The
DISH
Unbossed
and unbought news and information you can use
Vol.
13 No. 38…Dedicated
to the Dialogue on Race…September 20, 2010
Intuit's
Vibe
A Worker Reads History
By Bertolt Brecht
Who built the seven gates of
The books are filled with names of kings.
Was it the kings who hauled the craggy blocks of
stone?
And
Who built the city up each time?
In which of
That city glittering with gold, lived those who
built it?
In the evening when the Chinese wall was finished
Where did the masons go?
Imperial
Who reared them up?
Over whom did the Caesars triumph?
Were all her dwellings palaces?
And even in Atlantis of the legend
The night the seas rushed in,
The drowning men still bellowed for their slaves.
Young Alexander conquered
He alone?
Caesar beat the Gauls.
Was there not even a cook in his army?
Phillip of Spain wept as his fleet was sunk and
destroyed.
Were there no other tears?
Who triumphed with him?
Each page a victory
At whose expense the victory ball?
Every ten years a great man,
Who paid the piper?
So many particulars.
So many questions.
Integrating Ole
Miss
Few
Americans are aware that the "last battle of the civil war" was
fought in
An unlikely hero, James Meredith was born on June 25, 1933 in
Discharged
after nine years, Meredith returned to
Iconoclastically,
Meredith's decision to attend Ole Miss was an attack upon the state's
omnipresent symbol of whiteness. Ole Miss campus events resonated across the
state; consequently, whites of all classes revered it with religious devotion.
Except for
Campus activities were covered by all the State's daily newspapers. Ole Miss
was a finishing School for the children of the state's white elite. Its law
school graduates were admitted to the bar without an examination and most
political careers began there. Its alumni used their influence to control
virtually all aspects of the state.
The
reality that James Meredith faced in
Certainly those generalities applied to Meredith and his goal required super
human endurance for a successful challenge. Looking back, Clennon
King, a black teacher, was locked up in an insane asylum in 1958 for trying to
attend Ole Miss. Another black man, Clyde Kennon, was
sent to prison on bogus charges after attempting to enroll at the
Nevertheless,
Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett personally intervened to bar Meredith from
entering Ole Miss. Barnett, in a statewide television broadcast stated,
"No school in
When the U.S. Supreme Court in "Brown vs. Board of Education of
Topeka" (1954) struck down "separate but equal" ending
segregation in public education, white Mississippians were devastated. Southern
politicians drew up the "Southern Manifesto," agreeing to resist
integration at all cost. Whites organized Citizens' Councils and the State
instituted the Sovereignty Commission to "police the racial
barriers."
Finally, late in September, President John F. Kennedy ordered federal troops
and Justice Department officials to enforce the court order admitting Meredith
to Ole Miss. On Sunday afternoon, September 30, 1962, Meredith arrived on
campus escorted by 120
As the word went out that Meredith was going to register on Monday morning,
thousands of whites -- students, citizens from all over the state and many from
out of state banishing weapons, converged on the Ole Miss campus. At the height
of the riot, more than 2,000 whites hurled bottles, bricks and Molotov
cocktails and fired weapons at
Nevertheless, Meredith quietly registered the next day. After enduring taunts
and abuse from many of his fellow students, in August 1963, Meredith became the
first black graduate of the
Individuals like Gov. Barbour do a disservice to not only history but their
children by failing to tell the truth about the state's virulent racism and of
the extraordinary effort and courage required by such individuals as Meredith, Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hammer, Arron
Henry and many others who helped drag Mississippi out of its "Dark
Ages," while Barbour and his ilk sought to drag it back with the Southern
Manifesto and White Citizens Councils.
By John Burl Smith
Mississippi Governor, turned media darling now that
he is considering the Republican presidential nomination, Haley Barbour would
make "tricky Dick Nixon" proud these days. He is painting himself as
a "born again" civil rights supporter that went to integrated schools
in
Barbour,
like most whites, has "selective memory loss" went it comes to
remembering their racist past. Just three years before he enrolled at Ole Miss,
James Meredith required a U.S. Court of Appeals order and one from the US
Supreme Court, as well as, intervention from President John F. Kennedy, who
eventually sent 31,000
For
a whole year, Meredith and
Barbour
would have the world believe all that virulent hatred simply disappeared two
years after Meredith graduated. Many things are known about oppressive, racist,
autocratic societies; a few things stand out, in particular things never change
of their own accord. Children tend to take on the attitudes of their parents
and are much harsher when acting out those attitudes. Moreover, children seek
approval of their parents and the adults in their culture by mimicking their
behavior and attitudes. Consequently, since racist attitudes and behaviors
dominated the Ole Miss culture, where was the incentive for the rapid almost
overnight change Barbour says occurred?
The
truth of the matter is Barbour, is a political hack trying to change his skin
in order to appear less of a racist, as George Wallace when he ran for
president. Barbour was a student leader that became a political leader in
Barbour
today is no different from most whites, who are comfortable in their racism and
thought they were on the right side of history fighting civil rights in the
1960s and 70s. They continued to cling to the hope that somehow they would be
able to bring back a time reminiscent of the period when whites could assign
blacks a place and they accepted it without resistance. However today, after
George W. Bush spent 8 years "turning back the clock" on civil
rights, blacks in America still exercise significant influence over who becomes
president. Barbour is trying to change his stripes even though he can't change
his past. One can not change history; they can only lie about it.
John Burl Smith
The Sunday, September 12, 2010 edition of the
Memphis Commercial Appeal included an amazing story entitled Double Exposure:
Ernest Withers, Whose camera captured civil rights history, also provided FBI
with an insider's view of the volatile period. Written by Marc Perrusquia, the article paints a picture of Withers and the
civil rights movement that few people outside of the movement had the slightest
idea it existed. Although the article concentrated on Withers, it reveals that
several others well-respected civil rights icons were FBI informants. It
provided an intimate portrait of not only the FBI's network and the subtle
manner used to recruit spies but how the information acquired was used to
destroy people's livelihood and standing in the community.
One
of the principle targets of the FBI was the Invaders, a
Even
more amazingly, on Thursday, September 16, 2010 the Thaddeus Matthews Show at
WPLX AM 1180 and www.thaddeusmatthewa.com
dropped another bomb regarding the assassination of Dr. King in which a caller,
who would not give his real name for obvious reasons, said not only was he a
part of the assassination plot and knew all the principle participants but that
the FBI was behind it. It is true such a claim must be treated with a great
deal of skepticism, but listening to his story one was struck by the depth of
information about events that are known, dates and time of events that connect
to actual events that have never been explained and the consistency in which he
maintained his claims over an approximately 7-hour on air stint over two days.
Whether
or not AKA "Mr. Bear" is a true witness to history or a con artist is
not for the public to substantiate, but he has provided enough credible
statements worthy of reopening the investigation into the assassination of Dr.
King. The
During
his recent re-election campaign, Mr. Cohen said "I can represent the 9th
District as well as a black man;" this is an opportunity to prove the
worth of that statement. Everyone should call and email US Rep. Cohen to demand
immediate action. Members of this community had their reputations destroyed;
some were sent to jail falsely and some were killed as a result of the FBI and
Co-Intel-Pro spies. Mr. Cohen owes the community representation on this matter.
Anyone
desiring to read the information the Commercial Appeal has made available can
go to www.commercialappeal.com/withers-exposed/. Also, they can go to
thaddeusmatthews.com and listen to the confession of AKA "Mr. Bear."
Back on the Campaign
Trail
On
Saturday, President Barack Obama urged members of 
the Congressional Black Caucus to help rally their
constituents for the upcoming mid-term elections. In declaring that the
previous election was a "changing of the guard," Mr. Obama reminded
those in attendance that more work must be done to move the country forward and
to "guard the change."
Mr.
Obama, the nation's first black president, addressed the group at its annual
awards gala. As expected, he touched on race issues, referring to his
presidential victory, saying it "wasn't just about electing a black
president." He declared, "It was about giving every hardworking
American a chance to join a growing middle class. It was about putting the
American dream within reach for all Americans, no matter who you are, what you
look like, or where you come from."
On
the issue of race, Mr. Obama has been most reluctant to engage in that much
needed dialogue. Since his inauguration, only before predominantly black
audiences has the issue of race arisen, even then he has been quick to dismiss
the notion that he may do anything during his presidency that specifically aids
black Americans. Yet, socio-economic conditions in the black community have
substantially deteriorated during his brief term in office.
Predictably, now that Democrats appear to be headed for a drubbing in the
mid-term elections this November, Mr. Obama is back on the campaign trail in an
effort to energize his base; he needs blacks to go to the polls in large
numbers in order for Democrats to retain a majority in Congress. So, he told
black lawmakers on Saturday that he needed their help to invigorate others to
act.
President Obama said, "I need everybody here to go back to your
neighborhoods and your workplaces, to your churches and barbershops, and beauty
shops. Tell them we have more work to do. Tell them we can't wait to organize.
Tell them that the time for action is now."
Mr. Obama talked about his administration's accomplishments, including passing
the health care and Wall Street reform bills, ending the combat mission in
President
Obama noted, "When I took office, our economy was on the brink of
collapse. So, we acted immediately and took some steps to stop our economic
free-fall. And now, our economy is growing. We're adding private sector jobs,
instead of losing them. We're in a different place than we were one year
ago."
Yes,
economically, the country is in a different place. And, for black Americans it
is a decidedly worst place. With unemployment in double digits, far higher than
the national average, loss of homes and declining share of national wealth,
black Americans are worse off than a year ago and the free fall continues with
no end in sight. But, President Obama did not specifically address the dire
plight of black Americans as he touted his accomplishments. (Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/18/obama.cbc.dinner/index.html?hpt=T2 )
Woman Doused Herself with Acid
By Joshua Holland
"Anger is an acid
that can do more harm to the vessel in which it stands than to anything on
which it's poured." Anonymous
Earlier this month, a
Storro was getting something out of her car outside a
Starbucks on Aug. 30 when she saw a woman, around her own age, standing before
her and heard the chilling words that would change her life: "Hey, pretty
little girl, want to take a drink of this?" Then, inexplicably, the woman
threw a cup of acid-like liquid in Storro's face,
sending her screaming out in pain in the middle of the busy street. Passers-by
rushed to her aid and called 911.
Storro
described the attacker as a black woman in her late 20s or early 30s, with her
hair pulled back into a ponytail, according to The Oregonian. She said she
could feel the woman's rage.
"I
have never, ever seen this girl in my entire life," Storro
told reporters Thursday. "When I first saw her, she had this weirdness
about her -- like jealousy, rage."
Storro is very religious, and held a presser from her
hospital bed to discuss her Christianity. Storro said
she held the press conference to draw attention to efforts to find the
attacker, but also to talk about her faith. "I'm here today because of
Jesus Christ," she said.
The strength of her faith will allow her to move forward, Storro
said, though several times she said that the attacker coming forward to admit
what she had done would be an enriching part of that. "I have no
enemies," she said, "In time I'm going to forgive her. Then I can
move on."
Storro
said she wonders what could have gone through the attacker's mind as she
prepared the acidic mixture to throw randomly on a stranger. She hinted that
without divine intervention, her injuries would have been worse.
The
acid was so strong that parts of Storro's shirt
simply disintegrated, The Oregonian reported. Doctors said Storro
suffered second-degree burns all over her face -- except, fortunately, on her
eyes, which were protected by a pair of sunglasses she bought less than an hour
before the attack. Doctors said the glasses may have saved her eyesight.
"I
had this feeling that I need to go buy sunglasses," she said, according to
KPTV in
And then yesterday, the whole story fell apart: An investigation indicated that
the reported acid attack on Storro was
self-inflicted,
Chief
Clifford Cook said discrepancies started to appear as detectives investigated
the case. Thursday morning, they served a search warrant at her home, then interviewed Storro, who told
them the attack was a self-inflicted hoax. A motive for the fabrication has not
been determined.
About Me:
IMF Warning
By Ambrose Evens-Pritchard
IMF fears 'social explosion' from world jobs crisis...
He
said a double-dip recession remains unlikely but stressed that the world has
not yet escaped a deeper social crisis. He called it a grave error to think the
West was safe again after teetering so close to the abyss last year. "We
are not safe," he said.
A
joint IMF-ILO report said 30m jobs had been lost since the crisis, three
quarters in richer economies. Global unemployment has reached 210m. "The
Great Recession has left gaping wounds. High and long-lasting unemployment
represents a risk to the stability of existing democracies," it said.
The
study cited evidence that victims of recession in their early twenties suffer
lifetime damage and lose faith in public institutions. A new twist is an
apparent decline in the "employment intensity of growth" as
rebounding output requires fewer extra workers. As such, it may be hard to
re-absorb those laid off even if recovery gathers pace. The world must create
45m jobs a year for the next decade just to tread water.
Olivier
Blanchard, the IMF's chief economist, said the
percentage of workers laid off for long stints has been rising with each
downturn for decades but the figures have surged this time.
"Long-term
unemployment is alarmingly high: in the US, half the unemployed have been out
of work for over six months, something we have not seen since the Great Depression,"
he said.
Mr
Blanchard called for extra monetary stimulus as the first line of defence if "downside risks to growth materialise", but said authorities should not rule out
another fiscal boost, despite debt worries. "If fiscal stimulus helps
avoid structural unemployment, it may actually pay for itself," he said.
"Most advanced countries should not tighten fiscal policies before 2011:
tightening sooner could undermine recovery," said the report, rebuking
The report skirts the contentious issue of whether globalisation
lets companies engage in "labour arbitrage",
locating plant in low-wage economies such as
The
IMF said there may be a link between rising inequality within Western economies
and deflating demand.
Historians
say the last time that the wealth gap reached such skewed extremes was in
1928-1929. Some argue that wealth concentration may cause investment to
outstrip demand, leading to over-capacity. This can trap the world in a slump.
(Source: www.telegraph.co.uk )
Disgruntled says: In
response to revelations that famed Memphis photographer Ernest Withers was an
FBI informant, Andrew Young, former US Ambassador to the UN, former Atlanta
mayor, former civil rights leader and close associate of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., said something during a CNN interview that simply did not ring true.
Individuals involved in the civil rights struggle were targeted by the FBI
Counter Intelligence Program, which is commonly referred to as Co-Intel-Pro.
Many were killed, falsely imprisoned, careers stymied and otherwise
black-listed as a result of this FBI program, which many believe is ongoing.
Yet, Young said, and I quote, "The instruction from our lawyer was to
inform the FBI and Justice Department of everything we did before we did
it." I am certain the people who marched and chanted alongside Young,
Jesse Jackson and Dr. King and whose lives were negatively impacted by police
brutality, racial profiling and FBI sting operations designed to frustrate
black civil rights had no idea they were being spied on by their so-called
"leaders."
Disgruntled feels: Revised!
I read the news article about that young woman disfigured by the acid attack
and felt really sorry for her. I remembered thinking the perpetrator was a real
nut job and the sooner she was taken off the street the better for the entire
community. Predictably, the community rallied behind this white woman, as
apparently everyone, except the investigator assigned to the case, believed she
was the victim of a vicious 'hate' crime. This week, the alleged victim revised
her story, which did not stand up under investigation. I thought about the many
black men that were accused of raping, assaulting, touching or even looking at
white women that were summarily lynched for the offense and wondered how many
of those victims may have revised their stories under serious cross-examination.
Disgruntled wants to know: An opponent of all things liberal, Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson is
seeking reelection. His commercial claims he went to Congress to protect and
fight for