard through the grapevine that Papa Smurf and the Blue Man Group (or at least impersonators) will be making guest appearances! Others plan on coming dressed in blue speedos, complete with beach balls and umbrellas; there may even be some mermaids! And of course, please feel free to bring BANNERS, NOISEMAKERS, AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS!
Join us at Battery Park on the main lawn at 12 Noon on Saturday, April 14.
(The Battery is accessible from State Street and Battery Place. It is adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal
SUBWAY: 4/5 to Bowling Green, R/W to Whitehall Street, 1 to South Ferry. BUS: M1, M6, M15 to South Ferry)
New York, NY
April 14, 2007
12:00-3:00PM
MAIN LAWN at Battery Park
(SUBWAY: R/W to Whitehall Street, 4/5 to Bowling Green, 1 to South Ferry
BUS: M1, M6, M15 to South Ferry)
What is SEA OF PEOPLE? - visit www.seaofpeople.org for more info -
New York City's coastal location makes it particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels that will result from unabated warming. A ten-foot change could result from significant melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice shelves over the course of this century. Such a rise would greatly reconfigure the map of our city, sinking much of lower Manhattan beneath the water.
The SEA OF PEOPLE project combines the dynamics of a mass rally with the expressive power of an interactive artistic installation.
A noon rally at Battery Park (main lawn) will kick off the event. Then, thousands of participants, ideally dressed in blue, will stretch north in two columns along the projected eastern and western 10-foot waterlines that may one day redefine lower Manhattan under the ten-foot sea level rise scenario. Creating, in essence, a Sea of People!
We hope for this line to stretch a mile or more, winding up both sides of downtown Manhattan to create a visual and symbolic statement that our elected representatives can't possibly ignore!
Leave your home, wearing blue, as much blue as you can handle -- blue shirts, blue socks, blue underwear, blue shoes, blue pants, blue hats! Remember, the Sea Of People line is yours, so feel to put your stamp on it--GO NUTS!
We've heard through the grapevine that Papa Smurf and the Blue Man Group (or at least impersonators) will be making guest appearances! Others plan on coming dressed in blue speedos, complete with beach balls and umbrellas; there may even be some mermaids! And of course, please feel free to bring BANNERS, NOISEMAKERS, AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS!
Join us at Battery Park on the main lawn at 12 Noon on Saturday, April 14.
(The Battery is accessible from State Street and Battery Place. It is adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal
SUBWAY: 4/5 to Bowling Green, R/W to Whitehall Street, 1 to South Ferry. BUS: M1, M6, M15 to South Ferry)
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Bush the trickster is at it again
Congress to their great credit finally stood up to the Dick and the Bush and passed two versions of a bill providing supplemental funds for the Iraq adventure. But,as the people demanded last Nov. 7Th they added certain very mild conditions with regard to ending the war and bringing the troops home. They still have to transform these two bills into one and send it to the president for his signature.
That's where the problem arises. Bush says that if the bill contains any conditions on his power to continue the war to his heart's content, he will veto it.
Now there are many roads he could take other than a veto. He could compromise with the Democratic controlled Congress, he could sign the bill and add one of his famous signing statements saying that he will not adhere to the conditions set out in the bill to control his behavior. But instead he has chosen the road of greatest confrontation rather than compromise. In other words, he is willing to place the troops at greater risk and to withhold money he claims is necessary from them to do their job. And now in pure Bushspeak he is blaming the Democrats, who passed the bill, for withholding the funding.
This is what magicians call the "turn" or the move that distracts your attention so that they can pull the rabbit out of the hat. The American people can't allow themselves to be distracted from the obvious: It's Bush who is withholding the money from the troops with his veto and not the Democratically controlled Congress who passed the bills in the first place.
"Mr. Bush told reporters April 3 that the funding delay would mean troops may have to stay in Iraq longer than planned.
"'That is unacceptable to me, and I believe it is unacceptable to the American people,' he said."
Then to undermine his own trick Bush sent "Defense Secretary Robert Gates [out to announce] Wednesday the Army would keep troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for 15-month tours instead of the yearlong stints that have become standard. The three-month extension [is necessary to] allow the Pentagon to maintain its 30,000-troop buildup in Baghdad for another year.
"The announcement 'just underscores the fact that the burden of the war in Iraq has fallen upon our troops and their families,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. 'The Bush administration has failed to create a plan to fully equip and train our troops, bring them home safely and soon, and provide our veterans with the quality care they deserve.'" (SignOnSanDiego.com)
One thing that Bush is right about is that the American people won't accept this latest Bush attempt to distract them from the task at hand: Bringing the troops home.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Greg Palast in New York City
Independent journalist Greg Palast will make two appearances in New York City (May 1 and May 2) while on tour to promote the new edition of his excellent book Armed Madhouse
An Evening with Greg Palast
Randi Rhodes and Robert Kennedy Jr
Tuesday MAY 1st — 7pm
Community Church of New York,
40 East 35th St. (Bt Park&Madison)
The official NYC Launch of Palast’s NEW updated and expanded Paperback edition of
Armed Madhouse
Palast, Rhodes and Kennedy talk about "From Baghdad to New Orleans"
Also featuring:
Palast’s film: Big Easy to Big Empty — The True Story of the Drowning of New Orleans
All Proceeds go in support of WBAI Pacifica Radio and The Palast Investigative Fund
Also the following evening:
Talk and Book Signing
Wed May 2 7pm - Wed May 2 9pm
Border's Books and Music,
10 Columbus Circle, Time Warner Center
An Evening with Greg Palast
Randi Rhodes and Robert Kennedy Jr
Tuesday MAY 1st — 7pm
Community Church of New York,
40 East 35th St. (Bt Park&Madison)
The official NYC Launch of Palast’s NEW updated and expanded Paperback edition of
Armed Madhouse
Palast, Rhodes and Kennedy talk about "From Baghdad to New Orleans"
Also featuring:
Palast’s film: Big Easy to Big Empty — The True Story of the Drowning of New Orleans
All Proceeds go in support of WBAI Pacifica Radio and The Palast Investigative Fund
Also the following evening:
Talk and Book Signing
Wed May 2 7pm - Wed May 2 9pm
Border's Books and Music,
10 Columbus Circle, Time Warner Center
Imus update
Update on Imus in the Hateful Morning post.
Although it's clear that CBS Radio and MSNBC are trying to get away with Imus' racist and sexist remarks the sponsors are not - so Imus may be in for more than a two-week suspension. According to Keith Olbermann
"recent comments on the show have caused [one sponsor] to discontinue its advertising on Imus in the Morning...the co-president of Bigalow Tea announced that her company, whose advertising contract with Imus in the Morning had just expired, had 'suspended our current advertising and may not resume it" [and] the nation's biggest marketer Proctor and Gamble had suspended its advertising commitments for the television simulcast and the media buying agency Carat USA says some of its clients have asked for their commercials to be pulled from the Imus program, though it would not identify those clients."
The abandonment of the show by advertisers will be far more damaging than anything CBS Radio and MSNBC seem willing to do at this point. But this will only happen if we keep the pressure on.
One further word: a number of people have raised the question: If all the Hip Hop artists and rappers call Black women hos, why is everyone picking on Imus? Doesn't their using these words make them part of the common language?
First, I don't listen to most Gangster Rap because I think much of it does demean women and is sexist and possibly racist. And many of the people who have been calling for Imus to be fired have previously been equally critical of Rap music.
But the simple fact is "Two wrongs don't make a right." If I commit murder that doesn't make it OK for you to go out and kill someone.
Each person has to take responsibility for their own actions.
Although it's clear that CBS Radio and MSNBC are trying to get away with Imus' racist and sexist remarks the sponsors are not - so Imus may be in for more than a two-week suspension. According to Keith Olbermann
"recent comments on the show have caused [one sponsor] to discontinue its advertising on Imus in the Morning...the co-president of Bigalow Tea announced that her company, whose advertising contract with Imus in the Morning had just expired, had 'suspended our current advertising and may not resume it" [and] the nation's biggest marketer Proctor and Gamble had suspended its advertising commitments for the television simulcast and the media buying agency Carat USA says some of its clients have asked for their commercials to be pulled from the Imus program, though it would not identify those clients."
The abandonment of the show by advertisers will be far more damaging than anything CBS Radio and MSNBC seem willing to do at this point. But this will only happen if we keep the pressure on.
One further word: a number of people have raised the question: If all the Hip Hop artists and rappers call Black women hos, why is everyone picking on Imus? Doesn't their using these words make them part of the common language?
First, I don't listen to most Gangster Rap because I think much of it does demean women and is sexist and possibly racist. And many of the people who have been calling for Imus to be fired have previously been equally critical of Rap music.
But the simple fact is "Two wrongs don't make a right." If I commit murder that doesn't make it OK for you to go out and kill someone.
Each person has to take responsibility for their own actions.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Imus in the hateful morning
As John McEnroe used to say: "You can't be serious?"
Two weeks suspension for Don Imus. In other words, if you spew hate on MSNBC and CBS Radio you get a two-week vacation. "I think it's clearly not enough," Al Sharpton told CNN.
"This is a two-week cooling off period," The Rev. Jesse Jackson said, according to Gambling 911. "It does not challenge the character of the show, its political impact, or the impact that these comments have had on our society."
But there are other aspects of the Imus show that may change right away. For example, The Washington Times reports that "Hall of Famer Cal Ripken canceled an appearance on Don Imus' radio and television program scheduled for later this week because of comments the talk show host made about Rutgers' women's basketball team." A few more people with integrity, or those who just don't want to get involved in the controversy, could change the minds at CBS Radio and MSNBC.
Does the "I" in I-man really stand for Idiot? Or perhaps a better question is: Does Imus take us for idiots? Obviously he does and it seems he's right.
On April 4Th Imus and his executive producer were discussing the previous night's Rutgers/Tennessee women's title basketball game.
IMUS: "That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and --"
[The show's executive producer] McGUIRK: "Some hard-core hos."
IMUS: "That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some -- woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like -- kinda like -- I don't know."
Since then he has claimed to not be a racist, to have intended the comment to be funny, and today (Monday) he said:
"I'm not a bad person. I'm a good person who said something bad."
The simple fact is that good people don't think that something as hateful as "nappy-headed hos" is funny. What kind of audience listens/watches his show? A friend of mine commented that if he said something similar about the Israeli women's basketball team (I don't know if there is one) he'd already be suspended while this discussion is going on and probably never see the inside of a broadcast studio again.
I don't know if he should be fired outright or given a long suspension, but two weeks is less than a slap on the wrist. Monday on The View , Elizabeth Hasselback suggested he be suspended until Black History Month (February). That would be a good beginning.
Whether Imus is eventually fired or gets a meaningful suspension it has nothing to do with constitutionally protected speech. Unless the government enters the dispute. Given the current makeup of the Bush FCC hurtful speech is seen as much less dangerous than a nipple.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said that Imus' suspensions would not halt the protests that have taken place as a result of the comments. There should be demonstrations every day outside CBS and NBC (a moving demo) until there is a punishment that fits the crime. Imus is not the issue. Racism and sexism are.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that the headline of the Imus story on Fox News.com is "Two Sides to Imus Story?"
Friday, April 06, 2007
Cheney lurks in shrubs at Bush press conference
I have a weak stomach so I don't usually watch Bush press conferences, but I did last week. And watched an extraordinary Bush administration visual: Cheney lurking in the shrubs during the conference and then slinking into the White House after it ended.
It brought back memories of the wire under Bush's jacket in the first debate with Kerry. Only this time Cheney decided to make a personal appearance and work the puppet strings himself. Or maybe he was just there to step in if Bush needed backup.
Dad demands son not be treated as "baggage"
"In an about-face by the U.S. government four years into the war in Iraq, America's fallen troops are being brought back to their families aboard charter jets instead of ordinary commercial flights, and the caskets are being met by honor guards in white gloves instead of baggage handlers with forklifts.
"That change — which took effect quietly in January and applies to members of the U.S. military killed in Afghanistan, too — came after a campaign waged by a father who was aghast to learn that his son's body was going to be unloaded like so much luggage."
{From Fox News}
The times they are a changin': Disney stands up
"Same-sex couples who want to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's Castle now have the chance.
"The Walt Disney Co. had limited its Fairy Tale Wedding program to couples with valid marriage licenses, but it is now making ceremonies at its parks available to gay couples as well."
(from the UK Guardian)
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Obama slips into Bushspeak
Photo by Kwame Ross
What happens when the political snake proffers the presidential apple? It seems it beclouds your mind with Bushspeak.
Here's what Senator Barak Obama said when asked about the possibility of a funding cut-off if Bush goes through with his threatened veto of recent congressional anti-war legislation:
"I think that nobody wants to play chicken with our troops on the ground," he told the Associated Press, adding: "I don't think we can muster at this point a majority of Senate Democrats or Republicans to vote for a cutoff of funding."
Labelling it as "playing chicken with our troops on the ground," which is, of course, exactly what Bush is doing, is likely to make it much less likely that "a majority of Senate Democrats or Republicans [will] vote for a cutoff of funding."
Senator, if you're anti-war, don't throw your principles out the window to enhance your presidential prospects. It won't work, no matter what your advisors are telling you.
What happens when the political snake proffers the presidential apple? It seems it beclouds your mind with Bushspeak.
Here's what Senator Barak Obama said when asked about the possibility of a funding cut-off if Bush goes through with his threatened veto of recent congressional anti-war legislation:
"I think that nobody wants to play chicken with our troops on the ground," he told the Associated Press, adding: "I don't think we can muster at this point a majority of Senate Democrats or Republicans to vote for a cutoff of funding."
Labelling it as "playing chicken with our troops on the ground," which is, of course, exactly what Bush is doing, is likely to make it much less likely that "a majority of Senate Democrats or Republicans [will] vote for a cutoff of funding."
Senator, if you're anti-war, don't throw your principles out the window to enhance your presidential prospects. It won't work, no matter what your advisors are telling you.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Chelsea Neighbors United newsletter
Check out the latest newsletter from Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War.
And remember if you live in Chelsea (or even if you don't):
"Every Tuesday evening at 6 pm (rain or shine), Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War assembles on the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and 24th Street. ... [CNU is] a community protest against the war in Iraq."
And remember if you live in Chelsea (or even if you don't):
"Every Tuesday evening at 6 pm (rain or shine), Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War assembles on the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and 24th Street. ... [CNU is] a community protest against the war in Iraq."
Iran and the British sailors
During the saga of Iran and the British sailors I have been plagued by a question: How is it possible for the corporate media to once again buy into the innocent Blair-Bush act? Or perhaps, is it possible to actually envision Blair and, in this case, his sidekick, Bush as victims of an international incident?
This has been articulated perfectly by Robert Parry on Consortiumnews.com:
"Of course, left outside this narrow frame of reference was the gross violation of international law – the bloody invasion of Iraq in 2003 – that put the Brits there in the first place.
"Back then, international law was deemed little more than a nuisance getting in the way of what President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair wanted to do, i.e. conquer Iraq, install a compliant government, 'privatize' its resources, and threaten other countries in the region to get in line."
"The combined interventions by the United Kingdom and the United States may have cost the lives of hundreds of thousands – possibly millions – of Iraqis and Iranians over the past century, but somehow Blair and Bush have positioned themselves as the innocent victims – at least as far as the Western press corps is concerned."
Of course, Bush has spent most of his almost two terms in office playing the victim. And until last Nov. 7 it worked perfectly. And now it's up to the Democrats to articulate an alternative framework and take it to the people before Bush, once again, snatches victory from the jaws of defeat (here, not in Iraq).
This has been articulated perfectly by Robert Parry on Consortiumnews.com:
"Of course, left outside this narrow frame of reference was the gross violation of international law – the bloody invasion of Iraq in 2003 – that put the Brits there in the first place.
"Back then, international law was deemed little more than a nuisance getting in the way of what President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair wanted to do, i.e. conquer Iraq, install a compliant government, 'privatize' its resources, and threaten other countries in the region to get in line."
"The combined interventions by the United Kingdom and the United States may have cost the lives of hundreds of thousands – possibly millions – of Iraqis and Iranians over the past century, but somehow Blair and Bush have positioned themselves as the innocent victims – at least as far as the Western press corps is concerned."
Of course, Bush has spent most of his almost two terms in office playing the victim. And until last Nov. 7 it worked perfectly. And now it's up to the Democrats to articulate an alternative framework and take it to the people before Bush, once again, snatches victory from the jaws of defeat (here, not in Iraq).
Sunday, April 01, 2007
African-Americans and baseball
This month - as a new season begins - the lords of baseball will once again climb on the back of Jackie Robinson on the occasion of the 60Th anniversary of the breaking of baseball's racist barriers to promote the game and enrich themselves.
This is what Hall of Famer Dave Winfield has to say about the current situation in today's Daily News:
"[There is an] exodus from the game of African-American players and fans - in 1975, 25% of ballplayers were African-American. Today, it's 8% - and some teams have none."
Hypocrisy has never been far from baseball public relations.
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