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Volume 7
Issue 47…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…November 26, 2004
The Perpetual War Machine
By S.M. GRAY
It's a military action, children get in
the way.
Nine are lying in broad daylight in a
field,
the military doesn't know what to say.
The papers say, "a tragic U.S.
military blunder."
It makes you think, a bloodshot wonder,
with the plane an A-10 Ground Attack,
they're torn asunder.
Civilians dying in a village but they
missed their man.
Things are going according to plan,
to throw our weight around,
the corporations in command.
A few days later they invade a compound
and six kids are crushed.
Iraqis on the skids can only watch,
their country going to the highest bids.
What do children know about the price of
oil and gas,
another turns into a ghost,
the infidels on metal tread, the locals
are aghast.
Some of them are shooting back,
a twenty-year-old is hit.
An administration complicit
in the attack on 9-11 isn't about to quit.
The young man didn't have to die
and we are not protected from the world,
we're too connected.
Evil is inside of us, and trouble is
expected.
When the dead boys come in for a landing,
home again,
the White House won't put down its gun
and welcome them.
How come the President is such a goon?
The funerals go without him while he
monitors the bills
in Congress and the Army kills.
War profiteering was about to be declared
illegal
by the politicians with the guilty going
to jail,
but the bill was made to fail,
the President protecting Halliburton.
He's a rogue male in a lamb-of-god
disguise,
and who is more offended by his faux pas -
they are endless - Muslims or the thinking
Christians
who have recommended his removal.
The imposter needs to be impeached,
he has over-extended his reach,
an insult to the citizens from here to
Omaha Beach.
On Fire in Europe
With contagious excitement, our intrepid artists finalize plans
for their European adventure. Aqyil
Thomas and Yohannes Sharriff have been on-line for the last month or so
connecting with spoken word artists in Europe.
Yohannes remarked, "Support has been phenomenal, both local and
abroad. So many people congratulate us
for and celebrate our accomplishments.
So many are praying for our safety and success. This process has built a lot of
confidence. Like most things, it's not
as hard as you fear, but it's more involved than you ever imagined." For Aqyil and Yohannes, traveling,
performing and connecting with people are integral parts of their life's work.
The DISH asks
our readers to help these young artists on their mission. They have the following open dates, December
10-17 and 20-26. Please forward all
requests to yohasha@yahoo.com or
The DISH
would like to thank all our readers for their unwavering support of Atlanta
Vibe endeavors. And, to all our European
readers, thanks in advance for opening your hearths and hearts to these young
artists.
Bunnatine H. Greenhouse
Born July 22, 1944, black American Bunnatine H. Greenhouse grew up
in a segregated Louisiana cotton town.
She credits her parents, who barely finished grade school, with her deep
religious convictions and dogged pursuit of excellence in every endeavor
Greenhouse and her three siblings epitomize their parents'
teachings. Greenhouse, a successful
civilian employee with the US Army Corp of Engineers and mother of three, sings
in her church choir every Sunday. Her
two sisters earned doctorate degrees and her brother, Elvin Hayes, was a NBA
all-star.
Named one of the Outstanding Young Women of America in 1975,
Greenhouse graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern University with a Bachelor
of Science in Mathematics. In addition to holding three Master of Science
degrees, i.e., Business Management (University Central Texas), Engineering
Management (George Washington University), and National Resources Strategy
(National Defense University), Greenhouse has successfully completed several
Defense Department management and acquisition courses.
Greenhouse is a former Vice President of the Heidelberg-Ramstein
Chapter of the National Contract Management Association, a member of the
Project Management Institute, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronic
Association, and she served on the Board of Directors of the Defense Systems
Management College Alumni Association. She is a member of the Army Acquisition
Corps and she has achieved Level III Acquisition Professional Certifications in
Contracting, Program Management and Communications-Computer Systems.
The wife of a military procurement officer, Greenhouse taught high
school and college mathematics in various states (1965-1981) prior to entering
government service as a civilian. Since
joining the US Army Directorate of Contracting in Fort Hood, Texas as a
Procurement Intern, she has risen through the civilian ranks and received a
number of appointments commensurate with her training and academic
achievements. In 1997, Greenhouse
received her current appointment as the Principal Assistant Responsible for
Contracting with the US Army Corps of Engineers.
It is in her current position that Greenhouse finds herself at
odds with the status quo in how the Corps of Engineers awards contracts through
a "good ole boy" network. A
stickler for the rules and determined to protect the public trust, Greenhouse
challenged no-bid contracts awarded to Halliburton and its subsidiary Kellogg
Brown & Root in the Balkans and Iraq.
Her efforts to expose the rules' violations have led to the promise of
an inquiry by the Pentagon and a FBI investigation. In the meantime, the Corps is working overtime to either demote
or retire Greenhouse, who is determined to remain on a job she does well. (Sources:
www.hq.usace.army.mil and www.nytimes.com)
Silent Majority
"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a
Communist, so I did not speak out. Then, they came for the Socialists and the
Trade Unionists, but I was not one of them, so I did not speak out. Then, they
came for the Jews, but I was not Jewish so I did not speak out. And when they
came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."
Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)
Martin Niemoeller, a Protestant pastor, who lived in a comfortable
Berlin suburb in the 1930s, epitomizes today's silent majority in the United
States. His quotation above was given
in response to a student's question, "How could it happen?"
Like many Germans, Niemoeller bought into Adolf Hitler's master
race rhetoric -- they were the "chosen people." Hitler played on their fears and prejudices
to win their support. However,
Niemoeller eventually awoke to the evil of Der Fuehrer. He was arrested and imprisoned in a
concentration camp for his open opposition to Hitler's reign of terror.
The silent majority in the United States has swallowed the
media-driven notion that the recent national election was all about moral
values. The incumbent's reelection
campaign played on their fears and prejudices and may have won another term in
office. May have, because voter fraud
is a real possibility.
The election was not about moral values or faith. There is nothing Christ-like or moral about
killing innocents and prosecuting a war that was launched based on lies. The US national election was about the
future direction of the country and its role in the world. And, as long as the majority remains silent
to protect their "good government" jobs or piece of the pie, the US
will continue to be a pariah! Blah on
their silence!
By John Burl Smith
There is this scene from the movie The Pelican Brief (1993) that
comes to mind whenever political corruption is afoot. It follows the assassinations of two Supreme Court justices. Everyone is searching for complex plots to
explain the deaths, when Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) asks, "What if the
motive for the assassinations is something as simple as old-fashion
greed?" Given that assumption,
Darby discovers a court case and writes a brief in which the brown pelican
becomes the hero by stopping an oil magnet from drilling in its Louisiana
wildlife refuge.
Not as exciting as The Pelican Brief, Bunnatine H. Greenhouse,
Director of Contracting for the US Army Corps of Engineers, has become
"Darby Shaw and the brown pelican" rolled into one. Reminiscent of Daniel Ellsberg, she has
blown the whistle on Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of
Halliburton and recipient of a lucrative 5-year, $7 billion no-bid contract to
repair oil fields in Iraq. Greenhouse
has gassed up the Corps for approving, behind her back, the highly inflated
price KBR charges the Pentagon for fuel (estimated to exceed $61 million). The major difference between Greenhouse and
Ellsberg is she used her position to expose corruption, whereas Ellsberg stole
information to expose corruption in Vietnam.
What is similar in these two cases is the reaction of the Pentagon.
Rather than embrace employees dedicated to "protecting the
public trust," Corps officials are trying to demote or force Greenhouse
into early retirement. In her defense,
former commander Lt General Joe N. Ballard said, "I did not believe that
females and minorities are always treated fairly at the Corps because of a
long-standing 'good ole boy' mentality by a number of members of the
command." Protected by the
"Whistle-Blowers" statute, unlike Ellsberg who was indicted for
taking classified documents, Greenhouse revealed, "The Corps was at the
point of knowingly violating federal acquisition regulations in favor of
Halliburton. It can't get much worst
than that."
This is the significance
of Darby Shaw's observation regarding "old-fashion greed." Ellsberg confessed as much in the preface to
his book Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, "I put
personal loyalty to the president (and to my career, my access to inside
information and influence, however I idealized my purposes) above all
else. Above loyalty to the
Constitution. Above obligation to truth, to fellow Americans, and to other
human lives."
A stickler for cumbersome rules, such as sharing contracts with
small business and open competition for bids, Greenhouse found "a pattern
of favoritism toward Halliburton that imperiled the integrity of federal
contracting." Ellsberg summed it up
as the "hope that exposing secrets five presidents had withheld and the
lies they told might have benefits for our democracy that were worthy of the
risks....to go to Congress and the press and tell the truth, with
documents....that telling the truth, revealing wrongly-kept secrets, can have a
surprisingly strong, unforeseeable power to help end a wrong and save
lives."
Which is where we really are in Iraq. The real victims, as Greenhouse and Ellsberg pointed out, are
those being killed and the American people. Where is the outrage and fervor for
the truth that was so evident during "Whitewater and File-gate?" Where is that tiger for truth Rep. Henry
Hyde? Why is the media mute and so
accepting of Bush Administration feeble explanations regarding an obvious
"good ole boy network, of longtime officers and favored companies,
including inappropriately cozy relations with certain companies?" Exposing greed, Greenhouse has gassed up the
desire for Congress to take action against corruption.
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is on vacation. After last week's altercation and
revelations about the nature of the provocation, or absence thereof, he decided
the less said about the incident the better off he will be. When queried for comments on any topic, the
Dark One/Ninja/Zorro remarked, "I need a break!"
Disgruntled says: One of the least scrutinized war profiteers is the Carlyle Group,
a private investment firm that specializes in recruiting former presidents,
cabinet officials and ex-CIA agents.
Well-connected, the group can raid a national treasury and get away
without detection. Adept at disguising
its fraud and malfeasance, the group readily turned revelations about its
efforts to turn a handsome billion dollars profit on settling Iraq's debt to
Kuwait from a political scandal to a photo opportunity by suavely lying about
its intentions. Adding insult to
injury, mainstream media are silent and Carlyle Group will probably get its
billions.
Disgruntled wants to know: Imagine your country is invaded under false pretexts of
overthrowing a dangerous dictator that possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass
destruction and to bring freedom and democracy to your people. Thousands of innocents are killed and maimed
in this liberation. Portions of your
homeland, poisoned with depleted uranium, are rendered unsafe for untold
lifetimes. The invaders privatize your
nation's resources and install an interim government akin to the Shah of Iran
and Augusto Pinochet of Chile. The
people choose to fight this illegal invasion.
Do we call these warriors insurgents, a derogatory term bandied about in
Western media that suggests they deserve only death, or do we call them freedom
fighters, true patriots?
Disgruntled feels:
Scandalized! When the GOP-controlled
House of Representatives were determined to impeach former President Bill
Clinton, Representatives Henry Hyde, Bob Barr and others were all about the
rule of law and no one being above it.
The Clinton Administration was corrupt and they were bound and
determined to uncover the scandal and protect the public trust by removing the
scoundrel from office. Professing to
adhere to higher standards than Democrats, they passed rules calling for the
removal from positions of leadership any representative indicted for a criminal
offense. With Republicans controlling
all branches of government, scandal and corruption are dead, so are the
rules. This way, if indicted on
campaign corruption charges, that paragon of virtue, Tom DeLay (R-TX) can
continue his scandalous majority leadership.
White Sly on Black Rice
When comedian Bill Cosby lambasted low-income blacks for a laundry
list of "cultural" defects from failure to speak properly to poor
parenting, "black leaders" and bourgeois blacks embraced his
analysis. Now, Cosby is on a nationwide
tour, enjoying mad mass media for bad-mouthing the less fortunate segment of
the black population. Some of those he
criticizes have come to the painful realization that Cosby makes some valid
points. More will accept his evaluation
of the situation when he properly blames the larger society for the role it
plays in keeping the black community in a perpetual economic slump. Alas, this Cosby will not do, because he
will lose his sponsors and media attention.
Enter radio shock jock John Sylvester, a white guy. Known as "Sly" on WTDY-Am 1970 in
Madison, Wisconsin, he likened National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to
the rotund black woman whose image graces the box of that award-winning pancake
mix -- Aunt Jemima. Unfortunately, she
has become confused with Uncle Tom, which is considered a racial slur used to
describe blacks that do their white masters' bidding to the detriment of
themselves and other blacks. Local
"black leaders" and the black elite felt Sly's comments were
inappropriate, disrespectful and racist.
In response to his critics, Sly issued an apology and gave away
boxes of Aunt Jemima pancake mix and bottles of syrup on his morning radio
show. His apology for dissing Aunt
Jemima caused an even greater furor.
Without question, Sly was all over Rice with the truth; she is a
political hack and a liar. If blacks
can embrace Cosby's criticisms of low-income folks, then they should not be
getting their panties in a wad because Sly told the truth about Rice. She and other blacks, like Rod Paige and
Colin Powell, are Uncle Toms. Kudos to
the sly one for calling that spade an Oreo!
Stop War Profiteers
Thanks in part to whistle-blower Bunnatine Greenhouse and others,
the Pentagon has launched an investigation into Halliburton. Unfortunately, the principal investigator,
L. Jean Lewis, is a highly partisan Republican known for her zealous
Clinton-Whitewater investigation. Little is expected from this inquiry; Halliburton
is expected to continue amassing exorbitant profits from US wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq.
Several watchdog groups have meticulously compiled a laundry list
of Halliburton's waste, fraud and abusive transgressions and are urging
congressional reform. One of these
groups, the Campaign to Stop the War Profiteers is calling on Congress to
establish a bipartisan war profiteering commission to root out waste and
malfeasance. In addition, it would like
to end cost-plus contracts that allow companies to increase their profits by
overcharging the government.
The Campaign to Stop the War Profiteers is a national initiative
of the Institute for Southern Studies, which is a non-profit research,
education and action center based in Durham, North Carolina. The Campaign to Stop the War Profiteers is a
nation-wide effort. For more
information, visit www.southernstudies.org.
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