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Obama's Af-Pak is as Whack as Bush's Iraq

Posted Wed, 12/02/2009 - 02:57 by Glen Ford
Obama Samby BAR executive editor Glen Ford
President Obama has reached a watershed in his presidency: he has devolved to the intellectual level of George Bush, while retaining his world class powers of speech. History may remember Obama as just another vapid but predatory imperialist president who happens to be…superficially eloquent. Unfortunately, the clarity of Obama’s diction is not matched by coherence of policy. Af-Pak is at least as whack as Bush’s Iraq.

Plundering the Panthers, Manipulating the Movement: Re-Branding the Black Panther Party

Posted Wed, 12/02/2009 - 02:55 by Bruce A. Dixon

brandingEvery movement has its symbols and icons.  But when these are separated from their context and content they are nothing but brands, to be employed for whatever commercial or political purpose anyone has in mind, even purposes opposite those of the movement which gave birth to them.

Freedom Rider: The Peace Prize War

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:29 by Margaret Kimberley
Nobel Peace Prizeby BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
The American information bubble prevents the populace from recognizing the world around it. Iran's leader, constantly demonized in the “bubble,” “is not a pariah everywhere on earth, no matter how much American press and politicians fume and fuss.” It becomes increasingly clear that the United States is fooling no one but its own citizens, who are victimized by their ignorance. “Military prowess seems to be the only power the United States has left. It apparently has no ability to help its own people.”

Black Jobs Prospects Descending to a “Deeper Level of Hell”

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:20
we need jobsA Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

With each economic downturn, another layer of permanent Black unemployment is created. The effects are cumulative, and cry out for programmatic attention, but President Obama offers only bromides and moralizing. Wall Street wants deficit reduction, and “what Wall Street wants, Wall Street gets.”

Justice Department Sides with ACORN – for Its Own Reasons

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:18
ACORNA Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

ACORN's suit to retain millions in federal contracts got a big boost from a Justice Department legal opinion essentially siding with the grassroots organizers and against the U.S. Congress. “But one should not jump to the conclusion that the Obama administration, which signed off on the anti-ACORN legislation, has had a sudden change of heart.”

In Honduras and Haiti, the U.S. Rules by Proxy

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:14
lavalasA Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

As the old song goes, “They smile in your face...back-stabbers.” The Obama administration “artfully pursues a policy of smiles and handshakes all around – while undermining democratic forces through proxies whenever the opportunity arises.” Washington reserves its rawest deceits for the small countries of the Americas – like Honduras and Haiti.

Rwanda, the RPF and the Myth of Non-Intervention

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:10

rwandsThe Rwandan genocide was very real. But the myths woven around it, namely that its origins are strictly inscrutable African ethnic conflicts and that the West, especially the U.S. “allowed” it to occur because they refused to intervene are just that --- myths. We are happy to present here a concise and coherent overview of how the U.S. encouraged both sides and fueled the Rwandan civil war in its quest for the controllable client state it now enjoys in that unhappy East African nation. Evidently the Rwandan genocide was the product of too much, as opposed to not enough U.S. intervention.

Remembering Fred Hampton, 40 Years Later

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:09

I remember Fred Hampton.  For the last year of his life, which was the whole time I knew him, he was Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party.  Fred was a big man whose inexhaustible energy, keen insight and passionate commitment to the struggle made him seem even larger still.  We called him Chairman Fred.  Chairman Fred was murdered by the FBI and Chicago Police Department in the pre-dawn hours of December 4, 1969.  He was just 21 years old.  Fred’s family and comrades mourned him for a little while and have celebrated his life of struggle, service, intensity and sacrifice ever since.

If you cannot see the video above, click here.

Serena Williams’ Record Fine is Just A Distraction

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:08
serenaby Jasmyne A. Cannick
The fact that the two most dynamic figures in tennis are Black women seems unbearable to some in the sport. Serena Williams has been fined and put on probation for on-court conduct. “If another offense occurs at a Grand Slam Tournament during that time, the fine increases to $175,000 and she would be barred from the following U.S. Open. And therein lies the conspiracy.”

U.S. Christian Right Promotes Homophobia in Africa

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 20:05
african baptismby Political Research Associates
Right-wing evangelicals from the United States have invested heavily in promulgating their anti-gay ideology in Africa. “Through their extensive communications networks in Africa, social welfare projects, Bible schools, and educational materials, U.S. religious conservatives warn of the dangers of homosexuals and present themselves as the true representatives of U.S. evangelicalism.”

Audit the Fed? The Battle Against Obama’s Bankers Begins on Capitol Hill

Posted Wed, 11/25/2009 - 00:48 by Glen Ford
audit the fedby BAR executive editor Glen Ford
A bill has begun its journey through the U.S. House that could crystallize (and polarize) public attitudes toward the wholesale Wall Street theft of mega-trillions in national treasure. Rep. Ron Paul has gathered over 300 co-sponsors for legislation that would force an audit of the Federal Reserve – “the heretofore unaccountable engine of bankster thievery on a cosmic scale.”

Freedom Rider: President Sarah Palin

Posted Tue, 11/24/2009 - 20:30 by Margaret Kimberley
palinby BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
Smug Democrats love to imagine they are a species apart from Sarah Palin, the “pit bull with lipstick.” However, U.S. political history teaches us never to overestimate the intelligence of the American electorate, or trust a Democrat – many of whom were Republicans not very long ago. At root, Palin's supporters are “white nationalists,” the same people that adored Ronald Reagan and, yes, George Bush. So why is it so hard to imagine a Palin presidency?

What's Really In House and Senate Health Insurance Bills

Posted Tue, 11/24/2009 - 20:30

pharmaBy Ida Hellander, MD

It's not universal health care.  It's not even close.  Insurance companies will be bailed out and millions forced to purchase crappy insurance with government subsidies.  Drug costs will soar, the existing safety net wil be slashed and none of the uninsured will be covered till 2013 in the House version, or 2014 in the Senate version.  The devil lurks in the details, and there are lots and lots of details....

Rep. John Conyers: “I’m Tired of Saving Obama’s Can”

Posted Tue, 11/24/2009 - 20:25
conyers and Obama
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford


 

Periodically, Rep. John Conyers, one of the point-men for single payer health care, vents his frustration with President Obama. But then he, and nearly all the rest of the Progressive Caucus, vote for the president's pro-business legislation, anyway. “Obama would not have had the option of 'bowing down' to the corporations and the 'right-wing nuts' if progressives were not so predictably spineless.”

Black Caucus Shows Displeasure with Obama on Jobs, But Avoids Confrontation

Posted Tue, 11/24/2009 - 20:22
jobs nowA Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

What's a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member to do when he/she is politically wedded to the Black man in the White House who is refusing to do anything substantive to tackle Depression-level African American unemployment? The CBC is approaching the moment when either they confront President Obama, directly, or abandon the pretense of representing their constituents.