News24
May 7, 2011
Washington -Three imams including a US-born Muslim bound for a conference on Islamophobia were kicked off US domestic flights out of security fears, clerics and an airline said Saturday.
Two imams boarded a flight from Memphis, Tennessee to Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday only to have it return to the terminal so they could be put through "additional screening," said a spokesman for Atlantic South Airlines (ASA), the Delta Connection airline operating the flight.
"We take security and safety very seriously, and the event is currently under investigation," said spokesperson Jarek Beem, adding that the men were put on the next available flight.
ASA is investigating the incident, "and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused" Beem said.
US-born imam Al-Amin Abdul-Latif of Long Island was barred from boarding an American Airlines flight from New York to Charlotte late on Friday and told to return to LaGuardia airport for a morning flight on Saturday, only to be refused boarding again, without explanation, his son said.
"This morning we get to the airline, and the ticket agent told my father that the airline does not want him to fly. Those were her exact words," Abu Bakr Abdul-Latif told AFP.
"There was nothing he could do," said the son, who travelled on to the Charlotte conference without his father.
Masudur Rahman, a permanent US resident from India and former Memphis imam who teaches Arabic at the University of Memphis, said he and another cleric, a US permanent resident from Egypt and dressed in a shoulder-to-ankle Islamic robe, were pulled off ASA flight 5452 and cleared through new security checks.
"But when we went to re-enter the plane, the Delta supervisor said 'Sorry, the pilot is not allowing you to enter,'" Rahman told AFP.
Delta negotiated at length with the pilot, noted Rahman, who said he was told that "some passengers might be uncomfortable" with their presence on the plane.
"I think they were obviously upset to the extent that they were inconvenienced, but, you know, they understand what's going on in the world and particularly in the heightened sensitivities after the death of Osama bin Laden," Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations told CNN.
Bin Laden, the al-Qaeda chief who orchestrated the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States was killed on Monday by US commandos in a daring raid deep inside Pakistan.
Al-Qaeda acknowledged their leader's death, and has vowed revenge on America for the killing.
The imams were heading to the North American Imams Federation conference entitled "Islamophobia: Diagnosis and Treatment."
Comment: I think it was Euripides who said: "Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad".
The madness in the US is taking root.
Onward!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Naom Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death
We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic. Uncontroversially, his crimes vastly exceed bin Laden’s, and he is not a “suspect” but uncontroversially the “decider” who gave the orders to commit the “supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole” (quoting the Nuremberg Tribunal) for which Nazi criminals were hanged: the hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, destruction of much of the country, the bitter sectarian conflict that has now spread to the rest of the region.Read the rest of the article here.
There’s more to say about [Cuban airline bomber Orlando] Bosch, who just died peacefully in Florida, including reference to the “Bush doctrine” that societies that harbor terrorists are as guilty as the terrorists themselves and should be treated accordingly. No one seemed to notice that Bush was calling for invasion and destruction of the U.S. and murder of its criminal president.
Same with the name, Operation Geronimo. The imperial mentality is so profound, throughout western society, that no one can perceive that they are glorifying bin Laden by identifying him with courageous resistance against genocidal invaders. It’s like naming our murder weapons after victims of our crimes: Apache, Tomahawk… It’s as if the Luftwaffe were to call its fighter planes “Jew” and “Gypsy.”
Comment: On my way to Joburg yesterday I heard a news report that said a German judge had laid a criminal charge (complaint) against the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, for saying that she was "glad" that Osama was killed.
The judge, Heinz Uthmann, argues that Merkel's statement was "tacky and undignified" and even illegal since Merkel was essentially endorsing a "homicide".
Her gladness can also be seen as a classic case of Schadenfreude (pleasure drawn from the misfortune/tragedy of others).
Merkel, who is facing criticism inside her own party for her comments, is now found to be backtracking from her glee.
At the very least the charge should be seen as a civilized defense of the rule of law. No matter how one feels about Osama it is becoming clearer that his killing was not in keeping with international law.
That Obomber is going on record to spuriously claim that Osama was brought to justice for 9/11 is a conniving campaign lie. Osama was not charged for 9/11 crimes by US authorities (see FBI website).
The right and legal thing to have done would have been to bring Osama to a court of law to face formal charges. His fate should have been a matter of law not cowboy politics.
Chomsky is right about the mass murderer G.W. Bush and his accomplices, including Britain's Tony Blair. If anyone, let alone Al- Qaida, were to assassinate Bush/Blair there would be an indignant uproar. Yet the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, on the African continent and elsewhere have taken hundreds of thousands of lives and not a whimper from those who extol the death of Osama.
I am disgusted by the US and have been so for a very long time. I am not alone in my disgust. Many sane Americans are similarly disgusted and also ashamed of what is being done in their name (like Obomber trying to kill American citizen Anwar al Awlaki in Yemen on Thursday).
Some American liberals (an increasingly tired version of conservatives) can't find the courage to call Obama's killing of Osama an extra-judicial act. Instead, most of them agree that "he had to be taken out" if even a few of them are uncomfortable with the mob dancing in the streets.
What kind of depravity is that? How decent and moral is their version of liberalism?
The farce that is America and its politics is making a mockery out of civilized norms of justice.
As it stands now he was killed offering little to no resistance. His body was desecrated and hidden to hide the truth about his death and life.
The myth that is America is crumbling. Those vile and cowardly American racists who anonymously write here daily and rant against me, Islam, black folk, Native folk, are nothing short of irrelevant.
The processes of history are greater than the idiots who are fighting violently against their inevitable demise.
It is a painful recognition that the world will never be free if the US is allowed to continue its imperial domination of all things human.
As Obomber kills more innocents in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Yemen he is proving that there is very little decency left in that rogue state.
Onward!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The shunning of Rashard Mendenhall.
Rashard Mendenhall has learned the hard way that speech isn't exactly free in A-merry-ca. Exercising his rights given to him by the first amendment of our Constitution is going to cost him big time. It has already started.
Poor Mr. Mendendall, the vitriol that has been thrown his way would leave one to wonder if he was one of the 19 hijackers who came into our country on September 11, 2001, and killed almost 3,000 of our fellow A-merry-cans.
What he said was no doubt dumb, but he had every right to say it. This is, after all, A-merry-ca.
Rashard is a football player, fans of the NFL should keep that in perspective. As long as he performs on the field and doesn't break any laws it should be a wrap. But we all know that it doesn't work that way in A-merry-ca. It's never about the person's actions, but who is doing the acting. We are funny like that.
I blame the people around Mendenhall as well. They should have told my man about the dangers of tweets. Twitter can be a good thing, but it can sink you. It will probably sink this Steelers career for sure, and that's a shame. After the Rooneys let him go he will have a tougher time finding a team to take him than Michael Vick did. (Eagles we could always use a good running back.)
Now, as is to be expected, he is backtracking faster than one of his teammates who plays cornerback. I can't say that I blame him given all that is at stake, but I am afraid that it's too late, the damage has been done. The tweet is out there, and A-merry-ca has passed judgement on Mr. Mendendall.
Rashard, I hope you saved your money. You are going to need every penny of it.
Finally, shout out to Steven D for picking up the Bobby Yates story we posted here and posting it over at Daily Kos. My man is all over the case as well, and I say the more the merrier.
Also, thank you Nancy Lockhart for sending me all the material and transcripts from the case. That is serious FNB by both of you.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mothers who visit the fields!!!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Ron, I thought we were cool.
The republicans had a debate in Greenville, SC last night. I know I know,who knew? Exciting bunch those republicans, but hey, it takes two parties to make the republic go round so we have to pay attention to them.
Anywhoo, one of the candidates in the debate was Ron Paul.
Paul, I must admit, is a man who I find myself agreeing with when it comes to some of his public positions. (Public positions.) His position on the war and the legalization of drugs comes to mind.
But then, after reading an article about my friend Ron, I have come to realize that you just never know about some people.
Anywhoo, one of the candidates in the debate was Ron Paul.
Paul, I must admit, is a man who I find myself agreeing with when it comes to some of his public positions. (Public positions.) His position on the war and the legalization of drugs comes to mind.
But then, after reading an article about my friend Ron, I have come to realize that you just never know about some people.
"Ron Paul is back in the hunt for the Presidency. Many see him as an appealing candidate, one who opposes the wars, wants drugs legalized and supports fiscal responsibility. What they don’t know, is his long history of racism and connection to white supremacists. He has dodged questions on his connections to white supremacists and the newsletters, full of abhorrent racism that he put out in his name and he made millions from, spreading racism.
There has been controversy over Ron Paul’s ties to racism for some time now. Many people have pointed to Ron Paul’s Newsletters as proof of his racism. Paul has previously admitted to writing the newsletters and defended the statements in 1996, then blamed them on an unnamed ghostwriter in 2001 and then denied any knowledge of them in 2008. He has given no explanation, for how the racism entered his newsletter and has dodged questions about them without casting blame on anyone. If we are to take Paul at his word, he is guilty of at least promoting racism on a large scale. Paul earned almost a million dollars a year from the racist, conspiracy theorist newsletters. Here are some excerpts that I’ve found.
In this story Ron Paul writes about “needlin” and blames packs of young black girls for spreading AIDS to white women. I could find no evidence of this “epidemic” and the article seems to have no point other than to make white people scared of Black people.
In this piece he criticizes Martin Luther King as a pro-communist philanderer and says the MLK holiday is “Hate Whitey Day.” This is in great contrast to 2008 when he told Wolf Blitzer that Martin Luther King was one of his heroes. When activists suggested naming a city after Martin Luther King Paul suggested other names such as “Welfaria,” “Zooville,” “Rapetown,” “Dirtburg,” and “Lazyopolis” He would continue:
In another piece he blamed Black people for the riots that happened in Chicago in 1992 after the Bulls won the NBA Championship
Paul here is using false information to attack African Americans. The Washington Post reported that 1000 people were arrested but did not indicate their race. The riot, like most sports riots was multi-racial, including Blacks, white and Latinos, yet Paul used the incident to demonize African Americans. The Washington Post also reported that two officers suffered minor gunshot wounds and that 95 were injured in total, but the way Paul phrased it, it would seem most of the 95 officers injured were shot.
In this article Paul uses the “carjacking” epidemic to put fear into white people. He advises them to carry guns and shoot “carjackers” illegally and then dispose of their weapons. He also refers Black people as “animals” and directly refers to his home town of Lake Jackson, Texas." [For the articles Casey Gane-McCalla is referring to go here]
There has been controversy over Ron Paul’s ties to racism for some time now. Many people have pointed to Ron Paul’s Newsletters as proof of his racism. Paul has previously admitted to writing the newsletters and defended the statements in 1996, then blamed them on an unnamed ghostwriter in 2001 and then denied any knowledge of them in 2008. He has given no explanation, for how the racism entered his newsletter and has dodged questions about them without casting blame on anyone. If we are to take Paul at his word, he is guilty of at least promoting racism on a large scale. Paul earned almost a million dollars a year from the racist, conspiracy theorist newsletters. Here are some excerpts that I’ve found.
In this story Ron Paul writes about “needlin” and blames packs of young black girls for spreading AIDS to white women. I could find no evidence of this “epidemic” and the article seems to have no point other than to make white people scared of Black people.
In this piece he criticizes Martin Luther King as a pro-communist philanderer and says the MLK holiday is “Hate Whitey Day.” This is in great contrast to 2008 when he told Wolf Blitzer that Martin Luther King was one of his heroes. When activists suggested naming a city after Martin Luther King Paul suggested other names such as “Welfaria,” “Zooville,” “Rapetown,” “Dirtburg,” and “Lazyopolis” He would continue:
In another piece he blamed Black people for the riots that happened in Chicago in 1992 after the Bulls won the NBA Championship
Paul here is using false information to attack African Americans. The Washington Post reported that 1000 people were arrested but did not indicate their race. The riot, like most sports riots was multi-racial, including Blacks, white and Latinos, yet Paul used the incident to demonize African Americans. The Washington Post also reported that two officers suffered minor gunshot wounds and that 95 were injured in total, but the way Paul phrased it, it would seem most of the 95 officers injured were shot.
In this article Paul uses the “carjacking” epidemic to put fear into white people. He advises them to carry guns and shoot “carjackers” illegally and then dispose of their weapons. He also refers Black people as “animals” and directly refers to his home town of Lake Jackson, Texas." [For the articles Casey Gane-McCalla is referring to go here]
Ron, I am disappointed in you. And here I thought I was going to consider supporting a republican for a change. Oh well, it's back to the drawing board for me. I wonder how my man Herman Cain did last night?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Justice, Texas style.
Dusting off my racism chasing track shoes.
I just got off the phone with a wonderful lady named Brenda Cherry who happens to be a resident of Paris, Texas. (Yes, that Paris, Texas. h/t to Nancy Lockhart for this story)
I called her, because I couldn't believe the story Nancy Lockhart sent me via e-mail about a man named Bobby Yates. Ms. Cherry confirmed that it is true, and that what is happening to Bobby Yates is not so unusual for the good citizens of Paris.
"(Paris, TX) – April 14, 2011 - Local residents and others are seeking financial assistance for the legal defense of a Paris man accused of sexual assault in a case civil rights activists state is one of several that illustrates racism within the town’s criminal justice system. Bobby Yates, a 51 year-old African American Paris resident, who lost his lower limbs in a hunting accident over two decades ago and who is also paralyzed, is set to stand trial this month for the alleged sexual assault of a 16 year-old white female, who came to his home with two adult white males at 2 a.m. on March 18, 2008. Yates called 911 for help and can be heard on a 911 tape on the morning of the alleged incident, stating the group beat him and requesting police help with forcing them to leave his home. Local activists allege a police report filed in the incident states instead that the female was the one to make the call to 911. They also suggest that the arrest report purposely includes a photo of Yates which may lead one to believe that he is standing up and leaves blank the question of height and scars. They state that on another report, a height of 5”9” is listed. Activists also claim that accompanying information did not disclose his amputation information or his penectomy resulting from complications after the amputation.
A gag order has reportedly been issued in the case, and related records sealed. This is a concern for those attempting to help Yates with raising funds for his defense due to the inability to obtain and verify information about the case.
Yates is scheduled for jury selection April 20, 2011. His court appointed attorney filed a motion to withdraw as attorney of record, after Yates refused to accept a plea.
Yates recently found an attorney willing to represent him; however, activists say funds are needed to help with his defense. "
I just got off the phone with a wonderful lady named Brenda Cherry who happens to be a resident of Paris, Texas. (Yes, that Paris, Texas. h/t to Nancy Lockhart for this story)
I called her, because I couldn't believe the story Nancy Lockhart sent me via e-mail about a man named Bobby Yates. Ms. Cherry confirmed that it is true, and that what is happening to Bobby Yates is not so unusual for the good citizens of Paris.
"(Paris, TX) – April 14, 2011 - Local residents and others are seeking financial assistance for the legal defense of a Paris man accused of sexual assault in a case civil rights activists state is one of several that illustrates racism within the town’s criminal justice system. Bobby Yates, a 51 year-old African American Paris resident, who lost his lower limbs in a hunting accident over two decades ago and who is also paralyzed, is set to stand trial this month for the alleged sexual assault of a 16 year-old white female, who came to his home with two adult white males at 2 a.m. on March 18, 2008. Yates called 911 for help and can be heard on a 911 tape on the morning of the alleged incident, stating the group beat him and requesting police help with forcing them to leave his home. Local activists allege a police report filed in the incident states instead that the female was the one to make the call to 911. They also suggest that the arrest report purposely includes a photo of Yates which may lead one to believe that he is standing up and leaves blank the question of height and scars. They state that on another report, a height of 5”9” is listed. Activists also claim that accompanying information did not disclose his amputation information or his penectomy resulting from complications after the amputation.
A gag order has reportedly been issued in the case, and related records sealed. This is a concern for those attempting to help Yates with raising funds for his defense due to the inability to obtain and verify information about the case.
Yates is scheduled for jury selection April 20, 2011. His court appointed attorney filed a motion to withdraw as attorney of record, after Yates refused to accept a plea.
Yates recently found an attorney willing to represent him; however, activists say funds are needed to help with his defense. "
Ms. Cherry told me the names of the two (white) Assistant District Attorney's prosecuting the case, and before I put them on blast I am going to call their office, tomorrow.
Ms. Cherry told me that a jury trial starts on May 26th. I think I will grab my passport and head on down there. (Field haters, that was a joke. I know you don't need a passport to go to Texas. Not yet.)
Anyway, you Negroes can help Bobby Yates by going to this website.
The Lamar County court house address is 1119 North Main Street, Paris, Tx. 75460.
If any of you Negroes know how to write you might want to drop them a line.
Onondaga Nation Leaders Blast 'Geronimo' Codename for Bin Laden
by Charles McChesney
The Post Standard
May 3, 2011
Onondaga Nation Territory -- Leaders of the Onondaga Nation blasted as “reprehensible” the code name used for Osama bin Laden in the commando assault that killed him: “Geronimo.”
“We’ve ID’d Geronimo,” U.S. forces reported by radio Sunday to the White House. Later, word came that “Geronimo” was dead.
Geronimo was an Apache leader in the 19th century who spent many years fighting the Mexican and U.S. armies until his surrender in 1886.
“Think of the outcry if they had used any other ethnic group’s hero,” the Onondaga Council of Chiefs said in a release Tuesday. “Geronimo bravely and heroically defended his homeland and his people, eventually surrendering and living out the rest of his days peacefully, if in captivity.”
“Geronimo is arguably the most recognized Native American name in the world,” the chiefs said, “and this comparison only serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes about our people.”
Read the article here.
Related links:
Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chief offended by Bin Laden code name 'Geronimo' [The Post and Courier]
Bin Laden code-name “Geronimo” is a bomb in Indian country [Indian Country Today]
More on Geronimo [Legends of America.com]
Comment: The US can't untangle itself from its inherent racism even with a black man in the crack house.
I wonder just how many white Americans are even aware of the racist use of Geronimo's name in this context?
Onward!
The Post Standard
May 3, 2011
Onondaga Nation Territory -- Leaders of the Onondaga Nation blasted as “reprehensible” the code name used for Osama bin Laden in the commando assault that killed him: “Geronimo.”
“We’ve ID’d Geronimo,” U.S. forces reported by radio Sunday to the White House. Later, word came that “Geronimo” was dead.
 |
| Geronimo in 1887 |
“Think of the outcry if they had used any other ethnic group’s hero,” the Onondaga Council of Chiefs said in a release Tuesday. “Geronimo bravely and heroically defended his homeland and his people, eventually surrendering and living out the rest of his days peacefully, if in captivity.”
“Geronimo is arguably the most recognized Native American name in the world,” the chiefs said, “and this comparison only serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes about our people.”
Read the article here.
Related links:
Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chief offended by Bin Laden code name 'Geronimo' [The Post and Courier]
Bin Laden code-name “Geronimo” is a bomb in Indian country [Indian Country Today]
More on Geronimo [Legends of America.com]
Comment: The US can't untangle itself from its inherent racism even with a black man in the crack house.
I wonder just how many white Americans are even aware of the racist use of Geronimo's name in this context?
Onward!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
I THINK THEY CAN TAKE IT MR. PRESIDENT.
Show the picture Mr. President! A-merry-cans, as you can see, can take it. That's a pic of Emmett Till in the left hand corner of this post. His picture was featured in a prominent A-merry-can magazine soon after he was killed, and the republic survived. A-merry-cans have strong stomachs when it comes to this stuff. Just look at all those people having j a jolly good time while they watched those "strange fruits" hanging from trees. Don't tell me they can't look at a pic of OBL with a hole in his head. Besides, do you really want to give wingnuts another reason to cry conspiracy?
Wingnuts and radical Islamist now have something in common: they both believe that O and his people are hiding something. Why did they bury Osama at sea? Why so fast? Why don't they just show the pictures? Are they doctoring them?
Over at Radio Rwanda it's all they talk about; those OBL photos. Wingnuts are giving us their opinions about why the photos should be released. Make no mistake, the reason that some people want these photos released is because a certain beige man said that he will not do it right now. "We don't need to spike the football". Great!
Well then when can we celebrate Mr. President? I know that your CIA director said that they would be released eventually, but that might be too far down the line. You know that A-merry-cans have short attention spans. We might forget who the damn guy is by the time the photos are released.
"given the graphic nature of these photos it would create a national security risk....
...We discussed this internally...Keep in mind that we are absolutely certain that this was him. We've done DNA sampling and testing. And so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden.'
When Kroft noted that there are people in Pakistan and elsewhere who believe bin Laden is still alive, the president said 'we we monitoring worldwide reaction.'
'There is no doubt that Osama bin Laden is dead,' he said. 'Certainly there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference.'
Wingnuts and radical Islamist now have something in common: they both believe that O and his people are hiding something. Why did they bury Osama at sea? Why so fast? Why don't they just show the pictures? Are they doctoring them?
Over at Radio Rwanda it's all they talk about; those OBL photos. Wingnuts are giving us their opinions about why the photos should be released. Make no mistake, the reason that some people want these photos released is because a certain beige man said that he will not do it right now. "We don't need to spike the football". Great!
Well then when can we celebrate Mr. President? I know that your CIA director said that they would be released eventually, but that might be too far down the line. You know that A-merry-cans have short attention spans. We might forget who the damn guy is by the time the photos are released.
"given the graphic nature of these photos it would create a national security risk....
...We discussed this internally...Keep in mind that we are absolutely certain that this was him. We've done DNA sampling and testing. And so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden.'
When Kroft noted that there are people in Pakistan and elsewhere who believe bin Laden is still alive, the president said 'we we monitoring worldwide reaction.'
'There is no doubt that Osama bin Laden is dead,' he said. 'Certainly there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference.'
'There are going to be some folks who deny it, he' added. 'The fact of the matter is, you will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again."'
Hmmm, that's what we said about Elvis and Tupac, and look where that got us.
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