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Intro - please read before friending. [Feb. 28th, 2030|08:50 pm]
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Read before friending, please.

Some entries in this journal are friends-locked. I'm trying to keep my friends list manageable, so please don't be offended if I don't friend you back. There will still be plenty of public posts to peruse, mostly political in nature. I'm more likely to friend you if you tell me how you found this LJ. Comments are screened.

If I friend you, I'll read your LJ and I'll even comment. Please don't friend me if you don't have time to read my LJ in return. I'm not interested in friending voyeurs and superstars. I have no patience for that nonsense.

I'm very left of center. If you're uncomfortable with that, you won't want to friend this LJ. If you can respect differences of opinion, we'll get along just fine. But if you want to tell me to shut up, you're at the wrong LJ.

If you found me through a fandom (Duran, Nsync, Tears for Fears, Tim Burton, etc), and you lack a sense of humor, please move along. I tend to mock the ones I love. Often.

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Rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina [Sep. 3rd, 2009|07:28 pm]
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March 24, 2008 update: Updated links. Any suggestions would be most helpful.

The original list of organizations grew from the revelation that the Red Cross is not a search and rescue organization and was unable to do anything in New Orleans itself to provide relief to the people still trapped and dying of hunger and thirst and exposure and violence. I was eager to offer alternatives to those who wanted them, and I try to keep the list up-to-date. Some are philanthropic, some are volunteer-oriented, some are political.

Organizations committed to long-term rebuilding of the Gulf Coast communities:

Common Ground Relief

Katrina Information Network

Color of Change. Also, check out their other campaigns.

Links to other sites below. The links are current, but I don't know if the campaigns/organizations are, so I'm putting them behind the cut. If you have information on them (e.g. you know a campaign is dead) please let me know:

( Read more... )


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I know you don't care, but I'm telling you anyway [Jul. 23rd, 2008|07:09 pm]
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[mood | tired]


Curt Smith performing on Craig Ferguson (CBS) tonight/Thursday morning. 12:35am if you're on the coasts.


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07.21.08 link round-up [Jul. 21st, 2008|07:17 pm]
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Blogs

Michelle Obama has a blog at BlogHer:

http://www.blogher.com/lets-talk

And I added a syndicated feed to livejournal, of course.

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/michelleobama/profile

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I would have been happy to have a link round-up for this alone. He goes deep with it.

How To Tell People They Sound Racist

"The most important thing that you've got to do is remember the difference between the 'what they did' conversation and the 'what they are' conversation. Those are two totally different conversations and you need to make sure you pick the right one."



His website: http://www.illdoctrine.com/

Oh! He's at Pacifica's NYC station (sister station to LA's KPFK). Of course! *g*

Link from [info]blackfolk

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Professor Black Woman comments on Nipplegate in light of the Federal Appeals court throwing out the FCC fine against CBS:

Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and the FCC Fine
http://profbw.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/janet-jackson-justin-timberlake-and-the-fcc-fine/

Among the many things that have been interesting to me about this case is the erasure of Timberlake. Janet Jackson alone was held up to bear the shame of the incident while some went so far as to claim Timberlake had no idea what was going on. While Janet Jackson’s career took a decided downturn, Timberlake’s skyrocketed. Almost no one refers to the incident as the Jackson-Timberlake incident but rather just the Jackson one or the Superbowl one which is followed by "oh you mean Janet Jackson."

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Disney, blackness, gender, princess=reserve judgement for now.
http://brownfemipower.com/archives/2778

for crying out loud, how many of the other princesses were ’subjected’ by their race? ALL of them, even Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan, struggled through and over came *gender* stereotypes to become the real princess everybody always knew was deserving of the big boy prize. Why is it that it made *sense* to have the black princess struggle through *racial* oppression, thereby proving she was worthy of the big boy prize?

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Suggested Readings

Forgive me if you're on my FL and have seen this already... I went to a conference on transgender people taught by the psychology department at Antioch University, where further readings were recommended:

Trans Teach-In

Transgender Emergence by Arlene Lev (Whoa! $67! Clearly meant for school libraries.)
Transition and Beyond, Observations On Gender Identity by Reid Vanderburgh
The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales of Hindu Lore by Devdutt Pattanaik

"Peace, Love and Trans-Understanding" by Michael Liberatore
"Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism or Trans____" by C Jacob Hale

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It's so on. [Jul. 21st, 2008|05:42 pm]
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Attention all you DD Fans!

Available now for pre ordering (due in stock September 9, 2008):

Book:

Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran (Hardcover) By Andy Taylor:
Wild Boy is the explosive first inside account of the rise and fall of Duran
Duran. The band rose to conquer the globe with a string of unforgettable
hits such as "Rio,""Hungry Like the Wolf," and "The Reflex." With Simon Le
Bon as their frontman, they were the defining pop act of the 1980s, but Andy
Taylor, the enigmatic lead guitarist, is widely acknowledged to have been
their musical driving force.

( Read more... )


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07.19.08 link round-up [Jul. 19th, 2008|01:46 pm]
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Sorry I missed the last couple of days. I'm think these might become shorter and will be posted every other day for a while.

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On the Radio

Radical Women was a group who gave one of the workshops at the LA Social Forum I attended. One of their reps was on Morning Review on KPFK plugging the upcoming conference.

*Wednesdays, beginning August 6, 7:00pm*

Weekly Conference Organizing Meetings

Help build a Southern California contingent to Radical Women's 41st Anniversary international feminist conference, to be held October 3-6 in San Francisco. Share your ideas about how to revitalize the women's rights movement and discuss outreach opportunities, fundraising plans and travel logistics that will help build for this exciting event! Light snacks will be served for a donation.
**
*Solidarity Hall, 2170 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles*
**Off the 10 freeway at Western Ave., on buslines #30, 31 and 35. **

For more information call 323-732-6416, radicalwomenlosangeles at gmail dot com

http://www.radicalwomen.org/

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Happy belated birthday to Nelson Mandela. My grandmother had the same birthday.

Celebrating Mandela’s 90th Birthday!
http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2905

This story features:

- an excerpt from the award winning audio documentary, Mandela: An Audio History hosted by Desmond Tutu, produced by Joe Richman and Sue Johnson (more information at www.mandelahistory.org).

- an excerpt from the recording of an event featuring Nelson Mandela at the Oakland Coliseum, 30 June 1990, during a tour of the United States, shortly after he was released from prison.

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BTW, if you ever want to browse recent podcasts of KPFK's programming, they're stored here:

http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/

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News

Genetic Trait Increases AIDS Risks In Black People
http://www.enews20.com/news_Genetic_Trait_Increases_AIDS_Risks_In_Black_People_09617.html

The scientists discovered that a genetic trait, found in 60 percent of African-Americans and 90 percent of Africans, makes HIV infection 40 percent more probable. Furthermore, the trait is practically absent in white people. The trait also guards people who carry it against a form of malaria that is now very rare.

Link from [info]blackfolk

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[Jul. 16th, 2008|08:38 pm]
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On the Radio

Torture and War, from Afghanistan to Guantanamo to Iraq
http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2898

GUEST: Miriam Pemberton, Research Fellow - Peace and Security Program, Institute for Policy Studies. Co-editor, Lessons From Iraq: Avoiding the Next War (2008) Military Affairs Editor, Foreign Policy in Focus

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I saw Simone White play at the Hotel Cafe. We heart her!

Singer-Songwriter Simone White Performing Live On Democracy Now!
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/16/singer_songwriter_simone_white_performing_live

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News

ACLU Sues Over Unconstitutional Dragnet Wiretapping Law
Group Also Asks Secret Intelligence Court Not To Exclude Public From Any Proceedings On New Law's Constitutionality
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/35942prs20080710.html

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a landmark lawsuit today to stop the government from conducting surveillance under a new wiretapping law that gives the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls.

Link from [info]lilithlotr

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Blogs

HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cristina-page/hhs-moves-to-define-contr_b_112887.html

Up until now, the federal government followed the definition of pregnancy accepted by the American Medical Association and our nation's pregnancy experts, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which is: pregnancy begins at implantation. With this proposal, however, HHS is dismissing medical experts and opting instead to accept a definition of pregnancy based on polling data. It now claims that pregnancy begins at some biologically unknowable moment (there's no test to determine if a woman's egg has been fertilized). Under these new standards there would be no way for a woman to prove she's not pregnant. Thus, any woman could be denied contraception under HHS' new science.

Link from [info]blackfolk

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Editorial cartoonists respond to The New Yorker cover. I've always liked Tom Toles.

Ahh, the Beauty of Actual Satire
http://profbw.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/ahh-the-beauty-of-actual-satire/

The Washington Post image above, on the other hand, clearly shows exactly what is being mocked as well as being equally clear about how the New Yorker image could have been satirical if in fact it were satirizing racial hegemony and fear instead of perpetuating them. That’s two satires for the price of one from the Post today.

Now This is How You Do Satire
http://diaryofananxiousblackwoman.blogspot.com/2008/07/now-this-is-how-you-do-satire.html

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*rubbing temples*

What's wrong with AKA Barbie? (It ain't what you think)
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com/2008/07/whats-wrong-with-aka-barbie-it-aint.html

National headquarters probably doesn't care what my lapsed and opinionated self has to say, but in case I don't make the 200th anniversary, how about a Dr. Mae Jemison or President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf doll? Better yet, why don't we skip the dolls altogether and honor the very real and un-Barbie-like black women who are changing the world?

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07.15.08 link round-up [Jul. 15th, 2008|07:46 pm]
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On the Radio

Voices of the Chicago 8: A Conversation With Tom Hayden - Part 2

http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2893

GUEST: Tom Hayden, former state assembly and senate representative, member of the "Chicago 8," co-author of several books including Voices of the Chicago Eight
A Generation on Trial

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News

Bush ends offshore drilling ban
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/07/2008714153729182635.html

George Bush, the US president, has lifted an executive ban on oil drilling on the US outer-continental shelf, the White House has said, improving prospects for oil exploration projects to go ahead in the region.

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Indonesia 'regrets' Timor violence
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/07/20087154370143951.html

Indonesia's president has expressed deep regret over the violence in East Timor in 1999, after formally accepting a report blaming the armed forces and government for the bloodshed.

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Holy crap. One million?!

US 'terrorism watch list' condemned
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/07/20087155340562256.html

A US rights group has condemned the country's "terrorism" watch list as "unfair", saying it has become bloated and contains too many names to be effective.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday publicised the fact that the US watch list now contains over one million names, and called for changes.

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The excerpt below was especially disheartening. Emergency rooms. *smh*

Mental Illness in the African American Community
http://www.blackpressusa.com/news/Article.asp?SID=4&Title=Departments&NewsID=8812

African-Americans are disproportionately exposed to social conditions considered to be important risk factors for physical and mental illness.

African Americans frequently lack a usual source of health care as a focal point for treatment. For many African Americans, the emergency room is generally the source of primary care treatment.

As a result, mental health care occurs frequently in emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals. These settings and limited treatment available there, undermine the delivery of high-quality mental health care.

Link from [info]blackfolk

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Blogs

This was painful to read about. I still don't get the joke about the hos and I still don't get Obama's "By the way, I’m just messing with you, man" aside. Well, I do, I just don't want to pretend I don't. *heavy sigh*

Open Thread: Misogyny, Race, and Comedy
http://www.racialicious.com/2008/07/15/open-thread-misogyny-race-and-comedy

So, while at a Obama fundraiser, Bernie Mac decided to perform his usual schtick*...

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Gina was interviewed about The New Yorker cartoon for the San Francisco Chronicle.

We're in the San Francisco Chronicle Too- Museum of Racist Memorabilia
http://whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com/2008/07/were-in-san-francisco-chronicle-too.html

The "theme" of my interview is that I am so tired of Liberals acting as if they don't understand why Black people would be offended by caricatures. Somehow they should be exempt, but the conservatives should be raked over the coals because somehow conservatives are inherently racist and liberals are immune.

You can print whatever you want to but don't feign ignorance. There is a LOOOOONG history of cartoons being used as an powerful weapon to the system of racial oppresion in this country. Any time you dabble in cartooning Black people, you should do so being aware of that history.

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This entry couldn't have come on a better day for me.

Fighting through the Confusion of Anger
http://brownfemipower.com/archives/2771

In this essay, Audre Lorde reflects on anger.

She states something that I found to be very powerful–anger is important, necessary and beneficial (and she makes a point of listing a whole page of wrongs that she’s been angry at)–because anger is loaded with information and energy.

It’s something I agree with, just as much as I agree with Andrea Smith, who says that the "yelling at white women" approach to feminism may work for some women, but very rarely effects genuine change and actually decenters women of color in the organizing agenda.

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Video

I have to get to this:

Barack Obama at NAACP Annual Conference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDeMFZIR1V0

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07.14.08 link round-up [Jul. 14th, 2008|08:13 pm]
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Sorry I missed Friday. Here's a long one to make up for it all.

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On the Radio

Today's was one of my favorite editions of Uprising, so I'm linking to all the stories:

If you listen to the audio, you'll hear part of McKinney's and Clemente's acceptance speeches.

Greens Pick McKinney for President
http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2886

GUEST: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator of the Green Party

and

Sex Positive: The Untold Story of an S&M Hustler Turned Revolutionary AIDS Activist
http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2879

Within the midst of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, with large numbers of gay men dying from a new and poorly understood disease, a man by the name of Richard Berkowitz spoke out about the need for practicing safe sex...

...Today his story has been captured in a new, multiple award winning documentary called Sex Positive, showing at this year’s Outfest.

and

Voices of the Chicago 8: A Conversation With Tom Hayden - Part 1
http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2887

The 1968 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago was the flashpoint of anti-Vietnam war protest resulting in police riots, and an ensuing conspiracy trial that gave voice to the tumultuous cultural, social and racial politics of the time. Eight men were arrested and tried: Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale. The infamous trial lasted months and was reported regularly on the nightly news. In an effort to preserve the history of the trial, Tom Hayden, who went on to serve in the California State Assembly and the State Senate, has co-authored a new book called Voices of the Chicago Eight: A Generation on Trial.

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From last week on Democracy Now!:

Slavery by Another Name: Author Douglas Blackmon on the Re-Enslavement of Black People in America
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/11/slavery_by_another_name_author_douglas

A new book by award-winning journalist Douglas Blackmon uncovers the forgotten history of neo-slavery imposed on hundreds and thousands of African Americans that continued well after the Civil War and persisted right up to the 1940s.

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News

Sudan president charged with genocide in Darfur
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080714/ap_on_re_af/war_crimes_sudan

The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant Monday for Sudan's president on charges of waging a campaign of genocide and rape in Darfur, a high-risk strategy that could backfire against the people in the war-torn desert region.

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Kucinich Introduces Single Article of Impeachment for President Bush
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/11/headlines#13

And on Capitol Hill, Congressmember Dennis Kucinich has introduced a single article of impeachment against President Bush. The article accuses Bush of deceiving Congress to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Kucinich says he introduced the measure in part to simplify the thirty-five articles of impeachment he introduced against Bush a month ago. This week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested the House Judiciary Committee could soon take up the measure.

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San Francisco cooperates with feds on immigration
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/12/state/n183648D83.DTL

Federal officials say San Francisco authorities have started turning over the names of juvenile offenders who may be in the U.S. illegally...
...The move comes after Mayor Gavin Newsom reversed the city's 20-year-old policy of shielding young immigrant offenders from federal deportation under San Francisco's sanctuary city policy. His administration came under intense criticism after three teenage boys escaped from a San Bernardino County group home where they were placed by the city...

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Blogs

Ah, The New Yorker cover of the Obamas. Fortunately, the intelligent commentaries have been swift and numerous. Just a couple below:

Satire or slam?
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com/2008/07/satire-or-slam.html

And about that cover story...Its contents convince me that the sum of the cover image and article were meant to tarnish Barack Obama in some way. In my eyes, admittedly the biased eyes of an Obama supporter, there is too much sly allusion to how well Obama plays the political game, his cockiness, his uneasy relationship with black folk in the form of the civil rights industrial complex...too many interviews with people who clearly have axes to grind...oh, and Bill Ayers and Tony Rezkco make obligatory appearances. I realize that Obama has his flaws and that good journalists have a right...no, duty, to reveal them as they relate to the candidate's ability to run the country. But this piece of journalism seemed specifically written to dismantle specific aspects of Obama's public persona that are seen as benefits.

Also

The Bad Frame: Why Are the New Yorker, Salon and Other Liberal Media Doing the Right's Dirty Work?
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/91355/

In the end, it is shocking how the experienced editors of the New Yorker don't have the remotest idea of how framing the Obamas in this way completely reinforces the negative and harbored feelings that they are absurdly trying to satirize. This is satire run amuck, and it is a perfect example of how antiquated notions of journalism can play a role in provoking the worst of stereotypes and off-the-wall fantasies.

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And if that weren't enough to make one stabby... I'm going to need white people to comprehend that certain epithets are off limits to them.

McLaughlin takes heat for 'Oreo' comment
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/14/mclaughlin-takes-heat-for-oreo-comment/

Referencing Jackson's comments, McLaughlin said Obama "fits the stereotype blacks once labeled as an Oreo — a black on the outside, a white on the inside."

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On a much more positive, soul-nurturing tip...

So much I could quote from - one the best entries I've read from Latoya. BTW, she references an entry I'd linked to earlier from Filipina blogger Sudy.

A Continuing Conversation on Feminism: Do You Know Who You’re Fighting For?
http://www.racialicious.com/2008/07/14/a-continuing-conversation-on-feminism-do-you-know-who-youre-fighting-for/

I don’t know if I still care about feminism.

I care about my homegirls.

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The Great Firewall of China
http://poplicks.com/2008/07/great-firewall-of-china.html

On the plane ride home, I was blown away by Naomi Klein's superb piece in Rolling Stone: China's All-Seeing Eye. She reports, among other startling revelations, she reports that the city of Shenzhen will soon install two million CCTVs...
...In my opinion, this is yet another example of how China's warming relations with "the West" is not only doing little to curb the Chinese government's repressive regime, but in some cases, is making things worse.

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Have to get to... it's a write-up of the Allied Media Conference, of which INCITE! was a co-sponsor:

Moving Beyond Survival
http://www.criticalmoment.org/issue28/hardienieves

Link via La Chola

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Another I have to get through. It's a round-up of sorts, referencing two blog entries on being Jewish and white and on being a transwoman:

What other people are saying
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-other-people-are-saying.html

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Action Alert

Another farm worker has died of heatstroke. From the United Farm Workers:

It's happened again. Farm worker Ramiro Carrillo had died of heatstroke in Selma.
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/heatdeath13

Also, Professor Black Woman blogged on UFW's ongoing campaign:

Empty Promises: CA’s Continued Profit Over People
http://profbw.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/empty-promises-cas-continued-profit-over-people/

Another Farmworker Dies: Ramiro Rodriguez
http://profbw.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/another-farmworker-dies/

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07.10.08 link round-up [Jul. 10th, 2008|10:23 pm]
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News

Landmark Case Returns to NY Seeking Millions from Corporations that Profited from South African Apartheid
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/8/landmark_case_returns_to_ny_seeking

A landmark case is returning to a New York district court that seeks millions of dollars in reparations from corporations that supported and profited from South African apartheid.

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Rove ignores subpoena, refuses to testify
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080710/ap_on_go_co/rove_subpoena

Former White House adviser Karl Rove defied a congressional subpoena and refused to testify Thursday about allegations of political pressure at the Justice Department, including whether he influenced the prosecution of a former Democratic governor of Alabama.

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Conviction Overturned for Jailed Black Panther in "Angola 3" Case
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/10/headlines#14

And a federal judge has overturned a murder conviction for an ex-Black Panther who spent more than three decades in solitary confinement. Albert Woodfox and two other former Black Panthers are known as the Angola Three. Many believe they were framed for their political activism. A judge ruled this week Woodfox’s lawyer failed to properly challenge the credibility of witnesses who later admitted they were coerced into falsely testifying.

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Katrina Contractor Admits Failing to Disclose Toxic Levels in Evacuee Trailers
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/10/headlines#13

Back in the United States, a leading government contractor has admitted it failed to disclose internal findings showing dangerous toxic levels in trailers it built for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. Gulf Stream Coach says it didn’t tell government officials its own tests found formaldehyde levels as much as forty-five times greater than acceptable standards. On Wednesday, company CEO Jim Shea told lawmakers the results were deemed "irrelevant information" because Federal Emergency Management Agency officials already knew the levels were high.

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Blogs

John McCain -- 61 Flip-Flops and Counting
http://www.alternet.org/election08/90956/

Editor's Note: Writer Steve Benen has graciously compiled a comprehensive tally of John McCain's flip-flops on issues ranging from national security to energy. The following is Benen's list of 61 clear 180-degree switches by McCain on the biggest issues of the day.

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Green Party Poised to Nominate Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente
http://whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com/2008/07/green-party-poised-to-nominate-cynthia.html

While the nation was obsessed with what Jesse Jackson wanted to do to Barack Obama's private parts, the Green Party is poised to nominate the first woman and African American to head their presidential ticket.

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I like the way La Chola summed it up.

Erm…What?
http://brownfemipower.com/archives/2756

Why does Jesse Jackson want to cut Obama’s nuts off?

What kind of person says something like that?

I’m just too confused to even try to unpack the politics of one rich black man wanting to castrate another rich black man.

*********

Shhh, they’re listening…
http://angryblackbitch.blogspot.com/2008/07/shhh-theyre-listening.html

A bitch is disturbed by the bill Bush has signed into law that extends immunity to telecom companies that helped the Bush administration spy on Americans.

I read the news right after reading this article about the death of Ruth Greenglass and somehow I think that’s how it was meant to be.

Ruth Greenglass, along with her husband David, provided key testimony that sent Ethel Rosenberg to her death for treason.

*********

Action Alert

From the United Farm Workers:

Another farm worker just died from heat stroke.
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/heatdeath12?rk=3pdy356qlBrQW

I need to share some news with you that breaks my heart. Yesterday another farm worker’s life was lost due to heat stroke. Abdon Felix Garcia was the third farm worker heat death in the last 8 weeks and the 12th farm worker heat death since CA Governor Schwarzenegger took office. Then I need to ask for your immediate help to e-mail Gov. Schwarzenegger and California legislatures today and tell them this has to stop now.

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07.09.08 link round-up [Jul. 9th, 2008|09:55 pm]
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Short one tonight.

********

First. Way to go, Barack.

FISA finally clears Congress
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11627.html

A landmark terrorist surveillance bill cleared Congress Wednesday, ending nearly a year of debate over how best to balance safety and civil rights in going forward with government eavesdropping using access to U.S. phone companies to target persons overseas.

Twenty Democrats, including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, supported the measure despite continued resistance from Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Obama’s former rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

********

Second, in case you didn't catch it, Malia Obama was interviewed on "Access Hollywood" during her birthday party. It didn't sound like a good idea to me at the time. In fact I'd said to a couple of friends of mine about a month ago that as bad as the attacks against Michelle have been, I was just waiting for Republicans to start going after the daughters with coded vitriol. Apparently Barack agrees, and he now regrets the decision to grant media access to his daughters.

Seriously, you wouldn't believe the attention a ten-year-old received for one interview. So, a brief round-up of links, all courtesy of michelleobamawatch.com

First, the interview:
http://michelleobamawatch.com/?p=146

Second, a blogger named Sandra Rose comments that Malia is too articulate for a Black kid "too grown" for a little girl:
http://sandrarose.com/2008/07/08/video-obamas-daughter-is-only-10

Precocious might be too tame a word to describe Malia Obama. This little girl is TOO grown. I blame the parents. What can one expect when both parents are frequently on the road leaving their small children to practically raise themselves?

Bill O'Reilly gets in on the act:
http://michelleobamawatch.com/?p=149

Sandra Rose may think she was too grown, but Bill O’reilly thinks Malia Obama is “A Patriot.”

Barack's had enough:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25600445/

Obama said it was a mistake to allow his daughters to be interviewed extensively by “Access Hollywood,” and he will not allow it to happen again.

“I think that we got carried away in the moment,” the Illinois senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told TODAY’s Matt Lauer Wednesday. “We were having a birthday party, and everybody was laughing. And suddenly this thing cropped up. I didn’t catch it quickly enough. I was surprised by the attention it received.”

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That's it. I can't even be bothered to link to the Jesse Jackson thing. *eyeroll*

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07.08.08 link round-up [Jul. 8th, 2008|08:41 pm]
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Sorry this is late. I was trying to get the roundups out so that East Coasters could see them before bedtime, but I think they'll have to go out around this time from now on, which means the news will always be a day late for you guys.

But I enjoy putting these together, so I'll make the adjustment. Better late than never!

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Action Alert Reminder

FISA hasn't gone up for the vote yet - looks like it's tomorrow (Wednesday). If you haven't called/emailed your senator and want to do so, here's the link to info in yesterday's post:

http://parlance.livejournal.com/355522.html

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News

From last week. The first is the AP article, which apparently misrepresented Obama's stance entirely. The second link is the Salon article correcting the AP article.

Obama to expand Bush's faith-based programs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080701/ap_on_el_pr/obama_faith_3

On the faith-based initiative, Obama's way isn't Bush's way
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/07/01/faith/index.html

Thankfully, this AP feed was wrong, it's being corrected, and Barack Obama has not completely lost his mind. I obtained a copy of the speech Obama is going to deliver today, and he specifically outlines a faith-based agenda that in no way resembles Bush's approach. In fact, it's largely the opposite.

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Scientists condemn G8 climate plan
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/07/200878182052790556.html

Scientists have criticised a pledge signed in Japan by the Group of Eight (G8) rich nations to halve global emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, calling the plan insufficient to arrest climate change.

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A School Steeped in Tolerance Adds a Course That Tests It
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/nyregion/20bigcity.html

Friends Seminary is most likely the first school in New York to offer the language that doesn’t have a significant Arabic-speaking student body.

Link from Racewire

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Blogs


Sudy's powerful entry today comes from the Philippines where she's currently studying.

"...Or else you're just a feminist."
http://myecdysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/whats-your-statement.html

There must be action. There must be a statement.

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This essay on WALL-E captured many of the problems I had with the movie (though as with most Pixar movies I loved it on an aesthetic level).

The article's a spoiler, so I won't quote it.

WALL-E: A World Without Us
Stores are overfilling with WALL-E merchandise that will soon clog our landfills. Yet this new Disney movie bills itself as pro-environment.
http://www.alternet.org/movies/89964/?page=2&ses=2c653c38f9dd57951c26b43d53e846c8

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Racial memory: Clear as black and white
http://www.stlbeacon.org/voices/in_the_news/east_st_louis_riot_commentary

The striking difference between the races in relation to the riot illustrates an undeniable fact - well into the 20th century, perhaps even into the 21st, blacks and whites have experienced a different America...

Link from [info]sofvckinghot

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This blogger reflects the treatment of white celebrities with mental illness and the differences in perception among communities of color.

This is about for once not hiding behind metaphors
http://basseyworld.com/journal.php?view=1&id=598

...once it became a mental illness and not just random "crackhead acting out", there was a slow sympathy that drifted in. I was moved by both Britney and now Heather, as I'm moved by tales of folks living with or battling against or trying to understand the way their minds tick and the way emotions are understood and interpreted. There is a kinship there. I'll get to it.

After I read the article, I started thinking about celebrities of color and what they must battle. Wondering if there would be a publicist encouraging a black starlet to tell her story on the cover of People or Ebony or Essence. Wondering if there would be a loving and respectful cover. Remembering Lisa Nicole Carson and the rumors that forced/encouraged/nudged her out of the limelight and away from Hollywood. Would Hollywood ever welcome her back...

Link from Professor Black Woman

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Obama's Sister Becomes Asian-American Surrogate
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/01/obamas-sister-his-surroga_n_110171.html

To many in this crowd Obama's Asian-American half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, represents yet another aspect of Obama's identity that makes him unique as a presidential candidate, although it has been underplayed amid the excitement surrounding his shot at becoming the first black president.

Link from Angry Asian Man

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New Tim Wise essay. I'm still getting through it all:

Uh-Obama: Racism, White Voters and the Myth of Color-Blindness
http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/07/04/uh-obama-racism-white-voters-and-the-myth-of-color-blindness/

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07.07.08 link round-up [Jul. 7th, 2008|04:36 pm]
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This is shorter than I'd intended, but I'll be away from my computer for most of the evening. I'll post the rest tomorrow.

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At the top of the list since there may be a vote tomorrow.

Action Alert: FISA

Here's the bare-bones version of what to say to your Senators (via phone or email):

Tell Your Senators: "Don't Shred the Constitution this July 4th -- Reject Telecom Immunity!"
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr009=dn5u79wy84.app2a&alertId=389&pg=makeACall

More info:

What Every American Needs to Know (and Do) About FISA Before Tuesday

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/07/07/what-every-american-needs-to-know-and-do-about-fisa-before-tuesday/

Tomorrow, July 8th, could mark the beginning of official condoning of warrantless surveillance of law-abiding citizens in the US, not to mention foreign nationals. I am not an alarmist and believe in qualified surveillance with process — this is different. I’ve done the homework.

Link from Racialicious

Also - on the radio this morning:

AT&T Whistleblower Urges Against Immunity for Telecoms in Bush Spy Program
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/7/att_t_whistleblower_urges_against_immunity

The Senate is expected to vote on a controversial measure to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act tomorrow. The legislation would rewrite the nation’s surveillance laws and authorize the National Security Agency’s secret program of warrantless wiretapping. We speak with Mark Klein, a technician with AT&T for over twenty-two years. In 2006 Klein leaked internal AT&T documents that revealed the company had set up a secret room in its San Francisco office to give the National Security Agency access to its fiber optic internet cables. [includes rush transcript]

And I posted this last week, but here it is again:

Senator Obama - Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SenatorObama-PleaseVoteAgainstFISA

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Canadian Court Rules Immigration and Refugee Board Reconsider Asylum Claim for US War Resister
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/7/canadian_court_rules_immigration_and_refugee

In a victory for US war resisters, Canada’s federal court ruled Friday that the Immigration and Refugee Board should reconsider the asylum claim of conscientious objector and Iraq war veteran Joshua Key. The court ruled that Key had been forced to systematically violate the Geneva Conventions as part of his military service in Iraq and that such misconduct amounts to a legitimate refugee claim. We speak with Key and his lawyer, Jeffry House. [includes rush transcript]

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On the Radio

McCain and Betancourt’s Rescue
http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2852

Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain was in Colombia on the day of Betancourt’s release, completing a three day Latin America trip. He was warmly received in Colombia by President Uribe causing some to speculate that the White House’s help in rescuing Betancourt was no coincidence.

See also Angry Black Bitch's commentary on the subject:

Free at last…
http://angryblackbitch.blogspot.com/2008/07/free-at-last.html

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Blogs

I blogged privately about this Thursday. It hurt to read about what happened and those words from the neighbors, and I didn't have any more answers to offer than Gem. I'm linking to this because, for once, I encourage you to read the comments.

22 y.o. Black Woman to 11 year-old Black Girl Gang Raped By 20 Men and boys: "That girl, knew What She Was Doing"

http://whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com/2008/07/22-yo-black-woman-to-11-year-old-black.html

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Tami, mirroring many of my thoughts on the 4th of July:

Symbols of patriotism and fear of a black planet
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com/2008/07/symbols-of-patriotism-and-fear-of-black.html

Includes video of Rene Marie's performance.

The relatively unknown jazz singer was asked to sing the national anthem at Denver city Council event. Instead of "The Star Spangled Banner" written by poet Francis Scott Key about the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, she sang the song that has come to be considered "the black national anthem," "Life Every Voice and Sing," penned by poet James Weldon Johnson in 1900 as a way for African Americans to voice their patriotism and hope for the future...

...There is nothing anti-American about this song. There is little that should offend a true patriot. In fact, I can find little more patriotic than a people who have been historically enslaved and discriminated against proclaiming love of country despite all that. For those who complain that the song excludes other races, I point out that the song, which has become The Black National Anthem, never mentions blackness at all.

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Two blogs on Esmin Green, the Black woman who died after she collapsed in a hospital and was ignored by hospital workers.

Esmin Green - Dies B/c She Does Not Count
http://profbw.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/esmin-green-dies-bc-she-does-not-count/

Jamaican immigrant, Esmin Green was inside the hospital, seated directly in front of the waiting room observation window. Like other patients, she was waiting patiently to be seen by a physician. Medical staff were not only aware of her presence but could see her from where she sat. She did not die of a siezure. Esmin Green died of bigotry.

and

Esmin Green...Yes She Mattered
http://www.womanist-musings.com/2008/07/esmin-greenyes-she-mattered.html
As I sit and type up yet another sad report on the death of a WOC, I must ask once again where is the outrage?...
...When I was attacked for not showing remorse at Hillary's loss of the Democratic nomination, I could not properly explain why, I could not feel the same sort of angst. The truth is, I am tired. I am so very tired of watching daily, helplessly as our bodies go abused and unrecognized. I am tired of being a filler when a representative black is needed, yet when my sisters cry out in real pain our calls for solidarity go unheard and unanswered. How can we call this a community, when daily the deaths of WOC go unremarked upon? I have seen more people have emotion over the death of a pet dog than when bodies of colour die.</em>

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Summer of Our Lorde
This Summer BrokenBeautiful Press presents Summer of Our Lorde: Radical Study and Intentional Healing.

http://summerofourlorde.wordpress.com

Summer of our Lorde is a study group/community building project inspired by the work of black lesbian feminist mother warrior poet Audre Lorde.

Reading list:
http://summerofourlorde.wordpress.com/thus-saith/

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Action Alert

John Legend wrote the song "Show Me," inspired by two Guinean children, Yaguine Koita and Fodé Tounkara, who froze to death inside the wheel of a plane to Brussels, carrying with their belongings a letter that was a plea to first-world nations on behalf of the children of Africa.

Show Me Campaign
http://www.showmecampaign.org

The mission of the Show Me Campaign is to fight economic and spiritual poverty through fostering sustainable development (personal, social, educational, economic) at the individual, family and small community levels. The Show Me Campaign is a grassroots movement that engages all of its participants as agents of transformative change from the bottom up.

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07.05.08 link round-up: Jean Cocteau edition [Jul. 4th, 2008|10:17 pm]
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As some of you know, Jean Cocteau is my favorite artist. He was a true Renaissance man: artist, poet, playwright, novelist, set and costume designer and filmmaker. He is most famous for his b+w live-action version of "Beauty and the Beast." The only art form in which he didn't create original works was music, though he was considered the inspirational figure for the group of musicians known as Les Six. He was contemporaries and friends with the likes of Picasso, Colette, Stein, Radiguet, Man Ray and Genet. It was Sergei Diaghilev who gave a young Cocteau the directive to "astonish me!" Cocteau was so ubiquitous that inquiry into art, film and literature and Parisian history from the 1920s to 1940s will inevitably come across him.

I admire Cocteau not only for his talent, but his spirit, particularly as an unapologetically gay man. He was often derided as a dilettante, and I believe this is the reason few Americans have heard of him unless they are film students, reading his novel "Thomas the Imposter" in French class or studying lgbtq history. As a filmmaker is often imitated (any time you see a student film with hands going thorugh a mirror or human arms-as-candelabras protruding from walls you're seeing homages to Cocteau's "Orphee" and "La Belle et La Bete," respectively). I believe he is a severely underrated artist - taken for granted in France, mostly ignored in the US and possibly just too far ahead for his time. He has nevertheless influenced some of my favorite artists - Tim Burton, David Sylvian, Nick Rhodes, Phillip Glass and Andy Warhol - and I've always believed that we never would have had a Warhol without a Cocteau, as Cocteau was the original self-marketing modern artist. Much as I love Cocteau, I could literally take a lifetime and I will still never know the breadth of his work.

This July 5 is the 119th anniversary of his birth. Happy birthday, Jean. I'm sure you're continuing to astonish and inspire wherever you are.

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For the above mentioned reasons, finding comprehensive sources on Cocteau can be a futile exercise, and I don't particularly care for the Wikipedia article. This is one of the better introductions to Cocteau. In English.

jeancocteau.com
http://www.jeancocteau.com/

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This is a better site, created and maintained by my penpal, Marylene. In French.
Chez Jean Cocteau
http://leonicat.club.fr/cocteau/images.html

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Another Cocteau fansite. In English.

Jean Cocteau
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~lenin/Jean_Cocteau_Index.html

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A few of my Cocteau-related photos from France, London and Montreal
http://flickr.com/photos/parlance/tags/jeancocteau/

Most taken before I had a digital camera, rather crappy. But they give you a tiny glimpse of what he's done... and the distances I'll travel for him. :-D

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07.02.08 Link round-up [Jul. 2nd, 2008|07:01 pm]
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News

Follow-up to an article I'd posted in the roundup before:

President Bush Takes Nelson Mandela Off Terror Watch List
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011480802

President George Bush signed a bill on Tuesday taking Nobel Peace Prize winner and former South African President Nelson Mandela off the U.S. government's terror watch list.

Link from Racewire

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The following two news links are courtesy of [info]kitsune_stars, who has been doing her own link round-ups:

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Wow, yeah, this argument doesn't sound familiar at all. :-/

Italy: Court inflames Roma discrimination row
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/01/italy
The court of cassation decided this did not show [anti-immigrant official] Tosi was a racist, but that he had "a deep aversion [to Roma] that was not determined by the Gypsy nature of the people discriminated against, but by the fact that all the Gypsies were thieves".

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How's this for irony?

Vicar: Dire Times For Iraq's Christians
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/29/60minutes/main3553612.shtml
But now, after nearly 2,000 years, Iraqi Christians are being hunted, murdered and forced to flee -- persecuted on a biblical scale in Iraq's religious civil war.

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Blogs

Hecklers Highlight Silence of Major Latino Organizations Around War
http://ofamerica.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/hecklers-highlight-silence-of-major-latino-organizations-around-war/

Though I have longtime friends and colleagues at most of them, it saddens me to report that, to date, none of the major Latino organizations-NALEO, LULAC, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), MALDEF, Southwest Voter Registration (leaders of SVREP have, however, taken positions) have come out against the Iraq war...
...We should not, however, paint all Latinos or all Latino organizations with the same brush of silence about war. MANY, many individuals like Camilo Mejia and many organizations like Project YANO and others are fighting the good fight against the Pentagon in its war for the hearts and minds of our kids.

Link from Racewire

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Barack Obama: Savvy or Sellout
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com/2008/07/barack-obama-savvy-or-sellout.html

I hope that Obama is not giving credence to the damaging belief that patriotism means never questioning someone who has worn a military uniform.

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Essay

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education
Our best universities have forgotten that the reason they exist is to make minds, not careers
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/su08/elite-deresiewicz.html

So many quotes I could copy from this article. I'll stick with two:

One of the great errors of an elite education, then, is that it teaches you to think that measures of intelligence and academic achievement are measures of value in some moral or metaphysical sense...

...it is precisely that opportunity [not to be rich] that an elite education takes away. How can I be a schoolteacher—wouldn’t that be a waste of my expensive education? Wouldn’t I be squandering the opportunities my parents worked so hard to provide? What will my friends think? How will I face my classmates at our 20th reunion, when they’re all rich lawyers or important people in New York? And the question that lies behind all these: Isn’t it beneath me? So a whole universe of possibility closes, and you miss your true calling...

Link from [info]blackfolk

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Action Alert

This is group that's gathered at Obama's official site to lobby to against Obama voting for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act:

Senator Obama - Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SenatorObama-PleaseVoteAgainstFISA

I'm going to add more info about FISA in a later roundup, I'm trying to find articles that have simple talking points. But if you already know what I'm talking about and you're an Obama supporter, consider joining the group.

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Have to get to these articles:

America and China: The Eagle and the Dragon
With a $3 trillion war bill and an economy that flounders as China's soars, could America's era of dominance on the world stage be coming to an end? Mick Brown and the photographer Alec Soth travelled across America and China to observe how the future of these two great nations is intertwined, and to find out whether, in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics and the US election, we are on the brink of a new world order. In the first of a four-part series, they meet army recruitment officers in Virginia and cadets at West Point
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/06/28/sm_america28.xml

and

Part two: Requiem for a dream
Once symbolic of optimism and certainty, America's credit-crunched suburbs may be facing a decline as dramatic as that of Detroit, itself once a beacon of industry. Mick Brown and the photographer Alec Soth continue their investigation into the contrasting fortunes of the US and China
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/07/05/sm_america05.xml

Links from [info]blackfolk

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06.30.08 Link round-up [Jun. 30th, 2008|04:40 pm]
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News

:-/

Bill Clinton says Barack Obama must 'kiss my ass' for his support
Bill Clinton is so bitter about Barack Obama's victory over his wife Hillary that he has told friends the Democratic nominee will have to beg for his wholehearted support.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2211812/Bill-Clinton-says-Barack-Obama-must-%27kiss-my-ass%27-for-his-support.html

Link from [info]blackfolk

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Science law could set tone for Jindal
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/science_law_could_set_tone_for.html

Jindal ignored those calling for a veto and this week signed the law that will allow local school boards to approve supplemental materials for public school science classes as they discuss evolution, cloning and global warming....
... Critics call it a back-door attempt to replay old battles about including biblical creationism or "intelligent design" in science curricula, a point defenders reject based on a clause that the law "shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine .¤.¤. or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion."

Link from Racewire

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Blogs

Indian Pride
http://profbw.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/indian-pride/

British colonialism criminalized homosexuality in India 145 years ago and same sex desire has been illegal ever since. Despite this and news reporters yesterday emphasizing discrimination (as if it was uniquely Indian), gay rights activists have been trying to raise awareness and create safe space in India for some time.

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Please Purchase this Report on Black Women and Girls
http://blackwomenvote.blogspot.com/2008/06/please-purchase-this-report-on-black.html

This past Thursday, I drove to Brooklyn, NY to attend a press conference about the first comprehensive national study on Black American women and girls...
...Please consider purchasing and downloading the report. It was commissioned by a think tank for black women entitled The Law and Policy Group... it's about 39 pages long, and can be read in one sitting.

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Action Alerts

The Pfc. LaVena Johnson Petition
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/

From the original post, "The cover-up of a soldier's death?"
Little more on LaVena's death was said until St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV aired a story last night which disclosed troubling details not previously made public - details which belie the Army's assertion that the young Florissant native died by her own hand.

Link from [info]blackfolk

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Stop I-69

http://stopi69.wordpress.com/
I-69 is a NAFTA superhighway, already constructed from Canada to Indianapolis and projected to extend down into Mexico. This highway is intended for the mass transportation of goods and resources, to further exploit workers and the land, and to lessen companies’ accountability in terms of human and environmental rights. In 2008, they intend to begin construction of this road through southwestern Indiana, evicting hundreds of rural families, destroying hundreds of acres of land, and devastating the habitats of countless species of animals, many of them already endangered.

Link from La Chola

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06.27.08 Link round-up [Jun. 27th, 2008|05:34 pm]
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News

Obama Rejects Nader Criticism on "Talking White"

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/27/headlines#11

Sen. Barack Obama: "What’s clear is, Ralph Nader hasn’t been paying attention to my speeches. Ralph Nader is trying to get attention. He has become the perennial political candidate. I think it’s a shame, because if you look at his legacy in terms of consumer protections it’s an extraordinary one. But at this point, he’s somebody who’s trying to get attention and his campaign hasn’t gotten any traction."

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Response mixed to proposal to limit Medi-Cal benefits
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jun/23/response-mixed-to-proposal-to-limit-medi-cal/

"Medi-Cal provides healthcare to about 6.6 million Californians, including poor families, pregnant women, disabled people and seniors. As part of a plan to strike the state's $15 billion deficit, the governor wants to limit benefits of legal residents who came to the country in the past five years so they qualify for emergency help, but little else."

Link from Racewire

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"News"

And bears shit in the woods. Thanks, USA Today.

Study shows blacks don't share similar views of world
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-06-26-Blacks-views_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Link from [info]blackfolk

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Blogs

From my friend, [info]chreebomb, inspired in part from recent essays at Racialicious and hearing Patricia Hill Collins speak at the recent NWSA conference. She speaks directly to the roadblocks the myth of color blindness poses against productive discussions on racism.

Post-modernism, Individualism, and Being Friends with White People
http://chreebomb.livejournal.com/551194.html

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This one I have to get to:

New Equalities Bill
http://shewhohashope.livejournal.com/98676.html

Labour MP and Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman, has proposed new government policy to tackle age, gender, and racial discrimination among companies that bid for government contracts

Reposting with permission from [info]shewhohashope

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Action Alerts

An update from the United Farm Workers on Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez. Disappointing to see Trader Joe's distance themselves of responsibility.

Tell Trader Joe's to Chuck the Excuses
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/traderjoes?rk=Hddy356qtjLhW

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06.26.08 Link round-up [Jun. 26th, 2008|04:31 pm]
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Shorter one today:

News

House to Hold First-Ever Hearing on Transgender Rights
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/89456/

Hopefully the hearing will build the foundation for federal laws that protect transgender people from discrimination.

The hearings will be held at 10:30; portions of the proceedings will be aired on CSPAN and streamed on their website.

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Another gang attack of a black woman while neighbors ignore screams
http://blackwomenvote.blogspot.com/2008/06/another-gang-attack-of-black-woman.html

One year after the Dunbar Village incident has passed. No progress has been made.

Yesterday, in Philadelphia, a black woman was forced into her apartment and raped for four hours by several men. According to ABC news, quite a few neighbors said that they heard this sister's screams, but 'didn't think to call the police'. A female neighbor heard her screams and said and I quote: "I heard her screaming , 'Oh my God! Oh my goodness! Oh my God!'... Then I didn't pay attention and laid back down."

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Almost forgot that I wanted to add two on people of color on TV, from US and UK perspectives:

Diversity in Entertainment: Why Is TV So White?
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20206185,00.html
Cleveland Brown -- a cartoon voiced by a white guy -- is the only minority character to anchor a new series in 2008-09. What gives? As the broadcast networks prepare a predominantly white fall schedule, we examine where all the color has gone

And (the title is misleading)

Too many black and Asian faces on TV,' says BBC director Samir Shah
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/26/bbc.television

Shah said that instead of dealing with the issues surrounding why greater numbers of people from ethnic minorities had not made it to the executive level of British television, broadcasters had instead put more black and Asian faces on screen, regardless of whether they were cultural fits to the programmes they were in.

Both links from [info]blackfolk

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Blog

Meant to link to this earlier this week. I thought this was one of the clearer, more comprehensive explanations of the politics behind the energy crisis.

Why We're Suddenly Paying Through the Nose for Gas
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/88945/
Oil companies, speculators and OPEC played their part, but ruinous Bush Administration policies have compounded the crisis.

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Action Alerts

Demand Fox stop race baiting and fear mongering
http://colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=1290-92292

Tell Fox News chief Roger Ailes to stop racism before it hits the airwaves, and make it clear that you'll take action when another racist smear happens.

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Switch Over to Darfur
http://www.switchovertodarfur.org/

Most Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China's financing of the Darfur genocide, even as they spend billions on the Olympics.

Pledge to change the channel to Darfur when their ads air during the Games unless these sponsors speak out about China's role in Darfur.

Switch Over to watch Mia Farrow reporting from a Darfurian refugee camp during the Olympics.

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