Volume 5 Issue 44…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…November 8, 2002

Einstein Quotations

In 1905, German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) wrote three papers. He won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his paper that explained photoelectric emission using Planck's quantum theory. A second paper showed that molecular action was indeed responsible for motion. His third paper advocated a special theory of relativity where a constant velocity for light (c) and its consequence, the equivalence of mass (m) and energy, summed up his equation E = mc². In 1915, Einstein published the general theory of relativity.

A Jew, Einstein was on a visit to the US when Adolf Hitler rose to power; he decided not to return to Germany. He signed a 1939 letter to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt warning about the possibility of Germany developing an atomic weapon. This letter's urgency may have contributed to the rapid establishment of the Manhattan Project and development of the atomic bomb, which the US dropped on Japan. After 1945, Einstein worked diligently against nuclear proliferation.

In addition to his scientific prowess, Einstein's remarkable intellect is evident in his quotations. His explanation of the theory of relativity is timeless. "When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour." According to Einstein, "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."

Other Einstein quotes include: "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." "The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them." "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." "He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice." "The important thing is not to stop questioning." "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." (Source: www.quoteland.com and Encyclopedia Britannica) Venue for an Artist Homepage

No Einstein

The 2002 mid-term election will go down in the history annals as a referendum on Election 2000 and the presidency of George Bush II. With money galore, Bush, scion of the wealthy elite and corporate America, energized his Republican base and trampled the Democratic Party's weak as rainwater opposition. Recipient of the best bye that money can buy, Bush's lack of gravitas and gross grammatical gaffes never made the six o'clock news. With cash, conflicts of interest and all kinds of trash are efficiently swept under the country's dirty carpet never to see the light of day.

No Einstein, Bush's political success is a testament to the power of the almighty dollar. He has lots of money and the establishment's backing. Anything can be overshadowed and/or rolled over when the pockets greasing palms are as deep as the roots of the country. Bush can trace his ancestry to the nation's founding fathers and beyond to British aristocracy. Since the nut does not fall far from the tree, some of his bloopers and blunders are the stuff of legends that would undo a poor commoner. Arranged by Washington Post cartoonist Richard Thompson, the poem, "Make the Pie Higher," is a sampling of Bush bloopers.

No Einstein, this undisputed leader of the world is now free to proceed unimpeded with his agenda. What words of wisdom would Einstein offer to capture Bush's mandate? Would "bombs away" or "duck and cover" convey the significance of this dangerous moment?

Politics Y2K2 Homepage

By John Burl Smith

Growing up in the segregated South in the 1950s, elections and voting became surreal. At an early age, I received lessons in politics from a lifelong Democrat, my mother, Willie Mae Gray. A descendant of sharecroppers, she was denied the right to vote until our "night-train" escape to Memphis, TN from Mississippi and its racist tyranny. Her many lectures on the importance of voting were punctuated with the irony, "Voting may not change things for blacks. But, if we do not vote, we know things will never change."

Taking her admonition to heart, I believed the 1965 Voting Rights Act signaled real progress for blacks. An honorably discharged disabled Vietnam veteran, I returned home convinced the USA was ready to live up to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream. However reality shows that although blacks have voted, protested, rioted, sang and prayed their way to polls since the 1960s, relatively speaking, 2002 finds us still disenfranchised.

Republicans ignore us and Democrats take us for granted. When we vote in overwhelming numbers, our votes are not counted. To add insult to injury, there is the DeKalb County, Georgia scenario. To unseat the incumbent, an outside or foreign group bankrolled an unknown candidate with almost a million dollars and used white Republican crossover voters to elect a Democrat who never bothered to ask blacks for their votes.

A catch 22, the absurdity of US representative democracy is the satirical harbinger of my mother's cynical, yet hopeful admonition. Beginning with the 3/5 Compromise of Article 1 Section 2 of the US Constitution, through the chronology of the Civil War, emancipation, reconstruction, separate-but-equal, Jim Crow, lynching, Brown v. the Board of Education, the civil rights and black power movements, the level of poverty, unemployment and median family income for blacks remain fixed. Without reparation to alter the ongoing institutionalized racism, slave descendants will continue to languish in a second class status.

The only real increase that can confidently be measured over this period is the upward spiral of black men and women in US prisons. Ironically, the 14^th Amendment, which gave George Bush "equal protection," simply defines how blacks can be maintained in slavery as prisoners. Today, more than 30 % of black men between the age of 20 and 40 have lost their right to vote because of a criminal conviction. Who voted for that? Moreover, how does it mesh with democracy?

US Blacks still live under the "Fugitive Slave Laws of 1850." In Bush v Gore, the Supreme Court reaffirmed Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's opinion in the Dred Scott slave case: "A black man has no rights a white man is bound to respect." The last two elections have shown the world that the USA's so-called democratic elections are oxymorons. Trapped in our slave quagmire, when blacks vote to change the system, our votes are not counted, and when our votes are counted, the choice does not count. Other Essays by John Burl Smith

Meat Recall

On November 2, 2002, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced another recall of 200,000 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken and turkey. Sold nationwide, the meats are linked to a listeria outbreak that has sickened 50 people and killed seven (7).

Distributed to retail stores and other institutions by J.L. Foods Co., a subsidiary of Jack Lambersky Poultry Co. of Camden, N.J., the meat was made from June 27 to July 3. J.L. Foods Co. has halted operations until further notice as tests showed some of the meat contained a listeria strain matching the one that infected people in eight northeastern states.

The USDA is advising consumers to check their refrigerators and freezers for products involved in this recall and return them for a refund at the point of purchase. According to USDA spokesman Steven Cohen, "None of the recalled meat went to the federal school lunch program."

Listeria is a bacterium that can cause severe illness, stillbirths, and sometimes death. Pregnant women, the elderly, children, and people with weakened immune systems are among the most vulnerable to the disease. USDA inspectors are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify the cause of the outbreak, which began in July. The investigation led another meat plant, Wampler Foods in Franconia, PA., to recall 27 million pounds of ready-to-eat poultry meat on October 12. Some of that meat had been distributed to schools. In July, ConAgra recalled 18 million pounds of hamburger in 21 states for E-coli contamination. For symptoms and other meat recall advisories, consumers are urged to call the USDA and/or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More News You Use

Haiti: Land of Mountains

On December 6, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on an island known to its Indian inhabitants as Haiti (Land of Mountains). His ship, the Santa Maria, was lost on a reef near the present city of Cap-Haitien, where he founded a settlement called La Navidad. He changed the aboriginal name of the island to La Isla Espanola, which in time became Hispaniola.

Subjected to grueling labor by colonists, the number of Tainos, an Arawak people, rapidly declined. To prevent their extinction, the Spanish began importing African slaves (1517). While this began the regular African slave trade in the Caribbean, Nicolas de Ovando, the Spanish governor, imported some African slaves during his administration (1502-1509).

About 1625, French and English pirates established a permanent settlement on the island of La Tortue, which became one of the most important centers of piracy in the Atlantic. The French pirates expelled the English and expanded over the western part of the island. Under the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, Spain recognized this settlement as a French possession, while retaining the eastern part of Hispaniola under the name of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo.

Under French rule, slave labor quickly enriched Saint Domingue. The inhabitants were divided into three classes: whites, who were the masters; freedmen, who were mulattos or freed Negroes, with restricted rights; and slaves. The cruelty and humiliation inflicted on slaves and freedmen led to frequent revolts.

In August 1791, slaves on the Turpin plantation revolted killing every white person in the vicinity. The revolt spread; white owners fled to the cities. In 1793, France abolished slavery in Saint Dominique.

A former slave, Pierre Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743-1803), who had risen to the rank of general in the French Army, convened an assembly in May 1801. Toussaint L'Ouverture was voted governor. The assembly drew up a constitution which, for the first time in the New World, recognized the right of all men to equality without distinction of color or creed.

Napoleon Bonaparte, then first consul of France, objected to such liberties being taken by a French colony. He sent an expedition of men and warships to bring the island back to its former allegiance, and to restore the institution of slavery. The Haitians were temporarily defeated (1802), and Toussaint L'Ouverture was taken prisoner and sent to France, where he died.

Two new leaders kept the rebellion fires blazing in Haiti. Jean Jacques Dessalines (1758-1806), a Negro, and a mulatto named Alexandre Sabes Petion (1770-1818) successfully continued the revolt. An armistice was signed on November 19, 1803, and on January 1, 1804, the former French colony was proclaimed a free and independent nation. The old Arawak name of Haiti was substituted for the French Saint Domingue. Other Bits of History

Haitian Refugees

Haiti became the first black republic in the West. Napoleon Bonaparte's appetite for an empire in the New World was so soured by the successful slave revolt that US President Thomas Jefferson easily acquired the French Louisiana Territory, which doubled the size of the USA, for a mere $15 million (1803).

Despite its stunning victory against France, Haiti was never allowed to enjoy its status as an independent black republic. Today, it is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Plagued by internal political instability and external interference, Haiti's economy is in shambles. Most Haitians live in abject poverty.

To escape the political instability, which frequency includes violence, and the economic morass, Haitian refugees attempting to enter the US find themselves bumping up against an unequal immigration policy. The most recent boatload of Haitian immigrants that came ashore in Miami, Florida were quickly rounded up and imprisoned. Like night and day, US immigration law varies by country of origin, hence race, of the asylum seeker. Since December 14, 2001, Haitian refugees are imprisoned and generally deported, while asylum-seekers from European countries and even Cuba are released to relatives or sponsors. Other Hood Notes

Disgruntled feels: Upset! I voted! In Georgia, the Democratic Party candidates for governor and the Senate lost because they failed to appeal to the party's base, which is black Georgians. Roy Barnes and Max Clelland, who are really Republicans, and Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend of Maryland, princess of Camelot, did not campaign to solidify their party's base. They wasted political capital trying to sway voters committed to the opposition. I am upset because I voted, and again my vote did not count!

Disgruntled wants to know: The South is known for its strange fruit. Since 9-11, strange things happen in every hemisphere, particularly to US Democrats. Plane crash victims and targets of death threats and anthrax, Democrats fear their shadows and have shied away from behaving like the loyal opposition. Stranger still, how does a Democratic incumbent governor explain his loss when his lieutenant governor and other statewide Democratic officeholders win their reelection bids?

Disgruntled says: A car bombing killed six suspected Al Qaeda members, including a former bin Laden security guard. The US is implicated in the targeted assassination; Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld applauded the successful mission. Operatives on the ground claim the kill was reminiscent of the targeted assassinations carried out by Israeli military and secret service. While the USA has certainly engaged in such operations before, it has always used a modicum of discretion, which allowed the nation to take the moral high ground against such deadly stealth. Blowing caution to the wind in pursuing it national business interests, the only superpower is rapidly becoming the world's most despicable state. More Disgruntled Moments

Email fboyle@LAW.UIUC.EDU I am professor Francis A. Boyle, legal advisor to the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations from 1991 to 1993 and author of the forthcoming book on "Palestine, Palestinians and International Law." At least President Arafat was democratically elected, unlike President Bush. The time-frames seem designed by the Bush administration to punt on all critical issues beyond the 2004 elections. Obviously, the Bush administration is attempting to pander to the Israeli lobby and their Christian fundamentalist supporters in the United States. As Israel repudiates Oslo and resumes its outright occupation of the West Bank, there is nothing for the Palestinians but vague promises of good intentions by the USA that have never materialized during the past 35 years. Basically, Bush gave Sharon the proverbial green light to dump Arafat. Violence will continue and escalate.

Email mpmckeever@earthlink.net Both the World Bank and the IMF encourage developing countries to sell to private, multinational companies the rights to deliver essential services such as water. However, in places like Cochabamba, Bolivia the results of such privatization are resoundingly negative for the population, the local governments and the multinational company.

The foreign company immediately raises prices with the result that many vulnerable members of the population cannot afford the service they once had. The local government looks very bad since they are the agency contracting with the foreign company. As the population becomes resentful, riots and killings create a negative environment and the company may leave the area with losses and a bad reputation.

Email www.sfc.com Conflict of interest for VP? By David Lazarus...Let's say there's a businessman - - in China, for example - - with stellar public-sector connections. He wins billions of dollars in government contracts for his company. Let's say this businessman becomes a high-ranking government official himself. And, let's say the government begins throwing its enemies into prison without trials or access to attorneys.

Would anyone be surprised if the official's company wins the contract for building all those new prison cells? Probably not. We'd just assume that's how things work in a place like Beijing. Only this isn't a hypothetical situation, and it's not really about China. We're actually talking about the US government and an American company. And, the official in question is none other than Vice President Dick Cheney.

Email www.cbs.com A California gynecologist Larry C. Ford committed suicide in 2000 after being accused in a murder plot. Police found deadly germs, including cholera, botulism and typhoid in his refrigerator, as well as military-grade weapons and explosives. According to Dr. Wouter Basson, who is known as "Dr. Death" in South Africa, where he ran Project Coast, the former apartheid regime's germ warfare program, he sent money to Ford's offshore bank account. 60 MINUTES' investigation turned up a secret government document that shows AIDS research was a front for biological warfare experiments. Project Coast has been accused of trying to create deadly bacteria that would only affect blacks.

Email www.rense.com Just as the Gulf War in 1991 was all about oil; the new conflict in South and Central Asia is no less about access to the region's abundant petroleum resources. So, when George W. Bush held meetings with the Presidents of 11 African states, oil and Iraq topped the agenda! The US is looking to Africa to provide an alternative to Middle East oil. Look for an array of African disruptions. More from the Mailbox

THINC  || 2002 Issues || The DISH