Monthly Archives: January 2010

Souls of Mischief has been one of the major architects of the Bay Area sound in rap music since the early ‘90s. “93 til Infinity” off of their debut album shot the group to meteoric success on the national radio charts and got them booked all over the world for concerts. Let’s hear what Tajai has to say about their newest release, “Montezuma’s Revenge,” and Hiero business in general.

According to the Associated Press, for every dollar spent in the “aid” effort, 33 cents pay for the U.S. military force that has taken control of the country. In contrast, the U.S. government is spending only 9 cents of every dollar on food and another 9 cents to transport the food.

Immediately following the “earthquake” that hit Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, I started seeing reports that the earthquake was not a random occurrence or happenstance. These were the same rumblings I heard following Hurricane Katrina. After the devastation of Katrina I started seeing reports about HAARP, High Frequency Active Auroral Research.

Haitians are helping Haitians. Young men have organized into teams to guard communities of homeless families. Women care for their own children as well as others now orphaned. Men and boys are scavenging useful items from the mounds of fallen buildings. Women are selling mangoes and nuts on the street. Teens are playing with babies.

Reports of violence in Haiti are largely disinformation. For centuries Haiti has been portrayed as a dangerous country filled with volatile and threatening people, unsafe for foreigners. This supposition, this fear and misunderstanding, has very deep implications for foreign aid and cross-cultural understanding.

The Bay Area Black Builders and friends shut down a pre-bid conference for a library in the heart of Hunters Point. This action was designed to send the mayor of San Francisco a message: If Black people do not work in Hunters Point, no one works here.

Pierre Labossierre, cofounder of the Haiti Action Committee, alerts us to oppose "relief" funds and protest U.S. military occupation that threaten Haitian independence and sovereignty and to demand the return of President Aristide and the inclusion of Lavalas in Haitian democracy. Following the interview, listen and watch audio and video files featuring Pierre, Cynthia McKinney, Kiilu Nyasha, Nia Imara, Minister of Information JR, Joy Moore and more - all calling on everyone to “stand in solidarity with Haiti.”

In its comments on the Candlestick Point-Hunters Point Shipyard Environmental Impact Report, POWER focused on the carcinogens and radiological contamination at the Shipyard; the dangers of liquefaction; climate change and sea level rise; transportation impacts from the proposed development; the connection of the development to the existing community; and the preservation of historic Ohlone sites.

Major League Baseball in alliance with Rawlings Sporting Goods moved their baseball factories to Costa Rica in the late 1980s, throwing thousands of Haitian women out of work. Its million dollar donation to Haiti earthquake relief should be measured against its long, exploitative relationship with the devastated nation and it should make a much more significant donation to help rebuild the nation from which it made so much money.

Public housing and Section 8 tenants appeared at the Jan. 19 Berkeley City Council meeting to protest and speak out against alleged illegal activities of the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) and its policies to privatize and sell their 75 public housing units to an unnamed nonprofit housing developer.

There was an emergency service system established in Haiti under the government of President Aristide. We had trained people, trained volunteers everywhere in Haiti. There were buildings with materials and goods stocked there, so in case of an emergency, people would have the means to survive.

Venezuela was the first country to send aid after the disaster struck on Jan. 12, with an advance team of doctors, search and rescue experts as well as food, water, medical supplies and rescue equipment arriving in Port-au-Prince on the morning of Jan. 13. The Venezuelan government is doing everything in its power to provide as much help as possible while at the same time respecting the independence and sovereignty of Haiti.

We won’t stir up toxic dust as Lennar has that measurably poisons our children. We know the Shipyard is still not fit for human habitation. We’re not stupid.

On Aug. 20, 2008, Nadra Foster was beaten mercilessly - her arm still paralyzed - by Berkeley police inside of “progressive” radio station KPFA where she had volunteered for over 10 years. Monday, March 22, THE CHARGES AGAINST NADRA WERE DROPPED! Now let's get the charges dropped against Holly Noll, the last of the Oakland 100, on her next court date, April 5. Cisco Torres of the San Francisco 8 too! All power to the people!

1) Lennar paid federal lobbyists $240,000 to win them a $320 million cash bailout characterized as a retroactive tax refund. 2) In the accounting for its fourth quarter report, announced on Jan. 7, 2010, Lennar used $284.9 million of the $320 million to offset its quarter losses. 3) Lennar then reported the remaining $35.6 million as profit, earned income. 4) Taxpayers, yet again, footed the bill.

Dr. Evan Lyon of Partners in Health stated, “There’s also no violence. There is no insecurity.” He said the security concerns are being overstated due to “misinformation and rumors … and racism.” In a week since the earthquake, the U.S. had airlifted only 70,000 bottles of water for 3 million people in need.

On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal and granted the Philadelphia DA’s petition for a writ of certiorari. We are now at the highest level of Code Red in the case of Mumia Abu Jamal. The people must come to this tireless souljah’s defense.

"From the very beginning, U.S. assistance to Haiti has looked to me more like an invasion than a humanitarian relief operation," says McKinney. The SF Bay View, Block Report Radio, POCC and Haiti Action Committee are preparing to send a media-medical team to Haiti to serve the people most in need. Come to the fundraiser Sunday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m., at the Black Dot Café, 1195 Pine St. in West Oakland. Bring medical supplies. Spread the word!

Under the system of lifelong forced servitude, Black people could be tortured to death at a moment's notice with impunity. White oppressors could sense that at some point the coin will flip. This mirrors today, where police continue to kill Black people with impunity.

Many young males in Black and Brown neighborhoods all across the country feed their families with the proceeds made from illegal growing and distribution. What will it mean if more marijuana users buy their “weed” from clubs instead of the streets?