So it's true, unless it is some crazy news hoax, that the federal government has offered a $1 million dollar bounty on Assata Shakur. If you don't know who she is, check this, then jump back to this article.
First, Assata has been granted political asylum in Cuba, and to challenge the sovereignty of Cuba violates international law.
Second, in their supposed quest for justice, how many serious criminals--murderers, white collar criminals (maybe white, maybe men, maybe both) are living freely in the US.
How many foreign soldiers, leaders of Latin American death squads, lived under US government protection and payroll in the US.
Last Friday, I just met an ex-sergeant from the El Salvadoran army who is now living in a park in Brooklyn. He was trained at School of the Americas, Fort Benning, Georgia, and sent back to El Salvador. From what he told me, he was part of the government forces involved in massacres and killings of union and political organizers. And there he was, in Brooklyn, chilling with his whisky, no million dollar bounty from anywhere on his head. He seemed like he had repented, had no other choice, and told me he cried the day Ronald Reagan died, saying that he was responsible for bringing peace to his country.
Which brings me back to the case of Assata, and also to the case of black revolutionaries who were killed or imprisoned during and after the COINTELPRO program. Their communities were under attack and they were fighting back, just like people in VietNam were fighting back, Iraq, Palestine, Basque Country, Puerto Rico, Bougainville, Cuba, and beyond, for a kind of sovereignty that does not necessarily walk lock step in line with the United States, Inc.
So does writing this all of a sudden make me a terrorist? Do all the people who have been giving moral support to Assata for the past 30 years become overnight terrorists now because of this bounty? Is this for real or just a bad dream...
(Historical note: Right here in the USA, it was a serious crime back in the days of slavery to aid slaves in their flight to freedom to the north or to Canada. Enormous bounties were placed on their head and police and the general public were encourage to take part in the slave hunts. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed bounty hunters to venture into the North where slavery was prohibited in order to find slaves and return them to their masters in pursuit of "justice". Sound familiar?)Note: This link takes you to the PBS website, which is also under attack from conservative forces.
And how long before the government collapses under the sheer weight of its own fat hypocrisy, with not even a single bullet fired against it, dead of a heart attack? While something fair, equitable, and peaceful rises up in its ashes.
Do we want to support a vindictive government that lashes out against its enemies like this. These are the so called patriots.
Do we want a government that takes care of its people wisely, spends its money wisely, respects the environment, and respects its neighbors? These are now being called the terrorists. Count me in.
So Aaron McGruder's Boondocks comic marks censorship in the mainstream media as it reaches its ugly tentacles all the way to the funny pages.
Prior to the recent controversy, I had only read Boondocks a few times, but I am now a fan, and you, dear reader, can see Boondocks online at this link.
http://www.ucomics.com/boondocks/
Enjoy.
This new legislation is to be enforced starting May 5, 2005. Stores in the United States will no longer be permitted to carry music recorded by Cuba-based musicians.
A government spokesman also confirmed the development of a new program to track file-sharing of mp3 and other electronic formats, and to issue law-enforcement agencies the power to seize any computers or other digital media containing the prohibited Cuban music.
There is not yet word on the prohibition of Che Guevara t-shirts and fashion items, although sources have mentioned talk of such a ban.
But seriously, check these interviews (part one, part two)with Assata Shakur.
"Ohaiyo gozaimasu" means good morning in Tokyo.
It's 5:36 AM and I'm wide awake here. I'm going to stay up and see the spectacle of Tokyo going to work.
While I am glad to be here, I feel remorseful that I won't be able to participate in any anti-inauguration activities in the US. Our concert here tonight in Tokyo, however, is titled Indictment Against... any many people here are happy to be share a space to speak out against the installation of Bush for four more years.
I was up at Fox News the other day accompanying my homeboy Ricardo Cortés to his appearance on the Cavuto show on Fox. The show was pre-empted by the Condoleezza Rice hearings, or rather, giving her several hours to bullshit and attack other countries to cover up the US foreign policy hypocrisy, so Rico didn't get a chance to be on the show. He was in good company, however, as we shared the green room with two other guests whose slots didn't air: Ben Stein, former Nixon speechwriter, actor (the teacher in "Bueller....Bueller....anyone"), and lower-middle-class-to-riches New York/worldwide real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran. I found both of them to be as friendly as they are filthy rich.
While we were sipping bad tea, waiting for Condi to wrap up (didn't happen--she went on to attack Venezuela as another potential threat), we got to chat about Ricardo's new book (and reason for his appearance on the show), It's Just a Plant, while Ben made covert joint-smoking gestures and asked Rico if he was "holding" some "chronic".
Can we please legalize it already?
Pa'lante Rico. Pa'lante Venezuela.
Time to watch Tokyo wake up.
Ohaiyo gozaimasu.
It's neither news to me nor to many people, but I feel like it is important to articulate this:
Americans MUST consume foreign news sources if we are to get a clear picture of what is going on.
After spending a week and a half in Western Canada, I felt more informed about the US political situation (trade, environment, agriculture, foreign policy) (both from the media and through discussions with everyday people) than I ever have in the USA.
It is frightening, but true. And after driving all over seeing the USA falling apart at the seams, while the Bush/Cheney (and VIVA BUSH) signs grow larger and more prevalent, I grow more and more frightening for this country.
We must overcome the politics of fear and manipulation...
more later from Minneapolis...or Madison
stay strong
We listened to the debates this afternoon while stuck on traffic on Interstate 5 between Portland and Seattle.
Kerry came out swinging from the first question, but he has also absorbed so much of Bush's rhetoric of fear. He seems so conservative. More on this later.
Time for a bite to eat before the show...
I have so far held my tongue on this blog as far as politics go, but let me say that I am not sad to see the Republican convention come to an end.
This convention has been an eye-opening one in many ways:
1. To see unprecedented levels of mass brutality on the part of the NYPD (Shame on you!)
2. To hear quasi-religious pompous lies repeated over and over again.
3. To hear the Republicans appropriate Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner." What's next for 2008, PEs "Fight the Power?" Is nothing sacred.
I could go on and on...
Big ups and love to all the protestors, all the people still in jail or "Guantanamo on the Hudson," the Critical Mass bike riders, WBAI 99.5 radio for their tireless coverage and commentary on the convention and the state of affairs in the US in general. I hope the rest of the world has been paying attention and has been getting decent reports of all the creative and thoughtful resistance.
We did a little Antibalas performance on Manhattan Neighborhood Network on the Unconventional TV program tonight to wrap up their coverage of the convention. Excellent, thoughtful programming. Somehow, the more money a network has, the dumber the commentary. Go figure.
One other thing. There are more cops than rats these days in New York, and its getting harder to tell the difference. Whose side are they on? It's becoming more and more obvious...
Too many cops, not enough justice.
Greetings from Nashville, TN.
The trip was uneventful-cold in most places. I used up all the veggie oil in my tank and in the containers I had brought with me, getting me in total about 600 miles into the trip at about 35 miles per gallon, cruising between 65 and 75 mph.
Wal-Mart Country
I needed some rubber gloves,a gas tank cap (I didn't have one on the diesel tank), and a funnel, and decided on a trip to WalMart, the only store that I could see that might have one. I pulled off I-81, and at the bottom of the ramp was a skinny, toothless man in his 50s with jeans and a camo jacket holding a sign sreading "HOMELESS VET, PLEASE HELP." A car with a bumper sticker reading "We Support Our Troops" drove right past...
Inside WalMart. and was blown away at the scale of it...the store was packed with shoppers, each one surrounded by 14 foot high walls of merchandise.
The people that worked there were extremely friendly and helpful. I struck up a conversation with Marie, one of the customer greeters, who was intrigued with the project. When I told her that I was running on veggie oil, she was dumbfounded, and I saw gears began to turn in her head. She directed me to a grease rendering plant 25 miles down the road in Winchester (another story).
In front of me at the checkout was a young man in full combat fatigues, part of the local Natl. Guard Air Force unit in Martinsburg, WV. He had been called into active duty, but hadn't been sent anywhere. I told him about my friend Luis who was sent over to Kuwait, only to get an eviction notice from his landlord because the Army had "lost his paperwork," along with the paperwork of dozens of other soldiers in his unit. I hoped this young man wouldn't die for petroleum, or end up like Luis, or the man at the bottom of the off-ramp.
The Rendering Plant
It was already dark when I got to Winchester, but I figured as I was low on grease, it might be worthwhile. I got some directions, and got lost in a trailer park, but was put back on track by some friendly locals.
I could smell the plant from two miles away. I stopped at the security checkpoint, and explained my mission to the guard, who sent me up the hill. A young man came out and brought me inside of the plant to a supervisor, who, while interested, told me I would have to wait till morning for some sort of approval, and that the grease also had a high animal fat content. It smelled like hell, and I thanked them politely and left.
Signs of Age
It took several hours to get to Nashville. I took a few naps and pee stops along the way. At one stop, after washing my hands I looked into the mirror and noticed two gray hairs.
Welcome In Nashville
Around 5:30 AM I pulled into the driveway of Debra and Michael--friends of my mother's--who had graciously agreed to put me up for the night. They had a small cozy futon with organic sheets, a bottle of water, fresh towels, and some herbal medicine to help me sleep. There are good people everywhere!
