The Death of Hugo Chavez; Reactions from Immortal Technique, Cynthia Mckinney & More

Hugo Chavez

Hugo Chavez

There’s a lot to be said about Hugo Chavez,  the President of Venezuela who passed away yesterday from complications due to cancer.. For many he was considered a friend and a champion of the poor. He was seen as a hero who was willing to stand up to the United States and other western  powers who have an egregious record in South America of undermining democratically elected leaders..

Two movies.. Harvest of Empire and South of the Border bring US policies out in painful detail.. They show how private companies and media outlets including our own CNN worked overtime to try and overthrow governments throughout Latin America. You can see in the clip that starts off South of the Border  the round the clock demonization of South American leaders by our so-called esteemed media..

It’s important to understand our policies and what doesn’t get reported here in the states when viewing Hugo Chavez. A lot of what he did and didn’t do centers around the desire to see him removed from office by our own government..

It’s also important to understand that while Chavez was a charismatic singular face attached to Venezuela in terms of how he’s depicted here, in Latin America, he was part of a large movement. In short , he didn’t obtain his position in a vacuum. Nor can you explain Chavez or Venezuela in a 30 second sound bite..

Shortly after getting the news that he passed we broke into regular programming on KPFA and gathered up some folks to speak to Chavez and his legacy.. Our roundtable of guest are movers and shakers in a variety of circles and knew Chavez  or did lots of ground work in the country over the years..

CynthiaMckinneyred-225Our first guest was former Green Party Presidential candidate and congresswoman Cynthia McKinney..She set the tone by breaking down US foreign policy in Latin America and the great lengths our government has gone to try and undermine leaders they didn’t like. McKinney talked at length about Cointel-pro and what has happened to leaders domestically, hence we should not be shocked at the type of hostilities shown internationally..She also talked about Chavez and what he meant to his people as well as sharing her own stories about him…Here’s our interview..

Who Can Stop the DrumsWe spoke with author and Professor Sujatha Fernandes who wrote the ground breaking book ‘Who Can Stop the Drums? Urban Social Movements in Chávez’s Venezuela‘ .. Here Professor Fernandes reveals a significant dimension of political life in Venezuela since President Hugo Chávez was elected. Fernandes traces the histories of the barrios, from the guerrilla insurgency, movements against displacement, and cultural resistance of the 1960s and 1970s, through the debt crisis of the early 1980s and the neoliberal reforms that followed, to the Chávez period.

During our interview with myself and fellow KPFA host Mitch Jeserich, Fernandes provides additional keen insights around what life on the ground was like for the average Venezuelan and the impact Chavez’s policies had on folks..She also speaks to why Chavez had been and will continue to be demonized here in the US..

Venezuela SpeaksAlso on the line with us and Fernandes was Carlos Martinez who lived in Venezuela and is the co-editor of the book Venezuela Speaks; Voices from the Grassroots. Here Martinez and his co-editors  gathered a collection of interviews with activists and participants from across Venezuela’s social movements. From community media to land reform; cooperatives to communal councils, from the labor movement to the Afro-Venezuelan network, Venezuela Speaks! sheds light on the complex realities within the Bolivarian Revolution. These interviews offer a compelling oral history of Venezuela’s democratic revolution, from the bottom up.

During our interview, Martinez put the work he’s done into context and further expounded upon why Hugo Chavez was important and his overall impact on the region..

You can peep their interview here…

Click HERE to listen to our Breakdown FM interview w/ Immortal Technique at Rock the Bells 2010

Immortal Technique

We spoke with activist and popular Hip Hop artist Immortal Technique who talked about his trips to Venezuela and what he learned from traveling extensively around the country. He said he learned a lot and it was clear that Chavez meant a lot to the poor folks and poor communities. He noted that Chavez was not very well liked within the circles of the elite and they were constantly working to get at him.. Immortal talked at lengths some of the key strengths of Chavez as well as some of his actions and policies that were problematic.. Tech also noted that one can not sum up Chavez in a quick sentence, his presidency was much more complex..

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LzOth38jxtM

Drone Strikes Kill 3 as We Dance at Inauguration Balls & Celebrate Dr King’s Bday

Predator dronePeeping today’s NY Times as we just celebrated Dr King’s holiday and noted the following story..

An American drone strike on Monday on a car east of Sana, the capital, killed three people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda, said Yemeni security officials. On Saturday, two American drone strikes killed eight people in Marib Province. Yemen, aided by the United States, has been battling the local branch of Al Qaeda. The United States rarely comments on its military role in Yemen but has acknowledged targeting Qaeda militants in the past.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/world/middleeast/yemen-drone-strike-kills-3.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

I know I know, many reading this will say something cute like; This is chess not checkers and we don’t know all that’s going on.. and others wlll say we need to protect America.. blah blah blah.. save it..We all know when things are wrong..

Drone Operator

Drone Operator

The key word in this article is SUSPECTED…The 3 killed last night brings the total killed by drone strikes to 11… Last I checked drones don’t fly down and order you to stop your car, put your hands up, toss out the keys and keep your hands on the steering wheel, while someone checks out your ID and registration, then brings you into custody, where you have a chance to raise bail, talk to a lawyer, have a trial and prove your innocence.. In short you don’t get a chance to surrender.. drones shoot and kill.. And while many try to avoid this ugly fact just remember, those operating drones, may one day be on your city street wearing a badge and carrying gun..

Also one should note that more and more police departments are getting drones. In two years corporations will be able to get and use drones privately, that means everyone from Wal-Mart to private security companies…

Maybe all that’s going on is a way to get us conditioned for all out oppression. Maybe this is designed to desensitize us so we will easily toss such atrocities away.. You can see this happening as folks will now only flinch if they are informed the victims of drone strikes are children.. If adults many kind of shrug their shoulders and say oh well.. Far too many of us are becoming what we once said we despised and fought against..

Well since we were celebrating Dr King’s birthday yesterday  remember what he said; The greatest purveyor of violence in the world : My own Government, I can not be Silent.

If you wanna go indepth about what we are doing w/ Drone strikes peep Dirty Wars which just premiered at Sundance and peep this interview with investigative reporter Jeremy Schahill…. http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/22/dirty_wars_jeremy_scahill_and_rick

What’s even more disturbing about these drone strikes is the fact that yesterday there was a drone ‘die in at the inauguration.. I know it wasn’t reported on many outlets.. Why spoil the happy feelings? Here’s  what was sent to President Obama before the inauguration

Friends,

The National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance sent this letter to President Obama to seek a meeting to discuss the illegality and immorality of the killer drone strikes. Consider mailing this letter with your signature to the president.

Also consider joining NCNR on January 21 in a die-in replicating the effects of a U.S. drone strike. We have a responsibility to force our government to end its policy of using killer drones.

Kagiso, Max

National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218

Email mobuszewski at Verizon.net; Phone 410-366-1637
—————————————————————————————-

Dear Mr. President:

Congratulations on being elected president for a second term. We expect you to now embrace your Nobel Peace Prize and end all of the U.S. wars.

As members of peace and justice organizations opposed to your continuation of the Bush administration’s failed wars, we are writing to condemn your use of unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones) to kill citizens in at least seven countries. Besides opposing your war policies, we have great concern for people caught up in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia and Yemen. The use of drones is wrong on many levels: the illegality and immorality of assassinations, the violation of international law and the Constitutional protection of due process, the targeting of civilian populations, and the disregard of sovereignty. We are especially troubled by your refusal to release the flawed document which purportedly gives you legal cover to determine who is on the kill list.

Your use of killer drones is and will continue to create more enmity toward the United States. Because of the lack of transparency, it remains unclear how many civilians are known to have suffered losses of life, limb or property as a result of strikes. The Bush administration did not seem to have any concern for the communities under attack. Sadly you have increased the use of drone strikes, and as a result there is rampant anti-U.S. sentiment throughout these areas in conflict.

Furthermore, we are also concerned that U.S. drones are used to eliminate political opponents of corrupt leaders. This happened in 2010 in Yemen, when a state governor who opposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh was labeled as a leader of Al Qaeda and killed.

We believe that you should issue a directive terminating the killer drone program. This would have a profound effect around the world, and could initiate a process of healing. As citizens, we do not see the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia and Yemen as enemies. These are our brothers and sisters. Instead of wasting billions of dollars on immoral drone strikes, take the money from the program and give it to non-governmental organizations working on providing jobs and incomes to people so that they do not join terrorist groups. There would be much support for such a program in these war-torn countries.

We believe U.S. wars and drone attacks have been demonstrable failures. Now is the time to take the risks of peace. Imagine leading a country which has denounced the madness of war, and instead wants to assist and make friendship with the people of the Middle East and Central Asia.

We look forward to your response. Should you agree to endorse a foreign policy with the goal of peace and justice, we will stand with you. Rejecting our proposal will mean more death and destruction. We will then continue to protest, risk arrest and denounce a foreign policy of endless wars.

We would be prepared to meet with members of your administration to discuss our proposal to immediately end killer drone strikes and to start a process of healing with the victims of U.S. wars. Please give serious consideration to our proposal of reconciliation and diplomacy rather than pernicious killer drone strikes.

In peace,

Max Obuszewski, Baltimore, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance

Beth Adams, Leverett, MA; Maria Allwine, Baltimore; Susanne Bader, 211 Eureka St., Grass Valley, CA 95945; Ellen E Barfield, Phil Berrigan Memorial Veterans For Peace [VFP], National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, War Resisters League, Baltimore; Ruth Benn, NYC War Resisters League; Fred Bialy, concerned citizen of the U.S., El Cerrito, CA; Hoa Binh; Bonnie Block, Madison Pledge of Resistance, Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Madison, WI; Toby Blome, Bay Area CODEPINK, El Cerrito, CA; Diana Bohn, Berkeley, CA; Barbara Briggs-Letson, California; Linda K. Brown, Baltimore; Michael G. Bucci, CEO, Development Resource Group, Chair, MicroLeadership, Inc., San Diego, CA; Dianne Budd, M.D., CodePink, San Francisco, CA 94122; Bill Carpenter, San Francisco, CA; Tim Carpenter, national director of Progressive Democrats of America, Washington, D.C.; Tim Chadwick, member of the human race, Bethlehem, PA; Francis Collins, Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, San Francisco; Robert Cooke, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, Gaithersburg, MD; Charlie Cooper, Generations for Peace and Democracy, Baltimore; Susan Crane, Redwood City Catholic Worker, Redwood City, CA; Fran Donelan, Baltimore; David Eberhardt, Baltimore; June Eisley, Pacem in Terris, Wilmington, DE; Arla S. Ertz, San Francisco, CA; Gil Field, San Diego VFP, San Diego, CA; Joy First, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Madison Pledge of Resistance, and Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Mt. Horeb, Wi; Eileen Fleming, author, reporter, founder WeAreWideAwake.org, Florida; Edward G. Fox, Dr. P.H.; Andrea Freeman, San Anselmo, CA; Carol E. Gay, president, NJ State Industrial Union Council and chair, NJ Labor Against War, Brick, NJ; Edward L. Gilmore, San Diego Chapter of Veterans For Peace; Shirley Golub, co-founder & secretary; San Francisco Chapter–Progressive Democrats of America; Emily Greene, Mentone, AL; Edith M. Hallberg, Bay Area CODEPINK, Berkeley, CA; Carole Hamlin, Baltimore; Susan Harman, CodePink, Oakland, CA; Norma J F Harrison, 1312 Cornell Ave., Berkeley, CA 94702; John Heuer, VFP, Chapel Hill, NC; George Homanich & Judy Homanich, Broome County Peace Action, 316 Prospect St., Binghamton, NY 13905; Joanna Katz, Berkeley, CA 94702; Tarak Kauff, VFP; Chuck Kaufman, national co-coordinator, Alliance for Global Justice, Washington, D.C.; Ingrid Kepler-May, 600 Grizzly Peak Blvd., Berkeley, CA, 94708; Janie Kesselman, Peace Center of Nevada County, Nevada City, CA; Malachy Kilbride, Arlington, VA; Kathy Labriola, Ninth Street Co-op, 1714 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA. 94710; Barbara Larcom, Baltimore; Martin Lefstein, Jewish Voice for Peace, affiliation purposes only, Parkville, MD; Linda LeTendre, Saratoga Peace Alliance, Saratoga Springs, NY; Stan Levin, VFP, chapter 91, San Diego, CA; Eleanor Levine, co-coordinator, East Bay CodePink and Golden Gate CodePink, San Francisco Bay Area, CA; JoAnne Lingle, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center; Mary Liston Liepold, Ph.D., Peace X Peace; Bro. John Mahoney, 738 S. Beechfield Ave., Baltimore 21229-4423; Kevin Martin, executive director, Peace Action, Silver Spring, MD; Maurice Martin, San Diego VFP; Bobby McCormick; Chris Moore-Backman, director, Chico Peace and Justice Center, Chico, CA; Don Muller, Sitkans for Peace and Justice, Alaska; Richard J. Ochs, Baltimore; MJ and Jerry Park, co-founders and co-directors of Little Friends For Peace, Mount Rainier, MD 20712; David Patterson, San Diego VFP, www.sdvfp.org; Rafe Pilgrim, veteran, Florida; Carol Pinson, Martinez, California 94553; Lars Prip, VFP, Janesville, WI; Andy Lee Roth, Media Freedom Foundation/ Project Censored, San Rafael, CA; N. Riggleman, 25136 Tollhouse Rd., Tollhouse, CA 93667; Jan A. Ruhman, San Diego VFP & Vietnam Veterans Against the War/OSS; Phil Runkel, Waukesha, WI; Manijeh Saba, New Jersey; Judith Sandoval, VFP, San Francisco; Helen Schietinger, Washington, D.C.; Holly Severson, San Francisco, CA; Robert M. Smith, Brandywine Peace Community, Philadelphia, PA; David Soumis, VFP/No Drones Wisconsin, McFarland Wisconsin; Alice Sturm Suter, retired nurse practioner, NYC Metro Raging Grannies and North Manhattan Neighbors for Peace and Justice; Trish Swain, Sparks, NV; Daniel Venzon, San Diego, VFP; Tom Watson, Rio Vista, CA; Zohreh M Whitaker, 2041 Campton Circle, Gold River, CA 95670-8301; Paki Wieland, Northampton Committee to Stop War(s); Michael Wong, vice president, VFP chapter 69, identification purposes only, San Francisco.

Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

Lupe Fiasco Thrown off Stage at Pre-Inauguration Concert in Washington DC

Lupe Fiasco

Looks like Lupe Fiasco is gonna stick to his principles no matter what.. We’re getting reports that he was dragged off stage from security at a StartUp RockOn  event in Washington DC..Apparently he performed his anti-war, anti Obama song Words I never Said for 30 minutes.. The concert hosts tried to get him to change songs.. Lupe refused and the next thing you know guard hit the stage and dragged him off..   Wow..  I guess Obama supporters ain’t having the disses unless your  Kid Rock or  Ted Nugent…They talk smack all day and never get shut down…From the way the reports go, this reminds me of the time when Lauryn Hill came to perform at the DNC Rock the Vote Party in 2004… She kept the crowd waiting for 2 hours.. She showed up grabbed the mic sang the words Politicians are shady.. hummed a little and left never to return.. Lupe decided to make his point known by staying for 30 minutes..

Here’s a few of the tweets collected by Buzz feed about Lupe’s performance and shut down

including this one from reporter Josh Rogin  and Matt Dornic

Lupe Fiasco just got thrown off stage here at the Hamilton Live after he went on an anti-Obama diatribe mid set.

Things going terribly wrong at @lupefiasco performance during #SURO. Kicked off stage, bashing obama.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/lupe-fiasco-thrown-off-stage-at-inauguration-conce

You can see a video of Lupe and his encounter below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ScQl5_GQao

Here’s the official statement from organizers which came out a short while ago…

StartUp RockOn is all about startups helping startups. At Sunday night’s Inauguration Celebration at the Hamilton Live, organizers set out to honor innovative visionaries with grants, accolades and a party worthy of the success we achieved at the RNC and DNC this summer.

Lupe Fiasco performed at this private event, and as you may have read, he left the stage earlier than we had planned. But Lupe Fiasco was not “kicked off stage” for an “anti-Obama rant.” We are staunch supporters of free speech, and free political speech. This was not about his opinions. Instead, after a bizarrely repetitive, jarring performance that left the crowd vocally dissatisfied, organizers decided to move on to the next act.

The party continued as planned, and we celebrated the announcement of CodeNow’s winning the Grant Challenge. CodeNow is a non-profit startup based in Washington DC that teaches “underrepresented high school students basic skills in computer programming.”

StartUp RockOn was founded last year by three startups: HyperVocal, EventFarm and Fighter Interactive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22l1sf5JZD0

Piers Morgan vs Alex Jones… The Gun Control Debate

An interesting exchange between  CNN’s Piers Morgan and Alex Jones about gun control..Thoughts on this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyKofFih8Y

Jones was part of the crew of folks who created a petition to have Piers deported… As you watch this keep in mind, this is the same Jones that in Texas many Brown folks see him as a staunch anti-immigrant Nativist who promotes the offensive “Reconquista” conspiracy theory which has in many ways been fuel for far-right wing forces anti-immigrant militia forces.. In short Fear of Brown Planet…He expresses those sentiments HERE

Because he speaks on police brutality and will speak against certain types of government oppression, many have gotten sucked in believing he ain’t all that bad..Think again.. Here’s a few pieces  1) http://www.thomhartmann.com/users/political-fingers/blog/2011/05/alex-jones-neo-confederate-racist

2) http://www.irehr.org/issue-areas/race-racism-and-white-nationalism/item/376-who-is-alex-jones

3)  http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/i-hate-arabs-more-than-anybody-desperate-army-recruits-neo-nazis

Piers Morgan  & Alex Jones

150 Years Ago Enslaved Africans Were Set Free By Abraham Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation)

emancipation-proclaimaition-finalSo 150 years ago today President Abraham Lincoln ‘freed the slaves‘ or so the narrative goes.. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed, but how many of us really knows what that all meant? In addition how is 150 years later we have more folks in prison than we did on those plantations?

Even if we aren’t in jails, many of us are dealing head on with economic enslavement..I’m with the late Gil Scott Heron who famously said ‘The Revolution will not be Televised’.. He went on to explain, it won’t be televised because the revolution we need has to take place in our minds..Have we freed ourselves in the question on the first day of 2013?

Here’s a some info on the Emancipation Proclamation

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”

Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.

From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery’s final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.

if This man freed us why are so many of us still locked up?

If this man freed us why are so many of us still locked up?

The original of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, is in the National Archives in Washington, DC. With the text covering five pages the document was originally tied with narrow red and blue ribbons, which were attached to the signature page by a wafered impression of the seal of the United States. Most of the ribbon remains; parts of the seal are still decipherable, but other parts have worn off.

The document was bound with other proclamations in a large volume preserved for many years by the Department of State. When it was prepared for binding, it was reinforced with strips along the center folds and then mounted on a still larger sheet of heavy paper. Written in red ink on the upper right-hand corner of this large sheet is the number of the Proclamation, 95, given to it by the Department of State long after it was signed. With other records, the volume containing the Emancipation Proclamation was transferred in 1936 from the Department of State to the National Archives of the United States.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN_ZkLyNK-o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN_ZkLyNK-o

Documents Reveal FBI Infiltrated Occupy Movement -Worked w/ Banks to Shut Down OWS

fbi-cointelproSo now we know the FBI had infiltrated the Occupy Movement What’s interesting about this information about Occupy, is I was at the press conference and recorded Oakland Mayor Jean Quan saying that she was on the phone with mayors from 16 other cities on how to deal with the Occupy Movement.. Her remarks were quickly downplayed and any discussion of ‘coordinated shut downs’, Department of Homeland Security involvement or FBI infiltration was chalked up as ‘conspiracy’ theory…

Most folks involved with Occupy already figured out something was afoot.. and now its been confirmed.. What’s problematic is seeing how many blatant things have been ignored.. For example, how and why were NYPD units able to work on behalf of a private firm?  In this case Wall Street/ JP Chase..You can read about that HERE..

We never really got to understand why so much energy was put on Occupy Wall Street and not the people who actually caused the financial crises that brought OWS into existence..How many FBI agents have been or are working to take down those running illegal financial schemes?

In places like Oakland where we’ve had high number of homicides as well as in neighboring SF and San Jose.. we also saw tremendous amounts of time and energy spent monitoring the Occupy Movement vs solving pressing crimes.. We’ve seen as many as 17 different police agencies show up to stop 100 people from taking over abandoned buildings, but if your place got robbed, you would have to make the trip to the police station to file a report.. The police say they were stretched watching Occupy folks.. With all that’s been going on in this beloved country, the Occupy Movement was that much of a threat? 

strike occupy_oakland_1103_25Sounds more like monitoring folks was an easier gig, paid lots of overtime and reflected deep mismanagement and warped priorities inside some of these departments.. And for those who think this is some sort of exaggeration take a look at the types of things our law enforcement spends our tax dollars on… Read this story about the police investigating Meet the Press anchor David Gregory for holding a gun magazine on TV.. You can peep that HERE

The most pressing question is how did all this go down on President Obama’s watch? What kind of community organizing is this? It’s interesting to note that many accused Occupy of being a grand brainchild of Obama.. Maybe when he realized that OWS wasn’t rolling in lockstep with the Democrats, he decided to send in the FBI.. Maybe there was a reason behind all the antiwar movements quieting down after he got elected even though he continued many of the same Pro-war policies of President George Bush his predecessor.

Questions: Did the FBI infiltrate the Tea Party? If Obama’s FBI was spying on Occupy what other domestic political groups were under his ‘watchful eye’?  What sort of dissention did infiltrating agents cause in the ranks? Were these endless debates about diversity of tactics and property destruction tactics deployed by the FBI to make Occupy less attractive?

One thing I recall Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seal stating about what the FBI/ Cointel-Pro  papers on the Panthers  revealed… He noted that the Panthers were considered a threat when they started doing community things like serving free breakfast.. Seal said FBI papers showed they worked overtime to make Panthers be unattractive to the community. Did they do similar things with Occupy? With all the hi-tech equipment available today spying on someone is easy, if we’re talking about capturing footage or a recording a conversation.. If the FBI had infiltrated OWS then it had to be to cause confusion and be disruptive..This is what happened during Cointel-pro days from the 60s.. why not now?

-Davey D-

**PS.. Dec 29 2012**.. This just came in… FBI worked with the big Banks to shut down Occupy Movements.. Folks need to chew on that for a minute..u can read that article here…  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy

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FBI Had Counterterrorism Agents Investigate Occupy Movement

It’s the latest example of counterterrorism officials looking into domestic protest groups.

http://www.alternet.org/fbi-had-counterterrorism-agents-investigate-occupy-movement

FBI_Police_chargerThe New York Times reports that the FBI had counterterrorism agents to investigate Occupy Wall Street, and that “F.B.I. personnel around the country were routinely involved in exchanging information about the movement with businesses, local law-enforcement agencies and universities.”

The Partnership for Civil Justice received the records after a Freedom of Information Act request. They show that once again the agency used counterterrorism agents to track domestic activists — like they have in the past with environmental, anti-poverty and animal rights groups.

The Times reports that:

The memo said agents discussed “past and upcoming meetings” of the movement, and its spread. It said agents should contact Occupy Wall Street activists to ascertain whether people who attended their events had “violent tendencies.”

The memo said that because of high rates of unemployment, “the movement was spreading throughout Florida and there were several Facebook pages dedicated to specific chapters based on geographical areas.”

The F.B.I. was concerned that the movement would provide “an outlet for a lone offender exploiting the movement for reasons associated with general government dissatisfaction.”

The records provide one of the first glimpses into how deeply involved federal law-enforcement authorities were in monitoring the activities of the movement, which is sometimes described in extreme terms.

An agency spokesman told the paper that “The F.B.I. recognizes the rights of individuals and groups to engage in constitutionally protected activity. While the F.B.I. is obligated to thoroughly investigate any serious allegations involving threats of violence, we do not open investigations based solely on First Amendment activity.”

The Obama Conquest Newsweek Cover Stirs up an Array of Emotions.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and this Newsweek cover ups the ante.  There’s a lot going on here with this provocative flick starting with the comparison of President Obama to Napoleon/ George Washington.

At a time when we have employers firing folks because Obama was re-elected, racial unrest on a college campuses like Ole Miss, folks from 15 states trying to kick off a secession movement and Fox News anchors having major meltdowns, this cover with its headlines will only serve to enrage folks more even if the story was intended to be complimentary.

At the same time one must keep in mind that the President of the US in many respects is the President of the world..so while many may see Obama as a conqueror of the racist adversaries who opposed him here at home, he’s still the man behind drone strikes, mass deportations Africom, regime change, and NDAA and in that sense he’s deemed a conqueror to be feared. The US is perceived as an empire and Obama is the head of it. the words Obama Conquest underscore that sentiment.

Toussaint L’ouverture

The Newsweek cover has in its headline GOP: You’re Old You’re White You’re History. Considering we had so much vitriol coming from the GOP with cries to ‘take the country back‘, which many took as code to stop Blacks and other people of color from advancing, this cover is sure to be a dagger is some people’s hearts. Obama winning or conquering has been his opposition’s worst fear. And while its true many have compared the picture to Napoleon or George Washington.. I’m gonna say Obama in this photo reminds me of Toussaint L’ouverture, the man who defeated Napoleon, maybe that’s why some folks are scared.

Anyway that’s my two cents, whats your thoughts on this cover?

Was President Obama’s Re-Election About Our Hopes or Our Fears?

There’s a lot to reflect and say about last night’s election. The re-election of President Barack Obama brought enthusiastic cheers from all corners of the country. But one should be cautious and not misread those cheers. They weren’t the cheers of 2008 where there was literally dancing in the streets as history was made and folks were left hopeful.

Last night what we heard were cheers of relief. It was relief that came from millions of people having to endure he humiliation of chaos at the polls , where many wound up standing for up 6 or 7 hours or were aggressively questioned by Tea Party backed True the Vote poll watchers who suspected their eligibility, and a range other widespread voter suppression efforts.

Last night the cheers were being relieved of having to deal with Neandrathrolic behavior from sitting lawmakers who felt that there was ‘legitimate rape‘ and that women should not only not be allowed to have abortions, but shouldn’t have access to birth control

Last night we heard cheers of relief, because folks were fearful of having what little safety nets were left to be immediate dismantled or repealed on the day those seeking power took office…

Like it or not, Obama won last night’s election because of widespread politics of fear..not hope. Many who voted for him, did so with lots of dissatisfaction and disappointment on an array of policies the President championed or did not champion, but what they perceived was coming down the pipe was so frightening folks quickly got in line and pulled the lever for the President..

It was clear with Mitt Romney that there was a 47% of the population that needed to be ousted. He and many of his supporters felt like many of us were ‘leeches’ and no longer needed to be seen as fellow human beings… The mean-spirited racially charged policies being proposed and brought before the floor in Congress, sent a strong message to many, that there was a helluva a lot of white folks who were not playing around and were going all out to roll back anything and everything that had progressed in the past 50 years. That frightened people and Obama was a beneficiary.

Last night Mitt Romney had a voting base that consisted of 89% white people. That xenophobic angry base and how they see the world is best personified with the remarks of Bill O’Reilly and his Fox News cohorts. Its personified with the nasty tweets sent out by singer Ted Nugent where he refered to Obama supporters as whores and welfare cheats. Its personified by the angry tweets from Donald Trump who said the election was  sham and a travesty and America must fight to stop what had just happened.. (an Obama win)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZZt3jPDvNQ

Only time will tell if what we experienced was some grand exercise of Good Cop Bad Cop with the end game of getting everyone to reinvest into a system that has constantly failed people. But for now many are happy that they pushed back on something they felt would be irreversibly catastrophic. By voting and re-electing Barack Obama many who are part of a growing demographic of folks who feel they’re constantly marginalized felt like they were standing up and pushing back on the type of attitude expressed in the O’reilly video..

Unfortunately, it’ll take more than just voting. More push back is needed. It ranges from deading citizens united which allowed unlimited money to come into politics to having comprehensive election reform that restricts deceptive practices and voter suppression tactics. Close to 5 Billion dollars was spent for this past election..

It’s gonna require push back to stop the relentless attempts by corporate giants to own and privatize everything from our drinking water to FEMA which is what Mitt Romney proposed. It’s gonna require us to push back and demand economic and social justice..

All the forces that worried folks are still here, most likely plotting and scheming on how to better advance their cause. Bain Capitol and uncaring companies like it are still around and doing business as usual. In fact that might be vengeful and economically spurn their workers because of the win.

The forces behind banning ethnic studies books in Arizona have not left. Those who wish to public education and privatize public universities are back at work gearing up for the next round of tuition hikes. Police are still gunning down Black people every 36 hours..The people who obstructed Obama and demonstrated racial hostility are still in Congress and the Senate.

The policies that Obama embraced or didn’t embrace are still in front of us..How will we get him to match the words he uttered in his speech last night that left many feeling re-charged?  How will we become partners in reshaping America so that beneficial for all vs being disposable tools who are only tapped when its election time? In short there’s lots more work to do and hopefully all of us are up to the challenge.

written by Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddx8t6zGWxA

Obama & Romney Spar Over Libya Both Fail to Mention Acts of Terror Against Blacks

During last night’s debate President Barack Obama delivered what many considered a death-blow when he and Mitt Romney exchanged barbs about Libya. Romney called into question Obama’s judgement or lacktherof around the securing of the Embassy which came under attack on September 11th resulting in the death of 4 Americans including ambassador Christopher Stevens.

In the back and forth, Romney attempted to chastise the President for not calling the attacks on the Embassy an ‘Act of Terror‘. Obama retorted that he had. He demanded that Romney ‘look at the transcript’. The nail in the coffin came when CNN moderator Candy Crowley backed up Obama’s claim and publicly corrected Romney. He had indeed referenced the attacks in Benghazi, as acts of terror.

It was also during this exchange that President Obama looking sternly at Mitt Romney and said he was taking full responsibility for what occurred in Libya. He said this in spite of the fact Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton had already fallen on the proverbial sword. Obama made it clear that Hillary worked for him and the buck stopped with him.. The president was widely praised for his forthright remarks, even as pundits on both sides of the political aisle debated what the president ‘really meant’ when he uttered the phrase ‘acts of terror’ the day after the attacks.

Sadly what President Obama didn’t take responsibility nor ever reference was the ongoing ‘acts of terror’ and torture that have befallen Black Libyans since the US and NATO armed and aided the NTC militias. This is the dirty little secret known all over the world where the UN, Amnesty International along with former congress woman and Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney after returning from Libya on a fact-finding trek, have all weighed in and reported.

When conflict in Libya first emerged there were mainstream stories here in the US asserting that leader Moammar Gaddafi was hiring black mercenary soldiers. So for the few journalist who got wind of torture of Black Libyans, they dismissed it and said it was mercenaries working for Gaddafi being slaughtered. Such assertions have long been disproven. The folks being ethnically cleansed were Black Libyans and innocent Black migrant workers many of them coming from other countries like Ethiopia. The torture they’ve been subjected to have been horrific ranging from public hangings, whippings, entire families shot and burned out of their homes, while others Black Libyans have been put in zoo cages and forced to eat the new Libyan flag. All of this has been well documented but ignored by our President. Even Al Jazzera which is owned and financed by the monarchs of Qatar have even reported on the wholesale slaughter of Black Libyans and they have long been stark opponents of former Libyan leader Gaddafi.

Here in the US many in the mainstream media have blocked it out and so when mentioning it, its taken as something that’s unbelievable. Many will quickly ask where are the ‘reputable’ sources to this torture after all its something that journalist like award-winning Candy Crowley didn’t bother to mention in any of her questions. Many who are press from other countries had they been moderating would’ve definitely followed up with a question to President Obama about his thoughts and whether or not he would take responsibility for the widespread torture that militia’s he backed were committing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmzGJoQlw08

In all likelihood President Obama will be re-elected. Folks will see him being in the White House as something far better then the madness we see going within the GOP. With that being said, Obama being put into power comes with a responsibility ALL of us have. We can start with making sure he does something to end this Ethnic cleansing of Black folks in Libya and in other parts of Africa. We must strive to always keep a sense of our humanity and recognize the humanity in others, especially those who are being severely oppressed.

So yes, what took place on September 11th in Libya was an act of terror when 4 Americans who we will presume were innocent, were killed. But the hundreds and thousands of Black folks being tortured, killed and abused in Libya is also an act of terror. To ignore it is to be complicit. e could take it there and take about all the drone strikes taking place in countries like Somalia and Pakistan where scores of innocent people are being killed. There is no doubt those on the receiving end of US drone strikes see what we’re doing as an act of terror. To put someone into power who then sets policies in motion to carry out these horrific policies which are considered war crimes in many countries, in our collective names is terror. Hold this President accountable.

Below are just a few links to just a few of the hundreds of stories talking about this…

Obama & Romney Spar, Both Fail to Mention the Acts of Terror Against Black Libyans

During last night’s debate President Barack Obama delivered what many considered a death-blow when he and Mitt Romney exchanged barbs about Libya.  Romney called into question Obama’s judgement or lacktherof around the securing of the Embassy which came under attack on September 11th resulting in the death of 4 Americans including ambassador Christopher Stevens.

In the back and forth, Romney attempted to chastise the President for not calling the attacks on the Embassy an ‘Act of Terror‘. Obama retorted that he had. He demanded that Romney ‘look at the transcript’. The nail in the coffin came when CNN moderator Candy Crowley backed up Obama’s claim and publicly corrected Romney.  He had indeed referenced the attacks in Benghazi, as acts of terror.

It was also during this exchange that President Obama looking sternly at Mitt Romney and said he was taking full responsibility for what occurred in Libya. He said this in spite of the fact Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton had already fallen on the proverbial sword. Obama made it clear that Hillary worked for him and the buck stopped with him.. The president was widely praised for his forthright remarks, even as pundits on both sides of the political aisle debated what the president ‘really meant’ when he uttered the phrase ‘acts of terror’ the day after the attacks.

Sadly what President Obama didn’t take responsibility nor ever reference was the ongoing ‘acts of terror’ and torture that have befallen Black Libyans since the US and NATO armed and aided the NTC militias. This is the dirty little secret known all over the world where the UN, Amnesty International along with former congress woman and Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney after returning from Libya on a fact-finding trek, have all weighed in and reported.

When conflict in Libya first emerged there were mainstream stories here in the US asserting that leader Moammar Gaddafi was hiring black mercenary soldiers. So for the few journalist who got wind of torture of Black Libyans, they dismissed it and said it was mercenaries working for Gaddafi being slaughtered. Such assertions have long been disproven. The folks being ethnically cleansed were Black Libyans and innocent Black migrant workers many of them coming from other countries like Ethiopia. The torture they’ve been subjected to have been horrific ranging from public hangings, whippings, entire families shot and burned out of their homes, while others Black Libyans have been put in zoo cages and forced to eat the new Libyan flag. All of this has been well documented but ignored by our President. Even Al Jazzera which is owned and financed by the monarchs of Qatar have even reported on the wholesale slaughter of Black Libyans and they have long been stark opponents of former Libyan leader Gaddafi.

Here in the US many in the mainstream media have blocked it out and so when mentioning it, its taken as something that’s unbelievable. Many will quickly ask where are the ‘reputable’ sources to this torture  after all its something that journalist like award-winning Candy Crowley didn’t bother to mention in any of her questions. Many who are press from other countries had they been moderating would’ve definitely followed up with a question to President Obama about his thoughts and whether or not he would take responsibility for the widespread torture that militia’s he backed were committing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmzGJoQlw08

In all likelihood President Obama will be re-elected. Folks will see him being in the White House as something far better then the madness we see going within the GOP. With that being said, Obama being put into power comes with a responsibility ALL of us have. We can start with making sure he does something to end this Ethnic cleansing of Black folks in Libya and in other parts of Africa. We must strive to always keep a sense of our humanity and recognize the humanity in others, especially those who are being severely oppressed.

So yes, what took place on September 11th in Libya was an act of terror when 4 Americans who we will presume were innocent, were killed. But the hundreds and thousands of Black folks being tortured, killed and abused in Libya is also an act of terror. To ignore it is to be complicit. e could take it there and take about all the drone strikes taking place in countries like Somalia and Pakistan where scores of innocent people are being killed. There is no doubt those on the receiving end of  US drone strikes see what we’re doing as an act of terror.  To put someone into power who then sets policies in motion to carry out these horrific policies which are considered war crimes in many countries, in our collective names is terror.  Hold this President accountable.

Below are just a few links to just a few of the hundreds of stories talking about this…