BlackPerspective.net

In response to Bush’s “Appeasement” statement yesterday, and John McSame’s pilling on; Obama has done exactly what I’ve been saying he should do. Now I may believe that he might actually go after the republicans instead of soft peddling like he’s done with Clinton.

Today in his response he called Bush and McCain “disingenuous”, “hypocritical”, “naive”, “irresponsible”, “dishonest”; and said that McCain hasn’t offered “one substantial” foreign policy difference between himself and Bush.

Some other Texans criticized an American elected official (Bush) on foreign soil and were scorched for it by the right; and they were just some pop singers named the Dixie Chicks at a concert. I’m waiting to hear the right come out slamming Bush for going on foriegn soil to slam Senator Obama and President Carter (the white house said this is who it was aimed at).

Huffington Post Reports:

Lumping McCain together with President Bush, Obama declared: “If they want a debate about protecting the United States of America, that’s a debate I’m ready to win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for.” He blamed Bush for policies that enhance the strength of terrorist groups such as Hamas and “the fact that al-Qaida’s leadership is stronger than ever because we took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan,” among other failings.

Video: Obama say “After almost 8 years I did not think I could be surprised by anything George Bush said…”

Huffington Posst Continuted Obama continued the debate on Friday at a town-hall meeting in a livestock barn. He said he had planned to focus on rural issues during his swing through South Dakota, but felt compelled to answer the remarks from Bush and McCain.

Speaking of McCain and Bush together, he added: “They aren’t telling you the truth. They are trying to fool you and scare you because they can’t win a foreign policy debate on the merits. But it’s not going to work. Not this time, not this year.”

Obama also challenged them to a debate on foreign policy at “anytime”, saying it was a debate he was “happy to have”.

Obama further noted according to Huffington Post that Meeting with reporters, he argued that tough-minded diplomacy and engagement with rivals have long coexisted, citing the foreign policies of former Presidents Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan.

He also noted that Nixon opened talks with China with the knowledge that Chinese leader Mao Zedong “had exterminated millions of people.”

Finally, he pointed out that McCain had actually done what he was falsely accusing Obama; refering to an interview that McCain did in 2006 in Switzerland where McCain said that “Hamas is the government” so that we have to “deal with them”.

On CNN’s “American Morning” Friday, Rubin — a former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration and a supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — said McCain’s criticism of Obama’s position was hypocritical.

“And then two years later, he’s taking a very, very different position … smearing people for suggesting that one ought to talk to Hamas when it was he himself who was prepared to talk to Hamas two years ago.”, according to CNNpolitics.com

Watch this Hardball coverage that includes some video of one of Barack’s two speeches where he says Bush and McCain have a lot to answer for on foreign policy:

PLEASE VOTE

If you want to understand the why and how of this contest, read here.

Here is how voting is done. List your five favorite/best blogs from the 50 below in order of how good you think they are. Which everone you list first will get 5 points and which ever you list fifth will get 1 point, and so in between.

The 20 blogs with the most total points move on to the next round. Am I clear? If I’m not, ask me.

Besure you list them in order of which you think is the best.
And no double dipping on your voting under different names; I’m watching IP adddresses.

Nominees should grab the nomination widget that I designed and Mrs. Grapevine at mrsgrapevine.com/ rigged up for me. You can add it to a post or your sidebar to notify your readers to come vote for you:

The Nominees: (The numbers in parenthesis are Technorati Blog Authorities; but they have no bearing on this contest beyond having determined that these blogs would be the nominees)

(Some blogs are hyperlinked and some aren’t because some were listed with “.com” on Villagers BBR rankings where I simply copied and pasted them from; and wordpress automatically hyperlinks those. I’ll try to hyperlink the rest as I can)

1. Bossip.com: Gossip for the Hardcore (1137)
2. Pam’s House Blend (1066)
3. Concrete Loop (988)
4. Nah Right (812)
5. Crunk & Disorderly (696)
6. Oliver Willis (622)
7. Young, Black, and Fabulous (590)
8. Jack and Jill Politics* (459)
9. SandraRose.com (419)
10. La Shawn Barber’s Corner (393)
11. What About Our Daughters* (384)
12. The Field Negro* (379)
13. The Angry Black Woman (365)
14. Real Talk NY Provides The Latest Hip Hop News (361)
15. AfroBella (346)
16. Entre Mes Lignes (332)
17. Keith Boykin (318)
18. Ill Doctrine (317)
19. Angry Black Bitch (316)
20. How To Split An Atom (316)
21. Clutch Magazine (311)
22. Love B. Scott (310)
23. We’ve Moved! <> (305)
24. Kenyan Pundit (293)
25. Too Sense (275)
26. QuestLove MySpace Blog (268)
27. Electronic Village* (260)
28. Raw Dawg Buffalo (255)
29. Points of View (246)
30. A Hot Mess (243)
31. Darla Mack News & Reviews (239)
32. Necole Bitchie (234)
33. Black Looks* (233)
34. Rod 2.0:Beta (232)
35. Black Tennis Pros (228)
36. The Republic of T (225)
37. Think2Wice (224)
38. Soulbounce.com (221)
39. BlackProf.com (219)
40. African Path (212)
41. Undercover Black Man (210)
42. CheapThrills (210)
43. The Assimilated Negro (205)
44. Mrs. Grapevine* (203)
45. The Fashion Bomb (201)
46. The Smoking Section (198)
47. Prometheus 6 (194)
48. Booker Rising (192)
49. Crunk & Disorderly (190)
50. Chimeric Day Dreams (182)

Today Bloggers are uniting to blog for Humman Rights

In particular I will highlight Haiti and Darfur

Regina at Regina’s Family Seasons says “Today May 15, 2008 some bloggers are involved in a collective effort to bring the issue of HUMAN RIGHTS to the forefront of our minds and hearts. If you for whatever reason do not know, want or agree with the issue of HUMAN RIGHTS let me ask you two questions…

Are YOU human? Do you want, need, or have rights? If you answered YES to either of these questions (If you answered NO than email me and I will definitely pray for you!!) than the issue of HUMAN RIGHTS is YOUR issue too!!”

Charlene, 16 with a month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country’s central plateau.

The mud has long been prized by pregnant women and children here as an antacid and source of calcium. But in places such as Cité Soleil, the oceanside slum where Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings, and two unemployed parents, cookies made of dirt, salt, and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal.

“When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day,” Charlene said.

Haitian Food Crisis

Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt
Jonathan M. Katz in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Associated Press

It was lunchtime in one of Haiti’s worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud.

With food prices rising, Haiti’s poorest can’t afford even a daily plate of rice, and some must take desperate measures to fill their bellies.

The latest on Darfur from Dream For Darfur

Dear Friends,

We want to keep you informed of our efforts to bring security to Darfur. Here are the latest headlines:

Our Call for Partnerships for Darfur

Dream for Darfur called today for the US government to use its role as president of the Security Council next month to hold a Pledging Conference - a meeting to announce the nations supporting African battalions and providing logistical support for the full UN protection operation of 26,000-troops in Darfur, with an immediate deployment schedule.

Read the op-ed by Mia Farrow and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg in the Wall Street Journal.

The Situation on the Ground

There has been an increase in violence in Sudan and the UN/AU troops on the ground are struggling, under-financed and under-equipped. Read today’s AP story: “Top UN official warns of increasing Darfur violence.”

Best,

Jill Savitt
Executive Director, Dream for Darfur

Dr. Watkins has put us up on why Bill O’Reilly is really going at him; and the fact that this whole thing about the “happy Negro” comment is about 8 months old; bolsters Dr. Watkins. Why is Bill bring it up now; because it’s all he has to try to slander Watkins with since Watkins recently started going after O’Reilly’s advertisers.

The Back Story

You remember when Al Sharpton foolishly took O’Reilly to dinner at Silvia’s (famous Black resturant) in Harlem; and O’Raistly said he was surprised that Blacks conduct themselves in a resturant just like white people, and no one was screaming “bring me an ice tea M-fer”.

Well CNN had Dr. Watkins and Negro protector of white racist, conservative blogger LaShawn Barber (who I’ve appeared with on NPR) on to talk about it.

When Ms. Barber tried to excuse O’Reilly’s racism by saying that he made the Statement to Juan Williams and Williams wasn’t offended, Dr. Watkins rightfully responded that “Juan Williams sitting there as sort of the happy Negroe agreeing with Bill O’Reilly, doesn’t impress me. A man cannot walk into your home, and congradulate your mother for not being a prostitute; and not be offended.”

Here’s the video

Fast forward

Recently, through his Your Black World website, Dr. Watkins started a campaign of accountability to hold specifically O’Racistly, Sean Klannity and Rush Limbaugh accountable for their distortions and degridation of Black people; saying:

Why The O’Reilly Factor is Becoming a Non-Factor and why Bill O’Reilly is Feeling Threatened. (Juan Williams lost his credibility a long time ago)

A few days ago, we began talk of holding Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity accountable for their racialized smearing of Senator Barack Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright. This event was only the latest in non-stop racial attacks by those in the “Axis of Ignorance”, engaging in consistent social terrorism of people of color. Many of us sat angry and hurt as we felt defenseless to counter the lies being told on airwaves and media channels that distort elections and mute black voices across America.

The attack launched by O’Reilly this week is nothing but go old fashion retaliation. Watkins is going after O’Reilly’s advertisers, O’Racistly is starting to feel the heat; and so he’s try to discredit and scare Watkins to back him off.

Watkins goes on to write about his campaign that:

“While O’Reilly, Limbaugh and Hannity have a right to speak freely, I am sure many of you agree that they should not be allowed to attack your leaders using your money. So, to help the cause, we’ve gathered a list of corporate sponsors for Fox News. I would like to thank Andrea Hatter, a respected novelist and member of the Your Black World Family, for providing this list. If you would like to write or call these sponsors and also complain to the FCC about what you’re seeing on the airwaves, the information is there for you. You can also email us at info@yourblackworld.com to share your frustrations. ”

Go here for the list.

This is what O’Reily and Happy Negro Juan Williams are really upset about. This is the reason for the character attack, and false race-baiting claim of racism against Dr. Watkins.

Different responses to disasters in Myanmar, China
By EDITH M. LEDERER

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Two natural disasters in tightly controlled Asian nations this month have produced two very different responses: Myanmar’s very slow reaction to Cyclone Nargis and China’s speedy response to a killer earthquake [BlackPerspective.net Publisher’s Note: There are some affected victims in China that will dispute that the Chinese government moved quickly in the first couple of ours or so, but otherwise…].

Myanmar’s sparked international outrage. China’s won admiration.

Myanmar’s military government, which has ruled with an iron first since 1962, has barred almost all foreign experts experienced in managing humanitarian crises, saying it would handle relief efforts on its own.

But without the equipment to even lift cargo off Boeing 747s and at least 1.5 million people in need, the U.N. warned Tuesday that Myanmar faces a monumental catastrophe unless relief efforts reach the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

China’s communist government also said it was not allowing foreign aid workers into the area affected by Monday’s 7.9-magnitude earthquake that wrecked towns and killed thousands across Sichuan province though it would accept international aid for the tens of thousands left homeless.

But in contrast to Myanmar, China’s government quickly moved into high-gear, sending 20,000 soldiers and police into the disaster area with 30,000 more on the way. The government was also mobilizing food, clothes, tents and plastic sheeting for the victims and sent Premier Wen Jiabao to oversee relief efforts.

BBC Audio on China and Myanmar Disasters

Click here (or to open in a new window, right click on the link and choose “open link in new window) and you can choose to listen to it in Real Player or in Media Player.

I heard this on may way into work this morning in the car via NPR. They’re discussing the U.N. doctrine know as the “responsibility to protect”; regarding if there should be international intervention to save tens of thousands from dying under the notion that the denial of aid by Myanmar’s government constitutes a humanitarian attack upon those people.

Myanmar’s People May Be getting Rotten Food
Associated Press
updated 5:02 p.m. CT, Tues., May. 13, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar - Many cyclone victims are getting spoiled or poor-quality food from Myanmar’s junta instead of the enriched supplies being delivered by foreign governments and charities, victims and aid workers said Tuesday.

A longtime foreign resident of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, told The Associated Press in Bangkok by telephone that angry government officials complained to him about the military misappropriating aid.

He said the officials told him that high-energy biscuits rushed in on the World Food Program’s first flights were sent to a military warehouse. They were exchanged for what the officials described as “tasteless and low-quality” biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims, he said.

The foreign resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity because identifying himself could jeopardize his safety, said it was not known if the high-quality food was being sold on the black market or consumed by the military.

A government spokesman did not immediately respond to an e-mailed query from the AP seeking a comment. The allegations were impossible to confirm independently because of the junta’s restrictions on journalists.

Since this was a good comment (if I do say so myself) that I made at Media Lizzy, might as well make it a post of it with some additional information, since none of my other post in progress are ready this morning.

This win in West Virginia is the most insignifigant blow out win in presidential eletorial history.

West Virginia just proved that it’s what everyone thought it was - an ignorant, uninformed, redneck state with a bunch of racist who wouldn’t vote for a Black guy no matter what.

It’s what, the second poorest state, and one of the most uneducated with a 94% white population, many of whom admitted they were racially biased against voting for Blacks.

This not connecting with working class white people stuff is a crock. Iowa is a rural working class state that Obama won over the much better known Clinton, and over Edwards who had been camped out there for 5 years.

He won Wiscons not too long ago, which is more than 80% white and very working class. It’s not that Obama can’t win working class whites, he can’t win redneck whites. Big Difference!

The shock would have been if a state full of inbreeds like the teams of mothers and sons who engaged in the Megan Williams rape together did vote in large numbers for a Black man.

The lopsideness of this vote is an indictment of America.

Clinton’s “White Americans” Comments Still Being Denounced Extensively
themoderatevoice.com/media/journalism/19522/clintons-white-americans-comments-still-being-denounced-extensively/

Peep that article, it gives snippets and links of Clinton being widely denounced for her racist comments about “hardworking Americans” being “white Americans”. It’s funny how this got so much ink; but was glossed over on t.v. for two days, and had disappeared on the screen by Monday. But the media is in the tank for Obama, when they’re still drumming “bitter” a month later; yet Hillary can say anything and it barely last a couple days.

Back in the day everybody wanted to rap or have a wicked jump shot so they could get up out of the hood, and escape the game.

Today rappers who were never in the game; but were hidding in their bedroom, peering from the window at the hustlers on the block, writing the raps that would later make them famous; once they reach the dream, then they decide to become gangstas. Ball players are doing the same.

Now with their newly found fame, and usually money, or at least the leased trappings of it; they are the man on the block and surround themselves with a bunch of real thugs, who they then want to impress and gain the respect of. Likewise, the thug wants to curry favor with the rapper, so he can be on the video shoot lot to lay on the casting couch with the “video ho” or maybe get a deal himself; so he’s down to do violence on the rapper’s behalf at any moment. Being an uneducated gangsta, it’s all he has to offer to stay in the famous rapper or ball player’s circle.

Remy Ma, you made it fool. Why are you poppin gats? You have no one and nothing to blame but yourself. It’s not your mommma, society or your environment. It’s you and your choice to resort to violence first, and not even explore other options to resolve a problem. Save the tears now mama!

NYC judge sentences Remy Ma to 8 years in prison

By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - A weeping Remy Ma was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub.

“I feel so bad for all the physical and mental pain you’ve gone through,” the Grammy-nominated rapper told the victim. “This has taken a toll on us and both our families. I would never wish you harm[you mean like shooting her???] and I pray the best for all of us.”

The entertainer, whose real name is Remy Smith, had faced up to 25 years in prison for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion for shooting Makeda Barnes Joseph last July in a dispute over money.

Smith, 26, begged the judge for leniency for the sake of “my little boy,” [you weren’t thinking about your little boy when you shot her - selfish] saying she grew up “surrounded by failure, violence and poverty,” but “made something out of nothing” from her life.

State Supreme Court Justice Rena Uviller said she recognized that Smith had had a difficult childhood, but noted the victim had nearly died and will never be the same physically. Uviller called the rapper “a young woman whose anger is out of control.”

After the sentencing, Smith’s fiance, fellow rapper Papoose, began screaming in a hallway outside the courtroom. “All you want is money!” he said, apparently referring to the victim.

“Lock me up! Lock me up!” he then shouted to court officers, who escorted him out of the courthouse.

The couple had planned to wed last weekend at the Rikers Island jail, where Smith has been incarcerated. Correction officials said they called off the wedding after Papoose showed up with a handcuff key.

Smith’s lawyer, Ivan Fisher, said Papoose had a key but denied that it could be used to open handcuffs. Papoose, whose real is Shamele Mackie, hasn’t been charged.

Fisher said the couple still plan to wed.

The fight in Manhattan’s trendy Meatpacking District erupted after Smith accused Joseph of taking $2,000 from her purse.

Prosecutors said she then fired two .45-caliber slugs into the woman’s abdomen and fled without calling police or for medical help.

Fisher said the sentence would be appealed.

He said the women struggled and the gun went off accidentally. He said Joseph’s story changed when her lawyer was preparing a $20 million lawsuit, which was later withdrawn.

Smith was nominated for a Grammy as part of the Terror Squad for the 2004 smash “Lean Back.”

R Kelly, you’re next!

Dr. Watkin is an eloquent Black professor at Syracuse University, and sometimes television commentator. He’s also an Aphrosphere Blogger and even does videos; I remember he had a good Jena 6 video when that story was starting to break last August.

You can visit Dr. Watkins and see his response to O’Reilly at blog.boycewatkins.com/

So anyway, O’Racistly is going after Dr. Watkins because he called Jaun Williams, whom I’ve laid off of all these years, an “eternally happy Negro” for giving people like O’Racistly racial cover. And then right after O’Rasictly’s hit job segment tonight there was Jaun Williams by O’Rielly giving cover to his race suppression efforts, and proving Dr. Boyce right - only tonight he was an indignant eternally angry Negro; but only angry at the Black man. Only if he ever got so angry at O’Reilly and Sean Hannity’s racist antics.

O’Reilly did one of his ambush jobs, this time on Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor. She would not engage except to repeat that Dr. Boyce’s words were his private words and that he was not speaking for the University; as the “reporter” and camera man stalked her all the way to her building.

You can disagree with Boyce Watkins opinion about Williams, but he doesn’t deserve to be labeled a racist for them as he said nothing racist; and he doesn’t deserve to have his boss stalked (and of course she doesn’t deserve to be ambushed and stalked), nor to have his job put in jeopardy.

This reverse claim of racism anytime a person of color speaks up strongly against racism, or about our own racially pandering to the majority for self advancement; is a full bore intentional tactic by the defenders of the status quo, of white privelege, and of racial discrimination to try to suppress strong voices against racism; and to cut down and try to discredit those standing up for the victims of racism so that the status quo might be maintained.

Support Dr. Watkins

1. I’d say for one, go to his site and leave words of encouragement as I did.

2. Call Syracuse and leave messages for Dr. Cantor in support of Dr. Watkins, and to congratulate her on how she handle O’Reilly’s thugs, and didn’t unfairly throw Boyce under the bus: 315-443-1870

Check out this video response by Boyce

…and the organization should be retired and put in a museum

My Blogging comrade Shawn has a good post up advocation for why he thinks his pastor should be the NAACP president, “6 reasons why Dr. Frederick D. Haynes should be the next president of the NAACP”

This post is not a swipe at Dr. Haynes nor Shawn’s advocacy of him; but is to point out why I think the NAACP doesn’t need a president, and rather should retire itself:

1. We stopped being Colored at least a half century ago
2. The NAACP’s insistence on old outdated methods and old outdated thinking rivals there insistence on that old outdated name.
3. It’s a corrupt institution of old men that basically exist as an apparatus for the good Negro faction of our community to gain personal status through climbing its ranks
4. It’s too entrenched in being the establishment to fight the establishment
5. Its leaders rather be on t.v. to advocate for foolish crap and foolish people; rather than standing up for maligned folks even if no cameras are around and even if no dues are paid (for instance how they wouldn’t help the Jena 6 until a town of less than a thousand Blacks opened up a branch)
6. They’re not Afrocentric and self-determination minded; they’ve always been funded by white people, and even have at least one white chapter head that I know of.

I could go on…

No, really I could!

You fought the good fight NAACP…a LONG LONG LONG LONG time ago, in what seems like a galaxy far away. Time to hang it up.

Your thoughts?

LOL, this was indeed funny even though there were no jokes. All she did was tell the truth, and reality is always the funniest thing.

What’s funny is the actress portraying Hillary Clinton telling the truth - now that’s Hillarious.

And no we Black folks will not rally around the Hillster, particularly because the attitudes of hers highlighted in this satire.

If Hillary Clinton Wins the Nomination, Blacks Must Send A Decisive Message

ColorOfChange Leader Accuses Clinton of ‘Race Baiting’