Forgotten History

For the first time, an exhibition in Cologne attempts to piece together the story of the Nazi persecution of blacks living in Germany when Hitler came to power in 1933.

The Nazis’ objects of scorn and persecution are well-known and well-documented. The lot of black people under the Nazis, however, has received little attention in the past.

Now the Nazi Documentation Center in Cologne is showing the first exhibition on the subject. Called "Distinguishing Feature: Negro" – Blacks in National Socialist Times’.

The Nazi’s 1933 racial law, which applied to blacks as well as Jews, institutionalized racism and made it impossible for them to lead normal lives. Propaganda on the streets and in the media labeled blacks as a "dangerous plague" and "bastards". Black men were said to be a danger for German women.

The article reminded me of the story of Jesse Owens, star athlete of the 1936 Olympics.

Owens won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympics single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy. This victory, made a statement that transcended athletics, and spilled over into the world of global politics. Berlin, on the verge of World War II, was bristling with Nazism, red-and-black swastikas flying everywhere. Brown-shirted Storm Troopers goose-stepped while Adolf Hitler postured.

Owens said later:

"I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either."

Owens wasn't complaining. That wasn't his style. He believed it was his job "to try to make things better." And, that he did.

I suppose that we all owe it to ourselves and all those that came before us, to try at least to make things better as well.

Even Saddam Gets Spam

Free-lance writer Brian McWilliams hacked his way into the official Iraqi government e-mail system only to find an inbox filled to capacity with unchecked messages. Of those messages, McWilliams said he read business proposals from American companies addressed to Saddam Hussein, even though the United States has prohibited such transactions. McWilliams also scrolled through interview requests from journalists and hate mail from angry Americans. The inbox also contained some e-mails written in admiration and support of Hussein and his actions against America. Some people simply asked for signed photographs of their favorite dictator. [more] (Via CNN.com)

A lesson from Condoleezza Rice

The Boston Globe has this Article

Condoleeza Rice was reminded of her decision to become a Republican after the 1984 Democratic National Convention. She said the Democratic Party's speeches to ''women, minorities, and the poor'' really meant ''helpless people and the poor.'' In a profile in The Washington Post, Rice said, ''I decided I'd rather be ignored than patronized.''

The national security adviser to President Bush was asked if she thinks the Democratic Party still patronizes ''women, minorities, and the poor.'' Laughing, she declined to answer the specific question last week before the Trotter Group, an organization of African-American columnists. But her answer was as riveting as if she had actually gone on to trash the Democrats.

''The fact of the matter is, race matters in America,'' Rice said. ''It has, it always has ... It is not that I mind being associated with the group. I am African-American and proud of it. I wouldn't have it any other way. And it has shaped who I am and it will continue to shape who am.

''I do not believe it has limited who I am or what I can become. And that's because I had parents who, while telling me what it meant to be African-American and exposing me to that, also allowed me to develop as an individual to be who I wanted to be.''

Now Compare and contrast the article above with the following article from Newsday's Sheryl McCarthy in which she says:

I'm a fairly liberal newspaper columnist, and Condoleezza Rice is national security adviser to a president who seems determined to lead this country into war. Rice's role in George W. Bush's administration has celebrities like Harry Belafonte foaming at the mouth that she's an Uncle Tom while other blacks are wishing out loud that Condoleezza Rice was, well, different.

What do I think? I think she's a smart cookie. That's not a term I normally use. But, when a colleague used it to describe Rice the other day, I thought it fit her perfectly.

...That doesn't make her a race traitor, a bad person or someone who's forgotten the lessons we learned as children in Birmingham. In part, that's what the struggle was about - the right to think and act as individuals, her in her way, me in mine.

The man behind the keyboard

Posting will be light during the next few days as I celebrate my birthday. In The picture above, I'm standing on the south shore of Long Island NY, about 40 miles east of NYC. The weather was a breezy 45 F, ... brrr, that's brisk baby!

Black America's Political Action Commitee (BAMPAC)

BAMPAC is a registered unaffiliated non-partisan Political Action Committee. They provide much needed financial and strategic assistance to candidates running for political office on all levels of government. BAMPAC candidates are committed to supporting our common sense approach to public policy and politics: promoting Social Security reform, improving public education, expanding economic opportunities to historically disadvantaged sectors in America, vigorously promoting equality for all Americans, and restoring moral values and the importance of family in our communities. [more]

Earlier this year (June 2002), BAMPAC published an interesting poll which touched on the political pulse of African Americans.

Post-Saddam Iraq

In this article, Stan Crock takes a look into the future challenges the U.S. may face after Saddam is deposed.

Flash forward to 2003. Saddam Hussein, the despised Iraqi despot, is now in exile on the isle of Elba, once Napoleon's haunt. A new coalition government in Baghdad friendly to the U.S. is getting organized. But Iran is making ominous noises about border issues, raising fears it might exploit its neighbor's weakness. A decade of economic sanctions has seriously eroded the Iraqi military's conventional capability, and now the country is sorely in need of weapons to defend itself. So the U.S., which just finished disarming Iraq by rooting out weapons of mass destruction, now is considering how to rearm Baghdad. ...Sound farfetched? Hardly. Indeed, some U.S. Iraqi watchers already are mulling how to fortify a friendly post-Saddam regime.

Selling weapons to Iraq poses a bit of a conundrum, however. "An Iraqi force big enough to deal with Iran is big enough to overwhelm Gulf States," notes Ken Pollack, a former National Security Council and CIA Middle East expert and author of a new book on Iraq, The Threatening Storm. The solution? One piece is to sell arms that are primarily defensive. Another is to stitch together a kind of NATO for the Middle East, which might include Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, and the U.S. Such an alliance would reduce Baghdad's need for its own big arsenal.

Survey: Blacks Less Interested in Iraq,
More Concerned with Jobs, Economy

BlackPressUSA.com has this story.

“African-Americans are rarely polled on foreign affairs issues unrelated to Africa and we felt it was important to get their views,” said David A. Bositis, a senior research associate at the Joint Center, who supervised the survey. “To a large degree, they expressed similar sentiments as the general population.”

... Terrorism topped African-Americans’ list as the most important problem facing the country today. Whites and the general population listed world affairs (foreign policy, terrorism, world economy, lack of leadership, war) as the main problem facing America, with employment and economy a distant second.

"...We care when it comes to us about going to war, about African-Americans actively participating in war and being shot, but other than that, there is no particular interest in these things,” said Lackey.

"If Blacks are generally more concerned with “day-to-day living and less about the big picture,” Lackey said, it’s because Blacks are still struggling in a lot of other areas. “The engine of history is a struggle between the haves and the have nots."

“If the haves are looking elsewhere, it only means that they are satisfied. But Martin Luther King said if there was not the struggle for civil rights, he could’ve been doing something else,” said Lackey. “So if black folk weren’t struggling for economic betterment and employment, maybe they could concentrate on something else. Maybe they could parade down in front of abortion clinics or have a walk for diabetes. Maybe it’s peculiar to the have nots to not have a worldview. If you have the bare necessities, then you could have the luxury of worrying about folks on the other side of the world.”

Only 1,647 adults around the country (850 of which were African-Americans) were polled and the demographics weren't made clear, but it's an interesting analysis that is worthy of further inquiry.

King of Rap

CBS News 60 Minutes II featured an interview with Jay-Z . Jay-Z talked to Bob Simon about his growing empire, his latest album, and growing up in the projects of Brooklyn.

Rap isn’t just about the mean streets, anymore. The message is more about the bottom line than the racial line and the audience is overwhemingly white. Rap has now surpassed country music as the nation’s second-most popular genre after rock and roll.

Jay-Z is clearly the reigning king of rap. He owns his own record label, clothing line and movie production company, generating almost half a billion dollars a year in sales. It’s no coincidence that he named his record label Rocafella. It’s an amazing achievement for a man who grew up in one of New York’s toughest housing projects. He’s living the 21st Century version of the American dream, straight out of the 'hood.

Fifteen years ago, Jay-Z says, he had no idea that he would be a wealthy superstar. He was just surviving. “I had no aspirations, no plans, no goals, no back-up goals. Now, at 33, Jay-Z has already sold over 15 million albums and his personal fortune is above $50 million. He’s making much of that money by bringing hip hop to the heartland.

...According to Lyor Cohen, who distributes Jay-Z’s CDs, more than 80 percent of those sales were to suburban white kids. As the chairman of Island Def Jam records, Cohen has made hundreds of millions of dollars selling rap music to suburbia. “Sixty-five percent, maybe 70 percent of all of rap music sales are purchased by white people,” says Cohen.

Pentagon Plans A Redirection In Afghanistan

Troops to Be Shifted Into Rebuilding Country reports the Washington post.

In a major restructuring of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the Pentagon plans to disperse teams of combat soldiers, civil affairs specialists and Afghan troops around the nation to help secure the countryside and boost reconstruction efforts, defense officials said yesterday.

The initiative marks an expanded U.S. military commitment to assisting in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. It also represents a tacit admission that concerns about security continue to inhibit reconstruction efforts and will require the United States to do more apart from trying to hunt down remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda.

For an administration that came into office deriding the use of U.S. military forces for "nation-building," the new emphasis on reconstruction in Afghanistan constitutes a significant shift.

I'm not surprised at all by this shift. I touched on this a few days ago while pointing to David Corn's article: Bush's Afghanistan disgrace which discusses a report released by Human Rights Watch, in early November. This report points out the torture and repression still going on in Afghanistan and the lack of control the U.S. has over the situation. The recent shift in plan by the Pentagon seems quite necessary and timely.

Chris has a different perspective on the matter, I'm willing to meet him half way while considering both sides. Certainly it's a difficult situation for the United States, and Steve's point that they are at it alone is well taken, but it has been a year now since the conflict began and our military planners could have exercised more foresight in assessing the situation.

The Return of Bill Maher

Now that Dennis Miller's outta there, HBO's plugged in Bill Maher. Maher, whose long-running and fatally controversial Politically Incorrect was offed in June by ABC, has taken over Miller's 11:30 p.m. Friday time slot on the cable network. [more]

This is very good news.

Shop and Hope

In this article in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Jane Yoder-Short describes her experience shopping for toiletries to send to Iraq, she says:

I'm shopping for some hope along with items for a Relief Kit for Iraq

I pick up one squeeze-tube toothpaste and four adult-size toothbrushes and some hope that we can be as concerned with preventing violence as we are with preventing tooth decay.

I pick up four bars of bath soap and hope that we can wash our mouths with a little caution.

I pick up a bottle of shampoo and some hope that conditions in Iraq will soften.

I pick up a box of powdered laundry detergent and some hope that we are willing to see our own dirty laundry.

I pick up one hairbrush, a comb and some hope that political entanglements and power struggles can begin to resolve.

I pick up four bath towels and dream that they could wipe away the threat of chemical and biological weapons.

I pick up a box of adhesive bandages and some hope that we will realize the depth of past wounds.

I pick up a package sanitary pads and some hope for a new cycle of peace.

Point well taken Jane, I understand. Personally, I'm more concerned with the terrorists and terrorism, (the real culprits) the ones responsible for 9/11 etc.. While you're at the store picking up toiletries, please pick me up some toilet paper, I need some hope that we can wipe away terrorism off the face of the earth. Thanks.

The Knicks City Dancers

Klan May Wear Hoods in New York

U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr., ruled on Teusday that the First Amendment protects the right of KKK members to hide their faces when protesting in public, the AP reported in Newsday.

Members of the Ku Klux Klan may demonstrate in their ceremonial hoods, a judge ruled Tuesday, saying a state law banning masks at public gatherings is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. said the First Amendment required him to reject New York's law finding a person guilty of loitering for joining a masked group.

He added that New York City engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it applied the law to the Klan but not to other groups in similar scenarios.

"No one disputes the fact that (the) plaintiff is a notorious racist organization, at least not this court," he wrote. "The focus here, however, is on constitutional protections."

The Klan pursued its case after members were forced to assemble without their hoods at an October 1999 Manhattan event.

No big deal, this is about more than the klan, it's about equal protection under the constitution. Let them continue to hide behind masks so they can hide the shame of their beliefs.

Can't we all just, get along?

Get a Grip, Mike

I'm sure by now you've seen this picture of Michael Jackson where he's dangling his son off the balcony.

Whoa! has he lost his mind? if it had been The Rock, Chuck Norris or Van Diesel, you'd trust their manly grip, But Michael Jackson! I'm not sure he has the strength to hold anything.

*Update* He made a mistake, he apologized ... let's move on to something more important.

Is Iran next on the list?

Newsday has this story

Washington - While the Bush administration has focused public attention on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, Iran's nuclear weapons program has in recent months begun to appear more worrisome than Iraq's, according to U.S. intelligence.

Administration officials and nuclear proliferation specialists say Iran is trying covertly to produce weapons-grade uranium or plutonium.

A U.S. official with access to intelligence reporting on nonproliferation acknowledged in an interview that Iran's nuclear weapons effort is now more developed than Iraq's. The official asked not to be identified

After all, President Bush has already included Iran in his "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea.

Search Engine usage

From internetnews.com: A report from iProspect, a search engine positioning firm, shows more than three-quarters of Internet users rely on search engines and more than half of users give up their searches after the first two pages.

Sure, I agree, top billing can be a beautiful thing..

Rest in peace, Flint

Bootleg video business turns violent in NY:

A man was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan and another injured when he jumped out a third story window. The two were victims of a robbery of their business, supplying bootleg CDs to street corner dealers.

A similar incident happened back in July near the Empire State Building. Two men were shot and wounded in that incident

Hey Saddam, do the impossible.

Eric Margolis chimes in and makes light of the situation in this article from the Toronto Sun

Aide: "Oh Great Saddam, Second Saladin, Sword of the Arabs?"

Saddam: "Yes, yes, what is it now?"

Aide: "Phone call from Carlyle Group in Washington."

Saddam: "Isn't that the company owned by the Bushes and their Pentagon business cronies?"

Aide: "Yes, your sublime Iraqiness, it is."

Saddam: "Put them on."

CEO: "Hello, President Saddam, this is the CEO of Carlyle Group. No, no, not Chief Espionage Officer, Chief Executive Officer. No, I'm not seeking asylum in Iraq."

"Listen, we've costed war against Iraq and it comes in around $200 billion. Now here's the deal. We'll buy you out of Iraq for $174 billion, half cash, half paper, with a $3-mil monthly retainer, use of our corporate jets, a Fifth Avenue co-op apartment, fresh flowers daily, a secretarial staff, golf club memberships, and season tickets to the NY Mets."

"I've checked with the White House. Take this deal and you'll be re-classified from Dangerous Dictator to Freedom-Loving Ally. You'll also get a genuine enameled American flag pin for your lapel to prove you're not an evil Muslim."

"This is an offer you can't refuse, Mr. Saddam. As President Bush says, 'you're either with us or against us."

Saddam: "I spit on your $174 billion. Do you take me for the Father of Fools? The net present value of our oil reserves is $6.8 trillion. And didn't I just see the bullying villain in Walt Disney's cartoon Beauty and Beast use the same 'with us or against us' line?"

CEO: "So what? The president has a wide range of interests. How about your own TV talk show, "Ask Saddam," and a Miami Beach condo?"

Saddam: "Now, you're talking. But who will run Iraq for you?"

CEO: "We're hoping you will, as a senior consultant for us. After all, no one knows how to manage this crazy country better than you, oh Light of the Fertile Crescent!"

Saddam: "Throw in Kuwait, and you've got a deal"

The Odds of War

Four years ago, Slate published a Clintometer that tracked President Clinton's chances of being removed from office during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. This year, Slate presents the Saddameter, which monitors the chances of a U.S. invasion of Iraq.

NYC Firefighters Protest Book That Claims Rescuers Looted WTC

New York City firefighters gathered in Lower Manhattan Monday night to protest a book that claims firefighters looted stores while the World Trade Center burned.

The Uniformed Fire Officers Association rallied at the South Street Seaport, where William Langewiesche was signing copies of his new book. "American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center."

Go Knicks

Latrell Sprewell returned to the starting lineup and scored 23 points, helping New York defeat the Detroit Pistons 94-91 Monday night despite nearly blowing a 32-point lead.

Allan Houston also scored 23.

Improving to 2-8, the Knicks avoided having the worst record after 10 games in franchise history.

"I just felt we need a win real bad." Said coach Don Chaney.

You got that right coach.

For Sale

Want to buy a 22 Room Mansion With New York & Hudson Views? Why of course ... On E-Bay that is.

Beat It!

Everyonce in a while you may find yourself in a situation (business trip, night club or otherwise) where someone asks you for your phone number. Now there is a way to be polite and still get your message across. Give them one of these numbers, which will deliver automated rejections to your suitor. There is one for every port of call.

* New York City: 212-479-7990
* Boston: 617-658-7083
* Los Angeles: 310-217-7638
* San Francisco: 415-356-9833
* Atlanta: 770-908-7383
* Charlotte: 704-559-4169
* Chicago: 773-509-5096
* Cleveland: 216-556-0051
* Denver: 303-575-1696
* Las Vegas: 702-387-2619
* Miami: 305-460-3285
* Seattle: 206-781-3928
* Washington, DC: 202-452-7468

Heads Up

In 4 days, This blog will be one year old and I will be, well, one year older. On Friday, I celebrate one more birthday. Optimistically, I'll be one year wiser, pessimistically, I'll be one year closer to death ... such is life.

On November 22 of 2001, I began this blog as an exercise in exploring ideas and information.

Shakespeare, through the character Hamlet once said "Words, Words, Words".

Words on a page can help unlock the universe or they can simply be a momentary diversion. On occasion, they can be both.

Of course, life itself is the ultimate form of self expression. But in many ways, I believe it must be interpreted and expressed in order to clarify and give meaning to the mundane.

After one year in the Blogosphere, this blog, in a small way has fulfilled its intended purpose.

For some, my written words will be a temporary diversion, for others perhaps ideas worth pondering and acting upon. Whatever it is for you, I rest comfortably assured that the reason I passed this way, was simply to "express". In the end, after all is said and done, remember, it is necessary that we all make sure that more was done than said.

P.S. Special recognition to these bloggers who were there from day one (whether they realize it or not) providing inspiration (through their writing or designing) for what Citiblog was to become. Erica, Trina, Oliver and George thanks.

NYC troubles

As the greatest city in the world suffers under the weight of its fiscal crisis, the mayor outlines a plan of action.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg outlined his plan yesterday to pull New York City through its worst fiscal crisis since the 1970's by raising taxes significantly while simultaneously cutting the size of the police force, closing fire companies, reducing new day care slots for children and shutting centers for the elderly.

With the city's coffers drained by the stagnant economy, the aftershocks from the attack on the World Trade Center and the unsustainable spending levels of recent years, Mr. Bloomberg called for immediate action — including a 25 percent property tax increase and $844 million reduction in services — to close a gap of $1.1 billion in the current fiscal year's budget.

Via NY Times (registration required)

Quote of the Millennium

"Human beings seem to have an almost unlimited capacity to deceive themselves, and to deceive themselves into taking their own lies for truth. By such mystification, we achieve and sustain our adjustment, adaptation, socialization ... The texture of the fabric of these socially shared hallucinations is what we call reality and our collusive madness is what we call sanity."


-- R. D. Laing "The Politics of Experience" 1967

Afghanistan, one year later.

In this article from AlterNet David Corn takes a look at Bush's Afghanistan Disgrace.

"We want to be a continuing part of the new era of hope in Afghanistan," said Bush on Oct. 11, at an event highlighting U.S. humanitarian assistance in that country. He added, "We are helping the people to now recover from years of tyranny and oppression. We're helping Afghanistan to claim its democratic future, and we're helping that nation to establish public order and safety."

That all sounds good but ...

Another estimate less rosy than Bush's comes from Human Rights Watch. In early November, it released a report on torture and repression in Afghanistan. From its summary:

"When the United States-led coalition overthrew the Taliban in November 2001, Afghans were promised a new era of democracy and respect for human rights .... For many Afghans, the end of the Taliban's uniquely oppressive rule was indeed a liberation. Yet almost one year later, the human rights situation in most of the country remains grim .... This has happened not simply because of the inherent difficulties of rebuilding an impoverished, devastated country, but because of choices the United States and other international actors have made, and failed to make.

"In most parts of the country, security and local governance has been entrusted to regional military commanders -- warlords -- many of whom have human rights records rivaling the worst commanders under the Taliban .... American military forces have maintained relationships with local warlords that undercut efforts by U.S. diplomats and aid agencies to strengthen central authority and the rule of law."

The report focuses on western Afghanistan and the city of Heart, which were taken over in late 2001 by warlord Ismail Khan and his troops, who were backed by the U.S.-led military coalition. It documents widespread political intimidation, arrests, beatings and torture by the police and security forces under Ismail Khan's command. It notes that women and girls in Herat "continue to suffer extreme forms of discrimination, including many Taliban-era practices that are now being revived." Dissent is not allowed.

The question becomes, how are we going to deal with an Iraqi conflict, considering the failures in Afghanistan? The lessons to be learned here are quite apparent.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later?

Mark Fiore makes a good point ... well worth a look.