I agree with you: we have such an either/or mentality; the Universe is inclusive. There is love enough for everybody.

Did Sharpton actually say we should have a national day of mourning? It's amazing how a person can go from being an object of ridicule in life to being revered in death. Although it appears that MJ is revered by his fans, but is still an object of ridicule in the media. I hope he's found peace. As we all do, he lived the live he chose.

I watch little TV and rely on my radio and emails from friends (like you) to keep up with what's going on. I had no idea Cynthia McKinney had been jailed in Israel.

Did we (black folk) really believe that President Obama was going to become our new black leader? Really?

Just a note to let you know that video is available thanks to Ismahil, videographer with Ricenpeas.com and Kathy Sheetz, one of my new Free Gaza sisters. You can see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65UW1E_ebQM.

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http://www.facebook.com/CynthiaMcKinney

Michael Jackson and the toxicity of American culture
By Dr Pamela D. Reed
8:21 AM on 07/07/2009

“The Michael Jackson cacophony is fascinating in that it is not about Jackson at all. I hope he has the good sense to know it and the good fortune to snatch his life out of the jaws of a carnivorous success. He will not swiftly be forgiven for having turned so many tables, for he damn sure grabbed the brass ring, and the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo has nothing on Michael.

All that noise is about America, as the dishonest custodian of black life and wealth; the blacks, especially males, in America; and the burning, buried American guilt; and sex and sexual roles and sexual panic; money, success and despair – to all of which may now be added the bitter need to find a head on which to place the crown of Miss America.
Freaks are called freaks and are treated as they are treated-in the main, abominably -because they are human beings who cause to echo, deep within us, our most profound terrors and desires.”–James Baldwin (1985)

As we memorialize Michael Joseph Jackson today, clearly Baldwin’s prescient hopes for Joe and Katherine’s “golden child” were not realized.

It has been nearly two weeks now, and it is still hard to believe that Michael Jackson is no longer among the living. Yes, as so many have written – including this writer – his music will live forever, but Michael is gone.
And while thousands of journalists around the world are covering MJ’s life and death, this story of rare magnitude, few will even begin to scratch the surface of the larger breaking news: Michael Jackson was America’s metaphorical “canary in the coal mine.”

You’ve probably heard how miners, before the advent of more sophisticated technology, would place a canary in a
potentially dangerous coal mine to test for toxic gases. If the bird lived, they knew that they need not worry. But if the canary died, they knew that it was not safe to enter the mine. Thus, before proceeding, they had to take steps to rectify the problem.

Well, Michael – America’s grossly misunderstood canary – died. And Americans need to see his life and death for what it is: a warning about the toxicity of American culture.

Then, in this land, we must begin to honestly confront the lingering, festering problem of white supremacy, which is fueled by racial hatred and fear. To do nothing is to risk further damage.

James Baldwin, with knifelike precision, in the above passage – taken from his 1985 essay “Here Be Dragons,” in The Price of the Ticket, an updated version of his 1965 Playboy article “Freaks and the Ideal of American Manhood” – cut straight to the chase.

Many before me have posited that Jackson was the embodiment of internalized Black self-hatred, to the extreme. What sets his case apart, I submit, is that MJ had the financial wherewithal to physically change his Blackness. In other words, Jackson unwittingly externalized Black self-hatred, on steroids. That is, he took an extreme approach to “passing”, the practice of very light-skinned Blacks trying to pass for White in Jim Crow America.
Without question, his is the textbook case of Black self-loathing. What MJ failed to realize is that Blackness goes to the core.

But Jackson’s saga doesn’t just speak to Michael’s psychic dysfunction. There is also the question of what his parents and this sick, twisted, materialistic, sensationalistic Western culture did to him.

Determined to escape the poverty of urban Gary, Indiana, Joe Jackson, himself an amateur musician, made the fateful decision to shape his sons into a boy band. At the tender age of five, Jackson and his older brothers were forced to take center stage in the very adult, all-consuming world of entertainment, in the process amassing great wealth, and stealing the hearts of fans around the country, and later the world.

And in the end, Michael left an estate that I believe will one day top the $1 trillion mark, even after all his debts are settled. But at what cost?

As Michael’s star continued to rise, and as his father reportedly teased him mercilessly about his looks, particularly his nose, he began the downward spiral of self-mutilation. It started with altering his nose, progressing to complete skin de-pigmentation, and God only knows what else.

Perhaps most tragic, if media reports are true, is Michael’s choice to have children by non-conventional means, opting not to sire any progeny, and thus not planting the seeds of future musical genius. This is what the American experience did to our beloved Michael Jackson. Just think about that for a moment: to hate one’s image so much that one cannot even bear to continue one’s own bloodline.

Mind you, it is not my intent to indict Jackson or his parents. For he suffered from an acute manifestation of the pathology known in Black psychology as post traumatic enslavement syndrome, as do the vast majority of African-descended peoples. Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary delineates this concept in her very important book Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing (2005).

Leary correctly asserts that we can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand with regard to the devastating and durable effects of enslavement on the psychic apparatus of African Americans and, I say, as well White Americans.
In a 2006 interview with In These Times, Leary states that “the root of this denial for the dominant culture is fear, and fear mutates into all kinds of things: psychological projection, distorted and sensationalized representations in the media…to justify the legal rights and treatment of people. That’s why it’s become so hard to unravel.”

And, who can deny that the MJ story is Exhibit A when it comes to demonstrating the existential damage that The Holocaust of African Enslavement, colonialism, and racism have done to the African psyche and to the world?

Here’s a prime example. Everyone frequently points out how some Blacks try to lighten their skin or straighten their hair, but far less attention is focused on the multi-billion dollar global industries that exist solely to provide the products and services needed to cater to the compulsion of many Whites to attempt to colorize – or blacken – themselves: tanning salons, lip enhancers, butt implants, sunless tanning products, etc.

So, in essence, on the one hand you have scores of Whites, both historically and contemporaneously, maintaining that Blacks are inferior and ugly, while at the same time going to great lengths to emulate their darker counterparts even at the risk of skin cancer from excessive tanning.

Then there was the activist Michael Jackson, God rest his soul, just hours before his demise, in the AEG rehearsal filmed at Staples Center – ironically, where his family, friends, and fans will gather today to mourn his passing – performing “They Don’t Care about Us,” even as his visage was paler than most of the White people who presumably represent the “they” of which he sang.

As David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun said recently on CNN’s State of the Union Michael Jackson “embodied the contradictions in our culture like no one else.” And Jackson was tortured, thanks in large part to the relentless pursuit of a vampire press. Sadly, his physical metamorphosis and eccentricities, along with numerous unproven allegations, and now his untimely death, only serve to make him a perennial, irresistible ratings bonanza for the world press.

In life, he was a prisoner of his own “carnivorous” success, in effect, caged like the canary because of his beautiful songs. In death, he continues to be the subject of scurrilous speculation, and for every one minute of media tribute, I would wager that there are two dedicated to lurid, unfounded rumors.

When all is said and done, Michael’s passing is nothing less than a tragedy of epic proportions. Those of us who have loved him have been shaken to the core, as evidenced by reports of 1.6 million people globally vying for the 8,750 free tickets to his memorial.

Unfortunately, Michael’s ticket was not free. He paid the ultimate price: his childhood. And his life. May his soul rest in peace.

My Brother,
Once again you hit the nail on the head. The comments of your enlightened and well read readers were educational and hopefully, thought-provoking. I did not know MJ personally, but loved his entertainment skills. His music will live forever, I hope. Too bad we live in such an insane society. Too bad we have not the courage to recognize the true cost of freedom is not wealth, position or power. The true cost of freedom is myths, legends, self-loathing and acceptance of one another. Plus, we must recognize our true enemy, who is so shrewd as to be considered a myth, a legend, a man-made construct. Until then we are all helpless to the manipulations, gyrations and machinations of this wicked and degenerate system.

At least it is over for MJ. He can rest now and wait on the future Paradise Earth. We remain to continue the fight the madness all around us. Speak truth to power my brother. Peace and love,
Wes Barnard

Reverend

Dr Pamela Reed's article cut like a laser into the many discussions we have had on this blog about the toxicity of racism in America. We have some bloggers who believe that we are in a post racial America and anyone who reminds us that toxic racism is alive and well are called haters. We are said to be stuck in the 1960's.
That article by Dr Reed gives a sobering analysis of the Michael Jackson tragedy and it encompasses the damage that the racist American system has damaged Black people from slavery to this present day.

I want to touch on the news coverage of Michael Jackson and the minimal coverage of private first class Justin Castillis by Michelle Malkin. Ms Malkin is a conservative from the Phillipines and is a frequent guest on O'Reilly, Hannity, and many other racists on Fox News. I would remind Ms Malkin that the Bush Administration would not allow the caskets of the dead soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan to be televised. Now, Ms Malkin is condemning the media for not covering the fallen soldier as much as they covered Michael Jackson.

Malkin and her racist anti Black conservatives are the ones who supported George Bush to go and fight a costly and illegal war that has resulted in over 4,000 dead soldiers like Castillis.

Michael Jackson was a world renown entertainer who holds a Guiness Book record for humanitarian giving. The world did not know the soldier but that is no reason not to inform the world about a celebrity[Michael Jackson] that is known all over the planet.

Michelle Malkin, like her fellow Republican conservatives, are unable to come up with any solutions to the many problems facing our nation. All they can do is criticize President Obama but they do not have any credible plan of their own.

My position on the Republican conservative losers is simple; why didn't they tell George Bush how to run the country instead of giving orders to President Obama. If Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, Eric Cantor, Sen Boehner, Sen Cornyn, Hannity, O'Reilly and the Neo Cons had given these ideas to George Bush, then Obama would not have such a deep hole to climb out. They are screaming about the fact that the unemployment rate is not where the Obama prediction said it would be by now; and Vice President Joe Biden reminded them that the Obama administration did not realize how deep a hole the Republicans dug for America.

The American people voted against Michelle Malkin's crowd in 2008. Republican conservatives need to clean up their own house with the number of Senators in adulterous affairs and the Palin debacle. Their real problem is that they do not want Barack Obama to turn the economy around, provide health care for Americans who do not have access, and to curb the dependence on foreign oil. They are terrified that our president will make America strong and respected in the world again.

john

Cynthia,

Thank you so much for having the courage to do the right thing. Any time U.S. policy supports starving people to accomplish political goals it is in essence the wrong policy. This strategy is being used in Gaza and Zimbabwe. It is wrong and the American populace must speak against it.

Wes,

It is truly sad that Michael's life had to end in the way it did. His humanity will be missed. As Pamela Reed in her article so eloquently states, Michael was truly made in America.

John,

Your point is well taken. Isn't it funny that Malkin supported George Bush not wanting cameras on the death soldiers coming from Iraq and Afghanistan but now wants the extensive coverage given to Michael Jackson's memorial to be given to a fallen soldier. This kind of wishy washy position is common when one is so partisan that the true is colored by the party to which one belongs. America is dying from within. God bless you all.

VooDoo Child; Give me that moment lead by First Lady Michelle Obama
7/10/2009 10:25:57 AM

When Air Force One arrives at the Kotoka International Airport Friday 10th July, it would be that designation’s third journey to Ghana with the most powerful man in the world. Yet, this third time is the charm as Air Force one would arrive with the Chosen One, President Barak Obama, a son of Africa and his wife Michelle, a descendant of African slaves.

People would line up the routes and go to hear him speak, Ghana $B!G (Js kings, queens and royalty will still deck out in their bling to welcome the US president and his wife. Expect another inspiring speech and if Ghana’s President Attah Mills plays his part well a people would be inspired and feel more united.

The moment to look out for however may not be in Accra

The moment to look out for however may not be in Accra, it would be in a slave castle in Cape Coast. That moment which could fall on First Lady Michelle Obama to create is the key to understanding the behavior of a race, that failed to be broken, it is the key to understanding why the great son of Africa Kwame Nkrumah would say, "We prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquility." It is the key to understanding the concept of the angry blackman, why a race with just 15 percent of the population in the US is the majority in US prisons in demography.

If President Barack Obama’s visit to the former Nazi concentration camp at
Buchenwald, Germany, last month was described as emotional by CNN, it would just be prudent to wait and see the effect of his visit to the slave dungeons in Cape Coast with his family.

A broken spirit, hunger, pain, slave. Yes, a slave

Anyone who has seen and heard about the dungeons and the reaction of Africans from the Diaspora as they tour these places and realize how their ancestors were treated would know. One should take a moment, imagine the chill of the dungeons, where human being were treated like cargo, shackled, degraded and sent marching into waiting ships.

You with a heart, imagine the situation as one enters those places, wondering why a human will do this to another human. Connect with that moment in captivity, pause and take in the moment; submission, helplessness, despair, confusion, inferior, hopelessness, betrayal, who am I, what am I, why am I being treated like an animal? A broken spirit, hunger, pain, slave. Yes a slave, property of another human.

Young lovers full of hope for the future violently separated along with a growing seed planted in a womb maybe. A spouse, sibling or friend looked with helpless horror as a close one, naked or half naked was forcibly taken away to satisfy the lower desires of a wicked human being, probably a sadist or sodomist. Then there was that gate of no return through which slaves were marched to be packed like goods; a journey into the unknown in the holds of ships. And thence began the attempt of writing on the very genetic code of a
people to accept second class citizenship in a world made for all. Yet they survived, and fought to achieve equality. And on the mother continent, Osagyefo Kwame Mkrumah planted a seed that germinated, resulting in this great meeting.

Centuries later, a descendant of one of those slaves

So, centuries later, a descendant of one of those slaves, married to a son of Africa sired to a descendant of the masters would have helped show a moment to the world to see. Hopefully, the world would be reminded about the damage that was caused a race and why it has generally lagged. Most importantly, and this is a long shot, a few African leaders would have been be jolted into reality.

If the ministers of Tourism, Information, the Central region, the CEO of Cape Coast Municipalities and Elmina; if the President and vice-President have the slightest idea of the significance and opportunity this visit provides, they would help bring about that moment.

Give that moment to Africans and the world, then we can begin by going back to a certain statement made by a certain ex president about the slow pace of Ghana’s President Attah-Mills.

Rev. Ajabu,
With all due respect, I would like to differ a little bit on how I view President Mugabe's regime. I was born and raised in Africa. I applaude the sacrifices Mugabe and Zimbabweans contributed to bringing down the apartheid regime in South Africa, for they were often subjected to South Africas brutality for hosting ANC party rebels from black South Africa. Having said that,after independence, Mugabe's regime,Matabeles, Mugabe's community carried out atrocities against Mashona tribe in the name of power struggle and control.It was a very sad situation.
I was born and raised in Africa, and though I was young, I remember vividly the suffering the Asian community went through when Idi Amin came to power. Though the Asians were Ugandan citizens, the then military regime confiscated Asian community businesses in order to distrbute them to "native" Ugandans. Mugabe as well, drove out the white farmers who were equally Zimbabwe citizens in order to give a way land. By so doing, that did not really solve the problems associated with poverty and unemployment in Zimbabwe. Yes, the land was taken away from blacks during colonialism, but that was another generation ago. Real help to ordinary Zimbabweans comes about due to creation of jobs and establishing small bussinesses. Zimbabwe, like all other developing countries should explore means of indutrialization but not subdivision of land for subsistence farming.
One party regimes, fake elections,political intolerance, changing constitution in order to hang on to power are detrimental to development in many african nations.

Renny, Indianapolis

Renny,

Welcome to the website. Let's take worst case and say all of what you say is true. I don't think that because whites stole Zimbabwean, or Ugandan land a generation ago, somehow validates the theft, but for the point I want to make, let's assume that that is true. Assuming your truth, with which I disagree, how does your position justify American policy of sanctions that kills innocent men, women, and children in Zimbabwe? Are you saying that because Zimbabwe took back the land stolen from them by whites that the United States policy is correct to starve innocent men, women and children in order to accomplish political gains? Please help me to understand why you, as a man born on the African continent, would support whites killing your brother in order to maintain land stolen from your brother? What are you thinking? Please help me to understand.

The U.K. House of Commons, like our House of Representatives, is set to debate our abduction by the Israelis. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get real debate in the U.S. Congress on all the real issues? Seems, as long as we accept palaver, we will get palaver. The House of Commons debate is set for tonight.

Here's the announcement from the U.K.:

House Of Commons To Debate Abduction Of Human Rights Workers Bound For Gaza
WorldNews.com,Mon 13 Jul 2009

(LONDON) - The House of Commons will tonight be debating the interception of a boat in international waters by the Israeli Navy and the abduction of six British civilians on board. The debate[1] will be led by Emily Thornberry, MP, and constituent MP for Alex Harrison, a human rights worker who was one of those abducted.

On June 30th 2009 a small ferry, carrying 21 unarmed civilians and a small amount of humanitarian aid, was forcibly boarded by armed Israeli commandos as it sailed towards the partially destroyed seaport of Gaza city, in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The boat, the Spirit of Humanity, was in international waters at the time it was taken. Through the night prior to the boarding, the boat had been sailing only by compass after its navigational systems had been jammed by Israeli war ships which had surrounded and trailed the boat. The Navy had also threatened to fire on those on board. Following the boarding, in which the Al Jazeera journalists on board had their cameras taken, and in which at least one passenger was assaulted, the boat, its cargo and the 21 were forcibly taken to Israel, where they were then charged with illegally entering the country. The British film maker on board, Ishmahil Blagrove, managed to retain footage of the night's events.[2]

The voyage was the latest attempt by the international Free Gaza movement[3] to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which results in the imprisonment of the 1.5 million population and conditions of desperate poverty and siege conditions for the civilian population.

"People in Gaza are being made to live in subhuman conditions. Children are dying, and governments are silent. It is important to continue sending boats to Gaza to challenge the criminal blockade enforced by the Israeli military," said Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza organiser and who was on board the Spirit.

Amongst the human rights workers on board was Nobel peace prize winner, Mairead Maguire, Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia and award winning British film maker Ishmahil Blagrove. Six of those on board, including the Captain, were British, and after almost a week in Israeli custody the six were deported to Britain.

British supporters of Free Gaza contrast the silence of the British Foreign Office over the abduction and false imprisonment of six of its citizens with their very public reaction to the arrest of British Embassy staff in Iran. The Free Gaza movement is most concerned, however, with what the abduction in international waters reveals about Israeli determination to enforce its illegal blockade, to prevent any attempt by human rights workers to travel to Gaza, and by the silence of international governments, including the British Government, to Israeli actions.

Free Gaza movement www.freegaza.org

[1] Debate, 'The interception of the boat The Spirit of Humanity', is due to take place at approximately 10 p.m. Monday 13th July 2009.

[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSFy-pkKtZU

[3] The Free Gaza Movement, a human rights group, sent two boats to Gaza in August 2008. These were the first international boats to land in the port in 41 years. Since August, four more voyages were successful, taking Parliamentarians, human rights workers, and other dignitaries to witness the effects of Israel's draconian policies on the civilians of Gaza. On December 30, their boat, the DIGNITY was rammed in international waters, on its way to deliver emergency medical supplies to the people of Gaza, while they were under the infamous attack by Israel. Contact them at www.freegaza.org. For photos, please check www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/

Rev.Ajabu,
Brother Ajabu, thanks for your feedback. I can see that you and I are going to have constructive discussion on this issue. Let me first start by saying that, Zimbabwe is a land of wonderful people, a land with immense beauty from Victoria Falls to the Ruins of Zimbabwe.A potential tourist destination. And also a land so ripe with economic potentials. But then, what really went so wrong to bring down this great nation to her current status? Definitely, not the US policies. I hate the fact that some african regimes use the suffering women and children as "human shields"when the outside world put pressure such as sanctions in order to bring about positive changes. If women and children are in dire need, I'm sure that NGOs and Red Cross will interfere.And that help will go directly to the people not the soldiers. Last year, when Zimbabwe regime was busy with the flawed elections, thousands of children were dying of cholera on their way fleeing to South Africa. That didn't have anything to do with US policy either. Instead Zimbabwe authorities were vehemently denying that the situation was taking place. Sometimes measures like sanctions are needed in order to avoid further catastrophe, for instance, Rwandan genocide story.
I have faith in the current Assistant Secretary of African Affairs, Johnny Carson and US ambassador to United Nation, Susan Rice because both of them are very articulate and have deep understanding on what's going on in Africa and what can be done to alliveate some situations.. And like you Rev Ajabu, they have passion for Africa and the african people. I particularly don't support any sanctions but I just wanted to point out that there are two sides of the story.
And to answer you on the issue of land ownership, I prefer not to use the words "stolen land," but rather go with "The Displacement Of People." It was a very unfortunate occurence, but African continent was not the only one affected. We see it in South America, Central America, Newzealand etc. So we might as well accept the current status and learn to live and work together in harmony. I trust that nothing like that will ever happen again.

Renny,

My brother, you surprise me. You make the following statement:

"I hate the fact that some african regimes use the suffering women and children as "human shields"when the outside world put pressure such as sanctions in order to bring about positive changes. If women and children are in dire need, I'm sure that NGOs and Red Cross will interfere.And that help will go directly to the people not the soldiers."

Zimbabwe is not using "suffering women and children as human shields." Innocent men, women and children are dying. Why would the people of Zimbabwe want a hand out from NGOs and the Red Cross when it is capable of feeding itself and the other thirteen countries of southern Africa. Traditionally, Zimbabwe has been the breadbasket of southern Africa. In 2002 it held elections as it did last year. Both of these elections were defined as "unfair" by the western world, who was not there even to monitor either election. The South African Development Community (SADC) who was there and the African Union (AU) were both there and monitored the elections. Both organizations determined the elections to be fair. White folks, who were not there determine the elections to be unfair. Black folks who were there determine the elections to be fair. Who should you believe, people who were there, or people who were not there? The answer is obvious. The people who were there are better situated to report than the people who were not there.

Zimbabwe, is willing to accept humanitarian aid and have agreed to let me personally monitor its distribution so it gets to the people who need it. I have shared this info with both Senator Evan Bayh and Congressman Andre Carson. I am still waiting on their response so this effort can go forward. Yet, aid is a short solution to Zimbabwe's problems. Zimbabwe can feed itself!! All the United States has to do is remove the sanctions then Zimbabwe will be able to acqire the forein exchange so it can put its agricultural infrastructure back in place.

The issue of land ownership, I quote:

I prefer not to use the words "stolen land," but rather go with "The Displacement Of People."

My brother, a rose by any other name is still a rose. Stolen land and displacement of people are one and the same result. If someone takes your watch off of your arm or tells you they displaced your arm from your watch the result is still the same. Your watch has been stolen. It was because Presiden Mugabe gave the land back to the people from which it was stolen that the western world imposed the sanctions. At Britain's Lancaster House in 1980 England and the United States agreed to pay the white settlers to get off of the land. Initially this was done. When Blair got elected this initiative was stoppped. The liberation struggle in Zimbabwe was about control of the land. Zimbabweans gave their lives in order to get the land back that was stolen. No matter how much time passes after a theft, that passed time never will justify the theft. No, the Zimbabweans should not accept the stealing of their land just because some time has passed since the theft. Just because white folks have stolen land in other parts of the world does not justify them being thieves. The people in South America, New Zealand, Central America, etc. were not strong enough to take back that which was stolen. The mighty people of Zimbabwe rose up, took it back, and are to be held in high esteem for doing so. The United States needs to get out of Zimbabwe's business. The U.S. needs to stop killing innocent men, women and children because it does not like the government that the people of Zimbabwe chose to run Zimbabwe. As an American citizen, I am appalled that the United States would starve innocent men, women, and children in order to achieve politcal gains. As a son of Africa, whose ancestors went through the Middle Passage and survive, who went through slavery and survived, who are still surviving the racism that won't let Black children in Philly swim in a so-called white pool today, who has become a citizen of these United States of America do to the efforts of Malcolm X, Martin King, Medgar Evers, Julia Carson, Bishop Benjamin, to name a few, and even through the struggles of little old me I will never accept, nor counsel our people to accept the theft of us or the land from which we were brought in chains just because some time has passed since the theft was carried out. And I am really surprised that you, a son of the Africa from which we were stolen, would promote the acceptance of the theft. I mean really surprised. Some of us through our historic ordeal were broken. Other of us got stronger because of the ordeal. My brother, do not let the so-called success of America allow you to turn your back on your people. God will not treat kindly a person who supports a people to lose their way. UP YOU MIGHTY RACE. ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU WILL!! God bless.

Viva Palestina USA calls for President Obama's Support in Breaking Gaza Seige

Cairo (July 14, 2009) - Today, one day after its expected arrival in Gaza from Cairo, Viva Palestina USA announced that it will depart for Gaza as soon as it receives the necessary clearances from the Egyptian government with whom it currently is in direct negotiation. Viva Palestina USA today contacted White House and Secretary of State offices and calls on President Barack Obama to speak to Egyptian authorities and ask that its convoy be allowed to proceed to Gaza. Viva Palestina USA yesterday provided additional information requested on the same day by the Egyptian government, such as serial numbers and expiration dates for the medical aid.

In addition to Egyptian requests for supplemental information, all U.S. participants were required to sign and pay for an affidavit acknowledging individual participant assumption of risk for travel to Gaza with the understanding that consular services will not be provided by the State Department during Viva Palestina USA's presence in the Gaza Strip. According to those knowledgeable about recent U.S. citizen travel to Gaza, the affidavit is an entirely new procedure never before required by the U.S. State Department for U.S. nationals traveling to Gaza. Viva Palestina USA has met this last-minute requirement.

Viva Palestina USA is ready to meet all requirements in order to get its humanitarian assistance to Gaza. However, Viva Palestina USA has bright lines that it cannot cross. One of those bright lines concerns the fate of some one half million dollars worth of vehicles that Viva Palestina USA purchased in Egypt and planned to deliver to hospitals and charitable organizations in Gaza. Those vehicles are now stranded at the Egyptian Freeport in Alexandria while negotiations take place.

Viva Palestina USA remains hopeful that all remaining issues will be resolved in the next few hours as negotiations continue.

The following message was sent to the White House and State Department today by Viva Palestina USA:

Dear Mr. President

Dear Madam Secretary

Viva Palestina USA, a humanitarian relief effort for Gaza, is now in Egypt and requests your immediate assistance. We were supposed to have arrived in Gaza on Monday, July 13, 2009, but our arrival into Gaza was delayed because our departure from Cairo, Egypt was delayed by at least two days. Last-minute bureaucratic questions and additional requirements caused the delay. The people of Gaza can't wait.

You have noted that Israel's siege of Gaza should be eased and medical supplies should be allowed in. We are implementing what you reportedly put into writing. The people of Gaza need your help and we have important assistance for them. Please contact the Egyptian authorities and ask them to let Viva Palestina USA humanitarian assistance proceed through the Rafah crossing. We need your help today so that we can help the people of Gaza rebuild their lives devastated by occupation and brutal invasion

Charles Barron

Cynthia McKinney

(on behalf of 200 Viva Palestina USA volunteers

and thousands of Viva Palestina USA donors)

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An AACC/WCC team of four people has just returned from a three–tier mission to Zimbabwe where they met and interacted with church leaders from different backgrounds for four days.
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The objectives of the team's visit were: To receive an update on the current situation in
Zimbabwe; to hear the expectations of the Church in Zimbabwe of the Global ecumenical
movement; and to be in solidarity with the Church in the difficult time of transition. During the visit, the team headed by Bishop Aboagye-Mensah, the AACC Vice President for West Africa Region and member of WCC Central Committee, received first-hand and eye-witness accounts of the deplorable social, economic and political situation which, has continued to afflict the people of Zimbabwe for several years. They reported on the inclusive government, which is the
result of the global political agreement signed on September 15, 2008 and ushered in a Coalition
Government which assumed office on February 11, 2009. The team appreciated the signs of hope
reported in the country, among them the inflation rate now down to 3.4% from 231 million per cent - the world's highest recorded rate during peace time. Essential commodities are back on the
shelves even though people have no money for purchase thereof, because the Zimbabwe dollar has been suspended. The country is now using the American dollar, the South African Rand, Botswana Pula and/or the Mozambican Meticals.

Despite the positive signs, unemployment remains high at between 80-90%, most schools remain closed, hospitals lack drugs and life-saving supplies, and generally people have become more impoverished. In his description of the situation, Rev. Sikhalu Cele of UCCSA Zimbabwe observed that “God moved from Jerusalem and is now resident in Zimbabwe”. This, according to him, is the only reason for the survival of the people of Zimbabwe.

The AACC/WCC team lauded the move by the inclusive government to set up a Healing and
Reconciliation Committee of which the government has asked the Church to take advantage of, in order to speed up healing and reconciliation in the country. According to Mrs Mbari Kioni, the
AACC Director for Peace, Healing and Reconciliation and a member of the team, the formation of the Committee is timely because the country is still hurting from a myriad of historical injustices such as the infamous Matandebele land massacre, operation Murabatsvina and other successive electoral related violence. The AACC/WCC unequivocal message to the church and the people of Zimbabwe was one of hope in the saving power of Jesus Christ. In his sharing, Bishop Aboagye-Mensah called on all Christians to hope in Jesus Christ saying, “we cannot afford to lose hope because God loves all His people”(2 Cor 6:7). He further reassured the Church in Zimbabwe of accompaniment by the African and the global ecumenical family.
It is notable that the AACC/WCC went to Zimbabwe on invitation of the Church in Zimbabwe and that the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, a key partner of the AACC and WCC, is not only
undergoing restructuring but also has a new leadership. Bishop N. Shaba is the new President while a new General Secretary will be in office as of July 1, 2008. The local church leadership was very supportive of the AACC/WCC team's visit.

Other members of the mission team comprised Rev. Mrs. Felicidade Chirinda theAACC Vice-President for Southern Africa and Mr.Doim Bangjoo, the Human Rights Coordinator for Asia-Pacific of WSCF South Korea. The four day mission from May 18-22, 2009 took the team to various parts of Harare and Bulawayo, 500km to the South-West of Harare

Renny,

As you can see from the account of the All African Conference of Churches the situation in Zimbabwe has changed tremendously. This is an excellent report and more justification for the United States to remove its inhumane policy of sanctions against Zimbabwe. Killing innocent men, women and children is never the right policy for obtaining politcal goals. Surely, you would agree. Therefore, I ask again the 1000's of readers of this website to call your congress people and Senators to supported House Resolution 238 in its redacted from below. God bless.

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 238

Recognizing the threat to international security and basic human dignity posed by the catastrophic decline of economic, humanitarian, and human rights conditions in the Republic of Zimbabwe.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 12, 2009

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. INGLIS, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Mr. WOLF) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the threat to international security and basic human dignity posed by the catastrophic decline of economic, humanitarian, and human rights conditions in the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Whereas a number of circumstances have contributed directly to the collapse of the Republic of Zimbabwe's economy, public health care, and education systems, and other basic social services;

Whereas water treatment and delivery have dramatically declined, and many other basic social services, such as trash collection, have effectively ceased in urban areas, posing significant health risks due to poor sanitation;

Whereas, with the unemployment rate at 94 percent and with food and fuel in short supply, Zimbabweans now contend with widespread malnutrition rates and outbreaks of infectious diseases;

Whereas according to the World Food Program, almost three quarters of the population, nearly 7,000,000 people, will require emergency food aid in the coming months;

Whereas, in a country that was once heralded as the breadbasket of Africa, a higher percentage of its citizens now rely on food aid than in any other country in the world;

Whereas, with limited access to food, health care, clean water and basic sanitation, life expectancy in Zimbabwe has fallen from 62 years in 1990 to just 34 years today;

Whereas as a result of the political and economic crisis, and subsequent flight of trained health professionals, public hospitals and clinics throughout the country have been forced to close their doors, leaving most Zimbabweans with little to no access to health care;

Whereas Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world;

Whereas HIV clinics in Zimbabwe increasingly have had limited-to-no access to test kits, blood sample kits, and drugs to treat opportunistic infections, and high malnutrition rates have rendered many suffering from AIDS unable to take the necessary antiretroviral medications;

Whereas, as a direct result of the collapse of Zimbabwe's health and sanitation services, the country is in the middle of a nationwide cholera epidemic, with over 89,000 cases reported and over 4,000 dead;

Whereas the spreading of this disease was preventable and has since become a regional problem, with cases reported in all of Zimbabwe's neighboring countries; and

Whereas, in addition to cholera, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, Zimbabwe's crumbling health infrastructure is now also challenged by the emergence of several hundred human cases of anthrax, which were reportedly contracted as a result of starving Zimbabweans eating carrion, or dead and putrefying animals: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the threat to international security and basic human dignity posed by the catastrophic decline of economic, humanitarian, and human rights conditions in the Republic of Zimbabwe;

(2) deplores the current crisis and untold suffering which is upon the people of Zimbabwe;

(3) urges all responsible nations to join the United States in providing urgently needed humanitarian relief to the Zimbabwean people, as necessary and appropriate, with a particular emphasis on food, clean water, and basic sanitation, in an effort to ameliorate the ongoing humanitarian emergency and confront the cholera epidemic which now poses a transnational threat;

(4)requests that nongovernmental organizations engaged in humanitarian relief activities be given sufficient space to operate; and

(5)request that all political prisoners be released immediately and all spurious charges unjustly leveled against them be dropped.

(6) and demands that the sanctions upon Zimbabwe be immediately lifted so this tragic situation can be resolved as soon as possible.

Are All Men Really "Created Equal"?

Commentary by Ezrah Aharone

July 2nd, 2009 marked 45 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act to initiate racial equality. This anniversary coincides with the recent Senate Resolution "Apologizing for the Enslavement and Racial Segregation of African-Americans," which expressed America's "recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal." While these gestures appear impressive as political theory, in actuality, "Created Equal" on paper differs from "Created Equal" in practice.

Since Lincoln's paperwork freed us in 1865 and Johnson's paperwork dubbed us equal in 1964, it's accurate to conclude that freedom and equality are not politically identical. And although "paper equality" traces to the Declaration of Independence in 1776, disparities cited in the Urban League's State of Black America 2009, verify that racial equality is still a dream yet deferred. But if all people really are "Created Equal" why then has equality been a drip, drip, drip process for us?

Foremost, there's probably no other phrase in world history that's been more misconstrued than these 13 words of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Beware and be aware whenever you hear this expression being quoted in isolation because, "Created Equal" does not standalone as a singular ideal unto itself. It rather is a supportive detail of a much larger political argument of Euro-Americans, intended to justify their rights and entitlements to "Sovereign Equality" with world governments and nations. Their aim, as the document continues, was to "Dissolve political bands" with their British kinfolk, and "Assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them."

In no sense whatsoever does the document profess equality or civil rights sentiments as historically espoused by African Americans. But before anyone labels me divisive, I'm simply recounting the document's historical circumstances and factual context, which inarguably petitions independence, not integration.

Race ultimately entered the document's equation because, within America's contrived expanse of nation-building, slavery and segregation were eco-political industries that were "too big to fail" . . . meaning that supplementary investments (more drips of equality) became necessary during the 1960's to further solidify our labor and loyalty. So, after centuries of policies that "prohibited civil rights," the government flipped-the-script and craftily reinvented the interpretation of "Created Equal," by concocting it into a modern-day integrationist slogan that seemingly "advocates civil rights."

Johnson's legislation brought tears of African-American joy, allowing the government to pat itself on the back with perceived credibility. Governments however, deserve no more "credit" for treating people civilly, than a man deserves "credit" for not battering his wife. Why? Because men should not abuse women in the first place, and honorable governments would never make people "struggle" for civil rights.

Like the "battered wife" syndrome when women treasure any relief, we comparatively emerged from a "battered history" syndrome where we naturally treasure the relief of civil rights. But there's nothing extraordinary about civil rights. Civil rights are mere human decencies that should be intrinsic to all interrelations between every government and society. If after centuries, a people must still protest and prod a government over issues of civil rights, then — "They Are Not Equal" — they are in a massively unprincipled political relationship.

While well-financed groups like the 100-year-old NAACP and Tavis Smiley's State of the Black Union gather annually with national platforms, part of the collective agenda of all Black organizations should ascertain measurable, achievable standards of what constitutes "21st-Century Equality," along with what this demands of the government and requires of ourselves.

This charge is necessary because the measures and responsibilities of freedom today exceed those of the 1860's and 1960's. Being equal-enough to sit in the front of a bus in the 1960's, is now more cosmetic, considering the ever-intricate webbings of geopolitics that grip Africa and control the oil, chromium, and rubber for its tires.

Also, contrary to "post-racial" notions that stem from Obama's presidency, our pursuit of equality is gradually making us become more like Euro-Americans, instead of equal to them. The Black faces you see sprinkled within the Democratic hierarchy are not indicators of the Party's "equal commitment" to African-American ideals of governance. They rather signify our "full commitment" to Euro-American practices of governance, including needless militarism and problematic foreign policies that, for example, lopsidedly support Israel unconditionally.

In a perfect world, equality would be God-given and never violated by governments. But in this imperfect world, certain governments create political pecking orders amongst people, where equality has cutoff points and greed supersedes God. The proof and paradox is that, African Americans find ourselves still needing equality from a "Christian" government with a Black president . . . while we patiently expect the diluted 1960's version of "Created Equal" to somehow yield enough drips to "justly undo" what centuries of the authentic version has "unjustly done."

I Finally Made it to Gaza; No Wonder the Israelis Didn't Want Photos Taken

The Viva Palestina convoy, led by George Galloway, is about to leave Gaza after having been permitted to enter for a period of 24 hours after waiting 11 days in Cairo for permission to enter Gaza. That in and of itself is a major story when expanded to include the inability of Gazans to exit The Strip--even if only to enter another part of their country, the West Bank or to move about freely in the fictional "Palestinian State." I say fictional because it continues to dwindle even while peace talks are underway. Fictional, because Palestinian elections deemed by international observers to be free and fair, don't count if the US- and Israel-approved party loses, and the winners get to sit for years in an Israeli jail. Fictional, because they use Israel's currency here, the shekel, and the international roaming on our US cell phones indicates calls are from Israel.

Gaza is beautiful. Gaza is full of life, despite Israel's Operation Cast Lead. And now, I have seen, Gaza has been bombed to smithereens. I think I've mastered my video camera enough to share some images with you. I'll post them on the sites below when I return. In the meantime, my fellow Americans and citizens of the world, we have a lot to do to put right all the wrong things done in our name. Much love to all of you who helped me, guided me, prayed for me, to make this successful entry into Gaza happen.

Viva Palestina!!
Free Gaza!!

--
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Subject: Why Am I Black?

I feel that all of us (or most of us) have asked this question. Well, here is the POWERFUL answer.

Subject: Lord Why Did You Make Me Black

This is deep, so take your time.

Why Did You Make Me Black Lord?...
Lord ........ Why did you make me black?
Why did you make someone
the world would hold back?
Black is the color of dirty clothes,
of grimy hands and feet...
Black is the color of darkness,
of tired beaten streets...
Why did you give me thick lips,
a broad nose and kinky hair?
Why did you create someone who receives the hated stare?

Black is the color of the bruised eye
when someone gets hurt...
Black is the color of darkness,
black is the color of dirt.

Why is my bone structure so thick,
my hips and cheeks so high?
Why are my eyes brown,
and not the color of the sky?

Why do people think I'm useless?
How come I feel so used?
Why do people see my skin
and think I should be abused?

Lord, I just don't understand...
What is it about my skin?
Why is it some people want to hate me
and not know the person within?

Black is what people are 'Labeled'
when others want to keep them away...
Black is the color of shadows cast....
Black is the end of the day.

Lord you know my own people mistreat me
and you know this just ain't right...
They don't like my hair; they don't like my
skin, as they say I'm too dark or too light!

Lord, don't you think it's time to make a change?
Why don't you redo creation
and make everyone the same?

GOD's Reply:
Why did I make you black?
Why did I make you black?

I made you in the color of coal
from which beautiful diamonds are formed....
I made you in the color of oil,
the black gold which keeps people warm.

Your color is the same as the rich dark soil
that grows the food you need....
Your color is the same as the black stallion and
panther, Oh what majestic creatures indeed!

All colors of the heavenly rainbow
can be found throughout every nation...
When all these colors are blended,
you become my greatest creation!

Your hair is the texture of lamb's wool,
such a beautiful creature is he...
I am the shepherd who watches them,
I will ALWAYS watch over thee!

You are the color of the midnight sky,
I put star glitter in your eyes...
There's a beautiful smile hidden behind your pain...
That's why your cheeks are so high!

You are the color of dark clouds
from the hurricanes I create in September....
I made your lips so full and thick,
so when you kiss...they will remember!

Your stature is strong,
your bone structure thick to withstand the
burden of time...
The reflection you see in the mirror,
that image that looks back,..that is MINE!

So get off your knees,
look in the mirror and tell me what you see?
I didn't make you in the image of darkness....
I made you in the image of ME!

Reverend

I just had to comment on Renny's statement. Men like Renny are so comfortable with his current status which is safe and out of harms way. Too many of our people are satisfied to rest in a comfort zone and to hell with those who are suffering.

The African people wil have to fight the self serving ruthless leaders and the outside agitators that they are caught between. Africans anywhere on the continent and Blacks here in the United States will have to organize and eliminate those who exploit our people whether Black or White. We have to find a way like they did in South Africa, to raise up good government in our midst and do not hesitate to condemn and eliminate the traitors of the Black community and of the motherland. In other words, I wish we could necklace many in our midst who cause so much suffering for the masses of Blacks like they did in South Africa.

Renny might think he is safe but as long as any of us are oppressed by leaders who behave like beasts [black or white]; because he and all of us can become victims wherever injustice and oppression exists. The United States is just as ruthless as the rulers in Zimbabwe and other African countries. The Western world is just as bad with their sanctions and their support of corrupt leaders in the U.S. and on the African continent.

Those of us who were born in America know how the kkk, FBI, CIA, neo Cons, Neo Nazis, Southern Democrats and Republicans, policemen in American cities, and uncle tom Blacks can get you killed or incarcerated right here. We don't have 2 million men [mostly Black and Latino] languishing in American jails because the leaders here are men of justice; no, they are just as bad as some of the leaders in Africa.

Renny, it may be the suffering masses in Zimbabwe today but it can be you and me tomorrow right here in the United States.
You need to do much more than that weak lip service as noted on this blog. You show absolutely no outrage for the sanctions and for the corrupt leaders in Zimbabwe. Find a way to help from your quiet perch because like they did the Jews who were around Hitler; they finally came for them to go to slaughter just like their fellow Jews of the Holocaust.

john