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Eminem Gets Humiliated at MTV Awards

June 1, 2009 By

daveydbanner

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One has to wonder what this was really about? MTV stooping real low? Eminem getting his just deserts after years of dissing people? Payback from Nick Cannon.. Wasn’t a cool moment for Em.. Not in the least

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2009/06/eminem_enraged_about_becoming.html

Headlines: Sascha Baron Cohen knows from publicity stunts. Eminem, who loves to dish it out, may not know how to take it. (Or maybe he was in on the joke all along?) Anyway, showing up to present an award the MTV Music Awards as Brüno, his flamboyantly gay Austrian alter ego, Cohen, according to the MTV account, “descended via wires from the rafters dressed as some sort of S&M angel — if an angel would be wearing oversized wings, a white gladiator’s costume and a jockstrap — and introduced himself in German, ‘Ich bin Brüno.’ He then appeared to get caught up in his suspension wires, flipping upside down and writhing in apparent pain before asking to be lowered to the floor. His request was quickly granted and he crashed to the ground — upside-down and directly on top of Eminem, wrapping his legs around the rapper’s head, exposing his bare buttocks within inches of Em’s face.” The rapper, who’d previously performed a couple of “Relapse” songs, wasn’t pleased with being served a teabag, saying: “Are you serious?” He swore and told his bodyguards get Cohen Brüno off of him. Eventually, Eminem left his seat, prompting Cohen Brüno to ask: “Is the real Slim Shady about to stand up?”

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Did Bill O’Reilly Inspire the Killing of Abortion Doctor George Tiller?

June 1, 2009 By

daveydbanner

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Piecing Together the Murder of Dr. George Tiller: Right-Wing Violence Rears Its Head

By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet. Posted June 1, 2009.

Tiller was the target of vicious on-air attacks by Bill O’Reilly. Could the murderer have been inspired by O’Reilly’s rants? 

 

Dr. George Tiller , 67, one of the few OB-GYNs in the country who performed late-term abortions despite ongoing threats to his safety, was fatally shot yesterday while attending a church service in Wichita, Kan. Scott Roeder, 51, has been detained for questioning.

Roeder — a registered Republican previously arrested for having bomb materials in his car — posted this chilling message on an Operation Rescue Web site called Charge Tiller in 2007 (via the Daily Kos):

It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the “lawlessness” which is spoken of in the Bible. Tiller is the concentration camp “Mengele” of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgement upon our nation.

Tiller had long faced the threat of right-wing violence. The Tiller Women’s Health Clinic clinic was bombed in 1985; in 1993, Tiller was shot in both arms by abortion protester Rachelle Shannon. The heavily fortified clinic was guarded by a private security team, and Tiller relied on a bodyguard outside of work.

Recently, Tiller had aired concerns about his safety to federal investigators. The Associated Press reports:

[Tiller’s Attorney Dan] Monnat said Tiller had asked federal prosecutors to step up investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller’s safety was in jeopardy. [Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom] Stolz, however, said police knew of no threats connected to the shooting.

In early May, Tiller had asked the FBI to investigate vandalism at his clinic, including cut wires to surveillance cameras and damage to the roof that sent rainwater pouring into the building.

Tiller had also long been the target of vicious attacks by conservative pundits like Bill O’Reilly, who often denounced Tiller on his show. Brad Reed writes on Brad Blog following Tiller’s acquittal in March on charges that he had broken a Kansas abortion law:

O’Reilly continued his series of programs focusing on the Kansas physician, charging him with “operating a death mill” (video here), and alleging that he was “executing babies” (video here).

O’Reilly had previously been highly critical of the state’s Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, charging, during his “Talking Points” commentary in 2007, that she was “allowing [Tiller] to continue the slaughter.”

 

 

 

… there’s no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly thanks to the collusion of would-be sophisticated cultural elites, a bought-and-paid-for governor and scofflaw secular journalists. Tiller’s name first appeared on The Factor on Feb. 25, 2005. Since then, O’Reilly and his guest hosts have brought up the doctor on 28 more episodes, including as recently as April 27 of this year. Almost invariably, Tiller is described as “Tiller the Baby Killer.”

Tiller, O’Reilly likes to say, “destroys fetuses for just about any reason right up until the birth date for $5,000.” He’s guilty of “Nazi stuff,” said O’Reilly on June 8, 2005; a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida, he suggested on March 15, 2006. “This is the kind of stuff happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union,” said O’Reilly on Nov. 9, 2006.

O’Reilly has also frequently linked Tiller to his longtime obsession, child molestation and rape. Because a young teenager who received an abortion from Tiller could, by definition, have been a victim of statutory rape, O’Reilly frequently suggested that the clinic was covering up for child rapists (rather than teenage boyfriends) by refusing to release records on the abortions performed.
When Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, an O’Reilly favorite who faced harsh criticism for seeking Tiller’s records, was facing electoral defeat by challenger Paul Morrison, O’Reilly said, “Now we don’t endorse candidates here, but obviously, that would be a colossal mistake. Society must afford some protection for viable babies and children who are raped.” (Morrison ultimately unseated Kline.)
This is where O’Reilly’s campaign against George Tiller becomes dangerous. While he never advocated anything violent or illegal, the Fox bully repeatedly portrayed the doctor as a murderer on the loose, allowed to do whatever he wanted by corrupt and decadent authorities. “Also, it looks like Dr. Tiller, who some call Tiller the Baby Killer, is spending a large amount of money in order to get Mr. Morrison elected. That opens up all kinds of questions,” said O’Reilly on Nov. 6, 2006, in one of many suggestions that Tiller was improperly influencing the election.

Despite ongoing threats of violence and constant right-wing media attacks, Tiller continued running Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Service, one of just three facilities in the country providing access to abortion after the 21st week of pregnancy.

According to a statement issued by Planned Parenthood, Tiller bravely performed an invaluable service:

He provided critical reproductive health care services, including abortion services to women facing some of the most difficult medical circumstances. He was continually harassed by abortion opponents for much of his career — his clinic was burned down, he was shot by a health center protester, and he was recently targeted for investigation, only to be acquitted by a jury just a few months ago. None of this stopped George Tiller from his commitment to providing women and their families with compassionate care that others were unwilling to offer.

Tiller’s slaying has also brought forth personal testimonials from the women he helped, not just in his role as abortion provider but as an OB-GYN. A diarist writes on the Daily Kos:

In 1980, I was pregnant with my first child.  I had no insurance and couldn’t afford a doctor’s appointment until I was approved for a medical card. …  Mom told Dr. Tiller, and he brought me into his office where he examined me, free of charge.  I can credit him with the very first picture taken of my son. 
The last story I have to share is about my friends who could not have children. Dr. Tiller’s office worked with several attorneys in the Wichita area to provide adoption services for his patients who wanted this option. My friends have a 10-year-old boy now, who is loved and adored. 

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America aired her concerns about the chilling effect Tiller’s killing would have on women’s health providers throughout the country:

Dr. Tiller’s murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers and other professionals who are part of reproductive-health centers that serve women across this country. We want them to know that they have our support as they move forward in providing these essential services in the aftermath of the shocking news from Wichita.

President Barack Obama also issued a statement denouncing the slaying: “I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

Some anti-choice groups were quick to distance themselves from Tiller’s killing, while reiterating their opposition to Tiller’s work. The president of Operation Rescue, the group best known for organizing sometimes-violent protests outside abortion clinics in the 1980s, said the following, according to the New York Times:

“Our prayers go out to his family and the thousands of people this will impact,” [Troy] Newman said in a telephone interview from his home in Wichita.

“Operation Rescue has worked tirelessly on peaceful, nonviolent measures to bring him to justice through the legal system, the legislative system,” Mr. Newman said. “I’m a tireless advocate and spokesman for the pre-born children who are dying in clinics every day. Mr. Tiller was an abortionist. But this wasn’t personal. We are pro life, and this act was antithetical to what we believe.”

But statements by other extremist abortion opponents went so far as to blame Tiller for his own killing, including one by Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue. Randall stated:

George Tiller was a mass murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder. 

Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.

Meanwhile, Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, issued a statement questioning the link between Tiller’s slaying and abortion opponents:

I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it, whether an angry post-abortive man or woman, or a misguided activist, or an enemy within the abortion industry, or a political enemy frustrated with the way Tiller has escaped prosecution …

Tiller leaves behind a wife, four children and 10 grandchildren. In a statement issued several hours after the shooting, Tiller’s family said:

Our loss is also a loss for the City of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality heath care despite frequent threats and violence. We ask that he be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather and a dedicated servant on behalf of the rights of women everywhere.

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Did Bill O'reilly's vicious slander of Dr Tiller cause him to be a victim to violence?

Did Bill O'reilly's vicious slander of Dr Tiller cause him to be a victim to violence?

Writing for Salon

, Gabriel Winant argues that O’Reilly’s vicious slander of Tiller may well have served as a provocation for the shooting. Although O’Reilly certainly did not instruct his listeners to commit violence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr George Tiller is the latest victim to so called Right to Lifers killing someone

Dr George Tiller is the latest victim to so called Right to Lifers killing someone

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles Tagged With: , ,

President Obama Has a New Cyberplan Straight Outta the Big Brother Handbook

June 1, 2009 By

daveydbanner

You heard it here first: The next evolution of identity management in the U.S. will grow out of Facebook. So watch what you out in your profile.

Does Obama Want to Replace Your Facebook Profile with Your Social Security Card?

By Annalee Newitz, io9. Posted June 1, 2009.

http://www.alternet.org/media/140370/does_obama_want_to_replace_your_facebook_profile_with_your_social_security_card/?page=entire

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President Obama has a new cyberplan that rivals a sscary cenario straight outta the Big Brother playbook

President Obama has a new cyberplan that rivals a sscary cenario straight outta the Big Brother playbook

Today U.S. President Obama announced plans for a “cyberspace strategy” that includes everything from possible offensive cyberwar strategies to education. It also contains a little-discussed “identity management” plan that makes me wonder if Facebook profiles are about to become the new Social Security cards.

The big news right now is who will be running Obama’s broad new cyberspace programs — in particular, who will manage the cybersecurity and cyberwarfare aspects. Right now, it appears that there will be a “cyberczar” (as yet unchosen) who will report to the National Security Council and National Economic Council (the latter because part of this role will involve bank security). The Pentagon may also be setting up its own cybersecurity division.

These are the immediate issues, but when I read through Obama’s Cyberspace Policy Review (released today with his announcements), I found an odd nugget of information buried at the bottom of his “near-term action plan”:

Build a cybersecurity-based identity management vision and strategy that addresses privacy and civil liberties interests, leveraging privacy-enhancing technologies for the Nation.

It sounds innocuous, but in fact it has profound implications that touch on security issues that have been giving the government (and industry) headaches for years.

Here is what a “cyber-security identity management vision” really is: A plan for how the government will establish and track your identity online. One of the biggest problems for law enforcement and business has been the way people can take on many identities online, which are very difficult to verify. This has allowed people to become prolific spammers (because you can send mail under any name you like), as well as fraudsters on sites like eBay. All of this is a result of the way web services “manage” identities — you can pick any name you like when you sign up for email or Paypal or whatever.

The government and its various federal agencies have been trying for years to figure out how to deal with this. Several years ago, I participated in a meeting at the Federal Trade Commission to discuss the possibility of creating an email system called “sender authentication” (to be implemented nationally) where you would have to verify your identity in a fairly rigorous way before being allowed to send email. No more fifty mailing addresses. The idea was to discourage spam and phishing, which is an understandable goal. But I and many others argued that this system would also crush free speech. No longer could you send an anonymous email, or participate in a mailing list under a pseudonym to protect your privacy.

I think Obama’s “identity management vision” falls squarely into this history of debate over how to prevent crime by rolling back the proliferation of identities online. Yes, the “strategy” as described rather vaguely in Obama’s “near-term action plan” involves a lot of hand-waving about privacy and civil liberties. But the fact is that if the government is coming up with an identity management plan, that means the government is trying in some sense to manage your identity or identities online — essentially to trace back your hottie77@gmail address to a real name, just in case hottie77 starts doing something illegal. Or allegedly illegal.

And here’s where my not-so-wild speculation about Facebook identities comes in. Many companies have turned to Facebook as an “identity management” system (including Gawker Media), allowing people to log into their services using their Facebook identity. The reason is simple: Most people only have one Facebook identity, and they stick with it. There’s a general notion that your Facebook identity is your authentic identity, or at least an identity that you keep over time, and that its characteristics can be traced back to who you are in real life. Therefore, having you log into every web service, from io9 comments to Digg to (possibly in the future) Paypal, is a way of managing your identities. Instead of having a separate identity for each of those services, you have one. Easy to manage, easy to trace.

Why shouldn’t Obama’s cyberczar just cut a deal with Facebook (and maybe a few other social networks like LinkedIn) and turn those profiles into your authentic identities? So you can send mail and buy things using your Facebook ID, and that’s how you’ll be tracked. Hey, you’re already on Facebook right? And you can set your profile to “private.” So it’s easy and “privacy enhancing.” (Never mind how easy it is to get around those privacy settings — pay no attention to that black hat behind the curtain.)

The scenario I’m describing is, in essence, how the Social Security Card became the twentieth century’s identity management system starting in the 1930s. These cards were not originally intended as ID cards, or as a way to authenticate your true identity. They were just a way to manage government assistance to those who needed it. But they became an ID card simply because everyone in the U.S. had been issued one. When the government and businesses needed a way to track people’s identities, it became the easy choice. Showing your social security card meant that you couldn’t just come up with random new names for yourself every time you signed a form or took a job.

Though people in the U.S. now think of the Social Security Card as the “obvious” form of ID, it took years for it to evolve from a simple social assistance card to an “identity management vision.”

You heard it here first: The next evolution of identity management in the U.S. will grow out of Facebook. So watch what you are putting in your profile. You may be using it to open bank accounts in years to come.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles Tagged With: , ,

Hip Hop Congress Awareness Festival Unites Diverse Crowd

May 31, 2009 By

daveydbanner

Hip Hop Congress Awareness Festival

unites diverse crowd

by Jenn Walker, published on May 25, 2009 at 1:00AM

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/8211/Hip_Hop_Congress_Awareness_Festival_unites_diverse_crowd

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HipHopCongressWatching the MC with the dreadlocks, the interracial couple, kids younger than 12, asians, blacks, whites and Hispanics congregated in the Washington Neighborhood Center all listening to the same music was a rare and inspiring sight.

Today was the third and final day of the first Sacramento Hip Hop Congress Awareness Festival. The day was dedicated to a showcase of performances by open-mic artists, b-boys, DJs and street, conscious and hip hop MCs from Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as art displays.

Bay Area musician Rahman Jahmaal and local musicians such as Skurge riled the crowd with their inspirational words. Jahmaal broke down the beauty in the art of hip hop.

“I want to encourage you to be a little more active in your community,” Skurge said to the audience over the microphone.

The festival was heavily focused on bringing together the community and local artists with the different art forms of hip hop culture, in addition to introducing the local chapter of the Hip Hop Congress to Sacramento.

Yesterday included performances by Oakland’s Simone Nia Rae and former member of Jurassic 5 Akil.

HHC co-chairs Vanessa Amarro and Aman Smith agreed that yesterday’s featured music industry panel, involving a discussion between seven speakers representative of the hip hop scene and participants, was a main highlight of the festival. Smith estimated that there were 30 to 40 people present, ranging from 8 years old to 45 years old.

“A lot of people were happy with the total outcome [of the panel] because it was such a diverse group of people,” Smith said.

According to Smith, the seven panel speakers included music supervisor Marcus Barone, professional bass player Kevin Cane, music attorney Christine O’ Connor, professor Erik Chun, LA videographer Todd Strickland—who previously worked with Alicia Keys, Usher, and Jaime Foxx—Sacramento rapper Bueno and graffiti artist and b-boy (breakdancer) Taz Roc, who previously worked on the Sprite “Obey Your Thirst” marketing campaign.

IloveHipHopSmith expressed his excitement about the discussion that ensued about the future of independent artists and being successful in today’s market; he said the Sacramento chapter will continue the discussion once every month or every other month.

Twenty-eight-year-old Tatiana Turner, local music promoter and film short producer, said the panel was “surprisingly informative and very interactive.”

“There was a little bit of each genre, and with a graffiti artist and a lawyer on [the same] panel, you could see the unity,” she added.

In addition to the main stage, there was a separate room set up with microphones for kids to work on their music skills.

Twelve-year-old Sophia Marx, who just began volunteering for HHC over the weekend with the encouragement of her mom, said she really liked the sense of community at the event.

“I don’t get to do a lot of this stuff at home—work, sing and dance,” she said.

Rae, who said it was her second time performing in Sacramento, expressed her pleasure in being a part of the event.

“Hip hop Congress is always positive. It’s all for the love of hip hop,” she said.

To learn more about Hip Hop Congress, visit hiphopcongress.com

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More Details Emerge from Austin Nightclub shooting

May 31, 2009 By
 daveydbanner

people are claiming that the two accused shooters were beat down by bouncers prior to the Spiros nightclub shooting

people are claiming that the two accused shooters were beat down by bouncers prior to the Spiros nightclub shooting

 

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More Details Emerge at Austin, Texas Nightclub Shooting

by Davey D

By now many of y’all have read or heard about the tragic shootings that took place early Friday morning in front of Spiro‘s nightclub in Austin, Tx right off 6th street.  For those who are just getting caught up to speed, the initial stories we heard was a rap group from La Grange Texas, called the LG Allstarz were scheduled to perform at the popular night spot. The group was supposedly asked the promoters if  they could end a performance early so they could perform. Now in the initial news accounts we were told  an argument ensued and the group was removed from the club. Two of the members Big Hutch and Lil Hutch returned as the club was closing  and shot up the club injuring 8 people. The two brothers turned themselves in  and now are behind bars with 4 million dollar bails.

Now that’s the initial story and understandably is sparked outrage  and public condemnation for the group and the two accused shooters. The incident has left many of us wondering how in the hell could two people be that callous and that stupid. Many upon hearing this story wished the worse upon the pair.

Since Friday, we are now hearing more details which gives us a richer understanding of what may have went down. First, we’ve come to learn that Spiro’s nightclub itself is no angelic place. The club has racked up a number of insidious complaints over the years. So many so that the city is considering shutting them down.  Not that that excuses the shooting, but there’s more.

In the initial story we were told the group showed up late to perform  and then got angry. This led to many of us stating that the group should’ve been more responsible and shown up on time.  We are now hearing that the group was there on time. In fact they were there most of the night.

We are also hearing that the two brothers accused of shooting the club had gotten a serious beatdown after arguing with the promoter We are hearing reports that as many as 10 people may have whupped on them.The brothers were tossed out the club, they went to their cars and returned a while later and shot up the club injuring  a few of the folks including a girl friend of one of the bouncers.

We were also told of a troublesome practice that takes place at many of the nightclubs in the 6th street area. Its not uncommon for bands to pay to play.  One source said he was told the group paid promoters to perform that night and were then later denied and the money kept. This hasn’t been fully confirmed but as noted its a common practice.

We’ll let you know more info as it comes to us, but the bottomline it wasn’t as black and white as initially pointed out.. The shooting was proceeded by a serious beatdown -Not that excuses a shooting up of a nightclub but as they say that’s part of the otherside of the story…

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Disgruntled Texas Rappers Shoot Up Nightclub-Injure 8

May 30, 2009 By

daveydbanner

Two Central Texas rap artists, accused of wounding eight people in a shooting in downtown Austin early Friday, turned themselves in to authorities hours later.Brandon Bruce Hutchison, 25, and LaBaaron Demon Hutchison, 21, are charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. They are each being held on bail of about $4 million.

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Police say eight people injured in shooting at Spiros nightclub

Suspects are two brothers part of La Grange rap group that were told not to perform.

By Isadora Vail, Michael Corcoran and Joe Gross
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Two Central Texas rap artists, accused of wounding eight people in a shooting in downtown Austin early Friday, turned themselves in to authorities hours later.

LaBaaron Demon Hutchison, 21, are charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. They are each being held on bail of about $4 million.

Brandon Hutch & His brother shot up a nightclub because they couldn't perform

Brandon Hutch & His brother shot up a nightclub because they couldn't perform

Brandon Bruce Hutchison

, 25, and

Austin police said the two men are brothers — known as “Big Hutch and “Lil’ Hutch,” — who were scheduled to play Thursday night at Spiros nightclub, 611 Red River St., with their La Grange-based rap group, the LG Allstarz.

Spiros General Manager Josh Cisneros said Friday afternoon that the LG Allstarz showed up at 2 a.m. — the club’s closing time — and expected to play. Promoter Ramone “Sicc” Stewart said a fight began when the LG Allstarz asked him to cut short the performance of the group on stage so they could perform. The Hutchisons, leaders of the largely unknown group, were ejected, along with others.

“They showed up late and wanted me to cut off one of the headliners,” said Stewart, who has been promoting rap shows in Austin for two years. “When I said, ‘No way,’ one of them took a swing at me, and the bouncers threw them out.”

Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Cisneros said, “They were loud when they were kicked out. But they left calmly enough that we forgot about them.

“Never in a million years did we think they would come back with guns,” he said.

Police said the Hutchisons returned about 2:15 a.m., after the club had closed but while patrons still milled along the sidewalk. Police said the Hutchisons used handguns to fire into the crowd.

“Most of the people who got shot were females,” said Stewart, who was stabbed in the arm during the melee. “One of my friends was shot in the stomach two times. Another friend was shot in the back.”

LeBaaron Hutch

LeBaaron Hutch

Austin police Lt. Christian Malanka said Friday afternoon that it was unclear how many shots were fired. The Hutchisons turned themselves in at the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office about 3 p.m. Friday. Both men have been charged with eight counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with bail for each count set at $500,000.

Five people were shot in their legs, two people were shot in their feet and one woman was shot in the abdomen. Police said the woman was recovering after surgery.

“We never had an incident like that before,” said Cisneros, who has worked at Spiros for seven years. “It was absolutely insane, like a drive-by shooting on foot. I hope they spend the rest of their lives in jail.”

In 2008, officers responded 172 times to incidents at Spiros, police said. The calls included those for violent crimes and nonviolent incidents, such as break-ins and personal injuries.

Because of the number of calls, Austin police Commander Antonia Singletary said Spiros is being considered for nuisance abatement under a state statute that aims to shut down gang hangouts and to prevent gang members from publicly assembling in areas with rampant criminal activity.

Police said Friday that they didn’t know whether the Hutchisons were gang members.

Cisneros, who couldn’t be reached to respond to police allegations, had said earlier that patrons are frisked before entering the club.

While Spiros typically hires private security for the weekend, when the club is packed, there was no private security Thursday night.

“This was a very small show; only about 100 patrons were there,” Cisneros said, adding that Stewart previously has booked and promoted four problem-free shows at Spiros.

Spiros remained closed Friday night, Cisneros said. “We will probably be closed for a while.”

ivail@statesman.com; 445-3763

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African Scholar/Historian Who Influenced Nas-Dr Ivan Van Sertima Passes

May 30, 2009 By

daveydbanner

For those unfamiliar with Dr Ivan Van Sertima he penned the books They Came Before Columbus. He is also given dap by a number of rappers-most recently Nas who calimed in his song Sly Fox that Van Serimar changed his consciousness

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Major African Scholar/Historian Passes-Dr Ivan Van Sertima

By Oscar Ramjeet

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-16762–6-6–.html

Guyanese have excelled and made significant contributions throughout the world, including the Caribbean, and it is very unfortunate that our own Caribbean leaders are now “belittling” them.

Oscar Ramjeet is an attorney at law who practices extensively throughout the wider Caribbean. He is also a special correspondent for Caribbean Net News. Feedback to: oscar@caribbeannetnews.com

Several of them have made significant contributions to Barbados. I refer to Sir Kenneth Stoby who served as Chief Justice; Dr Richard Alsopp, distinguished educator, who wrote a Caribbean dictionary; Pat Thompson, outstanding economist and business entrepreneur; Olga Lope Seales; and Ken Corsbie in the cultural field, and dozens of others.

Guyanese have not only contributed to the Caribbean, but the entire world.

I just learned of the passing of Dr Ivan Van Sertima, a former professor of the University of Rutgers and an important son of the soil, who told the United Nations that Columbus did not in fact discover the Americas.

Van Sertima was a Guyanese-British historian, linguist and anthropologist. He was a noted for his Afrocentric theory of pre-Columbian contact between Africa and the Americas.

He went to London in 1959 for university. In addition to producing an array of creative writing, Van Sertima completed undergraduate studies in African languages and literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 1959, where he graduated with honours. During his studies, he became fluent in Swahili and Hungarian languages.

He worked for several years in Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts to the Caribbean and Africa. In doing field work in Africa, he compiled a dictionary of Swahili legal terms.

In 1970, he immigrated to the United States, where he entered Rudgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for graduate work.

Van Sertima taught for 30 years at Rutgers and was Associate Professor of African Studies and Editor of the Journal of African civilization and author of numerous books. He has addressed topics in literature, linguistics, anthropology and history. He has written a number of books in which he argues that the Ancient Egyptians were black.

His 1976 book “They came Before Columbus” was a bestseller and achieved widespread fame for his claims of prehistoric African influences in Central and South America,

In 1987 he appeared before a United States Congressional Committee to challenge giving credit for the discovery of America to Christopher Columbus.

The Guyana Cultural Association New York Inc/Guyana Folk Festival broke the news of the passing of the world famed professor and we all extend our condolences to his widow, Jacqueline, who lives at Highland Park, in New Jersey.

daveyD-poster-IvanVan

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Essential videos to peep, Political articles Tagged With: , , ,

For the Love of Marriage and the Hatred of Gays

May 27, 2009 By

daveyD-blogbannershadow

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 For the Love of Marriage and the Hatred of Gays

By Davey D

daveyd-raider2I am always amazed at the type of excuses one makes and the type of reverting to hate that one takes when it comes to the issue of homosexuality and in recent days Gay Marriage.

Over the past year since Prop 8 was introduced on the California ballot, outlawing Gay Marriage, but worded in such a way as to let people think they were ‘protecting marriage’   I have had more than my fair share of spirited discussions that have resulted in one too many people screaming and shouting  and really getting bent out of shape.

 The usual argument that’s put forth is one steeped in religion. People wanna quote Leviticus , Mark,  Romans  and every other book as if a few quotes  from the Bible should suddenly be the final word when they themselves have ignored the demands of those quotesthat apply specifically to them and their own behavior  before and after the passages that referred to man sleeping with man. I tell you its funny when you think about it..

It wasn’t to long ago that I ran into a brother who went on and on about how immoral it was for gay marriage to take place and that it was an affront to God.  He talked about the sancty of marriage  and all that good stuff. Dude was on a roll until I quielty reminded him that he was living in sin. At the time dude was living with his girlfriend.  I reminded him that his ‘choice of behavior’ (him playing house) was doing very little to promote marriage he held in such high esteem. What made it even worse was that homeboy is a bit of player -he wasn’t the most faithful crayon on the box. It was no big deal for him to get alittle on the side here and there, yet he felt compelled to stand before me  and talk about the evils of gay marriage.  I was like; ‘Son shouldn’t you clean your own house first?’

As  I often have to remind folks-here in California, amongst a younger generation of people marriages end in divorce to a whooping  70% of the time. What are these self righteous people that hate gay marriage and want to keep the so called sancty intact doing to to lower that rate?

Thehuxtables-225Are they writing the ABCs, NBCs and CBS’ of the world demanding that they put out more programming that nurtures values that would lead to longer marriages?  Are they demanding more Bill Cosby– ‘Huxtable type shows?  Are they demanding that these multimedia corporations cease doing reality shows that routinely mock marriage by making it a shallow commodity that is won and lost in a ‘reality TV contest?  The answer?  Nope they’re pretty silent.

Are these folks going to local school board meetings demanding that we have classes that teach people how to communicate and have ‘healthy’ wholesome relationships? Are they out there petitioning the governor or the legislature to demand that those seeking a marriage license take some sort of class or orientation to help lower the divorce rate?  The answer? Nope, again folks are pretty damn silent.

Are they putting forth their own youtube videos and going directly into the places and spaces where relationships are most troubled and offering guidance?  The answer? Hardly. But talk about gay marriage and all the stops are pulled out.. All the troops are called. People are up in arms carry signs and acting all appauled.

Last year I saw an entire family complete with kids come out in full force to another part of town to protest Gay Marriage. They were out everynight for two weeks leading up to the election come rain or shine . They were outraged that gays wanted to get married.

I went out to interview them, cause I was curious and awestruck by their commitment to be outb there everyday grinding away against gay citizens.  I went to interview them and they hit the roof. They got pretty upset and demanded I oput my camera awy. they covered their faces with placards admonishing gay marriage.

One of the family members bragged how she was from the ‘Murder Dubs’ (the 20s) in East Oakland so that somehow gave her street cred when debating this issue. They were loud and proud that they werre people of color who were standing up to Gay marriage, but didn’t wanna be filmed.  I thought it was ironic that they would leave their own troubled community where you have large numbers of unmarried people with kids and broken homes to protest gay marriage.

TheBachelor-275 I was just in the murder dubs the other week and didn’t see that family out and about protesting fathers who weren’t paying child support or protesting young people fornicating without protection and then having kids. Didn’t see them before, didn’t see them then and I don’t see them now.  But like I said, talk about Gay marriage and the entire family comes out-How laughable is that?  It was even more laughable when  one of the family members of  this Christ fearing church going family called me a ‘faggot’.

Here I am a proud member of Allen Temple Baptist church who is heterosexual, but when having discussion amongst these so called fellow Christians… well lets just say the convo and the names they called me weren’t very Christ-like-What would Jesus do if he there to witness that?  I prayed for them and kept it moving. I also resisted the temptation to be vindictive and put them on blast by showing their ugliness in the video I shot.

The other argument that is often put forth is ‘These gays want to have sex and its wrong, wrong ,wrong’. I have to again remind people, that gays do not need permission or laws on the books to have sex. The sodomy laws of this country have been struck down years ago.  You can sleep with who ever you want.

I also have to remind people that its pretty shallow and ass backwards to get married just to have sex. I know I wouldn’t go out like that?  Why would Gays?  The last point to this argument is that very rarely-in fact I have never walked down the street and saw a couple engaged in passionate sex.  Last I checked its against the law. You would be charged with lewd behavior. Hence I think just as common sense applies to me it would apply to two gay adults. No lewd and lascivious behavior or go to jail.  Memo to those opposed to Gay Marriage : It Is Not About Sex. Personally I oftyen wonder why the folks so opposed to gay marriage always bring up the sex thing.  Makes me wonder whats up with that?  Are they repressing something? mmmm

The third argument we often hear is people claiming being Gay is choice not something that comes from birth.. For the moment lets agree to disagree and follow this twisted logic. We allow marriage license to those who have in the past and presently make all sorts of choices that challenge ‘sociatel norms’   Case in point, there was a point in time where interracial marriage was not allowed. If my grandfather wanted to marry a white woman as a youing man in South carolina, not only would he not get the license he might’ve gotten his as hung on a tree by some funny guys wearing hoods and white sheets carrying and quoting from the Bible.

 There were all sorts of well meaning people who put forth a variety of social reasons and concerns that justified the laws on the books preventing  Blacks, Browns and Asians to marry whites people.  There was concern about the kids. There was concern about diluting the race. There was concern about sparking racial unrest. In some communities there were religious implications.. i.e. One did not marry outside the religion.  Jews and Catholics come to mind. In spite of those supposedly compelling social concerns and the desire to keep societal norms in tact  those laws were struck down. 

So in 2009 if I want to leave a Afrocentric Church where we talk about re-building the Black family, I can be sporting dredlocks, quoting Malcolm  and wearing all sorts of kente cloth  and go out and marry blonde haired, blue eyed  Pamela Anderson and there’s not damn thing anyone can do except scowl, get mad and shun me. They can do all that and maybe they won’t agree to grant me a marriage ceremony at their church,  but I sure as hell can get that marriage license. Why so?   

gaymarriagechild-225For starters we live in a country where one has a right to assemble and associate. We also live in a country where I am free to choose my religion. So in other words if Jewish people feel that they should marry other Jews for whatever social or religious reasons, that’stheir prerogative if I wanna marry someone from a Jewsish background as did my mother I have that right. Sure, I might be able to go to Temple and partake in their particular marriage ceremonies, Churches have a right to uphold their traditions, but as a tax payer I sure has hell should be allowed to go down to city hall and pick up a marriage license. My tax dollars pay for it. Gays pay taxes and should have a right to that legal document. Why is that child molesters, rapists, serial murders can all get marriage license but a hard working, law abiding tax paying gay adult cannot?

And really folks that’s the bottom line here. All this other talk is mute.  All citizens who pay taxes have a right to go to public school. We have right to have the potholes repaired in our neighborhood. We have right to be protected by the police and fire departments. We have a right to address our grievances at city hall. We have right to pick up land deeds. We all our required to pay taxes. And we all have a right to be married by the justice of the peace in city hall.  It don’t matter if I’m a Black man wanting to marry a devout white Catholic. It don’t matter if I’m a dog killer like Michael Vick who who himself is set to get married.-No one is holding back his license. It don’t matter if I’m a atheist or agnostic or even a devil worshipper. I am under the laws of this country allowed to obtain a marriage license-Why can’t gays? Why are people so afraid?

 mmmm thats a few words to ponder..

Below are a couple of videos from the discussions that ensued during the May 26  supreme court decision in San Francisco.

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A Prom Divided-Whites Only Prom in Georgia

May 27, 2009 By

daveydbanner

One has to wonder where are the Bill O’Reillys and Sean Hannity’s with their pompous, holier than thou rhetoric now that we see white folks have continued to have segregated proms  and other activities which in turn has sparked Black students to hold their opwn events.. mmmm I hear silence.. hahaha Just what I thought

-Davey D-

 

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A Prom Divided-Whites Only Prom in Georgia 

by SARA CORBETT

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24prom-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

About now, high-school seniors everywhere slip into a glorious sort of limbo. Waiting out the final weeks of the school year, they begin rightfully to revel in the shared thrill of moving on. It is no different in south-central Georgia’s Montgomery County, made up of a few small towns set between fields of wire grass and sweet onion. The music is turned up. Homework languishes. The future looms large. But for the 54 students in the class of 2009 at Montgomery County High School, so, too, does the past. On May 1 — a balmy Friday evening — the white students held their senior prom. And the following night — a balmy Saturday — the black students had theirs.

Racially segregated proms have been held in Montgomery County — where about two-thirds of the population is white — almost every year since its schools were integrated in 1971. Such proms are, by many accounts, longstanding traditions in towns across the rural South, though in recent years a number of communities have successfully pushed for change. When the actor Morgan Freeman offered to pay for last year’s first-of-its-kind integrated prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi, his home state, the idea was quickly embraced by students — and rejected by a group of white parents, who held a competing “private” prom. (The effort is the subject of a documentary, “Prom Night in Mississippi,” which will be shown on HBO in July.) The senior proms held by Montgomery County High School students — referred to by many students as “the black-folks prom” and “the white-folks prom” — are organized outside school through student committees with the help of parents. All students are welcome at the black prom, though generally few if any white students show up. The white prom, students say, remains governed by a largely unspoken set of rules about who may come. Black members of the student council say they have asked school administrators about holding a single school-sponsored prom, but that, along with efforts to collaborate with white prom planners, has failed. According to Timothy Wiggs, the outgoing student council president and one of 21 black students graduating this year, “We just never get anywhere with it.” Principal Luke Smith says the school has no plans to sponsor a prom, noting that when it did so in 1995, attendance was poor.

Students of both races say that interracial friendships are common at Montgomery County High School. Black and white students also date one another, though often out of sight of judgmental parents. “Most of the students do want to have a prom together,” says Terra Fountain, a white 18-year-old who graduated from Montgomery County High School last year and is now living with her black boyfriend. “But it’s the white parents who say no. … They’re like, if you’re going with the black people, I’m not going to pay for it.”

“It’s awkward,” acknowledges JonPaul Edge, a senior who is white. “I have as many black friends as I do white friends. We do everything else together. We hang out. We play sports together. We go to class together. I don’t think anybody at our school is racist.” Trying to explain the continued existence of segregated proms, Edge falls back on the same reasoning offered by a number of white students and their parents. “It’s how it’s always been,” he says. “It’s just a tradition.”

Earlier this month, on the Friday night of the white prom, Kera Nobles, a senior who is black, and six of her black classmates drove over to the local community center where it was being held. Standing amid a crowd of about 80 parents, siblings and grandparents, they snapped pictures and whooped appreciatively as their white friends — blow-dried, boutonniered and glittering in a way that only high-school seniors can — did their “senior walk,” parading in elegant pairs into the prom. “We got stared at a little, being there,” said one black student, “but it wasn’t too bad.”

After the last couple were announced, after they watched the white people’s father-daughter dance and then, along with the other bystanders, were ushered by chaperones out the door, Kera and her friends piled into a nearby KFC to eat. Whatever elation they felt for their dressed-up classmates was quickly wearing off.

“My best friend is white,” said one senior girl, a little glumly. “She’s in there. She’s real cool, but I don’t understand. If they can be in there, why can’t everybody else?”

The seven teenagers — a mix of girls and boys — slowly worked their way through two buckets of fried chicken. They cracked jokes about the white people’s prom (“I feel bad for them! Their prom is lame!”). They puzzled merrily over white girls’ devotion both to tanning beds (“You don’t like black people, but you’re working your hardest to get as brown as I am!”) and also to the very boys who were excluded from the dance (“Half of those girls, when they get home, they’re gonna text a black boy”). They mused about whether white parents really believed that by keeping black people out of the prom, it would keep them out of their children’s lives (“You think there aren’t going to be black boys at college?”). And finally, more somberly, they questioned their white friends’ professed helplessness in the face of their parents’ prejudice (“You’re 18 years old! You’re old enough to smoke, drive, do whatever else you want to. Why aren’t you able to step up and say, ‘I want to have my senior prom with the people I’m graduating with?’ ”).

It was getting late now. KFC was closing. Another black teenager was mopping the floor nearby. A couple of the boys mentioned they had to wash their cars in the morning. Kera had an early hair appointment. The next night, they would dress up and dance raucously for four hours before tumbling back outside, one step closer to graduating. In the meantime, a girl named Angel checked her cellphone to see if any of the white kids had texted from inside their prom. They hadn’t. Angel shrugged. “I really don’t understand,” she said. “Because I’m thinking that these people love me and I love them, but I don’t know. Tonight’s a different story.”

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Seattle Makes History By Opening Hip Hop Culture School

May 27, 2009 By

daveydbanner

 Umojafest P.E.A.C.E Center will be making history by opening its tentatively named Center for Hip Hop Culture, Business & Technology in the historic Central District of Seattle, Washington, this summer..

Using Hip Hop as Cultural text for Emancipatory Education

Posted by Julie C

Umojafest P.E.A.C.E Center will be making history by opening its tentatively named Center for Hip Hop Culture, Business & Technology in the historic Central District of Seattle, Washington, this summer. While this community-owned and operated Hip Hop center is the first of its kind that will serve community youth, particularly dropouts, high-risk, and those under the criminal justice supervision, it is also a continuation of the historical struggle for an African American Heritage Museum and Cultural Center in the CD that reaches decades back. It will feature a digital recording studio, computer lab, video production studio and a library/reading room. The summer school at the Center for Hip Hop will coordinate culturally enriching, entrepreneurial-based activities to address social and community development through daily, open-door element and technology workshops, study sessions, and classes. An initial glimpse at the program schedule reveals DJ and producer clubs, Young Kings and Queens Leadership Development, and class titles that range from “Music History” to “Hood Politics”. Through launching a youth-led, community-centered approach to outreach, education, and violence prevention, Umojafest P.E.A.C.E Center is putting revolutionary social change theory to practice with Hip Hop Culture.

18 year old Imani Kang, the youth committee president of UPC, is development director for the summer school at the Center for Hip Hop Culture. As a drop out, she can’t tell you the benefits of a diploma, but she can quickly break down how the social construction of knowledge through dominant culture in traditional classrooms alienates youth today. “Freshman year, I attended all my classes in the beginning, but felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again. I went to Job Corp to get my GED, and during those classes, I asked myself how relevant is this? We’re taking the same classes from 4th grade to now. I took the test, and the test is so easy, and I started asking myself, is this is all I have to do to be complete? What are they really doing to us? What are you guys really teaching me?”

Her critical reflection on oppressive education systems continued to develop through watching many of her friends get driven away from school by boredom, or from being penalized for challenging what and how things were being taught up, and give up altogether. “I know kids who dropped out and haven’t gotten their GED, haven’t done anything but kick it, sometimes work, but a lot of the time, they just stop because they think that school is the only option for learning,” Imani says. “The ones who ended up pursuing something after dropping out, it’s because they find something that they’re interested in, something that keeps them there. Some aren’t fortunate to find that. The Hip Hop Center will be one more way to get one more person there.”

Assuming the agency to reinvent education through Hip Hop culture is a powerful and strategic move toward self empowerment for today’s youth, especially for those who’ve inherently rejected the role of being passive objects in the school enterprise. “School is a closed box, they teach only what they want you to know, like closing one eye on one side. Our school is resistance to that because we want wanna keep both eyes open, we want to see everything. Our idea is for these classes to be open conversations, collaborative ideas, rather than having students be sitting and watching. We have so many volunteers and special guests that are already lined up; it’s exciting,” says Imani with a smile. For more information on how to get involved, or to show your support, email Imani Kang at mani.sue@gmail.com.

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