I put this on my blog, but thought it was Afro Spear-worthy material. All pictures were found on Kingston State of Mind.

I love this picture.

Michael outside Bob’s house in Jamaica with Bob’s friends

Bob & Mike’s mum, Katharine

You know when you are searching for some and Yahoo! Answers comes up?

Well, look what I found today.

I typed black afro hairstyles as my search them and on the first page is ”do white guys like black girls with the afro hairstyle?”

Come on, now — seriously?

On the first page of Google?

Natural hair is sometimes too complex for words.

When the US government discovered big holes in its ailing economy thanks to underworld business by greed corporate, it invented bailout. Economists still fiercely differ on this. On the one hand there are those that take it as a smart move aimed at keeping the people in the main street afloat. On the other hand, there are those that look at bailout as sinking tax payer’s money to the hole. When one looks at the reasons they offer, they all seem to be right.

But again, logically, one thing makes sense. First of all, the US and other affluent countries have enough financial muscles to take on this. Secondly, the manner in which the bailout is conducted in some areas convinces, there can be romp in soon thanks to the signs the US economy is currently showing. Thirdly US caused this calamity to the rest of the world. Thus it deserves to do something about it even at the world level. Fourthly, greed and selfishness being the engines of capitalism as well as the bombs (as of now), there was no way the US would sit idly by and evidence its children dying of the disease it cultivated. It had to reap the benefits of its system as well as stand by when things go wrong. 

So the first thing to do was to take on greed CEOs who offered credit generously knowingly this irresponsibility would backfire. Their gargantuan emoluments like golden parachutes, salaries and the likes were practically abolished or slashed. To make sure that these crooks do nary get away with it, the government purchases some shares in affected firms so as to ultimately, for some, own them. Currently AIG and General Motors or Government Motors as it is joked, are under government watch as it becomes the holder of majority shareholder of the restructured company, with 60% of the stock. To make sure the crime is not repeated, White House receives briefings on economy almost everyday, among which is the state of the bill of health of bailed out firms. This way, the government is doing it’s business to see to it that taxpayer’s money is not swindled. 

Recently, Tanzania ’s unstoppable juggernaut-like government blatantly proposed bailout measures to her all-time-sick economy. This move sounds smart. Nonetheless, it’s already been seen as charade aimed at stealing taxpayer’s money. With rampancy of stinking corruption in the upper echelons of power, one can comfortably predict its end… it’ll end up a cropper as it morosely digs more menacing holes on the already moth-holed economy! 

One thing to remember, this is the same government that stupidly nationalized almost everything, especially profit-making gung-hos Nyerere found, after felling them and proving to be shoddy as far as business is concerned. Sadly by relegating back to business, this means privatization is a hoax or much bigger mess should be expected.

Let me prove my point. Tanzania secured a loan of over 1/-tn to bail out her economy. Amazingly, this amount is a debt whose interest rate is 11%. The good government in Dar es Salaam is planning to loan the same to some unspecified companies at the interest of 2%!  Reasoning and reality have been given a heave-ho of a sort! Who will pay generously forgiven 9%? Monkey business of course! If  this megalomania is not stopped, Tanzania’s economy will be ruined even more under the pretext of bailing it out. How should it stop crumbling if loans are sought to be abused as the case in point? 

Renowned economist Professor Ibrahim Lipumba and opposition MPs queried this and termed it as “flapdoodle” that needs a courage and heart of the mad to commit. He said, “I am getting some feelings that this plan is going to be like a crash programme. Normally crash programmes are implemented without adequate preparations.” Lipumba also added: “I listened to President Kikwete’s address …. and also read the speech budget. I could not find anywhere where an ordinary farmer is mentioned as far as the stimulus package is concerned.” Despite warnings from experts, as usual, like a wise monkey that sees, hears and does nothing, Dar is still hell bent to go on with this buffoonery!

Before thinking about bailout, it would have been wise to tackle the root cause: graft and lack of fiscal discipline and vision! The same government that’s chest beating is sitting on mega million scandals! Without combating graft, poor and begging countries will be attempting suttee in the name of bailout. For, in the end, the money aimed at bailing economy out will bail out thieves and crooks in power.

For long, Africa ’s economies were marginalized from the rest of the world so as to be nicely exploited. The prices of our produces have been low and there have nary been equal terms in the so-called international trade since in flag independence. Our countries are ran by straight-like policies tailored abroad as supervised by puppets, not to mention strings attached to the proscription vending international agencies such as World Bank and IMF give us. What’s more, African economies still largely depend on those of rich countries on top of our governments’ lack of vision and mission. Though this dependence is superficial, it affects them verily.

Africa still spends much needed money on unnecessary military undertakings. If African rulers that make us believe, they mean to save our economies and were sincere, the first right thing to do would have been to dwindle the size of their armies and governments. Another sensible thing to do would be embarking on narrow-and-straight fiscal policies. Instead of depending on and loaning from WB and IMF, African experts in this area should be consulted and their expertise be heed and exploited. Will the West allow this? To avoid going on being caught in their nests, Africa needs to embark on home made policies based on African culture, values and aspirations, self respect and abhorring dependence.

What does this means? Africa is an unregulated free market for the world thanks to globalization and free market hoaxes expounded by the West. Many substandard goods enter Africa everyday. Many unnecessary items such as expensive oil guzzlers are preferred by African crooks in power. Africa ’s agricultural sector is forgotten. Efforts are directed towards vending and trading, left resources at throw-away prices that makes sense only to ten-percent charging thieves in power. This forces Africa to import. In other countries, IMF-WB’s policies have ruined the countries so as to depend on donors, even on food. Without feeding oneself, one can not forge ahead. To do away from current economic crises and poverty, Africa needs to think about feeding herself as the step towards fully emancipation. Without doing this, all is good for nothing. 

In such a debacle, can we make it without planning and manning ourselves really? The recipe number one to thwart this is tackling graft at all levels and by all means. Moreover, our “good-at-aping” rulers tell us: bailout is an in-thing for the rejuvenation of economy, thanks to American invention. America did not award money to greedy CEOs or dish out money to the loss making companies. Instead it bought stakes in these companies and put them under government watch to see to it that taxpayer’s money is returned. Indeed, wherever there is a clean and sensible government, this is the surest way of combating embezzlement and corruption even aiding economy to recover.

In a nutshell, bailout African style will ruin our ICU-based economies. We need good governance and empowerment of our people in place and responsible governments accountable to their people. Economic crimes, especially involving embezzlement of public money should be categorized as crimes against humanity. Otherwise, this charade we saw aimed at economic bailout is yet havoc to the continent.

Nkawzi Mhango is a Tanzanian living in Canada. He writes regularly for “The African Executive” and also has a blog entitled “Free Thinking Unabii”. He is a regular contributor to AfroSpear.

“Gentlemen, I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that the case of Mayella Ewell vs. Tom Robinson is not a difficult one. To begin with, this case should have never come to trial. The state of Alabama has not produced one iota of medical evidence that shows that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. This case is as simple as black and white. It requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. Miss Ewell did something that in our society is unspeakable: she is white, and she tempted a Negro. The defendant is not guilty, but someone in this courtroom is. I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake. She knew full well the enormity of her offense, but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted. The state of Alabama has relied solely upon the testimony of two witnesses who’s evidence has not only been called into serious question, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. I need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the stand. They have presented themselves in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted. They were confident that you, the jury, would go along with the evil assumption that all Negro’s lie, and are immoral. Mr. Robinson is accused of rape, when it was she who made the advances on him. He put his word against two white people’s, and now he is on trial for no apparent reason- except that he is black. Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase that the government is fond of hurling at us. There is a tendency in this year of grace, 1935, for certain people to use that phrase out of context, to satisfy all conditions. We know that all men are not created equal in the sense that some people would have us believe. Some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they are born with it, some men have more money than others, and some people are more gifted than others. But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal. An institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the ignorant man the equal of any president, and the stupid man the equal of Einstein. That institution is the court. But a court is only as sound as its jury, and the jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore the defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, gentlemen, believe Tom Robinson.”
Atticus Finch in the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird”

I remember the feeling I had when I first saw this film. I was about 16 or 17 years old and the whole Tom Robinson storyline left me enraged and confused. Enraged because an innocent Black man was found guilty of a crime he obviously didn’t commit… and confused because I didn’t understand what produced so much fury in White people when it came to Black people. Enraged because I wanted to become a lawyer, for I believed that the truth would always ensure that justice is served… and confused because, as I was just becoming politically and culturally aware, it was becoming more and more evident to me that the justice system was not based on truth or fairness when it came to Black people. 

I can’t remember ever reading the book or play, but I do remember that I was aware of the storyline before I saw the movie, so I knew that the Black character would be found guilty and killed. Still, even knowing this, the impact was heart-wrenching for me. I have seen the movie many times since and although the feelings of rage and confusion are not as intense, they still burn within me every time I see it. Even after my own experiences with racism, as well as personally knowing and hearing of other instances, even after reading many books, articles and blog posts on the subject of racism and having numerous discussions, even after posting articles about it myself on this forum, I am still enraged and at the same time confused by the blatant and obvious injustices Black people face within the criminal justice system. 

Hence the story of Eric Frimpong.

Reading his story is like watching a real life ”To Kill a Mockingbird” unfold. Here is a Black man accused of violently raping a White woman. There was no blood, semen, vaginal secretions, scratches or abrasions on his body or clothes which that would indicate that he was involved in any sexual activity or rape. The alleged victim even stated that she had hit her attacker hard with a “thicker ring” she was wearing on her right ring finger. There was no DNA evidence whatsoever linking him to the crime, although the semen of the alleged victim’s jealous boyfriend, who admitted seeing her with Eric on the night of the alleged rape, was found on her underwear. However, this boyfriend was never considered a suspect by the police! 

Although Eric’s DNA was not found anywhere on the alleged victim’s body or clothing, her DNA was found on him, which confirmed the story he told police that she had tried to kiss him, became aggressive and stuck her hand down his pants. He spurned her advances and left. She admitted to police that she had been drinking heavily that evening and had gaps in her memory of that night. Although she contradicted herself many times and wasn’t sure what had happened, she still held that Eric Frimpong as her attacker. 

Eric was subsequently charged and brought to trial before an all-white jury who found him guilty. He was sentenced to six-years in a California state prison.

Rage.

Confusion.

I am left wondering if the summation of Eric Frimpong’s lawyer to the jury was anything like Atticus Finch’s above. In the real life, just like in the movie, it didn’t matter.

Here is an excellent and informative article on the whole saga by ESPN.

Let’s support Eric not only with our thoughts and words, but also with our funds for his appeal. 

I caught these kids on The Tavis Smiley Show. Amazing stuff!

Just a short note to congratulate the Afro Spear & our members for reaching 50 subscribers.

Well done Afro Spear and a big thanks to everyone who writes posts, comments and takes notice of this blog.

In little over 3 months, we have added 50 subscribers. Pretty mind blowing if you consider that:

a) This is not a gossip blog

b) It’s a place that discusses ideas

That means that mathematically, we have had:

• on average 4 subscribers a week
• We have 33 email subscribers — 66% of our subscribers!

Keep working people and let’s continue to grow! A big thank you to everyone who subscribes.

Finally Some Good News: Dr. J Has His Day On Court!

Tomorrow is the induction of my grandfather, Dr. Robert Walter Johnson, into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. If you have the Tennis Channel on cable you can check it out. Tennis.Com has rerun an article that I wrote several years ago about Dr. J’s life and my relationship with him. Check out this excerpt and follow the link below:

A Whirlwind Event

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Recent reports that African rulers congregating in Sirte, Libya vowed to stand by Sudanese dictator, Omar Bashir, are disgusting and appalling. If anything, this means African rulers have once again proved to be hypocrites and indifferent altogether as far as human rights are concerned.

One thing left me in stitches. Sadly, Rwandan strongman, Paul Kagame who prides himself to have stopped genocide, also concurred with this megalomania, whilst his country suffered the same genocide as Darfur suffers from! Again, looking at how genocide was committed in Rwanda, who knows? Maybe the man has smelt a rat before ICC knocks on the door. Swahili have a saying that when you see your colleague being shaved without water, rinse yours.

African rulers wrongly think that the ICC is there to foster colonialism and interfere in their affairs, thanks to taking on one of theirs. This does not help the AU. And if reality is openly faced, chances are African rulers were manipulated by the current chair of AU, Libyan Muamar Gadaffi, who openly supports Bashir to kill their colleague Muslims. It started beating AU the day it was submitted to Gadaffi to bulldoze and abuse. As of now no one gets the logic of choosing a stinking dictator to head AU.

If Bashir did not commit genocide in Darfur, why is he afraid of facing the court that would exculpate him? But given that genocide was committed under his watch and order, Bashir can do anything but not to appear before the tribunal. This reminds me of one cartoon showing him driving over thousands of human skulls but still ask: “do you have any evidence to prove that  my Janjaweeds committed genocide in Darfur?”

In its vague bagatelle, AU averred: “The AU member states shall not co-operate… relating to immunities for the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC.” This betrayal was applauded and received by Sudan as a breakthrough in getting away with the genocide Sudan committed in Darfur.

When the AU, then the OAU was found, its aim was to emancipate African countries from the yoke of colonialism and all sorts of humiliation, degradation and inhumanity. But as days go by, the AU has proved to be the opposite, thanks to Africa being ruled by dictators, thieves and killers. Ironically, black colonialists are on the helm. Therefore AU’s goals have changed from fighting colonialism to defending it simply because the rulers are homegrown colonialists. 

One would expect the AU to issue a statement with regards to what is currently going on in Gabon where the son of the former tyrant is bracing himself to replace his father. The AU would be expected to chart the way for Zimbabwe whose prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently came back with empty hands after western countries failed to live up to their promises of rebuilding Zimbabwe after ushering in the government of national unity. As for Darfur, many countries have betrayed it. They have been paying no attention to the plight of the people of Darfur. Now they are adding more insults to injuries by ganging up with Bashir. Where should Darfur people go?

With such nugatory stance, the AU has proved to be a gang of goons in power, as far as emancipation and unification of African are concerned. It failed to solve crises in Darfur, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Though noises are made on unification of Africa, looking at how our potentates behave! This is a nasty daydream if the AU can conspire with and connive crimes like genocide in Darfur.

It would be even better for AU to shut up and put up, rather than taking sides. This won’t help begging and dependent Africa so to speak. Of all the African countries, Kenya did the right thing by not consenting to this betrayal and shame.

In law, the perpetrator of any offence is criminally as liable as the conspirator. This means genocide in Darfur has all the blessings of the AU. Thus the AU must be held responsible for it. Donor countries that strongly support ICC, must suspend their aids to all African countries that will shamelessly support this perilous stance. I know sometimes rich countries consider their economic interests in Africa and put people on the cross.

Another thing to do is all African countries that signed the instrument establishing ICC must be reminded of their obligations! Shall they think of repudiating their commitments, suspension of aids to them must be employed to see to it that they stop their double standard and alliance in crime.

African rulers once again proved to be mad. They are alleging that ICC is interfering in their affairs. No sane mind can consent to this. The so-called their affairs the ICC is alleged to interfere with are the same that caused genocide in Rwanda! Why don’t African rulers learn and forget easily? Under Idi Amin, Uganda suffered a lot thanks to the same pretext of not interfering in the affairs of the country. The same recently happened in Zimbabwe where Robert Mugabe sent the country to purgatory as the same AU shamelessly and openly stood by him.

Though AU can wrongly assure itself that it will save and protect Bashir, history will one day persecute him. He has been given visas to travel in the continent without any hitch and fear, time will come when other countries, just like Kenya, will see the light and take on him as it happened in Liberia.

AU stop daydreaming start thinking. Bashir, just like Charles Taylor, has now where he deserves to be put: The Hague! By fully or partially supporting Bashir, indeed once again, the AU has proved how useless and awkward it is. Shame on you AU.

Nkawzi Mhango is a Tanzanian living in Canada. He writes regularly for “The African Executive” and also has a blog entitled “Free Thinking Unabii”. He is a regular contributor to AfroSpear.

Racism is alive and doing rather well. Click on image below to read story at Electronic Village.

Dymire Baylor says he overheard a woman ask, “What are all these black kids doing?” when he and his friends showed up.

I never watched the Transformers television animated series nor read the Marvel comic books. I saw the first film with my cousin who was a fan, but I didn’t think much of it. I had no intention of seeing the latest Transformers release, but the vitriolic comments in support of the movie after Tafari posted this article on the racism within the film, plus reading other likewise comments elsewhere, spurred me to go see it. I can’t offer an honest and educated critique on something if I haven’t seen it for myself, so yesterday I made the time to go and see what the controversy was all about. 

Tafari’s review of the film was right on point. Although it was action packed, exciting and overall I must admit that I did enjoy it (certainly much more than the 1st film), the characterizations of the twin Autobots, Skids and Mudflaps, were undoubtedly racist stereotypical depictions associated to Black males… hence the term “Little Black Sambo[ts]“. Tafari and others in his original post, described the specific racist stereotypes within the movie so I don’t need to repeat them here. I do however want to address a few of the comments and arguments made on his post and elsewhere.

There were a few references made that there is more going on in the world to worry about than any “perceived” racist or stereotypical depictions in movies. That’s easy to say if you’re White. Stereotypes associated to Black people, especially those depicted in this film, such as we look like monkeys, we fancy wearing gold teeth, we’re uneducated, ebonic speaking, cowardly but will quickly engage in senseless violence among ourselves, reinforces the negative opinions held about us… not only by the dominant culture, but also by those of our own community.  

It is true that some stereotypes are based on some element of truth, and we can all point to some individuals who engage in these types of behaviours. (I refer to these Black individuals as the present day, real life ”sambos”). But I would argue that they do not represent the majority of those in the Black community! I can count on one hand the number of people I’ve met in my over 40 years of living, who had gold teeth… and not all of them were Black! Most Black people I’ve met value education and I’ve never met one who couldn’t read. The overwhelming majority of people I have dealt with as a law enforcement officer, in regards to criminal activities, have been White males, even when you take into account percentages based on demographics. Black males are very much in the minority of those I have charged, especially for violent crimes.

So I would contend that most Black people don’t wear gold teeth, can read and have some level of education, don’t speak what is termed “ebonics” as their regular means of communication, aren’t self-destructive, violent criminals but are hard working law-abiding citizens who make positive contributions to whatever society they live in. So why does the media and entertainment industry keep depicting Black males by these racist stereotypes!? Why would the director of the movie state that his vision of the Autobot Twins was to create characters “the younger audience could really identify with”!?

Then there were the arguments that the Black entertainment community does the same thing by also promoting these negative stereotypes, so why should there be a problem with the characterization of the Autobot Twins? BET, rappers such as T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and Souljah Boy, etc., were repeatedly used as examples of those promoting the same negative stereotypes. I have argued that Black artists like these and the programming by BET does hold some responsibility for the negative portrayals of Black people, but let’s be clear, there is no “Black entertainment community”, nor individual, that controls it’s own product and more importantly how it’s marketed. BET is owned by Viacom. Black record companies need distribution deals with major labels to finance their marketing, videos and to get radio play, if they want to reach a wide (aka ‘White”) audience. Even critically and commercially acclaimed filmmakers like Spike Lee and John Singleton, need the backing of major film studios to finance and distribute their movies. (Is there any surprise that VIBE magazine is shutting down after 20 years without even a whimper from the Black entertainment community? Where is their bailout!?)  

Therefore those who control the means of production and what it’s willing to promote, ultimately decides what it will and will not sell for public consumption… which in turn determines what kind of product will be created. If they wanted to market positive images of Black people, then they would sign, finance, develop, promote, market and distribute such products. Black rappers and other artists in the “Black entertainment community”, who want to “get paid”, would then mold their music, videos, films and professional images, depicting positive and uplifting messages, so as to be marketable.

Finally there were the arguments that now that the POTUS is a Black man, racism and/or racial stereotypes no longer have any negative consequences for the Black community and we need to just see the Autobot Twins as characters in a movie, providing harmless comic relief. As a commenter on Tafari’s post stated: “Pissed off over 2 autobots? Get a grip, and enjoy the movie.”  

I would however suggest that it’s movies like “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, with characterizations such as the Autobot Twins… the “Little Black Sambots”… which perpetuates and entrenches racist attitudes, like those directed at President Obama, such as this one, and this one, and this one, and this one. It contributes directly to a worldview of African-Americans, where the interim foreign minister of Honduras can feel empowered enough to refer to the POTUS, a 6ft-2in Black man, the most powerful leader in the world, as “this little black man who has no idea where Tegucigalpa is” (source). In other words, President Obama is irrelevant and ignorant due to the color of his skin! It also leads directly to real life situations such as this one!

It is not my intention to change the opinions of those who defend the movie or feel that the stereotypes are a real depiction of the majority of Black males. Racism in a post-racial techno world now masks itself in robotic characterizations. Subtle yet blatant… for those who care to see it.

Like millions of others yesterday, I stopped my life’s goings on to take part in one of the biggest celebrations of life that we may ever see for our beloved and sometimes misunderstood Michael Jackson.

Watching the celebration online was totally surreal & I can only imagine what the energy inside the Staple Center must have been like.

I was moved many times almost to tears but I stayed strong plus, I did not want to be all crying in public. I do have a rep to maintain.

Anyway, the point I almost lost it for the first time was when my boo Queen Latifah read Maya Angelou’s poem “We Had Him”

“Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.

Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.

In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.

Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.

Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.

He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.

Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.

He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.

We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.

His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.

And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.

We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given.

Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana’s Black Star Square.

In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England

We are missing Michael.

But we do know we had him, and we are the world.”

Maya’s (like we’re on 1st name basis) words are always on point and right on time. Her words are magical & legendary!

While watching the event I Tweeted live & it was awesome sharing this experience with others in real time from across the globe. A few of my Tweets:

• I’m sure the Staple Center will be filled with people just ready to jump into MJs casket. I hope they have it on lock down. #casketjumper
• This service would be over the top if Aretha came out singing “Trouble of the World.” That would break all the way down. #imitationoflife
• I’ll never forget when Lionel’s wife beat his ass. I haven’t cared for him since then. But I love the old music.
• When are they gonna open the casket?
• Al Sharpton either has a tapeworm or he got a gastric bypass. No matter what, he keeps it real & the perm is always fully coiffed & spritzed.
• Lets be honest, we’ve never seen a Negro’s funeral run this smooth. NEVER!!!! Its almost unnatural.

You know me, it’s hard to stay serious when things are hectic. I have to resort to bullshitting.

So after work, I jumped in my car to head to Detroit to record the vibe at the Motown Museum/Hitsville USA. Have a look at my completed photojournal, which also includes photos from Harlem’s Apollo Theater. The pictures tell far more than I ever could.

Cross posted from MicroMega:

To European democratic public opinion and the press that keeps it informed

Events in Italy have always – for better or worse – had an extraordinary influence on the whole of European society, from the Italian Renaissance to Fascism.

But, all too often, Europe has not become aware of these events in time.

There is currently a great deal of attention in major European newspapers on some aspects of the crisis that has engulfed our country. But we believe that it is our duty – the duty of all those living in Italy – to inform European public opinion on other alarming aspects that have not elicited such interest, such as the draft legislation proposed by the Italian Government, called the “Security Decree”. If it is not prevented, this legislation runs the risk of disfiguring the image of Europe and dealing a severe setback to human rights worldwide.

The Berlusconi Government, using security as a pretext, has imposed on our Parliament – over which it has total control – the adoption of laws discriminating against immigrants, laws the likes of which we had not seen in this country since the passing of the Fascist Race Laws.

The victim of the discrimination has changed: it is no longer the Jews but the undocumented migrant population, hundreds of thousands of people. But the discriminating measures have not changed: if passed, these new laws may, for example, forbid mixed marriages.

Such a prohibition would prevent a person from exercising a fundamental right, the right to marry without constraints of an ethnic or religious nature. The victims of discrimination would be denied this right simply on the basis of their nationality. Not to mention the fact that Italians would equally be denied their right to marry the person of their choice.

Another norm contained in the decree – even more abusive of human rights and dignity – is the prohibition for foreign women lacking permits (an administrative offence) to recognize their children at birth. Thus, the children born to “undocumented” foreign women, by virtue of a political decision by a temporary majority, shall be for their entire lives the children of unknown parents, they may be removed from their own mothers at birth and placed under the care of the State.

Not even Fascism had gone that far! The Race Laws introduced by the Regime in 1938 did not subtract children from their Jewish mothers, nor did they induce the mothers to abort rather than have their children confiscated by the State.

We would not be addressing European public opinion if the gravity of these measures were not such that it transcends national boundaries, calling for a reaction by all those who believe in our shared humanity. Europe cannot accept that one of its founding members regresses to primitive levels of social organization, contradicting international law and the very principles upon which the European political union is based.
It is in the interest of all of us that this not happen. It would dishonour us all.

European democratic public opinion must become aware of the disease ravaging Italy and act swiftly so that it does not spread further.

We are confident that each one of you will choose an effective way to demonstrate your opposition.

Roma, June, the 29th 2009

Andrea Camilleri, Antonio Tabucchi, Dacia Maraini, Dario Fo, Franca Rame, Moni Ovadia, Maurizio Scaparro, Gianni Amelio

I love this country. I really love living in Canada. I also really love living in Ottawa, the capital, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Today on July 1st, we celebrate Canada Day, the 142nd year of confederation. Canadian history and society is by no means perfect. It has had it’s own troubled past and it’s share of controversy, but today we enjoy relative peace, prosperity and security. We have universal health care, affordable post secondary education for everyone, access to social services when needed and low crime rates… even in our urban centers when compared to other cities anywhere in the world. We have two official languages including a vibrant french culture in Quebec, we recognize gay marriages, we’re supportive of immigration, encourage multi-culturalism and our political parties are not as polarizing as those to the south of our border.    

Ottawa is a magnificent city. It’s museums and galleries are second to none. We have a variety of festivals year round, celebrating English, French and other various cultures. Since we had our “little man”, I have come to appreciate the numerous and various city services that cater to children and youth… and most are for free!! 

I love biking along the numerous paths and along the river in summer. Although the winters are fierce with cold temparatures (Ottawa is the coldest capital in the world) and lots of snow, I enjoy the Winterlude Festival in February with the ice sculptures, skating on the frozen Rideau canal, sipping hot chocolate and eating beaver tails with maple syrup. Visiting Gatineau Park in the fall and seeing the numerous colours of the changing leaves is breath-taking. It is also 2 hours from Montreal and 4 hours from Toronto.

I have been blessed to visit various countries in different parts of the world and I would not want to live anywhere else. Granted, my heart will always belong to Jamaica, the country of my parents birth and where I spent my formative years. (A number of years ago I had seriously considered moving back there… however I’m glad I didn’t!) The Queen and I are planning to retire in the Caribbean, probably on one of the British Virgin Islands, as long as there is internet access and satellite t.v. so I can get my Raider games…lol!

Today I will give God an extra special thanks for Canada and acknowledge how blessed my family and I are to live here. 

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

Share your memories, thoughts and condolences along with fans from all over the world. Click on image below.   

A coworker came by my desk to give me the news.

Hey Peacemaker, have you heard?
Heard what?
Farrah Fawcett died today.
Oh yeah, I heard about it a little while ago when I was listening to NPR.
So did you hear the other part?
The other part?  What’s that?
Michael Jackson had a heart attack and stopped breathing.
Over Farrah Fawcett???

And then I noticed other people in the office were having their own version of the same conversation in the cubes nearby and throughout the office. Michael Jackson was dead. Farrah picked a hell of a day to kick the bucket. The last thing a self important person like Ms. Fawcett needed was to be upstaged by the death of Michael Jackson. I went back to work.

It might be sad to say but I really could not care any less. Michael Jackson was the very worst example of a black person who really hated being black. While most self hating black people would be content to simply say that they have transcended race, Michael Jackson was the one black person that actually decided to do something about it. Michael Jackson stared at the man in the mirror and decided he didn’t like what he saw enough to buy a new white skin tone, a keen nose that stayed on his face most of the time, thin lips, and a drippy jerry curl to exorcise the kinkiness of his natural hair and eventually just had it permed straight and long. This was not a person happy about being black or who wanted to embrace his blackness. Mr. Jackson ran from being black in front of the entire world to see. Being black was much too painful for him to live with.

What is sad for me is that I loved Michael Jackson just as much as anyone else. Who didn’t? Who didn’t love to hear Michael Jackson sing? And I’m sure there were people who didn’t, but to hell with them. Everybody knew this was a seriously talented young black boy. The dude was crooning like a troubadour at five years old. Who shows that kind of natural talent just months after kicking their diapers to the curb? What was there not to like and admire? No doubt the boy was singing about things he truly didn’t understand. But his voice was so strong, so controlled, with such a good range, and so full of emotion that he could give you the impression that he knew exactly what he was singing about when he was singing songs like Got To Be There and Mama’s Pearl and I’ll Be There.

When Michael broke the stranglehold grip of Berry Gordy and Motown, he truly hit the stratosphere of stardom. Off the Wall, produced under the talented tutelage of Quincy Jones and released under the Epic label, was a phenomenal success for a debut album. And although the cracks were beginning to form in his blackness, his Motown roots were shining through.  The songs were soulful modern interpretations of the songs Michael Jackson grew up singing with his brothers. And we all would be talking about Off the Wall to this day if it wasn’t for the even more spectacular success of his follow up album Thriller. Thriller broke just about every record when it was released. But by now Michael’s true colors began to show and black was not one of them.

On a daily basis Michael Jackson got weirder and weirder. And his music started to suffer as well. You use to be able to sing to a Michael Jackson tune. You could snap your fingers and bob your head as you sang Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough or Rock With You. But I couldn’t sing some of his latest stuff if you held a gun to my head. Michael stopped making the kind of music you wanted to hear and focused on the kind of music that had to be performed with a killer iconic dance move. For sure Michael Jackson’s name is associated with some of the most famous dance moves of all time. Everybody remembers the moonwalk and the robot associated with the song Dancing Machine. Everybody liked to see him spin in place like an ice skater doing a pirouette. But the new music began to take a backseat to the new dance moves on the stage and the songs became impossible to simply listen to or sing with over the radio.

The music that made Michael Jackson famous evaporated along with his blackness. The new hybrid Michael Jackson that looked more like a scarecrow from a Japanese anime and his accompanying music could never compete with the older version. And instead of being content to let his greatness lie in the past the King of Pop kept trying to recreate a new phenomenon based on superficial glitz and glamour instead of what really drove his initial success, the raw talent and the music.

Yes it is sad to hear that Michael Jackson died. But the fact of the matter is that to me, the Michael Jackson I came to know and love died a long time ago. The caricature that took the talented Michael Jackson’s place has finally died as well. Maybe in his death he’ll get the peace he appeared to never have had in life. I will miss the Michael Jackson I fell in love with. I will miss the Michael Jackson that I thought I could identify with as an obvious member of the black community. However, I will confess that I will not miss the man that became better known as the King of Pop.

Rest in peace Michael Jackson.

I remember as a child, I first became aware of Michael Jackson with his song “Ben”. I was around 10 years old at the time and I remember thinking this is the sweetest song I’d ever heard about friendship. 

I remember when Off the Wall came out. I was 18 years old, full of “piss and vinegar” and was just getting started into my clubbing days. I had a lot of good times during that period and Michael’s music was the soundtrack to that part of my life. 

I remember when I first heard “Billie Jean” from the albumn Thriller. It was “off the wall”!!! At the time I thought it was the best dance song I’d ever heard. I sweated at the clubs (and at home) to hit after hit from that albumn: “Beat it”, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin”, “P.Y.T.” Then came the video to the song “Thriller”! I remember the first time I saw it and I just sat there on the couch, stunned for a while… and then thinking: “This is the most amazing thing I’d ever seen in my life!” 

I remember Michael’s signature dance moves. When he first performed his “moonwalk” on the Motown special, I was floored! I will never forget the dance sequence at the end of the original video for the song “Black or White”. His complex dance moves, including the tap sequence, which seemed to be driven by a foreboding sexually charged energy and then all released through violent, destructive and explosive behaviour… though controversial… was something I had never seen before and has never been nor will never be duplicated.  

Just like with Bob Marley, the passing of Michael Jackson is a significant event in my life. The man and his music represented a time and place in pop culture that influenced and shaped the lives of not only those of my generation, but also those before, after and to come.     

Rest in peace King of Pop.  

“And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.”
From “American Pie” by Don McLean

Rest in peace.

Michael Jackson.

50 years.