"ANY WAGE THAT IS NOT A LIVING WAGE IS UNJUST, NO MATTER WHAT THE REASON, AND TO BE FORCED TO ACCEPT IT IS ECONOMIC VIOLENCE." Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., from "The Politics of Jesus..."
andnot Cuba? Caught this via The New York Times: BEIJING — “Ma,” a Chinese character for horse, is the 13th most common family name in China, shared by nearly 17 million people. That can cause no end of confusion when Mas get together, especially if those Mas also share the same given name, as many Chinese do. Ma Cheng’s book-loving grandfather came up with an elegant solution to this common problem. Twenty-six years ago, when his granddaughter was born, he combed through his library of Chinese dictionaries and lighted upon a character pronounced “cheng.” Cheng, which means galloping steeds, looks just like the character for horse, except that it is condensed and written three times in a row. The character is so rare that once people see it, Miss Ma said, they tend to remember both her and her name. That is one reason she likes it so much.
That is also why the government wants her to change it.
For Ma Cheng and millions of others, Chinese parents’ desire to give their children a spark of individuality is colliding head-on with the Chinese bureaucracy’s desire for order. Seeking to modernize its vast database on China’s 1.3 billion citizens, the government’s Public Security Bureau has been replacing the handwritten identity card that every Chinese must carry with a computer-readable one, complete with color photos and embedded microchips. The new cards are harder to forge and can be scanned at places like airports where security is a priority.
The bureau’s computers, however, are programmed to read only 32,252 of the roughly 55,000 Chinese characters, according to a 2006 government report. The result is that Miss Ma and at least some of the 60 million other Chinese with obscure characters in their names cannot get new cards — unless they change their names to something more common. Moreover, the situation is about to get worse or, in the government’s view, better.
Since at least 2003, China has been working on a standardized list of characters for people to use in everyday life, including when naming children.
Miss Ma said that while her given name was unusual, bank employees, passport control clerks and ticket agents had always managed to deal with it, usually by writing it by hand.
But when she tried to renew her identity card last August, she said, Beijing public security officials turned her down flat.
"Your name is so troublesome and problematic,” she recalled an official telling her. “Just change it.”
Miss Ma argues that the government’s technology should adapt, not her. “There were no such regulations when I was born, so I should be entitled to keep my name for my whole life,” she said. If she changes her name to get an identity card, she noted, it will be wrong on all of her other documents, like her passport and university diploma.
I have no extensive comments regarding this article at this time...I think it is ludicrous that we still after 50 years have an embargo against Cuba. I have actively read the paper for almost 40 years and I have never heard of an instance where the Cuban government demanded name changes en masse from its citizens, (perhaps they have and I just don't know,) yet we give most favored nation status to China.
The article continues:
Using the time-honored Chinese method of backdoor connections, Miss Ma was able to get a temporary card in January. She must renew it every three months but considers that a small sacrifice for keeping her name
Zhao C., a 23-year-old college student, gave up the fight for his. His father, a lawyer, chose the letter C from the English alphabet, saying it was simple, memorable and stood for China. When he could not get a new identity card in 2006, Zhao C. sued. But security officials convinced him that it would cost millions of dollars to alter the database, his father said, so he dropped the suit in February.
China is a totalitarian state just like Cuba, but we kiss China's ass, and now we are massively in debt to them. It will be nice when the politicians in D.C. wake up and stop this useless policy toward Cuba.
Peace-
Thanks to NYT and Wikipedia...
BTW jonesboro sun-did your paper run the story that serves as the basis for my April 24 post? Can't find it on the website...
(CNN) -- Low-income Latinos are routinely discriminated against in the South, a new report says, but the study's author and others say the problem exists nationwide, with millions of Spanish-speaking immigrants living "beyond the protection of the law." The report, released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center, documents the experiences of 500 immigrants in the South, finding that Latinos routinely are cheated out of wages, are denied basic health protection and fall victim to racial profiling.
"Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South" details stories such as that of a Tennessee woman who says she was jailed at a cheese factory for asking for pay, a bean picker in Alabama who says his life savings were taken by police at a traffic stop, and a rapist in Georgia who was not arrested because the suspect's victim was an undocumented immigrant.
Forty-one percent of the people surveyed said they had experienced theft of their wages by employers. Forty-seven percent said they know someone who was treated unfairly by police. Seventy-seven percent of women surveyed said they have been sexually harassed by bosses, many saying that bosses used their immigration status as leverage.
"This report documents the human toll of failed policies that relegate millions of people to an underground economy, where they are beyond the protection of the law," said Mary Bauer, author of the report. "Workplace abuses and racial profiling are rampant in the South."
Does it really surprise you? Until people stand against the abuse of the poor, the minority, the "non-conformist," things will never get better. An era of enlightenment needs to sweep the South and bring people into the 21st century. Clearly, the fault lies at the feet of the leadership in the South, people like Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, J.R. Rogers of Walnut Ridge, Roy Ockert of Jonesboro...the list goes on. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, as I said, the list goes on. Schools are falling down, poverty is out of control, jobs are gone, but their churches sure look good!
When did Jesus say it was okay to hate and abuse people? It is not surprising that more and more people are rejecting American Christianity, and Southern-style Evangelical churchiness. After all, that's the style of religion Sarah Palin subscribes to: Bible in one hand and gun in the other.
Precisely the reason I have utterly rejected right wing, evangelical, pentecostal, bapticostal religion. It is all full of crap.
What would Jesus do? Ensure people were treated fairly, paid properly, taken care of medically, had a place to live, made to feel as though they were human and worth something, cause they are. Sounds like Jesus was a socialist *gasp.* Well he certainly was not a capitalist. He told the capitalists to give it all away, and he cleared the temple of profiteers. Much like what needs to transpire in the American Church today.
Doesn't the bible discuss the poor coming to claim what is rightfully theirs eventually? Yes. The right wing likes to pick and choose verses that enable their hate, but conveniently disregard others such as the above reference.
Maybe I'll add the scripture verse later, I remember Kenneth Copeland et al harping on the poor reclaiming their stolen wealth, never realizing that he is one of the ones they're are coming for... Peace, we need systemic change in the South...
This is so important that I want to repost it...we cannot allow corporations to act like nation-states. Thanks to The Guardian and Ridwan for this story: Ken Saro-Wiwa swore that one day Shell, the oil giant, would answer for his death in a court of law. Next month, 14 years after his execution, the Nigerian environmental activist's dying wish is to be fulfilled. In a New York federal court, Shell and one of its senior executives are to face charges that in the early 1990s in Nigeria they were complicit in human rights abuses, including summary execution and torture. The Anglo-Dutch company, if found liable, could be forced to pay hundreds of millions of pounds in damages. No multinational has ever been found guilty of human rights abuses, although two previous cases saw major claims settled outside court. Saro-Wiwa became famous as a campaigner on behalf of the Ogoni people, leading peaceful protests against the environmental damage caused by oil companies in the Niger Delta. There was worldwide condemnation when, along with eight other activists, he was hanged by the Nigerian military government in 1995 after being charged with incitement to murder after the death of four Ogoni elders. Many of the prosecution witnesses later admitted that they had been bribed to give evidence against Saro-Wiwa, who was a respected television writer and businessman. As shocking as this sounds, and it is shocking that a corporation like Shell could be involved in murder and mayhem, it is hardly new. Ford Motor Company was involved in Argentina's time of terror in the 70's. From The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein: It was in Argentina, however, that the involvement of Ford's local subsidiary with the terror apparatus was most overt. The company supplied cars to the military, and the green Ford Falcon sedan was the vehicle used for thousands of kidnappings and disappearances. The Argentine psychologist and playwright Eduardo Pavlovsky described the car as "the symbolic expression of terror. A death-mobile."' After the coup in Argentina, "The Ford factory in suburban Buenos Aires was turned into an armed camp; in the weeks that followed, it was swarming with military vehicles, including tanks and helicopters buzzing overhead. Workers have testified to the presence of a battalion of one hundred soldiers permanently stationed at the factory. "It looked like we were at war with Ford. And it was all directed at us, the workers," recalled Pedro Troiani one of the union delegates. She continues: "Soldiers prowled the facility grabbing and hooding the most active union members, helpfully pointed out by the factory foreman. Troiani was among pulled of the assembly line. He recalled that "before detaining me, they walked me around the factory, they did it right out in the open so that the people would see: Ford did this to eliminate unionism in the factory." Most startling was what happened next: rather than being rushed off to a nearby prison, Troiani and others say soldiers took them to a detention facility that had been set up inside the factory gates. (Bold from me) In their place of work, where they had been negotiating contracts just days before, workers were beaten, kicked and in two cases electroshocked. They were taken to outside prisons where the torture continued for weeks and, in some cases, months. According to the workers' lawyers, at least twenty-five Ford union reps were kidnapped in the period, half of them detained on the company grounds in a facility that human rights groups in Argentina are lobbying to have placed on an official list of former clandestine detention facilities." According to Klein, "In 2002 federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Ford Argentina on behalf of Troiani and fourteen other workers, alleging that the company is legally responsible for the repression that took place on its property. "Ford [Argentina] and its executives colluded in the kidnapping of its own workers, and I think they should be held responsible for that," says Troiani. Mercedes-Benz (a subsidiary of Daimler-Chrysler) is facing a similar investigation stemming from allegations that the company collaborated with the military during the 1970s to purge one of its plants of union leaders, allegedly giving names and addresses of sixteen workers who were later disappeared, fourteen of the permanently. According to the Latin American historian Karen Robert, by the end of the dictatorship, "virtually all the shop-floor delegates had been disappeared from the country's biggest firms...such as Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, and Fiat Concord." Both Ford and Mercedes-Benz deny that their executives played any role in the repression. The cases are ongoing. Think it can't happen here in the United States? A link to the BBC regarding a suit against Ford. I'm going to follow this case and post over time. Thanks to Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, pp 108, 109 Peace
Searchers, you know I'm no fan of contractors in Iraq...however, I'm less of a fan of huge corps like AIG...if people are paying premiums for insurance, there should be no problem collecting, ever.
Slammin jam from back in the day...Traffic, Steve Winwood fronting. I've always loved this song, most don't remember Traffic, but one of my earliest music memories was listening to this song on my clock radio on WLS in Chicago...peace
Ken Saro-Wiwa swore that one day Shell, the oil giant, would answer for his death in a court of law. Next month, 14 years after his execution, the Nigerian environmental activist's dying wish is to be fulfilled.
In a New York federal court, Shell and one of its senior executives are to face charges that in the early 1990s in Nigeria they were complicit in human rights abuses, including summary execution and torture.
The Anglo-Dutch company, if found liable, could be forced to pay hundreds of millions of pounds in damages. No multinational has ever been found guilty of human rights abuses, although two previous cases saw major claims settled outside court.
Saro-Wiwa became famous as a campaigner on behalf of the Ogoni people, leading peaceful protests against the environmental damage caused by oil companies in the Niger Delta. There was worldwide condemnation when, along with eight other activists, he was hanged by the Nigerian military government in 1995 after being charged with incitement to murder after the death of four Ogoni elders. Many of the prosecution witnesses later admitted that they had been bribed to give evidence against Saro-Wiwa, who was a respected television writer and businessman.
As shocking as this sounds, and it is shocking that a corporation like Shell could be involved in murder and mayhem, it is hardly new.
Ford Motor Company was involved in Argentina's time of terror in the 70's. From TheShock Doctrine by Naomi Klein:
It was in Argentina, however, that the involvement of Ford's local subsidiary with the terror apparatus was most overt. The company supplied cars to the military, and the green Ford Falcon sedan was the vehicle used for thousands of kidnappings and disappearances. The Argentine psychologist and playwright Eduardo Pavlovsky described the car as "the symbolic expression of terror. A death-mobile."'
After the coup in Argentina,
"The Ford factory in suburban Buenos Aires was turned into an armed camp; in the weeks that followed, it was swarming with military vehicles, including tanks and helicopters buzzing overhead. Workers have testified to the presence of a battalion of one hundred soldiers permanently stationed at the factory. "It looked like we were at war with Ford. And it was all directed at us, the workers," recalled Pedro Troiani one of the union delegates.
She continues:
"Soldiers prowled the facility grabbing and hooding the most active union members, helpfully pointed out by the factory foreman. Troiani was among pulled of the assembly line. He recalled that "before detaining me, they walked me around the factory, they did it right out in the open so that the people would see: Ford did this to eliminate unionism in the factory." Most startling was what happened next: rather than being rushed off to a nearby prison, Troiani and others say soldiers took them to a detention facility that had been set up inside the factory gates. (Bold from me)
In their place of work, where they had been negotiating contracts just days before, workers were beaten, kicked and in two cases electroshocked. They were taken to outside prisons where the torture continued for weeks and, in some cases, months. According to the workers' lawyers, at least twenty-five Ford union reps were kidnapped in the period, half of them detained on the company grounds in a facility that human rights groups in Argentina are lobbying to have placed on an official list of former clandestine detention facilities."
According to Klein,
"In 2002 federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Ford Argentina on behalf of Troiani and fourteen other workers, alleging that the company is legally responsible for the repression that took place on its property. "Ford [Argentina] and its executives colluded in the kidnapping of its own workers, and I think they should be held responsible for that," says Troiani. Mercedes-Benz (a subsidiary of Daimler-Chrysler) is facing a similar investigation stemming from allegations that the company collaborated with the military during the 1970s to purge one of its plants of union leaders, allegedly giving names and addresses of sixteen workers who were later disappeared, fourteen of the permanently.
According to the Latin American historian Karen Robert, by the end of the dictatorship, "virtually all the shop-floor delegates had been disappeared from the country's biggest firms...such as Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, and Fiat Concord." Both Ford and Mercedes-Benz deny that their executives played any role in the repression. The cases are ongoing.
While downing a protein shake this morning and working on my abs, I came across the article below. I'm glad this made the news. It is nice to see that some news gathering organizations cannot be strong armed into burying stories about prominent politicians family members that violate the law and people's civil rights...learn from this, Jonesboro Sun.
Palin sister-in-law accused of breaking into home By RACHEL D'ORO – 1 day ago ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Police say Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's sister-in-law is accused of breaking into the same home twice to steal money. Deputy Wasilla Police Chief Greg Wood says 35-year-old Diana Palin was arrested Thursday after she was confronted by the homeowner in the governor's hometown of Wasilla. She faces two counts of felony burglary and misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and theft. Wood says tire tracks and shoe prints tied Palin to another break-in Tuesday in which $400 was taken. Police have not tied Palin to another burglary at the home last week. Governor spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton says Palin is the half sister of the governor's husband and the family has no comment. Diana Palin's husband says his wife has a court-appointed attorney.
Sarah Palin and her extended family could have been the Second Family of the United States, if the Right Wing would have prevailed in the past election. This again shows the complete lack of intelligence and integrity of the right, especially the Christian Right. Tying an individual like Diana Palin to the Governor and linking the two would seem unfair to some as Diana Palin is 35 (and should know better) and responsible for her own behavior. Sarah Palin can't control what her husband's sister does.
I agree with part of that, Palin can't control what her sister in law does any more than she can control what her daughters do (apparently.)
But let me put this idea out there to chew on: After watching Sarah Palin in the campaign season, and seeing the lack of intellectual curiosity, learning her brand of Christianity (and recognizing it for what it is) and the bumbling way she, as well as her staff and family conducted themselves during the campaign, the lies from Palin, with the bible in her hand and scripture in her mouth (next to the bullshit) I believe, after thoughtful consideration, that this is how they conduct themselves as a family.
Allow me to elaborate: This is just how they do things. It is not abnormal behavior for any of them. This is just how they, and others like them, conduct themselves in their day to day walk of life. They lie, they cheat, they rob, they steal, they harm, and on Sunday they go to Church. They blame almost everyone else for their misfortunes and use religion to justify bad behavior, invoking God and vowing to pray for you while they are calling you a nigger, or trying to break into your home to kill you, or wishing harm on your child, good stuff like, "I hope your kid gets hit by a bus."
Heard that last little gem before, actually that was in an email from my son's Uncle, Mrs. Searcher's brother. (Actually, I have experienced all of the above.) Real classy relatives Mrs. Searcher has. Mrs. Searcher embodies class, intelligence, beauty and smarts. There is no way in hell she is the product of her mother and the person that gave her her maiden name. That is not meant to disrespect her mother, may she rest in peace. It does, however, reflect her good judgement. I will forever maintain that as truth.
Back to Plain and her Alaska (arkansas) family:
These aren't your run of the mill trailer park rednecks; these are rednecks with money and real power in the state in which they live. This combination is especially dangerous because with money and influence real damage can be done to people's lives, often with little or no consequence. There are some common threads running through these types people and their families:
1. Parent or sibling is in an elected position, or one of influence in business.
2. Family has established ties, generational in the area. -Family attends prominent church in town, one or more teaches Sunday school or is a deacon, etc. Highly likely that one or more are involved in extra-marital affairs.
3. History of legal issues, not necessarily prosecutions or charges, but a history of lawlessness, and an inherent belief of being above the law. I have noticed this especially with children of elected officials, especially ones that have been in office for an extended period of time. Oh, say 22 years or so...I also think that this is mostly learned by watching the parent/sibling fuck around and manipulate the law and people.
4. History of legal issues covered up, not reported, paid off, etc.
5. As a result of little or no consequence, lawlessness escalates until behavior is so out of control it cannot be ignored any longer, unfortunately, this is often after a violent crime such as assault that is severe enough to be reported, burglary, rape, murder, etc. I
It will be good for this epitome-of-dysfunction of a family that some of these "events" that they get involved in are published across the country. That it may help out future generations of Palins is my hope, but as for the over 18 branch of the Palin's, at least the majority of them, there is no hope.
Work to ensure Palin stays in Alaska, and continue to shine light on the right, especially the christians.
I've been watching the news lately, big surprise, and I've been paying attention to the G20 summit it London. The G20 is the group of the 20 most powerful economies in the world coming together to yap at each other, form policy, etc.
And, the protesters are out in force, in London protesters have been smashing windows in banks, trying to set fire to banks, etc. In France, and I love this, pissed off workers are taking their supervisors and managers hostage in factories because they are sick of getting screwed as workers while management makes the big bucks. Enough is enough! Ya basta!
I watched video of some of the hostage takers, and they are average normal people. When one of the managers was released to freedom after 24 hours as a hostage, he was released to boos and catcalls.
Can you imagine the overreaction of the American police if workers did that here? They would kill people.
Another thing I noticed about the protesters in England. For all of the thousands and thousands of people that hit the streets, I did not see a single effigy of the United States President burned.
Not one. The anger was rightly directed at bankers, insurance execs, and the wretched idea of failed American capitalism.
Not one time was Obama hanged in effigy (that just happens here in the U.S.) or burned in effigy. As a child of the 70's and 80's this is almost unheard of. When Reagan went to Europe it was on. Same with the Bushes. (somebody really should have shaved that Bush a long time ago...)
So today the Obamas are in France and Germany. Obama's crazy ass even had a town hall meeting in Strasbourg, France. They absolutely love him over there.
From a personal standpoint, as a citizen of the United States, it is very refreshing to not see the rest of the world want to kill everyone in the US because of our hateful policies.
Face it, Americans, we have a shitty reputation in the rest of the world because of our arrogance and policies, period. Latin America and South America still have not gotten over the Reagan years, rightly so.
I'm glad we elected Obama, at least he has the good sense to keep his fucking hands off of the Chancellor of Germany:
Scary image, huh? The United States elected this doofus. Twice...CRINGE!
BTW, I am beginning to like Sarkozy of France, that's him in the top pic with Obama, largely because he favors tough regulations for the banking and insurance companies, to ensure this doesn't happen again. He is for an international body to oversee regulations in every country, even (especially) the United States. I am down with that. I am no longer under the illusion of the "God-Given Greatness Of The United States."
A nation that rapes continents and performs forced hysterectomies on poor and Native Women is not deserving of my respect, and my children are being raised in the full knowledge of what their government has done in the past. Rectify and heal the past United States, then maybe you can be allowed a shred of respect...we'll see. Onward!
Cutting taxes for the rich. Cutting corporate taxes. Manipulating medicare with a program that sounds suspiciously like Reagan's "block grants."
More of the same from the party that has failed utterly. More of the rehash from the Reagan era, policies that have given the United States the current economic, social, health, and welfare crisis we are currently in.
More of the same from the party that has brought the United States to the brink of being a Failed State, one that is neither capable nor willing to provide for its citizens.
More of the same from the party that starts wars that cannot possibly be won.
More of the same from the party that wants to round up brown people and keep blacks and the poor in economic shackles, while ensuring CEO's and the already-wealthy remain that way.
More of the same from the party that wants to take away food for children, healthcare for children, food and medical benefits and education for the needy in the United States.
More of the same.
Isn't it time to shut the right wing down for good? Vote against the past and look toward the future.
Palin won't be at the Senate-House dinner in July. The dinner is sponsored by the Republicans, and I've read it is the biggest GOP fundraiser of the year. It is a big deal. Gingrich will be speaking instead. Sounds petty, gossipy, and shallow. Delving deeper, however, certain things come to mind.
Remembering the 1990's and the "Republican Revolution" headed by Gingrich; his "Contract with America" and the gutting of social programs, again, the gutting of education, again, and the democrats in Arkansas, (Arkansas continues to be a reference point for me, as I spent very formative years there, and the politicians were making stupid remarks like, "these (black) women having 4 or 5 kids and sponging off of everyone is gonna stop!" As if cutting education, jobs, food for children is somehow going to force all poor and needy into the middle class, not to mention the obvious and accepted scapegoating of one gender of an entire race of people by politicians. How delightfully New Southish) jumping on the Republican bandwagon (huh?) further strengthening the foundation that had first been laid during the Reagan years for the financial, education, healthcare and social crises we are facing now.
The big boys on the right are sick of fucking around with Obama and his supporters, as well as Democrats in Congress and state Governors, both Democrat and moderate Republican. Furthermore, they are not going to allow Palin to head the party, because she so abysmal when she is called to task in public. Remember the interviews during the campaign. They know as well as most others that she is way out of her league.
But here is the real issue: Gingrich, Limbaugh,Hannity, John Boehner,Eric Cantor, etc. are becoming more virulent because they see their style of democracy, Krony Kapitalism, slipping away.
They will form a coalition that is going to shove weak individuals like Palin (it does not help her situation that she is a woman and not a part of the old 80's and '90 Republican nightmare that helped to bring us the current economic situation) out of the way, and they are going to run a vicious mid-term election campaign to unseat Democrats and pave a way to the White House in 2012. It will further display the hypocrisy of the "Party of Family Values." There will be a direct correlation between Obama's approval numbers and the Republican success.
I am not surprised Newt Gingrich is becoming a force again in Republican politics; however, if Americans allow him to be involved to any extreme, Americans will again have to take adose of penicillin to cure the infection. He made a statement in the 90's after he resigned from his position as Speaker of the House as well as his Representative seat, saying something to the effect of, "I didn't realize how out of touch I was with the people." He is still out of touch.
A bit of information regarding Newt Gingrich: He is involved with the American Enterprise Institute (AIE) as a senior fellow.
Sounds great, and as American as apple pie. Execept the Republicans do not support political accountability and open debate, nor do they support individual liberty or democratic capitalism. Some of the people involved with the American Enterprise Institute:
Paul Wolfowitz-Major architect of the Iraq war, fired from the World Bank for fixing a promotion for his girlfriend, former Ambassador to Indonesia, supporting that regime that resulted in the deaths, political persecutions, and massive human rights abuses under Suharto, the Indonesian leader.
John Yoo-I blogged about Yoo recently,some of the finer points of the man-he disagrees with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which safeguards against unreasonable search and seizure, he believes in spying on U.S. citizens without warrants and at will, there is evidence of his involvement in war crimes, and he is to be indicted by a Spanish court for crimes against humanity.
Antonin Scalia-Right wing Supreme Court justice, enjoys keeping the media out of his speaking events, targets gays.
Dick Cheney, for Christ's sake. Do I really need a commentary on this individual?
These are the people that Newt Gingrich rubs shoulders with. With the exception of Yoo, rich white men that have open disdain for the poor and the middle class, and do not want to educate the aforementioned classes.
If Palin does succeed in obtaining high federal ofice, she will be run by these people and be little more than a figurehead but I cannot imagine, with the egos in play, they would allow her to be in the spotlight.
We must move the United States away from the right-wing christian party; the Republicans and moderate Democrats, and start thinking as a nation of people rather than individual profit machines.
Onward.
By the way, I use Wikipedia as a reference throughout this article, thanks Wiki! Although I never use Wiki or any encyclopedia as a reference for papers, I do believe that encyclopedias both online and in print are an extremely valuable resource and a great place to start research...peace searchers Image credit-UPDATE: I took the image down because it didn't fit the post correctly. If you would like, click on the link.
I posted on this a few days ago. I had read the quote before but sometimes ya gotta read it again! Here is the Chief of Police, Russell Mills, from Homer Louisiana. (Kinda reminds of the fat worthless fuck, Ken Johnson, C.O.P., Fairveiw, OR.)
""If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names," said Mills, who is white. "I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested." [Los Angeles Times] "People here are afraid of the police," said Terry Willis, vice president of the Homer branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. "They harass black people, they stop people for no reason and rough them up without charging them with anything."That is how it should be, responded Homer Police Chief Russell Mills, who noted the high rates of gun and drug arrests in the neighborhood.
I pulled this from flexyourrights.org Here is a snippett of subsequent commentary:
"Arrested for what? Being black? A professional police department should not be a source of intimidation for citizens who've done nothing wrong. It's just an appallingly racist and inappropriate remark coming from the chief of police in a town plagued by racial tension. Chief Mills's mentality pretty much tells you everything you need to know about how things got this bad. Skeptics in the debate over racial profiling will often begin by telling you that police never use racial profiling, then conclude by implying that black people are all criminals who must be stopped and searched at every opportunity. It's an absurd contradiction. As long as I can still find police chiefs publicly boasting of racial bias in the newspaper, I fail to understand how anyone could claim racial profiling isn’t a serious problem."
Very well said. I live in an extremely liberal city, but the institutional racism against people of color is very evident. There has not been an African American on the city council for over a decade. Not for lack of qualified individuals. Well peace, Searchers, I'm done for the day.
Big story out of North Carolina: A fuckmook walked into a nursing home and started shooting people. A cop entered the shooting zone and shot the dickshine that was killing defenseless old people in their beds and wheelchairs. Good. Fortunately, the fucktard lived and will be able to stand trial, at least at the time of this posting. What the hell is wrong with these people? I cannot imagine it was for retaliation for anthing legitimate. Hear that Flanagin? There's a difference between legit and illegit. I am legit. So, cops do serve a purpose in our nation, thanks again, Paul.
UPDATE: Sorry, had the incident listed as occuring tennessee, not north carolina, as shown now.
I caught this last night on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show. Seems a Spanish Court is pursuing indictments for war crimes against: 1. Alberto Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States
2. John Yoo, from the Justice Department
3.Jay Bibey, from the Justice Department, John Yoo's boss, worked for Gonzales, now a Federal Judge, (what the fuck?)
4.Doug Fife, Undersecretary of defense,
5..David Addington, Dick (cock) Cheney's chief of staff, and spawn of satan, and
6.William Hanes, General Counsel at the Pentagon.
These six individuals may have an indictment handed down in Spain for their arrest. According to the New York Times, it would mean little, unless they leave the United States.
Then it would be a situation that would go down in the history books. I would love to see some of these arrogant right-wing "christian" torturers under the gun, on trial and thrown into prison for years. Their receipt of a fair trial is more than they afforded their victims of torture. Please do not forget, Searchers, the Bush administration and the pigs that enabled Bush were on the track of pulling ANYONE off the streets of America that George Bush or Cock Cheney or their minions for any suspected "terrorism." Read the memo. Suspend Habeus Corpus, my ass.
Most white people would say, "So What? I don't look Arab, I haven't done anything wrong." That is putting an innate, (and inane) confidence in our elected officials and their appointees. Big mistake! Especially when they are right wing and got their marching orders from Bush a self styled "very religious" man.
I know his type of "religion," it was the same kind used in the Inquisition, and the same kind used by the fuckstick flanagin's when they commit high crimes and misdemeanors. Kinda like having a bible in one hand and someones testicles in a jar on their office desk. (I'm glad that motherfucker died in prison. Very fitting. Next, Flanagins.) Then go to Sunday School, after fucking your mistress in Little Rock, while your kids and wife are at home. Sound familiar, Arkansas? What a gem! ( Furthermore, in the south if you are labeled as a "moderate democrat" you are little more than a slightly left Republican.)
I will say it again: Give me a good Pagan or left-wing christian any day to reason with cause the American Right Wing Church is full of idiocy, hate, intolerance and contempt.
So Good luck, Spain, I hope it comes to pass and Gonzales and his ilk, along with Bush and Cheney spend the rest of their lives in prison. Probably not going to happen, but I support it.
Just to be clear: I also support putting Bush and Cheney's backs against a wall to face a firing squad.
I am not a squeamish American that can support hanging a national leader after a mock trial, a kangaroo court, (you know what that's like don't you Arkansas! What a gem that Arkansas is!) and not be able to stomach one of the presidents of the United States going to his execution. If I support the execution of any President and Vice President, it would be Bush Cheney, number 1. Number 2? Reagan/Bush. Remember, I supported these fuckwits and I voted for the worthless piece of shit George Bush. Then I became enlightened.
One good note I heard regarding this judge from Spain: He got the monster Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, a puppet of the U.S., arrested in London when he went on a trip to the United Kingdom. Godspeed, I truly hope we can lock up these motherfuckers, Bush and Cheney included, and throw away the key. After some rousing rounds of water boarding. Call me when you have the "christian" John Ashcroft on the table, I'd be happy to torture that son of a bitch.
You know what it's comprised of? Lower the tax rate by 10 percent for the wealthiest Americans. What the fuck? What is it about these dipshit republicans and some conservadems that they cannot comprehend the fact that TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS DOES NOT WORK. The greed that encompasses these motherfuckers is unreal. The current tax rate is at 35% and these totally worthless fuckwits want to lower it another 10 percent.
Listen to me closely conservatives: You cannot run a government without money you dumb ass morons. They do not care about health care, and they sure as fuck do not want the peasantry educated. Well, they can hop on my stick and ride like a motherfucker.
Peace
Call these pieces of crap and let them know: John Boehner (R) Ohio 202.225.6205 Eric Cantor (R) Virginia 202.225.2815
And for good measure, call Blanch Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both of Arkansas, and tell them to quit fucking around and support the President. Blanche Lincoln (D) 202.224.4843 Mark Pryor (D) 202.224.2353
His name is Glen Beck and he is a lunatic. He joins the family of whack jobs that include Bill O'Reilly, sexual harasser and buffoon, and the racist pile of crap Sean Hannity. Fox just keeps getting better and better...Peace, boycott FOX NEWS.
I had to add this pic of Fox News' John Gibson. I'm not sure if he's still with Fox, but he sucks. Remember, I watched Fox for years until I had an epiphany :)
Big story over the weekend out of central California, a 26 year old man shot up Oakland, killing 3 police officers outright, and leaving one officer brain dead. As an individual that lived with violence in my home growing up, I detest violence. However, one may have to resort to violence to get one's point across. Having said that I do not agree with what this young man did. The police do have a place in our society.
However, before we jump the gun and relegate these cops to "hero" status, let us keep things in perspective. Here are some headlines from around the country regarding police actions:
From the Chicago Tribune: Race may be factor in police shooting of unarmed elderly man Seems in Homer Louisiana, an elderly Black man was hosting a cookout with his family, when the police showed up. According to the story, in a matter of moments Mr. Bernard Monroe, a throat cancer survivor, was shot dead through his screen door of the front of his house while his family looked on. It gets better. According to the Tribune, after these cops shot to death an unarmed elderly man that could not talk, they found one of Bernard Monroe's pistols and placed it next to the dead man while the family looked on and attempted to assert that Bernard Monroe, family cookout hoster, had been holding it when they murdered him. The fucking police were so ballsy as to plant a gun on the dead man while the family looked on. Mr. Bernard survived cancer, but he could not survive the Homer, LA police. Now the FBI and the State Police are all over the case. If these cops did in fact murder this man, the only appropriate punishment should be swift. Strap em in and let them ride 'Ole Sparky, or shoot em and let them die slowly. Fuck em. This is the new South? Please.
Michigan Teen Dies After Tasered by Cops From Fox News.com. While I cannot stand Fox, I pulled this off of the Google News site: So it seems in Bay City, Michigan police responded to a call about a fight last Sunday morning. Yes this happened this past weekend. So, the police show up and "two males" are fighting. According to the article the police said "one of them attempted to fight the officers." So the cops pull out their "non lethal" weapons and tase an adolescent kid. The kid is now dead at 15 years old. And the cop is on "administrative leave." I have a 14 year old son. Let there be no mistake about what I would do to an individual that harmed or killed my child. Are you listening? It makes no difference to me what kind of job the individual did for a living before they killed my child. Whether doctor, lawyer, cop, judge, pot dealer, (are you listening pocahontas pot dealer?) it would not matter. Anyone that harms, threatens to harm or carries out threats to harm any of my children is fair game.
Remember, we are keeping the Oakland police shooting in perspective.
From the Willamette Week in Portland, Oregon: Why Did James Chasse Jr. Die? So it seems the police in Portland don't have a clue as to how to deal with people suffering from mental illness. Quite a disturbing idea, considering the statistical amount of people with mental illness in the United States. So James Chasse, Jr., had a confrontation with the police in the Pearl District. For those of you that do not know Portland, the Pearl is a swanky area of town, with costly apartments, houses, restaurants and boutiques. Not exactly the area Portland Police and politicians want a schizophrenic man hanging out. So, Mr. Chasse had a confrontation with police. they evidently didn't like his attitude, because they stomped the living shit out of him, literally, stuffed him in the back of a police car and left him to die, and die he did.
SIDEBAR: Cops should not be allowed to even fill out an application for employment as a cop before proving they have at least a bachelor's degree in Psychology, and carried at least a 3.0 in their Psych. classes. OK, let us proceed.
Florida Man Dies After Police Allegedly Shoot Him Repeatedly With Taser Gun So a 45 year old man shows up at a friend's house, acting rowdy, and the friend calls the cops. The cops show up and now Kenneth Oliver is dead after being repeatedly electrocuted by the police. Do you see a pattern emerging?
So, Sean Bell was about to get married to his sweetheart. He had been at a bachelor party at a strip club, (let's not get judgemental, dumbass self-righteous right wingers that are banging their choir directors in church), when the problems started with the police. Long story short, the cops claimed one of them had a gun, when that didn't pan out they said one of the party-goers tried to hit them with their car, so the police saw fit to fire 50 ROUNDS, 50 motherfucking bullets at this car killing the unarmed about to be married Sean Bell. Kinda reminds one of Amadou Diallo. Begs the question: What the fuck is wrong with the cops in the United States?
Man says NYPD officers sodomized him with antenna Gotta love NYC's finest! So a Brooklyn man, Michael Mineo, was smoking a doob near the subway when he was jumped by five cops, held down, tasered and sodomized by the police with a radio antenna. The police say it didn't happen, of course. However, as the next headline will reveal, this is a pattern with the New York City Police. Michael Mineo was hospitalized with rectal tears and intense pain. I have read an update: Evidently, DNA was found on the radio antenna, and indictments have been handed down.
"The arresting officers beat Louima with their fists, nightsticks, and hand-held police radios on the ride to the station.[2] On arriving at the station house, he was strip-searched and put in a holding cell. The beating continued later, culminating with Louima being raped in a bathroom at the 70th Precinct station house in Brooklyn. Officer Justin Volpe kicked Louima in the testicles, then, while Louima's hands were cuffed behind his back, he first grabbed onto and squeezed his testicles and then sodomized him with a broomstick, causing severe internal damage to his colon and bladder that required several operations to repair. Volpe then walked through the precinct holding the bloody, excrement-stained instrument in his hand, indicating that he had 'broke a man down.'"
Credit to Wikipedia This case was so brutal that Amnesty International uses it as a case study in police torture and brutality.
Fuck. What a mess. There is another person dead, a man with a family, and cops that keep on getting leniency. What the fuck are transit cops doing with firearms any damn way? We have transit police here, and I'll be damned if I allow them to carry guns. Hell the worthless Portland Police Bureau (not to mention the sorry as multnomah county sherrif) cannot even do their jobs properly without help, this is why they have emplyed PPI, a private security firm. Huh? Have we not learned anything regarding privatization? What the fuck.
Well, Searchers, I could spend the rest of the day going over people who have been brutalized, raped, tortured, falsely accused, falsely imprisoned and more by the police, I simply do not have enough time. So, while I feel bad for the families of these officers killed in Oakland, especially if these officers had children, we have to keep things in perspective. The majority of white people in this country don't even remember Abner Louima, don't know who Oscar Grant was, and really couldn't care. I challenge you to prove me wrong. As mentioned before, I feel for the families of these cops that were killed. However, the chance of getting shot at or shot down as a cop is part of the job description. I feel infinite sympathy for someone working a retail job that gets killed during work while being robbed or something. Totally different scenario. While I do not advocate violence, if you put on a police uniform you are inviting trouble. Anyone that thinks otherwise is either a damn fool, or they are completely blinded by their right-wing christian stupidity, I mean beliefs.
The police have become a para-military force. Check out the reports from protesters from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis last summer. Hell, in Portland, some of the cops don't have their names on their uniforms any longer. It is time for the people to reign these cops in, otherwise we will regret it. There is a reason the framers of the Constitution made sure the citizens of the United States should have firearms: Not to keep "bad guys" out, just to make sure the government knows who is in charge. And the deterrent against the bad guys like the flanagins is pretty beneficial, too. (So if y'all want to show up, I'd be glad to help you out farting through a hole in your stomach.)
UPDATE: In Oakland, not everyone is shocked at the killings of the police, some see it as payback for Oscar Grant. Remember what Jesus said, Right-Wingers: You reap what you sow.
"Legalized medical marijuana is about to make its debut in Michigan, which becomes the 13th state and the first between the Rockies and the East Coast to embrace the controversial pain treatment. In a vote last November that defied the culture war/reefer madness connotation to the illegal drug, 63 percent of the state's voters—and a majority in every county—said yes to medical marijuana. 'This shows that, bottom line, medical use of marijuana is not very controversial with the public," said Wendy Chapkis, co-author of "Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine."'Politicians are afraid to look soft on drugs, but the public understands that cannabis is not a problem for medical use,' Chapkis said."
Anyone who has read Searches knows that I am in favor of marijuana used for medicinal reasons. It is quite effective in pain relief, (Momma are you listening?) and it is an effective bronchodilator as well. Of course I have been a MMJ card holder with the state of Oregon. I had a very nice set up and grew some very good meds. I am for the complete legalization of marijuana, period.
During this economic crisis and the subsequent years after this crisis has passed it would behoove the United States to get its shit together and get its head out of the sand regarding marijuana. The notion that marijuana and not alcohol is the "gateway" drug is preposterous.
That is a myth forced upon children and believed by gullible adults perpetuated by police, politicians, and the alcohol industry.
Alcohol is the real drug problem in America, and the first hard drug children are introduced to. It was for me. My parents had an extremely well stocked liquor and wine cabinet, in fact they had three.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, 75,000 people will die from excessive alcohol use. That is not people that die from car accidents related to alcohol. Just people that drink themselves to death. A guy I worked with a couple of years ago lost his father to alcohol, and his dad was only 54 or 55 when he slipped into a coma and never came out. Too much alcohol. The article does say that marijuana is the most used illicit drug, but alcohol is not an illicit drug. It is my belief that children are first introduced to mind altering substances by their parents. Through alcohol.
So, it is time for the USA to get its shit together and legalize marijuana nationally. Put farmers back to work, cultivate both marijuana as well as hemp. The revenue saved by diverting police from marijuana to real crime would save over $10 billion a year.The tax revenue would reach into the billions as well. It is money the nation needs. It would put hundreds of thousands of people to work if we could open retail stores and cafes where one could enjoy toking on some bud...it sounds good, doesn't it? Don't lie! You know u loves some banging herbage!
We acquired some the other day, it was unbelievable, and instead of red hair, it was bright purple. Good stuff. Okay, next article:
From the New York Times:
Nazi Guard Deported to Austria
"An 83-year-old man who admitted that as a Nazi concentration camp guard he took part in a two-day killing spree in which 42,000 people were killed was deported to Austria Thursday from his home in Wisconsin, immigration officials said. The former guard, Josias Kumpf, admitted that he participated in a murderous November 1943 Nazi operation that went by the code name “Aktion Erntefest” — Operation Harvest Festival — in which roughly 42,000 Jewish men, women and children were murdered at three Nazi camps in eastern Poland in two days. Mr. Kumpf acknowledged his role was as a guard and an assassin at the Trawniki Labor Camp, where 8,000 men, women and children were shot dead in a single day, Nov. 3, 1943, Justice Department officials said. He was removed earlier this week from his home in Racine, Wis., by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents."
There are no statute of limitations on some crime. Are you listening Flanagin? Okay. Genocide in all its forms is evil. I am reading Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. An Indian History of the American West. It is an amazing book that outlines history from the vanquished people's point of view. Far different than what is taught in American schools. The US government is guilty of genocide. The treatment of the Native Peoples both past and present, is abysmal.
FACT:
The United States government has made it illegal for Natives to practice their religion, speak their languages, raise their families how they see fit.
FACT:
The government has packed the Natives into reservations where some live in tar paper shacks even today. TODAY.
FACT:
The United States Government has performed hysterectomies on Native Women against their will and against their knowledge, some recently.
FACT: The United States Government systematically destroyed the Native's food supply, to create starvation amongst the tribes.
FACT: Turns out Bison is a hell of a lot healthier than beef. Turns out the Natives aren't as dumb as the settlers.
FACT: There wasn't such a thing as "fry bread" until the government herded the Natives by force onto reservations, killed off the food supply, and then would not allow any foodstuffs to the Natives except for lard and flour. There wasn't such a thing as the "pudgy indian" pre-contact. There might have been overweight natives, but it wasn't because of lard and flour.
Genocide is alive and well in the 21st century from Darfur to the Yakima Indian Reservation.
Peace, Searchers, stay informed stay on top, we need systemci change in the United States.
I'm a man that is just begining to feel grounded and in place...I used to support the right wing in the United States even when it went against my interests, in the interest of American Right Wing Christianity...I have awakened...stay posted...
