Town Hall Meeting

14 Aug 2013

“The Wire” Creator on “Stand Your Ground”

Filed under: — Al @ 11:18 am

“You can stand your ground if you’re white, and you can use a gun to do it. But if you stand your ground with your fists and you’re black, you’re dead.”

http://davidsimon.com/trayvon/

02 Jan 2013

3 Maps Over Time

Filed under: — Al @ 5:24 pm

Some things are just blatant!

Slave states to segregation states to republican states

I must note that the “northern states” are not a utopia of diversity either, the racism there is more subtle and just institutionalized. To paraphrase Chris Rock, racism isn’t over when exceptional black people advance into jobs like Jackie Robinson, Oprah or Barack Obama, it’s when substandard black folks get these jobs too (like a black George W. Bush!).

-Thanks Jeffe for the image

22 Sep 2011

Troy Davis Executed

Filed under: — Al @ 4:00 pm

Somehow this tragedy finally became national news over the past few days, so you probably already know that last night at 11:08pm was the cold-blooded, premeditated execution of Troy Davis. It’s grotesque, repugnant, and evil. Even with all the facts behind you, the U.S. death penalty can still be used. My only hope now is this will lead to the outright abolition of the death penalty, so the U.S. can join the civilized world.

PS: Maybe I should make a list of how many things the U.S. has in common with our great bogeyman, the Taliban/al qaeda/etc, such as the death penalty.

28 Jul 2011

21st Century Fascism

Filed under: — Al @ 4:13 pm

The horrific bombings and murders in Norway are abhorrent. The issues underneath the headlines are pretty upsetting too. Just some basic facts: the suspect is Andrew Breivik, he wrote a 1500 page manifesto which apparently includes anti-immigrant, pro-Christian, take-back-the-government opinions on European life. Lots of hatred toward Muslims and Marxists is in there as well. Glenn Greenwald has made very good points about several prominent newspapers first reporting the bombing was done by Muslims. Then once they found out it was a white Christian, they stopped using the term terrorism! Beyond that, some prominent news media are saying he was just copying Al Qaeda, as though they invented terrorism for crying out loud. It’s amazing to sit back and watch the prism through which current events are filtered through.

Another point that I want to add is this isn’t just a one in a million crackpot, it is an ideology that is getting more and more mainstream in Europe and America. Thankfully it’s still in the deep minority, but it is getting some credibility in the US. It’s roots are in fascism from the 20th century. It’s the superior race stuff, the corporations are our friend stuff, the hatred of anything public/government. Just a reminder, because rose colored glasses make “The West” seem holy and great, that fascism was invented by “The West.” In fact, when people now use the term “Islamic Fascism” its like a slap in the face to Muslims because they were victims of Mussolini and Hitler, especially the Northern Africa nations like Libya and Morocco.

My main point is that we all must follow the law of universality: that we must apply the rules equally to all. If politically motivated murder is not terrorism when it’s a white person, then its not terrorism when it’s anyone else. If you want to condemn all Muslims for 9/11, then you must condemn all Christians for the Norway bombings.

18 Jan 2011

Onion: “Has Obama Failed To Reduce Hostility Toward Obnoxious Americans Abroad?”

Filed under: — Al @ 2:32 pm

16 Dec 2010

Video – How U.S. Media Works in Favor of Israel

Filed under: — Al @ 1:04 pm

This is just part 1 of a 3 part series. This journalist really lays out the terrible bias in terms that are extremely difficult to refute. One staggering point: the number of Palestinians that died against Israeli’s died was about 5 to 1 in 2000 and 8 to 1 in 2004, the NBC, CBS and ABC covered Israeli deaths about 4 to 1, almost the exact opposite. Those are overall deaths. When looking at coverage of childrens deaths, the media coverage is up to 14 times greater when it’s an Israeli child. The tragedy of this is hard to contemplate.

Here’s a famous old song that kinda explains how brain washing works…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWE6seINeoE

21 Apr 2010

Goodwin Liu is Very Qualified

Filed under: — Al @ 4:05 pm

Another sign of how dysfunctional America has become…Goodwin Liu is an exceptionally qualified person to be a judge, yet he is coming under fire for being prejudiced, amazingly! Similar to how Sotomayor was given the racial beat down, of course all by old white men. How is it that whites are openly claiming they are the ones being persecuted??? The US Senate is 96% white as of today, and they are claiming he is somehow racist for exploring racism that exists in America? Wow. His merits are being dismissed, and once we stop judging others on their intelligence and performance, we are plummeting to the dark ages. Check out this clip where Liu states his stance on what a judge should be:

Here is some more coverage on white male questioning of Liu and some analysis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z2KLUmeiLI

22 Sep 2009

This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land

Filed under: — Al @ 10:27 am

Sing along! This song is so good and so important, its great to see Pete Seeger had a chance to sing it during the inauguration of Obama. You can see in the video George Lucas singing along! For those of you that don’t know, it was written in 1940 by Woodie Guthrie as a response to the song “God Bless America.”

12 Aug 2009

Think of a Map

The Israel/Palestine debacle can be confusing and nuanced. I highly recommend looking at a map anytime you are thinking about or discussing this issue. It is a great way to start a discussion from an honest place. In case there is yet another peace deal made, don’t buy into it unless you first see a map with clear borders, pointing to the settlements and Israel-only highways in the West Bank. I believe this is important not only because it will lead to justice, but because it is easier for the average person to understand.

The best place for maps of Israel and Palestine can be found at The Foundation For Middle East Peace. You can find all their maps here.

The most disturbing maps are of the West Bank. Check out a full screen view of the below West Bank Map here. The dotted green line is the internationally recognized border of the West Bank, written in 1949, the so-called “green line.” However, looking at a map, you can see just how aggressively Israel has usurped Palestinian land, beyond what they were given after World War 2.

West Bank Map Divided Partitioned

This short video from American Friends Service Committee has a very enlightening set of maps of the West Bank that really tells you just how much land has been taken from Palestinians since 1948.

For more detailed information on Israel and Palestine and America’s involvement, watch this interview with Phillip Wilcox, President of the FMEP.

22 Jul 2009

Racism Rears Its Ugly Head In Plain Sight

Filed under: — Al @ 2:27 pm

There is still such a long way to go. This asshole should be fired yesterday.

08 Jun 2009

Contemporary American Racism

Filed under: — Al @ 2:33 pm

This video from ABC’s 20/20 shows a glaring example of racism in America today. Sorry people, your job isn’t done – racism is far from over. Part 1 is an experiment where 3 white teenagers vandalize a car in public. Part 2 is 3 black teens doing the same thing. Just check out the reactions from the members of the mostly white, suburban community where the experiments took place.

For those who like to use the simplistic “But Obama is President” argument, doesn’t that mean by definition that the 46% who voted for McCain are racist? And the 100,000,000 people who did not vote at all, are they also racist? (voter turnout in 2008 was only 56.8%).

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNu-WZdHzaA

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIVgMvuCM_k

14 Apr 2009

Pirates and the 21st Century

Did anyone know that the 3 pirates killed by the US military were aged 17-19? Check out this interview by Davey D (Oakland representin) of K’naan a Somalian rapper, poet, activist about piracy. Again, what a novel journalistic technique: interview someone who is from the country you are reporting about! The largest point is the mass media omission of the fact that nuclear waste is being dumped into the ocean off the Somalian coast.

02 Feb 2009

Pro-Israel Rally in US

Filed under: — Al @ 9:46 pm

Wow, it’s hard to really comment on this. “Wipe them all out,” they say in this. Isn’t that what the atrocities of the holocaust was all about? Do they not see the insanity of their position, given that Jews went through similar hatred? It’s too much to even think about. Just watch.

10 Nov 2008

Bill Ayers Article

Filed under: — Al @ 12:38 pm

After being treated like a cartoon slash bludgeon for the political campaign, read the article he has written now that the election is over. He uses a quote at the end from Eugene Debs, “If I could lead you into the Promised Land, I would not do it, because someone else would come along and lead you out.” I think this should apply to Obama’s election. It is up to us to make sure he does the right thing at all times, we have to hold his feet to the fire, we can’t just follow. You’ll notice after reading his article, that Bill Ayers is actually a human being with knowledge and thoughts, how about that!

Bill Ayers is not a cartoon

UPDATE: Ayers gave the first interview since the campaign with Democracy Now! Watch the video or read the transcript.

28 Feb 2007

“Everyone Comes to the US for the Best Health Care”…

…and other propaganda like that make this story even more sad. A 12 year old boy died from a toothache is the headline. This article does a good job of going into all the details of how it happened. Basically what occurred is he got a toothache, his family had been dropped from Medicaid, and his brother was dealing with 6 rotten teeth, so they didn’t take Deamonte to a dentist. Then the tooth got infected and the bacteria spread to his brain. He spent 6 weeks in the hospital before he died. “God Bless America” and “This is the greatest country on Earth” make me wince a little more after reading this story. This should not happen, especially in such a wealthy country. America is still the only industrialized nation in the world without a national health care system.

Deamonte Driver 12 years old dies of toothache

13 Feb 2006

Upcoming Protests in March

The anniversary of the invasion of Iraq is coming up again. There will be mass protests all around. Demonstrate your disgust for militarism, greed, nepotism, cronyism, or just go out and meet a bunch of fellow peaceful citizens. Try a google search to find a protest near you, or any of the following links:

www.internationalanswer.org
www.unitedforpeace.org
www.campusantiwar.net
www.warresisters.org

Peace No War

24 Sep 2005

Great Turnout At Protest

War Protest, Los Angeles, September 24, 2005

What an outstanding turnout today in Los Angeles. The turnout was announced at 50,000 people. That same number was announced in San Francisco, and an amazing 300,000 announced at the main event in Washington, DC! It was invigorating to see such non-violent support for peace and justice. All of my pictures have been posted here. I’ve already seen the national press say things like “thousands of protestors showed up across the country” and “pro-Bush protestors were there as well.” I have given up on the mainstream media long ago: CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN (I don’t even count Fox since they are in a whole other league). I was there, you can see my pictures. Real reporting would include things like “hundreds of thousands protested across America today” and “people are fed up with militarism and occupations.” Thankfully we still have news programs like Democracy Now!.

12 Aug 2005

Okay Folks, Opportunity For Mass Protest

September 24, 2005 – mark your calendars! It’s a great opportunity to protest the illegal war on Iraq, the illegal occupation of Haiti, the attempted and failed coup on Venezuela’s president, and any of the other U.S. foreign or domestic policy horrors you can think of. The main protest will be in Washington, D.C. There will also be major ones in at least Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Go to our demonstrations page for links to more information.

Protest For Peace

19 Mar 2005

No More War!

A huge sign of solidarity against the illegal Iraq war

I attended one of the protests around the world today, this one in Los Angeles. I was hoping to see 1,000 people come out, on this rainy day. By the time the march through Hollywood started, there were about 10,000 people there. It was a beautiful event, everybody was on the same wavelength-no more war, stopping the ruling elite from killing for their profit, and there is no mistake about the connection of Iraq and Palestine. This protest is just another example that if this many people are willing to march in the rain, how many more are out there that want this vicious, illegal war to end? Of course, if you watch the chicken shit American media tonight, you won’t hear a peep about these protests. 100,000 people protested in London alone today. There were protests all over the world. The people want change, and are showing strong solidarity. The mainstream media is doing everything they can to muzzle us. I have not yet seen (I know, it won’t happen) news coverage from corporate media that actually interviews the protestors or shows footage of some of the speeches. Corporations are against us, but it is very encouraging to see the mass amount of support out there today.

05 Mar 2005

What Is Fascism?

Kathy found this video defining what fascism is (about 2 minutes) and alluding to what the U.S. government has been doing that falls under the definition.

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