Wake Up GOP: Sotomayor Is This Generation’s Jackie Robinson

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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Wake Up GOP: Sotomayor Is This Generation’s Jackie Robinson

New America Media, Commentary, Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, Posted: Jul 15, 2009 Review it on NewsTrust

soniaSatamayor-225 Nine years into the new millennium and conservatives and Republicans — with straight faces – insist that it is they who should define the nation’s racial debate and that it is their views that are fair and objective and part of the U.S. mainstream. Nowhere is this fallacy more evident than in their incomprehensible opposition to Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In their upside-down world, extreme conservatives, including the entire right-wing talk show universe, have gone from defending racial supremacy (by opposing integration and the precepts of “equality and justice for all”) to appropriating the right to define the very words and terms of this debate. Interestingly, Senate Republicans, who espouse virtually the same views as those of their influential talk show brethren, minus the most incendiary language, have failed to denounce their hate and ultra-nationalist demagoguery.

For instance, Sen. Jeff Sessions’ questioning of Sotomayor regarding her supposed biases, and the Republican demand that she be neutral, is mind-boggling. Lest we forget (aside from his own documented extreme racial views), it is “objectivity” that permitted the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly 200 years to uphold legal segregation and discrimination. Implicit in their arguments is that the decisions by white male Supreme Court justices have always been fair and infallible, while the continued attempts to right the nation’s wrongs – by activists or judges – constitute bias and even racism.

In addition to a history refresher course, many of these Republicans and conservatives are in need of an English dictionary. They also need to pay a visit to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website to learn who the racists are and what kinds of supremacist ideologies they espouse and carry out.

None of those that have denounced Sotomayor as a “racist,” such as Newt Gingrich, are in line to win a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on race relations any time soon. And yet, more incredible is that the mainstream media continually turn to extremist talking heads for their opinions on the topic, virtually granting them an imprimatur of impartiality and fairness.

The Republican conservative effort to keep Sotomayor off the bench seems like a bizarre murder-suicide plot. Regardless of the obstacles put in her way, she will be the next Supreme Court justice. If there is to be any casualty, it will be the GOP, not she. She is a twice-Senate-confirmed moderate judge with 17 years of judicial experience, not the flaming radical they project her to be. She is boricua or Puerto Rican, part of a demographic (Latino/Latina) that is growing and has the potential to lean either Democratic or Republican.

What GOP leaders haven’t figured out is that, symbolically, Sotomayor represents this generation’s Jackie Robinson. If they had wanted to broaden their political tent, they could have celebrated her nomination, thereby projecting a welcoming party. Instead, they have questioned her impartiality and more important, her integrity. By opposing her these past two months with inflammatory rhetoric, they have poisoned relations with this expanding demographic group, ironically ensuring that the GOP will be remanded to the status of minority party for at least the next generation.

GOP leaders have the right to oppose her; the problem is that they have failed to do so respectfully. Many Republicans/conservatives have not simply defamed her, they have also unjustifiably denigrated both the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) – respected civil rights organizations she has been associated with as a professional. In the case of the NCLR, the anti-immigrant ex-Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo has likened it to the KKK. This is beyond intellectually dishonest.

This attempt by extreme conservatives to redefine the meaning of terms such as “racists” either reveals an Orwellian strategy to upend the meaning of words, or it reveals complete political illiteracy and/or lunacy. The consequence is that the GOP continues to send off the message that it is the party of the past, the party of greed, permanent war, hate, intolerance and racial supremacy. Also, because many conservatives equate ‘illegal alien’ with Mexican (or Latino) and view both as vermin and subhuman, the GOP already has a huge [recruitment] problem among these groups.

The failure of its leaders to disassociate from those extreme views means that this is the way the GOP will be perceived, long after Sotomayor dons her new Supreme Court robes.

Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, writes for New America Media, including Arizona Watch. He can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com

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Starbucks Set to Start Swagger jacking Local Coffee Houses by removing Its Name

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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daveyd-raider2 Should we call it good business savvy where one is being smart and competitive or should we call it being deceptive, thievery or outright ‘swagger jacking’ ? In case you haven’t heard in recent months Starbucks has been closing coffee houses all over the country. In this bad recession many people don’t wanna pay 4 bucks for a cup of coffee with names they can’t pronounce. The other story which Starbucks has not been telling folks is that many places, people hate walking into a store that’s not local. In many communities people have been opting to go to the mom and pop/ indy coffee house where they will allow you do poetry readings, give you free wi-fi and basically be a ‘real’ neighborhood hangout. Starbucks in spite of its nice ambiance has become simply too Clear Channelish for people’s tastes and hence folks started to bounce in droves.

So how has the coffee giant responded? First it closed a bunch of stores and blamed it on the recession. Next they did some market research and are now undergoing a sneaky makeover. They are now experimenting by opening coffee houses without the Starbucks name or their green and white logo. They are trying to blend in and make people think they are some small, quaint, corky indy coffee house owned by local people. In Seattle, Starbucks swagger jacked damn near everything a local coffee house was doing down to the color of paint. Who is next? Will the Starbucks in the hood sudeenly start sporting a Red, Black and Green flag toss up a couple of Malacolm X or Marcus Garvey photos and make folks think its Black owned? Oh yeah I forgot a whole lot of businesses on 125th street in Harlem do that now..lol, but lemme not digress.

Will Starbucks suddenly adapt Southwestern decor and toss a Spanish sign here and there, play some Salsa, ranchero or tejano tunes and have up a Mexican, El Savadorian or Puerto Rican flag hanging out front to make us think its owned by folks in the barrio? Should we be upset by this? Haven’t we been pushing corporations to be more reflective of the community? If the communities needed are being served should we be celebrating this? Or do we want corporations to identify themselves as corporations?

Now many corporate folks are paying close attention to this latest ‘stealth marketing move by Starbucks because they know, people aren’t feeling the way corporations are doing things, so these entities are falling back and trying to hit us up by pretending to be something that we aren’t.. is this a good thing?

Time will tell and so will the people

Something to Ponder

Davey D

Can the next Starbucks makeover result in a corporate coffee shop like this without us knowing?

Neighbor: Starbucks stole my ambiance

By SARA KIESLER
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

Linda Derschang, owner of Smith neighborhood pub, walks into a meeting in a Starbucks store undergoing renovation next door to her business on 15th Avenue East in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Derschang, who said she worked hard to distinguish her business with its motif, said she was furious that the Starbucks matched its look to the look of her businesses next door. The exterior of the remodeled Starbucks location is color matched to Smith's and uses reclaimed wood on the exterior, similar to the reclaimed wood Derschang uses in her business.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/408205_starbucks17.html?source=mypi

If imitation is the kindest form of flattery, the restaurant and bar known as Smith is feeling … well … flat-out worshiped.

Located next to the Starbucks store that will now be called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Capitol Hill, Smith owner Linda Derschang said Thursday that everything from the paint color to the light fixtures inside the coffee shop have been replicated to match her rustic, mountaineer-like bar.

“It’s got a lot of salvaged wood, it’s the same paint color inside as Smith and some of the wood framed chalkboards look very, very similar,” she said. “If they had decided to do that look in a different neighborhood or city that would be one thing, but trying to position themselves as an independent coffee house? Where’s the independent spirit in knocking someone off?”

The remodeled Starbucks store, which will serve beer and wine as well its usual caffeinated fare, is making attempts to reflect its neighborhood location, spokeswoman Anna Kim-Williams said. The 15th Avenue store was expected to close last year but is being remodeled instead.

“We’re continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance,” Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. “Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage.”

But Derschang said she wishes Starbucks Corp. had approached her to ask if it was OK that the store is painted almost the same deep woods brown color as hers. All five of her restaurants, bars and coffee shops throughout Seattle have a signature look Derschang designed. Managers at another bar of hers, Odd Fellows Cafe and Bar, said they saw Starbucks designers frequent the store to observe its motif.

“If Smith was Subway sandwiches would they really try to match the paint color?” she said. “It’s definitely more to their advantage to look like Smith than Smith’s advantage to look like Starbucks.”

Smith manager Keara Matthiesen said she was asked on Wednesday by representatives of Starbucks Corp. about where the awnings were purchased.

“I told them I don’t know even though I know very well,” she said. “No more!”

Smith isn’t the first local store to feel it has been copy-catted by another. Two Tex-Mex restaurants duked it out in November after Pesos Kitchen and Lounge in Queen Anne claimed that Matador in Ballard had replicated its theme in violation of civil laws regulating the use of “identifying marks.”

After a court battle lasted over a month, Matador agreed to a settlement that included changes to its menu and interior as well as an undisclosed sum of money.

Derschang and Matthiesen will be meeting with representatives of Starbucks Corp. on Monday, Derschang said. She hopes to give the designers a chance to make changes before even considering a lawsuit, she said.

Other neighborhood bars and coffee shops aren’t as concerned about the change in their neighbor’s appearance and product.

“In today’s economy, everybody’s trying to stay afloat,” said Caffe Ladro manager Courtney Howard. “If they’re trying to go back to the neighborhood feel … more power to them.”

Starbucks is planning to open two more Seattle-area stores without the Starbucks name.

Analyst Patricia Edwards said the move to invoke more of a coffee house aura is a return to the roots of artsy, local shops that “(CEO) Howard (Schultz) has always been so enamored with.”

If it brings more traffic in during the afternoon and evening hours, she said that is reason to applaud the stock price slumping company.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Life style articles, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D Hip hop news-Starbucks makeover, Starbucks, Starbucks makeover, Starbucks Set to Start Swagger jacking Local Coffee Houses by removing Its Name, Starbucks stole my ambiance

Did President Obama Come too hard with his ‘No Excuses’ Speech to the NAACP?

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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ObamaNAACP-400

People are buzzing about President Obama’s speech to the NAACP the other night. It’s getting a lot of praise for being energetic. It received a rousing standing ovation. Many are saying he spoke sobering words that really needed to be heard during these hardtimes. He called for personal responsibility. he encouraged parents to step it up and be more involved.

He basically let us know that times are changing, the world is more competitive and quite frankly with him being in the White House a whole lot of non-Black folks aren’t trying to hear any excuses as to why we aren’t making it.

He pointed out that there are lots of opportunities for people to take advantage to move forward and its sad that so many are not.

Minista Paul Scott feels that President Obama glosses over important issues about race and racism

On the other hand there are those like Truth Minista Paul Scott who emphatically feel that a good speech and false perceptions held by others do not erase systemic conditions. Police brutality, poverty and institutional racism have not disappeared with the election of President Obama. In fact they may have gotten worse as there seems to be a backlash to America electing its first Black president.

Paul brings to the forefront some other interesting facets to consider including Obama’s tendency to downplay white supremacy when he talks about race. He feels that when Obama speaks to Black people he’s doing so to appease whites hence he adapts a harsh ‘personal responsibility’ tone. Paul points out personal responsibility is a good thing, but it suggests that many of the barriers in front of us are there because we aren’t trying hard enough. Racism is there because we have not educated ourselves enough.

Paul suggest that Preisent Obama take a look at Carter G Woodson’s book ‘The Miseducation of the Negro”.

Anyway take a listen to the two speeches and let us know what u think. Was Obama on point with his make no excuses speech or is Minista Paul Scott correct in pointing out that some excuses are just too damn big to ignore.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Essential videos to peep, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D Hip Hop news-Response to Obama's NAACP speech 2009, Did President Obama Come to Hard with his 'No Excuses' Speech to the NAACP?, Did President Obama Come too hard with his 'No Excuses' Speech to the NAACP?, Miseducation of the Negro, No warning shots fired, Paul scott responds to president Obama Naacp speech, President Obama 2009 NAACP speech, Race relations, Was President Obama On Point w/ His NAACP 'No Excuses' Speech?, white supremacy

Radio’s Stupid Consolidation Tricks

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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Radio’s Stupid Consolidation Tricks
By Jerry Del Colliano

Jerry_Colliano-225 What do you get when you fire most of your local employees, revert to using voice tracking or cheap outside programming, manage from corporate headquarters, spy on stations and treat engineers like they are not necessary?

No local radio — or as I like to call it — Nocal radio.

You could call it Knuckleradio because you’d have to be a knucklehead to do what radio CEOs are doing in the name of economies of scale.

Or Lowcal Radio — because the costs for running consolidated stations are increasingly low.

Whatever you decide to call it, consolidators are busy at work carrying out their plans to reduce expenses even if it hurts their product and industry.

The three largest groups — Clear Channel, Cumulus and Citadel — are leading the way (if you could actually use the term “leading” to describe this self-immolation). Believe me, the other small groups are falling all over themselves to adopt the same destructive and shortsighted policies as you will see.

Here are a few self-destructive examples:

1. Playing offensive videos at “sales meetings”.
Turns out one of my Repeater Reporters got wind of an Atlanta GM’s attempt at motivating his sales department. The GM reportedly played Alec Baldwin’s rant from Glengarry Glen Ross, the 1992 movie about the behind the scenes operation of a real estate office. The clip, as submitted by my reader, is full of insults and obscene language — some directed at the alternative life style of other employees with children. Give a listen, but you’ve been warned. Some motivation, eh?

2. Raising ad rates by 20% to cover losses.
Recession? What recession? One consolidator ordered a 20% rate increase effective immediately ostensibly to cover his company’s losses. Salespeople on the street are cringing as their prospects are hurting so much many are already skipping radio advertising at existing rates. Talk about being disconnected from your advertisers. Now is the time to cut rates — not during economic booms. Radio, which had decades to raise its rates, stuck to low ball pricing and now you dance with the one that brought you (low ad rates) — to quote Shania Twain.

3. Clear Channel’s goal: no one in the building on weekends.
I know what you’re going to say, there’s already no one in their buildings during the week. One CC reader tells me this has been the company’s apparent goal for years now and he can prove it. This Repeater Reporter attended a Prophet System training session in Denver a few years back. Here’s how he quoted the trainer: “…yes, that’s our goal; no one in the building on the weekends.” When this concerned radio exec asked what would happen if the station went off the air, he recalls the trainer as saying, “He replied that Prophet had the capability to page the engineer or PD in that situation. He also said that hopefully station personnel would monitor local newscasts for news events that took place and send someone in if any unforeseen events occurred”. There’s more listeners, TSL and audience interaction on the weekends — guess Clear Channel doesn’t want it.

4. Father’s Day Weather — one day late.
Another disgusted radio exec says that on Father’s Day — well, let’s let him tell it, “Clear Channel’s high-rated WSRZ-FM, Sarasota, FL, 60s-70s hits, was plugging along, no back announcing, no local content, totally on automatic, when every hour, the recorded weather talked about the expected high tomorrow- FATHER’S DAY !! Seems someone forgot to update the weather. Another fine example of serving the community’s needs”. No harm done. No one got killed by a tornado this time — just voice tracking egg on your face.

5. Michael Jackson coverage — with no overtime.
This has probably happened at a lot of stations in the aftermath of the death of Michael Jackson. As one radio exec put it, “No one else was in the building when the MJ story broke. I put it on all stations (in the cluster) and then pieced together some tribute sets. Got a call reminding me…”No Overtime.” (Did get a thanks from the PD who was on the way to the station.). This is not the way to do it.

6. Some Mom and Pop stations want to be Cumulus.
Another eyewitness account from a longtime radio vet who was fired from his consolidated radio job and wound up at a mom and pop operation. His comments remind us why once the genie is out of the bottle, you can’t stuff it back in again: “…your article on tracking hit home…even with this local owner…we have a bare bones staff, everything is voicetrax even the morning shows!!…I took (a few) days off last week and had to track my shows while was gone… plus I put in all spots, write, produce etc”.

7. “We’re live today and you’re lucky” on-air attitude.
One veteran broadcaster said, “I heard a personality on the air at a Radio One station on Friday last week who is usually voice tracked. She was on the air playing Michael Jackson songs back-to-back, and said during one of her breaks, ‘Call me in the studio today, I’m actually here taking your phone calls and playing DJ today!’ Nice sentiment, but she said it as though it was supposed to be a bonus for the audience… Almost as if to say, ‘Don’t call me any other day, because I have much more important things to do’.”

8. Less station identification even in non-PPM markets.
An insider from Vegas said, “…in recent weeks, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. The voice-tracks are totally generic. There’s no mention of the station by the announcers, just a lot of ‘that was… this is ‘ and ‘hey, did you know Lonestar was coming out with a new CD?’ One can only assume that they’re now having jocks do generic voice-tracks that run on multiple stations, eliminating the need to cut custom tracks for each station. Other than the occasional imaging stuff, the station itself is never mentioned. Plus, there’s no weather, no local happenings, no local comments about artists appearing locally… nothing. That’s you’re new local radio for you.

Seth Godin, the marketing guru, recently did a blog post on the demise of the sewing machine business and the once mighty Singer Corporation.

I got the feeling Godin was also talking about the radio industry in a way.

But I was convinced he was when he added, “The best marketing strategy is to destroy your industry before your competition does”.

I guess radio CEOs are taking him literally.

For those of you who would prefer to get Jerry’s daily posts by email for free, please click here. IMPORTANT: Service cannot start until you verify an email from “Feedburner” immediately after you sign up (may have to check your filtered mail).
Thanks for forwarding my pieces to your friends and linking to your websites and boards.

Here’s link to original article: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2009/07/radios-stupid-consolidation-tricks.html

BRAINSTORM WITH JERRY. One or two-day “Solutions Labs” to solve problems and to discover new opportunities based on Jerry’s work as a professor at the University of Southern California where he helped radio companies, music industry businesses and new media ventures develop creative, revenue-producing ideas. You supply the “goals”. Choose the participants in a private setting. Leave with an easy-to-implement “action plan”.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Industry news & Views, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Clear Channel, Davey D's Hip Hop news-Radio consolidation, Jerry Del Colliano, Knuckleradio, Radio's Stupid Consolidation Tricks

First Wise Intelligent, Now Hip Hop pioneer Paradise of X-Clan get arrested on trumped up charges

July 17, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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Hip Hop pioneer Paradise Gray is the latest in a string of journalis/ community activist to be arrested on trumped up charges by police from coast to coast

Yesterday I received several disturbing phone calls from the city of Pittsburgh informing me that Hip Hop pioneer and X-Clan member Paradise Gray the Architect was falsely arrested by a police department that seemed bent on targeting him. The details are still coming in but from what was conveyed, ‘Dice’ was at a demonstration filming the procedings so he could write and report back the story. For those who don’t know, Dice is also a long time seasoned journalist and documentarian. During the demonstration a doorway was blocked resulting in a bottleneck which spawned the anger of a number of people who rushed the door, pushing people and creating a situation where a couple of women would be crushed and stampeded if action was taken. Dice went to the door to assist by creating a path so people could move through the door when he was tackled by police. He was accused of blocking the doorway and preventing people from leaving and later for resisting arrest

According to witnesses, there were several demonstrators on hand, all of the white who were there at the doorway to commit acts of civil disobedience. They were clearly present blocking the door, yet police ran right past them to attack Paradise who got tagged with the resisting arrest charge when he put his hands in the air to let the police know he was a working journalist and not part of the demonstration. It didn’t matter to the police Dice was hauled off. Later on police arrested the actual demonstrators who were all cited and immediately let go. Paradise who spent much of the day in jail was later quoted as saying. ” (I was not one of the people who was trying to be arrested. I was rushed by the Police after trying to free a young lady from being crushed by the revolving door that was being pushed hard by a man trying to exit the building) – Paradise

This incident had a chilling effect on several levels. First Paradise is known for his peace making activities by the police. He’s met with them on anumber of occassions and has long advocated that the community spark dialogue instead of confrontation. They knew that Dice is a journalist covering the story. Second point was that several people who started the bottlneck and disruption by blocking the door were arrested and let go. Third this pattern of false arrest and trumped up charges has happened to several other well known people who are part of the Hip Hop community and do journalism. I hardly think this is coincidence.

The first is Minister of Information JR out of Oakland, California. During the demonstrations for police killing of Oscar Grant, JR was doing what he’s done for years, covering the story and taking pictures so he can later report back to the community through the SF Bayview newspaper and on his widely heard Block Report Radio show and podcast. He was tackled by 4 officers and charged with arson. It did not matter that he was standing next to a number of other people including a couple of lawyers who were also observing the demonstrations. His outspoken, bold activism made him a target. He is currently fighting the trumped up charges. http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/oakland-pd-brutally-arrests-minister-of-information-jr-at-oscar-grant-protest/

Last week we ran the story of Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers being falsely arrested by Trenton, New Jersey police. His account of the incident is quite chilling. Wise does a weekly radio show where he brings to light community issues. http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/wise-intelligent-of-poor-righteous-teachers-falsely-arrested/

If you add to the mix the arrest/kdnapping of former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney by the Israeli government and the outlandish arrest of former gang member turned peacemaker Alex Sanchez in Los Angeles, you can see just how insidious and this pattern really is. We will keep you posted on the situation involving Paradise Gray. In the meantime check out his website Http://www.1hood.org

written by Davey D

Community Benefits Protesters Arrested On North Shore
Demonstration Held Outside Del Monte Building

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20075464/detail.html

PITTSBURGH — At least four members of a community group were arrested during a protest on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, where they were calling on local corporations to offer more community benefits.The demonstration was staged outside the Del Monte Building on North Shore Drive on Thursday morning. Some protesters held a sign that said “Millionaires Get Our $ While Our Kids Die.”City police made arrests when members of Northside United began blocking the building’s main entrance.Meanwhile, the group chanted, “It’s the North Side, not the North Shore, this land is our land, it’s not yours.”

Land around Heinz Field on the North Shore will be built up by developers.

“We keep giving things to millionaires who don’t even live in the state of Pennsylvania, and the residents of the city of Pittsburgh get nothing in return,” said Michael Glass, co-chair of Northside United. “Those of us who live on the North Side are being most impacted by the developers. Our homes are falling down. There’s a high rate of unemployment, a high rate of violence. We have people who work in these buildings making $8 an hour getting no benefits for their families. Develpoment should support the community.”Northside United consists of neighbors, churches, social service agencies and labor unions. The group has been asking for a community benefits agreement with developers who are planning to build up the land near the sports stadiums on the North Shore.”This community was a thriving community years ago. I lived here. You can’t even find the street where I lived. It’s all asphalt now. It’s not reponsible development,” Glass said.Glass acknowledged that the group was trying to publicize its agenda with civil disobedience, and he said the police officers responded appropriately.He wants Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to “force developers to sit down and have a real conversation with people in the community, so their needs can be heard and understood. That’s all we’re asking.”

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Davey D Hip Hop news-Paradise arrested, First Wise Intelligent, Hip Hop Pioneer Paradise, Minsister of Information JR, Now Hip Hop pioneer Paradise of X-Clan get arrested on trumped up charges, Paradise Arrested in Pittsburgh, police terrorism, Wise Intelligent

Cynthia McKinney, Charles Barron & M-1 of dead Prez Arrive in Gaza

July 16, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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More than 200 people came on to Gaza to bring humanatarian supplies.. New York City Councilman Charles Barron, Cynthia McKinney and M-1 were among the folks

http://www.vivapalestina-us.org/2009/07/we-are-in-gaza/

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Viva Palestina USA arrived in Gaza with a convoy of desperately needed humanitarian aid. She traveled with a group of Rabbis, UK Member of Parliament George Gallaway, elected US officials and hundred of citizens of the United States.

http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/cynthia-mckinney-and-charles-barron-enter-gaza-relief-convoy

Cynthia McKinney and Charles Barron Enter Gaza on Relief Convoy
by BAR Editors

“The U.S. Embassy required American citizens to sign papers waiving their right to protection by their own government.”

M-1 of dead prez always represents for the people- photo-Next left Notes

After days of maddening delays by Egyptian and U.S. authorities, on Wednesday the Viva Palestine US caravan crossed from Egypt into the Gaza strip, home to 1.5 million besieged Palestinians. Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, New York City Councilman Charles Barron and Dead Prez rapper M-1 are among the 200 delegates who attempted to deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid. The Egyptians, who control the only non-Israeli entrance to Gaza, at the town of Rafah, reportedly prevented the activists from delivering some of the 47 vehicles purchased.

The activists have been warned they must leave Gaza in 24-hours, or will have to stay until the Egyptians open the border crossing for normal business. The Egyptians have been helping the Israelis enforce a blockade of Gaza since 2007.

The supplies are meant to aid recovery from Israel’s brutal December-January assault on Gaza in which at least 1,400 people died.

For McKinney, this is the third attempt to enter Gaza. She was a passenger in the relief vessel Dignity when it was rammed by the Israeli navy in international waters,

December 30. The heavily damaged craft was forced to limp into a Lebanese port. Then, in late June, McKinney and 20 other human rights activists were arrested when their boat Spirit of Humanity was boarded by the Israeli Navy on the high seas. McKinney spent days in an Israeli prison before being released, but within days was on her way to join the Viva Palestine US caravan, organized by British Member of Parliament George Galloway.

“The Egyptians government harassed the convoy at every opportunity.”

The American delegates were angered at the extent of U.S. government collaboration with Egyptian and Israeli efforts to frustrate the humanitarian mission. The U.S. Embassy required American citizens to sign papers waiving their right to protection by their own government should they enter Gaza. “This was not required in the first Gaza convoy nor was such an item required in the Free Gaza Movement,” said McKinney.

The Egyptians government, which gets more U.S. aid than any foreign government other than Israel, harassed the convoy at every opportunity, roughing up delegates on the bridge at the Suez Canal. Meanwhile, two Israeli destroyers ostentatiously passed through the canal on Tuesday heading to the Red Sea. Israeli sources say the warships are on a mission to stop arms smuggling to Gaza.

On Tuesday, McKinney and Barron sent the following letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

Dear Mr. President
Dear Madam Secretary
Viva Palestina USA, a humanitarian relief effort for Gaza, is now in Egypt and requests your immediate assistance. We were supposed to have arrived in Gaza on Monday, July 13, 2009, but our arrival into Gaza was delayed because our departure from Cairo, Egypt was delayed by at least two days. Last-minute bureaucratic questions and additional requirements caused the delay. The people of Gaza can’t wait.

You have noted that Israel’s siege of Gaza should be eased and medical supplies should be allowed in. We are implementing what you reportedly put into writing. The people of Gaza need your help and we have important assistance for them. Please contact the Egyptian authorities and ask them to let Viva Palestina USA humanitarian assistance proceed through the Rafah crossing. We need your help today so that we can help the people of Gaza rebuild their lives devastated by occupation and brutal invasion McKinney and Barron signed the letter on behalf of “200 Viva Palestina USA volunteers and thousands of Viva Palestina USA donors.”

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Charles Barron -davey d hip hop news, Charles Barron & M-1 of dead Prez Arrive in Gaza, Cynthia Mckinney, George Gallaway, M-1 arrives in gaza, Viva Palestina USA

Bury the Never Ending Myth of Jackson as Child Molester

July 10, 2009 By mrDaveyd

As I’m reading this article by Earl Ofari Hutchinson, I had to add a few thoughts. When ever this topic gets brought up I’ve always noted the most glaring omission to this whole ‘child molester’ myth. It’s quite simple-Show me the kids and show me the parents. The emphasis is on the plural ‘s’. Almost all experts on this topic have noted that a molester doesn’t stop at one victim, they have lots of them. Such would’ve been the case with Michael Jackson who routinely hosted hundreds if not thousands of kids at his Neverland Ranch. There would’ve been more than the one or two victims who accused him.

This leads to my second point, show me the parents. Out of all the kids supposedly molested, not one parent ran off to get Mike? Not one? There was no parent who looked at their innocent 6,7, or 8 year old and said to themselves; ‘WTF? This 45 year old man violated my child? My seed? My loved one? ? Hell No-Michael Jackson gotta die?’ …

Think about that for a minute. What parent sits by and doesn’t try and snatch the head off the person who harmed their precious loved one? I know my parents would been in jail if anything like that happened. Hell moms was ready to call it a day when she heard about teachers acting foul toward me or my sister. Pops beat the crap out of man right there in Macy’s for pushing me out of the way and calling me a little nigger when I was about 7. He knocked this man over a Christmas tree and would not stop until pulled off. He kept pummeling the man and yelling ‘No one touches my kid-No one’ Could you imagine if I had been molested?

The natural reaction of any parent is to protect their kids and protect them at all costs. You never saw this with the parents of Michael Jackson’s so called victims. Sure there might be one or two parents who would be in denial. Sure, there might be one or two parents who would be greedy and take money to remain silent, but there would be at least one and all you need is one family that would not be having it. That one family would pull out all the stops to bring justice for their kid.

You touch my seed and no money in the world would prevent what I would be dishing out. Death, death serious pain and a long jail sentence would be the only solution if you dared touch my kid. After that was meted out, there would be no need for financial settlement cause I would sue in civil court and get all the money. If for some reason Jackson got off and was found innocent to such an egregious act that I as a parent knew he did, I would be that parent that showed up at every single event to kick up dust and bring attention to his wrong doings. I’d be that parent holding fliers, picket signs, calling up radio stations, going to award shows demanding him and his music be boycotted. There would be no place on earth that MJ could not go and not have to deal with an upset, loving parent who wanted justice for their kid.

You never saw that with any of the two parents who claimed MJ molested their child. You never saw this with anyone. No outraged grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins-no one. Hell where are the victims? Michael Jackson was first accused back in ’92, ’93 of molestation. In theory any young victim would be an adult at this time-No one saw or felt the need to speak out and raise hell knowing that the person who molested them was still hosting kids at his ranch? Compare the lack of reaction from supposed victims’ of MJ with those who were victims by priests in the Catholic Church. When charges were levied on one Cardinal, bishop or priests by one brave soul, a string of victims soon followed. They all came out the from hiding and spoke up. Where were MJ’s supposed victims?

I’ll tell you where they were? No where cause there wasn’t none. No outraged parents and family members, no traumatized victims who are now adults willing to step up and speak. No strong convincing evidence from an out of control Santa Barbara distric attorney who was hell bent on seeing MJ in jail? Don Sneddon had 20+ years to find something to get MJ in jail and he couldn’t even with the full weight and resources of one of the wealthiest counties in America.

Michael Jackson a child molester? Negro please. Strange fella at times? Yes. Child molester? Perhaps if you believe in the Easter Bunny or you were seeking a quick payoff.

-Davey D-

Bury the Never Ending Myth of Jackson as Child Molester

by Earl Ofari Hutchinson

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/bury-the-never-ending-myt_b_228307.html

Earlofari-225 Websites, blogs and chatrooms pulsed with garish cracks about it. Legions of commentators and news reporters snuck it in every chance they got. More than a few of Michael Jackson’s fervent admirers and supporters made a dismissive reference to it. Even President Barack Obama in a cautious acknowledgment of Jackson’s towering contributions to American music and artistry still made reference to the “tragedy” in Jackson’s life which was a subtle nod to it. And New York Congressman Pete King skipped the niceties and flatly said it.

The “it” is the never ending myth of Jackson the child molester. It still hangs as a damning indictment that feeds the gossip mills and gives an arsenal of ammunition to Jackson detractors. This is not a small point. In the coming weeks, there will be a push to bestow official commemorative monuments, honors on and a national stamp for Jackson. The taint of scandal could doom these efforts to permanently memorialize Jackson.

The child molester myth doesn’t rest on Jackson’s trial and clean acquittal on multiple child abuse charges in a Santa Maria courthouse in June 2005. Only the most rabid Jackson loathers still finger point to that to taint Jackson. The myth of Jackson as child abuser rests squarely on the charge by a 13 year old boy a decade before the trial and the multi-million dollar settlement out of court. The settlement, then and now, feeds the suspicion that Jackson must have done something unsavory and probably criminal, or else why settle?

Sixteen years later, though, the facts remain unchanged. The charge that Jackson molested the boy was brought by the boy’s father. In interviews the boy repeatedly denied the charges. This changed only after he was administered sodium amytal, an invasive, mind altering drug that medical experts have frowned on and courts have disregarded in witness testimony.

Prosecutors, police departments and investigators in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara spent millions of dollars, convened two grand juries and probed nearly 200 witnesses that included 30 children, who knew Jackson to try to substantiate the charge. Not a single corroborating witness was found. Nonetheless, a motley group of disgruntled Jackson’s former housekeepers, attendants and bodyguards still peddled the story to any media outlet willing to shell out the cash that Jackson had engaged in child sexual wrongdoing. Not one of the charges was confirmed. Typical was this exchange between one of Jackson’s attorneys and one of the accusing bodyguards under oath:

“So you don’t know anything about Mr. Jackson and [the boy], do you?” “All I know is from the sworn documents that other people have sworn to.”
“But other than what someone else may have said, you have no firsthand knowledge about Mr. Jackson and [the boy], do you?”

“That’s correct.”

“Have you spoken to a child who has ever told you that Mr. Jackson did anything improper with the child?”

“No.”

“Where did you get your impressions about Jackson’s behavior?”

“Just what I’ve been hearing in the media and what I’ve experienced with my own eyes.”

“Okay. That’s the point. You experienced nothing with your own eyes, did you?”

“That’s right, nothing.”

When asked at the time about the charges against Jackson, child behavior experts and psychiatrists nearly all agreed that he did not fit the profile of a pedophile. They agreed that the disorder is progressive and there are generally not one but a trail of victims.

The myth of Jackson as child molester never hinged on evidence or testimony to substantiate it, but solely on the settlement. Why then did Jackson agree to it?

No charge stirs more disgust, revulsion, and pricks more emotional hot buttons than the charge of child molestation. The accusation stamps the Scarlet letter of doubt, suspicion, shame and guilt on the accused. The accused can never fully expunge it. There is simply no defense against it. Under the hyper intense media glare and spotlight that Jackson remained under, the allegation no mater how bogus would have been endless fodder for the public gossip mill. This would have wreaked irreparable damage on Jackson’s ever shifting musical career and personal life.

A trial in Los Angeles in the racially charged backdrop of the Rodney King beating, the L.A. riots, and pulsating racial tensions in the mid-1990s would have been risky business. A trial in staid, upscale, and majority white, Santa Barbara County would have been even more risky.

Jackson and his attorneys knew that when it came to the charge of child molestation the presumption of innocence, or even actual innocence, is tossed out the window. Though Jackson did nothing wrong, a trial would have left him, his reputation and his career in shambles. The settlement was the only pragmatic, logical and legal way to end the sordid issue.

The settlement under extreme duress must not sully his name and place as an honored American icon. The myth of Jackson as child molester must finally be buried.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, “The Hutchinson Report” can be heard on weekly in Los Angeles on KTYM Radio 1460 AM and nationally on blogtalkradio.com

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Bury the Never Ending Myth of Jackson as Child Molester, Davey D articles-Michael jackson and child molestation, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Michael Jackson, Michael jackson is no child molester

Michael Jackson’s Memorial:End of an Era-Close of a Chapter-Where Do We Go from Here?

July 9, 2009 By mrDaveyd

Michael Jackson’s Memorial: End of an Era-Close of a Chapter
Where Do We Go from Here?

by Davey D

Yesterday’s memorial for Michael Jackson was surreal, emotional, healing, inspiring and a heartfelt sobering wake up call. I’m glad I fought my initial urge to stay home and made the 5 hour drive from the Bay Area down to the Staples Center in LA. The long drive done in the middle of the night gave me time to reflect on all that had taken place over the past couple of weeks.

The days leading up to the memorial were filled with lots of articles, commentary and musical tributes. For many of us Michael Jackson and his various incarnations throughout the years were rediscovered. From his early hits like ‘ABC‘, ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘Going Back to Indiana’ to his latter songs off the Thriller’, ‘Invincible’ and ‘History’ albums, all took on new meaning. The brilliance behind them were better appreciated. When re-listening to his older material we came to understand that he and his brothers were years ahead of their time.

Over the past couple of weeks we discovered just how much of a global phenomenon he was. We learned how he kicked down doors and broke color barriers within the music industry. We learned how he gave over 40% of his income to charities. These aspects and so many more surrounding his life were often overlooked while we focused on his eccentric behavior and controversies.

Michael Jackson over the past two weeks was a bigger than life figure and in our rediscovering him, many of us rediscovered some long forgotten aspects of ourselves. For many of us Michael was still alive. He was still alive in spite of the incessant news stories about his death and the speculation as to what caused it. With each music or video tribute, television special or retrospective walk down memory lane, MJ was still here. His energy was around. His spirit felt. As I listened to his older material I found myself yearning for him to bust out with new material and resurrect a long-lost soulful sound from a bygone era. But alas he was gone.

Chuck D dropped lots in insight about Michael Jackson both on his Air America radio show and the History of Funk special

Two days prior to me leaving for the Memorial I had done an in-depth radio show with Chuck D from Public Enemy and funk expert Professor Rickey Vincent– author of the book ‘History of Funk’. It was a two-hour show chock full of never before inside facts about MJ and how he and his brothers were rooted in a much larger soul, blues and funk musical traditions within the Black community. We talked in-depth about where MJ and his brothers stood in relationship with their contemporaries at that time, George Clinton, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, James Brown and so many others. We played many of his soulful and adventurous cuts from the mid 70s that were out of print and all but hidden from a mainstream press that seemingly only wanted to focus on ‘Thriller’ and ‘Off the Wall’. This two hour History of Funk broadcast was the sound track to my 400 mile trek down to the memorial. And as the hours drew closer, the more alive and vibrant his music became-so much so that I literally forgot the reality at hand. I anticipated an upbeat celebration and a chance to reconnect to old friends. We were coming together to celebrate Michael – not mourn him.

Here’s our conversation on All Day Play FM w/ Chuck D

Conversation All Day Play FM w/ Rickey Vincent

As I arrived at the Staples Center and got my tickets I was there amongst thousands. The mood was upbeat and somewhat festive. There were smiles and light-hearted jokes. The mood was one of excitement as we all knew we were going to a historic event. The fact that we were among thousands of people who loved and appreciated this man sans the outright disrespect the media punditry playerhaterism who are increasingly out of step with their viewers and listeners added to the jovial mood.

It wasn’t until I got inside a darkened Staples Center and saw the stage adorned with flowers and the memorializing picture montage that it started to sink in what was really going on. As the place filled up we all could spot various celebrities who generally would cause a stir, the mood had drastically changed. It was more somber and definitely quiet except for the folks in the VIP section that seemed to be more animated and engaged as they smiled, exchanged pounds and hugged each other like this was just another industry event. I recall making note and tweeting about that.

When Michael’s gold casket adorned with roses was carried in…Then it really hit. The mood changed even more as it sunk in for all of us. This was not some sort of celebratory concert even with Stevie Wonder, Usher and Mariah Carey all singing. This was all about us saying goodbye…Not just to Michael but to an era and to part of ourselves. There was a lesson or lessons that needed to be gleaned and I found myself deep in thought and reflecting.

The Memorial itself could be best described as beautifully sad. We all saw the highlights, the first being Mariah Carey singing as she tried her best to hold back tears and keep her voice from cracking. We understood how difficult it was to sing with the casket in front of her. People in the audience had teared up when it was first brought in. If she didn’t care nor had no love, then this would’ve been just another gig. But singing in front of MJ’s casket knowing that he was forever gone was something else. Everyone at the Memorial felt her and appreciated the singing -cracked voice and all.

Magic Johnson sharing his KFC chicken story was nice. It humanized MJ for us. Him talking about being asked to be in the ‘Remember the Time’ video was appreciated as we recalled MJ using an all Black cast for this video depicting Ancient Egypt. We as Black folks appreciated it, but back in 1992, when this video first premiered on prime time TV, it angered a lot of white media pundits who questioned why Jackson would show Egyptians as their real color – Black. Folks need to ponder the deeper meaning behind that for a minute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiFF0gvqcc

Stevie Wonder gave a heartfelt performance that brought us to tears

Stevie Wonder and Usher moved us immensely as they sung their respective songs. Because I had done the History of Funk Show with Chuck D and Rickey Vincent, I had greater appreciation and understanding of what Stevie Wonder meant to MJ and the Jacksons when he took the stage. I understood that Stevie was Motown’s first childhood star who at age 11 signed to Motown and was known as Lil’ Stevie – the Boy Genius. He was the one you saw rocking the harmonica as Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and others within Motown held it down.

I appreciated that as Stevie got older and made way for the new child star – Michael Jackson. Over the years, Stevie would write a number of songs that Michael covered. From ‘My Cheri Amour’ to ‘I Don’t Know Why I Love You’ Wonder was an ever-present figure who over the years played a crucial role in helping shape and inspire the genius we appreciate about Michael.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aejQHbet5YY

I also understood that Stevie was arguably at the prime of his career winning Grammy after Grammy and dropping landmark albums like ‘Talking Book’, ‘Innervisions’ and ‘Songs in the Keys of Life’ as the Jacksons were emerging as pop sensations. With all this in mind, Stevie’s opening remarks about wishing he didn’t have to live to see the day we buried Michael along with his stellar performance of ‘Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer’ which was also covered by Michael took, on deeper meaning now that I had a historical and social context to put it in.

Usher’s heartfelt performance of Michael’s song ‘Gone Too Soon’ which had inspired dozens of video tributes found all upon Youtube including an incredible tribute done for the ill-fated BET Awards but was sadly never shown, was moving.

Brooke did her best to hold back tears while she talked about the great friendship she and Michael had.

Brooke Shields’ speech was touching as was John Mayer’s performance. Many did not realize how close and long a friendship Shields and Michael had. It was touching and insightful. One had to respect Mayer for opting not to sing but to just play the riffs to the song ‘Human Nature’. He later noted that he could not do Michael justice.

Brother Jermaine Jackson singing Michael’s favorite song ‘Smile’ was sobering. We had heard early on that Jermaine was going to sing and it was met with excitement. Again when it finally sunk in that he was paying tribute to his fallen brother after Brooke Shields had referenced the song in her remarks, we were all moved.

Reverend Al Sharpton gave the speech of a lifetime as he encompassed many of the feelings many were feeling but simply could not articulate. He addressed the naysayers and MJ haters in splendid fashion when he reminded us how Michael through his music and videos brought people of all races together and helped erase many divisions especially when he kicked down the doors to segregated entities like MTV. He reminded the audience that it was Michael who pushed and played trailblazing roles in charitable events like Live AID and We Are the World.

Sharpton noted that MJ’s bringing together of folks paved the way for the eventual election of President Obama. This drew loud applause. Sharpton spoke directly to Michael’s kids when he said; “There was nothing strange about your Daddy, it was strange what your daddy had to deal with.” This drew a thunderous standing ovation.

I knew right then, in spite 20 thousand people inside Staples beaming and rousing in agreement with Sharpton, that pundits would immediately be put in front of the TV cameras to discredit – and they were. The main talking points were; Michael Jackson was not an African-American icon, but an American icon and that Sharpton’s remarks were racist and would not be approved by Jackson. What’s funny about this was Jackson in later years came under attack for 3 or 4 things that drew the racial ire of some of Sharpton’s critics who say he plays the race card too much.

The first as I mentioned earlier was the ‘Remember the Time’ video where Michael caught flak for having African-Americans be cast as ancient Egyptians.

The second was Michael buying the Beatles catalogue. Him besting everyone including former friend Paul McCartney at the music industry’s publishing game, which over the years has left scores of Black artists destitute, may have been the spark that led to the onslaught of attacks MJ had to endured.

The third was him marrying Elvis Presley’s daughter, Priscilla Presley. That was too much for a whole lot of prejudice folks to bear. I recall the anger it caused to have the King of Pop who in spite of his so-called white appearance was still seen as a Black man marrying the daughter of the King of Rock-N-Roll. We all heard stories about Elvis’s daughter being called a “nigger lover”.

Prior to that, Michael caught racial heat for his very public friendship and relationship with Brooke Shields. Yes, the interracial dating thing even for the King of Pop was troubling for quite a few folks who want to insist that Michael be an “American icon” as long as he doesn’t marry their daughters. (The irony here is that Michael and Brooke never really dated they were just good friends, but even that was too much)

The fourth thing was Jackson going up to Harlem in June 2002 to Al Sharpton’s headquarters and speaking out about the blatant racism in the music industry. It was Jackson not Sharpton who referred to then lauded industry executive Tommy Mottola as racist and devilish. Sharpton tried to back pedal a bit on Jackson’s remarks and make it seem like a mistake in words, but it was just days later Michael went to England and underscored everything he said about Mottola and then some.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBv3GzD97FY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F3t2Gc0Qpo

The bottom line is Sharpton captured the moment during the memorial. Sharpton’s words were a breath of fresh air when you look at the racial overtones that had been placed on Jackson ranging from idiotic Congressmen like Peter King out of New York, to the so-called liberal icon Keith Oberman.

As each speaker took the stage and paid tribute, it hit home that the King of Pop was not only gone for good, but along with him an enduring, inspiring spirit calling on us to live up to life’s challenges and be our best at all times. It would be up to us to hold on to that spirit and do something with it. This realization was underscored when Martin Luther King III and his sister Bernice King spoke directly to the family and shared with them lessons they learned from their famous Civil Rights leader father. They recalled his famous Drum Major Instinct speech where he told us to be the best at what we do no matter how insignificant it may seem. They also shared with us MJ reaching out to their mother, Coretta Scott King 3 weeks before she passed which reminded us just how big a heart this man had.

Brother Marlon Jackson and Michael’s daughter Paris reminded us that Michael was not just an icon but a beloved family member who will be missed

It all hit home when Marlon Jackson spoke about his love for his brother which was followed by daughter Paris whose voice and cries about her love for her father were heard all around the world. There wasn’t a dry eye in the building when she spoke.

After the Jackson family said their last goodbyes, the casket was removed the finality of Michael Jackson being forever gone hit. I found myself thinking how Michael meant different things to different people. Some saw him as only an entertainer while others saw him as part of a larger culture rooted in age-old traditions. Some saw Michael as transcending race while other saw him as part of a race. Some saw Mike as a meal ticket to sell t-shirts, records, tickets etc while others recoiled at him being commoditized.

I myself saw a man who left behind a rich legacy and I was wondering if it would be a legacy we exploit and squander or if it would be something we cherish and build upon? Were my frequent walks down memory lane over the past two weeks a reminder for me to learn about myself and my people, build upon that, spread the knowledge and use that understanding to dwell deeper and bring forth the important aspects of the heroes and sheroes who do for us everyday? In other words, start loving and appreciating while people are still around and not when their dead?

It was then that it hit me that Michael’s music was no longer alive. Not in the way it was when I was coming down to LA. It was no longer alive because it was time for us to move forward and add richness to the legacy and not keep using it. In other words stop, looking for comfort within Michael and his music and start using our talents and resources to comfort and be a blessing to others.

Michael Joseph Jackson was a constant companion-a sound track of sorts to my life. He was a constant who was there at every momentous occasion I experienced. And now he was no more. He’s the end of an era, a chapter closed and the start of new beginning if I so choose.

Michael Jackson was an iconic bigger than life figure prior to the Memorial. After brother Marlon and daughter Paris spoke, it hit hard that he was a brother, father, son and beloved friend who will surely be missed.

There will never ever be another Michael Jackson and for that I’m sad. But his memorial said to me, “The ball is in your court. Michael’s work is done. It’s on you, it’s on us –each and everyone of us who sought comfort in his talents and persona, to carry on and impact this world and the communities around us by helping move them to new and better heights. Will the world stop and pay attention when we die?

RIP Michael Jackson..May we build upon the foundation you laid for us.

The Jackson clan wore white gloves in honor of Michael

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Al Sharpton, Brooke shields, Chuck D, Michael Jackson, Michael jackson memorial serivice-July 7th 2009, Michael Jackson Memorial-Davey D article, Michael Jackson tribute-davey D article, Michael jackson tribute-davey Hip Hop news, Michael jackson's funeral-davey D's thoughts, Michael Jackson's Memorial: End of an Era-Close of a Chapter, Paris Jackson, Ricky Vincent, Staples Center, The Jacksons, tribute to Michael jackson

Barack Obama or Cynthia McKinney Who Reps Us Best in the Middle East?

July 9, 2009 By mrDaveyd

Former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has just returned from an Israeli jail where she was briefly imprisoned, along with human rights activists from several nations, for her second attempt at publicly running the brutal US-Israeli blockade trying to bring coloring books, food and medical supplies. Why are the US and Israel imposing this collective punishment upon 1.5 million civilians. How does McKinney’s stand match up against that of our first black president, the most powerful man in the world who calls it a “humantarian crisis” but will do nothing about it? And how do they both stack up against the legacy of Dr. King?

Barack Obama or Cynthia McKinney – Who Represents Black America Toward Palestine and Israel?

By BAR Managing Editor Bruce A. Dixon

http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/barack-obama-or-cynthia-mckinney-who-represents-black-america-toward-palestine-israel-and-mi

“Both Obama and McKinney have traveled to the region more than once in the last several months.”

It’s almost an unfair question. Barack Obama’s many apologists have explained their lips off telling us how he could not run and cannot govern as president of Black Americans, or the president of Americans neck-deep in consumer debt, or the president of Americans who want an everybody in-nobody out health care system. To get elected and to govern, they wisely assure us, Barack Obama has chosen to be and must be the “president of everybody,” if by everybody you mean private health insurers, Wall Street banksters, Pentagon contractors and greedy chambers of commerce everywhere. The president is a grown man, and he gets to make those choices.

So do the rest of us, and on questions pertaining to the Middle East, a Euro-centric place name if ever there was one, every public opinion survey that bothers to differentiate white from black US opinion indicates that African Americans are, in the main, far more sympathetic to the cause of Palestinians than either their white neighbors or their first black president. Barack Obama then, is operating well outside the black consensus on Palestine and Israel, while former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney swims confidently in the mainstream of black opinion and the prophetic tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Both Obama and McKinney have traveled to the region more than once in the last several months. The president gave a speech in Cairo sternly advising Palestinians to give up violence in pursuit of justice, while seeming to ignore the grossly disproportionate violence, official and unofficial, of the Israeli settler state against them. Obama acknowledged what he called a humanitarian crisis in Gaza without facing his own and the American role in creating that crisis, let alone advancing any measures that would ameliorate it.

““My suitcase,” McKinney told BAR, “was full of crayons. Somebody in authority should explain why crayons and coloring books for Palestinian children are a threat…”

What President Obama calls Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is actually a medieval siege, in which Israel, with the full diplomatic and military backing of the US, its principal armorer and banker, has sealed 1.5 million people off from the outside world. For more than two years practically no Palestinians have been permitted to enter Gaza, either from the Israeli-occupied West Bank or elsewhere. Electricity has been cut to a few hours per day and water to a fraction of needed quantities while the Israeli armed forces prohibit Palestinians from purchasing or receiving parts to build, repair or expand capacity. Hundreds of ordinary items needed to carry on civilized life are also banned, including cement, soap, toothpaste, foodstuffs, medical supplies, books, paper clothing and crayons.

In December 2008, and June 2009 Cynthia McKinney, traveled to Cyprus and in the company of human rights activists from many countries attempted to sail to Gaza with a cargo of cement, coloring books, building, medical and humanitarian supplies in order to illustrate the inhumanity and absurdity of the blockade. Both times, the boats were intercepted by the Israeli navy, their GPS units destroyed, and the craft boarded. This time, twenty-one persons including the Irish Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire were arrested and imprisoned for several days before being deported.

“My suitcase,” McKinney told BAR, “was full of crayons. Somebody in authority should explain why crayons and coloring books for Palestinian children are a threat. Somebody should tear down this wall.” McKinney took pains to point out that the blockade, as well as the murderous assault that occurred in December, were carried on with arms and fuel supplied by the US, and with its full diplomatic backing. The blockade of Gaza is causing widespread malnutrition among Palestinians, including children, and is doubtless costing lives daily. “All of us need to ask,” McKinney said, “why our government, through the Israelis, is pursuing this barbaric policy toward the Palestinians, and we must demand that it end right now.”

“Why are Israel and the US, with the help of Egypt, imposing this brutal siege upon Gaza? ”

McKinney also brought with her insights on the racial composition of Israeli prisons. She said she met women in the Israeli prison from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Coite D’Ivoire and other African countries. She observed that a huge number of prisoners, aside from Palestinians, were black Africans and Asians. Where Israel formerly depended upon Arab labor to do many of its everyday tasks, since the beginning of its policy of siege it has recruited large amounts of foreigh labor from non-Muslim parts of Africa and Asia to do all the jobs on the low end of the pay and social status scales. Foreigners, of course, have few if any rights in Israel, and can find themselves locked up for extended periods for the most minor of status offenses.

Why are Israel and the US, with the help of Egypt, imposing this brutal siege upon Gaza? After the death of Yasir Arafat in 2006, Palestinians held elections, closely supervised by observers from many nations, and certified by them to be free and fair. But the Palestinians had the poor judgment to elect a political party — Hamas — not favored by Israel and the US. Cutting off their trade and travel, what remained of their opportunity to seek work in Israel or visit their Palestinian relatives in the West Bank, only a few miles distant, curtailing their electricity, water, building, medical and other supplies was, according to US and Israeli policymakers, supposed to make them come to their senses. It hasn’t worked. Outside pressure has, if anything, made the Palestinians of Gaza stick tighter together, and rally round the government that the US and Israel so disapprove of. It was the Bush policy for nearly two years, and now it has been the Obama policy for all of six months.

While Obama was the president-in-waiting, conducting daily news conferences on his plan for the economy, denouncing the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and browbeating members of his own party in congress into voting trillions of public dollars for Wall Street, Israel launched a full-scale military attack against Gaza, throwing hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery, including cluster munitions and white phosphorus along with strikes from helicopters and jet aircraft, killing more than a thousand civilians. Barack Obama declined to comment publicly, noting that his inauguration was still a few days distant, and that the US had “only one president at a time.” In a similar legalistic vein, during Obama’s Cairo speech he pointedly said that the US did not recognize the legitimacy of “continuing Israeli settlements.” But the Israeli government has, with US government funding been planting armed colonies of Israelis on strategic hilltops and ridges throughout the Palestinian West Bank for more than twenty years now, connecting them with a network of roads which Palestinians are forbidden to travel upon or even to cross under pain of arrest. Obama said nothing about these and other longstanding outrages.

“Next to Arab Americans, blacks are probably the nation’s most skeptical group about the fundamental justice of an Israeli settler state”

Almost a year ago, when Barack Obama received the Democratic nomination, the air was thick with

comparisons and connections between his career and that of Dr. Martin Luther King a generation earlier. In the heady moments of Obama’s historic nomination and inauguration it was easy for many to confuse and conflate one with the other. But the air is clearer now. The president’s selective moralizing on violence and nonviolence, his legalistic evasions of responsibility, his lawyerly distancing from the consequences of his own actions and inactions are more the stuff of Boss Daley than they are the prophetic witness to injustice of Dr. King. Six months into the Obama presidency, the man whose career many saw as the culmination of the work of the apostle of nonviolence has killed more than 700 Afghans, many of them civilians, with airborne robot drones.

Next to Arab Americans, blacks are probably the nation’s most skeptical group about the fundamental justice of an Israeli settler state which imparts rights of residence, citizenship, and more on the basis of Jewish identity, while denying these rights to people whose ancestors have lived there for thousands of years. To African Americans who bother to educate themselves at all on the matter, Israel’s identity-pass system, its Jewish-only roads, its separate license plates that allow Israeli Arabs and other non-jews to be profiled at a distance, the ongoing settlement policy cited by President Obama, and the raw, unpunished racist violence of Israeli settlers toward Palestinians have all the hallmarks of a modern, twenty-first century apartheid state. Thanks to Cynthia McKinney and others, more of us are becoming educated on the real nature of the Israeli state, and the consequences of American support of it. We expect to see that work continue, and be taken up by an ever wider section of African American churches, student and civic organizations who believe, as did Dr. King that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

We said at the beginning that the comparison was almost unfair. Almost. It’s really not unfair at all. Neither Barack Obama nor Cynthia McKinney are being forced or compelled to make the choices they do. They are both grown, well educated, sober, sensible parents and US citizens. But between President Obama and former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, it’s easy to see who is following in the prophetic footsteps of Dr. King, and increasingly, who is Black America’s real representative to Palestinians, Israelis, and the Middle East.

Bruce A. Dixon is managing editor at BAR and based in Atlanta GA. He can be reached at bruce.dixon(at)blackagendareport.com

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Barack obama, Barack Obama or Cynthia McKinney – Who Represents Black America Toward Palestine and Israel?, Barack Obama or Cynthia McKinney Who Reps Us Best in the Middle East?, Black Agenda report, Bruce A. Dixon, Davey D Hip Hop news-Barack Obama vs Cynthia Mckinney, Gaza, Palestine

The Spin of Reality Radio-Lisa Fager Takes on Cathy Hughes

July 9, 2009 By mrDaveyd

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The Spin of Reality Radio
by Lisa Fager, Industry Ears

Lisa Fager of Industryears breaks down many of the arguments put forth by Cathy Hughes of Radio One. Personally i am in opposition to her support of HR 848 and will hit this in a future column

Cathy Hughes, founder of the Radio One media conglomerate, calls it “Reality Radio”. In actuality, it’s a series of brief monologues describing her fierce opposition not only to House Resolution 848 – the Performance Rights Act – but also to the Black members of Congress who support it.

And what, exactly, is her “reality”? That HR 848 – the Performance Rights Act recently introduced in the United States Congress – “could put many black owned radio stations out of business. And force others to abandon their commitment to provide free music, entertainment, news, information, and money losing formats like gospel.” Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from reality.

Plainly put, HR 848 will allow performers to get paid when their songs are played on the radio. The United States is among only a handful of nations — including China, North Korea and Iran — that do not pay royalties to performers. All other nations pay royalties to both the songwriter and performer of music.

Hughes has crafted arguments that lay out superficial reasons for why HR 848 is “not in the best interests of Black people”. However, a closer inspection of her arguments indicates that the issue is much more complicated than Hughes makes it out to be.

“Reality Radio” claims that if HR 848 is passed, then “the RIAA will get paid and only half will go to artists.”

The truth: If “Reality Radio” has a problem with performance fees, then they should be working to increase the artists’ revenue. If HR 848 is scrapped, as “Reality Radio” suggests it should be, then artists will get absolutely nothing. The internet, cable and satellite radio stations already pay performance fees to artists. What the Performance Rights Act will do is to stop giving special treatment to AM and FM radio by allowing them to play the artists’ music for free.

“Reality Radio” claims that HR 848 will “kill Black radio”.

The truth: Black radio was placed on life support long before the advent of HR 848. It’s demise, ironically, began when large corporate entities like Radio One and Clear Channel began to consolidate what were once local radio stations and transform them into cookie-cutter templates. Additionally, stations with less than $1.25 million in annual revenues — which is 75 percent of all stations nationwide — would pay just $500 a year for all the music they play. Smaller stations would pay $100 a year and public radio, college radio and nonprofit religious radio stations would pay less or nothing.

“Reality Radio” also argues that defeating HR 848 will “save black radio”.

The truth” this is such a contradiction, it isn’t even funny. Urban radio is the most syndicated format in radio and no longer serves local communities. For every city in which syndicated programs like the Tom Joyner Morning Show or the Michael Baisden Show airs, that is a city that keeps its local talent unemployed during the hours that these nationally syndicated shows are on the air. That doesn’t sound like its saving local Black radio to me. In fact, it’s actually helping to eliminate local news and public affairs programming. The radio efforts around Jena 6 were commendable; however we have had many more “Jena 6”, Ravaugh Harris’, Sean Bells and Oscar Grants since then, but lack access to public airwaves to mobilize and inform local communities. How about a Save Black Communities campaign?

As social justice and media activists, Industry Ears is certainly no fan of either the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) or the very influential RIAA. However, the reality is that performing artists must be taken care of if we want to remain entertained by their music. It is illogical to think that the RIAA wants the radio industry – especially Black urban radio – to go belly up. This notion is just nonsense because radio helps sell records and records help sell radio.

On July 9th, Congressman Conyers will hold a hearing on HR 848. People need to become more informed about this important piece of legislation and make up their own minds on whose interests are best being served by it.

Paul Porter, co-founder Industry Ears will testify on HR 848 and radio consolidation at tomorrow’s Judiciary Hearing 10am @ Rayburn

source: http://www.industryears.com/blog.php?subaction=showfull&id=1247069265&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Industry news & Views, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Black radio, Cathy Hughes -Lisa fager debate, Davey D Hip Hop news- HR 848, Industryears, John Conyers, The Spin of Reality Radio, The Spin of Reality Radio-Lisa Fager Takes on Cathy Hughes

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The Spin of Reality Radio by Lisa Fager, Industry Ears

The Spin of Reality Radio
by Lisa Fager, Industry Ears