When Mr. Bush officially takes his leave in three weeks (in reality, he checked out long ago), most Americans will be content to sigh good riddance. I disagree. I don
’t think he should be allowed to slip quietly out of town. There should be a great hue and cry — a loud, collective angry howl, demonstrations with signs and bullhorns and fiery speech
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Considered the “Queen of American Folk Music,†Odetta introduced audiences worldwide to American roots music and especially African American folk, blues and gospel. She died earlier this month. When Rosa Parks was asked which songs meant the most to her, she replied, “All of the songs Odetta sings.â€
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Tributes have been paid to Eartha Kitt, the singer and actress who died on Christmas Day aged 81.
Her publicist, Andrew Freedman, said: “She was certainly a legendary performer and while I think there may have been many imitations, she was an original.”
She was one of the few artists who have been nominated for Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards.
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Freddie Hubbard, widely regarded as the most gifted jazz trumpeter of the post-bebop ’60s and ’70s, died Monday at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 70.
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Critics say “The Wire” offers the most realistic depiction of America’s inner-city subculture ever seen. I decided to test that claim because I grew up in the West Baltimore community where “The Wire” is set. After watching all five seasons, my take on the show is ambivalent.
White vigilante justice tore through New Orleans after the storm. But no official investigation has shed light on the violence.
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Aretha Franklin, will have a starring role on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
There couldn’t be a more appropriate choice.
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Capitalism’s glorification of competition and thirst for limitless profit are destroying the planet.
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Specialist Andre Shepherd served in Iraq between September 2004 and February 2005 as an Apache helicopter mechanic. When his unit was called up to return to Iraq in early 2007, he went AWOL to avoid redeployment, calling the war “illegal.â€
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On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
The rapper Common wants to take hip-hop in a new direction, he says, and he has an unsuspecting ally — President-elect Barack Obama.
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BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon offers a personal recollection of Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, who was murdered by Chicago Police and federal agents on December 4, 1969.
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Posted on Pan-African News Wire:
The excellent summary below, written by Saeed Shabazz and just published in the Final Call, about the current repression and brutality against our political prisoners is a very accurate and chilling picture. But there is a more positive counterpart to this story, as evidenced in the event on political prisoners the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition(FMAJC) and Resistance in Brooklyn held this past Friday night, November 21st, at St. Mary’s Church in New York City.
The evening was one of education and solidarity with political prisoners, on the occasion of the publication of an important new book on political prisoners, Let Freedom Ring by Matt Meyer. Former political prisoners Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr. of POCC, San Francisco 8 defendant Francisco (Cisco) Torres, Tarik Haskins, former BPP and BLA member incarcerated and tortured during a 17 year imprisonment, and Pam Africa of MOVE were among the speakers.
Odetta, the singer whose deep voice wove together the strongest songs of American folk music and the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. She was 77.
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