RACE RELATIONS BLOG: Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Committed (part 1)


Committed - Pt. 1
If it hadn’t been for the rooster sitting at the foot of his bed, cockadoodledooing at a quarter to five, he probably would have never woken up.

“This is bullshit. Get the hell offa my bed!”
He stood, scratched his ass a few times, and shooed the oversized fowl from existence, only leaving a few imaginary feathers behind for souvenirs.

Victor rubbed his eyes and waited until five after six for his morning meds and his breakfast; a boiled egg, one piece of plain toast, and some lukewarm milk.

After spending a morning talking to Jimi Hendrix about life on Mars, Victor settled down in the corner of his padded cell, sucking the traces of toast from his molars. It had been nearly eight months since Victor’s wife and adult children made the decision to have him committed to Newberry Sanitarium. The decision had been made one night as the children went to the home of Victor and his wife, Sheila, for dinner. Victor was of course, missing in action.

He had barricaded himself in the home’s basement, mapping out plots to overthrow the government and forcing whites, especially Jews, into slavery. Victor had constant recordings of Elijah Muhammed playing over and over again, as he typed uncontrollably, producing incoherent ideas of his revenge on white supremacy. After the third week of this lunacy, Sheila had called a family meeting with her children and their spouses. Sheila cried over her baked macaroni & cheese. She knew what had to be done.

None of them had been to visit Victor since his arrival. The heavy doses of neuroleptics Victor had been taking had somehow made him forget about everything from his past, including his family, friends, and his job as a Black History teacher. Victor usually spent most of his time talking to himself, sleeping, or crying over his fear of “Walter”.

“Who is Walter?” you may ask. Walter was an orderly of Newberry Sanitarium who dealt with… let’s just say the defiant patients. Sometimes Victor would scream at and push the nurses around when they came to his room. Walter would always come in and make sure Victor would comply with the hospital’s rules. “I’ll knock some sense into your crazy ass,” Walter would comment each time having visited Victor’s room. It probably wouldn’t have been such a dreadful experience for Victor if Walter hadn’t been Caucasian. Victor never really cared for whites. This was a known fact by everyone who ever met Victor. By Walter overpowering Victor and being white as well, Victor loathed the ground Walter tread upon. “One day, I’mma jack that big, white, smelly skunk up,” Victor would whisper to himself, crying, awaiting the effects of his medication to kick in. Each day, Victor would add to the plan of the previous day, concocting a scheme to murder Walter, and escape from Newberry Sanitarium, to finish and carry out his plan to take over the country and enslave “Caucasoids” once and for all.



TO BE CONTINUED

Bush Neighbor Lets War Protesters Use Land


By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer 34 minutes ago
One of President Bush's neighbors will allow use of his land by dozens of war protesters who have camped in roadside ditches the past 11 days, giving them more room and halving their distance from Bush's ranch.
Demonstrators said Fred Mattlage made the offer because he sympathizes with them. The protesters' makeshift camp off a winding, two-lane road leading to Bush's ranch has agitated other residents, who complained of traffic jams and blocked roads.
Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., started the vigil Aug. 6 to honor her son Casey, who was killed in Iraq last year. Sheehan has vowed to remain through Bush's monthlong ranch visit unless he meets with her and other grieving families.
Mattlage's Monday night offer, accepted by protesters Tuesday, will put them about a mile from Bush's ranch, said Hadi Jawad of the Crawford Peace House, which is helping the group.
Demonstrators said they would start moving their tents, anti-war banners and portable toilets to the new site Wednesday and hope to have the new camp set up in time for a dusk candlelight vigil.
The vigil will be one of about 1,000 to be held across the country, an effort organized by liberal advocacy groups MoveOn.org Political Action, TrueMajority and Democracy for America.
A telephone message left for Mattlage by The Associated Press wasn't immediately returned Tuesday. A distant cousin who owns nearby land, Larry Mattlage, fired a shotgun twice into the air Sunday but no one was injured. Fred Mattlage said he does not share his cousin's frustrations with the group, Jawad said.
For more than a week, the rural area has been a traffic nightmare as the camp attracted hundreds more protesters as well as Bush supporters holding counter-rallies.
A resident was arrested Monday night after authorities say he ran over hundreds of small wooden crosses bearing names of fallen U.S. soldiers.
Tuesday morning, several landowners asked county commissioners to extend for at least two miles the public "no parking" zone around Bush's ranch. The ordinance now prohibits cars from stopping on the road within about a quarter of a mile.
Bush, who said he sympathizes with Sheehan, has made no indication that he will meet with her. Sheehan and other families met with Bush two months after her son's death before she became a vocal opponent of the war.

Another Day, Another Plague: The H5N1 Bird Flu


An exotic form of influenza, scientifically identified as H5N1 Bird Flu, is currently spreading westward throughout Eurasia, contaminating over 70% of Russia and China.

Currently moving towards Eastern Europe, the deadly outbreak is highly dangerous to humans and other animals. A massive epidemic in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk is responsible for the death of 500 birds just in the past 24 hours. This is the same strain of flu that has contaminated livestock in many parts of Asia during the past three weeks, killing dozens of people and millions of poultry.

The bird flu was first reported in Russia’s Novosibirsk Region in July. In three weeks, it has spread over neighboring cities Tyumen, Omsk, and Kurgan, as well as Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Initial reports said that the disease was caused by the strain of the virus potentially dangerous to humans but no one has been diagnosed with the disease in Russia, yet.


Questions to ask yourself and others:

1) Where did this disease come from?
2) What does H5N1 stand for?
3) How is it spreading so rapidly?
4) How can it be stopped?

Comanche Code Talker Charles Chibitty Dies


Worm strikes down Windows 2000 pc's CNN, New York Times, ABC report crashes

A fast-moving computer worm is shutting down computer systems using Microsoft operating software, hitting computer systems in the United States and reportedly in Asia and Germany.

While the worm primarily affects Windows 2000, it also can affect some early versions of Microsoft XP, security experts say.

Economy Looking Strong Despite Inflation



By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
4 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Consumer inflation shot up in July as rising gasoline prices pinched drivers' wallets from coast to coast. But the rest of the economy kept pushing forward with industrial output rising and housing construction staying at a supercharged level.

Black Voting Rights: Born 1965 Expired 2007? Expiration Date on Black Voting Rights




Can we trust the Reich Wingers to reinstate the 1965 Voting Rights Act or will relive the past in the present? We have had a few previews in the last 2 elections of what can possibly happen that hints to blacks that Jim Crow II isnt far behind. (click on title above to get linked to article) "Uncle Cornbread's Corner"

Burn The Boundaries: The End of Nationalism



The Necessary Illusions
by Brother14x

How did the Bush Regime get Americans to support what is now an undeniably unjustified war? What would make a millionaire football player quit and join the army to die? How do the Republicans get the white working class and poor to consistently vote against their material self-interest? The answer lies in necessary illusions of nationalism, religion, and racism.
A human is interplay between individual morphology and social constructs. There is no society without individuals…and no individual would be “human” without cultural lessons and nurturing of the people around her. This is why group identity is so important to us…right or wrong it is much of who we are.
The challenge for progressive minded people is to construct and propagate healthy group identifications for humanity. The current group identities mostly serve the interest of oppression, domination and exclusion. Take for instance nationalism.

Nationalism is the Grand Faloon
Racism has been unanimously and universally condemned as a justification for domination by the power elite; however, its ideological maternal twin has been stressed by the American power class. Nationalism subverts the idea that all humans are of equal value and have equal right no matter their geographical location. Nationalism leads to nationalist competition and conflict. It misleads working people into believing that their interests lie with the national ruling class rather than with working people around the world. All the while, the ruling class shares no such respect for borders.
A Mexican worker, a Chinese worker, an American worker, an Indian worker are all there to be exploited equally. As a matter of fact, a national working class can be pitted against another national working class to gain extra compliance and docility. This is the true magic of Nationalism in securing oppression. It uses the people’s own minds against them. (Thank you George Orwell for clarifying how this all works)
Once a people have been given an empty but controlled group identity they can be manipulated into untold irrationality. The unfolding of events following the 9/11 incident is a text book case. The media implied that membership to the group identity of “American” entailed the massive bombing of Muslim peasants. The double jeopardy of nationalistic and religious bigotry was evoked…and of course a tinge of racism just to make it American. In no instances was proof of allegations required or calm analysis of the situation encouraged…only nationalistic reaction. The American people danced to the songs of patriotic mass murder. It wasn’t the first time…we can only work to make it the last.

Toward a Positive Group Identity
Changes are to be made in how humans identify with one another if we are to reach a more healthy level of interaction. Respect for life, environment and universal education are some basic values that will improve the human condition. Old ideology that justified domination and oppression must be replaced by life affirming identities of liberation. Nationalism must be replaced by Cosmopolitanism. Religion must be replaced by Spirituality. Racism must be replaced by a multicentric view. In this way, we will leave behind the shell bigotry and start to bloom into our godhood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmopolitanism

http://www.colorado.edu/Sociology/Mayer/Contemporary%20Theory/Critical%20Theory_files/frame.htm#slide0026.htm

http://www.geocities.com/rhihawk/godhood.html

Gang/Mob American Culture


Some White People call "Black Gang" members animals, but when the term "Devil" is used to describe the calculated evil done by "White" Mobsters and Mobs then things get confusing. This includes the White People that have traded in sheets for suits.

People that live in glass houses... well you know the rest.

Nemesis459

Greg Sarris speaks about his experiences as a Native American living in California


You need to have real audio/player. http://www.real.com click on the RealPlayer Free

QUAKE ROCKS JAPAN



Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Updated at 6:50 AM EDT

Associated Press

Tokyo — A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan on Tuesday, shaking skyscrapers as far away as Tokyo, more than 300 kilometres to the south. At least 59 people were reported injured.

Hundreds of Israeli settlers arrested in violent Gaza protests (video here)



Israeli police have arrested about 500 supporters of the settlers movement, who they say were trying to sneak into the main settlement bloc at Gush Katif, in the Gaza Strip overnight.

The clash between the police and up to 1,000 pro-settlement protesters took place near the Kissufm entry point between Israel and Gush Katif.

Police say an Israeli army officer was injured in violent clashes which resulted in more than 500 arrests.

Local Israeli police chief Yuri Bar-Lev said another 250 protesters were forced back by his officers.

He described their behaviour as irresponsible and said it could lead to a catastrophe.

Israeli soldiers tore down the gate to Gaza's largest Jewish settlement and have begun to issue eviction orders to residents.

The main gate to Gaza's largest settlement, Neve Dekalim, had been locked shut by protesters, stopping security forces from moving in and issuing the residents with eviction orders.