Month: July 2010

by HUSAYN AL-KURDI

There is a Black Situation
a Black Condition
a Black Revolution
and a Black Liberation
not defined by pigmentation
but through blood and fire
for Self-Determination.

In a Dark World
Blackened by the darkness of enforced ignorance
Blackened by the dictates of enslavement and servitude
Blackened by the heartless nostrums of False Gods and priestery
Blackened by the bloodless calculated cruelties of vampirish capitalists and bankers
Blackened by the slimy wily robberies of Judges and Lawyers
Blackened by the death-dealing butcheries and druggings of Doctors
Blackened by the lying treacheries of fear-mongering Office-seekers
Blackened by the madnesses of a Sociopathic Society
Blackened by the results of fear and ignorance of the strange and peculiar who are not as strange and not as peculiar as the fear and ignorance of them are

Where we the Blackened “Blacks” are
Blackened by being killed
by having our homes blown up over us
by being made to wander around homeless with nothing
by having nothing and being ground down into nothingness
by perpetual insults, scorn and degradation
by knowing no comfort or help or rest until the grave
by being blown to pieces because we were in the way of those who measure their success in magnitudes of killing and conquest
by designations of illegality stamped on us by those who make up the Law as they plunder along
by having nowhere to run and no one to turn to
by other’s phony regrets at our misfortune
by other’s worthless sympathy at our distress
by other’s bullshit apologies for our unspeakable suffering

So we stand and turn and struggle and fight
to emerge from our Darkness
from our beaten-down Blackness
and into Black Freedom
to the Black which is Beautiful
the Black that Soars
the Black that is Resplendent
the Black that is Unchained
where and when we get the Jew and Christian Capitalists and their accomplices, lackeys, cronies, puppets, agents and assets
Off our Backs
Away from our House
Out of our Home
Off our Land
and Out of our Life.

And to those still not getting it somehow:
What part of quit fucking with everyone all the time is so difficult to comprehend?
What part of leave the people and their land alone is so hard to grasp?
And what part of “Off the Pig” did you pretend to not understand?

(Husayn al-Kurdi holds the copyrights)

(Submitted by Layla Anwar; her blog is An Arab Woman Blues)

by MARGARET KIMBERLEY

It doesn’t matter that Rangel’s constituents do not support Israel’s human rights violations. As pointed out in Black Agenda Report, Rangel and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus are terrified of facing an onslaught of Zionist fundraising, and with good reason. In the past their colleagues who dared to step out of line and defy the pro-Israel lobby were defeated by suddenly well-funded opponents. Rangel can easily put two and two together and chose to speak words that will gain him additional campaign dollars. That degree of support is yet unknown, but shame would be added on top of shame if Rangel sold himself too cheaply.

Black Agenda Report for more

“Lamongan, over an hour’s drive from the port of Surabaya in East Java, has attracted a great deal of media attention by making Mandarin an compulsory language in its schools. Having started out as a pilot project at three secondary schools in the academic year 2006-2007, Chinese is now a permanent part of the local curriculum.”

Radio Netherlands Worldwide for more

by SUSIE DAY

Dr. Marvin Flabcock, of the American Psychiatric and Floral Design Association, conducted interviews with 200 former heterosexuals who expressed satisfaction at finally becoming “full human beings.” Dr. Flabcock said that he cannot yet estimate what percentage of the larger heterosexual population can become gay, but that if heterosexuals are “highly motivated,” there is hope. “The secret is self-hatred,” stated Dr. Flabcock. “You’ve really got to loathe yourself if you want to lead a normal life.”

MR Zine for more

by DANA WAGNER

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to open trade between East Africa and Europe is still on the table. At a three-day conference in Dar es Salaam negotiators walked away from the disputed deal, but promised to come back to it.

A deadline was set at the 7-9 June conference to sign the EPA and usher in freer trade between the two regions by the end of November 2010. A deal was first initialed in 2007 between the East African Community (EAC) of Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, and the bloc across the table, the European Commission (EC). This was the Framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement (FEPA), drafted as a temporary stand-in to await a mutually agreed EPA, but a formal deal has not since been reached because of an impasse over several key issues.

Pambazuka for more

by CLIVE LEVIEV-SAWYER

Bulgaria’s capital city saw its first Pride Parade in June 2008, an event that saw about 150 people take to the streets with rainbow flags and balloons notwithstanding prior threats of violence. June 2009’s turnout for the Rainbow Friendship parade reportedly also was modest albeit stronger than in the first year – and had the vocal backing of the ambassadors of the United States, United Kingdom and other EU envoys.

In Central and Eastern Europe, gay pride events have been a vexed issue, with ultra-right groups and religious voices vehemently opposed, in some cases leading to violence.

The Sofia Echo for more

LA VIA CAMPESINA

The encounter was aimed at strengthening the solidarity and farmer-to-farmer exchange among the agroecology movements in LVC in Asia, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different sustainable farming methods and building a campaign for a debt free and poison free agroecology movement in the region with the support and guidance of the La Via Campesina. The encounter was aimed toward putting the principles of food sovereignty in practice, which is fundamental for us in La Via Campesina, through sustainable agriculture practices. At the Encounter the participants developed regional work plans to support the promotion of agroecology, sustainable agriculture and natural farming among the member families of La Via Campesina organizations in Asia.

La Via Campesina for more

AMERICAS PROGRAM

On June 4th about ten thousand Haitian peasants marched to protest U.S.-based Monsanto Company’s ‘deadly gift’ of seed to the government of Haiti. The seven-kilometer march from Papaye to Hinche—in a rural area on the central plateau—was organized by several Haitian farmers’ organizations that are proposing a development model based on food and seed sovereignty instead of industrial agriculture. Slogans for the march included “long live native maize seed” and “Monsanto’s GMO & hybrid seed violates peasant agriculture.”

Americas Program for more

by TANAKA SAKAI

However, it remains an enigma as to who fired or set off a torpedo or underwater mine. The South Korean right, claiming that a North Korean semi-submersible ship fired a torpedo, demands that the South Korean government launch a revenge attack on the North. The left and pacifists in the South suggest that the warship may have touched off an underwater mine installed in the 1970s by the South Korean military to prevent North Korean infiltration and still left there.

Japan Focus for more

by M. DINESH VARMA

“PROUD POSSESSION: This woman in Alisoor in Kancheepuram has realised a dream.” PHOTO/Hindu

CHENNAI: Landless Dalit families in a Kancheepuram village have used the Right to Information (RTI) Act to prompt the district administration to hand over land that was originally allotted to them several years ago, thanks to the initiative of a grassroots NGO.

A total of 106 Dalit families in Alisoor village were allotted 100 sq m by the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Board in 1998.

The Hindu for more

(Submitted by Pritam Rohila)