A Cause Bigger Than Any Scandal
March 17, 2008 By Amy Goodman
http://Truthdig.com
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A Cause Bigger Than Any Scandal
March 17, 2008 By Amy Goodman
http://Truthdig.com
"Monday was a strange day in Albany. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was scheduled to give a major address to close to 1,000 people, most of whom were women or teens. They were gathered to support and lobby for a reproductive rights bill in the Empire State Plaza's strange, iconic building known as The Egg. It is said to be the most progressive such bill introduced by a governor, guaranteeing a woman's right to an abortion, among other protections.
New York was one of only three states to legalize abortion before Roe v. Wade. JoAnn Smith, CEO and president of Family Planning Advocates of New York State, organized Monday's event. She talked about the pre-Roe days: "Women were dying—doctors saw it in the hospitals, clergy saw it in the families they were serving, in real people's lives. So it was really the clergy and the doctors who were doing the early organizing. They made New York safe for women as they made their choices on reproductive health care." In fact, the first abortion clinic was run by clergy in New York City, called Clergy Consultation Service. Now, nearly 40 years later, with a U.S. Supreme Court ever closer to overturning Roe v. Wade, Spitzer was working with women's rights activists from around the state to update New York state's law.
The New York state Assembly was also slated to vote Monday on the Healthy Teens Act. Rabbi Dennis Ross, in Albany to push the bill, said: "The Healthy Teens Act ... would provide comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate and 100 percent truthful information about sex to teens. We believe in knowledge. We believe in people knowing about themselves and about their world. And the Healthy Teens Act would give teens that information and capacity that they urgently need." Urgently, indeed: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a report that one in four girls and young women between the ages of 14 and 19 has a sexually transmitted disease. One in four....
People had come in from all over the state. A number of young people, teen peer counselors, had driven in from Buffalo, hours away, where, 10 years ago, Dr. Barnett Slepian, an obstetrician-gynecologist who performed abortions, was assassinated in his home, in front of his wife and kids. The assassin, James Charles Kopp, captured in 2001, was affiliated with the anti-abortion group the Lambs of Christ.
Back at Monday's events, amid red, white and blue balloons above every table, from which people would soon head out to lobby their legislators, it was announced that Spitzer had canceled, with rumors that he was sick. Lt. Gov. David Paterson took the podium. In his typical, casual, folksy style—he doesn't read from a teleprompter, as he is legally blind—he lauded the citizen activists, the young people especially, for coming to their state capital to take an active role in their government. After his talk, he held an impromptu press conference. The local Fox TV affiliate was dogging him, asking him how he would respond to critics of the bill who claimed that it would force Catholic hospitals and individual health-care professionals to perform abortions against their will. He didn't flinch, responding immediately: "That's not true. There is a conscience clause."
When asked if he, as a Catholic, had discussed this reproductive rights bill with his cardinal, he said he had, several times. Paterson said he had told the cardinal: "I am pro-choice. I go to bed at night, I wake up in the morning, with a clean conscience." He spoke with the same forcefulness he brings to other issues like gay rights and police brutality. Nine years ago, in March 1999, after African immigrant Amadou Diallo died in a hail of 41 police bullets, then-Sen. Paterson was arrested at New York City Police Headquarters as he protested police brutality.
He wrapped up the news conference just before noon Monday. New York's progressive, blind, Catholic, African-American lieutenant governor, David Paterson, might not have known it then, but he was mere minutes away from receiving the call with the news that Spitzer's alleged use of prostitutes was about to go public.
Soon the storm of the Spitzer Sex Scandal enveloped Albany....
The governor has resigned in disgrace, he has let down his wife and his daughters, he is bringing unknown consequences to the prostitutes he hired, and he let down millions in New York state whose causes he championed. But it is not about one leader, or one body, but about the body politic. It is about grass-roots movements, the only sure way to protect the rights of women and girls.
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"Changeless Change: The Law of Politics"
by Mumia Abu-Jamal
http://PrisonRadio.org
"Changeless Change: The Law of Politics"
by Mumia Abu-Jamal
http://PrisonRadio.org
"True change doesn't come through the ballot box -- even though we're all taught that it does. For voting was instituted to insure stability, not change. I know this may seem somewhat sacrilegious to many entranced during this current political season, for it certainly looks like change. But if we look deeper, we see how the very process itself -- the campaign -- is an exercise in conformity. People come to political campaigns to reassure themselves that their politicians won't bring too much change. In essence, our political campaigns are little more than slick popularity contests: who looks best? Who makes me feel most comfortable? Who would I like to have a brew with? John Kerry lost in 2004 not only because large parts of Ohio were stolen, nor that he was successfully swift-boated by lies about his tour in Vietnam; he lost because his opponents launched a stealth campaign against him branding him as an intellectual, an egghead with advanced degrees who even spoke French! Americans, especially in this age of anti-intellectualism, aren't comfortable with eggheads. So, they comfortably 'elected' a blockhead. Therein lies the current contrast between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- not race nor gender -- but popularity. At bottom, our politics is 95% beauty contest. On issues, the two are almost inseparable. And truth be told (despite right wing propaganda to the contrary) neither are actually liberals; both are neo liberals, who are, at heart, globalists of the NAFTA type. Neither wants to repeal NAFTA -- they want to "re-negotiate" it (not really surprising considering that both are also lawyers.). They are vying for who will become Chief Manager of the Empire, after the Bush wrecking crew is done. Neither are anti-imperialists -- they just want better, smarter management of it; empire, with a smile. (John McCain promises he won't smile) How could it be otherwise with the almost obscene amounts of money in play? How could it be other than this with the hundreds of millions of dollars that have sloshed through all of the presidential campaigns, most of it for media ad buys? That doesn't mean that people aren't interested, or even desperate for change. But what kind of change will they get? When's the last time you've heard any presidential candidate mention the words imperialism, poor people, or -- heavens forfend! -- capitalism? If they mention capitalism, it's almost like a religion that needs defending -- for no "viable" candidate criticizes capitalism. For, like a religion, it must be believed in. Just like politicians are believed in, until they inevitably betray those who voted for them. Who do you think they ultimately owe their loyalty to; those who voted for them? Or those who gave them millions of dollars to run?"
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"Paul, the Magnificent"
Mumia Abu-Jamal, 2/28/8
http://PrisonRadio.org
Paul Robeson H
"Paul, the Magnificent"
Mumia Abu-Jamal, 2/28/8
http://PrisonRadio.org
Paul Robeson Honored on U.S. Postage Stamp
"Paul Leroy Robeson was the U.S. working class' greatest voice. One critic described his baritone as "the finest musical instrument wrought by Nature in our time.��? His outspoken activism against racism and imperialism made him one of the most beloved heroes of the international working class. His support of socialism, close relations with the Communist Party, USA, and friendship with the Soviet Union also earned him the enmity of the U.S. ruling class.
During the anti-Communist witch-hunts spearheaded by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Paul Robeson became a target for repression. He went from being arguably the most famous person in the world, to being erased from the history books. Now, after a six-year grassroots campaign, the United States Post Office is issuing a commemorative stamp in his honor. The stamp is the twenty-seventh to be issued in the Black Heritage series, which has also included Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois, Thurgood Marshall, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The stamp will be issued in 2004, in time for Black History Month. Robeson is perhaps the first U.S. communist to be so honored....
The importance of spreading Paul Robeson's story is evident to anyone who knows the story. Robeson was born in 1898 in Princeton, NJ. His father, a preacher, escaped slavery at the age of fifteen. His mother came from a family of Quakers who were involved in the movement to abolish slavery.
A Renaissance man in every sense of the word, Paul Robeson excelled in each of the many fields in which he participated. He was only the third African-American to attend New Jersey's Rutgers University, where he received a four-year academic scholarship. Despite the racism that he was forced to endure, including opponents refusing to take the field against a team that included an African-American, he excelled in both academics and athletics. He played baseball, football, basketball and track. He won fifteen varsity letters, and was named to the All-American football team twice. He was the valedictorian of his graduating class in 1919, member of both Phi Beta Kappa and the Cap & Skull Honor Society.
Robeson attended graduate school at Columbia Law School in New York City, supporting himself by playing professional football on weekends. However, the racism he encountered in his workplace made it impossible to perform his job. Instead, he turned to the performing arts. In a short time Robeson became a world-renown singer and actor. He performed in numerous films, including Eugene O'Neill's Emperor Jones. He performed in the musical Showboat, where he first sang his trademark song "Old Man River.��? In later years he would adapt the lyrics, most notably adding the line "I must keep fighting until I'm dying.��?
The militant message Robeson brought to his art reflected his courage and his unwavering defiance in the face of oppression. He also proved his theatric abilities in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, when he became only the second black actor to portray the character Othello on stage. Robeson also spoke and wrote in twenty different languages. His singing performances included not only spirituals and songs of the American working class, but also folk songs from different cultures around the world. Many people in the U.S were for the first time exposed to Chinese, Spanish and Russian folk songs through the booming voice of Paul Robeson. Even in his performances, Robeson always took a stand for justice. He refused to perform in segregated concert halls, and made a point of keeping admission affordable for working people.
Paul Robeson is perhaps this country's greatest example of the way in which artists have championed the cause of social justice. In a speech given in Spain where Robeson was a volunteer performer during the height of the Spanish Civil War, he asserted, "The artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative.��? Robeson did not just say the words he lived them.
The ruling class of this country will never be able to atone for the grave injustices it committed against this national and international hero. However, the US Postal Service has finally taken a step in the right direction. We should use the newly issued stamp as a tool to continue to educate people on Robeson's life, and on a part of U.S. history that the ruling class wishes to erase."
http://www.yclusa.org/article/view/1550/1/293
Brandon Slattery is a working artist from Brooklyn, NY and a member of the National Council of the YCL.
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Huey P. Newton, Ph.D. was the co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, whic
Huey P. Newton, Ph.D. was the co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, which sought radical change to combat white supremacy, police brutality, and poverty. Dr. Newton dedicated his life to empowering the African American community and all oppressed people; the Black Panthers have been stigmatized by the racist, corporate media, but this group was responsible for many important survival programs--such as providing free breakfasts for kids, providing free health care for the poor, etc.--to help and inspire those at the bottom of society.
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former member of the Black Panthers, a journalist and author of many books, and currently a political prisoner on death row in Pennsylvania. There is a great deal of evidence demonstrating both his innocence and a racist frame-up by those opposed to his political beliefs. Mumia has consistently spoken out against all forms of injustice and has suffered over two decades in prison for being a "voice of the voiceless." Please join the campaign to help free him! Check out http://FreeMumia.com
The fight for a new society without racism that is economically, democratically organized in the interests of the poor and workers--not for the needs of the small class of owners--must include the liberation of ALL people experiencing special forms of oppression, such as women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, people with disabilities, religious minorities, the currently and formerly incarcerated, and all other oppressed groups. Dr. Newton's call in 1970 for an end to homophobia and anti-gay discrimination was certainly ahead of his time; he knew what Mumia and many other visionaries also understand: the people's struggle against poverty and racism must be united for total emancipation for all.
Racism and anti-gay prejudice are not only intrinsically damaging but also tools used to divide the working class and preserve a dominant capitalist order that profits from worldwide exploitation of workers and the continuing destruction of nature.
The music is "The Oppressed Song" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
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Added: 7 months ago
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Full credit and respect goes to http://blockreportradio.com for recording and producing th
Full credit and respect goes to http://blockreportradio.com for recording and producing the audio of this important interview; to listen to the entire talk and other interviews, check out their site!
"MUMIA ABU-JAMAL is an African-American writer and revolutionary journalist who has spent the last 24 years on Pennsylvania's death row. His demand for justice and a new trial is supported by heads of state from France to South Africa, by Nobel Laureates, the European Parliament, city governments from Detroit to San Francisco to Paris, France, scholars, religious leaders, artists, scientists, the Congressional Black Caucus and other members of U.S. Congress, and by countless thousands who cherish democratic and human rights the world over...
Working people have expressed their support for Jamal through their leading regional, national and international trade union bodies. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union closed down West coast ports for the day of April 24, 1999, to support Mumia's bid for a new trial.
Jamal's books and over 500 published columns have been adopted as resource material for the teaching and inspiration of a growing number of students, youth, and educators who have come to see their futures as intimately tied to the outcome of this case. The 1982 trial that convicted Jamal of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner has been challenged by leading legal analysts and scholars, from Stuart Taylor writing in the prestigious American Lawyer magazine, to Per Walsoe of the Supreme Court of Denmark, to Amnesty International which issued a special report in February 2000, claiming that "justice would best be served by the granting of a new trial..." to Jamal.
While Jamal has worked while confined as an advocate for so many others, he has maintained his own innocence from the beginning, and does so in ever clearer and more emphatic tones to the present day. His attorneys have presented compelling evidence that key witnesses were intimidated or coerced to provide false testimony, that a purported "confession" by Mumia was likely fabricated by police, and that vital evidence pointing to his innocence was withheld from the defense. A key eyewitness has now recanted critical court testimony she gave under police intimidation and which was used against Jamal.
The confused and flagrantly-biased character of the prosecutors' case against Mumia has only mushroomed over the years: yet another affidavit has been offered that casts doubt on the original witnesses' claims that Mumia had confessed to the murder; another man now has even stepped forward to claim that he is the one who killed the officer Mumia was convicted of killing; and a court stenographer swears in another affidavit that she heard Mumia's original judge, Albert Sabo, say during a court recess, "Yeah, and I'm gonna help 'em fry the [N word]."...
His life still hangs in the balance, with death just a few callous and cruel decisions away."
-Educators for Mumia http://www.emajonline.com
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Oxfam Press Release -- 27 July 2005
UN Summit must act to stop Niger food crisis happeni
Oxfam Press Release -- 27 July 2005
UN Summit must act to stop Niger food crisis happening again
http://oxfam.org
In 50 days time, world leaders have the opportunity to prevent food crises like Niger ever happening again, says international aid agency Oxfam.
A reserve fund to provide immediate emergency money is on the agenda of the UN Summit in New York starting on 14 September, which is billed as the biggest meeting of world leaders in history.
Oxfam believes UN member states should commit an additional $1 billion into this emergency fund on top of their existing humanitarian aid levels, so that when a country such as Niger needs assistance, money would be available immediately.
3.6 million people including 800,000 children, face a major food crisis in Niger, however the UN emergency appeal and the World Food Program appeal for the food crisis in West Africa are still not fully funded.
"It is outrageous that the world waits until children are dying before acting to save them. The UN launched their appeal for Niger in November 2004, but it wasn't until international TV crews arrived last week that money really started coming in. The amounts asked for are paltry. A small proportion of the new money pledged at the G8 would cover it. Money for Niger will eventually arrive, but it will be too late for many," said Bernice Romero, Oxfam International's Advocacy Director.
The World Food Program appeal for $16 million is still only 40 per cent funded. The UN emergency appeal for $30 million has only received $10 million, although more has been pledged.
Had this money been given six months ago, it would have cost $1 per person affected per day to prevent the food crisis in Niger, Mali and Mauritania. It will now take about $80 to save each starving person.
"Starvation does not have to be inevitable. The food crisis in Niger was predicted months ago and could easily have been prevented if funding was immediately available. In 50 days time, world leaders must set up a UN emergency fund to stop food crises like Niger ever happening again," said Bernice Romero.
"When Raising Consciousness Ain't Enough," by Mumia Abu-Jamal, 8/3/5
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Added: 7 months ago
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A Tribute to Those Who Know a World Without Male Supremacy and Any Form of Oppression is N
A Tribute to Those Who Know a World Without Male Supremacy and Any Form of Oppression is Necessary
"Born of a Woman," Consolidated
"Women's Herstory Month," Mumia Abu-Jamal (from http://PrisonRadio.org )
"In the US, a woman is raped every 6 minutes; a woman is battered every 15 seconds. In North Africa, 6,000 women are genitally mutilated each day. This year, more than 15,000 women will be sold into sexual slavery in China. 200 women in Bangladesh will be horribly disfigured when their spurned husbands or suitors burn them with acid. More than 7,000 women in India will be murdered by their families and in-laws in disputes over dowries. Violence against women is rooted in a global culture of discrimination which denies women equal rights with men and which legitimizes the appropriation of women's bodies for individual gratification or political ends. Every year, violence in the home and the community devastates the lives of millions of women. (Broken Bodies, Shattered Minds: Torture and Ill Treatment of Women, Amnesty International, 2001)
Violence against women feeds off discrimination and serves to reinforce it. When women are abused in custody, when they are raped by armed forces as 'spoils of war', or when they are terrorized by violence in the home, unequal power relations between men and women are both manifested and enforced.
Violence against women is compounded by discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, sexual identity, social status, class, and age. Such multiple forms of discrimination further restrict women's choices, increase their vulnerability to violence and make it even harder for women to obtain justice."
http://www.amnestyusa.org/Stop_Violence_Against_Women_SVAW/V iolence_Against_Women
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Added: 6 months ago
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"Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded by Iraq war veterans in July 2004 at the
"Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded by Iraq war veterans in July 2004 at the annual convention of Veterans for Peace (VFP) in Boston to give a voice to the large number of active duty service people and veterans who are against this war, but are under various pressures to remain silent.
From its inception, IVAW has called for:
Immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq;
Reparations for the destruction and corporate pillaging of Iraq so that Iraqi people can control their own lives and future;
and
Full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and other supports for returning servicemen and women.
Today, IVAW members are in 48 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and on numerous bases overseas, including Iraq. IVAW has chapters around the country and in Canada. IVAW members educate the public about the realities of the Iraq war by speaking in communities and to the media about their experiences. Members also dialogue with youth in classrooms about the realities of military service. IVAW supports all those resisting the war, including Conscientious Objectors and others facing military prosecution for their refusal to fight.
IVAW advocates for full funding for the Veterans Administration, and full quality health treatment (including mental health) and benefits for veterans when they return from duty..."
More info: http://www.ivaw.org
Mumia Abu-Jamal
12/01/07
http://www.FreeMumia.com
http://www.PrisonRadio.org
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Added: 7 months ago
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"The recent Senate Resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution to outlaw the burning of the
"The recent Senate Resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution to outlaw the burning of the flag failed, if only by one vote.
It reflected, with perfect clarity, the growing irrelevance of the so-called 'upper house.'
There are very serious things threatening the lives and welfare of millions of Americans, but the threat of flags being torched ain't one of 'em.
The Senate approach is a classic of modern American politics. It is the politics of symbology, over the stuff of substance.
Tens of thousands of workers are facing the threat of lost pensions (as shown by the recent actions of GM).
The Iraq situation is an unmitigated disaster.
The bill for the Iraq war alone has topped $320 billion (that billion -- with a 'b'), and Congress can think of nothing more than to shovel in more.
The recent Pew Research poll of folks in 15 countries shows most believe the U.S. is 'a greater threat to world peace' than Iran.
The nation's educational system is in free fall.
Need I go on?
There are more than enough things for the Congress to address. Yet, it spent the better part of a week haggling over whether to amend the Constitution, to make the flag the nation's official Idol.
For, to make it illegal to 'desecrate' something is the same thing as announcing its sacredness. You can't desecrate something that which is mundane.
Scholar-activist Michael Parenti, in his recent book, "Super Patriotism" (San Francisco: City Light Books, 2004), quoted a touching excerpt from a 12-year old girl named Charlotte Aldebron, who wrote about what she thought about the worth of icons, versus the apparent non-worth of people:
"The American flag stands for the fact that cloth can be very important. It is against the law to let the flag touch the ground or to leave the flag flying when the weather is bad. The flag has to be treated with respect. You can tell just how important this cloth is because when you compare it to people, it gets much better treatment. Nobody cares if a homeless person touches the ground. A homeless person can lie all over the ground all night long without anyone picking him up, folding him neatly and sheltering him from the rain. School children have to pledge loyalty to this piece of cloth every morning. No one has to pledge loyalty to justice and equality and human decency. No one has to promise that people will get a fair wage, or enough food to eat, or affordable medicine, or clean water, or air free of harmful chemicals. But we all have to promise to love a rectangle of red, white, and blue cloth." [pp. 155-56]
That's from the mind of a 12-year old girl!
It is telling when more sense comes from elementary and middle school students than from the U.S. Senate...
Flags may make grown men misty-eyed, but, c'mon -- it's only colored cloth."
-Mumia Abu-Jamal
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