Sunday, January 31, 2010

imam luqman had been hadcuffed and shot 21 times

January 30, 2010. Late last night Fox news of southeastern Michigan reported they had uncovered confidential information into the autopsy report of Imam Luqman. After ninety-days of requests by the community, appeals by politicians and community leaders and many articles and press, the community gets some answers.

Fox revealed that the Imam was shot 21 times including the chest and the back. Most of the shots were below the waist and even in the groin area. They reported he was handcuffed.

There are some speculations by Fox as to why he might have been shot in the back, but also to what really happened to the dog. They raise suspicions by saying that "how do we know that the dog wasn't killed by a shot by the FBI." There is no known report of a necropsy conducted on the dog to help establish fact.


The Police Chief in Dearborn, Michigan will have a press conference on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 10:30 AM.

There are still many unanswered questions. Given the autopsy results, surely more questions will be raised.



see also:
remembering imam luqman

a political ideological perspective for afro-latinos

Black Thoughts: A Political Ideological Perspective for Afro Latinos by Kevin Alberto Sabioi is a brief overview of Pan-Africanism/ Afro-Centrism/ African Internationalism as it applies to Latinos along with some specific links and references.

Friday, January 29, 2010

legion

I also caught the movie Legion at a midnight opening last week. The film had its interesting moments but overall it wasn't very well made and I definitely could have waited for it to appear in the bargain DVD bin at Blockbuster.

Legion is a dark and twisted Christmas card on film. The premise: God has lost faith in humanity so He orders the angelic hosts to bring on the apocalypse. We see darkness, swarms of insects and other phenomena, but mostly we see angels possess other human beings (e.g. the foul-mouthed, wall-crawling old lady prominently featured in the commercials).

God has created a special child who will possibly be born to a pregnant waitress in a diner and could somehow oppose and counter-act the apocalypse. But then in a spectacular example of logic, He also orders the archangel Michael to kill this self-same child before it is born.

The interesting thing is that Michael ends up being almost a perfect inversion of the Islamic concept of the devil by refusing this command. At one point he even announces that when God made mankind he was the first angel to bow down to the the crowning glory of God's creation (as opposed to Iblis in the Quran who refuses to bow down to Adam). And to add another level to the inversion, just as al-Hallaj suggested that the commandment to bow was more a test of the purity of the devil's monotheism than a straightforward order, in Legion, the commandment to bring on the apocalypse was really a test of compassion (which Michael passes) by holding on to his faith in humanity.

see also:
the devil and al-hallaj

Unfortunately, this one interesting aspect is outweighed by the film's various flaws including: 1) There is way too much violence given that the film is ultimately a fable on compassion. 2) Unlike the film The Prophecy which was able to portray angels with a dark side with the right amount of tension, most of the "angels" in Legion just appear creepy and demonic. 3) More specifically, the angel-possessed crowds basically made Legion reminiscent of a zombie movie. But then the massive crowds clearly could have overwhelmed the heroes in the dinner and it isn't plausible that our heroes would last as long as they do.

Monday, January 25, 2010

the book of eli

I recently saw The Book of Eli on the Friday it opened. Personally, I really liked the setting and look of the film. The filmmakers managed to depict a really intriguing vision of a post-apocalyptic (some might even say post-Rapture) world. And Washington's character, Eli, is compelling as a sort of Christian Samurai who has been entrusted with a mission to take the last copy of the King James Bible out to the "West" in order to catalyze the rebirth of civilization.

One hole in the plot lies in the motivations of Gary Oldman's character, Carnegie (named perhaps after Dale Carnegie, author of the bestselling How to Win Friends and Influence People?) Carnegie is in charge of an unnamed desert town and is looking for the Bible as a tool and a weapon which will allow him greater control over the people around him. But what is surprising is that given Carnegie is so cynical, and given the widespread illiteracy, blindness and lack of memory in this post-apocalyptic world, why couldn't Carnegie simply make up a new religion? Or why wouldn't we see new religions fill-in the void left behind by the absence of the older faiths (along the lines of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Talents or Parable of the Sower)?

The other feature of the film which detracted from me enjoying it fully was the fact that it was ultimately too preachy. The film takes place in a world where some form of Christianity is evidently true. What is ironic is that the narrowness and exclusiveness of the film's perspective is actually most evident in a scene which was probably intended to be a PC "fig leaf" on the movie. At the end of the film we see a Bible being placed on a bookshelf among copies of the Tanakh and Torah (which are essentially already contained in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible) and a Yusuf Ali translation of the Quran. On the surface this seems to suggest that the Bible is one great book among other great books. But on further reflection a subtle criticism is implied; after all those other books were apparently not sufficient to properly restart civilization. Which is why God found it necessary to supernaturally guide and protect Eli on his mission to preserve the King James version of the Bible.

Interview with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis by Sara Shereen Bakhshian
Is Book of Eli A Christian Movie? An Interview with the Hughes Brothers

the war before - safiya bukhari




I've blogged about Safiya Bukhari before (see: black cats who became muslim and imprisoned intellectuals) and have been curious to find out more about her for a while so I'm especially excited to add The War Before to my reading list.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

praise the lord and pass the ammo

A basic and central question which Muslims and Americans have to come to terms with is the following: To what extent is or isn't the US "War on Global Terror" a War on Islam?

I'm not going to pretend to answer that question here except to say that while I'm fairly certain that Barack Obama and other key individuals in his administration are clear on the distinction between the two "wars" and realize how important it is to maintain it, it is also clear that a good chunk of folks in the military-industrial complex are very confused about the distinction and are all too cavalier about letting one slip into the other.

This latter fact is most recently exemplified in the revelation that Trijicom, a Christian-owned manufacturer of military hardware which is currently providing equipment to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan has been putting Biblical references on some of its products.

Alternet: Shocking Report: U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes
AFP: Muslim anger over US military 'Jesus' scopes
Military Religious Freedom Foundation's round-up of articles on the Trijicom story.
Planet Grenada: 10 ways the us military has shoved christianity down muslims' throats

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

remembering imam luqman

I had started to blog on this a few months ago and was tempted connect it to the Fort Hood shootings and was going to put together a series of thoughts on radicalization and Islam and the Black community. But to be honest, it just wasn't happening.

As I read the articles again, I'm struck by the resonances with Martin Luther King Jr's assassination. Context is everything.

Remembering Imam Luqman Abdullah By Imam Zaid Shakir.

And see also: Death of a Detroit Imam Leaves Many Questions Unanswered by Hamdan Azhar

w. kamau bell - ending racism in about an hour

I went to school with this cat many moons ago, but only recently found out that he's had this amazing career as a conscious stand-up comedian. Actually, I think I'd seen him on Comedy Central a few years back but it didn't click that it was the same person (new hair, glasses, and he emphasizes his middle name now). Anyway, I wanted to give him a shout-out.



W. Kamau Bell's Website

the sunni beard

by Chikodi Chima

Philadelphia is known as "the city of brotherly love" and these brothas' love their beards.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

bill quigley: ten things the us can and should do for haiti

Common Dreams: Ten Things the US Can and Should Do for Haiti by Bill Quigley

One. Allow all Haitians in the US to work. The number one source of money for poor people in Haiti is the money sent from family and workers in the US back home. Haitians will continue to help themselves if given a chance. Haitians in the US will continue to help when the world community moves on to other problems.

Two. Do not allow US military in Haiti to point their guns at Haitians. Hungry Haitians are not the enemy. Decisions have already been made which will militarize the humanitarian relief - but do not allow the victims to be cast as criminals. Do not demonize the people.

Three. Give Haiti grants as help, not loans. Haiti does not need any more debt. Make sure that the relief given helps Haiti rebuild its public sector so the country can provide its own citizens with basic public services.

Four. Prioritize humanitarian aid to help women, children and the elderly. They are always moved to the back of the line. If they are moved to the back of the line, start at the back.

Five. President Obama can enact Temporary Protected Status for Haitians with the stroke of a pen. Do it. The US has already done it for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Somalia. President Obama should do it on Martin Luther King Day.

Six. Respect Human Rights from Day One. The UN has enacted Guiding Principles for Internally Displaced People. Make them required reading for every official and non-governmental person and organization. Non governmental organizations like charities and international aid groups are extremely powerful in Haiti - they too must respect the human dignity and human rights of all people.

Seven. Apologize to the Haitian people everywhere for Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh.

Eight. Release all Haitians in US jails who are not accused of any crimes. Thirty thousand people are facing deportations. No one will be deported to Haiti for years to come. Release them on Martin Luther King day.

Nine. Require that all the non-governmental organizations which raise money in the US be transparent about what they raise, where the money goes, and insist that they be legally accountable to the people of Haiti.

Ten. Treat all Haitians as we ourselves would want to be treated.


Bill is Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights and a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He is a Katrina survivor and has been active in human rights in Haiti for years with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Quigley77@gmail.com

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

haiti earthquake relief: how you can help

From the Huffington Post

The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.

UNICEF has issued a statement that "Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them." UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.

•Donate through Wyclef Jean's foundation, Yele Haiti. Text "Yele" to 501501 and $5 will be charged to your phone bill and given to relief projects through the organization.

Operation USA is appealing for donations of funds from the public and corporate donations in bulk of health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements which it will ship to the region from its base in the Port of Los Angeles. Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1-800-678-7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

Save The Children has launched an emergency relief effort for Haiti. Donate to their fund to provide medical attention and clean water to children and families.

International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. The IMC previously helped recovery efforts after September 2009's earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, and the massive 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Donate to the International Medical Corps through their 24-hour hotline at 800-481-4462

•Ben Stiller's Stillerstrong campaign will be temporarily diverting all donations to support the Haiti relief effort.

Partners In Health reports its Port-au-Prince clinical director , Louise Ivers, has appealed for assistance: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Please help us." Donate to their Haiti earthquake fund.

•As a UN Special Envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton appeared on CNN on Wednesday to ask for further assistance in bringing relief to populations on the ground. You can donate through the Clinton Foundation or text HAITI to 20222 to donate $10.

Mercy Corps is sending a team of emergency responders to assess damage, and seek to fulfill immediate needs of quake survivors. The agency aided families after earthquakes in Peru in 2007, China and Pakistan in 2008, and Indonesia last year. Donate online, call 1-888-256-1900 or send checks to Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund; Dept NR; PO Box 2669; Portland, OR 97208.

Doctors Without Borders is on the ground and has set up clinics to treat injured in Haiti. Donate any amount so they can keep their efforts going.

Direct Relief is committing up to $1 million in aid for the response and is coordinating with its other in-country partners and colleague organizations. Their partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damien Children's Hospital, and the Visitation Hospital, which are particularly active in emergency response. Donate to Direct Relief online.

Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover. Donate to Oxfam America online.

•The UN World Food Programme is gathering all available resources to deliver food to the recently homeless and impoverished in Haiti. Donate now to help bring food to those affected as quickly and efficiently as possible.

•The Baptist Haiti Mission is operating an 82-bed hospital that is "overflowing with injured." Donate online to BHM and 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. Donate online.

•Following the earthquake, Catholic Relief Services made an immediate commitment of $5 million for emergency supplies. They are distributing food and relief supplies, and importing plastic sheeting, mosquito nets and water purification tablets from the Domincan Republic. Donate to Catholic Relief Services to assist in these efforts.

•Give to the American Jewish World Service's Earthquake Relief Fund.

•CARE is deploying emergency team members to Port-au-Prince today to assist in recovery efforts. They're focusing their efforts on rescuing children who may still be trapped in schools that collapsed. Donate to CARE.

Orphans International America reports that they have been able to make contact with their program director in the town of Jacmel, a city about 20 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince that houses OI's hospitals and schools. Orphans International America is attempting to gather food, clean water and emergency medical supplies to Jacmel. You can contribute to them through PayPal.

The International Rescue Committee is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti to deliver urgent assistance to earthquake survivors and to help overwhelmed local aid groups struggling to meet the immense emergency needs. They will focus on critical medical, water and sanitation assistance. Donate to the IRC Haiti Crisis Fund.

NetHope is coordinating its response with its NGO member agencies and with the UN's Emergency Telecom Cluster to establish connectivity in Haiti. Seventeen of NetHope's members are already providing aid and deploying resources on the ground. Donate online.

The Haitian Health Foundation is still assessing the situation of their full-time facilities and staff in Haiti. They regularly provide health care, development and relief to rural mountain villages in Haiti. Donate to the Haitian Health Foundation.

•World Vision has more 370 staff in the country. Staff members from less-affected regions of Haiti are mobilizing, and World Vision's global experts are expected to arrive in the disaster zone as soon as possible. Donate to World Vision.

The Jewish Federations of North America is partnering with the American Jewish Joint Distribution committee and have created a dedicated Haiti Relief page for online donations.

United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is the UN's humanitarian fund responding to emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti. Donate online.

Friends of the Orphans will use donations to meet the needs of first responders such as first aid supplies, shipping of necessary materials to assist in efforts, and treating the injured. Those interested in helping the relief effort can visit www.friendsoftheorphans.org, or call 888-201-8880 to make a donation.

World Concern's staff is almost entirely composed of Haitian nationals and will be tapping into private as well as U.S. government supplies to help in the relief effort it hopes will soon be supplemented by cargo ships. Donate to World Concern.

Merlin USA is sending an emergency response team out to the region and have subsequently launched an emergency appeal to bring urgent medical aid and assistance to those affected. Donate to Merlin USA.

HuffPost Impact is following relief organizations in Haiti and will be updating with their latest messages from the ground.

pat robertson is evil: reason #2177

CNN: Pat Robertson says Haiti paying for 'pact to the devil'

Pat Robertson, the evangelical Christian who once suggested God was punishing Americans with Hurricane Katrina, says a "pact to the devil" brought on the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Robertson, the host of the "700 Club," blamed the tragedy on something that "happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it."

The Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever," Robertson said on his broadcast Wednesday. "And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' "

Native Haitians defeated French colonists in 1804 and declared independence.

"You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other." Robertson has previously linked natural disasters and terrorist attacks to legalized abortion in the United States.

see also:
pat robertson is evil: reason #865
pat robertson is evil: reason #873
pat robertson is evil: reason #704

Saturday, January 09, 2010

pastel games

I've occasionally blogged on "fun stuff" like the Submachine Games before along with some other games like Mancala. So in that same spirit I thought I'd mention the Pastel Games website which has a number of interesting point-and-click games by Mateusz Skutnik (including the newest entry in the Submachine series).

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

josiah x

Actually, I "just" realized that Marvel comics already does have a Muslim version of Captain America, namely Justice (Josiah X / Josiah Bradley / Josiah al hajj Saddiq) who is explicitly modelled on Malcolm X. He primarily appeared in a short-lived title called The Crew. (Hmmm, I may have to take a trip to the comic book store soon). His powers derive from the fact that he is the son of the original "Black" Captain America, Isaiah Bradley, a Black soldier who participated in an attempt to create a super-soldier serum, reminiscent of the Tuskeegee experiment. In contrast to Colonel Abdul al-Rahman, Josiah / Justice is actually a clergyman, so he is definitely a Muslim in a theological sense, and not merely in some socio-political sense.

Monday, December 28, 2009

from hieroglyphics to superheroes...

Just one of the more memorable speeches from the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable:

I've come to believe that comics are our last link to the ancient way of passing on history. The Egyptians drew pictures on walls about battles, and events. Countries all around the world still pass on knowledge through pictorial forms. I believe that comics, just at their core now... have a truth. They are depicting what someone, somewhere felt or experienced. Then of course that core got chewed up in the commercial machine and gets jazzed up, made titillating -- cartooned for the sale rack.

- Mr. Glass / Elijah Price / (Samuel L. Jackson)


draft script for Unbreakable

Sunday, December 27, 2009

the 99 revisited / the liberators

Lately I've been thinking again about graphic novels in general and some Muslim characters in particular.

On the one hand, there is the comic book The 99 which I've blogged on before. The premise is that there are 99 mystical gemstones scattered around which endow the person who possesses it with a power or ability related to one of the traditional 99 names of Allah. The comic book has existed for a while but apparently they are in the process of upgrading from a comic book series to an animated format:


The 99 Homepage

Planet Grenada's past
the 99
female, muslim and mutant
pride of baghdad

On the other hand, in the Ultimate Marvel universe there is the character of Colonel Abdul al-Rahman (a kind "Muslim" version of Captain America) of the Liberators (who are a Third World, morally ambiguous version of the Avengers/Ultimates). Abdul al-Rahman is an Azerbaijani youth from Iran who is moved to volunteer for a super-soldier program when Captain America and the Ultimates participate in a U.S. invasion of the Middle East. There is no indication that the character is religious but is arguably "Muslim" in a political sense.

File:Abdul Al-Rahman (Earth-1610).jpg
The Liberators have a short career in the Ultimate Universe (They just appear in the Ultimates trade paperback "Grand Theft America". And while some of their members were inspired by pre-existing characters from the standard Marvel universe, Colonel Abdul Al-Rahman was not. But it would be interesting to see if his character would be developed further in the standard continuity.


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

funeral blues

Funeral Blues
by W.H. Auden



Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

inside cuba; guerrilla blogging

In These Times: INSIDE CUBA: Guerrilla Blogging by Orlando Pardo Lazo

guantanamo is hell on earth

AFP: Guantanamo 'hell on Earth', says Somali detainee

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

immortal technique interview

Freeicecream.net: Immortal Technique Interview by Prop Anon.
This interview covers Immortal Technique's latest album, an orphanage he started for Afghan children, 9/11, the nature of religious faith, and higher education.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

black is the new white

I'm also in the middle of Paul Mooney's memoir Black is the New White. I've been following Paul Mooney's career for a while so, to be honest, I haven't found much of it shocking or new. But it is still a good read. Mooney has some interesting things to say about the racial politics behind the scenes in Hollywood.

The Griot: Paul Mooney's 'Black Is the New White' is an ode to Richard Pryor
NPR's Talk of the Nation: Black is the New White

Planet Grenada's past:
"it makes my teeth white" - paul mooney
"i like a little salt on my cracker"
"homie don't play that"
okay, maybe he was wrong on this one
word association
bamboozled
richards' racist rant
richards' racist rant (part 2)

[Dec 11, 2009]
I also should have added
negrodamus 1
brian gumbel (sic) is looking like malcolm x?
negrodamus 2

sufi rapper: the spiritual journey of abd al malik

In the middle of... Sufi Rapper The Spiritual Journey of Abd al Malik about a French-born African Muslim who follows a spiritual path.
Sufi Rapper

Here is an excerpt

Saturday, December 05, 2009

project censored: top 25 censored stories for 2010

I recently saw the newest Project Censored book, Censored 2010, over at Barnes and Noble today and was sorely tempted to buy it until I realized that the stories were probably also available online. "Enjoy"

Top Censored Stories of 2009/2010


See also:
project censored
censored stories

Sunday, November 29, 2009

day of black consciousness

BRASILIA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Over 12 states in Brazil celebrated on Friday the Day of Black Consciousness in honor of the country's 17th-century anti-slavery leader Zumbi dos Palmares.

In cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, people held parades against racism, discrimination, prejudice, homophobia, sexism and religious intolerance.

Many economic and financial activities around the country were suspended on the day, including the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, which is set to reopen on Monday.

The Day of Black Consciousness was first celebrated in 1978 to commemorate Zumbi dos Palmares, a black Brazilian who led a group of runaway slaves in Brazil, known as the Quilombo dos Palmares, to fight the then Portuguese colonizers in the 17th century and was killed in an ambush on Nov. 20, 1695.

The social gap between black and white citizens has been narrowed drastically since Brazil abolished slavery in 1888 due to governmental efforts.

However, black Brazilians still account for about 35 percent of the country's population living below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, problems such as black Brazilian citizens' lower wages, longer working hours, and worse employment situation in comparison with their white counterparts highlight the urgency to build a more socially and economically equal country.

According to a census conducted in 2000, the black and mulattos make up about half of the total population of 170 million in the Latin American country.

See also: BRAZIL: 'Quilombos' Keep Black Cultural Identity Alive by Fabiana Frayssinet

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

happy yawm al-arafat y'all

Wow, so Thursday is the Day of Arafat and Friday is Eid.

It was reported from Abu Qutadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafah. He said, ‘It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.’ Narrated by Muslim.


Most years there seems to be at least one or two interesting coincidences between Islamic holy days and Christian/Jewish/secular/Gregorian ones... this year it is how the Day of Arafat and Eid al-Adha synch-up with Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Interesting. Fasting and sacrifice contrasted with pigging-out and conspicuous consumption.

fort hood tragedy, islam and america

Fort Hood Tragedy, Islam, and America - updated 11/20/09 by Sheila Musaji is a decent summary of the issues from a Muslim perspective which also includes many different links to other good articles.

Friday, November 20, 2009

pray for obama

Apparently, in some Christian circles, a popular design on bumper stickers, t-shirt, mugs etc. has the words "Pray for Obama" followed by "Psalm 109:8". If you bother to look up the passage, you'd find the verse is: Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Ha. Ha. Very clever. Although if you look at the next verse, the passage becomes much more sinister: Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

I hope the FBI is watching these people.

Friday, November 13, 2009

us deports lou dobs

This makes enough sense for me to half believe it.

The Onion: U.S. Deports Lou Dobbs: CNN Host Had Been Living Illegally In Country Since 1961

WANTAGE, NJ—Acting on anonymous tips from within the Hispanic-American community, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Wednesday deported Luis Miguel Salvador Aguila Dominguez, who for the last 48 years had been living illegally in the United States under the name Lou Dobbs.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, federal agents stormed the undocumented immigrant's home in an evening raid just hours after the 64-year-old newscaster suddenly announced that he was resigning from CNN, and immediately placed him on an Aeromexico flight departing from Newark Liberty Airport.
Enlarge Image Family

"Dobbs," around 1970, still returned regularly to Mexico to be with his family and work as a farmer.

"Mr. Dominguez did not come quietly, but in the end he came," said Sam Whitlock of the U.S. Border Patrol, who was injured during the arrest. "He pulled a knife on me, like they will, and swore a bunch in Spanish and spit on us when we finally managed to grab him by the serape and throw him against a wall. But the important thing is that he's now back where he belongs."

Evidence collected by investigators indicates that Dominguez/Dobbs, who has long claimed Texas heritage, was actually born in the Mexican state of Puebla to parents of Colombian descent, neither of whom were U.S. citizens. In the summer of his 16th year, he and 14 of his brothers and sisters paid smugglers to let them ride atop packages of cocaine in the cargo hold of a fishing boat bound for Texas under cover of night.

In addition to holding multiple jobs without ever obtaining a guest-worker permit or H-1B visa, "Dobbs" is reported to have collected welfare every month for nearly five decades. He appeared in good health when apprehended, having used Medicaid to obtain numerous health care services over the years, but immigration officials fear he still may have exposed the American population to the many infectious diseases illegal immigrants tend to carry, including both malaria and leprosy.

CNN, as per its policy initiated by Dominguez, is complying freely with the ongoing DHS investigation into the multitude of illegal activities in which its former employee was entrenched.

"No one here knew anything about Mr. Dobbs' past, and to be honest, we never asked," said a source within CNN, who asked not to be identified. "All we knew was that he was willing to take the job most American newscasters didn't want—namely, speaking out hysterically against immigration at every turn to help us gain ratings points against Fox News."

After arriving in Texas in 1961, "Dobbs" is believed to have wandered around the American southeast making a meager living as a car thief, low-level drug dealer, and migrant farm laborer. At age 18, he reportedly delivered an ounce of marijuana to attendees at an Atlanta media conference, where his harsh, booming voice and fiery temper caught the attention of none other than Ted Turner. At the tycoon's urging, the young man shaved his long, drooping mustachios, applied for federal tuition waivers, and took advantage of affirmative-action policies to gain admittance to Harvard University. In 1980, Turner gave him a job at CNN that had previously been held by an American-born reporter.

When searching the former newscaster's house in Wantage, NJ, Border Patrol agents found several boxes of horded food stamps, a fully-equipped stolen-car chop shop, a 350-deck DVD pirating warehouse, and a garment facility where up to 100 illegal workers put in 85-hour weeks producing knockoff purses, shoes, and other counterfeit clothing.

Many younger members of the Border Patrol team that participated in Wednesday's raid said it was "an honor and a privilege" to help deport Dominguez, as years of listening to tirades against illegal immigrants on Lou Dobbs Tonight had been a major factor in their choice of career.

"This is a battle for the soul of our country," Agent Jared Burns, 23, said as he helped the 17 Dominguez children board the bus that would take them to a detention facility where their legal status will eventually be determined. "Today is a proud day for any true American."

Immediately before press time, "Dobbs" arrived in Mexico City, and was surrounded by members of the international press.

"¡Esos hijos de puta sufrirán por esto!" a handcuffed Dominguez shouted at reporters from the tarmac. "Sin mi vigilancia, mis hermanos y yo nos apresuraríamos a la frontera a robar sus carros y a violar sus mujeres. ¡Arriba!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

v



I just saw the premiere of the reimagined V the other night. I don't have a strong opinion about it yet. I wonder how it will compare to previous aliens-among-us tv series (e.g. Earth: Final Conflict, First Wave and War of the Worlds) Also, since according to the reimagined show, aliens have been on Earth for decades, I wonder how much the series will draw from David Icke (one-time soccer player, now professional conspiracy theorist who advocates the idea that shape-shifting reptilians are secretly running the world).

Friday, October 16, 2009

let's do the time warp again or "oh my god what century is this, I keep forgetting"

Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana

By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer Mary Foster, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 15, 7:56 pm ET

NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said. (full story)

Thursday, October 01, 2009

where i'm from / the county of kings



The above is a clip of Nuyorican spoken word artist Lemon doing a piece called "Where I'm From" on Def Poetry Jam. These days he is performing in a one-man show called The County of Kings at the Public Theater in NY, NY.

Featured last year as part of The Public Theater's Under The Radar Festival, Lemon Andersen's County of Kings gives a tough, yet poignant biographical account of a good kid growing up in an unforgiving environment in this one man journey. Weaving hard-edged drama with urban poetry, the Brooklyn hip-hop artist spins his own coming-of-age memoir in this jarring and poignant solo performance. A true story of finding passion and purpose against all odds, Lemon paints a vivid portrait of his difficult and sometimes humorous experiences growing up during the most influential cultural movement of our time, the birth of hip-hop.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lemon Andersen has been featured as a regular on HBO's "Def Poetry" presented by Russell Simmons and was also an original cast member and writer of Russell Simmons Tony Award winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. On screen Lemon has appeared opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's Inside Man and The Soloist starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.

(re)writing osun


These days, I'm in the middle of (Re)writing Osun by Jessica M. Alarcon. Actually the full title is: (Re)writing Osun: Osun in the Politics of Gender, Race and Sexuality - From Colonization to Creolization. The book is an interesting read. As a spiritual initiate herself and a scholar, Alarcon easily invokes Obatala and Shango in the same breath as bell hooks and Audre Lourde. And she combines an insider's familiarity with Yoruba-derived spiritual practices with modern feminist concerns about the role of women. In the back of my mind I'm also asking myself if there are ways to integrate the Yoruba cosmology with an Islamic one; for example, can the Orisa be thought of as angels or jinn? I'm enjoying the book but still digesting.

Friday, September 25, 2009

10 ways the us military has shoved christianity down muslims' throats

From Alternet:

The original article is fleshed out in much more detail but the basic "top ten" list is as follows:

10. Have top U.S. military officers, Defense Department officials and politicians say we're in a religious war.

9. Have top U.S. military officers appear in a video showing just how Christian the Pentagon is.

8. Plant crosses in Muslim lands and make sure they're big enough to be visible from really far away.

7. Paint crosses and Christian messages on military vehicles and drive them through Iraq.

6. Make sure that our Christian soldiers and chaplains see the war as a way to fulfill the 'great commission.'

5. Post on the Internet photos of U.S. soldiers with their rifles and Bibles.

4. Invite virulently anti-Muslim speakers to lecture at our military colleges and service academies.

3. Have a Christian TV network broadcast to the world that the military is helping missionaries convert Muslims.

2. Make sure Bibles and evangelizing materials sent to Muslim lands have official U.S. military emblems on them.

1. Send lots of Bibles in Arabic, Dari and Pashtu languages to convert the Muslims.

see also: new crusades?

Saturday, September 19, 2009

interview between al sharpton and felipe luciano









eid mubarak y'all

At least according to ISNA, tomorrow (Sunday) is Eid. Honestly, this Ramadan has been less spiritual than most. Too many iftars at Subway. And I've been too preoccupied with work and caught up in the dunya in other ways. But inshaAllah I'll rededicate myself more this coming month.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

top ten reasons why van jones should give up on obama and the democratic party and come home to the greens

I'm not a card-carrying Green (or a card-carrying Democrat for that matter) but I still thought the following list was interesting in the wake of Van Jones' (forced?) resignation from the Obama administration.

Green Party of the United States Website: Top Ten reasons why Van Jones should give up on Obama and the Democratic Party, come home to the Green Party

1. The Obama Administration's failure to defend Mr. Jones recalls similar retreats by the Clinton Administration, when Bill Clinton allowed Republicans and some Democrats to bully him into removing Assistant Attorney General nominee Lani Guinier and Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. The targets tend to be Black -- consistent with Republican fury over the election of Barack Obama to the White House.


2. The extremists who sought Mr. Jones' removal see their action as part of a wider plan to derail measures against global warming and block greens jobs programs: see "How Van Jones Happened and What We Need to Do Next," by Phil Kerpen, Fox Forum (Fox News), September 5. They smell blood, and the Obama Administration and Democratic leaders are cowering.


3. Van Jones is a national leader for human rights, public health, and the environment. As 2004 Green presidential nominee David Cobb said, "The Democratic Party is the graveyard of progressive ideas." These ideas -- including green jobs, the 'Green For All' agenda, and other ideas expressed by Mr. Jones -- are thriving in the Green Party.


4. Among Greens, Mr. Jones need not play down his activism on behalf of the lives and well-being of Black Americans. He will not get called "reverse racist" of "anti-white" by Greens for addressing persistent racial disparities in economics, employment, health, treatment by the justice system, the response to Katrina and post-hurricane rebuilding, etc. The Green Party shares Mr. Jones' goals of racial justice.


5. Among Greens, Mr. Jones will not get scolded for calling former President George W. Bush a 'crackhead' in the context of Mr. Bush's obsessive devotion to industries that are feeding America's addiction to fossil fuel energy.


6. Among Greens, Mr. Jones need not apologize for questioning the behavior of the Bush Administration in connection with the 9/11 attacks.


7. Mr. Jones has called for an end to coal energy, while President Obama continues to repeat the myth of 'clean coal.' Mr. Jones' analysis of the global warming threat and the need for conservation and a green economy are reflected in the Green Party's platform and principles.


8. If the epithet that Mr. Jones used to describe Republicans was offensive, imagine the words people will use later this century, when the effects of global warming have grown more severe, to describe Republican (and Democratic) officeholders from 2009 who refused to take necessary action to curb global warming's advance.


9. The media have given Glenn Beck and the 'Tea Party' crowd generous coverage. (Compare the minimal and dismissive reporting on the hundreds of thousands of Americans who protested the Iraq War in 2003.) Republicans have benefited from the current political paradigm, which places extreme Republicans like Mr. Beck at the right end and 'moderate' Democrats like President Obama at the left end of the spectrum of allowable debate. Van Jones is a target for the same reason that former US Representative (D-Ga.) and 2008 Green presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and others have been dismissed and ridiculed -- because they offer ideas unacceptable to media dominated by corporate interests. The emergence of the Green Party is key to overturning this paradigm, changing the political landscape, and expanding the public debate.


10. The Green Party sees no reason to appease Republicans, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Democratic leaders, or others who've used their power to serve corporate elites, to the detriment of working people and America's future. Greens call Van Jones too important for America to disappear from the public forum.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Friday, September 11, 2009

Friday, September 04, 2009

math camp love... it all adds up

Latino Perspectives: It all adds up: Math-teaching couple gives back by mentoring, shaping young minds by Peter Madrid is a cute story about a couple who met at math camp and now are doing a lot of work promoting math education and making a difference in the life of Latino youth. I find the story especially sweet because I went to the same math camp where they met. It is good to hear that they are still together, with kids, and loving what they do.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

five fingers

I recently saw and was pleasantly surprised by the film Five Fingers. I honestly don't know how I missed seeing it in the theater when it came out (2006). To begin with, the cast is amazing. Laurence Fishburne plays Ahmat. Said Taghmaoui (the perennial movie terrorist who has appeared in Traitor, Sleeper Cell and Vantage Point among others) plays the silent and unnamed Dark Eyes. The Afro-Cuban actress Gina Torres plays Aicha. Colm Meany (better known to some as Chief O'Brian from Star Trek) plays a travel guide named Gavin. And the film centers on Martijn, an idealistic young Dutch pianist played by Ryan Phillippe. I don't want to give anything away but I will say that the film is an impressive psychological drama which provides a layered and complex portrayal of the relationship between Islam and the West.


Thursday, August 13, 2009

"i'm both muslim and christian" (part 3)

We've mentioned (the former Rev.) Ann Holmes Redding, the Episcopal priest who announced her conversion to Islam, before but here is a clip of her speaking in her own words.

The latest update in her story is that in April she has been officially defrocked by her bishop, so she is no longer an Episcopal priest. Also, she has co-authored the recently published book: "Out of Darkness Into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Quran with Reflections from Christian and Jewish Sources.". Her co-authors are Jamal Rahman, a "Muslim Sufi minister at Interfaith Community Church" and Kathleen Schmitt Elias, "a former nun, now a Sufi Jew".

"i'm both muslim and christian" (part two)
"i'm both muslim and christian"

Sunday, August 09, 2009

qawwali kissing flamenco



for more of this amazing fusion and synthesis, you might want to check out the Sologak blog: Sufi Chant: Qawali & Flamenco

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

music and islam: wind, strings and fear of a black planet

female, muslim and mutant

altmuslimah: Female, Muslim, and mutant: Muslim women in comic books
part 1
part 2

my friend the devil

shaykh adil kalbani: first black saudi imam of masjid al-haram

I would be really shocked if Shaykh Kalbani turned out to be the first "black" (whatever that means) Imam of Masjid Al-Haram ever. It is more believable that he is the first "black" Imam under the Saudis (since 1744) unless you go by the one drop rule. In any case, check out...

Mujahideen Ryder: The “Saudi Obama” – Shaykh Adil Kalbani, first Black Imam of Masjid al-Haram, Makkah



Thursday, July 23, 2009

what do you call a black man with a phd?

The following is an interview of Henry Louis Gates Jr. conducted by his daughter Elizabeth Gates taken from The Daily Beast under the title My Daddy, the Jailbird.


Earlier this week, my father was wrongly accused of breaking into his own home. We had just returned from China, and he had flown from New York to Boston to prepare for a few days rest on Martha’s Vineyard. As my father was settling in, a police officer named Sgt. James Crowley showed up at his home.

Sgt. Crowley said he was responding to a call from a woman who described two black men breaking into her neighbors’ home with backpacks on. He demanded to see proof of residency and my father showed him both his Harvard ID and his state ID without hesitation. Shortly afterward, a miscommunication ensued, and my father was handcuffed and taken to jail. Our family is both saddened and outraged at this, and as I watched his mug shot scroll across various news stations last night, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was experiencing.

Daddy, how did it feel to read in the police report that although you had been cooperative with Sgt. Crowley, while he was standing uninvited in your home, your behavior had been reduced to “loud and tumultuous” after asking to see to his badge? Were you surprised at the inaccuracy of the police report?

Well, the police report was an act of pure fiction. One designed to protect him, Sgt. Crowley, from unethical behavior. I was astonished at the audacity of the lies in the police report, and almost the whole thing from start to finish was just pure fabrication. So yes, I felt violated all over again.

When Touré quoted Malcolm X in his piece for The Daily Beast and wrote, “What do you call a black man with a PhD? A nigger,” did you agree with that statement? I mean, will education still be our eventual leveling point?

No, I think the actions of Sgt. Crowley aren’t the actions of everyone on the Cambridge police force or all white people in Cambridge or Boston or in the United States. I mean, there are bad white people and bad black people. There are good police officers and bad police offers. We depend on the police—I’m glad that this lady called 911. I hope right now if someone is breaking into my house she’s calling 911 and the police will come! I just don’t want to be arrested for being black at home! I think this was a bit of an extreme reaction.

So you do think this was reduced to race? You do think this was purely racially motivated—that when he came into your home uninvited and didn’t read you your Miranda rights and he didn’t follow procedure?

No, when I was arrested I was not read my Miranda rights. I clearly was arrested as a vindictive act, an act of spite. I think Sgt. Crowley was angry that I didn’t follow his initial orders—his demand—his order—to step outside my house because I was protected as long as I was in the house because he didn’t have a warrant. I think what he really wanted to do was throw me down and put handcuffs on me because he was terrified that I could be dangerous to him and that I was causing violence in my own home—though obviously he didn’t know it was my home.

If I had been white this incident never would have happened. He would have asked at the door, “Excuse me, are you okay? Because there are two black men around here try’na rob you [laughter] and I think he also violated the rules by not giving his name and badge number, and I think he would have given that to one of my white colleagues or one of my white neighbors. So race definitely played a role. Whether he’s an individual racist? I don’t know—I don’t know him. But I think he stereotyped me.

And that’s what racial profiling is all about. I was cast by him in a narrative and he didn’t know how to get out of it, and then when I demanded—which I did—his name and badge number, I think he just got really angry. And he knew that he had to give me that, and his police report lies and says he gave it to me. If he had done that I would have simply taken it down and wrote a report! I was definitely going to file a report, now—just not as big as the one I’m about to file!

So since it’s clear this happens every day to minorities everywhere who don’t have representation, who like yourself previously believed in the justice system, what can we do as a community to make sure that our world starts to place value on all people of color—not only the exception, as you have been referred to so often during this ordeal?

I think its incumbent upon me to not let it drop—not to sweep it under the carpet—but to use this as a teaching event for the Cambridge police and police in general and for black people—don’t step out of your house. Don’t step onto that porch! You’re vulnerable. And second? To teach the police about the history of racism, what racism is. Sgt. Crowley found it outrageous that I was demanding his name? I mean, excuse me? Whose house was he in? Hello?

Yeah.

My house. I mean, he was there investigating? He should have gotten out of there and said, “I’m sorry, sir, good luck. Loved your PBS series—check with you later!” [laughter from both of us] If he would have given me his card I would have sent him a DVD! [more laughter]

But you’ve always taught my sister Maggie and me to stay on the right side of the law. Did this challenge your perception of what side that really is? Or are we always going to have to humble ourselves to this humiliating degree?

No. I believe in the law. I think we have a great system of justice. But I do think that system of justice has been corrupted by racism and classism. I think it’s difficult for “poor people”—poor white people, brown people—to be treated fairly before the law in the same way that upper-class people are. I mean listen, Liza. I was lucky. I could have been in there all night with as few as three other prisoners. What if I had been anonymous and in some other place? It’s scary, man. That’s why we have to fight through organizations such as the NAACP defense fund, on whose board I sit—we have to fight for equal rights for all people. It’s beyond race, it’s class and race! And that’s crucial.

There’s been so much talk about Black America moving into a “Post-Black Era.” What do you think it will take to actually achieve that? I mean, is it possible?

The only people who live in a post-black world are four people who live in a little white house on Pennsylvania Avenue. [laughter] The idea that America is post-racial or post-black because a man I admire, Barack Obama, is president of the United States, is a joke. And I hope no one will even wonder about this crazy fiction again. I am proud of the American people for electing the best candidate who happened to be a black man and that’s a great historical precedent in the United States, but America is just as classist and just as racist as it was the day before the election—and we all, to quote my friend Cornel West, “are recovering racists,” and we all have to fight those tendencies. In America there is institutional racism that we all inherit and participate in, like breathing the air in this room—and we have to become sensitive to it.

If this had happened to you before Maggie and I were born, would your ideals and what you’ve taught us have changed?

No! The ideals stay the same. America has already been founded on great ideals. Listen, Liza. America is the greatest nation ever founded. The ideals are the greatest ever espoused in human history, and we just need the country to live up to them. But what I worry about are the 1 million black men in the prison system…

Yes.

…How they got there. Will they ever get out. The whole prison system is designed to dehumanize you. From the time you get in they take your belt off—they strip you of your identity. They put you in with other criminals in a claustrophobic cell—I mean, you don’t have a shot. It’s like the door shuts and boom: you’re dead. They’ve given you a new identity; they’ve stripped your identity as a person and given you a new identity as a prisoner and that is horrifying. I didn’t realize it until I experienced it. I was astonished, you know? Your cell phone doesn’t work and they set it up that way. It’s cold, man.

I realize.

If I didn’t have the money? I mean, where would I get the money? They said, “We know you have the 40 dollars because we went through your wallet.”

No.

Oh yeah

I’m sorry, Daddy.

Me too.

Elizabeth Gates is a graduate of The New School University, where she cultivated her love for fashion and writing. A former intern at Vogue Magazine, her interest in image, art and fashion has driven her desire to contribute to the vast narrative of modern culture in America and abroad.

obama on what the police would do if he were discovered "breaking" into his current residence like henry lous gates: "here i'd get shot"



And lest you think this was an isolated event, here is an old Grenada link about another Black professor who was arrested for going to his office.