the truth is out there

Damn. It's one thing when that one brother who is always talking about the Illuminati and Roswell and watches the X-Files just a little too much tells you about a secret conspiracy in the government. But when it comes from Collin Powell!?!?

WASHINGTON - As top officials in the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s office await possible criminal indictments for their efforts to discredit a whistleblower, a top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Wednesday, accused a ''cabal'' led by Cheney and Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld of hijacking U.S. foreign policy by circumventing or ignoring formal decision-making channels.
Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Powell’s chief of staff from 2001 to 2005 and when Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces during the administration of former president George H.W. Bush, also charged that, as national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice was ''part of the problem'' by not ensuring that the policy-making process was open to all relevant participants.

''In some cases, there was real dysfunctionality,'' said Wilkerson, who spoke at the New America Foundation, a prominent Washington think tank. ''But in most cases..., she (Rice) made a decision that she would side with the president to build her intimacy with the president.''

''…the case that I saw for four-plus years,'' he said, ''was a case that I have never seen in my studies of aberrations, bastardisations, and perturbations in the national-security (policy-making) process'', he added.

''What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made.''

Wilkerson also stressed that the ''extremely powerful'' influence of what he called the ''Oval Office Cabal'' of Cheney and Rumsfeld, both former secretaries of defense with a long-standing personal and professional relationship, adding that both were members of the ''military-industrial complex'' that former President Dwight Eisenhower warned the nation against in his 1961 Farewell Address. ''… don’t you think they aren’t among us today in a concentration of power that is just unparalleled'', he asked.

(full story)

the emperor has no clothes

After reading What America Needs Now: A Prophetic Social Movement that Speaks Moral Truth to Amoral Power by Andrew Bard Schmookler I wasn't sure whether to stand up and say "Amen!"... or yawn. Don't get me wrong. I like the fact that he said what he said. I think it needs to be said. It's important. But it has been said before. Alot. (And more eloquently in my opinion). It's just hard for me right now to see what the next step is going to be. Are people waiting around for some guy (or woman) in a bathrobe to come down from a mountain somewhere with stone tablets? Do we need to go somewhere and march? Sit-in? Demonstrate? sing? Maybe we should start the Spiritual Left Blogring (not a bad thought)?

What Schmookler says is:

By skillfully speaking the moral truth, we can help unite the good people of America, and end the polarization that our amoral leaders have worked to foster. With such “prophetic” speech, we can help America’s conservatives to remember how better to tell the difference between good and evil, and help America’s liberals to remember how absolutely vital—and real—that difference is.

Let us then speak to America, drawing strength from that ancient idea deeply embedded in the Western religious tradition: the idea that the material power of the bad ruler can be overcome by the power of moral truth boldly spoken. Let us launch, then, a “prophetic” social movement to re-establish the power of real righteousness in America.

And we definitely need to speak truth to power, but in order to succeed, any movement needs more than a catchy sloagan. They need a plan, and a willingness to follow-up on that plan.

For more thoughts from Schmookler, his blog is called None So Blind

tuning out blackness

Another blog which should be going on my blogroll when I finally get around to updating it is Marian's Blog but I'd especially like to highlight her review of Tuning Out Blackness: Race and Nation in the History of Puerto Rican Television by Yeidy Rivero on how issues of race and representation play themselves out on Puerto Rican television screens through the decades: moving from exclusion and invisibility through blackface to the Puerto Rican version of the Cosby Show.

nourished by the waters of indigenous islam

I haven't been to the Muslim WakeUp! site in a while, but I recently found a piece there called Nourished by the Waters of Indigenous Islam by Laury Slivers which seemed Grenada-esque. It is another response to Sherman Jackson's latest book and an extension of some of his ideas. It is a step in the right direction but ultimately, I think she goes too far and would make the label "Muslim" so inclusive that it doesn't mean anything at all. Granted, there are also some people in our communities who give out takfirs more readily than salaams. I guess I'm praying that the two sides will meet somewhere in the middle.

For some more thoughts on the limits of tolerance within strictly traditional Islam, check out the people of direction.

the front line

These days I've been trying to explore different parts of the blogosphere and I realize that I should really add to and re-organize my blogrolls. For example, I just started looking at The Front Line by Muhammad Karim who is living in South Africa and the brother feels like a kindred soul.

garvey's ghost

I just wanted to give a shout-out to a Garveyite blog I recently found called Garvey's Ghost. I would take exception to some of the comments on religion and spirituality (although I also agree with several) but either way the blog offers an interesting perspective on world affairs and current events.

in defense of white pride

This will sound odd especially to people who have read my blog for a while (and I almost can't believe I'm saying this myself). But I think it is about time someone spoke in favor of white pride. (I'm serious.) Not white supremacy. Not white racism. But a healthy amount of knowledge of self. In the long run, low self-esteem and social isolation, feeling groundless in the midst of history aren't good for anybody. White kids throwing "kill whitey" parties and the resurgence of neo-nazi activity in the US, in my opinion, are two sides of the same coin.

There is a strong need and desire for youth of all races to find some place to belong. And there is nothing wrong with a health dose of wisdom based on the experience of ones ancestors. Study history, but understand it as well. Don't just believe a caricature. Take it all, the good and the bad. Get some perspective. Know where you come from. Know where you are at.

That doesn't mean you have to dress up in costume (whether brownshirt or b-boy). But know yourself, and treat other people with respect.

old story, new tribes

Published on Thursday, October 13, 2005 by Inter Press Service
Venezuela to Expel U.S. Evangelical Group
by Humberto Márquez

CARACAS - Venezuela will expel the U.S. evangelical group New Tribes Mission, which has been active in indigenous communities along the southern border with Colombia and Brazil since 1946, President Hugo Chávez announced Wednesday.

"They will leave Venezuela," said the president. "They are agents of imperialist penetration. They gather sensitive and strategic information and are exploiting the Indians. So they will leave, and I don't care two hoots about the international consequences that this decision could bring."

New Tribes, an evangelical organisation that has long had close ties with the U.S.-based Summer Institute of Linguistics, is active in a number of countries in Asia and Latin America, and in Venezuela has focused its efforts on the Yanomami, Ye'kuana and Panare indigenous groups and other ethnic communities in the southern part of the country.

Since the 1970s, New Tribes has drawn heavy criticism from many quarters, including leftist political groups, environmentalists, indigenous organisations, academics, Catholic Church leaders and even members of the military. The controversial group has been accused of prospecting for strategic minerals on behalf of transnational corporations and of the forced acculturation and conversion of indigenous people.

Sociologist and environmentalist Alexander Luzardo, who 20 years ago published a report on the New Tribes Mission's operations in the Amazon jungle, welcomed Chávez's decision.

He told IPS that the decision "complies with what is stipulated in the constitution of 1999, which establishes indigenous peoples' right to self-determination and to respect for their beliefs, values and customs.

He also said the expulsion of the group would be in line with the recommendations of numerous government and parliamentary reports that had warned about the group's activities in Venezuela.

"New Tribes has westernized indigenous people by force, while spreading a sense of shame and guilt, disguised as teaching the gospel: they taught the Panares that Satan had turned into a Panare Indian and that they were guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ," said Luzardo.

The now defunct National Identity Movement, which grouped together cultural, environmental and indigenous organisations in the 1980s, maintained that New Tribes acted as a cover for the prospecting of geological and mineral wealth coveted by corporations that provided funding for the Summer Institute of Linguistics. These included General Dynamics, a defence industry contractor, and Ford

Chávez stressed that "we are not going to run roughshod over anyone, we will give New Tribes time to pack up their things and go."

(full story)

"kill whitey"

In "Kill Whitey" on the Dance Floor, Michelle Garcia writes about how for several years now in certain parts of New York, "kill whitey" parties are the rage:

The dance floor throbs to the rapid thump-thump of the hip-hop beat. The deejay, Tha Pumpsta, leans against his booth, and a woman slides up from behind, grabs his narrow hips and rubs hard.

Tha Pumpsta hops onto the crowded dance floor of guys in big T-shirts dangling from slight frames and ladies in short skirts and tasseled boots.

"Kill whitey!" yells Tha Pumpsta into the microphone as he bounces to the beat. "What . . . gonna . . . do dance . . ." he raps to the beat. "Kill whitey!"

But you'd never guess who is calling the tunes. (full story)

the moors and europe

THE MOORS, BLACK CIVILIZERS OF EUROPE is a link to a brief overview of Moorish accomplishments in Spain and their implications for the rest of the continent.

a history of muslims in america

Here is a very brief chronology of the history of Muslims in America. It starts in 1178! and goes up to the early 1990s.

all god, all the time

All God, All the Time by James Carroll is a remarkably humble and sincere perspective on God's role in the midst of current events. From Common Dreams.

searching for failure

Try this:
Go to www.google.com
do a search for the word "failure"
And see what item comes up at the top of the list.
Here is an explanation but try it first.

islam and hip-hop

Also from I.M.A.N.: Islam and Hip Hop: Capital D Discusses the On-Going Role of Muslims in this Global Medium

the legacy of malcolm x

Also from I.M.A.N.: The Legacy of Malcolm X: An Interview with Ilyasah Shabazz where one of Malcolm's daughters shares her thoughts about her father.

civic involvement and islam

From the I.M.A.N. (Inner-city Muslim Action Network) website: In Civic Involvement: An Islamic Imperative, Imam Zaid Shakir shares some comments about how Muslims can be of service to the community around them. And in particular, some of the positive projects which I.M.A.N is engaged are a Day Laborer Campaign and an Ex-Offender Campaign

night of power / laylat al-qadr

This is a bit early, but I figure it would be best to give a reminder ahead of time. Coming up in the last 10 nights of Ramadan is a special night called the Night of Power or Laylat al-Qadr. Here are some resources on it, and Ramadan in general. One of the more intriguing is the section written by Mumia Abu Jamal, who as far as I know, is not a Muslim in any orthodox confessional sense, but was nevertheless moved by the spirituality of Laylat al-Qadr:

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani on Laylat al-Qadr
Mumia Abu Jamal on the Night of Power
Laylat al-Qadr from Central Mosque.com
The Virtues of Fasting from Bahishti Zewar
The Night of Power from Essentials of Ramadan, The Fasting Month by Tajuddin B. Shu`aib

guantanamo and planet grenada

This week's topic for the Progressive Blogger Union is the Guantanamo hunger strike. Given that the abuses at Guantanamo are being done by my government, to my co-religionists, in my family's homeland, one could argue that I haven't been blogging nearly enough on the subject. What is going on there mostly makes me sad and angry in a way which is hard to articulate. Besides, there are only so many ways to say that a certain situation is obscenely wrong and shouldn't be happening. In any case, here are most of the past Planet Grenada posts on Guantanamo plus a few more on related subjects:

yo soy un hombre sincero...
fast for justice
amnesty international and guantanamo bay
guantanamo action center
guantanamo hunger strikes serious
guantanamo hunger strike
guantanamo medics accused of abusive force-feeding
james yee
as ramadan approaches
guantanamo and the quran
benito juarez and quran desecration at guantanamo
us admits to torturing prisoners
shut down guantanamo!
"you can't handle the truth"
guantan-ramera?
jose padilla and the death of the republic
jose padilla
secret cia map indicating the location of the taliban
let us be moors
disappeared in america

amnesty international and guantanamo bay

Here is Amnesty International's page of resources on US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. It includes dozens of documents on the camp going as far back as 2002, some suggestions for ways you can help, and links to over a thousand documents from Amnesty International on various other aspects of the human rights situation in the US.

One such report is called Guantánamo and beyond: The continuing pursuit of unchecked executive power and discusses not just Guantanamo but case of Jose Padilla and others.

halfway through ramadan

It is common for Muslims to say that Islam is deen al-fitra or a "natural religion". One of the most vivid ways that is manifested for me is in how Islamic rituals are tied into natural phenomena. The prayer times are all based on the position of the sun, the lengths of shadows and the color of the sky. The fasts in the month of Ramadan go from daybreak to sunset. And the religious calendar is strictly lunar, a new month begins with every new moon. As a result you can look up into the sky, see the full moon, and know that we are almost halfway through the month of Ramadan. Worship is part of a natural cycle.

I'm at the midpoint, but I don't know what to say. I don't feel as "spiritual" as in past years. I let my attention and energy get caught up too much by the dunya (the here and now) rather than the akhirah (the hereafter). I am not saying you have to be an escapist in order to be spiritual, far from it. But I feel like I'm focusing on the surface of things rather than their depth. I still have a little over two more weeks to make the most of the month of Ramadan.