Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Link of the Day: Rumsfeld Indicted in France
Former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld was recently indicted by the French government for torture for his role in authorizing torture at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and in Iraq. That's some of the best news I've heard in awhile but it remains to be seen whether he will actually go to trial. Whether he does or not, it's a step in the right direction. Rumsfeld along with the rest of the Bush administration cronies need to be held responsible for their decisions. Lying about the facts shouldn't absolve Rumsfeld, Bush or Cheney of anything.
Monday, October 29, 2007
AIDS and the Usual Suspects
According to scientists at the University of Arizona, the AIDS virus was brought to the U.S. in 1969 by a single Haitian immigrant and is responsible for the strain of AIDS found in the U.S. and Europe. Can't say I was surprised to hear this story again but now it's being touted as 'scientific'. The team of international scientists working on behalf of the National Academy of Science (NAS) did find a reason to blame AIDS on Africa; apparently someone from Africa brought it Haiti first.
What always amazes me about these 'scientific' claims about AIDS is that they are always have their origin in Africa and in this case, also Haiti. Last time I checked, Haiti, the world's first black republic, has been the poorest country in the western hemisphere for many, many, many years. The Haitians successfully ended slavery and defeated the French but have been mired in turmoil and violence since 1801. Haiti's problems go much deeper than the obvious conflicts created by its Spanish and French colonizers and it's meddling, no good neighbor to the north, the U.S.
Even back in 1969 when the NAS claims AIDS was brought to the US by some Haitian, it has never been easy for any one of Haitian descent to enter the country unless they belonged to the mulatto elite, had family living here or seeking political asylum. The average Haitian even back then was living on pennies a day and could hardly afford to travel to the U.S. for leisure especially under the murderous dictatorship of 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, who was aided and abetted by vodou and the U.S. government. I'm not buying this claim.
If we skip across the Atlantic Ocean to Africa, the claims made by the NAS appear to be more unlikely given the economic and social conditions of sub-Saharan Africa. As expected, the NAS is going to point to black Africa as the origin of AIDS; god forbid they even point to north of the sahel to claim that some Egyptian or Tunisian brought the disease to Haiti. Racially and culturally biased scientists already have an idea in their minds about where they believe AIDS originated, all it takes is the research and evidence to prove such theories and those theories always point to Africa.
Africa has the distinction of being the world's poorest continent where 41% of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Unlike the monied elite of the ruling class, the average African cannot afford to travel to places like Haiti or the United States, they are more concerned with feeding their families, dodging civil conflicts and scraping out a living under the boot of some greedy, detached president who was fraudulently elected. Life isn't that easy if you live in sub-Saharan Africa, getting a visa to leave the country is practically impossible unless you are rich, socially connected or win the immigration lottery.
Let's think this one through, Americans and Europeans have always had the freedom to travel around the world. Traveling to Haiti is no more difficult than going to a country in sub-Saharan Africa, that's why I'm viewing the NAS report with a healthy dose of skepticism. Americans and Europeans can buy a plane ticket to anywhere they want to go but the majority of Haitians and Africans cannot. Stigmatizing the people of Haiti and Africa as carriers/spreaders of AIDS is feckless, disingenuous and despicable, but that group of international scientists who claim to have made this discovery have no shame.
A few weeks ago, a Noble prize winning scientist, Dr. James Watson declared that people of African descent were less intelligent than those of European descent. I bet he would claim that he had the scientific evidence to prove his theory too.
What always amazes me about these 'scientific' claims about AIDS is that they are always have their origin in Africa and in this case, also Haiti. Last time I checked, Haiti, the world's first black republic, has been the poorest country in the western hemisphere for many, many, many years. The Haitians successfully ended slavery and defeated the French but have been mired in turmoil and violence since 1801. Haiti's problems go much deeper than the obvious conflicts created by its Spanish and French colonizers and it's meddling, no good neighbor to the north, the U.S.
Even back in 1969 when the NAS claims AIDS was brought to the US by some Haitian, it has never been easy for any one of Haitian descent to enter the country unless they belonged to the mulatto elite, had family living here or seeking political asylum. The average Haitian even back then was living on pennies a day and could hardly afford to travel to the U.S. for leisure especially under the murderous dictatorship of 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, who was aided and abetted by vodou and the U.S. government. I'm not buying this claim.
If we skip across the Atlantic Ocean to Africa, the claims made by the NAS appear to be more unlikely given the economic and social conditions of sub-Saharan Africa. As expected, the NAS is going to point to black Africa as the origin of AIDS; god forbid they even point to north of the sahel to claim that some Egyptian or Tunisian brought the disease to Haiti. Racially and culturally biased scientists already have an idea in their minds about where they believe AIDS originated, all it takes is the research and evidence to prove such theories and those theories always point to Africa.
Africa has the distinction of being the world's poorest continent where 41% of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Unlike the monied elite of the ruling class, the average African cannot afford to travel to places like Haiti or the United States, they are more concerned with feeding their families, dodging civil conflicts and scraping out a living under the boot of some greedy, detached president who was fraudulently elected. Life isn't that easy if you live in sub-Saharan Africa, getting a visa to leave the country is practically impossible unless you are rich, socially connected or win the immigration lottery.
Let's think this one through, Americans and Europeans have always had the freedom to travel around the world. Traveling to Haiti is no more difficult than going to a country in sub-Saharan Africa, that's why I'm viewing the NAS report with a healthy dose of skepticism. Americans and Europeans can buy a plane ticket to anywhere they want to go but the majority of Haitians and Africans cannot. Stigmatizing the people of Haiti and Africa as carriers/spreaders of AIDS is feckless, disingenuous and despicable, but that group of international scientists who claim to have made this discovery have no shame.
A few weeks ago, a Noble prize winning scientist, Dr. James Watson declared that people of African descent were less intelligent than those of European descent. I bet he would claim that he had the scientific evidence to prove his theory too.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Obama & Osama
A slip of the tongue by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney proves that Barack Obama is barely distinguishable from Osama bin Laden. It appeared to be a slip of the tongue, but the scary part is how easily Romney bounces from Obama for Osama as if there is no difference between the two.
One of the biggest problems with Republicans (a few excepted like Jack Kemp) is that they spend so much time pandering to the narrow-minded, religious conservative electorate that they don't even bother to appeal to the majority of the population.
What Romney doesn't say is just as important as what he does say. Obama with his foreign-sounding name plays on fears about terrorists, Islam and foreigners. If Barack were a Bob, George or Richard, it would be much harder for his detractors to disparage him.
He wouldn't have to constantly spell B-A-R-A-C-K O-B-A-M-A or explain what kind of name "Ba-raq O-bamma" is to people who are suspicious of foreigners and even more skeptical of foreign-sounding names.
Check out Romney's gaffe.
One of the biggest problems with Republicans (a few excepted like Jack Kemp) is that they spend so much time pandering to the narrow-minded, religious conservative electorate that they don't even bother to appeal to the majority of the population.
What Romney doesn't say is just as important as what he does say. Obama with his foreign-sounding name plays on fears about terrorists, Islam and foreigners. If Barack were a Bob, George or Richard, it would be much harder for his detractors to disparage him.
He wouldn't have to constantly spell B-A-R-A-C-K O-B-A-M-A or explain what kind of name "Ba-raq O-bamma" is to people who are suspicious of foreigners and even more skeptical of foreign-sounding names.
Check out Romney's gaffe.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Dentistry and Hip Hop Don't Mix
For all the flossing and posturing in hip-hop, some of the biggest names in the industry have yet to find their way into a dentist's office. They brag about their iced-out wrists, private jets and million dollar fortunes but have yet to spend any of their new found wealth on some much-needed dental work.
Here my wish list of rapper/moguls who should spend some quality time in the dentist's chair getting their teeth fixed. These men have a combined net worth of at least a 1 billion dollars but haven't spent a scrap of it on their teeth:
- Jermaine Dupri
In his new book, "Young, Rich and Dangerous, The Making of a Mogul", Dupri brags:I own a big mansion in Buckhead, a $5 million private studio, condos in Miami, L.A., and an apartment in the Trump Building in New York City. I own the kind of cars and houses that some Artists have to rent when they play Big Willie in their videos!
And he still hasn't fixed those teeth? I'm willing to bet there are good dentists in Miami, NYC and LA who can bridge the gaps between those tiny little teeth. Can you say veneers? - Fabolous
He can't spell but chipped front teeth have never been sexy especially when you're running around in hundreds of thousands dollars in jewelry and a Bentley. Before going to Jacob the Jeweller and the Bentley dealer, you should have gone to the dentist to fix that jacked up grill. No excuses here, with the advances in dentistry, fixing a chipped tooth is practically painless! - Jay-Z
Hella-sexy with a camel-like quality but those darn teeth! Vacations in the South of France and the Caribbean with Beyonce and not one discussion about straightening those crooked choppers? I can only hope! It's okay to retire and take mop head with you. - P. Diddy
Yes, his mouth is big and he never shuts up but can he close his mouth? It doesn't look like it. His mouth is open even when he's not talking.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Rest In Peace, Lucky Dube
International music superstar Lucky Dube was tragically murdered a few days ago in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to police, he was wounded in an attempted car jacking and died trying to escape. With his death, the world has lost a phenomenal musician whose career had spanned more than 20 years and one of the most relevant musicians of all time. I'm going to miss him.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Flag Pins and Patriotism
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has recently been criticized for his decision to no longer wear the American flag pin on his lapel. Within moments of his first appearance without it, his patriotism has been called into questioned and the issue has been a major topic of discussion among the news media. For the criticism he's faced, you'd think he'd been trying to raise Saddam Hussein from the dead on his campaign bus for fun. Flag-waving, chest-thumping and proclaiming "I'm American!" doesn't make you any more patriotic than someone who loves this country and prefers to let their words and deeds show their patriotism instead.
Among Obama's critics, CNN anchor Lou Dobbs who said:
Dobbs clearly belongs to the pious ilk who exaggerate the importance of a Obama's lapel pin while this country has more pressing issues. Dobbs along with the majority of the news media was on the Iraq war wagon five years ago when President Bush and Vice President Cheney were exaggerating the threat of the Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. Few journalists questioned the flimsy evidence presented by the Bush administration, most like Dobbs, went along with it. On something as important as going to war, reporters like Dobbs didn't even bother to question the motives for going to war in Iraq. By presenting a one-sided debate on the issue, Dobbs along with other journalists deprived the American people of hearing a different opinion about the war in Iraq. How unpatriotic is that?
Based on his criticism of Obama and others who chose not to flaunt the flag on their lapel, Dobbs is in no position to question anyone's patriotism. As expected, the real debate about real issues gets pushed aside for something as unimportant as a flag pin on Obama's lapel. Let's talk about something important like why the majority of Republican presidential candidates refused to appear at the All American Presidential Forum hosted by Tavis Smiley last month at Morgan State University. Not one of the front-runners felt it was important to address the concerns of African American and Latino voters. Now that's something to talk about!
How can anyone run for president of the United States and not address the concerns of any minority group? Let's have Lou Dobbs, Matt Drudge and the other blabbermouths on Fox News jump on a real issue instead of Barack Obama's missing lapel pin.
Among Obama's critics, CNN anchor Lou Dobbs who said:
Sen. Barack Obama put away his lapel flag pin. The senator says instead of a flag pin, his words will be a testament to his patriotism. I don't know what's wrong with the senator or why he can find any discomfort at all, but that's his right as an American. But any politician of any political party who believes their words can be an adequate substitute for the symbolic power of the American flag is sadly arrogant and horribly mistaken.
Dobbs clearly belongs to the pious ilk who exaggerate the importance of a Obama's lapel pin while this country has more pressing issues. Dobbs along with the majority of the news media was on the Iraq war wagon five years ago when President Bush and Vice President Cheney were exaggerating the threat of the Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. Few journalists questioned the flimsy evidence presented by the Bush administration, most like Dobbs, went along with it. On something as important as going to war, reporters like Dobbs didn't even bother to question the motives for going to war in Iraq. By presenting a one-sided debate on the issue, Dobbs along with other journalists deprived the American people of hearing a different opinion about the war in Iraq. How unpatriotic is that?
Based on his criticism of Obama and others who chose not to flaunt the flag on their lapel, Dobbs is in no position to question anyone's patriotism. As expected, the real debate about real issues gets pushed aside for something as unimportant as a flag pin on Obama's lapel. Let's talk about something important like why the majority of Republican presidential candidates refused to appear at the All American Presidential Forum hosted by Tavis Smiley last month at Morgan State University. Not one of the front-runners felt it was important to address the concerns of African American and Latino voters. Now that's something to talk about!
How can anyone run for president of the United States and not address the concerns of any minority group? Let's have Lou Dobbs, Matt Drudge and the other blabbermouths on Fox News jump on a real issue instead of Barack Obama's missing lapel pin.
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