//
Top 10 Live Racist bloopers on TV
Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner
Top 10 Racist Bloopers on Live TV
November 10, 2009 By
Hate Crime in Albany, NY-Black Man Thrown Into BonFire
November 10, 2009 By
//
Police: 18-year-old thrown into bonfire during party
By MARIE LUBY
http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=11290526
EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. – A Rensselaer County man is behind bars after allegedly tossing a teen into a fire early Friday morning in a fit of rage. It happened at an outdoor party in East Greenbush.
Bruce Vroman
Police say it was 23-year-old Bruce Vroman who grabbed 18-year-old Derek George and threw him into the flames. Friends quickly pulled Derek out, but it wasn’t fast enough.
18-year-old Derek George can barely speak through his pain. Second and third degree burns cover his leg, back, and half his face. “It hurts a lot,” he says softly.
Derek was at a party around a bonfire when he says Bruce Vroman, a man he did not know, yelled a racial slur at him.
Derek’s mother, Dorma George, explains, “Out of the blue they’re like, ‘you n***** you need to leave!’ ”
Derek says he tried to stay calm, telling Vroman, “I take that as disrespect. Just don’t say it, please don’t say it.”
That’s when Derek says Vroman rushed at him. Derek fought him to the ground, but does not remember being pushed into the fire. “That’s all I remember is saying, ‘somebody’s gonna get hurt,’ and waking up with my friends holding me, saying ‘you’re all burnt up.’ ”
His mother is calling it a hate crime.
“My son’s face, my son’s body is burnt. For what? Being black? It’s ridiculous,” says George.
George says all of her children have been repeatedly harassed by some in Vroman’s circle of friends, and she says she’s desperate for police intervention.
“It’s like a ball of fire just ready to explode, and I’m trying to stop it before someone gets killed…I don’t want my son to die like this,” she says.
Police say their investigation is not over. Vroman is charged with first degree assault. He’s being held in the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility without bail, and has a preliminary hearing set for Tuesday, October 13th.
Derek George is still undergoing outpatient treatment from Albany Medical Center.
After Fort Hood: Count All the Dead
November 10, 2009 By
//
After Fort Hood: Count All the Dead
by New America Media, News Analysis, Aaron Glantz,
Perhaps the most depressing aspect of Thursday’s shoot-out at Fort Hood is that none of the 12 people who died in the melee will be counted as casualties of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These soldiers – “brave Americans,” President Obama called them – will join an unknown number of American soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines, who are not among the 5,267 the Defense Department counts as having died in our most recent wars, but who have perished nonetheless.
It will take days or weeks to learn what really happened at Fort Hood and why, but even at this early moment, we can make one statement for certain. The government’s refusal to accurately count their sacrifice of these young men and women dishonors not only these soldiers’ memories, but also obscures the public’s understanding of the amount of sacrifice required to continue wars in two countries, simultaneously, overseas.
Go on the website, icasualties.org, which regularly publishes the names the Pentagon reports as having died in two wars, and a discerning eye will see a lot of other names are missing.
Gerald Cassidy
Missing are the names of service members, like Sgt. Gerald Cassidy,
First Warrant Officer Judson E. Mount, or Spc. Franklin D. Barnett who died stateside after receiving substandard medical care for wounds sustained in the war zones. Cassidy sat dead in a chair for three days at Fort Knox before anyone noticed that he had passed away from complications related to a brain injury sustained in Iraq. Mount died in April 2009 at San Antonio’s Brooke Army Medical Center after taking shrapnel from a roadside bomb in November 2008. Barnett died in June 2009 from wounds he sustained in Afghanistan earlier in the year.
Missing, too, are the names of American soldiers and veterans who have killed themselves after serving a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, people like 19 year old Spc. John Fish of Paso Robles, California who told his superiors he was thinking of killing himself after his first deployment, but was but was ordered overseas a
Brian Rand
second time anyway.While he was training for that second deployment to Afghanistan, Fish walked out into the New Mexican desert after a training exercise for his second deployment and blew his brains out with a military issued machine gun. Or Sgt. Brian Jason Rand of North Carolina, who was found under the Cumberland River Center Pavilion near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in February 2008 with a bullet through his skull and a shotgun by his side.
The Army reports 117 active duty Army soldiers killed themselves in 2007, the year Fish took his life. At the time, it was a 26-year high. But that record was quickly eclipsed by the 2008 Army figure of 128 suicides. In January 2009, more American soldiers committed suicide than died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, but none of these deaths are listed in the official casualty count.
Andres Raya
Neither are the dozens of soldiers who have killed in altercations with law enforcement brought on by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder incurred during deployments overseas – people like 19 year old Marine Corps veteran Andes Raya who was shot dead by police in California’s rural Central Valley after returning home from Fallujah; or Minnesota Iraq war veteran Brian William Skold, who got drunk and then lead deputies on a late night chase before stepping out of his pick-up, firing a birdshot into the air, before kneeling on one knee and leveling his shotgun at authorities. Moments later he was fatally shot by two police officers. It’s unknown how many Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have died this way, but like the 12 soldiers gunned down at Fort Hood this week, their deaths would not have occurred if not for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Regardless of what you think of these wars, it’s absolutely necessary that the American public be fully appraised of their cost. After all, how can we even begin to honor their memories, if we don’t even track their sacrifice.
original article:http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=5a9eb49cd7b05b67fbfd8d1ce1a8336b
NAM Editor Aaron Glantz is author of the book, The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans.
Y’all Remember Lady of Rage and Her Afro Puffs? Well She’s Back
November 9, 2009 By
//
Lady Of Rage surprises everyone at Snoop show (interview)
By Rebecca McDonald in 5 Questions, rap/hip hop
http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2009/11/lady_of_rage_su.php?page=1
Lady of Rage (B-Fresh Photography)
You may know Lady Of Rage from her famous early-’90s hit single “Afro Puffs” that came out like a warning siren from a tough-as-nails sister and featured Snoop Dogg. Her deep, fearless voice bellowed through the speakers on said hit unexpectedly at Epic in Minneapolis on Thursday when Snoop surprised everyone with her introduction. It made the Wonderland High Tour truly memorable and had Twitter going crazy.
Lady of Rage has made quite an impact on hip-hop’s timeline with her lyrical style, but has been in hibernation cooking up her next album, Verbal Abuse. Even with her absence from the scene, there was no need for her to don a dark blue prison jumpsuit or have buff men dancing behind bars (circa 1995 Source Awards) to demonstrate how fierce she still is.
We sat down with her backstage to catch up on everything from her afro puff styling routine to female emcees, and putting to rest Internet rumors
CP: Such a pleasure to have you in the house. It was an unexpected surprise that you rolled through Minneapolis on this tour. What have you been up to?
LOR: I have been a hermit. I am creating. My new album coming out is called Verbal Abuse, and I want it to be right. My last album, Necessary Roughness, came out in a time when the empire was crumbling–Suge went to jail, Dre left, 2PAC was killed–everything was in shambles…. So this next project, I want it to be right. I want it the way the first one should have been done. And this will be my last one. Really, I am not motivated. I really don’t feel too much love–I will always love the rap game; but me loving to do it? It’s not what it used to be. The [music] that is out right now isn’t really motivational to me. There aren’t too many lyrics- just a bunch of hoopla.
CP: What do you feel is missing in Hip Hop?
LOR: Lyrics. I would like to see lyrical stuff–something that makes me say, “Wow. Did you hear what he/she just said?” to make me wanna go back and be like, “Oh naw, they can’t out-do me.” Make me want to step my game up. And I’m not hearing that.
CP: Looking back to the ’90s when you started out in the game, there were at least a few ladies making moves in hip-hop. So what is going on now? Where are the women at?
LOR: Well, I am baffled myself. I don’t know where they are. Trina, she is still relevant; I saw her on a video the other day. There is a new chick Nicki Minaj–I saw her in the same video with Trina. But other than that, you got me. I’m working on my stuff, you got Da Brat who can’t do anything at this time, Remy Martin with her situation. But you got Shawna, Rah Digga. You got Jean Grae. There are so many, but I don’t know what is going on! I don’t know if it’s a thing where we are so talented and so dope that people don’t know what to do with us, how to market us, or even how to handle us.
CP: What about a formal network of women coming together in hip hop to make moves? Have you been a part of anything like that?
LOR: Myself, Babs Bunny, and Lady Luck are trying to do something like that, coming together to form FEM (Females Earning Money). Right now it’s kind of on a hiatus, because we are all doing so many different things… We hope the best for the females, we want the females to come together. So many times we don’t come together. Females are catty, females are snotty. But we need to look at what the guys are doing–they get together, they collaborate, they make music, they keep it moving, and that’s what we should do. All that stereotypical nonsense with females–we need to flush it down the toilet… For the young ladies coming up, don’t be intimidated by the guys, don’t be intimidated by the industry… Let your talent speak for itself, and stick to your guns and your morals…
CP: We have to compliment you on your afro puff. What is your styling routine?
LOR: [Laughs] Wash it. Condition it. Brush it. Continuously puff it, pick it. I let it air dry. I use Blue Magic, water, a brush with sponge rollers.
CP: It’s been stated that you have been the hair dresser for Tha Dogg Pound (DPG). Is that true?
LOR: I have never been a hairdresser. I have never been a nurse. I saw that, too. I don’t know where that comes from! The same place saying I was gay comes from. Which I am none of the above. Never dabbled in hairdressing, never dabbled in nursing, and never dabbled in lesbianism. So never believe everything that you hear and see on the internet.
The Fort Hood Massacre Should be Awake Up Call-There are ‘Crazy’ People All Around Us
November 6, 2009 By
//
By now we all have heard and are in shock about the army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan who went on a rampage and shot and killed 13 people while injuring up to 25 or 30. This mass killing is heart-wrenching, disturbing and left many of us with a whole lot of questions. Was it an act of terrorism? That is being suggested on some of the news stations? Was it a mental health situation? Was it Post Traumatic Stress (PST)? Combat fatigue? Hopelessness? All this has come up. But how deep and honest are people willing to look into any of these questions?
It was just a year and a half ago (March 2008) on the 5th anniversary of the War in Iraq, 200 US military veterans and active duty soldiers came to the National Labor College in Silver Spring Maryland to give eye-witness accounts, riveting and disturbing testimony of what was going on in the trenches. Called Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, it was inspired by a similar event called Winter Soldiers where Vietnam vets talked about what was really going on in the battlefield back in 1971.
In both 1971 and in the three days of testimony in 2008, the mainstream media all but ignored what was going on. Seems like no one really wanted to discuss what these soldiers were talking about. Probably cause it would have called a lot of people to be accountable. Not just the politicians who voted for us to rush to war, but also the media which was complicit both in blindly going along and then not really reporting what was going on. If folks recall in 2008, we had what are called embedded reporters. They’re press people who are living alongside and riding with the soldiers. When they did their reports, their accounts were nothing like the accounts the Winter Soldiers gave. One has to wonder if these embedded reporters were really doing their job or just being a mouthpiece for the pentagon. Hence they attempted to downplay and ignore it. In 1971 there was an attempt to discredit the Winter Soldier testimonies, but time has shown that those soldiers were truthful and that there was political motivation at trying to shut them down..
Had you heard any of the 2008 testimonies and eye-witness accounts, the first thing that would have come to mind was that many folks who are on the battlefield and set to return to our communities are going to need some help to process all that they experienced. The Winter Soldier testimonies talked about the dehumanizing condition, things they did and witnessed. You have to be mentally disturbed if you weren’t moved or bothered by what was spoken. The Winter Soldier Testimonies said to me, that as a country the mental well-being of these returning young men and women had best be top priority. It became clear to me that there is a huge separation of those who are on the battlefield and in combat and those who like to talk shit about going to war and barking orders. You can check out Winter soldier stuff here: http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier. You can also hear some of the reports here on Democracy Now http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2008/3/17, http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2008/3/18, http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2008/3/19
It was just two months ago that the Texas Observer ran a story called Under the Hood that talked about the growing ranks of soldiers stationed in Fort Hood who are resisting the war effort. Many are ready to bounce out but were forced to stay. many are seeking solace. There was an accompanying mini documentary called Injured Hearts, Injured Minds that a friend of mine Mathew Gossage had shot. That story and report was ignored by many in the mainstream. We need to keep in mind that this is not the first shooting to take place at Fort Hood. NPR reported on its sordid past earlier today. I ran into Matt the last night and he remarked that there’s a strong possibility some of the people who he met when filming may have actually been counseled by Hasan. He explained that many were in support groups and that the gatherings they had were extremely important in helping them cope.
War is not a game. War is not a thing we should advocate for casually or advocate with all this bravado when we ourselves haven’t really been on the battlefield. It’s brutal. It’s ugly and it should be something no one should have to experience. Unfortunately our collective humanity is put aside for politics. Back in 2008, our presidential candidates in particular Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama didn’t address the Winter Soldier Testimonies. If they showed any difference, they would’ve been crucified in the media and called ‘weak’ by ‘arm chair generals’ and fake ass-Studio Soldiers. Hence we heard Obama around the time of the Winter Soldier testimonies talk about how he would order military strikes on Al-Queda if we heard they hiding in another country risking the slaughter of innocent people which was one of the compelling dehumaizing aspects many tesitified about.
I bring all this up, because folks should have some sort of context of what may be going on inside the minds of these soldiers. I also bring this up because mental illness is not limited to army vets. It’s disturbing when they snap because they have military training and they are here to protect us… Who protects us from them? Who protects us when a doctor who is supposed to be there for the mental well-being of his fellow soldiers snaps?
When I first got word of the Fort Hood massacre, my mind immediately went back to the onslaught of mass shootings that took place when over the past couple of years. Some of them were attributed to a downturning economy, others we suspect there was some sort of mental illness. We saw a family of 6 get slain by an out of work distraught husband in Santa Clara. We saw 13 people get slain in upstate New York. We had the Virginia Tech shootings where 32 people were killed. We had a mass shooting at the University of Dekalb where 55 were killed and 18 wounded. We had the mall shooting in Omaha, Nebraska where 8 people were randomly killed. We can also look at the recent discovery of 10 women raped in killed in Cleveland… The list is a long one. As I’m writing this we are getting word about a shooting rampage in an Orlando Florida office building. This is not even 24 hours after the Fort Hood incident.
What is troubling is that each of these incidents are often explained away in isolation. I see them all connected. As I’m writing this article, I’m hearing the news pundits attempting to spin this as Hasan being in conflict with religion. My fear is that his brutal act will not be seen as part of growing trend of mass shootings being a way in which some see as a way to resolve an issues. Instead, many will want to see him shooting up the army base as him being Muslim. Next we’ll have folks suggesting that if we screen for Muslims or get rid of them we’ll have no other mass shootings. That quick fix solution will come at the expense of us investing time, energy and resources into solving mental health issues.What will be overlooked are all the lesser reported events that point to PST and other mental illnesses. For example, are we asking ourselves, how many soldiers are committing acts of domestic violence? How many are on drugs? How many are alcoholics? Depressed? How many return from battlefield and wind up in jail? Do we remember that there was big scandal of women being sexually assaulted? We remember the Tailhook scandal from Desert Storm back in ’91 right? We’ve heard stories of rapes, even at Fort Hood there’s been allegations of rapes and cover ups . Are we looking at Hasan’s killing of 13 people with these other incidents in the backdrop? When folks are dehumanized we have to look at the mental well-being of both the victims and perpetrators
Nidal Malik Hasan is the suspect in the Fort Hood massacre. Do we see his involvement as isolated or is it part of a a larger and more disturbing trend of people snapping and committing atrocious acts like mass shootings?
How ironic is it that these shootings at Fort Hood took place one day before the Senate and Congress vote on the Healthcare bill? How ironic is this that we are seeing people even in the wake of this shooting saying we don’t need that industry to be reformed. No one wants to talk about that we have mentally disturbed folks not only in the army but living amongst us who will and are cracking as stressing situations increase-high unemployment, tanking economy and pressure to man up and be a tough guy and fight versus walk away and be peaceful. Am I the only one who thinks that 20-25 high school students standing around watching while 5-10 boys rape a 15-year-old girl in Richmond, California for 2/1/2 hours is not a sign of mental instability? Am I the only one who sees the killings that routinely take place with increasing callousness in our respective communities as being a sign of mental instability? Hell, I’ll be honest, seeing the callousness of these greedy wall street bankers living high on the hog, giving out bonuses to the tune of 23 billion and whooping it up in the face of one our worse economic crises in history is a sign of mental instability..
I think too many of us fall back on the stereotype of mentally disturbed person as being one who is slow speaking and drooling on himself, versus someone is extremely unhappy, angry and callous toward the suffering of others.
There are no easy answers for yesterday’s tragedy. What we saw wasn’t isolated. It was indicative of a society that seems to be becoming more and more sick. It’s not limited to thugs and gangsters in the hood or conniving suit wearing types on Wall Street. It’s all of us who have in some shape or form no longer in touch with our humanity. It’s sick when we sit afar and tell people they are somehow weak for walking away from confrontation and demanding peace. It’s sick when we say such things when we say it in the hood. It’s sick when we have Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reily type pundits say it on TV. It’s sick when we have politicians like Dick Cheney or George Bush say it. It’s sick if our current President Barack Obama goes for war when people are calling for peace all in the name of political practicality.
The massacre at Fort Hood should serve as a wake up call. It should be a reminder that if we aren’t out there striving to uplift and bring equality and respect for all, the next victim of a mass shooting may be you or me. It’s a wake up call that says to me that we better be working to correct the wrongs that exist around us. They won’t correct themselves. They’ll explode in our face like they did yesterday. My condolences to the family of those slain and those injured and witness the carnage. What occurred yesterday reaffirms my belief that War is Not the Answer..
Something to Think About
Davey D
“Can’t” Knock The Hustle! – (Ignorant Blogs VS Jasiri X)
November 5, 2009 By
The real steroid abusing snitch Jose Canseco got embarrassed by being knocked out in the first round. Black Canseco knocked himself out with this lame attempt at journalism: http://www.hustleknockin.com/hustleknockin/2009/10/dear-debra-lee-open-letter-to-bet-song.html
What is going on nowadays with black blog spots who claim to be for a positive change in our community, but given an opportunity to support an artist who is the epitome of everything that they claim to promote, they choose to try to disrespect the effort while ignoring the obvious fact that Jasiri X is bringing positive change to the coon inspired, drug dealing, buffoonery that is being broad-casted as entertainment by today’s music industry.
First www.Bossip.com embarrassed themselves by totally missing the point Jasiri X’s song and video “Dear Debra” almost started a revolution on their website by posting Jasiri X’s video with the caption: Random Ridiculousness: “Dear Debra Lee” Video http://bossip.com/173449/random-ridiculousness-dear-debra-lee-video
Their arrogance and lack of research backfired with a fierce backlash from readers who pounded the site with support for Jasiri X – http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/random-ridiculousness-bossip-urban-gossip-site-tries-to-clown-jasiri-x-video-get-backlash-from-their-readers/
That same day hustleknockin.com knocks Jasiri X for daring to Knock BET’s Hustle:
“The only downside of this joint is that it comes from Jasiri X, an artist that almost no one outside the eastcoast underground’s ever heard of and probably never will“. Black Canseco
Really? I guess that we should immediately go back in time and delete history:
Jasiri X and President Barack Obama
Jasiri X and Russel Simmons
Jasiri X and Public Enemy #1 Chuck D
Had Mr. “Black Canseco” troubled himself to “Google” “Jasiri X” he would have found more than enough information for him to at least not play himself by exposing his lack of journalistic credibility.
This single post would have been enough to save his reputation as a credible blogger, instead it now makes his lame attempt to de-fame Jasiri X null and void and if he has a shred of integrity should send him into some serious soul searching:
Hip-hop Pioneers and taste-makers comments about Jasiri X’s new song/video Dear Debra
http://paradisegray.blogspot.com/2009/10/hip-hop-pioneers-and-taste-makers.html
Professional journalists and writers do research before they write ridiculous, opinion based, void of fact articles. That’s what gives them “credibility”, but I guess since hustleknockin.com is just a self published “blog” and not a respected source of legitimate news, “you get what you get“.
What bugs me out about these lapses of journalistic judgment, is that these are the same people who rant and rave against the very same music industry and artists that Jasiri X’s lyrics are attempting to balance out, but somehow they don’t value artists who are not enslaved/ bought and sold by the same system that they claim to fight against.
“If you want Debra Lee or anyone part of the hiphop music media establishment to hear this, you’ve gotta be either part of the establishment“.
The success of this song/video has nothing to do with someone from BET hearing it, BET is a corporation owned and operated by Viacom. One song no matter how great will not change them. However it is part of a on going movement of music by a larger group of artists who offer consumers an alternative to the offerings of the artists that you named.
“This would be a much more powerful message if it came from Rawse, The Roots, or Lil Wayne or Gucci Mane“.
Would the book “Knock the Hustle” be a more powerful message if it was written by Jeff Chang, Kevin Powell or Davey D?
As if the only way people should respect good music and new artists should be if they have the “stamp of approval” from the very same people who sponsor the “death-style” that has been rammed down our throats as Hip-hop for decades.
Sorry Mr. Canseco, I come from a time before A&R’s and labels dictated what Hip-hop was, if that is the only downside that you see in Jasiri X, I can live with that because that leaves plenty of upside!
Please hate on our new video “Beware Young Girl”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LXaAuC3Yr8
It explores the disturbing trend of horrific violence and injustice towards women. You wont see your industry boys make one like this either:
More people who according to Black Canseco will probably never hear of Jasiri X:
And More:
Jasiri X and The Legendary Carlos Santana
Jasiri X and The father of Hip-hop Africa Bambataa
—
Paradise Gray
One Hood
Http://www.1hood.org
Http://www.facebook.com/paradisegray
Http://www.realtalkxpress.com
Goldman Sachss is at it again-First it was 23 billion dollars in bonuses, now it’s Swine Flu Vaccine
November 5, 2009 By
//
It seems like the arrogance simply doesn’t stop. First it was 23 billion dollar bonuses and now its the H1N1 vaccine for the scummy people over at Goldman Sachs’. While many ‘at risk’ people have stood in long lines or anxiously parked on waiting lists to get the vaccine, the billion dollar boys used their money and connections to get their flu shots. It didn’t matter if folks were or were not ask risk, GS along with several other banks went and ordered the medicine directly from the manufacturer.
At the same time this is happening millions of credit card holders all over the country have received letters in the past couple of weeks from these rich bankers informing us that interest rates for the cards are gonna jump up big time. Some folks are looking at interest rates of 24-25%… So shiesty was this move from some of these banks that Congress is pushing to enact the new credit card consumer protection law which was scheduled to go into effect in 2010, they want to put it in place right now. The banks are furious and are pulling out all the stops to lobby congress. We’ll see how sympathetic they are or how easily they can be brought off in the wake of this latest rich people get Swine Flu vaccine scandal.
-Davey D
Goldman Sachs Received H1N1 Vaccine Before Several Hospitals (GS)
Gokdman Sach's CEO LLOyd Blankfein made sure his ilk got the H1N1 vaccine before those at risk.
We’ve been trying to figure out what, if any, preparations Wall Street has been taking to guard against H1N1.
For the most part, the banks have been coy about their activities.
But as noted on The Today Show this morning, several banks have been among the early recipients of H1N1 vaccine, allowing them to get ahead of hospitals in some instances.
The story was originally broken by BusinessWeek this week.
Goldman Sachs (GS) has received 200 doses in total — the exact same as Lennox Hill hospital.
Health officials say corporate partners are always part of the distribution of any vaccine.
There’s no allegation that they broke any rules, and we’re still not quite sure what the whole story is — mainly it looks like another PR snafu for Wall Street. Some are suggesting that, perhaps, the banks should have donated their allocated vaccines.
In defense of the banks, we all benefit when others are vaccinated. It’s a positive, not zero-sum game.
4 Videos to Start Your Day: Jasiri X, Toki Wright, Gucci Mane & Usher, Akrobatik vs Sage Francis
November 5, 2009 By
Jasiri X–Beware Young Girl
“Beware Young Girl” explores the disturbing trend of horrific violence and injustice towards women, including the brutal gang rape of a 15 year old girl in Richmond, California, the case of Sarah Kruzan who was sentenced to life without parole at age 16 for killing her pimp, who raped her and forced her into prostitution at age 16, and the case of Heather Ellis, a college honor student who is facing 15 years in prison for allegedly cutting the line at Walmart. Episode 24 was produced by King Sym and was directed by Paradise the Arkitech of X-Clan
Toki Wright- Devil’s Advocate
This is the first video from the newest member of the Rhymesayers click. Its off the album ‘A Different Mirror’
Gucci man w/ Usher ‘Spotlight’
Say what you will about Atlanta’s Gucci mane.. He’s has gained a tremendous amount of momentum and has thoroughly crossed over as evidenced by this video and song. How are you feeling about Gucci Mane these days?
Here’s an old emcee battle from 1999 that features Akrobatik vs Sage Francis. take listen and weigh in on this epic wordfest…
Black US Public Wants Peace, But Black US President Wages War -Black is Back rally in Washington Nov 7th
November 5, 2009 By
//
Black US Public Wants Peace, But Black US President Wages War
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
“The Black American image has been tarnished among peace-loving peoples of the planet.”
http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/black-us-public-wants-peace-black-us-president-wages-war
When the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations rallies this weekend in Washington DC, it will be expressing the sentiments that have historically made African Americans the most anti-war ethnic group in the United States. Black Americans have been most consistently opposed to U.S. military adventures abroad ever since the major polls began tracking Black opinion. Black opposition to the Iraq war registered most strongly in February, 2003, when the U.S. invasion was only a little over a month away. While majorities of white men and more than a third of white women told pollsters they would favor an invasion even if it killed thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, only seven percent of African Americans agreed. Hispanics also opposed the invasion back in 2003, although not nearly so strongly as Blacks.
More than 40 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali opposed the Vietnam War and remained icons in Black America because they reflected the views of large segments of their communities, including majorities of Blacks serving in the military.
The outside world had long recognized that African Americans were historically and politically different than their white fellow citizens. In a dramatic example, Iranian students freed their Black captives, along with females, when they seized the American embassy in 1979.
In succeeding decades, Black warmongers gained high profile positions in U.S. government, most notably Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. General Powell, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the televised face of the first Gulf War. As Secretary of State in 2003, Powell disgraced himself at the United Nations, the Black face of a lying government justifying the coming invasion of Iraq. Condoleezza Rice, while George Bush’s national security advisor, raised the specter of an Iraqi “mushroom cloud” to stampede the nation into war. When Rice succeeded Powell as Secretary of State, she dutifully cited Cuba, Burma, North Korea, Iran, Belarus and Zimbabwe as “outposts of tyranny” in the world, and therefore justifiable targets of the United States.
“Black America is caught in an historical contradiction.”
The Black American image has been tarnished among peace-loving peoples of the planet. Yet African Americans remain largely true to their traditional anti-war politics, despite having given overwhelming support to a Black president who has introduced the largest military budget in history, claimed the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan as his own, further militarized the continent of Africa, and expanded U.S. bases and subversion in Latin America.
Black America is caught in an historical contradiction: It is emotionally invested in the first Black president, even as Barack Obama pursues warlike policies historically opposed by African Americans. It’s time to break the spell. The Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations begins the process on Saturday, November 7, at Washington DC’s Malcolm X Park. It’s about time. Hispanics are now slightly more opposed than Blacks to President Obama’s troop escalations in Afghanistan, possibly because Latinos now suffer more casualties than Blacks, but more likely because African Americans find it painful to face the fact that the first Black president is a warmonger.
You can listen to this commentary by clicking the link below:
Glenn Ford Commentary on Black is Back Rally
For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to http://www.blackisbackcoalition.org/.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
The Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations can be contacted through their web site:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Immortal Technique & Hip Hop Chess Federation to Address Escalating Latino Gang Violence in SF
November 5, 2009 By
//
Hip-Hop Chess Federation and Immortal Technique Unite to Address Escalation of Latino Gang Violence
Rapper Immortal Technique, The Brown Berets and Author Cesar Cruz to Speak at John O’Connell High School
Nov. 3rd 20090- San Francisco, CA– The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is proud to announce that it will host Immortal Technique at John O’Connell High school in San Francisco, CA on Nov. 5th. He will address the rising climate of violence by Latino gangs in the SF Mission District. This is a closed door event, specifically for John O’Connell students. Immortal Technique will be accompanied by the Brown Berets of Watsonville. Additionally Cesar Cruz, author of History of North & South: Bang for Freedom will be showing a short documentary on past peace resolutions made by Norteno and Sureno gangs.
“I have had a long history of working with street organizations and with community leaders that come together to try and avert self destructive actions such as the ones we face here.” stated Immortal Technique. “I do not claim to have all the answers but I am more than willing to share my time and energy to try and look at the roots of this and other conflicts to find solutions rather than just continue a cycle of hatred and vengeance.”
“Our children are murdering one another with no sense of remorse” stated the HHCF’sCEO, Adisa Banjoko. “The Hip-Hop Chess Federation remains committed to fusing music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non-violence. Immortal Technique is a Hip-Hop artist who has a special place in the hearts of Latino youth. He’s been a true ally of the HHCF for a long time. John O’Connell High Schools faculty and staff have always been proactive in their approach to keeping their students effectively informed. We’re honored to have Immortal Technique and the Brown Berets share their ideas on the best moves we can all make, to reach an authentic and enduring peace on these streets.”
For more information contact Adisa Banjoko: bishop@hiphopchessfederation.org
For more info on the Hip-Hop Chess Federation visit: www.hiphopchessfederation.org