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Volume 6 Issue 34…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…August 29, 2003
By John Burl Smith
Under a star-studded sky, after a day of sudden down pours, Allen Hayman Productions lit up Atlanta Sunday night- August 24, 2003. Featuring the incomparable sounds of Al Jarreau, the concert at the Chastain Park Amphitheater allowed fans in the ATL to experience a range of talent missing from most music venues today. Emerging from the audience, where he was enjoying a pre-party with local family members, Najee kicked off the show, like a slow burn that quickly erupts into flames. Destined for greatness, a star on the spiritual horizon, Yolanda Adams, exuding positive vibes, gave the rock n' roll concert savvy connoisseurs glimpses of her powerful repertoire.
Amidst raising expectations and titillating anticipation, Al Jarreau found ways to take the Chastain by candlelight crowd even higher. Stroking his adoring fans with old favorites and wowing them with new creations, Al's marquee improvisations held them spellbound in "Jarreau-speak." Responding to a request from a 16-year-old down front, he chuckled with the audience lauding his youthful fan base. Jarreau declared in a dig at hip-hop, "And, I have not cursed once!" The consummate entertainer, Jarreau heads up several international youth projects as an unofficial goodwill ambassador-at-large.
Talking with Atlanta Vibe spoken word artist Yohannes Sharriff, after an evening of wining and dining to Jarreau, he put a hip-hop spin on Al. "Man, Al Jarreau is the bomb. He's off the chain. My dream is that I am able to emulate his career to a small degree. I would love to do it from up top like Al, because I am guilty of using curse words for affect in my poetry. For young black artists trying to breakout, the problem is those running hip-hop will not produce or promote any images other than profanity, tits, butts and gansterism that have come to symbolize hip-hop. Black artists, such as myself, are looking for hip-hop venues that blow up consciousness. We need more powerful and prestigious artists like Al to continue speaking out and supporting spoken word's conscious vibe. We have nothing but love for Al and other performers that are opening doors. If they hold the door open, we would thankfully enter."
Not Just Java
SOJOURNERS and Co-op America want to call your attention to an appalling imbalance in the coffee industry. Coffee farmers around the world are being hit by record low coffee prices. Thousands of farmers are facing starvation and losing their land. Fair trade, which organizes farmers into democratic cooperatives and guarantees them a fair price for their harvest, offers hope to these farmers, their families, and their communities.
Procter & Gamble, which owns Folgers and Millstone, could more than quadruple the amount of fair trade coffee sold in the United States by making just 5 percent of their coffee purchases fair trade. This increase would make a difference for coffee farmers worldwide.
Procter & Gamble has yet to commit to Fair Trade Certified coffee. They need a strong message from consumers. Email or write a letter to Procter & Gamble and tell them to brew some Justice with your Java! Act today to help coffee farmers. For more information, http://go.sojo.net/campaign/fair_trade_coffee/8udk5e9z783mde
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is well into the new school year. Brimming with confidence, he is hitting the books. When queried for comments, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro remarked, "It is harder than it looks!"
Imagination
Sometimes life seems full of complications
Hard to see the forest for the trees
Just a little brave imagination
Opens up new possibilities
So look behind your eyes
You'll be surprised at what you see
Life is full of tricky situations
Don't get caught up in the yesterdays
There's something called imagination
Even little children find a way
So put your hand in mine
I bet we'll open up the door
If we seek we'll find shining star's design
Get out the lamp and bring our fantasies to light
There's a man I know south of the border
Who's seen the world and never left his home
I heard him talkin' to his only daughter
He said you don't have to fear the great unknown
Darling in your mind
You've got the best and that ain't all
If you seek you'll find shining star's design
We got the lamp that brings our fantasies to light
Chorus:
We've got to take...
...We can't let it get away
We'll take what's on our minds
And give it room to shine
And see what we can find
There's so much to celebrate
Imagine you and me...
...Believe and it shall be
If we only try imagination
If we seek we'll find a magic star's design
We've got the chance to bring our fantasies to light
About Me: The song "Imagination" is from Al Jarreau's 1984 album High Crime, which features the hit single "After All." Written by Al Jarreau, Jay Graydon, Clif Magness and Glen Ballard, "Imagination" is indicative of the rich collaboration that makes Jarreau's work so enjoyable in its diversity.
Falangists and the Spanish Civil War
After WWI, Senate investigations under Republican Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota revealed exorbitant wartime profits and tax evasion by US corporations and claimed bankers had sought war to rescue loans made to the Allies. The Nye Committee findings and similar popular writings convinced the US populace that entrance into WWI had been a mistake. This ushered in a period of anti-involvement, which was in place in July 1936, when Generalissimo Francisco Franco (1892-1975) and the Falangists, a Fascist group, revolted against the Spanish government.
The ensuing Spanish Civil War pitted the republican government or Loyalists -- Marxists, Communists and militant Socialists-- against the Falangists, which merged with the Nationalists, primarily Monarchists. José Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of dictator Primo de Rivera, founded the original Falange group on October 29, 1933. In 1934, it merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacionalsindicalista. Under Rivera, the group attracted young militants willing to accomplish reform through revolution.
The Falange clashed violently with the Loyalists. Rivera was captured and imprisoned in February 1936. Franco joined the military revolt from Morocco in July. By August 1936, foreigners had intervened. Russian workers sent money to aid the government forces or Loyalists, while Italy and Germany supported the fascists or Nationalists. Portugal broke off diplomatic relations with the republican government on October 23, 1936.
In November 1936, Rivera was executed, and Italy and Germany recognized Franco's government on November 18. Volunteers from numerous countries joined the Loyalists to momentarily save Madrid from capture by the Nationalists. But, by the spring of 1937, thousands of Italian and German troops were fighting with the Nationalists. Franco became leader of the Falange party and head of the anti-republican army. With the fall of Madrid, he became head of state.
Twenty-seven nations observed neutrality in the Spanish Civil War. On February 27, 1939 Great Britain, recognized the Nationalist government of Francisco Franco; France followed suit the next day, destroying any hopes the Loyalists might have had of an eventual victory. A month later on April 1, the United States extended its recognition to Generalissimo Franco.
By John Burl Smith
Reviewing reasons Iraqis, in general, harbor ill will toward the UN, the best place to start is at the end of the 1991 Gulf War. Gripped by UN sanctions and under the gun to disarm, Saddam Hussein resisted but eventually capitulated. Dissatisfied, the US and Great Britain instituted the infamous "no-fly" zones, hoping to push a supposedly "crazy man" into some hostile action. Never authorized by a UN resolution, the illegal "no-fly" zones, in effect, partitioned Iraq into three separate entities, which the US and Britain hoped would generate opposition to Saddam. Nonetheless, the UN never condemned the US/British unilateral actions and unrestricted bombing of Iraq. It allowed the US/British axis to use UN mandates to disarm Iraq to cover placing spies among inspectors monitoring Iraqi compliance.
UN weapons inspectors were withdrawn and the US demanded sanctions remain in place, even though Iraq had complied with the UN mandate. George W. Bush allied with the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) planned the war against Iraq long before September 11, 2001. A fundraiser for US intelligence, 9/11 was a convenient opportunity to launch Bush's plan to redraw the geopolitical map of the Middle East. First, he threatened to make the UN irrelevant, if it did not support the US' Iraqi war plans. The UN pressured Iraq to readmit inspectors to verify the records of previous UN weapons inspections.
The final UN betrayal came during the final weeks before the war. After the US and Britain made it perfectly clear, they were going to war, the UN kept demanding Iraq destroy weapons, mainly missiles, as a means of avoiding armed conflict. Once Iraq was totally defenseless, the UN pulled its inspectors out, clearing the way for the US-led invasion. Thousands of Iraqis died during the US "shock and awe" dash to Baghdad and hundreds continue to die each month now that Iraq is under US occupation.
The US controls Iraq's oil and its economy. Rather than liberate Iraq, Bush speaks of Iraq as if it is a US possession.. Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars he declared, "I will never retreat." the war was "unilateral aggression" and the occupation is illegal, but the UN refuses to condemn the US and Britain for violating a member's sovereignty. Moreover, the UN is now a part of the "coalition of the willing." Shamelessly hiding behind the "food for oil" program, the UN is trying to parlay a substantial role overseeing Iraq's occupation. If the UN truly represented the interest of Iraqis and not the US, it would forthrightly condemn the US/British illegal war as naked aggression and demand they withdraw immediately under UN supervision.
Disgruntled feels: Robbed! A nation engages in war at the expense of social services. Wars are always a tradeoff between guns and butter. Historically, whenever social services are cut, poor people suffer. And, ironically, it is young people from this group that do most of the fighting and dying in battle. To be honest, wars help nations reduce their "undesirable" populations. Culled like cattle, the unwanted poor are robbed of social services and die like flies in battle.
Disgruntled wants to know: Citizens in
Australia, Great Britain and Spain are demanding investigations and public
hearings into the intelligence used to justify the preemptive strike against
Iraq. According to preliminary reports from Britain, the dossier, i.e., war
manifesto, cited by Prime Minister Tony Blair and used by George W. Bush was
"beefed up" to justify the naked aggression against an unarmed country.
If true, it constitutes a "high crime" and misdemeanor far more
serious than the Watergate break-in and subsequent public deception that
brought down the Nixon Administration. So, where are the real investigative
journalists and honest members of Congress so pivotal in exposing corruption
and protecting the public's interest?
Disgruntled says: In terms of its
abundant resources, the continent of Africa is the richest expanse of land on
the planet. Yet, the nations of Africa are ranked at the bottom of every index
of human development from life expectancy to per capita income. If one
discounts colonialism and ghastly governance, then the single most important
factor contributing to this wretched state of affairs are trade policies of
developed nations. Their protectionism and subsidies virtually cripple
developing countries that rely on agricultural and raw material exports for
income. Let us hope something good will come out of the upcoming WTO
Ministerial Conference in Cancún, Mexico that corrects the gross distortions
that rob low-income farmers of their livelihood.
By John Burl Smith
Media coverage of the war in Liberia painted a westernized picture of an impoverished, war-torn, corrupt, backward society of salvages, simply killing each other. There was no serious mention of centuries of the colonial slave trade before two hundred years of American colonial rule. News accounts glossed over the fact that US corporate puppet governments have always run Liberia. Blacked out in all the chaos was a view I glimpsed while watching footage of what was described as "child soldiers." Some were engaged in fighting and patrolling. Still others simply milled around listening to hip-hop, while others played boyish pranks and football, but all talked of going back to school.
Suddenly, there was a very tight view of young black faces, some as young as
ten, right up in the camera lens. Just for a quick and fleeting instant, one
could see into their eyes, if one hoped to learn something about terror,
desperation, pain, tragedy and bewilderment. Lost for what seemed like
centuries in those dark ocular pools, I saw the 1960s in the US, when black
power advocates struggled to free our people from centuries of segregation and
the legacy of slavery. Although there was fighting and dying, hope sprouted
from a desire to make things better for our people.
These dark eyes of Africa reflected the same desires as the loyal opposition in Spain during its civil war. Maybe not as young as these African children, Spaniards still saw their struggle as a fight for freedom against fascism. Joined by centuries of colonialism and now fascists rule, young eyes in Iraq watch US soldiers with "a lean and hungry look." Separated by time and distance, but connected by heritage, young eyes view the world from the same perspective as young Palestinians.
Pulled in through Liberia's dark "windows to its soul," I was reminded of the young eyes atop tanks riding into Havana with Fidel Castro in 1957 that saw US capitalism fall before them, like that statue of Saddam Hussein. And never forget those slant-eyed Vietnamese rice farmers that saw the same foe chased from their rice paddies two decades later.
Is it a surreal superimposed world spinning out of control or the chrysalis of an evolution that will manifest a new reality for humanity? Hindsight affords a different perspective of hopes that motivated us to embrace black power in the late 1960s. Although we did not achieve all that we hoped, fighting and dying for our vision of America manifested far more of it than would have been achieved had we only talked about what could be. Those dark Liberian eyes were set in heads that were on bodies smaller than the guns they carried. Already hardened and battle-tested killers, who more than owners of those eyes have the right to envision Liberia's future?
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes & Phone Calls
Email www.knoxnews.com From op-ed column by David Hunter (Are US Journalists Truly Spineless?), "Justin Webb, a Washington correspondent for the BBC, recently posed this question to his audience: "Are American journalists simply spineless? Do they toe the line because they love the President? Or because their employers do?" Webb raised the question after hearing Vice President Dick Cheney deliver the following statement in reference to the war in Iraq: "You did well - you have my thanks." This praise was not directed to our troops or members of the president's Cabinet; it was lavished upon members of the American Radio and Television Correspondents Association at their annual dinner. Most of us whose bylines appear in the American media should be embarrassed to look our readers, viewers and listeners in the eye. Real journalists, such as Webb, from nations that once looked upon us as the epitome of truth and integrity are holding us up for ridicule. The ridicule is richly deserved. Members of the American news media should be asking the question that Webb has presented. Are American journalists spineless? David Hunter, who writes this column for The News-Sentinel, is a free-lance writer and former Knox County sheriff's deputy. His e-mail address is ursus333@comcast.net.
Email Matekopoko@aol.com "The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the state." - Joseph Goebbels - Hitler's propaganda minister
Email http://news.ft.com The International Monetary Fund has expressed concern that the growing US budget deficit, exacerbated by the recent tax cuts pushed through by the Bush administration, threatens to erode productivity growth, drive away investment and make it more difficult to meet health and pension obligations to the aging baby-boom generation.
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