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Volume 10
Issue 51…Dedicated to
the Dialogue on Race…December 21, 2007
Venue for an Artist
Olive Trees
By Iron Sheik
Trouble began before 1948
When Zionists founded the Israeli state
Zionism called for a Jewish homeland
But they picked Palestine as a land with no man
One major flaw with all of this:
They forgot the indigenous populace!
Native Arab Muslims and Christians
Didn't they notice that something is missing?
They left native Arabs all out of their view
Zionism's goals were heavily skewed
Newcomers settled up in the country-side
In separation just like Apartheid
Jewish roads, schools, and hospitals
And also paramilitary patrols
These are the seeds of '48
From colonial deceit to the Jewish state
It's not a mistake, though
It's not a mistake, no
Life in exile, is that our fate?
Life in exile, that's
our fate? (Repeat)
They exiled us and stole our homes
Now, all we have are old keys and new poems
They turned us into refugees
And uprooted us like
our olive trees....olive trees
In 1917, the British gave away our nation
With Lord Balfour's stupid declaration
They had no right to give it away
But guess what? They did it anyway!
And once again the natives had no say
You know the British acted like they rule the earth
And the Israelis think they got it by birth
Yeah right man! Who lived on the land?
And who had to use force with their hand?
I'm surprised by this, they should know better
Than to move on our land as a settler
I mean that word says it all
Some say it's not their choice, that it's God's call
But to me that's called manifest destiny
I thought that went out of style in the last century
Now we're held captive to this public opinion
As a Palestinian feel more like an Indian
Driven into reservations
Living under
occupation...a Western creation
Last time, we went jogging in the park
But now we can't go outside
Cuz we'll get shot
Or as Benjamin Netanyahu might like to put it:
We jumped in front of that Israeli bullet.
But who can believe what that sucka say
He gotta be the biggest yahoo alive today
So I searched yahoo for who's the most sinister
It came back with Israel's current prime minister
Ariel Sharon, a real cabron
I'd like to meet him in a dark alley and it's on
He'd be the Penguin and I'd be Batman
My flurry of fists would sink that fat man
Like the Titanic...I can't stand it
It's time to panic
Cuz we're heading for the bottom of the Atlantic
Israel and America's a sinking ship,
If we don't change it
soon...We're going down with it.
About
Me: Since releasing his first album, 'Camel Clutch 2003,' Iron Sheik, an
Arab-American, has toured nationally and performed internationally. The Sheik
performed at Native American reservations, inner city schools and community
centers, among other places. For more, log on to www.ironsheik.biz/bio.html; send
comments to yoironsheik@yahoo.com.
Peace Outside but War Underneath
By John Burl Smith
This time of year, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ; many plan parties
and other festive gatherings. The tradition of decorating and giving gifts
makes it easy to forget the real occasion and to overlook the death and
destruction that continue unabated in the Middle East, where peace seems so far
away. Today, the birthplace of Christ, the Prince of Peace, enjoys less peace
than any place on earth, and the themes of brotherly love, peace on earth and
goodwill are lost in political and socioeconomic exploitation reminiscent of
the crusades of old.
Here in the United States (US), "the biggest and freest democracy in the
world," one would think these holiday themes and their blessings would be
a given. However, like the theme of my new novel- Archangel: A Hip Hop
Vision of Love and the Battle of Good Verses Evil-there appears to be
peace outwardly but underneath war rages. Endemic to the US, racism colors
everything, while the media try relentlessly to convince the world that the US
is a color blind society. This charade is played out better in Atlanta, Georgia
than anywhere in the nation.
Presently, Georgia's Governor, Chamber of Commerce and other private interests
are engaged in a pea-and-shell game with the local public hospital; Grady is
the pea. Their facade is a 501(c)(3) non-profit board
they claim will help avoid bankruptcy for the 115 year old Grady Healthcare
System. After years of refusing to help ease Grady's financial crisis, earlier
this year, these legerdemain artists created a group to study its financial
problems as an opener. The community was shut out of this set up move. The
switch came as the shells started moving and they proposed the non-profit board
to run Grady which would remove politics from its operations.
Nothing could be more political than a self-appointed group of businessmen
without any loyalty to servicing the poor and uninsured. Locking the public out
of the backroom wheeler dealing in this battle of good versus evil, the shells
were moved so fast, the public didn't know which was good or evil. Underneath
it all, this power grab, aimed at taking over public healthcare, is like a page
out of Archangel. The real pea in this shell game is the
privatization of the Grady Hospital System, so that Grady can be run like a business and
healthcare rationed by a pay-as-you-get serviced system.
This hostile takeover gang has pulled the wool over the black community's eyes
with a switch that makes the co-chairman on the Metro Atlanta Chamber of
Commerce task force, which proposed privatizing Grady, head of the non-profit
Board. Had he been a force for good, he would have been out front trying to
save Grady, rather than pushing this evil hostile takeover. Instead, underneath
these fast moving shells, choosing him is like the choice of Dick Cheney to
head the search committee for a vice presidential running mate for George W.
Bush or elevating Clarence Thomas to the nation's highest court..
Again following the good versus evil theme of Archangel where
the black community resists domination and exploitation by some greedy power hungry
movers and shakers, in Atlanta a small group of community organizers -- the
Atlanta Transit Riders Union, AFCME, International Action Network, Jobs with
Justice, National Action Network and Operation Push, to name a few -- fights to
keep access to public healthcare for the poor and uninsured. Political pressure
has come down on some of these groups and heads are being lopped off in
Washington at Jobs with Justice and threats of reprisals are being issued
against others. This move is to intimidate and silence opposition to the
business community' evil and greedy designs on Grady's property and contracts
which represent billions of dollars in the future.
Political leaders are not going
to allow the black community to have a voice. For instance, the IRS is trying
to shut down the National Action Network to silence Rev. Al Sharpton
to keep him from speaking. During the Atlanta Chapter's 1st Anniversary
celebration (12-15-07), NAN members were told Radio-ONE, which hosts the black
radio talk shows of Warren Ballentine and Rev. Sharpton, is shutting political talk shows down. Radio-One
is going to more comedy shows which make more money, they claim. It seems after
Jena 6, the economic blackout and the march for justice in Washington, DC the
powers that be are fed up with black people organizing over the airwaves.
In the words of Rev. Sharpton, "Anytime a black leader is effective, the
government will come after you. They did it to Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and they are doing it to me. My only question is, why aren't they doing it to more so-called black
leaders?"
After writing Archangel, I can say, truth is stranger than
fiction and art truly imitates life. Good versus evil is a fictional battle in Archangel. However this same kind of evil force is
at work in real life trying to destroy a good healthcare arrangement that
provides access to the poor and uninsured in Atlanta. Black people must stand
up and fight for justice, healthcare and the right to speak It doesn't matter
if it's Christmas or the 4th of July, "Tis the
season to be greedy!" Helping the poor and giving thy brother a hand is no
longer the American way. Peace on earth and goodwill toward all men is just a
slogan, in the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Ralph J. Bunche (1904-1971)
"There are some in the world who are prematurely resigned to the
inevitability of war. Among them are the advocates of the so-called
"preventive war," who, in their resignation to war, wish merely to
select their own time for initiating it. To suggest that war can prevent war is
a base play on words and a despicable form of warmongering. The objective of
any who sincerely believe in peace clearly must be to exhaust every honorable recourse in the effort to save the peace.
The world has had ample evidence that war begets only conditions which beget
further war." Ralph J. Bunch Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in
Oslo, Norway (December 10, 1950)
Born August 7, 1904 in Detroit,
Michigan, Ralph J. Bunche was ten years old when his
family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, hoping the dry climate would improve
the health of his parents, Fred and Olive Bunche. His
father worked as a barber in a shop with an all-white clientele. His mother,
Olive, was a musician. Both of Bunche's parents died
two years after the move. Bunche and his sisters were
raised in Los Angeles, California by their grandmother, a black activist who
could easily have passed as a white woman.
An honor student and athlete, Bunche was
valedictorian of his graduating class at Jefferson High School. He won an
athletic scholarship to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA),
where he majored in international relations. While the scholarship paid his
educational expenses, Bunche worked as a janitor to
finance his personal needs. He worked various jobs, including selling
newspapers and house boy for a movie actor, to help his financially strapped
family.
In 1927, he graduated summa cum laude and class valedictorian from UCLA.
Harvard University awarded him a scholarship to begin his graduate studies in
political science. Los Angeles’ black community raised funds to help pay
for his studies. In 1928, he completed his master's degree. He taught at Howard
University (1928-34) and worked on his doctorate at Harvard.
A Rosenwald fellow (1932-1933), he conducted research
in Africa for his dissertation on French rule. In 1934, Bunche
earned his doctorate's degree and the Toppan Prize for outstanding research in
social studies. That year, Bunche wrote A World View
of Race in which he argued that class would someday supplant race in world
affairs.
A contributing editor to the journal Science and Society (1936-1940), Dr. Bunche participated in the classic Carnegie Corporation
study of black American life (1938- 1940). His work with Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal resulted in Myrdal's book, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and
American Democracy (1944).
During WWII, Dr. Bunche served in the Office of
Strategic Services (1941-1944),before joining the US
Department of State. In 1945, he became head of the Division of Dependent Area
Affairs; he was the first black to head a federal government division. Bunche participated in the preliminary planning for the
United Nations (1944) and drafting of the UN Charter. In 1946, he became
director of the trusteeship division of the UN.
A senior staff member of the UN commission on Palestine (1947), he participated
in the mediation efforts that resulted in recognition of the state of Israel.
He was awarded the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize after negotiating the four armistice
agreements that halted the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War. Dr. Bunche
worked on various UN peacekeeping operations. He became an undersecretary in
1955; his title was changed to undersecretary general of the UN in 1969.
Dr. Bunche served on the board of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for 22 years. He was
a member of the Urban League and the "Black" Cabinet, which was consulted
by the Roosevelt administration on minority problems. For his work in civil
rights, Dr. Bunche earned the NAACP Spingarn Medal (1949). In 1963, President John F. Kennedy
awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Dr. Bunche was awarded dozens of honorary degrees from colleges
and universities across the country.
Dr. Bunche resigned from the UN on October 1, 1971;
he died on December 9, 1971. (Sources: http://nobelprize.org,
http://en.wikipedia.org
and www.aaregistry.com)
Israeli Apartheid in Gaza
The cameras are gone; the promise of Middle East peace has been dialed back. As
the hoopla generated by the Annapolis gathering has died down, peace talks have
been pushed to the back burner of US foreign relations, even as unrest
continues unabated in the region and the Israeli government builds more illegal
settlements. No one is pressuring Israel to cease its inhumane Gaza Strip
sanctions, which are closely akin to South African apartheid.
According to John Ging, director of the U.N. Relief
and Works Agency in Gaza, which serves the majority refugee population,
"The humanitarian situation is atrocious." The Israeli occupation
violates international charters and human rights conventions including the
Geneva Protocols and the International Declaration of Human Rights.
Here are a few of the daunting statistics that characterize Gaza apartheid
conditions. The five (5) crossing points linking Gaza with the outside world
are controlled by the Israeli government. With their closure, Israel has
effectively sealed off Gaza, which relies on imports to sustain life for its
approximately 1.5 million citizens. Closure of the border crossings means
water, sanitation, school and health utilities projects have stopped.
Israeli import restrictions cover everything from food to fuel. Part and parcel
of Israel's practice of collective punishment, import restrictions impact every
industry and resident; mostly in a negative fashion. As a result, Gaza is
plagued by blackouts and shortages. Unable to maintain a viable health system,
public schools or provide the necessities of everyday life, Gaza is dying.
Described as a big "ghetto," Gaza is under a siege, which hinders the
free movement of people and goods. Raw materials are prevented from coming into
the Strip and the exports of Palestinian homemade goods are banned.
Consequently, unemployment rates have reached a high of 70 percent. Annual per
capita income has declined to less than $650.
Import restrictions on medical equipment spare parts and medicine mean the sick
and chronically ill are sentenced to slow painful deaths. Dozens have died
while seeking treatment for cancer and other critical illnesses at Israel's
medical facilities or outside the region, because Israeli security forces
denied them passage out of Gaza.
"They have turned Gaza into an animal farm -- we only are allowed to get
what keeps us alive. What do you call sending dozens of Gaza patients to a slow
death because they are refused treatment? That's not a humanitarian crisis.
That's a war crime," says Bassem Naim, Gaza's Minister of Health. (Sources: Sealed Off by
Israel, Gaza Reduced to Beggary, by Scott Wilson at www.washingtonpost.com, www.tlaxcala.es/
and www.freegaza.ps)
Hosea Feed the Hungry
Founded in 1971 by Rev. Hosea and Juanita T. Williams, Hosea Feed the Hungry
and Homeless is a Christian international aid organization. Since the program
began with the Williamses feeding a few persons in
Atlanta, it has distributed billions in food, clothing, medical, educational,
toiletries, furniture and cleaning supplies to 16 Georgia counties, three
states and to the Philippines, the Ivory Coast and Uganda. Annually, the 501 (c)(3) charitable organization provides services for some
50,000 people.
One of the program's signature events is its annual Christmas Day Dinner. This
year, the event will be held on Tuesday, December 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at
the Braves Stadium Turner Field. In addition to the free seven course meal,
hungry and homeless Atlanta area residents will receive medical services,
barbers and beauticians will be on hand to provide grooming, clothing and
toiletries, along with showers for the needy are also available. Church
services and free entertainment round out the daylong annual event. Meals will
be delivered to area residents unable to attend due to physical limitations.
To make this event and the year-round services provided by this organization
possible, donations and volunteers are needed. Cooks, drivers and other
volunteers should contact Amy Smith at 404-755-3353 or email volunteer.hfth@gmail.com. For more
and to make a monetary or in-kind contribution, visit http://hoseafeedthehungry.com.
Disgruntled wants to know:
Black folks frequently lament the absence of blacks in decision-making
positions. However, given some recent cases, we need to remember what the old
folks say -- 'be careful what you wish for.' Supreme Court Justice Clarence
Thomas is a classic example of that admonition. He has definitely proven to be
more than what we bargained for. Black folks thought that when Thomas was
elevated to the nation's highest court that the country would have an advocate
for civil rights, an humanitarian, a voice for positive change on the bench.
Nothing could be further from what has been the case as Thomas has seemingly
tried to be the most conservative jurist in the land. It is amazing; this black
man voted to retain the crack-powder cocaine sentencing discrepancy. Even his
conservative mentor Justice Antonin Scalia voted with the 7-2 majority in upholding the lower court
decision on shorter sentences for crack cocaine offenders. More egregious,
Thomas sided with the majority in Bush v. Gore (2000) to stop counting votes in
Florida, the decision that put George W. Bush in the Oval Office. And, Thomas
has consistently voted against affirmative action, helping conservatives turn
back the clock on black socioeconomic and political advancements. When
examining the state of black America and the world, we must ask, what advantage
has the world or blacks, specifically, gained in having a black sit on the
Supreme Court or head the State Department?
Disgruntled feels: Skeptical! The circus
at Annapolis, Maryland was just for show with no real serious intent beyond
being a photo opportunity for a world leader whose favorable rating is in the
toilet, the lowest in recorded history. In that regard, George W. Bush has done
worse than Richard Milhous Nixon. Ironically, although a lame duck, Bush has
done surprisingly well in getting what he wants from a Congress supposedly
controlled by the opposition political party. A walking contradiction, Bush's
actions and Congress' acquiescence make the world's sole super power appear
schizophrenic. Nothing Bush has done thus far will bring peace to the Middle
East. All of his actions in the region, including his insistence on using
sanctions, a form of warfare, against Iran and his lopsided support of Israel
are fundamentally hostile. So, the Bush spin on this topic is a waste of time;
it is unlikely to win any hearts or minds, because the world is downright
skeptical about his sincerity in working for a peaceful settlement
Disgruntled says: Despite protestations
to the contrary, the evidence is overwhelmingly clear; US foreign policy,
particularly as it relates to the Middle East, is controlled by Israel and its
powerful Jewish lobby. While the US claims to be acting as an agent of peace
and that it aims to spread the blessings of democracy and liberty across the Middle
East, its principle ally in the region - Israel, an habitual UN resolution
violator - engages in apartheid practices that suppress the hopes and
aspirations of the region's majority Muslim and Christian population. In its
unwavering support of Israel, the US employs a double standard that creates
enemies and fools no one. The most glaring example of this revolves around the
issue of nuclear technology. Israel is a known nuclear power that claims its
atomic reactors are research facilities, ostensibly existing for peaceful
purposes. Israel has refused to allow international inspections; it is not a
signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT). While it enjoys the
advantages of nuclear technology, Israel, backed by the US, threatens war in
denying others the same privileges and advantages. US silence speaks volumes
and provides more fodder for those who believe Israel controls US Middle East
policy.
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and
Telephone Calls
Email www.reuters.com White House told to detail
Christian leader visits...by Randall Mikkelsen...A US
Judge ordered the Secret Service to disclose records of visits by nine
prominent conservative Christian leaders to the White House and Vice President
Dick Cheney's residence. The ruling, in response to a legal watchdog group's
suit, could shed light on the influence leaders like James Dobson of Focus on
the Family have had on the Bush administration. It may also affect legal
efforts to force the release of visiting records of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and similar cases. "We think these
conservative Christian leaders have had a very big impact," said Executive
Director Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,
which filed the case.
Email www.msn.com Secrecy invoked on Abramoff lawsuits...by Pete Yost...The Bush administration
is laying out a new secrecy defense in an effort to end a court battle about
the White House visits of now-imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The administration agreed last year to produce all responsive records about the
visits "without redactions of claims of exemption," according to a
court order. But, the Justice Department, citing a Cold War-era court ruling,
declared the contents of the "Sensitive Security Records" cannot be
publicly revealed even though they could show whether Abramoff
made more visits to the White House than those already acknowledged.
Email ranger116@webtv.net Seven
Reasons to Impeach George W. Bush...1. George W. Bush has usurped the powers of
Congress. 2. George W. Bush lied us into an illegal
war. 3. George W. Bush has bankrupted the federal government. 4. George W. Bush
has presided over the most corrupt administration in American history. 5.
George W. Bush has illegally spied on American citizens. 6. George W. Bush has
violated the terms of the Geneva Convention by torturing people. 7. George W.
Bush has destroyed our military preparedness with the Iraq misadventure. Pass
it On to Everyone Have a peaceful day.
Email http://frustratedarabdiary.blogspot.com
...If you thought that (some) Arabs are getting richer because the Oil prices
have risen? Think again! All oil transactions are dealt-with in US-dollars
which came down by 40%, thus those rich-Arabs are not that richer anymore. Oil
went up by 40%, and its equivalent (its price) in dollars went down by 40%. The
Arab-Oil-Dynasties are still rich while USA did not get poorer! The traitors
and collaborators, in Iraq and in Beirut, are paid in US-dollars, thus, they
became 40% cheaper than cheap. The only profit is made now with the Olive Oil
the price is stable but the production cost went down drastically meaning that
the profit goes up! The only Oil-Arabs making an honorable-profit nowadays are
Olive-Oil-Arabs!
Email www.smirkingchimp.com ...The
'Triumphant' Neocons...By Robert Parry...Citing signs
of military progress in Iraq, America's neoconservatives are reasserting their
vision of the US as an imperial power that can reshape the Muslim world in a
way favorable to the interests of Washington and Tel Aviv. Casting aside the
image of the war as a bloody quagmire, the neocons
are again selling Iraq as a vital beachhead in the Middle East from which the
United States can project power throughout the region and achieve victory over
Islamic militants hostile to Israel. "It does not have the drama of the Inchon landing or the sweep of the Union comeback in the
summer of 1864," wrote neoconservative columnist Charles Krauthammer.
"But the turnabout of American fortunes in Iraq over the past several
months is of equal moment - a war seemingly lost, now winnable."